138th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 138th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the buildup of forces immediately after the start of World War II in Europe. The first formation was based on the ''shtat'' (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939 and under this organization it took part in the Winter War against Finland, arriving at the front north of Leningrad in December and performing so capably in the battles in early 1940 that it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Following this it was converted to serve for two years as a mountain rifle division in the Caucasus region. Following Operation Barbarossa and the German invasion of the Crimea elements of the division were committed to amphibious landings behind enemy lines in early 1942 but these proved abortive. Soon after the 138th was converted back to a standard rifle division. Arriving on the southern approaches to Stalingrad in late July the division fought on the approaches to the cit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Red Army Flag
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary color (made from magenta and yellow) in the CMYK color model, and is the complementary color of cyan. Reds range from the brilliant yellow-tinged scarlet and vermillion to bluish-red crimson, and vary in shade from the pale red pink to the dark red burgundy. Red pigment made from ochre was one of the first colors used in prehistoric art. The Ancient Egyptians and Mayans colored their faces red in ceremonies; Roman generals had their bodies colored red to celebrate victories. It was also an important color in China, where it was used to color early pottery and later the gates and walls of palaces. In the Renaissance, the brilliant red costumes for the nobility and wealthy were dyed with kermes and cochineal. The 19th century broug ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Hero Of The Soviet Union Medal
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero'' is often used to refer to any gender, though ''heroine'' only refers to women. The original hero type of classical epics did such things for the sake of glory and honor. Post-classical and modern heroes, on the other hand, perform great deeds or selfless acts for the common good instead of the classical goal of wealth, pride, and fame. The antonym of ''hero'' is ''villain''. Other terms associated with the concept of ''hero'' may include ''good guy'' or '' white hat''. In classical literature, the hero is the main or revered character in heroic epic poetry celebrated through ancient legends of a people, often striving for military conquest and living by a continually flawed personal honor code. The definition of a hero has changed th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gyumri
Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city was known as Alexandropol,; hy, Ալեքսանդրապոլ it became the largest city of Russian-ruled Eastern Armenia with a population above that of Yerevan. The city became renown as a cultural hub, while also carrying significance as a major center of Russian troops during Russo-Turkish wars of the 19th century. The city underwent a tumultuous period during and after World War 1. While Russian forces withdrew from the South Caucasus due to the October Revolution, the city became host to large numbers of Armenian refugees fleeing the Armenian Genocide, in particular hosting 22,000 orphaned children in around 170 orphanage buildings. It was renamed to Leninakan; russian: Ленинакан during the Soviet period and became a major ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Mountain Warfare
Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, the Golan Heights). Attacking a prepared enemy position in mountain terrain generally requires a greater ratio of attacking soldiers to defending soldiers than a war conducted on level ground. Mountains present natural hazards such as lightning, strong gusts of wind, rock falls, avalanches, snow packs, ice, extreme cold, and glaciers with their crevasses. The general uneven terrain and the slow pace of troop and material movement are all additional threats to combatants. Movement, reinforcements, and medical evacuation up and down steep slopes and areas where even pack animals cannot reach involves an enormous exertion of energy. History Second Punic War In 218 BC (DXXXVI a.u.c.) the Carthaginian army commander Hannibal marched troo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Hero Of The Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. Overview The award was established on 16 April 1934, by the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union. The first recipients of the title originally received only the Order of Lenin, the highest Soviet award, along with a certificate (грамота, ''gramota'') describing the heroic deed from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Because the Order of Lenin could be awarded for deeds not qualifying for the title of hero, and to distinguish heroes from other Order of Lenin holders, the Gold Star medal was introduced on 1 August 1939. Earlier heroes were retroactively eligible for these items. A hero could be awarded the title again for a subsequent heroic feat w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Battle Of Summa
