614th Tank Destroyer Battalion
The 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion was a tank destroyer battalion of the United States Army active during the Second World War. The unit was activated in 1942 and trained through the late summer of 1944. Arriving on the Normandy coast in October, they moved to the Metz, France, area, seeing their first action in late November. In early December, they were attached to the 103rd Infantry Division, a pairing that was to last through the end of combat in Europe. The 3rd Platoon, Company C, of the 614th was the first African-American unit to receive a Distinguished Unit Citation during World War II. They received credit for the Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe campaigns. Early service The battalion was activated at Camp Carson, Colorado, on 25 July 1942, under the command of Lt. Col. Blaisdell C. Kennon. The original cadre consisted of 35 officers and 156 enlisted men, with 140 of the enlisted men coming from the 366th Infantry Regiment at Camp Devens, M ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution, U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United States Constitution (1789). See alsTitle 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001 The oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. military in order of precedence, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed 14 June 1775 to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)—before the United States was established as a country. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army.Library of CongressJournals of the Continental Congress, Volume 27/ref> The United States Army considers itself to be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Avonmouth
Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuary. Strategically the area has been and remains an important part of the region's maritime economy particularly for larger vessels for the unloading and exporting of heavier goods as well as in industry including warehousing, light industry, electrical power and sanitation. The area contains a junction of and is connected to the south by the M5 motorway and other roads, railway tracks and paths to the north, south-east and east. The council ward of Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston is as drawn a simplified name as it includes Shirehampton and the western end of Lawrence Weston. Geography Avonmouth is approximately rectangular, its length favouring the Severn shore and sits on the same bank as the city centre from which it lies west- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles L
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "free man". The Old English descendant of this word was '' Ċearl'' or ''Ċeorl'', as the name of King Cearl of Mercia, that disappeared after the Norman conquest of England. The name was notably borne by Charlemagne (Charles the Great), and was at the time Latinized as ''Karolus'' (as in ''Vita Karoli Magni''), later also as '' Carolus''. Some Germanic languages, for example Dutch and German, have retained the word in two separate senses. In the particular case of Dutch, ''Karel'' refers to the given name, whereas the noun ''kerel'' means "a bloke, fellow, man". Etymology The name's etymology is a Common Germanic noun ''*karilaz'' meaning "free man", which survives in English as churl (< Old English ''ċeorl''), which developed its depr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin. Its eighteen integral regions (five of which are overseas) span a combined area of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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103rd Infantry Division (United States)
The 103rd Infantry Division ("Cactus Division") was a unit of the United States Army that served in the U.S. Seventh Army of the 6th Army Group during World War II. It was variously assigned to the VI Corps, XV Corps, and XXI Corps. By war's end it was part of VI Corps' dash across Bavaria into the Alps, reaching Innsbruck, Austria, taking the Brenner Pass, and earning the honor of linking up with the U.S. Fifth Army coming north from Vipiteno, Italy, joining the Italian and Western European fronts on 4 May 1945.Fifth Army History • Race to the Alps, Chapter VI : Conclusio "4 May; the Reconnaissance Troop, 349th Infantry 8th Division met troops from 03rd Infantry DivisionVI Corps of Seventh Army at 1051 at Vipiteno, 9 miles south of Brenner." Interwar period The division was constituted in the Organized Reserve on 24 June 1921 and assigned to the states of Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. The headquarters was organized on 31 August 1921 at the Colorado State Capitol i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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VI Corps (United States)
The VI Corps was activated as VI Army Corps in August 1918 at Neufchâteau, France, serving in the Lorraine Campaign. Constituted in the Organized Reserves in 1921, it was allotted to the Regular Army in 1933 and activated on 1 August 1940 at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. VI Corps took part in some of the most high-profile operations in World War II. By war's end it was part of the Seventh Army of the 6th Army Group. In early May 1945 its 103d Infantry Division, which had raced south through Bavaria into Innsbruck, Austria, met up with troops of the 349th Infantry, 88th Division in Vipiteno in the Italian Alps.Fifth Army History • Race to the Alps, Chapter VI : Conclusio"On 3 May the 85th and 88th nfantryDivisions sent task forces north over ice and snow 3 feet deep to seal the Austrian frontier and to gain contact with the American Seventh Army, driving southward from Germany. The 339th Infantry 5th Divisionreached Austrian soil east of Dobbiaco at 0415, 4 May; the Reconnais ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its 16 constituent states have a total population of over 84 million in an area of . It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and Czechia to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr. Settlement in what is now Germany began in the Lower Paleolithic, with various tribes inhabiting it from the Neolithic onward, chiefly the Celts. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity. A region named Germania was documented before AD 100. In 962, the Kingdom of Germany formed the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Borg, Saarland
