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Australian I Corps
I Corps was an Australian Army corps, one of three that were raised by the Army during World War II. It was the main Australian operational corps for much of the war. Various Australian and other Allied divisions came under its control at different times. In 1940–1942, the corps was based in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern theatres, and controlled forces in action against the Germans, Italians and later the Vichy French in North Africa, Greece and Syria–Lebanon. In 1942, following Japan's entry into the war, I Corps was transferred to the South West Pacific Area. Forces assigned to the corps undertook garrison duties in Ceylon, and briefly deployed to the ill-fated defence of Java in 1942, before returning to Australia. Between late 1942 and 1945, the corps oversaw Allied frontline units fighting against the Japanese in New Guinea and then Borneo in 1945. History Formation At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Australian government decided to raise the Sec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidon Sea Castle
Sidon's Sea Castle () was built by the crusaders in the thirteenth century as a fortress of the Holy Land. It is one of the most prominent historical sites in the port city of Sidon, Lebanon. History The city of Sidon is located on the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon. This ancient Phoenician city has been of great religious, political and commercial value; it is said to be inhabited since 4000 B.C. In AD 1228, the Crusaders built Sidon's Sea Castle as a fortress on a small island connected to the mainland by a narrow 80m long roadway. The island was formerly the site of a temple to Melqart, the Phoenician version of Heracles. The beauty of the Castle can be seen in old illustrations of it; however, after bearing several wars, it has been damaged and renovated several times. It was partially destroyed by the Mamluks when they took over the city from the Crusaders, but they subsequently rebuilt it and added the long causeway. The castle later fell into disuse, but was again restored i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vichy France
Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, defeat against Germany. It was named after its seat of government, the city of Vichy. Officially independent, but with half of its Metropolitan France, territory occupied under the harsh terms of Armistice of 22 June 1940, the 1940 armistice with Nazi Germany, it adopted Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, a policy of collaboration. Though Paris was nominally its capital, the government established itself in Vichy in the unoccupied "free zone" (). The German military administration in occupied France during World War II, occupation of France by Germany at first affected only the northern and western portions of the country. In November 1942, the Allies Operation Torch, occupied French North Africa, and in response the Germa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Other Ranks (UK)
Other ranks (ORs) in the Royal Marines (RM), the British Army, and the Royal Air Force (RAF), along with the navies, armies, and air forces of many other Commonwealth countries and Ireland, are those personnel who are not commissioned officers, but usually include non-commissioned officers (NCOs). In the Royal Navy (RN), these personnel are called " ratings" rather than "other ranks". " Non-commissioned member" (NCM) is the equivalent term in the Canadian Armed Forces, and "enlisted rank" is used in the United States and elsewhere. The term "other ranks" is often considered to exclude warrant officers (WO), and occasionally in some militaries also excludes NCOs. Formally, a regiment consists of the "officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers, and men", or the "officers, warrant officers, and other ranks". British other ranks Notes See also * Royal Navy other rank insignia * British Army other ranks rank insignia * RAF other ranks *Ranks and insignia of NATO ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Officer (armed Forces)
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent contextual qualification, the term typically refers only to a force's ''commissioned officers'', the more senior members who derive their authority from a Commission (document), commission from the head of state. Numbers The proportion of officers varies greatly. Commissioned officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel. In 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British armed forces, and the senior 13.7% of the French armed forces. In 2012, officers made up about 18% of the German armed forces, and about 17.2% of the United States armed forces. Historically armed forces have generally had much lower proportions of officers. During the First World War, fewer than ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known as Greater Melbourne, comprising an urban agglomeration of Local Government Areas of Victoria#Municipalities of Greater Melbourne, 31 local government areas. The name is also used to specifically refer to the local government area named City of Melbourne, whose area is centred on the Melbourne central business district and some immediate surrounds. The metropolis occupies much of the northern and eastern coastlines of Port Phillip Bay and spreads into the Mornington Peninsula, part of West Gippsland, as well as the hinterlands towards the Yarra Valley, the Dandenong Ranges, and the Macedon R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7th Division (Australia)