The Battle of Summa was fought between the Soviet Union and Finland, in two phases, first in December 1939 and then in February 1940. It was part of the Winter War and was fought near the village of Summa (now Soldatskoye) along the main road leading from Leningrad to Viipuri. First battle in December The village of Summa was a gateway to the city of Viipuri. The Finns had built 41 reinforced concrete bunkers in the Summa area, and the defense line was stronger than elsewhere in the Karelian Isthmus. However, the Finns had made mistakes in planning and nearby Munasuo swamp, east of Summa, had a kilometer wide gap in the line. At least 20 tanks drove through the line in the first day of battle, but the Soviets did not have proper co-operation between branches of service; tanks, artillery and troops fought their own battles. The Finns stood still in trenches and allowed the Soviet tanks to move behind the defense line on December 19th, as they did not have proper anti-tank we ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Karelian Isthmus
The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the westernmost point of Lake Ladoga, Pekonlahti. If the Karelian Isthmus is defined as the entire territory of present-day Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast to the north of the Neva and also a tiny part of the Republic of Karelia, the area of the isthmus is about . The smaller part of the isthmus to the southeast of the old Russia-Finland border is considered historically as Northern Ingria, rather than part of the Karelian Isthmus itself. The rest of the isthmus was historically a part of Finnish Karelia. This was conquered by the Russian Empire during the Great Northern War in 1712 and included within the autonomous Grand Duchy of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
7th Army (Soviet Union)
The 7th Army (Russian: 7-я армия) was a Soviet Red Army field army during World War II, primarily against Finland. It was disbanded in 1944. It first saw action in the 1939–40 Winter War against Finland. In November 1939, just before the initial Soviet attack, it consisted of the 19th Rifle Corps ( 24th Rifle Division, 43rd, 70th, 123 RD), 50th Rifle Corps (49 RD, 90 RD, 142 RD), 10th Tank Corps, 138th Rifle Division, and an independent tank brigade. The Army was first under Commander (Second rank) Vsevolod Yakovlev, but he was removed from command of his army and returned to Leningrad. Command of the war operation Kirill Meretskov was called-off due to extensive failures and heavy casualties, and he replaced Yakovlev as the commander of the Seventh Army. Edwards 2006, p. 125 7th Army was reformed in Autumn (second half of) 1940 in the Leningrad Military District. Before the German Operation Barbarossa began it covered the Soviet frontier to the north of Lak ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches from the far eastern Czech Republic (3%) and Austria (1%) in the northwest through Slovakia (21%), Poland (10%), Ukraine (10%), Romania (50%) to Serbia (5%) in the south. "The Carpathians" European Travel Commission, in The Official Travel Portal of Europe, Retrieved 15 November 2016 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
70th Guards Rifle Division
The 70th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February, 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 138th Rifle Division in recognition of that division's actions during the battle, and served in that role until well after the end of the Great Patriotic War. The 70th Guards took part in heavy combat as part of 13th Army on the north flank of the Kursk salient in July 1943, helping to fight the German 9th Army to a standstill before going over to the counteroffensive. It earned a battle honor in the campaign to liberate the Oryol salient before advancing west toward the Dniepr, winning a second Order of the Red Banner in the process. After crossing that river it took part in the campaigns to liberate Kiev and then to hold the city during November. It was briefly assigned to 38th Army, then back to the 13th, before rejoining 38th Army for the duration of the war. It continued to see service through the northwest of Ukraine into the autumn of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
6th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 6th Army was a field army unit of the German Wehrmacht during World War II (1939–1945). It was widely remembered for being the most highly decorated German army unit until its defeat by the Red Army at the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–1943. It also acquired a reputation for the war crimes (such as the massacre of more than 30,000 Jews at Babi Yar in September 1941) that it committed under the command of Field Marshal Walther von Reichenau during Operation Barbarossa. Western campaigns Originally numbered as the 10th Army, this Army formed on 10 October 1939 with General Walther von Reichenau in command. Its primary mission was to guard the western defenses of Germany against British and French attacks during the Polish campaign. During the invasion of the Low Countries the 6th Army saw active service linking up with paratroopers and destroying fortifications at Eben Emael, Liège, and Namur during the Battle of Belgium. The 6th Army was then invol ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |