The
military history of Canada entails
millennia of armed actions in the territory encompassing modern
Canada, and the role of the
Canadian military in
conflicts and
peacekeeping worldwide. For at least 10,000 years, the area that would become Canada was the site of intertribal wars among
First Nation groups. Beginning in the
16th century, the arrival of
Europeans led to conflicts with the
Natives and among the colonizing Europeans in the
New World. Starting in the
17th century, the region was the site of fighting between the
French and the
British for more than a
century. New challenges soon arose when the
northern colonies chose not to join the
American Revolution and remained loyal to the British crown.
Americans looked to extend their republic and launched an invasion in
1812. After Canada's independence, and amid much controversy, a fully-fledged
Canadian military was created. Canada's links to Britain remained strong, and Canadian forces joined their British counterparts in the
Boer War, the
First and
Second World Wars. Since the Second World War, Canada has been committed to
multilateralism and has gone to war only within large multinational
coalitions such as in the
Korean War, the
Gulf War, and the
2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
A
tank is a
tracked and
armoured combat vehicle designed primarily to destroy enemy ground forces by
direct fire. A modern main battle tank, designed predominantly for combat, is the most powerful direct-fire land-based weapon. It is distinguished from other armoured fighting vehicles primarily by its heavy
armour and armament. It can cross rough terrain and move relatively quickly in short bursts, but is power-, maintenance-, and ammunition-hungry and is not designed for sustained operations. Tanks were first used in
World War I and have undergone many generations of design evolution since then. Tanks are now a fairly mature technology, but significant improvements continue to be made in tank subsystems.
The
Battle of Leyte Gulf was a
naval battle of the
Pacific campaign of
World War II, fought in the seas around the island of
Leyte in the
Philippines from
October 23 to
October 26,
1944. The Japanese intended to repel or destroy the Allied invasion of Leyte. Instead, the Allied navies inflicted a major defeat on the outnumbered
Imperial Japanese Navy which finished it as a strategic force in the
Pacific War. The battle is often considered to be the
largest naval battle in history. Leyte Gulf was also the scene of the first use of
kamikaze aircraft by the Japanese. The
Australian heavy cruiser HMAS Australia was hit on
21 October, and organized suicide attacks by the "Special Attack Force" began on
25 October.
A
siege is a prolonged
military assault on and
blockade of a
city or
fortress with the intent of conquering by force or
attrition. A siege occurs when an attacker encounters a city or fortress that refuses to surrender and cannot be easily taken by a
frontal assault. Sieges usually involve surrounding the target and blocking the provision of supplies, typically coupled with
artillery bombardment,
sapping and
mining to reduce
fortifications. Sieges are as old as warfare itself, with towns in the
Middle East from the dawn of civilization having
city walls. However, with the advent of mobile warfare, one single fortified stronghold is no longer as decisive as it once was.
The
Lord's Resistance Army is a rebel paramilitary group operating in northern
Uganda, and
as of February 2005 is engaged in an armed conflict against the
Ugandan government. It is led by
Joseph Kony, who proclaims himself a
spirit medium and apparently wishes to establish a state based on his unique interpretation of
Biblical millenarianism. The rebels have been accused of many
atrocities in the area. It is estimated that around 20,000 children have been kidnapped by the group since 1987 for use as
as soldiers and
sex slaves. LRA practices such as
mutilation, enforced prostitution and enlisting children under the age of 15 into armed groups are
war crimes. The group abducts its members primarily from the
Acholi people, but it lacks widespread support among the Acholis, who have been the victims of many of its
tactics. The insurgency has been mainly contained to the region known as
Acholiland, consisting of the districts of
Kitgum,
Gulu, and
Pader, though since 2002 violence has overflowed into other districts, including Lira, Apac and Adjumani.
Chemical warfare is
warfare using the
toxic properties of
chemical substances to kill, injure or incapacitate the enemy. Chemical warfare is distinct from the use of
conventional weapons or
nuclear weapons because the destructive effects of chemical weapons are not primarily due to any
explosive force. The offensive use of living
organisms or their toxic products (such as
anthrax or
botulin toxin) is not considered chemical warfare: their use is instead labelled
biological warfare. Chemical weapons are classified as
weapons of mass destruction by the
United Nations, and their production and stockpiling was outlawed by the
Chemical Weapons Convention of
1993.
The
Battle of Normandy in
1944,
codenamed Operation Overlord, was the
invasion of
Nazi-
occupied Western Europe by the
Allies. The Normandy invasion began with overnight
paratrooper and
glider landings, massive air and naval bombardments, and an early-morning
amphibious assault. It continued over more than two months, with campaigns to establish, expand, and eventually break out of the Allied
beachheads. It concluded with the surrender of
Paris and the fall of the
Chambois pocket. Normandy is, to this day, one of the best-known battles of
World War II. In common language, the expression
"D-Day" is still used to refer to
June 6, the starting date of the invasion and the opening day of the battle.
The
War of the League of Cambrai was a major conflict in the
Italian Wars, occurring from
1508 to
1516. The principal participants of the war were
France, the
Papal States, and the
Republic of Venice.
Pope Julius II had intended that the war would curb Venetian influence in northern
Italy, and had, to this end, created the League of Cambrai (named after
Cambrai, where the negotiations took place), an alliance against the Republic that included, besides himself,
Louis XII of France,
Emperor Maximilian I, and
Ferdinand I of Spain. Although the League was initially successful, friction between Julius and Louis caused it to collapse by 1510; Julius then allied himself with Venice against France. The Veneto-Papal alliance eventually expanded into the Holy League, which drove the French from Italy in 1512; disagreements about the division of the spoils, however, led Venice to abandon the alliance in favor of one with France. Under the leadership of
Francis I, who had succeeded Louis to the throne, the French and Venetians would, through their victory at
Marignano in 1515, regain the territory they had lost; the treaties of
Noyon and
Brussels, which ended the war the next year, would essentially return the map of Italy to the status quo of 1508.
The
Battle of Austerlitz was a major engagement in the
Napoleonic Wars during the
War of the Third Coalition. It was fought on
December 2,
1805 about four
miles (6.4
km) east of the modern
Czech town of
Brno, then part of the
Austrian Empire. The conflict involved forces of the recently formed
First French Empire against the armies of the
Russian Empire and the Austrian Empire. After nearly nine hours of fighting, the French troops, commanded by
Emperor Napoleon I, managed to score a decisive victory over the Russo-Austrian army, commanded by
Czar Alexander I. Despite difficult fighting in many sectors, the battle is often regarded as a tactical masterpiece. Austerlitz effectively brought the Third Coalition to an end.
The
Polish September Campaign was the conquest of
Poland by the armies of
Nazi Germany, the
Soviet Union, and a small contingent of
Slovakian forces during the
Second World War. The campaign began on
1 September 1939 following a
German-staged attack. This
military operation, which saw the first use of
Blitzkrieg tactics, marked the start of the
Second World War in Europe as the invasion led Poland's allies, the
United Kingdom and
France, to
declare war on Germany on
September 3. On
September 17,
1939, the
Soviet Red Army invaded the
eastern regions of Poland. The Soviets were acting in co-operation with
Nazi Germany, carrying out their part of the secret appendix of the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (the division of Europe into Nazi and Soviet spheres of influence). The campaign ended on
6 October 1939, with Germany and the Soviet Union occupying the entirety of Poland.
The
use of poison gas was a major
military innovation of the
First World War. The
gases used ranged from
tear gas to disabling
chemicals such as
mustard gas and killing agents like
phosgene. The killing capacity of gas was limited — only 3% of combat deaths were due to gas — however, the proportion of non-fatal
casualties was high and gas remained one of the soldier's greatest fears. Unlike most other
weapons of the period, it was possible to develop effective
countermeasures to gas and hence in the latter stages of the war, as the use of gas increased, in many cases its effectiveness was diminished.
The
Battle of Inchon was a decisive 15-day invasion and
battle during the
Korean War. The battle began on
September 15,
1950, and ended around
September 28. During the
amphibious operation,
U.S. Marines under the command of General
Douglas MacArthur secured
Inchon and broke
North Korean control of the
Pusan region through a series of landings in enemy territory. The Battle of Inchon ended a string of victories by the invading
North Korean People's Army (NKPA) and began a
counterattack by
United Nations forces that led to the recapture of
Seoul. The northern advance ended when
China's
People's Liberation Army entered the conflict in support of North Korea, and defeated UN forces at the
Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
The
Algerian Civil War was an armed conflict between the
Algerian government and various
Islamist rebel groups which began in
1991. It is estimated to have cost over 100,000 lives. The conflict has effectively ended with a government victory, following the surrender of the Islamic Salvation Army and the defeat of the
Armed Islamic Group. The conflict began in December 1991, when the government cancelled
elections after the first round results had shown that the
Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) party would win, citing fears that the FIS would end
democracy. Islamist
guerrillas rapidly emerged and began an armed campaign against the government and its supporters. They formed themselves into several
armed groups, principally the Islamic Armed Movement (MIA), based in the mountains, and the
Armed Islamic Group (GIA), based in the towns. The guerrillas initially targeted the
army and police, but some groups soon started attacking civilians. The MIA and its allies, under attack from both sides, opted for a unilateral ceasefire with the government in 1997, while the GIA was torn apart by splits as various subdivisions objected to its new massacre policy. In 1999, following the election of a new president,
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a new law gave amnesty to most guerrillas, motivating large numbers to "repent" (as it was termed) and return to normal life. The violence declined substantially, with effective victory for the government.
The
Battle of the Bulge was the last major
German offensive on the
Western Front in
World War II. It was intended that the German army would split the
Allied line in half, capture
Antwerp, sweep north and encircle and destroy four Allied armies, thus forcing them to negotiate for peace. Although unsuccessful, it nevertheless tied down huge amounts of Allied resources, and a slow response to the resulting gap in their lines erased months from their timetable. An alternative analysis is that the offensive allowed the Allies to severely deplete the cream of German army outside the defenses of the
West Wall and in poor supply state, greatly easing the assault on Germany afterward. In numerical terms, it is the largest battle the
United States Army has ever fought.
The
First Crusade was a
crusade launched in
1095 by
Pope Urban II to regain control of the
sacred city of
Jerusalem and the
Christian Holy Land from
Muslims. What started as a minor call for aid quickly turned into a wholesale
migration and
conquest of territory outside of
Europe. Both knights and peasants from many different nations of
western Europe, with little central leadership, travelled overland and by sea towards Jerusalem and captured the city in July
1099, establishing the
Kingdom of Jerusalem and the other
Crusader states. Although these gains lasted for fewer than 200 years, the Crusade was a major turning point in the expansion of
Western power, and was the only crusade out of the many that followed to achieve its stated goal.
"England expects that every man will do his duty" was a signal sent by
Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson from his ship
HMS Victory as the
Battle of Trafalgar (
1805) was about to commence. Trafalgar was the decisive naval engagement of the
Napoleonic Wars. It gave the
United Kingdom control of the seas, removing all possibility of a French invasion and conquest of Britain. The phrase has become extremely well-known in Britain as a result of Lord Nelson's fame and the importance of the Battle of Trafalgar in
British history. The phrase is known so widely in Britain that it has entered the British popular consciousness. Today "England expects…", as an abbreviated version of the phrase, is often adapted for use in the media, especially in relation to the expectations for the victory of English sporting teams.
Isaac Brock was a
British major-general and
administrator, who served in various parts of the
Empire for nearly thirty years, serving in the
Caribbean,
Denmark, and elsewhere. During that time he challenged duelists, nearly died from fever, was injured in battle, faced both desertions and near mutinies, and also had the privilege of serving alongside
Lord Nelson. However, he is best remembered for his actions while assigned to the
Canadian colonies. Brock was assigned to Canada in
1802, eventually reaching the rank of Major-General. In this capacity, he was responsible for defending Canada from the
United States during the
War of 1812. While many in Canada and in England believed war could be averted, Brock began preparing the army, the militia, and the populace for what was to come. Thus, when war broke out, Canada was prepared, and quick victories at
Fort Mackinac and in the
Battle of Detroit crippled American invasion efforts, securing Brock's reputation as a brilliant leader and strategist. His death in the
Battle of Queenston Heights was a crushing blow to British leadership. Brock's efforts earned him accolades, a
knighthood, and the moniker "The Hero of Upper Canada".
The
Krag-Petersson rifle was the first
repeating rifle adopted by the armed forces of
Norway, and one of the first repeating arms adopted anywhere in the world. Developed by
Ole Herman Johannes Krag, the
action of the Krag-Petersson was uniquely actuated by the oversized hammer. Another distinguishing feature is that the
cartridge rising from the magazine is not seated automatically, but has to be pushed into the breech of the rifle. Testing by the Norwegian military revealed that the Krag-Peterssen was a robust, accurate and quick firing weapon, and the
Royal Norwegian Navy adopted the rifle in
1876. The rifle was also extensively tested by other nations, but not adopted. After being phased out around 1900, the remaining rifles were sold off to civilians, and often extensively rebuilt. Today it is so difficult to find one in original condition that the Krag-Petersson has been described as "the rifle everybody has heard about, but hardly anybody has ever seen". It was the first rifle designed by Ole H. J. Krag that was adopted by an armed force.
The
Battle of Hampton Roads was a
naval battle of the
American Civil War, taking place from
March 8,
1862 to
March 9,
1862, off
Sewell's Point, a narrow place near the mouth of
Hampton Roads,
Virginia. As the war started,
Union forces evacuating
Norfolk burned the ships left behind. One was raised by the
Confederates, renamed the
CSS Virginia, and plated with
iron—making it the first modern
ironclad warship. On March 8, 1862, it sailed into Hampton Roads off Sewell's Point to challenge the
blockading Union ships there, destroying several of them. The next day, it was engaged by the
USS Monitor, a newly built Union ironclad. Although the battle itself was inconclusive, it is chiefly significant in
naval history as the first battle between two powered ironclad warships, which came to be known as
ironclads. Prior to then, warships were made primarily of
wood. After the battle, ships and naval warfare changed dramatically, as nations around the world raced to convert their fleets to iron.
The
military history of the Soviet Union began in the early days following the
1917 October Revolution and the creation of the
Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, which joined with other former provinces of the
Russian Empire to become the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in
1922. In the
1940s, the Soviet Union took part in
World War II, assisting in the defeat of
Nazi Germany and
militarily occupied many former
Axis nations in
eastern Europe, which formed its
satellite states in the
Soviet bloc. Following the end of World War II, the Soviet Union became one of two
superpowers, rivaling the
United States. The
Cold War between the two nations led to Soviet military buildups, the
arms race, and the
Space Race. By the early
1980s, the Soviet armed forces were the world's largest by every measure—in number of weapons, in manpower, and in size of their
military-industrial base. In the end, the Soviet Union fell in
1991 due to economic and political factors rather than due to military defeat.
The
Medal of Honor is the highest
military decoration awarded by the
United States. It is awarded "for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty, in actual combat against an armed enemy force." Three different medals currently exist for each of the major branches of the
U.S. armed forces: one each for the
Army,
Navy, and
Air Force. Since the beginning of
World War II, only 851 have been awarded, 525 of them posthumously. The rare soldier who wears the Medal of Honor is accorded special privileges that include higher pay, preference for their children at the
U.S. military academies, and the respect and admiration of all other service-people. It is an informal rule that Medal of Honor recipients, regardless of
rank, are saluted by all other service members, including the
Commander-in-Chief. The Army Medal of Honor was first awarded during the
American Civil War and was last officially awarded to
Paul Ray Smith for action that occurred during the
Iraq War in
2003.
Richard O'Connor was a
British Army general who commanded the
Western Desert Force (WDF) in the early years of
World War II. O'Connor was the field commander for
Operation Compass, in which he and the WDF completely destroyed a much larger
Italian army. This victory nearly drove the
Axis from
Africa entirely, and led
Adolf Hitler to send the
Deutsches Afrikakorps under
Erwin Rommel, to try and reverse the situation. O'Connor was later captured and spent over two years in an Italian
prisoner of war camp for senior officers. He made a number of escape attempts with General
Sir Philip Neame and
Lieutenant General Sir
Adrian Carton De Wiart, and was eventually successful. O'Connor commanded
VIII Corps in
Normandy in
1944 and later during
Operation Market Garden. In
1945 he was general officer in command, Eastern Command in
India, and then headed the North West Army in the closing days of
British rule in the subcontinent. He held the highest level of
knighthood in four different
orders of chivalry.
The German
S-mine (
Schrapnellmine) is the best-known version of a class of mines known as
bounding mines, which when triggered launch into the air to about waist height and then explode, propelling
shrapnel horizontally at lethal speeds. The S-mine was an
anti-personnel landmine developed by
Nazi Germany in the
1930s and used extensively by German forces during
World War II. It was designed to be used in open areas and to attack unshielded
infantry. Two versions were produced, designated by the year of their first production: the SMi-35 and SMi-44. There are only minor differences between the two models (TM-E 30-451, 1945). The S-mine entered production in
1935 and served as a key part of the defensive strategy of the
Third Reich. Until production ceased with the defeat of Germany in
1945, Germany produced over 1.93 million S-mines. These mines were responsible for inflicting heavy casualties and slowing, or even repelling, drives into German-held territory throughout the war. The design was lethal, successful and much imitated, and remains one of the definitive weapons of World War II.
Trench warfare is a form of
war in which both opposing armies have static lines of
fortifications dug into the ground, facing each other. Trench warfare arose when there was a revolution in firepower without similar advances in mobility and communications. Whilst periods of trench warfare occurred during the
American Civil War and the
Russo-Japanese War of
1904-
1905, it reached a peak of brutality and bloodshed on the
Western Front in the
First World War.
Husein Gradaščević was a
Bosniak general who fought for
Bosnian autonomy in the
Ottoman Empire. Gradaščević was born in
Gradačac in 1802 and grew up surrounded by a political climate of turmoil in the western reaches of the
Ottoman Empire. After rising to the head of the Gradačac military captaincy, the young Husein developed a reputation for wise rule and tolerance and soon became one of the most popular figures in Bosnia. In
1831 Gradaščević was called upon to lead the movement for Bosnian autonomy. He overthrew the loyalist
vizier and other anti-rebellion figures, becoming the de facto ruler of the Bosnian
pashaluk in the process. By 1832 however, the tide of the rebellion had turned. Although the Bosniak uprising would not be completely quelled for another 18 years, Gradaščević was forced to flee to the
Habsburg Monarchy on
May 31. From there he negotiated for his return with the Sultan and was ultimately allowed back but barred from ever entering Bosnia again. He moved to
Belgrade and then to
Istanbul, where he died under mysterious circumstances. A legend in his own time, Gradaščević is considered a Bosniak
national hero and one of the most revered figures in the
history of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On the morning of
December 7,
1941, the
Imperial Japanese Navy launched the
Attack on Pearl Harbor. It was a surprise assault on the
United States Navy base and Army air fields at
Oahu,
Hawaii Territory. The
Japanese planes bombed all the U.S. military air bases on the island and the ships anchored at Pearl, including "Battleship Row". The next day, the
U.S. Congress declared war on Japan with only
Jeannette Rankin dissenting.
The
War of the Spanish Succession was a major
European armed conflict that arose in
1701 after the death of the last
Spanish Habsburg king,
Charles II. The war proceeded for over a decade, and was marked by the military leadership of notable generals such as the
Duc de Villars and the
Duke of Berwick for France, the
Duke of Marlborough for England, and
Prince Eugene of Savoy for the Austrians. The war was concluded by the treaties of
Utrecht (1713) and
Rastatt (1714). As a result, Philip V remained King of Spain, but was removed from the French line of succession, thereby averting a union of France and Spain. The Austrians gained most of the Spanish territories in Italy and the Netherlands. As a result, France's hegemony over continental Europe was ended, and the idea of a
balance of power became a part of the international order due to its mention in the Treaty of Utrecht.
Operation Downfall was the overall
Allied plan for the invasion of
Japan at the end of
World War II, but was ultimately never used. It was scheduled to occur in two parts — Operation Olympic, the invasion of
Kyushu, set to begin in November, 1945; and later Operation Coronet, the invasion of
Honshū near
Tokyo, scheduled for the spring of 1946. Kyushu was to be invaded at three points — Miyazaki beach, Ariake beach, and Kushikino beach. Southern Kyushu would become a staging ground for operation Coronet, and would give the Allies a valuable airbase from which to operate. Following the
atomic bombing of
Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, and the
Soviet declaration of war against Japan, the Japanese surrendered and the operation was cancelled.
The
military history of Puerto Rico dates back to the
16th century when
Spanish conquistadors battled against the native
Tainos and continues to the present-day. It was ruled by the
Spanish Empire for four centuries, during which the Puerto Ricans defended the island against invasions from the
British,
French and
Dutch. The island was seized by the
United States during the
Spanish-American War, and Spain officially ceded it under the terms of the
1898 Treaty of Paris which ended the War. Now a
United States territory, as citizens of the United States, Puerto Ricans have participated in every major conflict in which the United States has been involved from
World War I onward.
The
Corinthian War was an
ancient Greek military conflict between
Sparta and four allied states,
Thebes,
Athens,
Corinth, and
Argos, which were initially backed by
Persia. The immediate cause of the war was a local conflict in northwest Greece in which both Thebes and Sparta intervened. The deeper cause, however, was hostility towards Sparta provoked by that city's unilateral domination of Greek politics in the nine years after the end of the
Peloponnesian War. The war was fought on two fronts, on land near Corinth and Thebes and at sea in the
Aegean. On land, the Spartans achieved several early successes in major battles, but were unable to capitalize on their advantage, and the fighting soon became stalemated. At sea, the Spartan fleet was decisively defeated by a Persian fleet early in the war, an event which effectively ended Sparta's attempts to become a naval power. Taking advantage of this fact, Athens launched several naval campaigns in the later years of the war, recapturing a number of islands that had been part of the original
Athenian Empire during the 5th century BC. Alarmed by these Athenian successes, the Persians stopped backing the allies and began supporting Sparta. This defection forced the allies to seek peace. The
Peace of Antalcidas, commonly known as the King's Peace, was signed in 387 BC, ending the war.
Karl Dönitz was a
naval leader in
Nazi Germany during
World War II. Despite never joining the
Nazi Party, Dönitz attained the high rank of
Grand Admiral and served as Commander in Chief of Submarines, and later Commander in Chief of the
German War Navy. Under his command, the
U-boat fleet fought the
Battle of the Atlantic, attempting to starve the
United Kingdom of vital supply shipments. He also briefly served as
President of Germany following the death of
Adolf Hitler. Following the war, Dönitz went on trial as a war criminal in the
Nuremberg Trials, charged with conspiracy to commit crimes against peace and planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression. Dönitz produced an affidavit from
Admiral Chester Nimitz who testified that the United States had used unrestricted warfare as a tactic in the
Pacific and that American submarines did not rescue survivors in situations where their own safety was in question. Ultimately, the tribunal found Dönitz guilty of both charges. He served ten years in
Spandau Prison,
West Berlin. Later, numerous Allied officers sent letters to Dönitz expressing their dismay over the verdict of his trial.
The
Battle of Jutland was the largest
naval battle of
World War I, and the only full-scale clash of
battleships in that war. It was fought on
31 May–
1 June 1916, in the
North Sea near
Jutland. The combatants were the
Kaiserliche Marine's
High Seas Fleet, commanded by
Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer, and the
Royal Navy's
Grand Fleet, commanded by
Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. The Germans planned to lure Vice Admiral
Sir David Beatty's
battlecruiser squadrons into the path of the main German battle
fleet and so destroy them. But the British had learned from signal intercepts that a major fleet operation was in prospect, and on
30 May Jellicoe sailed with the Grand Fleet to rendezvous with Beatty. On the afternoon of
31 May, Beatty and Hipper encountered each other, and in a running battle Hipper drew the British into the path of the High Seas Fleet. Fourteen British and eleven German ships were sunk with great loss of life. Both sides claimed victory. The British had lost more ships and many more sailors, but Scheer's plan of destroying Beatty's squadrons had failed. For the remainder of the war, the German High Seas Fleet stayed in port. and never again contested control of the seas. Instead, the German Navy turned its efforts and resources to
unrestricted submarine warfare.
Blitzkrieg was an
operational-level military doctrine which employed mobile forces attacking with speed and surprise to prevent an enemy from organising a coherent
defence. Conceived in the years after
World War I, it grew out of the earlier doctrine of "Fire and Infiltration". It was used by the
German Wehrmacht in
World War II. Operations early in the war—the invasions of
Poland,
France, and the
Soviet Union—were highly effective, owing to surprise, enemy unpreparedness and superior German military doctrines. Methods of blitzkrieg operations centered on using
manoeuvre rather than
attrition to defeat an opponent. The blitzkrieg thus first and foremost required a concentration of armoured assets at a focal point, closely supported by mobile infantry, artillery and close air support assets. These tactics required the development of specialised support vehicles, new methods of communication, new
tactics, and the presence of a decentralised
command structure. Broadly speaking, blitzkrieg operations required the development of
mechanised infantry,
self-propelled artillery and engineering assets that could maintain the rate of advance of the tanks. In combat, blitzkrieg forced slower defending forces into defensive pockets that were
encircled and then destroyed by following German
infantry.
The
Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of
World War I, with more than one million casualties. The
British and
French forces attempted to break through the
German lines along a 25 mile (40 km) front north and south of the
River Somme in northern France. One purpose of the battle was to draw German forces away from the
battle of Verdun; however, by its end the losses on the Somme had exceeded those at Verdun. The battle is best remembered for its first day,
July 1,
1916, on which the British suffered 57,470 casualties, making it the bloodiest day in the history of the
British Army. As horrific as the battle of the Somme is in British memory, it also had a staggering impact on the German army; one officer famously describing it as "the muddy grave of the German field army." By the end of the battle the British had learnt many lessons in modern warfare while the Germans had suffered irreparable losses.
The
USS Missouri is a
United States Navy battleship, notable as both the last battleship to be built by the
United States, and as the site of the
Japanese surrender at the end of
World War II. Launched on
29 January 1944, the ship was the fourth and last of the
Iowa-class "fast battleship" designs, as well as the final battleship to be commissioned by the Navy. At her launching, the ship was christened by
Mary Margaret Truman, daughter of
Harry S. Truman, then a senator from
Missouri. During
World War II, the Missouri saw action at the
Battle of Iwo Jima and the
Battle of Okinawa, as well as participating in the shelling of the Japanese home islands of
Hokkaido and
Honshū. In the 1950s, Missouri saw action in the
Korean War, after which she was decommissioned into the
United States Navy reserve fleets. She was recommissioned in the 1980s, and refitted with modern armaments. Later, she participated in the
Gulf War. Missouri was decommissioned a final time on
March 31,
1992, having received a total of eight
battle stars, and is presently a
museum ship at
Pearl Harbor.
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is an iconic photograph taken on
February 23,
1945 by
Joe Rosenthal. It depicts five
United States Marines and a
U.S. Navy corpsman raising the
Flag of the United States atop
Mount Suribachi during the
Battle of Iwo Jima in
World War II. The photograph was instantly popular, being reprinted in hundreds of publications. Later, it became the only photograph to win the
Pulitzer Prize for Photography in the same year as its publication, and ultimately came to be regarded as one of the most significant and recognizable images in history, and possibly the most reproduced photograph of all time. Of the six men depicted in the picture, three (
Franklin Sousley,
Harlon Block, and
Michael Strank) did not survive the battle; the three survivors (
John Bradley,
Rene Gagnon, and
Ira Hayes) became suddenly famous. The photograph was later used by
Felix de Weldon to sculpt the
USMC War Memorial, located just outside
Washington, D.C..
The
Yom Kippur War was fought from
October 6 (the day of
Yom Kippur) to
October 26,
1973, between
Israel and a coalition of
Egypt and
Syria. The War began with a surprise joint attack by
Egypt and
Syria into the
Sinai and
Golan Heights, respectively, which had been captured by Israel six years earlier during the
Six-Day War. The Egyptians and Syrians advanced during the first 24–48 hours, after which momentum began to swing in Israel's favor. By the second week of the war, the Syrians had been pushed entirely out of the Golan Heights. In the Sinai to the south, the Israelis had struck at the "hinge" between two invading
Egyptian armies, crossed the
Suez Canal (where the old
cease-fire line had been), and cut off an entire Egyptian army just as a
United Nations cease-fire came into effect. The war had far-reaching implications for many nations. The
Arab world, which had been humiliated by the lopsided defeat of the Egyptian-Syrian-Jordanian alliance during the Six-Day War, felt psychologically vindicated by its string of victories early in the conflict. This vindication paved the way for the peace process that followed, as well as liberalizations such as Egypt's
infitah policy. The
Camp David Accords which came soon after led to normalized relations between Egypt and Israel—the first time any Arab country had recognized the Israeli state. Egypt, which had already been drifting away from the
Soviet Union, then left the Soviet
sphere of influence almost entirely.
The
Warsaw Uprising was an armed struggle during the
Second World War by the
Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) to liberate
Warsaw from
German occupation and
Nazi rule. It started on
August 1,
1944 as a part of a nationwide
uprising,
Operation Tempest. The Polish troops resisted the German-led forces until
October 2. An estimated 85% of the city was destroyed during the urban
guerrilla war and after the end of hostilities. The Uprising started at a crucial point in the war as the
Soviet army was approaching Warsaw. Although the Soviet army was within a few hundred metres of the city from
September 16 onward, the link between the uprising and the advancing army was never made. This failure and the reasons behind it have been a matter of controversy ever since.
The
Swedish allotment system was a system used in
Sweden for keeping a trained army at all times. The oldest variant of the system came into use in around 1640, and in 1682 an updated system was introduced. Both systems relied on estates and farms that provided housing, salary and some military equipment for a soldier or horseman. In exchange, all other men in households providing soldiers escaped conscription, and households providing a horseman gained a large
tax reduction. The system provided a well-trained, fast-mobilized and relatively cheap army that had large success on the battlefields of
Europe during the 17th century, but the system also took its toll on the population. The allotment system was not replaced until the early 1900s, when the
Swedish Armed Forces started using a
conscription system.
The
military history of France represents a massive panorama of conflicts and struggles extending for more than 2,000 years over areas encompassing modern
France,
Europe, and
European territorial possessions overseas. Gallo-Roman conflict predominated from 400 BCE to 50 BCE, with the Romans emerging victorious in the
conquest of Gaul by
Julius Caesar. After the decline of the
Roman Empire, a
Germanic tribe known as the
Franks took control of
Gaul by defeating competing tribes. In the eighteenth century, global competition with
Great Britain led to defeat in the
French and Indian War, where France lost its
North American holdings and
India, but consolation came in the form of the
American Revolutionary War, where
massive French aid led to America's independence. Internal political upheaval eventually led to 23 years of nearly continuous war in the
French Revolutionary Wars and the
Napoleonic Wars. France reached the zenith of its power during this period, but by 1815 it had been restored to its pre-Revolutionary borders. Following defeat in the
Franco-Prussian War, Franco-German rivalry reasserted itself again in
World War I, this time France emerging as the winner. Tensions over the
Versailles Treaty led to the
Second World War, where it was humiliated in the
Battle of France. The
Allies eventually emerged victorious over the Germans, however, and France was given an
occupation zone in Germany. Today, French military intervention is most often seen in its former colonies and with its
NATO allies in hot spots around the world.
The
Imperial Japanese Navy was the
navy of
Japan from
1869 until
1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's
renouncement of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes in its post-
World War II Constitution of Japan. The origins of the Imperial Japanese Navy trace back to early interactions with states on the
Asian continent at the beginning of the
medieval period, and reached a peak of activity during the
16th and
17th centuries at a time of
cultural exchange with
European powers during the
Age of Discovery. After two centuries of stagnation during the country's ensuing
seclusion policy under the
shoguns of the
Edo period, Japan's navy was comparatively backward when the country was forced open to trade by
American intervention in 1854. This eventually led to the
Meiji Restoration, a period of frantic
modernization and
industrialization accompanied by the re-ascendance of the
emperor. The navy's history of successes, sometimes against much more powerful foes as in the 1895
Sino-Japanese war and the 1905
Russo-Japanese War, ended with almost complete annihilation in 1945 against the
United States Navy, and official dissolution at the end of the conflict.
The
Battle of Badr was a key battle in the early days of
Islam and a turning point in
Muhammad's war against his
Quraish opponents in
Mecca. The battle has been passed down in
Islamic history as a decisive victory ascribed to either
divine intervention or the genius of Muhammad. Although it is one of the few battles mentioned by name in the Muslim holy book, the
Qur'an, virtually all contemporary knowledge of the battle at
Badr comes from traditional Islamic accounts, both
hadiths and biographies of Muhammad, written down decades after the battle. Prior to the battle, the Muslims and Meccans had fought several smaller
skirmishes in late 623 and early 624, as the Muslim
ghazawāt plundering raids grew increasingly commonplace, but this was their first large-scale battle. Muhammad was leading a raiding party against a
caravan when he was surprised by a much larger Quraishi army. Advancing to a strong
defensive position, Muhammad's well-disciplined men managed to shatter the Meccan lines, killing several important leaders including Muhammad's chief opponent,
Amr ibn Hishām. For the early Muslims, the battle was extremely significant because it was the first sign that they might eventually overcome their enemies in Mecca, one of the richest and most powerful
pagan cities in
pre-Islamic Arabia.
The Norwegian
Jarmann M1884 was a
bolt action repeating rifle fireing a 10.15 mm
black powder cartridge in an 8-round, tubular
magazine. It was among the earliest repeating rifles to be adopted in the world. Its adoption, and subsequent modifications, turned the Norwegian Army from a fighting force armed with single-shot
black powder weapons into a force armed with modern repeating weapons firing
smokeless ammunition. Several thousands were manufactured to equip both Norwegian and
Swedish forces in the 1880s. The design is unique, and is the brainchild of Norwegian engineer
Jacob Smith Jarmann. After the design had been phased out of the Norwegian Army, a number of the weapons were rebuilt as
harpoon guns.
The
Polish-Soviet War was the war that determined the borders between two nascent states in post-
World War I Europe. This armed struggle was a result of conflicting attempts — by Poland, whose statehood had just been re-established after her being
partitioned in the late 18th century, to secure territories which she had lost in partitions or earlier — and by Soviets who aimed to take control of the same territories that had since then been part of
Imperial Russia until their occupation by
Germany during
World War I. Both states claimed victory in the war: the Poles claimed a successful defense of their state, while the Soviets claimed a repulse of the Polish
Kiev offensive, which was sometimes viewed as part of foreign interventions in the
Russian Civil War.
The
Krag-Jørgensen is a
repeating bolt action rifle designed by the
Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and
Erik Jørgensen in the late
19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by
Denmark, the
United States and
Norway. The most distinctive feature of the Krag-Jørgensen action was its
magazine. While other rifles of its era used a box magazine, the magazine of the Krag-Jørgensen was integral with the
receiver, featuring an opening on the right hand side with a hinged cover. The
cartridges were inserted through the side opening, and were pushed up, around, and into the action by a spring follower. This presented both advantages and disadvantages compared with the standard top-loading "box" magazine; among other things, using a "stripper clip" to reload was impossible. At the same time, unlike a top-loading magazine, the Krag-Jørgensen's magazine could be topped up without opening the rifle's bolt. Today, the Krag-Jørgensen is a popular
collector's rifle, and is valued by shooters for its smooth action.
A
nuclear weapon is a
weapon that derives its energy from nuclear reactions and has enormous destructive power. Countries declared nuclear powers are the
United States,
Russia,
United Kingdom,
France, and the
People's Republic of China.
India and
Pakistan have also publicly tested nuclear weapons.
Israel is also widely believed to possess nuclear weapons. Such weapons have been used only twice in combat, by the
United States against the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and
Nagasaki at the conclusion of
World War II.
The
Second Battle of Smolensk was a major
World War II Red Army offensive in western Russia, staged almost simultaneously with the
Battle of the Lower Dnieper. The two-month offensive led by Generals
Andrei Yeremenko and
Vasily Sokolovsky was aimed at clearing the German presence from the
Smolensk and
Bryansk regions. Smolensk had been under German occupation since the first
Battle of Smolensk in 1941. Despite an impressive German defense setup, the Red Army was able to stage several breakthroughs, liberating several major cities, including Smolensk and
Roslavl, and moving into occupied
Belorussia. Although playing a major military role in its own right, the Smolensk Operation was also important for its effect on the Battle of Dnieper. It has been estimated that as many as 55 German
divisions were committed to counter the Smolensk Operation—divisions that were critically needed to prevent Soviet troops from crossing the
Dnieper River in the south. Additionally, the operation allowed the Red Army to repulse German forces definitively from the Smolensk landbridge, historically the most important approach for an attack on Moscow from the west.
The
Kammerlader was the first
Norwegian breech loading rifle, and among the very first breech loaders adopted for use by an armed force anywhere in the world. A single shot,
black powder rifle, the kammerlader was operated with a crank mounted on the side of the
receiver. This made it much quicker and easier to load than the weapons previously used. Kammerladers quickly gained a reputation for being fast and accurate rifles, and would have been a deadly weapon against massed ranks of infantry. The kammerladers were phased out as more modern rifles were approved for use. They were either modified for rimfire cartridges, sold off to civilians or melted for scrap. Rifles sold to civilians were often modified for use as shotguns or hunting weapons. Today it is hard to find an unmodified kammerlader, and collectors often pay high prices for them.
Witold Pilecki was a
soldier of the
Second Polish Republic, founder of the
resistance movement Secret Polish Army (
Tajna Armia Polska) and member of the Home Army (
Armia Krajowa). During
World War II he was the only person to volunteer to be imprisoned at
Auschwitz Concentration Camp. While there, he organized inmate resistance and as early as
1940 informed the
Western Allies of
Nazi Germany's camp atrocities. He escaped from Auschwitz in
1943 and took part in the
Warsaw Uprising (
August-
October 1944). Pilecki was executed in
1948 by
communist authorities.
During the period from 1911 to 1941,
Sino-German cooperation was often close, culminating in an alliance between the
Republic of China and
Germany. Close cooperation dating back to the 1920s was instrumental in modernizing the industry and the
armed forces of the Republic of China, especially in the period immediately preceding the
Second Sino-Japanese War. Succeeding the
Qing Dynasty in 1912, the
Republic of China was fraught with factional
warlordism from the inside and foreign incursions from the outside. The
Northern Expedition of 1928 nominally unified China for the first time under
Kuomintang control, yet
Imperial Japan emerged as the greatest foreign threat. The urgent need for China to
modernize its military and national defense industry, coupled with
Germany's need for a stable supply of
raw materials, put the two countries on the road of close relations from the late 1920s to the late 1930s. Although the period of intense cooperation was relatively short, lasting only from the
Nazi takeover of Germany in 1933 to the start of the
war with Japan in 1937, it had a profound effect on the modernization efforts of China, as well as her capability to resist the Japanese in the war.
The
Shrine of Remembrance, located in
St Kilda Road,
Melbourne, is one of the largest
war memorials in Australia. It was built as a memorial to the 114,000 men and women of
Victoria who served in
World War I, but soon came to be seen as Australia's major memorial to all the 60,000 Australians who died in that war. It now serves as a memorial for all Australians who served in war, and is the site of annual observances of
ANZAC Day (
25 April) and
Remembrance Day (
11 November). Around the Sanctuary walls is a
frieze of 12 carved panels depicting the armed services at work and in action during World War I. The Sanctuary is surrounded by a narrow walkway called the Ambulatory. Along the Ambulatory are 42 bronze caskets containing hand-written,
illuminated Books of Remembrance with the names of every Victorian who enlisted for active service with the
Australian Imperial Force (AIF) or
Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force in
World War I or died in camp prior to embarkation.
The
Second Crusade was the second major
crusade launched from
Europe, called in
1145 in response to the fall of the
County of Edessa the previous year. Edessa was the first of the
Crusader states to have been founded during the
First Crusade, and was the first to fall. The Second Crusade was announced by
Pope Eugenius III, and was the first of the crusades to be led by European kings, namely
Louis VII of France and
Conrad III of Germany. The armies of the two kings marched separately across Europe and were separately defeated by the
Seljuk Turks. Louis and Conrad and the remnants of their armies reached
Jerusalem and in
1148 participated in an ill-advised attack on
Damascus. The crusade in the east was a failure for the
crusaders and a great victory for the
Muslims. It would ultimately lead to the
fall of Jerusalem and the
Third Crusade at the end of the
12th century. The only success came on the opposite end of the Mediterranean, where English crusaders, on the way by ship to the
Holy Land, fortuitously stopped and helped capture
Lisbon in
1147.
Stanislaw Koniecpolski was a
Polish nobleman (
szlachcic),
magnate,
official (
starost and
castellan) and
hetman - second highest
military commander of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Koniecpolski lived a life that involved almost constant warfare and during his
military career he won many victories. Before he reached the age of 20, he had fought in the
Dimitriads and the
Moldavian Magnate Wars, where he was taken captive by the forces of
Ottoman Empire at the
Battle of Cecora in
1620. When released in
1623 he soon defeated Ottoman
vassals the
Tatars in
1624. With inferior forces he fought
Swedish forces of
Gustav Adolphus to a stalemate in
Prussia during the second phase of the
Polish-Swedish War (
1626-
1629). He defeated a major Turkish invasion at
Kamieniec Podolski in
Ukraine in
1634 and during his life led many other successful campaigns against the rebellious
Cossacks and invading Tatars. He is considered to be one of the most skilled and famous military commanders in the history of
Poland and
Lithuania.
USS Wisconsin is an
Iowa-class battleship, and is the second ship of the
United States Navy named in honor of the
U.S. state of
Wisconsin. She was built at the
Philadelphia Navy Yard, and
launched on
December 7,
1943. During her career
Wisconsin served in
World War II, where she shelled
Japanese fortifications at
Ulithi and
Leyte Gulf, and screened U.S.
aircraft carriers as they conducted air raids against enemy positions. During the
Korean War she shelled North Korean targets in support of
UN and
South Korean ground operations, after which she was decommissioned into the
United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the mothball fleet. She was reactivated and modernized in 1986 as part of the "
600-ship Navy" plan, and participated in the 1991
Gulf War.
Wisconsin was last decommissioned in September 1991 and currently functions as a museum ship at the
Nauticus National Maritime Center in
Norfolk, Virginia.
Wisconsin was struck from the
Naval Vessel Register in
2006 and is currently awaiting donation for use as a
museum ship.
Joan of Arc is a national
heroine of
France and a
saint of the
Roman Catholic Church. She had visions, believed to be from
God, which led to the liberation of her homeland from
English dominance in the
Hundred Years' War. The then-uncrowned
King Charles VII sent her to the
siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence when she overcame the disregard of veteran commanders and ended the siege in only nine days. Several more swift victories led to Charles VII's coronation at
Rheims and settled the disputed succession to the throne. The renewed French confidence outlasted Joan of Arc's own brief career. She refused to leave the field when she was wounded during an attempt to recapture
Paris that fall. Hampered by court intrigues, she led only minor companies from then on, and fell prisoner during a skirmish near
Compiègne the following spring. A politically-motivated trial convicted her of
heresy. The English regent,
John, Duke of Bedford, had her
burnt at the stake in
Rouen.
Pope Callixtus III reopened Joan's case; a new finding overturned the original conviction. Her piety to the end impressed the retrial court.
Pope Benedict XV canonized her on
16 May 1920.
Attalus I ruled
Pergamon, a
Greek city-state in present-day
Turkey, from 241 BCE to 197 BCE. He was the second cousin and the adoptive son of
Eumenes I, whom he succeeded, and was the first of the
Attalid dynasty to assume the title of king. He won an important victory over the
Galatians, newly arrived
Celtic tribes from
Thrace, who had been, for more than a generation, plundering and exacting tribute throughout most of
Asia Minor without any serious check. This victory, celebrated by the triumphal monument at Pergamon, famous for its
Dying Gaul, and the liberation from the Gallic "terror" which it represented, earned for Attalus the name of "Soter," and the title of "king." A courageous and capable general and loyal ally of
Rome, he played a significant role in the first and second
Macedonian Wars, waged against
Philip V of Macedon. He conducted numerous naval operations, harassing Macedonian interests throughout the
Aegean, winning honors, collecting spoils, and gaining for Pergamon possession of the Greek islands of
Aegina during the first war, and
Andros during the second, twice narrowly escaping capture at the hands of Philip. He died in 197 BCE, shortly before the end of the second war, at the age of 72, having suffered an apparent stroke while addressing a
Boeotian war council some months before.
Thrasybulus was an
Athenian general and
democratic leader. In 411 BC, in the wake of an
oligarchic coup at Athens, the pro-democracy sailors at
Samos elected him as a general, making him a primary leader of the successful democratic resistance to that coup. As general, he was responsible for recalling the controversial nobleman
Alcibiades from exile, and the two worked together extensively over the next several years. In 411 and 410, Thrasybulus commanded several critical Athenian naval victories, along with Alcibiades and others. After Athens' defeat in the
Peloponnesian War, Thrasybulus led the democratic resistance to the new oligarchic government, known as the
Thirty Tyrants, that the victorious
Spartans imposed on Athens. In 404 BC, he commanded a small force of exiles that invaded
Attica and, in successive battles, defeated first a Spartan garrison and then the forces of the oligarchics. In the wake of these victories, democracy was reestablished in Athens. As a leader of this revived democracy in the 4th century BC, Thrasybulus advocated a policy of resistance to Sparta and sought to restore Athens' imperial power. He was killed in 388 BC while leading an Athenian naval force in the
Corinthian War.
Epaminondas was a
Theban general and statesman who transformed Thebes, leading it out of
Spartan subjugation into a preeminent position in Greek geopolitics. In the process he broke Spartan military power with his victory at
Leuctra and liberated the
Messenian helots—
Peloponnesian Greeks who had been enslaved under Spartan rule for some 200 years. Epaminondas reshaped the political map of Greece, fragmented old alliances, created new ones, and supervised the construction of entire cities. He was militarily influential as well; he invented several major battlefield tactics.
Cicero once called him "the first man of Greece", but Epaminondas has fallen into relative obscurity in modern times. The changes he wrought on the Greek political order did not long outlive him, as the cycle of shifting hegemonies and alliances continued unabated. Just 27 years after his death, a recalcitrant Thebes was obliterated by
Alexander the Great. Thus Epaminondas—who had been praised in his time as an idealist and liberator—is today largely remembered for a decade (371 to 362 BC) of campaigning that sapped the strength of the great land powers of Greece and paved the way for the
Macedonian conquest.
Władysław Sikorski was a
Polish military and
political leader. Before
World War I, he became a founder and member of several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish
independence. He fought with distinction during the
Polish-Soviet War, in which he played a prominent role in the decisive
Battle of Warsaw. During
World War II he became Prime Minister of the
Polish Government in Exile,
Commander-in-Chief of the
Polish Armed Forces, and a staunch advocate of the Polish cause on the diplomatic scene. He supported the reestablishment of
diplomatic relations between Poland and the Soviet Union, which had been severed after the
Soviet alliance with Germany in the
1939 invasion of Poland. In April
1943, however, Soviet
dictator Joseph Stalin broke off Soviet-Polish diplomatic relations following Sikorski's request that the
International Red Cross investigate the
Katyn Massacre. In July
1943, Sikorski was killed in a
plane crash into the sea immediately on takeoff from
Gibraltar. The exact circumstances of his death remain in dispute, which has given rise to ongoing
conspiracy theories.
Penda was a
7th-century King of
Mercia, a
kingdom in what is today the
English Midlands. A
pagan at a time when
Christianity was taking hold in many of the
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda participated in the defeat of the powerful
Northumbrian king Edwin at the
Battle of Hatfield Chase in
633; nine years later, he defeated and killed Edwin's eventual successor,
Oswald, at the
Battle of Maserfield. From this point he was probably the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon rulers of the time; he defeated the
East Angles, drove the king of
Wessex into exile for three years, and continued to wage war against the
Bernicians of Northumbria. Thirteen years after Maserfield, he suffered a crushing defeat at the
Battle of the Winwaed in the course of a final campaign against the Bernicians and was killed.