The 7th Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1940 to serve in World War II, as part of the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). The division was raised on the British establishment of nine infantry battalions per division and consisted of two new brigades and three of the original 12 battalions of the 6th Division (Australia), 6th Division forming the third brigade. The division is sometimes known by the nickname "The Silent Seventh", due to a perception that its achievements were unrecognised, in comparison to the other Australian divisions. The origin of this belief appears to be censorship of the part played by the 7th Division in the fierce fighting in the 1941 Syria-Lebanon campaign.James 2017 The 7th Division along with the 6th and 9th Division (Australia), 9th Australian Divisions were the only divisions to serve in both the Middle East and the South West Pacific Area. It was disbanded in 1946, follo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
6th Division (Australia)
The 6th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was raised briefly in 1917 during World War I, but was broken up to provide reinforcements before seeing action. It was not re-raised until the outbreak of World War II, when it was formed as a unit of the Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). Throughout 1940–41 it served in the North African Campaign, the Greek campaign, on Crete and in Syria, fighting against the Germans, Italians and Vichy French. In 1942, the division left the Middle East and returned to Australia to meet the threat of Japan's entry into the war. Part of the division garrisoned Ceylon for a short period of time, before the division was committed to the New Guinea campaign. In New Guinea, its component brigades had a major role in the successful counter-offensive along the Kokoda Track, at Buna–Gona and around Salamaua–Lae in 1942–43. Throughout late 1943–44, the division was re-organised in Australia before being committ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the military reserve force, reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the Australian Military Forces. In 1980, however, the current name—Australian Army Reserve—was officially adopted, and it now consists of a number of components based around the level of commitment and training obligation that its members are required to meet. Overview For the first half of the 20th century, due to a widespread distrust of permanent military forces in Australia, the reserve military forces were the primary focus of Australian military planning.Grey 2008, pp. 66–83. Following the end of World War II, however, this focus gradually shifted due to the changing strategic environment, and the requirement for a higher readiness force available to support ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Australian Imperial Force
The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one infantry division and related auxiliary components. After considerable expansion of this force, three divisions were sent to the Middle East and North Africa, while the 8th Division was sent to garrison British Malaya and Singapore. Under the '' Defence Act 1903'', neither the part-time Militia nor the full-time Permanent Military Force (PMF) could serve outside Australia or its territories unless they volunteered to do so. The Second AIF fought against Nazi Germany, Italy, Vichy France and Japan. After the war, Australia's wartime military structures were demobilised and the 2nd AIF was disbanded, although a small cadre of its personnel became part of the Interim Army that was established in 1947, and from which the Australian Regular A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Java
The Battle of Java (Invasion of Java, Operation J) was a battle of the Pacific theatre of World War II. It occurred on the island of Java from 28 February – 12 March 1942. It involved forces from the Empire of Japan, which invaded on 28 February 1942, and Allied personnel. Allied commanders signed a formal surrender at Japanese headquarters at Bandung on 12 March. Background The Japanese forces were composed of a western and an eastern invasion force. On 18 February, the western force sailed from Cam Ranh Bay with 56 transports carrying the 16th Army Headquarters, 2nd Infantry Division, the 38th Infantry Division, and the 230th Infantry Regiment. On 8 February, the eastern force sailed from Lingayen Gulf with 41 transports carrying elements of the 56th Regimental Combat Group. Their goal was the capture of the Kalidjati airfield, where Japanese bombers and fighters would then be based in support of the invasion. The allies naval forces under the command of Helfrich, were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, while the largest city, Colombo, is the administrative and judicial capital which is the nation's political, financial and cultural centre. Kandy is the second-largest urban area and also the capital of the last native kingdom of Sri Lanka. The most spoken language Sinhala language, Sinhala, is spoken by the majority of the population (approximately 17 million). Tamil language, Tamil is also spoken by approximately five million people, making it the second most-spoken language in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has a population of appr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South West Pacific Area (command)
South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the Dutch East Indies (excluding Sumatra), East Timor, Australia, the Territories of Papua and New Guinea, and the western part of the Solomon Islands. It primarily consisted of United States and Australian forces, although Dutch, Filipino, British, and other Allied forces also served in the SWPA. General Douglas MacArthur was appointed as the Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area, on its creation on 18 April 1942. He created five subordinate commands: Allied Land Forces, Allied Air Forces, Allied Naval Forces, United States Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA), and the United States Army Forces in the Philippines. The last command disappeared when Corregidor surrendered on 6 May 1942, while USAFIA became the United States Army Serv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
