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Biscari Massacre
The Biscari massacre was a war crime committed by members of the United States Army during World War II. It refers to two incidents in which U.S. soldiers were involved in killing 71 unarmed Italian and 2 German prisoners-of-war at the Regia Aeronautica's 504 air base in Santo Pietro, a small village near Caltagirone, southern Sicily, Italy on 14 July 1943. Background As part of the Allied invasion of Sicily, the Seventh United States Army under Lieutenant General George S. Patton and the British Eighth Army under General Sir Bernard L. Montgomery invaded the southeast corner of the island on 10 July 1943. Immediately after landing, the US units headed for the airports located in the southern part of the island, and some massacres of civilians were reported; one happened in Vittoria, where 12 Italians died, including Giuseppe Mangano, podestà of Acate, and his seventeen-year-old son Valerio, who was killed by a bayonet shot in his face. As part of Lieutenant General Om ...
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Santo Pietro
Santo Pietro is a small village (''frazione'') of the Comune of Caltagirone, Sicily, Italy, with a population of c. 90 people. History The settlement was founded as ''Mussolinia di Sicilia'', one of several settlements across Italy founded by the fascist government of Benito Mussolini. In 1943 during World War II, this was one of the sites of the Biscari massacre, the massacre of 73 Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ... soldiers altogether. The current name was adopted after World War II. Frazioni of the Province of Catania Planned cities Italian fascist architecture Populated places established in 1924 {{Sicily-geo-stub ...
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Acate
Acate ( Sicilian: ''Acati'' or ''Vischiri'') is a small town and ''comune'' in the south of Sicily, Italy, part of the province of Ragusa. It is located in the Dirillo River valley, from Ragusa. Until 1938 it was called Biscari, and its history dates back until the 14th century. During World War II it was the location of the Biscari Massacre, in which American troops killed numerous unarmed German and Italian soldiers. Twin towns * Chambly, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ... References Municipalities of the Province of Ragusa {{sicily-geo-stub ...
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Regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one geographical area, by a leader who was often also the feudal lord ''in capite'' of the soldiers. Lesser barons of knightly rank could be expected to muster or hire a company or battalion from their manorial estate. By the end of the 17th century, infantry regiments in most European armies were permanent units, with approximately 800 men and commanded by a colonel. Definitions During the modern era, the word "regiment" – much like "corps" – may have two somewhat divergent meanings, which refer to two distinct roles: # a front-line military formation; or # an administrative or ceremonial unit. In many armies, the first role has been assumed by independent battalions, battlegroups, task forces, brigades and other, simi ...
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Battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are exclusively infantry, while in others battalions are unit-level organizations. The word battalion came into the English language in the 16th century from the French language ( French: ''bataillon'' meaning "battle squadron"; Italian: ''battaglione'' meaning the same thing; derived from the Vulgar Latin word ''battalia'' meaning "battle" and from the Latin word ''bauttere'' meaning "to beat" or "to strike"). The first use of the word in English was in the 1580s. Description A battalion comprises two or more primary mission companies which are often of a common type (e.g., infantry, tank, or maintenance), although there are exceptions such as combined arms battalions in the U.S. Army. In addition to the primary mission companies, a batt ...
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Company (military Unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are formed of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure. Usually several companies are grouped as a battalion or regiment, the latter of which is sometimes formed by several battalions. Occasionally, ''independent'' or ''separate'' companies are organized for special purposes, such as the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company or the 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company. These companies are not organic to a battalion or regiment, but rather report directly to a higher level organization such as a Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters (i.e., a corps-level command). Historical background The modern military company became popularized during the reorganization of the Swedish Army in 1631 under King Gustav II Adolph. For administrative purposes, the infantry was divided into companies consisting o ...
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Thompson Submachine Gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United States Army Brigadier general John T. Thompson in 1918. It was originally designed to break the stalemate of trench warfare of World War I, but was not finished until after the war ended. The Thompson saw early use by the United States Marine Corps during the Banana Wars, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Irish Republican Army, the Republic of China, and the FBI (following the Kansas City Massacre). The weapon was also sold to the general public. Because it could be obtained so easily, the Thompson became notorious during the Prohibition era as the signature weapon of various organized crime syndicates in the United States in the 1920s. It was a common sight in the media at the time, and was used by both law enforcement off ...
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Troy Middleton
Lieutenant General Troy Houston Middleton (12 October 1889 – 9 October 1976) was a distinguished educator and senior officer of the United States Army who served as a corps commander in the European Theatre during World War II and later as president of Louisiana State University (LSU). Enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1910, Middleton was first assigned to the 29th Infantry Regiment, where he worked as a clerk. Here he did not become an infantryman as he had hoped, but he was pressed into service playing football, a sport strongly endorsed by the army. Following two years of enlisted service, Middleton was transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he was given the opportunity to compete for an officer's commission. Of the 300 individuals who were vying for a commission, 56 were selected, and four of them, including Middleton, would become general officers. As a new second lieutenant, Middleton was assigned to the 7th Infantry Regiment in Galveston, Texas, which was soon ...
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1st Infantry Division (United States)
The 1st Infantry Division is a Armored brigade combat team, combined arms Division (military), division of the United States Army, and is the oldest continuously serving division in the Regular Army (United States), Regular Army. It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917 during World War I. It was officially nicknamed "The Big Red One" (abbreviated "BRO") after its shoulder patch and is also nicknamed "The Fighting First." The division has also received troop monikers of "The Big Dead One" and "The Bloody First" as puns on the respective officially sanctioned nicknames. It is currently based at Fort Riley, Kansas. World War I A few weeks after the American entry into World War I, the First Expeditionary Division, later designated the 1st Infantry Division, was constituted on 24 May 1917, in the Regular Army (United States), Regular Army, and was organized on 8 June 1917, at Fort Jay, on Governors Island in New York harbor under the command of Brigadier Gen ...
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Biscari
Acate ( Sicilian: ''Acati'' or ''Vischiri'') is a small town and ''comune'' in the south of Sicily, Italy, part of the province of Ragusa. It is located in the Dirillo River valley, from Ragusa. Until 1938 it was called Biscari, and its history dates back until the 14th century. During World War II it was the location of the Biscari Massacre, in which American troops killed numerous unarmed German and Italian soldiers. Twin towns * Chambly, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ... References Municipalities of the Province of Ragusa {{sicily-geo-stub ...
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1st Canadian Infantry Division
The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short notice, and is staffed and equipped to meet Canada’s military objectives to counter any potential threat. Formed during the First World War in August 1914, the 1st Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The division contained a cavalry squadron and a cyclist company, three infantry brigades (the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigades, each of four battalions), representing all parts of Canada, three field artillery brigades (roughly equivalent to modern regiments) armed with 18-pounders and engineers, together with elements of the Army Service Corps and the Army Medical Corps.  The total war establishment of the Division was 17,873 all ranks, with 4,943 horses. /sup> During its service in the First ...
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Comiso Airport
Comiso Airport "Pio La Torre" , also known as ''Vincenzo Magliocco Airport'', is an airport located in the town of Comiso in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. The airport serves Comiso (5 km), Ragusa (15 km/9.3 miles from it), Vittoria and Gela. It changed from military to civil use during 2005–2008. The airport was opened to commercial and general aviation 30 May 2013. History 1935–1980 The installation began as an aerodrome that was constructed in southeastern Sicily, at the foot of the Hyblaean Mountains (''"Monti iblei"'') and near the city of Comiso. The airport was designed in 1934 under the fascist regime but building works did not start until 1935 and were finished in 1939. Magliocco Aerodromo was dedicated in 1936 and named in honor of Major General Vincenzo Magliocco, the first Sicilian to become a general officer in the Italian Air Force. Magliocco had been killed in the Ethiopian war in 1936. It became one of several key aerodromes in ...
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179th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 179th Infantry Regiment ("Tomahawks") is an infantry regiment of the United States Army's National Guard. Currently, the 1st Battalion is the only active battalion in the regiment and is organized as a combined arms battalion under the brigade unit of action table of organization and equipment. The battalion is an organic element of the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Oklahoma Army National Guard. Lineage * Constituted 2 May 1890 in the Oklahoma Volunteer Militia as the 1st Infantry Regiment * Organized 21 December 1895 from new and existing militia companies as the 1st Infantry Regiment, with headquarters at Guthrie (Oklahoma Volunteer Militia concurrently redesignated as the Oklahoma National Guard) * Consolidated of Arizona and New Mexico to form the 1st Regiment Territorial Volunteer Infantry, United States Volunteers, and mustered into federal service 4–23 July 1898; mustered out of federal service 11–15 February 1899 at Albany, Georgia * Former 1st Infant ...
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