Borg is a German village in the municipality of Perl, Saarland. It is located 5 km north east of Perl and 11 km south west of Nennig on the River Mosel. It lies at a height of 355 m and has a population of 370. The nearby Roman Villa Borg is one of the Saarland's most important archaeological sites. History Borg is first mentioned in 1569 as being part of the Parish of Perl. However, excavations show that there were much earlier settlements. In 1743, the village was given its own church and a school was built in 1749. Over the years it belonged to St Alban's Charterhouse in Trier, to the dioceses of Metz and Trier, and to the Duchy of Luxembourg. From 1816 to 1840, Borg enjoyed the status of a mayoralty but thereafter came under the jurisdiction of Perl. Pillingerhof, 2 km to the south west, was once a Luxembourg castle but is now an agricultural establishment. Church The parish church of St John the Baptist (''St. Johannes der Täufer'') dates from 1728 but was r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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88mm Gun
The 8.8 cm Flak 18/36/37/41 is a German 88mm anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery gun, developed in the 1930s. It was widely used by Germany throughout World War II and is one of the most recognized German weapons of the conflict. Development of the original model led to a wide variety of guns. The name applies to a series of related guns, the first one officially called the ''8.8 cm Flak 18'', the improved ''8.8 cm Flak 36'', and later the ''8.8cm Flak 37''. Flak is a contraction of German ''Flugabwehrkanone'' (also referred to as ''Fliegerabwehrkanone'') meaning "aircraft-defense cannon", the original purpose of the weapon. In English, "flak" became a generic term for ground anti-aircraft fire. In informal use, the guns were universally known as the ''Acht-acht'' ("eight-eight") by Germans and the "eighty-eight" by the Allies. Air defense units were usually deployed with either a Kommandogerät ("command device") fire control computer or a portable Würzburg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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705th Tank Destroyer Battalion
The 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion was a tank destroyer battalion of the United States Army active during the Second World War. It was originally formed from artillery elements of the 5th Armored Division, and its lineage is today perpetuated by the 75th Cavalry Regiment. The battalion operated in northern France with Third Army in 1944, where it fought in Brittany at the capture of Brest, and then along the Moselle River, reaching Germany at the end of the year. During the Battle of the Bulge, it was engaged at the Siege of Bastogne along with the 101st Airborne Division, where it received the Presidential Unit Citation, and in the spring of 1945 it advanced through southern Germany with the 11th Armored Division, reaching Austria by the end of the war. Early service The battalion was formed in December 1941, around a cadre taken from the 58th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, part of the 5th Armored Division. It trained in California and Texas, equipped with M3 GMCs, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Siegfried Line
The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the western border of Nazi Germany, to the town of Weil am Rhein on the border with Switzerland – and featured more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank traps. From September 1944 to March 1945 the Siegfried Line was subjected to a large-scale Allied offensive. Name The official name for the German defensive line construction program before and during the Second World War that collectively came to be known as the "Westwall" (and "Siegfried Line", or sometimes "West Wall", in English) changed several times during the late 1930s reflecting areas of progress. * Border Watch programme (pioneering programme) for the most advanced positions (1938) * Limes Programme (1938) * Western Air Defense Zone (1938) * Aachen–Saar Programme (1939) ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est region. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany and Luxembourg,Says J.M. (2010) La Moselle, une rivière européenne. Eds. Serpenoise. the city forms a central place of the European Greater Region and the SaarLorLux euroregion. Metz has a rich 3,000-year history,Bour R. (2007) Histoire de Metz, nouvelle édition. Eds. Serpenoise. having variously been a Celtic '' oppidum'', an important Gallo-Roman city,Vigneron B. (1986) Metz antique: Divodurum Mediomatricorum. Eds. Maisonneuve. the Merovingian capital of Austrasia,Huguenin A. (2011) Histoire du royaume mérovingien d'Austrasie. Eds. des Paraiges. pp. 134,275 the birthplace of the Carolingian dynasty,Settipani C. (1989) Les ancêtres de Charlemagne. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |