filename
stringlengths 1
91
| content
stringlengths 422
182k
| links
stringlengths 2
27.4k
|
|---|---|---|
BT_Tower
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="BT Tower,1961,1964,1965,1966,1971,1980,1981,1984,1992,1993" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>BT Tower</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "BT_Tower";
var wgTitle = "BT Tower";
var wgArticleId = 180354;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-BT_Tower">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">BT Tower</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Architecture.htm">Architecture</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/983.jpg.htm" title="BT Tower from the Euston Road, looking south."><img alt="BT Tower from the Euston Road, looking south." height="433" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BT_Tower_2004.jpg" src="../../images/9/983.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/983.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> BT Tower from the <!--del_lnk--> Euston Road, looking south.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <b>BT Tower</b> in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>, previously the <b>Post Office Tower</b> and also the <b>London Telecom Tower</b>, is a tall cylindrical building at 60 Cleveland Street in <!--del_lnk--> Fitzrovia. The main structure is 175 metres (574 feet) tall, with a further section of aerial bringing the total height to <!--del_lnk--> 188 metres (620 feet).<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History_of_the_Post_Office_Tower" name="History_of_the_Post_Office_Tower"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History of the Post Office Tower</span></h2>
<p>The tower was commissioned by the <!--del_lnk--> General Post Office (GPO). Its primary purpose was to support the <!--del_lnk--> microwave <!--del_lnk--> aerials then used to carry <!--del_lnk--> telecommunications traffic from London to the rest of the country.<p>The tower was designed by the <!--del_lnk--> architects of the <!--del_lnk--> Ministry of Public Building and Works: the chief architects were Eric Bedford and G. R. Yeats. Typical for its time, the building is concrete clad in glass. The narrow cylindrical shape was chosen because of the requirements of the communications aerials: the building will shift no more than 25 cm (10 inches) in wind speeds of up to 150 km/h (95 mph). Initially the first sixteen floors were for technical equipment and power, above that was a 35 metre section for the <!--del_lnk--> microwave aerials, and above that were six floors of suites, kitchens, technical equipment and finally a gridwork aerial. To prevent heat build-up the glass cladding was of a special tint. The construction cost was £2.5 million.<p>Construction began in June <!--del_lnk--> 1961. The tower was topped out on <!--del_lnk--> July 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1964 and it was operational from <!--del_lnk--> October 8, <!--del_lnk--> 1965. The building contractors were <!--del_lnk--> Peter Lind & Company.<p>The tower was officially opened to the public on <!--del_lnk--> May 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1966 by <!--del_lnk--> Tony Benn and <!--del_lnk--> Billy Butlin. As well as the communications gear and office space there were viewing galleries, a souvenir shop, and a slowly <!--del_lnk--> rotating restaurant, the "Top of the Tower", on the 34th floor, operated by <!--del_lnk--> Butlins. It made one revolution every 22 minutes. An annual race up the stairs of the tower was established and the first race was won by UCL student Alan Green.<p>A suspected <!--del_lnk--> IRA <!--del_lnk--> bomb exploded in the roof of the men's toilets at the Top of the Tower on <!--del_lnk--> October 31, <!--del_lnk--> 1971 and it was subsequently closed to the public for security reasons. The restaurant closed in <!--del_lnk--> 1980 when Butlins' lease expired and non-BT-approved access to the building ceased. In <!--del_lnk--> 1981 it was superseded as the tallest building in Britain by the <!--del_lnk--> NatWest Tower (renamed Tower 42).<p><a id="The_London_BT_Tower_today" name="The_London_BT_Tower_today"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The London BT Tower today</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/984.jpg.htm" title="The tower seen from its base"><img alt="The tower seen from its base" height="267" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BT_Tower_-_from_base_-_London_-_020504.jpg" src="../../images/9/984.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/984.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The tower seen from its base</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/985.jpg.htm" title="The tower at night"><img alt="The tower at night" height="416" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BT_tower_300106.JPG" src="../../images/9/985.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/985.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The tower at night</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>When the GPO telecommunications services were split off in 1981 (in advance of the <!--del_lnk--> 1984 <!--del_lnk--> privatisation) the tower was renamed the <i>London Telecom Tower</i>. After the rebranding of the company in <!--del_lnk--> 1992 it became the <i>BT Tower</i>. The building is still not open to the public. The restaurant has been re-opened, and is now used by <!--del_lnk--> BT for corporate sponsorship events and promotions: since the re-discovery of spare parts for the mechanism, they even rotate it occasionally. Occasional broadcasts are made from the top of the tower, including <!--del_lnk--> BBC Radio 1 DJ <!--del_lnk--> Chris Moyles on his birthday, <!--del_lnk--> 22 February <!--del_lnk--> 2006.<p>The tower is still in use, and is the site of a major <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a> communications hub. <!--del_lnk--> Fibre optic links have replaced microwave links for most mainstream purposes, but the tower is still used for microwave links. The base of the tower contains the <!--del_lnk--> TV Network Switching Centre which carries broadcasting traffic and relays signals used by the <a href="../../wp/b/BBC.htm" title="BBC">BBC</a> and other <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a> <a href="../../wp/b/Broadcasting.htm" title="Broadcasting">broadcasters</a>.<p>A renovation in the 2000s installed coloured lighting projecting onto a new 360-degree light panel, extending out from the old light boxes, bearing the <a href="../../wp/c/Company_%2528law%2529.htm" title="Company (law)">company</a> <!--del_lnk--> logo, as part of BT's 'connected world' corporate styling. Seven colours are programmed to vary constantly at night and are intended to appear as a rotating globe. The success of this is debatable but the building's night appearance is now more distinctive. The tower has always been a useful late-night navigational beacon for nearby residents, especially the numerous <a href="../../wp/u/University.htm" title="University">university</a> <!--del_lnk--> halls within walking distance.<p>Until the mid 1990s, the building was officially a secret, and did not appear on official maps. Indeed, even by taking a photo of it you were breaking the <!--del_lnk--> Official Secrets Act. Its existence was finally "confirmed" by <!--del_lnk--> Kate Hoey, MP, on <!--del_lnk--> 19 February <!--del_lnk--> 1993: "Hon. Members have given examples of seemingly trivial information that remains officially secret. An example that has not been mentioned, but which is so trivial that it is worth mentioning, is the absence of the British Telecom tower from <!--del_lnk--> Ordnance Survey maps. I hope that I am covered by parliamentary privilege when I reveal that the British Telecom tower does exist and that its address is 60 Cleveland Street, London." <!--del_lnk--> <p>The BT Tower was given grade II <!--del_lnk--> listed building status in 2003. Some of the Antennae on the building are no longer used, however because the building is listed, they cannot be removed, as it would alter the features of the building.<p>Entry to the building is provided by two high-speed lifts which travel at 6 metres per second, reaching the top of the building in 30 seconds. Interestingly, due to the high-speed of the lifts, an Act of Parliament was passed to vary fire regulations, allowing the building to be evacuated by using the lifts - it is the only building in the country to hold this status.<p><a id="Appearances_in_fiction" name="Appearances_in_fiction"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Appearances in fiction</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>Large portions of the 1966 <i><a href="../../wp/d/Doctor_Who.htm" title="Doctor Who">Doctor Who</a></i> serial <i><!--del_lnk--> The War Machines</i> were set in the tower.<li>In the 1967 film <i><!--del_lnk--> Smashing Time</i> it appeared to spin out of control and short-circuit the whole of London's power supply.<li>The tower is featured in the most famous scene in <!--del_lnk--> The Goodies when it is toppled over by Twinkle the Giant Kitten in the episode <i><!--del_lnk--> Kitten Kong</i>.<li>The tower is destroyed through sabotage in <!--del_lnk--> Alan Moore's <a href="../../wp/g/Graphic_novel.htm" title="Graphic novel">graphic novel</a> <i><!--del_lnk--> V for Vendetta</i>. It's also featured in <!--del_lnk--> the film adaptation with the name <!--del_lnk--> Jordan Tower albeit it's not destroyed. According to the novelization, the tower is headquarters for both the BTN and the "Eye", the visual surveillance division of the government.<li>The tower is destroyed in the <!--del_lnk--> James Herbert novel <i>The Fog</i> by a <a href="../../wp/b/Boeing_747.htm" title="Boeing 747">Boeing 747</a> whose captain has been driven mad by fog.<li>The design of the <!--del_lnk--> starship <i>HMS Camden Lock</i> from the <!--del_lnk--> BBC 2 science fiction sitcom <i><!--del_lnk--> Hyperdrive</i> is based on the tower.<li>In <i><!--del_lnk--> Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</i> Harry is spotted flying over the tower in a <!--del_lnk--> Ford Anglia with his friend, Ron Weasley.<li>It appears on the cover of <i><!--del_lnk--> Saturday</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Ian McEwan.</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BT_Tower"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['London', 'England', 'United Kingdom', 'BBC', 'Television', 'Broadcasting', 'Company (law)', 'University', 'Doctor Who', 'Graphic novel', 'Boeing 747']
|
B_vitamins
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="B vitamins,Adenine,Adenosine monophosphate,Aloe,Amnesia,Amygdalin,Anemia,Angular cheilitis,Ariboflavinosis,Arrhythmia,Banana" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>B vitamins</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "B_vitamins";
var wgTitle = "B vitamins";
var wgArticleId = 457926;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-B_vitamins">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">B vitamins</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Health_and_medicine.htm">Health and medicine</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<p><b>Vitamin B</b> is a complex of eight water soluble <a href="../../wp/v/Vitamin.htm" title="Vitamin">vitamins</a>, active in cell <!--del_lnk--> metabolism. The name arises because it was once considered a single vitamin, much like <a href="../../wp/v/Vitamin_C.htm" title="Vitamin C">Vitamin C</a> or <a href="../../wp/v/Vitamin_D.htm" title="Vitamin D">Vitamin D</a>. Since later research has shown it is in fact a complex of <!--del_lnk--> chemically distinct vitamins that happen to often coexist in the same foods, the name has gradually declined in use, being replaced by the generic term <b>"the B vitamins"</b>, <b>the vitamin B complex</b>, or by the specific names of each vitamin.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="List_of_B_vitamins" name="List_of_B_vitamins"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">List of B vitamins</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>1</sub></b>, (<a href="../../wp/t/Thiamine.htm" title="Thiamine">Thiamine</a>)<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>2</sub></b>, (<!--del_lnk--> Riboflavin)<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>3</sub></b>, also Vitamin P or Vitamin PP (<!--del_lnk--> Niacin)<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>5</sub></b>, (<!--del_lnk--> Pantothenic acid)<li><b><!--del_lnk--> Vitamin B<sub>6</sub>, (<!--del_lnk--> Pyridoxine and <!--del_lnk--> Pyridoxamine)</b><li><b>Vitamin B<sub>7</sub></b>, also Vitamin H (<!--del_lnk--> Biotin)<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>9</sub></b>, also Vitamin M and Vitamin B-c (<a href="../../wp/f/Folic_acid.htm" title="Folic acid">Folic acid</a>) - important for pregnancies<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>12</sub></b>, (<a href="../../wp/c/Cyanocobalamin.htm" title="Cyanocobalamin">Cyanocobalamin</a>)</ul>
<p><a id="B_vitamins_deficiency" name="B_vitamins_deficiency"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">B vitamins deficiency</span></h2>
<p>Several named vitamin deficiency diseases may result from the lack of sufficient B-vitamins.<ul>
<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>1</sub></b> (Thiamine) deficiency causes <a href="../../wp/b/Beriberi.htm" title="Beriberi">Beriberi</a>. Symptoms of this disease of the <!--del_lnk--> nervous system include weight loss, emotional disturbances, <!--del_lnk--> Wernicke's encephalopathy (impaired sensory perception), weakness and pain in the limbs, periods of <!--del_lnk--> irregular heartbeat, and <a href="../../wp/e/Edema.htm" title="Edema">edema</a> (swelling of bodily tissues). <!--del_lnk--> Heart failure and <!--del_lnk--> death may occur in advanced cases. Chronic thiamine deficiency can also cause <!--del_lnk--> Korsakoff's syndrome, an irreversible psychosis characterized by <!--del_lnk--> amnesia and <!--del_lnk--> confabulation.<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>2</sub></b> (Riboflavin) deficiency causes <!--del_lnk--> Ariboflavinosis. Symptoms may include cheilosis (cracks in the lips), high sensitivity to sunlight, <!--del_lnk--> angular cheilitis, <!--del_lnk--> glossitis (inflammation of the tongue), <!--del_lnk--> seborrheic dermatitis or pseudo-<!--del_lnk--> syphilis (particularly affecting the <!--del_lnk--> scrotum or <!--del_lnk--> labia majora and the <!--del_lnk--> mouth), <!--del_lnk--> pharyngitis, <!--del_lnk--> hyperemia, and edema of the <!--del_lnk--> pharyngeal and <!--del_lnk--> oral <!--del_lnk--> mucosa.<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>3</sub></b> (Niacin) deficiency, along with a deficiency of <!--del_lnk--> tryptophan causes <a href="../../wp/p/Pellagra.htm" title="Pellagra">Pellagra</a>. Symptoms include aggression, <!--del_lnk--> dermatitis, <!--del_lnk--> insomnia, <!--del_lnk--> weakness, mental confusion, and <!--del_lnk--> diarrhea. In advanced cases, pellagra may lead to <!--del_lnk--> dementia and death.</ul>
<p>Deficiencies of other B vitamins result in symptoms that are not part of a named deficiency disease.<ul>
<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>5</sub></b> (Pantothenic acid) deficiency can result in acne and <!--del_lnk--> Paresthesia, although it is uncommon.<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>6</sub></b> (Pyridoxine) deficiency may lead to <a href="../../wp/a/Anemia.htm" title="Anemia">anaemia</a>, <!--del_lnk--> depression, dermatitis, high blood pressure (<!--del_lnk--> hypertension) and elevated levels of <!--del_lnk--> homocysteine.<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>7</sub></b> deficiency does not typically cause symptoms in adults but may lead to impaired growth and neurological disorders in infants.<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>9</sub></b> (Folic acid) deficiency results in elevated levels of <!--del_lnk--> homocysteine. Deficiency in pregnant women can lead to birth defects.<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>12</sub></b> (Cyanocobalamin) deficiency causes <a href="../../wp/p/Pernicious_anemia.htm" title="Pernicious anemia">pernicious anaemia</a>, memory loss and other cognitive decline. It is most likely to occur among elderly people as absorption through the gut declines with age. In extreme (fortunately rare) cases paralysis can result.</ul>
<p><a id="Related_nutrients" name="Related_nutrients"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Related nutrients</span></h2>
<p>Other substances which are very similar in structure and function to the B vitamins have been discovered. Many of them are "essential" vitamins to various plants and animals which cannot synthesize their own. (The adjective "essential" in the context of medicine and nutrition refers to a nutrient being required because it cannot be made by the body. Non-"essential" nutrients are still important.) None of these are "essential" vitamins to humans, because humans can synthesize their own, though some only technically so (choline, for instance, can be metabolized in humans by cannibalizing cells to make use of the choline they contain, killing the cells in the process).<p>Many of the following substances have been referred to as vitamins because they were believed to be vitamins at one time. Most of them are vitamins with respect to certain plants and animals as well. While they are non-"essential" in that they may be synthesized by the body from other starting materials, they are still important. See also <!--del_lnk--> Orthomolecular medicine.<ul>
<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>4</sub></b> (<!--del_lnk--> Adenine) –<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>7</sub></b> "Vitamin I" of Centanni E. (1935) — more commonly called Vitamin B7 and also called 'Enteral factor' is a water and alcohol (ethanol & methanol) soluble Rice bran factor which prevents digestive disterbance in Pigions. It governes the anatomical and functional integrity of the intestineal tract. Later (1945) found in Yeast; Inositol, Nicotinic acid, & Biotin are possibles. Note: Carnitine has also been claimed but is not possible as it is insoluble in alcohol. Carnitine as Vitamin B7 was wrongly coped from Vitamin BT.<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>8</sub></b> (<!--del_lnk--> Ergadenylic acid) – also known as <!--del_lnk--> adenosine monophosphate<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>10</sub></b> (<!--del_lnk--> para-aminobenzoic acid, or PABA)– <!--del_lnk--> <li><b>Vitamin B<sub>11</sub></b> (<!--del_lnk--> Pteryl-hepta-glutamic acid) – Chick growth factor, which is a form of Folic acid. Later found to be one of five folates necessary for humans); (<!--del_lnk--> L-carnitine) in France.<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>13</sub></b> (<!--del_lnk--> Pyrimidinecarboxylic acid) – Also known as <i>Orotic acid</i>, often misspelled <i>erotic acid</i>.<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>14</sub></b> – cell proliferant, anti-anaemia, rat growth, an antitumor pterin phosphate named by Earl R. Norris (biochemist of folic acid fame) isolated from human urine at 0.33ppm (later in blood), but later abandoned by him as further evidence did not comfirm this. He also clamed this was not Xanthopterin as the French do.<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>15</sub></b> (<!--del_lnk--> Pangamic acid) – <!--del_lnk--> <li><b>Vitamin B<sub>16</sub></b> (<!--del_lnk--> dimethylgycine) – also known as DMG. (However Lipoic acid was discovered and named a B-Vitamin after B15 and before B17)<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>17</sub></b> (<!--del_lnk--> Amygdalin) – proponents claim this is effective in cancer treatment and prevention and is commonly found in apricot kernels<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>18</sub></b> –<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>19</sub></b> –<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>20</sub></b> (<!--del_lnk--> Carnitine) –<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>21</sub></b> –<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>22</sub></b> – often claimed as an ingredient of <!--del_lnk--> Aloe vera extracts but also in many other foods. Claimed by one source to be Vitamin B12b-delta. first mentioned on internet in reference to Naturopath Linda Clark's book "Know your Nutrition"<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>h</sub></b> – another name for(<!--del_lnk--> biotin) <!--del_lnk--> <li><b>Vitamin B<sub>m</sub></b> <i>("mouse factor") – also used to designate Inositol</i><li><b>Vitamin B<sub>p</sub></b> (<!--del_lnk--> Choline) –<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>t</sub></b> (<!--del_lnk--> L-carnitine) –<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>v</sub></b> – a type of B6 but not Pyrodoxine<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>w</sub></b> – a type of Biotin but not d-Biotin<li><b>Vitamin B<sub>x</sub></b> – another name for PABA (<!--del_lnk--> <i>para</i>-Aminobenzoic acid)<li><b>Lipoic acid</b> –</ul>
<p>Note: <b>B<sub>16</sub></b>, <b>B<sub>17</sub></b>, <b>B<sub>18</sub></b>, <b>B<sub>19</sub></b>, <b>B<sub>20</sub></b>, <b>B<sub>21</sub></b> & <b>B<sub>22</sub></b> do not appear to be animal factors but are claimed by naturopaths as human therapedic factors.<p><a id="Health_benefits" name="Health_benefits"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Health benefits</span></h2>
<p>The B vitamins often work together to deliver a number of health benefits to the body. B vitamins have been shown to:<ul>
<li>Bolster <!--del_lnk--> metabolism<li>Maintain healthy skin and muscle tone<li>Enhance <!--del_lnk--> immune and <!--del_lnk--> nervous system function<li>Promote <!--del_lnk--> cell growth and <!--del_lnk--> division — including that of the <!--del_lnk--> red blood cells that help prevent <a href="../../wp/a/Anemia.htm" title="Anemia">anaemia</a>.</ul>
<p>Together, they also help combat the symptoms and causes of <!--del_lnk--> stress, <!--del_lnk--> depression, and <!--del_lnk--> cardiovascular disease.<p>All B vitamins are water soluble, and are dispersed throughout the body. They must be replenished daily with any excess excreted in the <!--del_lnk--> urine.<p><a id="Vitamin_B_sources" name="Vitamin_B_sources"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_vitamins"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Vitamin', 'Vitamin C', 'Vitamin D', 'Thiamine', 'Folic acid', 'Cyanocobalamin', 'Beriberi', 'Edema', 'Pellagra', 'Anemia', 'Pernicious anemia', 'Anemia']
|
Babe_Ruth
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Babe Ruth,1894,1895,1914,1914 in baseball,1914 in sports,1916 in sports,1917 in sports,1918,1918 World Series,1919" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Babe Ruth</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Babe_Ruth";
var wgTitle = "Babe Ruth";
var wgArticleId = 4173;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Babe_Ruth">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Babe Ruth</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Sports_and_games_people.htm">Sports and games people</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 25em; font-size: 95%;">
<caption style="font-size: larger;"><b>Babe Ruth</b></caption>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2">
<p><a class="image" href="../../images/167/16783.jpg.htm" title="Babe Ruth"><img alt="Babe Ruth" height="219" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Babe_Ruth.jpg" src="../../images/167/16783.jpg" width="200" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th bgcolor="#48D1CC" colspan="2"><b>Personal Info</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td><b>Birth</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> February 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1895, <a href="../../wp/b/Baltimore%252C_Maryland.htm" title="Baltimore, Maryland">Baltimore</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Maryland</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td><b>Death:</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1948, <!--del_lnk--> New York, <!--del_lnk--> New York</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th bgcolor="#48D1CC" colspan="2"><b>Professional Career</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td><b>Debut</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> July 11, <!--del_lnk--> 1914, <!--del_lnk--> Boston Red Sox vs. <!--del_lnk--> Cleveland Indians, <!--del_lnk--> Fenway Park</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td><b>Team(s)</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Boston Red Sox (<!--del_lnk--> 1914-<!--del_lnk--> 1919)<br /><!--del_lnk--> New York Yankees (<!--del_lnk--> 1920-<!--del_lnk--> 1934)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Boston Braves (<!--del_lnk--> 1935)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> HOF induction:</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1936</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th bgcolor="#48D1CC" colspan="2"><b>Career Highlights</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<dl>
<dt>All-Time records</dl>
<ul>
<li>Career <!--del_lnk--> SLUG: 0.690<li>Career <!--del_lnk--> OPS: 1.164</ul>
<dl>
<dt>Notable achievements</dl>
<ul>
<li>2nd in career <!--del_lnk--> OBS (.469)<li>3rd on All-Time Home Run list (714)<li>Only player to hit 3 home runs twice in a World Series game (1926 & 1928)<li>Won the 1923 MVP Award<li>Appeared in 1933 & 1934 All-Star Game<li>First player ever to hit 60 home runs in a season</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><i><b>George Herman Ruth, Jr.</b></i> (<!--del_lnk--> February 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1895 -- <!--del_lnk--> August 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1948), also known as "<b>Babe</b>", "<b>The Bambino</b>", "<b>The Sultan of Swat</b>", and "<b>The Colossus of Clout</b>", was an <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> <a href="../../wp/b/Baseball.htm" title="Baseball">baseball</a> player. Ruth, a notable <a href="../../wp/s/Sport.htm" title="Sport">sports</a> figure during the <!--del_lnk--> Roaring Twenties, was one of the first five players elected to the <!--del_lnk--> Baseball Hall of Fame.<p>Ruth accomplished many things during his career. He set the record for home runs in a single season when he hit sixty in <!--del_lnk--> 1927. The record stood for 34 years. Ruth was a member of the original <!--del_lnk--> American League <!--del_lnk--> All-Star team in <!--del_lnk--> 1933. He also made the team in <!--del_lnk--> 1934. In 1969, he was named baseball's Greatest Player Ever in a ballot commemorating the 100th anniversary of professional baseball. In 1998, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Sporting News</i> ranked Ruth No. 1 in its list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players." In 1999, Ruth was elected to the <!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball All-Century Team by fans.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Early_life" name="Early_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early life</span></h2>
<p>Young George attended St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, a school run by <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholic</a> brothers. While Ruth was there, a man by the name of Brother Matthias became a figure in his life. Brother Matthias taught Ruth the game of baseball. He worked with Ruth on hitting, fielding and, later, pitching.<p>In early <!--del_lnk--> 1914, a teacher at St. Mary's brought George to the attention of <!--del_lnk--> Jack Dunn, owner and manager of the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Orioles. After watching Ruth pitch, Dunn signed Ruth to a contract and became Ruth's <!--del_lnk--> legal guardian When the other players on the Orioles caught sight of Ruth, they nicknamed him "Jack's newest babe." The reference stayed with Ruth the rest of his life as he was most commonly referred to as Babe Ruth from then on.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> July 7, 1914, Dunn offered Ruth, along with <!--del_lnk--> Ernie Shore and Ben Egan, to <!--del_lnk--> Connie Mack of the <!--del_lnk--> Philadelphia Athletics. Dunn asked $10,000 for the trio, but Mack refused the offer. The <!--del_lnk--> Cincinnati Reds, who had an agreement with the Orioles, also passed on Ruth. Instead, the team elected to take George Twombley and Claud Derrick.<p>Two days later, on <!--del_lnk--> July 9, 1914, Dunn sold the aforementioned trio to Joe Lannin and the <!--del_lnk--> Boston Red Sox. The amount of money exchanged in the transaction is disputed.<p><a id="Major_League_Career" name="Major_League_Career"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Major League Career</span></h2>
<p><a id="The_Red_Sox_years" name="The_Red_Sox_years"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Red Sox years</span></h3>
<p>When Ruth arrived in 1914, the Red Sox had many star players. As such, he was optioned to the minor league <!--del_lnk--> Providence Grays of <!--del_lnk--> Providence, Rhode Island for part of the season. Behind Ruth and <!--del_lnk--> Carl Mays, the Grays won the <!--del_lnk--> International League pennant. Ruth appeared in five games for the Red Sox that year, pitching in four of them. He finished the season 2-1 for the major league club. Shortly after the season, Ruth proposed to Helen Woodford, a waitress he met in <a href="../../wp/b/Boston%252C_Massachusetts.htm" title="Boston, Massachusetts">Boston</a>, and they were married in <a href="../../wp/b/Baltimore%252C_Maryland.htm" title="Baltimore, Maryland">Baltimore</a> on <!--del_lnk--> October 14, <!--del_lnk--> 1914.<p>During spring training in 1915, Ruth secured a spot in the starting rotation. He joined a pitching staff that included Rube Foster, <!--del_lnk--> Dutch Leonard, and <!--del_lnk--> Smokey Joe Wood. Ruth won 18 games, lost eight, and helped himself by hitting .315. He also hit his first four home runs. The Red sox won 101 games that year on their way to a victory in the <!--del_lnk--> World Series. Ruth did not appear much in the series. He did not pitch in the series and he recorded only one at-bat.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1916, after a slightly shaky spring, he went 23 - 12, with a 1.75 ERA and 9 shutouts. Despite a weak offense and hurt by the sale of <!--del_lnk--> Tris Speaker to the <!--del_lnk--> Indians, the Red Sox still made it to the World Series. They defeated the <!--del_lnk--> Brooklyn Robins four games to one. This time Ruth made major contributions in the series. In game 2 of the series, the Red Sox won the game and Ruth pitched a 14-inning complete game.<p>George went 24-13 in <!--del_lnk--> 1917 and hit .325. The Sox finished nine games behind the <!--del_lnk--> Chicago White Sox, good enough for second place in the AL.<p>In the <!--del_lnk--> 1918 World Series, Ruth appeared as a pitcher and went 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA. Ruth extended his World Series consecutive scoreless inning streak to 29⅔ innings. Since <!--del_lnk--> Hippo Vaughn and Lefty Tyler, two left-handers, pitched nearly all the innings for the Cubs, Ruth, who batted left-handed registered only five at-bats.<p>During the <!--del_lnk--> 1919 season, Ruth pitched in only 17 of the 130 games in which he appeared. He also set his first single-season home run record that year. It was his last season with the Red Sox.<p><a id="The_sale" name="The_sale"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">The sale</span></h4>
<p>In the early part of <!--del_lnk--> 1920, Red Sox owner <!--del_lnk--> Harry Frazee agreed to sell Babe to the <!--del_lnk--> New York Yankees. Frazee and <!--del_lnk--> Jacob Ruppert, Yankee owner, agreed to exchange Ruth for $125,000 and a loan of more than $300,000. The deal was completed on <!--del_lnk--> January 3, 1920.<p><a id="The_Yankee_Years" name="The_Yankee_Years"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Yankee Years</span></h3>
<p><a id="The_Early_20.E2.80.99s" name="The_Early_20.E2.80.99s"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">The Early 20’s</span></h4>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16786.jpg.htm" title="Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the Yankees."><img alt="Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the Yankees." height="245" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ruth1920.jpg" src="../../images/167/16786.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16786.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the Yankees.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Ruth hit 54 home runs and batted .376 in his first year with the Yankees. His .847 <!--del_lnk--> slugging average was a major league record until <!--del_lnk--> 2001.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1921, the Yankees met the <!--del_lnk--> New York Giants in the <!--del_lnk--> World Series. Ruth badly scraped his elbow during Game 2 sliding into third base. After the game, he was told by the team <!--del_lnk--> physician not to play the rest of the series. Without him, the Yankees lost the series. Ruth hit .316, drove in five runs and hit his first World Series home run.<p>Ruth's appearance in the <!--del_lnk--> 1921 World Series created a problem. After the series, Ruth played in a <!--del_lnk--> barnstorming tour. At the time, there was a rule that prohibited World Series participants from playing in exhibition games during the off-season. <!--del_lnk--> Baseball Commissioner <!--del_lnk--> Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended Ruth for the first six weeks of the <!--del_lnk--> 1922 season.<p>Despite his suspension, George was named the Yankees on-field captain. Ruth started his <!--del_lnk--> 1922 season on <!--del_lnk--> May 20. Five days later, he was ejected from a game and Ruth subsequently lost the title.<p>In his shortened season, Ruth appeared in 110 games, hit 35 home runs and drove in 99 runs. Even without Ruth for much of the season, the Yankees still made it to the <!--del_lnk--> World Series. Unfortunately, Ruth got just two hits in seventeen at-bats and the Yankees lost to the Giants for the second straight year.<p>Ruth finished the 1923 season with a career-high .393 batting average and major leagues leading 41 home runs.<p>For the third straight year the Yankees faced the Giants in the <!--del_lnk--> World Series. The Bambino batted .368, walked eight times, scored eight runs, hit three home runs and slugged 1.000 during the series. The Yankees won the series 4 games to two.<p>During spring training in <!--del_lnk--> 1925, Ruth fell ill. In order to recover, Ruth returned to <!--del_lnk--> New York. Coming off the injury, Ruth finished the season with a .290 average and 25 home runs in 98 games. The team finished next to last in the A.L. with a 69-85 mark.<p><a id="The_Mid-Late_20.E2.80.99s" name="The_Mid-Late_20.E2.80.99s"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">The Mid-Late 20’s</span></h4>
<p>Babe performed at a much higher level during <!--del_lnk--> 1926 season. That year, Ruth hit .372 with 47 home runs and 146 <!--del_lnk--> RBI.<p>The Yankees won the AL title and advanced to the <!--del_lnk--> World Series. Unfortunately for Ruth, the <!--del_lnk--> St. Louis Cardinals beat the Yankees in seven games. However, Ruth had his moments. In game 4, he hit three home runs.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> 1927 Yankees went 110-44, won the A.L. pennant by 19 games, and swept the <!--del_lnk--> Pittsburgh Pirates in the <!--del_lnk--> Series. That year Ruth , hit a career high 60 home runs, batted .356, drove in 164 runs and slugged .772.<p>The following <!--del_lnk--> season started off very well for the Yankees. The team even built a 13-game lead in July. But the Yankees were soon plagued by some key injuries, erratic pitching and inconsistent play. The <!--del_lnk--> Philadelphia Athletics club quickly ate into the Yankees lead. In early September, the A's took over first place with a 1-game lead. But in a pivotal series later that month, the Yankees took 3 out of 4 games and held on to win the pennant.<p>Ruth's play in 1928 mirrored his team's play. He got off to a hot start, and on <!--del_lnk--> August 1, had 42 home runs. This put him on pace to hit more than the 60 home runs he hit the previous season. But Ruth's power waned, and he hit just 12 home runs in the last two months of the regular season. Still, he ended the season with an impressive 54, the fourth (and last) time he passed 50 home runs in a season plateau.<p>The Yankees had a <!--del_lnk--> World Series rematch with the <!--del_lnk--> St. Louis Cardinals, who had upset them in the 1926 series. The Cardinals had the same core players as the 1926 team, except for <!--del_lnk--> Rogers Hornsby, who was traded for <!--del_lnk--> Frankie Frisch after the 1926 season.<p>The series was no contest. The Yankees swept the Cardinals 4-0. Ruth batted .625 and hit three home runs in game four of the series.<p><a id="Decline_and_end_with_Yankees" name="Decline_and_end_with_Yankees"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Decline and end with Yankees</span></h4>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1929, the Yankees failed to make the <!--del_lnk--> World Series for the first time in three years. The Yankees failed to make the playoffs in each of the next three years. Although the Yankees slipped, Ruth led or tied for the league lead in home runs each year from 1929-1931.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1932, the Yankees went 107-47 and won the pennant under manager <!--del_lnk--> Joe McCarthy. Ruth did his part as he hit .341, with 41 home runs and 137 RBIs. Ruth did miss 21 games on the schedule that year; this included the last few weeks of the season.<p>The Yankees faced the <!--del_lnk--> Chicago Cubs in the <!--del_lnk--> 1932 World Series. The Yankees dispatched the Cubs in 4 games and batted .313 as a team. During game 3 of the series, Ruth hit what has now become known as <!--del_lnk--> Babe Ruth's Called Shot. During the at-bat, Ruth supposedly gestured to the bleachers in an attempt to predict the home run.<p>Ruth remained productive in 1933. He batted .301, hit 34 home runs, drove in 103 runs, and led the league in walks. As a result, Ruth was elected to play in the very first <!--del_lnk--> All-star game. He hit the very first home run in the game’s history on <!--del_lnk--> July 6, 1933, at <!--del_lnk--> Comiskey Park in <a href="../../wp/c/Chicago.htm" title="Chicago">Chicago, Illinois</a>. The two-run home helped the AL score a 4-2 victory.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1934, the Bambino recorded a .288 average, 22 home runs, and made the All-Star team for the second consecutive year. During the game, Ruth was the first of five consecutive strikeout victims for <!--del_lnk--> Carl Hubbell. In what turned out to be his last game at Yankee Stadium, only 2,000 fans attended.<p>After the 1934 season, Ruth went on a baseball barnstorming tour in the Far East. Players such as <!--del_lnk--> Jimmie Foxx, <!--del_lnk--> Lefty Gomez, <!--del_lnk--> Earl Averill, <!--del_lnk--> Charlie Gehringer, and <!--del_lnk--> Lou Gehrig were among 14 players who played a series of 22 games.<p><a name="1935_with_the_Braves"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">1935 with the Braves</span></h3>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1935, <!--del_lnk--> Boston Braves owner <!--del_lnk--> Emil Fuchs signed Ruth to a Free Agent contract. On opening day, before a capacity crowd of over 25,000, Ruth played in his first game with the Braves. They defeated the <!--del_lnk--> New York Giants in Boston by a score of 4-2.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> May 25, 1935, at <!--del_lnk--> Forbes Field in <!--del_lnk--> Pittsburgh, Ruth went 4-4, drove in 6 runs and hit 3 home runs in an 11-7 loss to the Pirates. These were the last three home runs of his career. Five days later, in <!--del_lnk--> Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ruth played in his last major league game. That season, he hit just .188 with six home runs in 72 at-bats. The Braves had similar results. They finished 38-115, and it was the <!--del_lnk--> third worst record in major league history.<p><a id="Personal_life" name="Personal_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Personal life</span></h2>
<p><a id="Marriages" name="Marriages"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Marriages</span></h3>
<p>Ruth married Helen Woodford, his first wife, in <!--del_lnk--> 1914. Together, they adopted a daughter. They were reportedly separated as early as <!--del_lnk--> 1920 and as late as <!--del_lnk--> 1926. After they separated, Helen perished in a house fire. Ruth and a number of Yankees attended her funeral.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> April 17, <!--del_lnk--> 1929, the Babe married actress <!--del_lnk--> Claire Hodgson. They stayed married until the Babe's death in <!--del_lnk--> 1948.<p><a id="Retirement_and_post-playing_days" name="Retirement_and_post-playing_days"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Retirement and post-playing days</span></h3>
<p>In 1936, Ruth was one of the first five players elected into the <!--del_lnk--> Baseball Hall of Fame. Two years later, <!--del_lnk--> Larry MacPhail, the <!--del_lnk--> Brooklyn Dodgers general manager, offered him a first base coaching job in June. Ruth took the job, but quit at the end of the season. The coaching position was his last job in Major League Baseball. In 1942, Ruth decided to get into acting. He played himself in the film <i><!--del_lnk--> The Pride of the Yankees</i>. The film was biopic of Lou Gehrig. His baseball career finally came to an end in <!--del_lnk--> 1943. In a charity game at Yankee Stadium, he pinch hit and drew a walk.<p><a id="Illness" name="Illness"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Illness</span></h3>
<p>In 1946, he began experiencing severe pain over his left eye. In November 1946, a visit to French Hospital in <!--del_lnk--> New York revealed Ruth had a <a href="../../wp/c/Cancer.htm" title="Cancer">malignant tumor</a> in his neck that had encircled his left <!--del_lnk--> carotid artery. He was released from the hospital in February 1947.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> April 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1947, the Yankees held a ceremony at Yankee Stadium. Despite his health problems, Ruth was able to attend "Babe Ruth Day". Ruth spoke to a capacity crowd of more than 60,000. Later, Ruth started the Babe Ruth Foundation, a charity for disadvantaged children. Another Babe Ruth Day held at Yankee Stadium in September of that year helped to raise money for this charity.<p>After the cancer returned, Ruth attended the 25th anniversary celebration of the opening of Yankee Stadium on <!--del_lnk--> June 13, <!--del_lnk--> 1948. He was reunited with old teammates from the 1923 Yankee team and posed for photographs.<p><a id="Death" name="Death"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Death</span></h3>
<p>Shortly after he attended the Yankee Stadium anniversary event, Ruth was back in the hospital. He received hundreds of well-wishing letters and messages. This included a phone call from President <!--del_lnk--> Harry Truman. Claire helped him respond to the letters.<p>On July 26, 1948, Ruth attended the premiere of the film <i>The Babe Ruth Story</i>, a biopic about his life. <!--del_lnk--> William Bendix portrayed Ruth. Shortly thereafter, Ruth returned to the hospital for the final time.<p><a href="../../wp/c/Cancer.htm" title="Cancer">Cancer</a> had eaten away at his body and he was barely able to speak. Ruth's condition gradually became worse, and in his last days, scores of reporters and photographers hovered around the hospital. Only a few visitors were allowed to see him, one of whom was the then <!--del_lnk--> National League President and future <!--del_lnk--> Commissioner of Baseball, <!--del_lnk--> Ford Frick. “Ruth was so thin it was unbelievable. He had been such a big man and his arms were just skinny little bones, and his face was so haggard,” Frick said years later.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16792.jpg.htm" title="Babe Ruth's headstone in Gate of Heaven Cemetery"><img alt="Babe Ruth's headstone in Gate of Heaven Cemetery" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Babe_Ruth_800.jpg" src="../../images/167/16792.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16792.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Babe Ruth's headstone in <!--del_lnk--> Gate of Heaven Cemetery</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> August 16, the day after Frick's visit, Babe Ruth died at the age of 53. His body lay in repose in <!--del_lnk--> Yankee Stadium his funeral was two days later at <!--del_lnk--> St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York. Ruth was then buried in the <!--del_lnk--> Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven in <!--del_lnk--> Hawthorne, New York.<p><a id="Statistics" name="Statistics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Statistics</span></h2>
<p><b><!--del_lnk--> Career Statistics</b><table class="wikitable">
<caption>Hitting</caption>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> G</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> AB</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> H</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> 2B</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> 3B</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> HR</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> R</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> RBI</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> BB</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> SO</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> AVG</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> OBP</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> SLG</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> OPS</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2,503</td>
<td>8,399</td>
<td>2,873</td>
<td>506</td>
<td>136</td>
<td>714</td>
<td>2,174</td>
<td>2,213</td>
<td>2,062</td>
<td>1,330</td>
<td>.342</td>
<td>.469</td>
<td>.690</td>
<td>1.159</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="wikitable">
<caption>Pitching</caption>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> W</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> L</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> WP</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> GP</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> GS</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> CG</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Sh</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> SV</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> IP</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> BB</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> SO</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> ERA</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> WHIP</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>94</td>
<td>46</td>
<td>.671</td>
<td>163</td>
<td>148</td>
<td>107</td>
<td>17</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>1,221.1</td>
<td>441</td>
<td>488</td>
<td>2.28</td>
<td>1.16</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Trivia" name="Trivia"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Trivia</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>In 1920, Ruth hit 54 home runs. That season, only the <!--del_lnk--> Philadelphia Phillies (and of course the Yankees) managed to hit more as a team. They hit 64.</ul>
<ul>
<li>For the first 40 years of his life, Ruth believed his birthday to have been <!--del_lnk--> February 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1894. Most contemporary accounts, therefore, will contain inaccurate accounts of Ruth's age. Ruth continued to use the 1894 date when asked his age, because he was accustomed to it.</ul>
<ul>
<li>The statue of Babe Ruth at the Eutaw Street entrance of Camden Yards has him holding a catcher's mitt for a right handed player. This is not a mistake as the statue portrays Ruth during his days at St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys. In his autobiography Ruth states that lefty gloves were not available.</ul>
<ul>
<li>Ruth played himself in a cameo appearance in the <!--del_lnk--> Harold Lloyd film <i>Speedy</i> (1928).</ul>
<ul>
<li>In 1929, the Yankees became the first team to use uniform numbers regularly (the <!--del_lnk--> Cleveland Indians used them briefly in 1916). Since Ruth batted third in the order, he was assigned number 3. The Yankees retired Ruth's number on June 13, 1948.</ul>
<ul>
<li>Ruth's 1919 contract that sent him from Boston to New York was auctioned off for $996,000 at <!--del_lnk--> Sotheby's on June 10, 2005. The most valuable <!--del_lnk--> memorabilia relating to Ruth was his 1923 bat which he used to hit the first home run at <!--del_lnk--> Yankee Stadium on <!--del_lnk--> April 18, <!--del_lnk--> 1923. Ruth's heavy <!--del_lnk--> Louisville Slugger solid <!--del_lnk--> ash wood bat sold for $1.26 million at a Sotheby's auction in December of 2004, making it the second most valuable baseball memorabilia item to date, just behind the famous 1909 <!--del_lnk--> Honus Wagner baseball card.</ul>
<ul>
<li>Named his Farm: <!--del_lnk--> Home Plate Farm.</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Baltimore, Maryland', 'United States', 'Baseball', 'Sport', 'Roman Catholic Church', 'Boston, Massachusetts', 'Baltimore, Maryland', 'Chicago', 'Cancer', 'Cancer']
|
Baboon
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Baboon,2005,2006,Africa,Animal,Babi (mythology),Baboon (disambiguation),Biological type,Carolus Linnaeus,Cercopithecidae,Cercopithecinae" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Baboon</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Baboon";
var wgTitle = "Baboon";
var wgArticleId = 53904;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Baboon">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Baboon</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Baboons</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/9/986.jpg.htm" title="Olive Baboon (Papio anubis)"><img alt="Olive Baboon (Papio anubis)" height="157" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Olive_baboon.jpg" src="../../images/9/986.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small><!--del_lnk--> Olive Baboon (<i>Papio anubis</i>)</small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Chordata<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">Mammalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Primates<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Cercopithecidae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><b>Papio</b></i><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Erxleben, 1777</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Type Species</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Simia hamadryas</i><br /><small><a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">Linnaeus</a>, 1758</small></td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Species</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p><i><!--del_lnk--> Papio hamadryas</i><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Papio papio</i><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Papio anubis</i><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Papio cynocephalus</i><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Papio ursinus</i></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>baboons</b> are some of the largest non-<!--del_lnk--> hominid members of the <!--del_lnk--> primate order; only the <!--del_lnk--> Mandrill and the <!--del_lnk--> Drill are larger. In modern scientific use, only members of the genus <i><b>Papio</b></i> are called baboons, but previously the closely related <!--del_lnk--> Gelada (genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Theropithecus</i>) and two species of Mandrill and Drill (genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Mandrillus</i>) were grouped in the same genus, and these monkeys are still often referred to as baboons in everyday speech. The word "baboon" comes from "babouin", the name given to them by the French naturalist <!--del_lnk--> Buffon. <i>Papio</i> belongs to family <!--del_lnk--> Cercopithecidae, in subfamily <!--del_lnk--> Cercopithecinae.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Physiology" name="Physiology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Physiology</span></h2>
<p>All baboons have long dog-like muzzles (cynocephalus = dog-head), close-set eyes, heavy powerful jaws, thick fur except on their muzzle, a short tail and rough spots on their protruding hindquarters, called <!--del_lnk--> ischial callosities. These callouses are nerveless, hairless pads of skin which provide for the sitting comfort of the baboon (and other <!--del_lnk--> Old World monkeys). Males of the <!--del_lnk--> Hamadryas Baboon species also have a large white mane.<p>There is considerable variation in size and weight depending on species, the <!--del_lnk--> Chacma Baboon can be 120 cm (47 inches) and weigh 40 kg (90 lb) while the biggest <!--del_lnk--> Guinea Baboon is 50 cm (20 inches) and weighs only 14 kg (30 lb).<p>In all baboon species there is pronounced <!--del_lnk--> sexual dimorphism, usually in size but also sometimes in colour or canine development.<p>Baboons are terrestrial (ground dwelling) and are found in <!--del_lnk--> savanna, open woodland and hills across <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>. Their diet is <!--del_lnk--> omnivorous, but is usually <a href="../../wp/h/Herbivore.htm" title="Herbivore">vegetarian</a>. They are foragers and are active at irregular times throughout the day and night. They can raid human dwellings and in South Africa they have been known to prey on sheep and goats.<p>Their principal predators are man and the <!--del_lnk--> leopard, although they are tough prey for a leopard and large males will often confront them.<p>Baboons in captivity have been known to live up to 45 years, while in the wild their life expectancy is about 30 years.<p><a id="Society" name="Society"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Society</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/987.jpg.htm" title="Baboon with its mother. Lake Manayara National Park, Tanzania"><img alt="Baboon with its mother. Lake Manayara National Park, Tanzania" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baboons_on_rock.jpg" src="../../images/9/987.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/987.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Baboon with its mother. Lake Manayara National Park, Tanzania</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/988.jpg.htm" title="Baboon with its young. Lake Manayara National Park, Tanzania"><img alt="Baboon with its young. Lake Manayara National Park, Tanzania" height="199" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baby_baboon_on_back.jpg" src="../../images/9/988.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/988.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Baboon with its young. Lake Manayara National Park, Tanzania</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/989.jpg.htm" title="A baboon troop."><img alt="A baboon troop." height="196" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BaboonTroop.jpg" src="../../images/9/989.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/989.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A baboon troop.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Most baboons live in hierarchical troops of 5 to 250 animals (50 or so is common), depending on specific circumstances, especially species and time of year. The structure within the troop varies considerably between <!--del_lnk--> Hamadryas Baboons and the remaining species, sometimes collectively referred to as savannah baboons. The Hamadryas Baboon has very large groups comprised of many smaller harems (one male with four or so females), to which females from elsewhere in the troop are recruited while still too young to breed. The other baboon species have a more promiscuous structure with a strict dominance hierarchy based on the female <!--del_lnk--> matriline. The Hamadryas Baboon group will typically include a younger male, but he will not attempt to mate with the females unless the older male is removed.<p>Baboons can determine from vocal exchanges what the <!--del_lnk--> dominance relations between individuals are. When a confrontation occurs between different families or where a lower-ranking baboon takes the offensive, baboons show more interest in the exchange than exchanges between members of the same family or when a higher-ranking baboon takes the offensive. This is because confrontations between different families or rank challenges can have a wider impact on the whole troop than an internal conflict in a family or a baboon reinforcing its dominance.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> collective noun for baboons is commonly <i>troop</i> or <i>congress</i>, although <i>flange</i> is also becoming common. This unusual term originates from a <i><!--del_lnk--> Not the Nine O'Clock News</i> comedy sketch entitled "Gerald The Intelligent Gorilla" where it was used for comic effect.<p><a id="Mating_and_birth" name="Mating_and_birth"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Mating and birth</span></h3>
<p>Baboon mating behaviour varies greatly depending on the social structure. In the mixed groups of savannah baboons, each male can mate with any female. The allowed mating order among the males depends partially on the ranking, and fights between males are not unusual.<p>There are however more subtle possibilities; males sometimes try to win the friendship of females. To garner this friendship, they may help groom the female, help care for her young, or supply them with food. Some females clearly prefer such friendly males as mates.<p>A female initiates mating by presenting her swollen rump to the male. But 'presenting' can also be used as a submissive gesture and is observed in males as well.<p>In the harems of the Hamadryas Baboon, the males jealously guard their females, to the point of grabbing and biting the females when they wander too far away. Despite this, some males will raid harems for females. In such situations it often comes to aggressive fights by the males. Some males succeed in taking a female from another's harem. This is called a 'takeover'.<p>Females typically give birth every other year, usually to a single infant, after a six month gestation. The young baboon weighs approximately one kilogram and is colored black. The females tend to be the primary caretaker of the young, although several females will share the duties for all of their offspring.<p>In mixed groups males sometimes help in caring for the young of the females they are friendly with, for instance they gather food for them and play with them. The probability is high that those young are their offspring. After about one year, the young animals are weaned. They reach sexual maturity in five to eight years.<p>In baboons males leave their birth group, usually before they reach sexual maturity, whereas females are 'philopatric' and stay in the same group their whole life.<p><a id="Cultural_importance" name="Cultural_importance"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cultural importance</span></h2>
<p>The Hamadryas Baboon was a sacred animal to the ancient Egyptians as the attendant of <!--del_lnk--> Thoth, and so, is also called the Sacred Baboon. The English word <i>Baboon</i> is thought to derive from the name of the Egyptian baboon-god <!--del_lnk--> Babi.<p><a id="Classification" name="Classification"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Classification</span></h2>
<p>There are five recognised species of <i>Papio</i>, although there is some disagreement about whether they are really full species or subspecies. They are <i>P. ursinus</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Chacma Baboon, found in southern Africa), <i>P. papio</i> (Western or <!--del_lnk--> Guinea Baboon, found in Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea), <i>P. hamadryas</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Hamadryas Baboon, found in north-east Africa and into south-western Arabia), <i>P. anubis</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Olive Baboon, found in central African <!--del_lnk--> savanna) and <i>P. cynocephalus</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Yellow Baboon, found in Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia). Many authors distinguish <i>P. hamadryas</i> as a full species, but regard all the others as subspecies of <i>P. cynocephalus</i> and refer to them collectively as "savanna baboons". This may not be helpful: while behaviorally and physically distinct from other baboon types, the Hamadryas baboon is known to hybridize with olive baboons, and recent phylogenetic studies of <i>Papio</i> show Hamadryas baboons to be more closely related to guinea and olive baboons than to chacmas.<p>The traditional 5-form classification probably under-represents the variation within <i>Papio</i>. Some commentators would argue that at least two more forms should be recognized, including the very small Kinda Baboon (<i>P. kindae</i>) from Zambia, the DRC, and Angola, and the Gray-footed Baboon (<i>P. griseipes</i>) found in Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and northern South Africa. However, current knowledge of the morphological, genetic, and behavioural diversity within <i>Papio</i> is too poor to make any final, comprehensive judgments on baboon taxonomy.<p><a id="Species_list" name="Species_list"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Species list</span></h3>
<p><b>Genus <i>Papio</i></b><ul>
<li>Sacred or <!--del_lnk--> Hamadryas Baboon, <i>Papio hamadryas</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Guinea Baboon, <i>Papio papio</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Olive Baboon, <i>Papio anubis</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Yellow Baboon, <i>Papio cynocephalus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Chacma Baboon, <i>Papio ursinus</i></ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baboon"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Mammal', 'Carolus Linnaeus', 'Africa', 'Herbivore']
|
Babur
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Babur,1192,1483,1494,1497,1501,1504,1506,1510,1511,1521" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Babur</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Babur";
var wgTitle = "Babur";
var wgArticleId = 4551;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Babur">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Babur</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Ancient_History_Classical_History_and_Mythology.htm">Ancient History, Classical History and Mythology</a>; <a href="../index/subject.People.Historical_figures.htm">Historical figures</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table cellpadding="3px" cellspacing="0px" class="toccolours" style="float:right; border:1px #CCCCCC solid; margin:5px">
<caption><big><b>Babur</b></big></caption>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><a class="image" href="../../images/152/15267.jpg.htm" title="Babur portrait"><img alt="Babur portrait" height="323" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Babur.jpg" src="../../images/152/15267.jpg" width="250" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><b>Birth name:</b></td>
<td style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid">Zāhir ud-Dīn Mohammad</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><b>Family name:</b></td>
<td style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><!--del_lnk--> Timurid</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><b>Title:</b></td>
<td style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><!--del_lnk--> Emperor of <!--del_lnk--> Mughal Empire<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><b>Birth:</b></td>
<td style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><!--del_lnk--> February 14, <!--del_lnk--> 1483</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><b>Death:</b></td>
<td style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><!--del_lnk--> December 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1530</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><b>Succeeded by:</b></td>
<td style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><!--del_lnk--> Humayun</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><b>Marriage:</b></td>
<td style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid">
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Ayisheh Sultan Begum<li><!--del_lnk--> Bibi Mubarika Yusufzay<li><!--del_lnk--> Dildar Begum<li><!--del_lnk--> Gulnar Agacheh<li><!--del_lnk--> Gulrukh Begum<li><!--del_lnk--> Maham Begum<li><!--del_lnk--> Masumeh Begum<li><!--del_lnk--> Nargul Agacheh<li><!--del_lnk--> Sayyida Afaq<li><!--del_lnk--> Zainab Sultan Begum</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid"><b>Children:</b></td>
<td style="border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid">
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Humayun, son<li><!--del_lnk--> Kamran Mirza, son<li><!--del_lnk--> Askari Mirza, son<li><!--del_lnk--> Hindal Mirza, son<li><!--del_lnk--> Gulbadan Begum, daughter<li><!--del_lnk--> Fakhr-un-nisa, daughter</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Zāhir ud-Dīn Mohammad</b>, commonly known as <b>Bābur</b> (<!--del_lnk--> February 14, <!--del_lnk--> 1483 – <!--del_lnk--> December 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1530) (<!--del_lnk--> Chaghatay/<!--del_lnk--> Persian: <span dir="rtl" lang="fa" style="white-space: nowrap;" xml:lang="fa">ظﮩیرالدین محمد بابر گوركاني</span>‎, also spelled <i>Zahiruddin, Zahiriddin, Muhammad, Bobur, Baber, Babar, etc.</i>), was a <!--del_lnk--> Muslim Emperor from <!--del_lnk--> Central Asia who founded the <!--del_lnk--> Mughal dynasty of <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>. He was a direct descendant of <a href="../../wp/t/Timur.htm" title="Timur">Timur</a>, and believed himself to be a descendant also of <a href="../../wp/g/Genghis_Khan.htm" title="Genghis Khan">Genghis Khan</a> through his mother. Following a series of set-backs he succeeded in laying the basis for one of the most important empires in Indian history, the <!--del_lnk--> Mughal dynasty.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p>Zahiruddin Muhammad was born on <!--del_lnk--> February 14, <!--del_lnk--> 1483 in the town of <!--del_lnk--> Andijan, in the <!--del_lnk--> Fergana Valley which is in modern <a href="../../wp/u/Uzbekistan.htm" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a>. He was the eldest son of Omar Shei<u>kh</u> <!--del_lnk--> Mirza, ruler of the Fergana Valley, who he described as "short and stout, round-bearded and fleshy faced", and his wife <!--del_lnk--> Qutlugh Nigar Khanum. Although Babur hailed from the <!--del_lnk--> Barlas tribe which was of Mongol origin, his tribe had embraced <!--del_lnk--> Turkic and <!--del_lnk--> Persian culture (see <!--del_lnk--> Turco-Mongol, <!--del_lnk--> Turco-Persian), converted to <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a> and resided in <!--del_lnk--> Turkestan and <!--del_lnk--> Khorasan. His mother tongue was the <!--del_lnk--> Chaghatai language (known to Babur as <i>Tōrkī</i>, <i>"Turkish"</i>) and he was equally at home in <!--del_lnk--> Persian, the <i>lingua franca</i> of the Timurid elite; he wrote his famous memoirs, the <i><!--del_lnk--> Baburnama</i>, in the former language, that of his birthplace.<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Babur"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Babur"><img alt="Babur" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td><i>Andijanis are all Turks; everyone in town or bazar knows Turki. The speech of the people resembles the literary language; hence the writings of Mir 'Ali-sher Nawa'i, though he was bred and grew up in Hin (Herat), are one with their dialect. Good looks are common amongst them. The famous musician, Khwaja Yusuf, was an Andijani.</i></td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Babur"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Babur"><img alt="Babur" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Hence Babur, though nominally a Mongol (or <i>Mughal</i> in <!--del_lnk--> Persian), drew much of his support from the Turkic and Iranian peoples of Central Asia, and his army was diverse in its ethnic makeup, including <!--del_lnk--> Persians (<i><!--del_lnk--> Tajiks</i> or <i><!--del_lnk--> Sarts</i>, as they were called by Babur), <!--del_lnk--> Pashtuns, and <!--del_lnk--> Arabs as well as Barlas and Chaghatayid Turco-Mongols from Central Asia. Babur's army also included <!--del_lnk--> Kizilbash fighters, a militant religious order of <!--del_lnk--> Shi'a <i><!--del_lnk--> Sufis</i> from Persia who later became one of the most influential groups in the Mughal court.<p>Babur is said to have been extremely strong and physically fit. Allegedly, he could carry two men, one on each of his shoulders, and then climb slopes on the run, just for exercise. Legend holds that Babur swam across every major <a href="../../wp/r/River.htm" title="River">river</a> he encountered, including twice across the <a href="../../wp/g/Ganges_River.htm" title="Ganges River">Ganges River</a> in <!--del_lnk--> North India.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15268.jpg.htm" title="A scene from the Baburnama The image above is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted on 2006-11-21."><img alt="A scene from the Baburnama The image above is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted on 2006-11-21." height="304" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baburn4.jpg" src="../../images/152/15268.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15268.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A scene from the <i>Baburnama</i><br />
<hr /><small>The image above is a <!--del_lnk--> candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted on <!--del_lnk--> 2006-<!--del_lnk--> 11-21.</small></div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Babur.27s_name" name="Babur.27s_name"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Babur's name</span></h3>
<p>The name <i>"Babur"</i> is a nickname, derived from the Indo-European word for <a href="../../wp/b/Beaver.htm" title="Beaver">beaver</a>. Babur's cousin, Mirza Muhammad Haydar, wrote:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Babur"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Babur"><img alt="Babur" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td><i>At that time the Chaghatai (</i>Mongol tribes descended from Genghis Khan's second son, <!--del_lnk--> Chagatai Khan<i>) were very rude and uncultured, and not refined as they are now; thus they found (</i>his given name<i>) Zahir-ud-din Muhammad difficult to pronounce, and for this reason gave him the name of (Babur).</i></td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Babur"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Babur"><img alt="Babur" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Military_career" name="Military_career"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Military career</span></h2>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1494, with only twelve years of age, Babur obtained his first power position, succeeding his father as ruler of <!--del_lnk--> Fergana, in present-day <a href="../../wp/u/Uzbekistan.htm" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a>. His uncles were relentless in their attempts to dislodge him from this position as well as many of his other territorial possessions to come. Thus, Babur spent a large portion of his life shelterless and in <!--del_lnk--> exile, aided only by friends and <!--del_lnk--> peasants. In <!--del_lnk--> 1497, Babur attacked the Uzbek city of <!--del_lnk--> Samarkand and after seven months succeeded in capturing the city. Meanwhile, a rebellion amongst nobles back home approximately 350 kilometers (200 miles) away robbed him of <!--del_lnk--> Fergana. As he was marching to recover it, Babur's troops deserted in <!--del_lnk--> Samarkand, leaving him with neither Samarkand nor Fergana.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15269.jpg.htm" title="Portrait of Muhammad Shaybani, who defeated Babur in Samarkand in 1501"><img alt="Portrait of Muhammad Shaybani, who defeated Babur in Samarkand in 1501" height="275" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Shaybani.jpg" src="../../images/152/15269.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15269.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Portrait of <!--del_lnk--> Muhammad Shaybani, who defeated Babur in <!--del_lnk--> Samarkand in <!--del_lnk--> 1501</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>By <!--del_lnk--> 1501, he was again to regain control of <!--del_lnk--> Samarkand, but was shortly thereafter defeated by his most formidable enemy, <!--del_lnk--> Muhammad Shaybani, <!--del_lnk--> khan of the <!--del_lnk--> Uzbeks. <!--del_lnk--> Samarkand, his lifelong obsession, was lost again. Escaping with a small band of followers from Fergana, for three years Babur concentrated on building up a strong army, recruiting widely amongst the <!--del_lnk--> Tajiks of <!--del_lnk--> Badakhshan in particular. In <!--del_lnk--> 1504, he was able to cross the snowy <!--del_lnk--> Hindu Kush mountains and capture <!--del_lnk--> Kabul. With this move, he gained a wealthy new kingdom and re-established his fortunes and assumed the title of <i><!--del_lnk--> padshah</i>. In the following year, Babur united with <!--del_lnk--> Husayn Bayqarah of <!--del_lnk--> Herat, a fellow <!--del_lnk--> Timurid and distant relative, against the <!--del_lnk--> usurper Muhammad Shaybani. However, the death of Husayn Bayqarah in <!--del_lnk--> 1506 delayed that venture. Babur instead occupied his allies' city of <!--del_lnk--> Herat, spending just two months there befor being forced to leave due to diminishing resources. Nevertheless, he marvelled at the intellectual abundance in Herat, which he stated was "filled with learned and matched men.", and became acquainted with the work of the <!--del_lnk--> Uyghur poet <!--del_lnk--> Mir Ali Shir Nava'i, who encouraged the use of <!--del_lnk--> Chagatai as a <!--del_lnk--> literary language. Nava'i's profiency with the language, which he is credited with founding, may have influenced Babur in his decision to use it for his memoirs, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Baburnama</i>.<p>A brewing rebellion finally induced him to return to <!--del_lnk--> Kabul from <!--del_lnk--> Herat. He prevailed on that occasion, but two years later a revolt among some of his leading generals drove him out of Kabul. Escaping with very few companions, Babur soon returned to the city, capturing Kabul again and regaining the allegiance of the rebels. <!--del_lnk--> Muhammad Shaybani was defeated and killed by <!--del_lnk--> Ismail I, <!--del_lnk--> Safavid ruler of <!--del_lnk--> Persia, in <!--del_lnk--> 1510, and Babur used this opportunity to attempt to reconquer his ancestral Timurid territories. Over the following few years, Babur and <!--del_lnk--> Shah <!--del_lnk--> Ismail I would form a partnership in an attempt to take over parts of <!--del_lnk--> Central Asia. In return for Ismail's assistance, Babur permitted the Safavids to act as a <!--del_lnk--> suzerain over him and his followers. Conversely, Shah Ismail reunited Babur with his sister Khānzāda, who had been imprisoned by and forced to marry the recently-deceased <!--del_lnk--> Shaybani. Ismail also provided Babur with a large wealth of luxury goods and military assistance, for which Babur reciprocated by adopting the dress and outward customs of the <!--del_lnk--> Shi'a <!--del_lnk--> Muslims. The Shah's Persia had become the bastion of Shia Islam, and he claimed descent from <!--del_lnk--> Imam Musa al-kazim, the seventh <!--del_lnk--> Shia Imam. Coins were to be struck in Ismail's name, and the <!--del_lnk--> Khutba at the Mosque was also to be read in his name. In effect, Babur was supposed to be holding Samarkand as a vassal territority for the Persian Shah, though in Kabul, coins and the Khutba would remain in Babur's name.<p>With this assistance, Babur marched on Bukhara, where his army were apparently treated as liberators, Babur having greater legitimacy as a Timurid, unlike the Uzbegs. Towns and villages are said to have emptied in order to greet him, and aid and feed his army. At this point Babur dismissed his Persian aide, believing them no longer required. In October <!--del_lnk--> 1511 Babur made a triumphant re-entry into <!--del_lnk--> Samarkand, his ten year absence ended. Bazaars were drapped in gold, and again villages and towns emptied to greet the liberator. Dressed as a Shia, Babur stood out starkly amongst the masses of Sunnis who had thronged to greet him. The original belief was that this show of Shi'ism was a ploy to garner Persian help which would soon be dropped. While it was indeed a ploy, Babur did not think it wise to drop the charade. His cousin, Haidar, wrote that Babur was still too fearful of the Uzbegs to dismiss the Persian aid. Though Babur did not persecute the Sunni community, to please the Persian Shah, he did not drop the show of collaboration with the Shia either, resulting in popular disapproval and the re-conquering of the city by the Uzbegs eight months later.<p><a id="Conquest_of_northern_India" name="Conquest_of_northern_India"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Conquest of northern India</span></h2>
<p>Writing in retrospect, Babur suggested his failure in attaining Samarkand was the greatest gift Allah bestowed him. Babur had now resigned all hopes of recovering <!--del_lnk--> Fergana, and although he dreaded an invasion from the Uzbeks to his West, his attention increasingly turned towards <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> and its lands in the east.<p>Babur claimed to be the true and rightful Monarch of the lands of the <!--del_lnk--> Sayyid dynasty. Babur believed himself the rightful heir to the throne of Timur, and it was Timur who had originally left <!--del_lnk--> Khizr Khan in charge of his vassal in the Punjab, who became the leader, or Sultan, of the <!--del_lnk--> Delhi Sultanate, founding the Sayyid dynasty. The Sayyid dynasty, however, had been ousted by <!--del_lnk--> Ibrahim Lodhi, a <!--del_lnk--> Ghilzai <!--del_lnk--> Afghan, and Babur wanted it returned to the Timurids. Indeed, while actively building up the troop numbers for an invasion of the <!--del_lnk--> Punjab he sent a request to Ibrahim; "I sent him a <!--del_lnk--> goshawk and asked for the countries which from old had depended on the Turk," the 'countries' referred to were the lands of the <!--del_lnk--> Delhi Sultanate.<p>Following the unsurprising reluctance of Ibrahim to accept the terms of this "offer," and though in no hurry to launch an actual invasion, Babur made several preliminary incursions and also seized <!--del_lnk--> Kandahar - an essential strategic city if he was to fight off attacks on Kabul from the West while he was occupied in India. The siege of Kandahar, however, lasted far longer than anticipated, and it was only almost three years later that Kandahar, and its Citadel (backed by enormous natural features) were taken, and that minor assaults in India recommenced. However, during this series of skirmishes and battles an opportunity for a more extended expedition presented itself. It was an attack on the <!--del_lnk--> Gakhar stronghold of Pharwala in <!--del_lnk--> 1521 that led to the beginning of the end for Ibrahim Lodhi.<p>The section of Babur's memiors covering the period between 1508 and 1519 is missing; during these years Shah <!--del_lnk--> Ismail I suffered a reasonably large defeat when his large cavalry-based army was obliterated at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Chaldiran by the <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Empire</a>'s new weapon, the <!--del_lnk--> matchlock musket. Both Shah Ismail and Babur, it appears, were swift in acquiring this new technology for themselves. Somewhere during these years Babur introduced <!--del_lnk--> matchlocks into his army, and allowed an <!--del_lnk--> Ottoman, Ustad Ali, to train his troops, who were then known as Matchlockmen, in their use. Babur's memoirs give accounts of battles where the opposition forces mocked his troops, never having seen a gun before, because of the noise they made and the way no arrows, spears, etc appeared to come from the weapon when fired.<p>These guns allowed small armies to make large gains on enemy territory. Small parties of skirmishers who had been dispatched simply to test enemy positions and tactics were making inroads into India. Babur, however, had survived two revolts, one in Kandahar and another in Kabul, and was careful to pacify the local population after victories, following local traditions and aiding widows and orphans.<p><a id="The_battle_with_Ibrahim_Lodhi" name="The_battle_with_Ibrahim_Lodhi"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">The battle with Ibrahim Lodhi</span></h3>
<p>However, while the Timurids were united, the Lodhi armies were far from unified.<p><!--del_lnk--> Ibrahim was widely detested, even amongst his nobles, and indeed it was several of his <!--del_lnk--> Afghan nobles who were to invite Babur's intervention. Babur assembled a 12,000-man army, and advanced into <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>. This number actually increased as Babur advanced as members of the local population joined the invading army. The first major clash between the two sides was fought in late February 1526. Babur's son, <!--del_lnk--> Humayun (then aged 17), led the Timurid army into battle against the first of Ibrahim's advance parties. Humayun's victory was harder fought than the previous skirmishes, but it was still a decisive victory. Over one hundred <!--del_lnk--> prisoners of war were captured along with around eight <!--del_lnk--> war elephants. However, unlike after previous battles, these prisoners were not bonded or freed; by decree from Humayun, they were shot. In His memoirs Babur recorded the incident thusly: "Ustad Ali-quli and the matchlockmen were ordered to shoot all the prisoners, by way of example; this had been Humayun's first affair, his first experience of battle; it was an excellent omen!". This is, perhaps, the earliest example of <!--del_lnk--> execution by firing squad.<p><!--del_lnk--> Ibrahim Lodhi advanced against him with 100,000 soldiers and 100 elephants; and though Babur's army had grown, it was still less than half the size of his opponents, possibly as few as 25,000 men. This was to be their main engagement, the <!--del_lnk--> First battle of Panipat, and was fought on <!--del_lnk--> April 21, <!--del_lnk--> 1526. <!--del_lnk--> Ibrahim Lodhi was slain and his army was routed; Babur quickly took possession of both <a href="../../wp/d/Delhi.htm" title="Delhi">Delhi</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Agra - That very day Babur ordered Humayun to ride forward to Agra (Ibrahim's former capital) and secure its national treasures and resources from looting. Here Humayun found the family of the Raja of Gwalior, the Raja himself having died at Panipat, sheltering from the invaders, fearing the dreadful nature of the 'Mongols' from the stories that preceded their arrival. After guaranteeing their safety they gave their new ruler a famous jewel, then the largest known diamond in the world - the <!--del_lnk--> Koh-i-Noor or 'Mountain of Light'. This was presented in hopes that the family would remain a part of Indian nobility, and whether it was because of the gift or not, the family did remain a noble family, though now serving the Timurids.<p>Babur, meanwhile, marched onward to Delhi itself, reaching it three days after the battle. He celebrated his arrival with a festival on the <!--del_lnk--> river Jumna, and remained there at least until Friday (<!--del_lnk--> Jum'ah), when Muslim congregational prayers were said and he heard the <!--del_lnk--> Khutba, (sermon), read in his name in the <!--del_lnk--> Jama Masjid of that time, a sign of the assumption of sovereignty. He then marched on to Agra to rejoin Humayun. Upon arrival Babur was presented with the Koh-i-Noor, and Babur reports that "I just gave it back to him", adding, "its value would provide two and a half days' food for the whole world".<p><a id="Battles_with_Rajputs" name="Battles_with_Rajputs"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Battles with Rajputs</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:287px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15272.jpg.htm" title="Babur as Emperor, receiving a courtier"><img alt="Babur as Emperor, receiving a courtier" height="220" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Image_of_babur.jpg" src="../../images/152/15272.jpg" width="285" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15272.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Babur as Emperor, receiving a <!--del_lnk--> courtier</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Although master of Delhi and Agra, Babur records in his memoirs that he had sleepless nights because of continuing worries over <!--del_lnk--> Rana Sanga, the <!--del_lnk--> Rajput ruler of <!--del_lnk--> Mewar. The Rajputs had, prior to Babur's intervention, succeeded in conquering some of the Sultanate's territory. They ruled an area directly to the southwest of Babur's new dominions, commonly known as "<!--del_lnk--> Rajputana". It was not a unified kingdom, but rather a confederacy of <a href="../../wp/p/Principality.htm" title="Principality">principalities</a>, under the informal <!--del_lnk--> suzerainty of Rana Sanga, head of the senior Rajput dynasty.<p>The Rajputs had possibly heard word of the heavy casualties inflicted by Lodhi on Babur's forces, and believed that they could capture Delhi, and possibly all <!--del_lnk--> Hindustan, bringing it back into Hindu Rajput hands for the first time in almost three hundred and fifty years when <!--del_lnk--> Muhammad of Ghor defeated the Rajput <!--del_lnk--> Chauhan King <!--del_lnk--> Prithviraj III in <!--del_lnk--> 1192.<p>Furthermore, the Rajputs were well aware that there was dissent within the ranks of Babur's army. The hot Indian summer was upon them, and many troops wanted to return home to the cooler climes of <!--del_lnk--> Central Asia. The Rajputs' reputation for <!--del_lnk--> valour preceded them, and their superior numbers no doubt further contributed to the desire of Babur's army to retreat. Babur resolved to make this an extended battle, and decided to push further into India, into lands never previously claimed by the Timurids. He needed his troops to take the battle to the Rajputs.<p>Despite the unwillingness of his troops to engage in further warfare, Babur was convinced he could overcome the Rajputs and gain complete control over Hindustan. He made great <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> of the fact that for the first time he was to battle non-Muslims, the <i><!--del_lnk--> Kafir</i>. He had his men line up and swear on the <a href="../../wp/q/Qur%2527an.htm" title="Qur'an">Qur'an</a> that none would "think of turning his face from his foe, or withdraw from this deadly encounter so long as life is not rent from his body". He also began to refer to himself as a <i><!--del_lnk--> Ghazi,</i> or "Holy Warrior," a title used by Timur when he fought in India.<p>The two armies fought each other forty miles west of Agra at Khanwa. In a possibly apocryphal tale referred to in Tod's <i>Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan,</i> Babur is supposed to have sent about 1,500 choice cavalry as an advance guard to attack Sanga. These were heavily defeated by Sanga's Rajputs. Babur then wanted to discuss peace terms. Sanga sent his general <!--del_lnk--> Silhadi (Shiladitya) to the parley. Babur is said to have won over this general by promising him an independent kingdom. Silhadi came back and reported that Babur did not want peace and preferred to fight. The <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Khanwa began on <!--del_lnk--> March 17, <!--del_lnk--> 1527 and, as Tod puts it, "While the issue was still doubtful" Silhadi and his army left the field. Whatever the truth of this tale, it seems plausible that a treacherous <!--del_lnk--> Tomara who led the vanguard of Sanga's army at Khanwa went over to Babur, causing Sanga to retreat and costing him a likely victory. Within a year he was dead, probably poisoned by one of his own ministers, and a major rival to Babur had been removed . In return for the payment of regular tribute Babur allowed the Rajput princes to remain in control over their principalities, and maintain their customs and traditions.<p><a id="Consolidation" name="Consolidation"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Consolidation</span></h3>
<p>Babur was now the undisputed ruler of Hindustan (a term which at that time referred to northwestern India and the Gangetic Plain), and he began a period of further expansion. Each of the nobles or <i><!--del_lnk--> Umarah</i> whom he appointed was granted leave to set up his own army, or militia, and, to facilitate Babur's expansionist aims, many were granted lands yet to be conquered as <!--del_lnk--> jaghirs, freeing Babur from many of the problems involved in raising troops. Meanwhile he granted his own sons the provinces furthest away from his new centre of operations: Kamran was given control over Kandahar, Askari was to control <!--del_lnk--> Bengal and Humayun was to govern <!--del_lnk--> Badakhshan, perhaps the most remote province of Babur's expanding empire.<p>Babur also continuously used new technology to improve his army, with the help of Ustad Ali. In addition to guns, Babur and Ali tested new types of <!--del_lnk--> Siege weaponry, such as <!--del_lnk--> cannons, which Babur recalls as being capable of firing a large rock almost a mile (although, he records, its initial test did leave eight innocent bystanders dead). Alongside this, they developed <!--del_lnk--> Shells which exploded on impact. The army's organisation was also maintained with great discipline, and according to Babur it received regular inspections.<p><a id="Impact_on_Architecture" name="Impact_on_Architecture"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Impact on Architecture</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:287px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/265/26585.jpg.htm" title="A view of the Babri Mosque, pre-1992. The Mosque is believed to have been commissioned by Babur"><img alt="A view of the Babri Mosque, pre-1992. The Mosque is believed to have been commissioned by Babur" height="198" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Babri_rearview.jpg" src="../../images/152/15273.jpg" width="285" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/265/26585.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A view of the <!--del_lnk--> Babri Mosque, pre-1992. The Mosque is believed to have been commissioned by Babur</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Babur travelled the country, taking in much of the land and its scenery, and began building a series of structures which mixed the pre-existing Hindu intricacies of carved detail with the traditional Muslim designs used by Persians and Turks. He described with awe the buildings in Chanderi, a village carved from rock, and the palace of <!--del_lnk--> Raja Man Singh in <!--del_lnk--> Gwalior describing them as "wonderful buildings, entirely hewn from stone". He, was, however, digusted by the <!--del_lnk--> Jain "idols" carved into the rock face below the fortress at Gwalior. "These idols are shown quite naked without even covering for the privities... I ordered them to be destroyed". Fortunately, the statues were not destroyed entirely, rather the faces and genitalia of the offending pieces were removed. (Modern sculptors have restored the faces).<p>To remind himself of the lands he had left behind Babur began a process of creating exquisite gardens in every palace and province, where he would often sit shaded from the fierce Indian sun. He tried as far as was possible to recreate the gardens of Kabul, which he believed were the most beautiful in the world, and in one of which he would eventually be buried. "In that charmless and disorderly Hindustan, plots of garden were laid out with order and symmetry." Almost thirty pages of Babur's memoirs are taken up describing the <!--del_lnk--> Fauna and Flora of his Hindustan.<p><a id="Lavish_lifestyle_and_final_major_battle" name="Lavish_lifestyle_and_final_major_battle"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Lavish lifestyle and final major battle</span></h3>
<p>Late in <!--del_lnk--> 1528 Babur celebrated a great festival, or <i>tamasha</i>. All nobles from the different regions of his empire were gathered, along with any noble who claimed descent from <a href="../../wp/t/Timur.htm" title="Timur">Timur</a> or <a href="../../wp/g/Genghis_Khan.htm" title="Genghis Khan">Genghis Khan</a>. This was a celebration of his Khanal, <!--del_lnk--> Chingissid lineage, and when guests were sat in a semi-circle the farthest from Babur (who was, naturally, at the centre) was seated over 100 metres from him. The huge banquet involved giving presents and watching animal fights, wrestling, dancing and acrobatics. Guests presented Babur with tribute of gold and silver, and were in turn presented with sword-Belts and cloaks of honour (<i><!--del_lnk--> khalats</i>). The guests even included <!--del_lnk--> Uzbegs, (who under <!--del_lnk--> Shaybani Khan had ousted the Timurids from Central Asia and were now the occupiers of <!--del_lnk--> Samarkand), and a group of peasants from <!--del_lnk--> Transoxiana who were now being rewarded for befriending and aiding Babur before he was a leader.<p>After the Festival, many of the other gifts given to Babur were sent to Kabul, "to adorn the ladies" of his family. Babur was far too generous concerning wealth, and by the time of his death the Empire's coffers were almost empty; troops were even ordered to return a third of their income back to the treasury. Baburs extravagance did not go unnoticed. He was a heavy drinker and took <!--del_lnk--> hashish, perhaps as a means of alleviating the various illnesses he suffered from; he was known to cough up blood, he had numerous boils on his person, suffered from <!--del_lnk--> Sciatica and also bled fluid from his ears. These substances were supposedly strictly forbidden by the orthodox doctrines of Islam, although in the <i>Babur-nama</i> Babur does write without censure of relatives in <!--del_lnk--> Ferghana who indulged in strong liquor. Nevertheless, Babur, who had fought as a warrior for Islam was now indulging in the forbidden (<i><!--del_lnk--> Haraam</i>).<p>On <!--del_lnk--> May 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1529, Babur defeated Mahmud Lodhi, Ibrahim's brother, who led an army of those disaffected with his rule, at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Ghagra, thus crushing the last remnant of resistance in <!--del_lnk--> North India.<p><a id="Last_days" name="Last_days"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Last days</span></h2>
<p>After Babur fell seriously ill, Humayun was told of a plot by the senior nobles of Babur's court to bypass the leader's sons and appoint <!--del_lnk--> Mahdi Khwaja, Babur's sister's husband, as his successor. He rushed to Agra and arrived there to see his father was well enough again, although Mahdi Khwaja had lost all hope of becoming ruler after arrogantly exceeding his authority during Babur's illness. Upon his arrival in Agra it was Humayun himself who fell ill, and was close to dying.<p>Babur is said to have circled the sick-bed, crying to God to take his life and not his son's. The traditions that follow this tell that Babur soon fell ill with a fever and Humayun began to get better again. This is not accurate, as there are months separating the recovery of Humayun and the death of Babur, and Babur's final illness was a rather sudden affair. His last words apparently being to his Humayun; "Do nothing against your brothers, even though they may deserve it."<p>He died at the age of 48, and was succeeded by his eldest son, <!--del_lnk--> Humayun. Though he wished to be buried in his favourite garden in Kabul, a city he had always loved, he was first buried in a <!--del_lnk--> Mausoleum in his capital of <!--del_lnk--> Agra. Roughly nine years later his wishes were fulfilled by <!--del_lnk--> Sher Shah and Babur was buried in a beautiful garden <i>Bagh-e Babur</i> in <!--del_lnk--> Kabul, now in <a href="../../wp/a/Afghanistan.htm" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>. The inscription on his tomb reads (in <!--del_lnk--> Persian):<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Babur"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Babur"><img alt="Babur" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td><i>If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this!</i></td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Babur"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Babur"><img alt="Babur" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Babur's legacy was a mixed one. The <!--del_lnk--> Sikh <!--del_lnk--> Guru, <!--del_lnk--> Nanak, wrote a series of complaints against Babur in the <!--del_lnk--> Guru Granth Sahib, claiming Babur "terrified Hindustan" and was a "messenger of death". He also claimed that women with braided hair "were shaved with scissors, and their throats were choked with dust" and that "the order was given to the soldiers, who dishonored them, and carried them away." However, by contemporary standards he was particularly liberal, allowing freedom of religion and not interfering with local customs. Indeed further Sikh texts mention that Babur was blessed by Guru Nanak Dev Ji.<!--del_lnk--> His <!--del_lnk--> conciliation of enemies instead of outright destruction may have allowed them to regroup and re-attack, but it was far-sighted and allowed him to rule a large empire without too much social upheaval. He also wrote or dicated his extraordinary memoirs, one of the great monuments of <!--del_lnk--> Chaghatai literature, and oversaw the beginnings of an artistic and architectural legacy which fused indigenous traditions with those from Iran and Central Asia (such as the domed tomb, the original model for which was the <!--del_lnk--> Gur-e Amir in Samarkand). Ultimately this would result in the Mughal empire leaving India with some of the most breathtaking architecture in the world, including <!--del_lnk--> Humayun's Tomb, the <a href="../../wp/t/Taj_Mahal.htm" title="Taj Mahal">Taj Mahal</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Pearl Mosque, and many other buildings.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babur"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['India', 'Timur', 'Genghis Khan', 'Uzbekistan', 'Islam', 'River', 'Ganges River', 'Beaver', 'Uzbekistan', 'India', 'Ottoman Empire', 'India', 'Delhi', 'Principality', 'Propaganda', "Qur'an", 'Timur', 'Genghis Khan', 'Afghanistan', 'Taj Mahal']
|
Baby_Gender_Mentor
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Baby Gender Mentor,American Broadcasting Company,WFTS,Hindu,Lowell, Massachusetts,2005,2006,Abortion,Accuracy,Amniocentesis,Baylor College of Medicine" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Baby Gender Mentor</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Baby_Gender_Mentor";
var wgTitle = "Baby Gender Mentor";
var wgArticleId = 2795907;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Baby_Gender_Mentor">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Baby Gender Mentor</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Health_and_medicine.htm">Health and medicine</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<p>The <b>Baby Gender Mentor</b> test is a <!--del_lnk--> blood test designed to determine if a <!--del_lnk--> pregnant mother is carrying a <!--del_lnk--> boy or a <!--del_lnk--> girl. The test is made by Acu-Gen Biolab, Inc, a <!--del_lnk--> biotech company in <!--del_lnk--> Lowell, Massachusetts, in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> and is marketed to detect the <a href="../../wp/g/Gender.htm" title="Gender">gender</a> of a <!--del_lnk--> fetus as early as five weeks after <!--del_lnk--> conception. An estimated 50-70% of expectant parents would like to know the gender of their child ahead of delivering the baby. Some parents would like to know this information early in order to get a head start on shopping for baby clothes or decorating the <!--del_lnk--> nursery. Others have cited an interest in preparing themselves or the baby's siblings for gender-specific issues.<p>The company says that the accuracy of the test exceeds that of conventional methods, such as <!--del_lnk--> ultrasonography, <!--del_lnk--> amniocentesis, <!--del_lnk--> chorionic villus sampling and <!--del_lnk--> serum-DNA QPCR technique and that their test offers "unsurpassed accuracy, unrivaled earliness, and uncompromised promptness". The product packaging states the test is 99.9% accurate, and some advertising has stated an accuracy of 99.99%. The company offers a <!--del_lnk--> money-back guarantee that all test results will be available within 48 hours after receiving a sample and that the result will be <!--del_lnk--> accurate. Acu-Gen has so far chosen not to release details of how the test works or proof of its accuracy, as they consider this information <!--del_lnk--> proprietary. The test made a prominent media debut on <!--del_lnk--> 17 June <!--del_lnk--> 2005 on the <!--del_lnk--> Today Show and about 4,500 people had purchased the test by March 2006.<p>The test has been the centre of several controversies. Some customers and scientists are questioning the accuracy of the test. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Acu-Gen and a major supplier of the test is under criminal investigation. Concerns have also been raised by <!--del_lnk--> bioethicists that use of the test could lead to unethical practices such as <!--del_lnk--> gender selection. There have also been anecdotal reports of Acu-Gen making additional claims for use of the test in ways that are not described in the product packaging or on the company's website.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="How_the_test_works" name="How_the_test_works"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">How the test works</span></h2>
<p>Acu-Gen reports that the test can tell expectant parents the <!--del_lnk--> sex of an <!--del_lnk--> embryo as early as five weeks into the pregnancy. The expectant mother first purchases a test kit for <!--del_lnk--> US$ 25.00. She then pricks her finger to draw a small amount of blood, which she places on a card; then she places the card in the kit. The kit is sent to Acu-Gen where the test is processed for an additional $250 fee. <p>The <!--del_lnk--> Food and Drug Administration doesn't regulate the test because the test is classified as non-medical. Therefore, the regulatory hurdles that apply to <!--del_lnk--> pharmaceutical products do not apply to the Baby Gender Mentor test. In particular, Acu-Gen is not obliged to disclose results of any tests or patient trials of the test that they may have conducted. One un-named AcuGen spokesperson has been quoted as saying the 99.9% accuracy figure is based on 20,000 births, but that the company "won't publish results until it has <!--del_lnk--> patented its technology."<p>According to the company website, the test works by detecting fetal cells that have entered the mother's bloodstream through <!--del_lnk--> fetomaternal microchimerism. They list several scientific papers that are related to this general field of study, but the cited publications do not refer specifically to the Baby Gender Mentor test. The sample is tested for the presence of the <!--del_lnk--> Y chromosome, which is present only in males. If there is no Y chromosome, the embryo is female.<p><a id="Acclaim_for_the_test" name="Acclaim_for_the_test"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Acclaim for the test</span></h2>
<p>The test was featured on an episode of the Today Show in June 2005. In that show, <!--del_lnk--> Katie Couric interviewed a woman named Holly Osborn who at that time was mother to two daughters and expecting a third child. Also interviewed was Sherry Bonelli, the CEO of PregnancyStore.com, an <!--del_lnk--> Illinois-based on-line retailer where Osborn purchased her test. Bonelli is also the president of a company called Mommy's Thinkin which is reportedly involved in marketing the Baby Gender Mentor test. Bonelli said that the test had only been available for two weeks and that numerous people had inquired about the test in that short time. She claimed that AcuGen had followed 2,000 pregnancies through to completion and that the lab results given by the Baby Gender Mentor had never been wrong in those trials.<p>Osborn said that she wanted to know the gender of her unborn baby because her house was filled with "pink and purples and lots of green" and she wanted to know if she needed to paint the nursery blue. She had agreed to have her test results announced to her on the show, and Bonelli informed her that her unborn baby was a girl, according to the results of the test.<p>In the Today Show segment, Couric also interview Dr. Ronald Wappner, head of maternal fetal medicine at <!--del_lnk--> New York Presbyterian Hospital, who noted two potential concerns about the test. His first concern was whether the claimed accuracy rate achieved in the 2,000 test cases would be realized in real world usage. His second concern was whether couples who purchase the test might use the results for <!--del_lnk--> family balancing, which means the decision to utilize selective abortion to achieve the a baby of the desired gender. Wappner said that one positive aspect of the Baby Gender Mentor test is the non-invasive nature of the test, which means there should be no risk of harm to the unborn baby.<p>The test was listed as one of the top 10 innovations of 2005 by research company Datamonitor. In their report, titled <i>Build A Better Mousetrap</i>, Datamonitor identifies their picks for "the best new food, drink, health, household and pet products of 2005". They listed the test as the number 8 innovation of the year.<p><a id="Accuracy_of_the_test_disputed" name="Accuracy_of_the_test_disputed"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Accuracy of the test disputed</span></h2>
<p>While the Food and Drug Administration doesn't regulate the test, which is classified as non-medical, several women have come forward to say their tests were wrong. With Acu-Gen so-far choosing not to publish proof of its claims, anecdotal evidence of several women receiving conflicting predictions worries Diana Bianchi. Bianchi is an expert on fetal <a href="../../wp/d/DNA.htm" title="DNA">DNA</a> at <!--del_lnk--> Tufts University whose work is listed on Acu-Gen's Web site as scientific evidence that supports the workings of the test. "I think at the present time we need to be concerned whether the test is accurate or not," Bianchi says. "I think it's caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware." <p>According to a <!--del_lnk--> National Public Radio (NPR) radio report, the company has explained previous inaccurate results as being the result of a <!--del_lnk--> vanishing twin, which is a fetus that stopped growing soon after fertilization. Vanishing Twin Syndrome occurs when one of the fetuses in a <!--del_lnk--> twin pregnancy spontaneously aborts, usually during the first <!--del_lnk--> trimester. The fetal tissue is absorbed by the other twin, the <!--del_lnk--> placenta, or the mother, thus giving the appearance that the twin "vanished." This usually results in a normal singleton pregnancy. It has been estimated that as many as 1 in 8 people begin life as a twin, but only 1 in 70 are actually born as twins. Vanishing twins could theoretically explain apparent errors in the Baby Gender Mentor test. If fraternal twins, one male and female, were present when the test was taken, the test should indicate the presence of a male embryo. If that embryo later "vanishes", leaving the female baby to develop normally, the test could appear to be in error when it was in fact accurate at the time. The medical community is not in general agreement about the vanishing-twin phenomena. If the twin is reabsorbed with no evidence it existed, then there is no evidence to support whether the twin existed or not.<p>"Until Acu-Gen releases its data, there's no way to know the test's reliability, said Sandra Carson, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at <!--del_lnk--> Baylor College of Medicine who specializes in sex selection. "Until that's out, I think it shouldn't be on the market," she said. <p><a id="Tool_for_gender_selection.3F" name="Tool_for_gender_selection.3F"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Tool for gender selection?</span></h2>
<p>The (NPR) investigative report on Acu-Gen also anticipates that some parents may use the Baby Gender Mentor test as a basis for determining whether to get an <!--del_lnk--> abortion as a means of <!--del_lnk--> gender selection. That concern is shared by Dr. Analia Bortz. She provides counseling to new parents and she is concerned some parents will use the early test as a way to select the gender of their baby. The concern is that learning the gender at such an early time-point may lead some parents to terminate the pregnancy if they were hoping for a baby of the opposite sex to that indicated by the test. <!--del_lnk--> Americans United for Life claims that some women disappointed by the result of their test would find it easier to have an abortion. Their spokesman Daniel McConchie said, "Women who are interested in only having one gender will be finding out in a time when it's certainly safer for them to have an abortion without the complications normally associated with those that would come later in pregnancy." Arthur Caplan, director of the <!--del_lnk--> Centre for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, said that while gender selection is not a frequent occurrence in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, it is a concern in countries like <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>, where having boys is preferred over having girls. In China, gender selection has led to there being about 20% more men than women. In India, a recent report found that for every 1,000 boys born in 2004 in a certain portion of New Delhi, only 762 girls were born. The website for the PregnancyStore.com says that they will ship the tests only within the United States, though it has been reported that the test is also available in <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>.<p><a id="Testimonials_and_legal_challenges" name="Testimonials_and_legal_challenges"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Testimonials and legal challenges</span></h2>
<p>In contrast to the criticisms, a website offering the test for sale has testimonials from women who have received successful predictions from the test. The on-line retailer Pregnancy Store.com has advertised themselves as the exclusive distributor of the test. Sherry Bonelli, CEO of Pregnancy Store.com, says that scientists who are skeptical about the test are jealous of Acu-Gen and that the skeptics have not produced any evidence to show that the test is inaccurate.<p>Gail O'Conner, a spokesperson for the Illinois State Attorney General, says that they are investigating The Pregnancy Store.com for possible <!--del_lnk--> fraud. A law firm named Gainey & McKenna has filed a class action lawsuit and at least one other firm is inviting people to contact them about their legal rights if they are unhappy with the results of their test. Gainey & McKenna's lawsuit seeks to bar the company from <!--del_lnk--> false advertising in marketing its test and to compel the firm to honour its money-back guarantee.<p><a id="About_Acu-Gen" name="About_Acu-Gen"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">About Acu-Gen</span></h2>
<p>Acu-Gen's President is named Chang Wang. The company is based in <!--del_lnk--> Lowell, Massachusetts. A National Public Radio reporter visited the address given as the headquarters of Acu-Gen. They found that the building at that address contains a <!--del_lnk--> Hindu temple and a company called BioTronics, but no sign for Acu-Gen. According to NPR, their inquiries at BioTronics revealed the two companies have common ownership, but no one was available to comment for the NPR story. A news crew from television station <!--del_lnk--> WFTS, an <!--del_lnk--> American Broadcasting Company (ABC) affiliate, also visited the Acu-Gen offices. They found "about six employees inside Wang's lab, some putting together gender test kits, others doing some type of lab work. There was a room full of machines Chang said he created, and shelves stacked with blood samples supposedly sent in by women from across the United States."<p><a id="Warranty_and_availability" name="Warranty_and_availability"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Warranty and availability</span></h2>
<p>Allegedly, Acu-Gen is creating new requirements for people who want to take advantage of the money back guarantee. The attorney Barry Gainey of Gainey & McKenna says that Wang is "making people send in the original <!--del_lnk--> birth certificate. He's making them get blood tests from the newborn baby. And there's other requirements that he's now adding to the refund in order to avoid paying back these people and giving them the 200-percent refund." None of those requirements were on the boxes shipped to early customers, but the requirements have since appeared on Acu-Gen's website.<p>There have been conflicting reports about how often the company has refunded money to consumers who received an erroneous result with the test. In February 2006, Acu-Gen's President Chang Wang said, "We don't mistakes. Period." (sic) Yet in October 2005 he had stated his company had issued four refund checks, including one for a case involving a vanishing twin. The Pregnancy Store.com claims that none of the refund checks were issued as a result of the test being proven wrong by a live birth. Their website states:<blockquote>
<p>To date, Acu-Gen has issued 200% refund checks to a few customers -- NOT for incorrectly identifying the baby's gender at birth, though. Two are for cases involving vanishing twins, one case due to insufficient blood sample, two cases caused by incomplete reactions and three reversal cases of no obvious reasons. All of these eight cases are currently into their second trimester of pregnancy.</blockquote>
<p>In March 2006, Wang said in an e-mail to NPR, he has "decided to defer all his energies regarding the BGM product and service for one more year, when results of actual births compared to results the results provided by Baby Gender Mentor should answer any concern about the accuracy of the test."<p>Initial news reports and the Acu-Gen website touted a 200% money-back guarantee. In May 2006, the Acu-Gen website was modified to show a different warranty than the one that had originally promised to refund 200% of the purchase price of the test. The new warranty states:<blockquote>
<p>We guarantee that all test results are 99.9% accurate. If your test results are legitimately incorrect, Baby Gender Mentor will refund you all costs that include laboratory and purchasing expenses.* A valid registration code and a birth certificate are required for the refund. You MUST read and follow all kit instructions. Baby Gender Mentor is not responsible for any consequences resulting from failure to follow kit instructions. To claim the refund, the birth certificate should include BOTH the address and name of the purchaser. In some instances, Baby Gender Mentor may request the finger press of the baby to conclude the refund process...</blockquote>
<p>The PreganancyStore.com also updated their website to reflect that the warranty now refunds only 100% of the purchase price. As of July 2006, the Pregnancy Store.com reports that the test is currently out of stock.<p><a id="Beyond_gender_testing" name="Beyond_gender_testing"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Beyond gender testing</span></h2>
<p>Scientists know that it is possible to use fetal DNA from a mother's blood to screen the unborn baby for genetic defects such as <!--del_lnk--> Down's Syndrome. In a validation study sponsored by the National Institute for Child Health and Development, 5 different labs used fetal cells from maternal blood to search for evidence of Down's Syndrome in 2,744 pregnancies. On average, the labs correctly spotted Down's Syndrome babies 74% of the time.<p>In at least one case, Wang has phoned an expectant mother one month after giving her the gender prediction to inform her that her test indicated an "excess of genetic material in her blood" and advised her to see her doctor in order "to rule out problems like Down's syndrome or Trisomy 18." Wang explains this means "with a certain possibility, that her fetus has a kind of genetic problem. Of course later on, we had used our technology to prove that she has a chromosome problem: <!--del_lnk--> Trisomy 18. That means that this baby [is] going to have a developmental problem and is going to probably cease to exist right after the birth."<p>Dr. Diana Bianchi of Tufts says the Baby Gender Mentor, as described in its advertising, wouldn't be able to determine such a claimed abnormality. She says, "The test involves looking at genetic sequences on the <!--del_lnk--> X chromosome and the Y chromosome. If he gave a diagnosis of Trisomy 18, that involves a different chromosome, <!--del_lnk--> Chromosome 18. That is certainly something that is not advertised in the packaging associated with the test."<p><a id="Competition" name="Competition"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Competition</span></h2>
<p>A <a href="../../wp/t/Toronto.htm" title="Toronto">Toronto</a> lab called Paragon Genetics has been offering a similar test since approximately 2003. Their test may be taken beginning at 10 weeks into the pregnancy as opposed to the five weeks claimed by AcuGen. The Paragon Genetics test costs $390, requires a vial of fresh blood, and takes 10 business days to return results instead of 48 hours. The lab's director, Yuri Melekhovets, said the Baby Gender Mentor setup concerns him somewhat because from his experience and knowledge of the literature, "it appears that fresh blood works best [for testing]." He also said he is aware of the ethical concerns surrounding sex selection but he says, "We supply the information, and what you do with the information is up to you." He also argues that parents can already conduct gender selection through other technologies, such as ultrasound.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Gender_Mentor"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['United States', 'Gender', 'DNA', 'United States', 'India', 'China', 'Canada', 'Toronto']
|
Babylonia
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Babylonia,1595 BC,1750 BC,1780 BC,1901,1911,23rd century BC,514 BC,520 BC,521 BC,529 BC" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Babylonia</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Babylonia";
var wgTitle = "Babylonia";
var wgArticleId = 46883;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Babylonia">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Babylonia</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Ancient_History_Classical_History_and_Mythology.htm">Ancient History, Classical History and Mythology</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;">
<tr>
<th style="background:#F6E6AE;"><b><a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Ancient Mesopotamia</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/e/Euphrates.htm" title="Euphrates">Euphrates</a> – <a href="../../wp/t/Tigris.htm" title="Tigris">Tigris</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Assyriology</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="background:#F6E6AE;"><b>Cities / Empires</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><a href="../../wp/s/Sumer.htm" title="Sumer">Sumer</a></b>: <!--del_lnk--> Uruk – <!--del_lnk--> Ur – <!--del_lnk--> Eridu</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kish – <!--del_lnk--> Lagash – <!--del_lnk--> Nippur</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><a href="../../wp/a/Akkadian_Empire.htm" title="Akkadian Empire">Akkadian Empire</a></b>: <!--del_lnk--> Akkad</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Babylon – <!--del_lnk--> Isin – <!--del_lnk--> Susa</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><a href="../../wp/a/Assyria.htm" title="Assyria">Assyria</a></b>: <!--del_lnk--> Assur – <!--del_lnk--> Nineveh</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dur-Sharrukin – <!--del_lnk--> Nimrud</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><strong class="selflink">Babylonia</strong></b> – <b><!--del_lnk--> Chaldea</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Elam</b> – <b><!--del_lnk--> Amorites</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Hurrians</b> – <b><!--del_lnk--> Mitanni</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Kassites</b> – <b><!--del_lnk--> Urartu</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="background:#F6E6AE;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Chronology</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kings of Sumer</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kings of Assyria</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kings of Babylon</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="background:#F6E6AE;"><b>Language</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Cuneiform script</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Sumerian – <!--del_lnk--> Akkadian</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Elamite – <!--del_lnk--> Hurrian</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="background:#F6E6AE;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Mythology</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Enûma Elish</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Gilgamesh – <!--del_lnk--> Marduk</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Babylonia</b>, named for its capital city, <!--del_lnk--> Babylon, was an ancient <!--del_lnk--> state in the south part of <a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a> (in modern <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a>), combining the territories of <a href="../../wp/s/Sumer.htm" title="Sumer">Sumer</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Akkad. The earliest mention of Babylon can be found in a tablet of the reign of <!--del_lnk--> Sargon of Akkad, dating back to the <!--del_lnk--> 23rd century BC.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Historically, two ethnic groups, the <!--del_lnk--> Sumerians and <!--del_lnk--> Akkadians, had dominated the region. An area rich in natural resources, and strategically located for trade routes and commerce, it was often under threat from outsiders throughout the region's history.<p><a id="Old_Babylonian_period" name="Old_Babylonian_period"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Old Babylonian period</span></h3>
<p>At around 1900 BC, following the Sumerian revival under <!--del_lnk--> Ur-III, <!--del_lnk--> Semitic <!--del_lnk--> Amorites from west of the <a href="../../wp/e/Euphrates.htm" title="Euphrates">Euphrates</a> gained control over most of Mesopotamia. During the first centuries of their rule, Mesopotamia was not unified, and the most powerful city state was <!--del_lnk--> Isin. Some Amorites eventually formed a <!--del_lnk--> monarchical <a href="../../wp/g/Government.htm" title="Government">government</a> in the <!--del_lnk--> city-state of Babylon, which would ultimately take over the Amorite kingdoms and form the first Babylonian empire. The three centuries of their rule is known as the Old Babylonian Period.<p>The Babylonians engaged in regular trade and influence with Western city-states; with Babylonian officials and troops passing to Syria and Canaan. Further, "Amorite" colonists were established in Babylonia for the purposes of trade.<p>The city of Babylon was given hegemony over Mesopotamia by their sixth ruler, <a href="../../wp/h/Hammurabi.htm" title="Hammurabi">Hammurabi</a> (<!--del_lnk--> 1780–<!--del_lnk--> 1750 BC; dates highly uncertain). He was a very efficient ruler, writing an influential law code and giving the region stability after turbulent times, thereby transforming it into the central power of Mesopotamia.<p>Babylonian beliefs held the king as an agent of <!--del_lnk--> Marduk, and the city of Babylon as a "holy city" where any legitimate ruler of Mesopotamia had to be crowned. A natural development was the establishment of a bureaucracy, with taxation and centralized government, to allow the king to exert his control.<p>A great literary revival followed the recovery of Babylonian independence. One of the most important works of this "<!--del_lnk--> First Dynasty of Babylon", as it was called by the native historians, was the compilation of <!--del_lnk--> a code of laws. This was made by order of Hammurabi after the expulsion of the <!--del_lnk--> Elamites and the settlement of his kingdom. In <!--del_lnk--> 1901, a copy of the <a href="../../wp/c/Code_of_Hammurabi.htm" title="Code of Hammurabi">Code of Hammurabi</a> was discovered by <!--del_lnk--> J. De Morgan and <!--del_lnk--> V. Scheil at <!--del_lnk--> Susa, where it had been taken as plunder. That copy is now in the Louvre.<p>Ammiditana, the great-grandson of Hammurabi, still titled himself "king of the land of the Amorites", and his father and son bore the Canaanite names of Abieshuh and <!--del_lnk--> Ammisaduqa. One of these Amorites, Abi-ramu or Abram by name, is the father of a witness to a deed dated in the reign of Hammurabi's grandfather.<p>The armies of Babylonia were well-disciplined, and they conquered the city-states of <!--del_lnk--> Isin, Elam, and <!--del_lnk--> Uruk, and the strong Kingdom of <!--del_lnk--> Mari. The rule of Babylon was even obeyed as far as the shores of the Mediterranean. But Mesopotamia had no clear boundaries, making it vulnerable to attack. Trade and culture thrived for 150 years, until the fall of Babylon in <!--del_lnk--> 1595 BC.<p><a id="Kassite_period" name="Kassite_period"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Kassite period</span></h3>
<p>The 14th king of the dynasty was <!--del_lnk--> Samsu-Ditana, son of Ammisaduqa. He was overthrown following the sack of Babylon in <!--del_lnk--> 1595 BC by the <!--del_lnk--> Hittite king <!--del_lnk--> Mursili I, and Babylonia was turned over to the <!--del_lnk--> Kassites (Kossaeans) from the mountains of Iran, with whom <!--del_lnk--> Samsu-Iluna had already come into conflict in his 6th year. The Kassite dynasty was founded by Kandis or Gandash of Mari. The Kassites renamed Babylon "<i>Kar-Duniash</i>", and their rule lasted for 576 years. With this foreign dominion — that offers a striking analogy to the contemporary rule of the <!--del_lnk--> Hyksos in <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Egypt.htm" title="Ancient Egypt">ancient Egypt</a> — Babylonia lost its empire over western Asia. The high-priests of <!--del_lnk--> Ashur made themselves kings of <a href="../../wp/a/Assyria.htm" title="Assyria">Assyria</a>. Most divine attributes ascribed to the Semitic kings of Babylonia disappeared at this time; the title of "god" was never given to a Kassite sovereign. However, Babylon continued to be the capital of the kingdom and the 'holy' city of western Asia, where the priests were all-powerful, and the only place where the right to inheritance of the old Babylonian empire could be conferred.<p><a id="Neo-Babylonian_Empire_.28Chaldean_Era.29" name="Neo-Babylonian_Empire_.28Chaldean_Era.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Neo-Babylonian Empire (Chaldean Era)</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Through the centuries of Assyrian domination, Babylonia enjoyed a prominent status, or revolting at the slightest indication that it did not. However, the Assyrians always managed to restore Babylonian loyalty, whether through granting of increased privileges, or militarily. That finally changed in 627 BC with the death of the last strong Assyrian ruler, <!--del_lnk--> Ashurbanipal, and Babylonia rebelled under <!--del_lnk--> Nabopolassar the Chaldean the following year. With help from the <!--del_lnk--> Medes, <!--del_lnk--> Nineveh was sacked in 612, and the seat of empire was again transferred to Babylonia.<p>Nabopolassar was followed by his son <!--del_lnk--> Nebuchadnezzar II, whose reign of 43 years made Babylon once more the mistress of the civilized world. Only a small fragment of his annals has been discovered, relating to his invasion of Egypt in <!--del_lnk--> 567 BC, and referring to "Phut of the Ionians".<p>Of the reign of the last Babylonian king, <!--del_lnk--> Nabonidus (<i>Nabu-na'id</i>), and the conquest of Babylonia by <a href="../../wp/c/Cyrus_the_Great.htm" title="Cyrus the Great">Cyrus</a>, there is a fair amount of information available. This is chiefly derived from a chronological tablet containing the annals of Nabonidus, supplemented by another inscription of Nabonidus where he recounts his restoration of the temple of the Moon-god at Harran; as well as by a proclamation of Cyrus issued shortly after his formal recognition as king of Babylonia. It was in the sixth year of Nabonidus (<!--del_lnk--> 549 BC) that Cyrus, the Achaemenid Persian "king of <!--del_lnk--> Anshan" in Elam, revolted against his suzerain <!--del_lnk--> Astyages, "king of the Manda" or Medes, at Ecbatana. Astyages' army betrayed him to his enemy, and Cyrus established himself at Ecbatana, thus putting an end to the empire of the Medes. Three years later Cyrus had become king of all Persia, and was engaged in a campaign in the north of <a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a>. Meanwhile, Nabonidus had established a camp in the desert, near the southern frontier of his kingdom, leaving his son <!--del_lnk--> Belshazzar (<i>Belsharutsur</i>) in command of the army.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 539 BC Cyrus invaded Babylonia. A battle was fought at Opis in the month of June, where the Babylonians were defeated; and immediately afterwards Sippara surrendered to the invader. Nabonidus fled to Babylon, where he was pursued by Gobryas, and on the 16th of <i>Tammuz</i>, two days after the capture of Sippara, "the soldiers of Cyrus entered Babylon without fighting." Nabonidus was dragged from his hiding-place, where the services continued without interruption. Cyrus did not arrive until the 3rd of <i>Marchesvan</i> (October), Gobryas having acted for him in his absence. Gobryas was now made governor of the province of Babylon, and a few days afterwards the son of Nabonidus died. A public mourning followed, lasting six days, and Cambyses accompanied the corpse to the tomb.<p>Cyrus now claimed to be the legitimate successor of the ancient Babylonian kings and the avenger of <!--del_lnk--> Bel-Marduk, who was assumed to be wrathful at the impiety of Nabonidus in removing the images of the local gods from their ancestral shrines, to his capital Babylon. Nabonidus, in fact, had excited a strong feeling against himself by attempting to centralize the religion of Babylonia in the temple of Merodach (Marduk) at Babylon, and while he had thus alienated the local priesthoods, the military party despised him on account of his antiquarian tastes. He seems to have left the defense of his kingdom to others, occupying himself with the more congenial work of excavating the foundation records of the temples and determining the dates of their builders.<p>The invasion of Babylonia by Cyrus was doubtless facilitated by the existence of a disaffected party in the state, as well as by the presence of foreign exiles like the Jews, who had been planted in the midst of the country. One of the first acts of Cyrus accordingly was to allow these exiles to return to their own homes, carrying with them the images of their gods and their sacred vessels. The permission to do so was embodied in a proclamation, whereby the conqueror endeavored to justify his claim to the Babylonian throne. The feeling was still strong that none had a right to rule over western Asia until he had been consecrated to the office by Bel and his priests; and accordingly, Cyrus henceforth assumed the imperial title of "King of Babylon."<p>A year before Cyrus' death, in <!--del_lnk--> 529 BC, he elevated his son <!--del_lnk--> Cambyses II in the government, making him king of Babylon, while he reserved for himself the fuller title of "king of the (other) provinces" of the empire. It was only when <!--del_lnk--> Darius Hystaspis acquired the Persian throne and ruled it as a representative of the <!--del_lnk--> Zoroastrian religion, that the old tradition was broken and the claim of Babylon to confer legitimacy on the rulers of western Asia ceased to be acknowledged. Darius, in fact, entered Babylon as a conqueror.<p>After the murder of Darius, it briefly recovered its independence under Nidinta-Bel, who took the name of <!--del_lnk--> Nebuchadnezzar III, and reigned from October <!--del_lnk--> 521 BC to August <!--del_lnk--> 520 BC, when the Persians took it by storm. A few years later, probably <!--del_lnk--> 514 BC, Babylon again revolted under <!--del_lnk--> Arakha; on this occasion, after its capture by the Persians, the walls were partly destroyed. E-Saggila, the great temple of Bel, however, still continued to be kept in repair and to be a centre of Babylonian patriotism, until at last the foundation of <!--del_lnk--> Seleucia diverted the population to the new capital of Babylonia and the ruins of the old city became a quarry for the builders of the new seat of government.<p><a id="Astronomy" name="Astronomy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Astronomy</span></h2>
<p>Among the sciences, <a href="../../wp/a/Astronomy.htm" title="Astronomy">astronomy</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Astrology.htm" title="Astrology">astrology</a> occupied a conspicuous place in Babylonian society. Astronomy was of old standing in Babylonia, and the standard work on the subject, written from an astrological point of view, later translated into <!--del_lnk--> Greek by <!--del_lnk--> Berossus, was believed to date from the age of <!--del_lnk--> Sargon of Akkad. The <!--del_lnk--> zodiac was a Babylonian invention of great antiquity; and <!--del_lnk--> eclipses of the <a href="../../wp/s/Sun.htm" title="Sun">sun</a> and <a href="../../wp/m/Moon.htm" title="Moon">moon</a> could be foretold. <!--del_lnk--> Observatories were attached to the temples, and reports were regularly sent by astronomers to the king. The stars had been numbered and named at an early date, and we possess tables of lunar longitudes and observations of the phases of <a href="../../wp/v/Venus.htm" title="Venus">Venus</a>. Great attention was naturally paid to the <!--del_lnk--> calendar, and we find a <!--del_lnk--> week of seven days and another of five days in use.<p>Babylonian astrology was based on the belief that the entire <a href="../../wp/u/Universe.htm" title="Universe">universe</a> was created in relation to the <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">earth</a>. Thus the ancients saw it as no accident that the <a href="../../wp/s/Star.htm" title="Stars">stars</a> and <!--del_lnk--> planets were set in a certain divine order at the time of <!--del_lnk--> creation.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> Seleucid and <!--del_lnk--> Parthian times, the astronomical reports were of a thoroughly scientific character; how much earlier their advanced knowledge and methods were developed is uncertain. The Babylonian development of methods for predicting the motions of the planets is considered to be a major episode in the <!--del_lnk--> history of astronomy.<p><a id="Mathematics" name="Mathematics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Mathematics</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The Babylonian system of mathematics was <!--del_lnk--> sexagesimal, or a base 60 <!--del_lnk--> numeral system (see: <!--del_lnk--> Babylonian numerals). From this we derive the modern day usage of 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 360 (60 x 6) degrees in a circle. The Babylonians were able to make great advances in mathematics for two reasons. First, the number 60 has many <!--del_lnk--> divisors (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, and 30), making calculations easier. Additionally, unlike the Egyptians and Romans, the Babylonians had a true place-value system, where digits written in the left column represented larger values (much as in our base-ten system: 734 = 7×100 + 3×10 + 4×1). Among the Babylonians' mathematical accomplishments were the determination of the <!--del_lnk--> square root of two correctly to seven places (<!--del_lnk--> YBC 7289 clay tablet). They also demonstrated knowledge of the <a href="../../wp/p/Pythagorean_theorem.htm" title="Pythagorean theorem">Pythagorean theorem</a> well before Pythagoras, as evidenced by this tablet translated by Dennis Ramsey and dating to c. 1900 BC:<blockquote>
<p>4 is the length and 5 is the diagonal. What is the breadth? Its size is not known. 4 times 4 is 16. 5 times 5 is 25. You take 16 from 25 and there remains 9. What times what shall I take in order to get 9? 3 times 3 is 9. 3 is the breadth.</blockquote>
<p>The <i>ner</i> of 600 and the <i>sar</i> of 3600 were formed from the unit of 60, corresponding with a degree of the <!--del_lnk--> equator. Tablets of squares and cubes, calculated from 1 to 60, have been found at <!--del_lnk--> Senkera, and a people acquainted with the sun-dial, the clepsydra, the lever and the pulley, must have had no mean knowledge of mechanics. A crystal lens, turned on the lathe, was discovered by <!--del_lnk--> Austen Henry Layard at <!--del_lnk--> Nimrud along with glass vases bearing the name of Sargon; this could explain the excessive minuteness of some of the writing on the <a href="../../wp/a/Assyria.htm" title="Assyria">Assyrian</a> tablets, and a lens may also have been used in the observation of the heavens.<p>The Babylonians might have been familiar with the general rules for measuring the areas. They measured the circumference of a circle as three times the diameter and the area as one-twelfth the square of the circumference, which would be correct if π were estimated as 3. The volume of a cylinder was taken as the product of the base and the height, however, the volume of the frustum of a cone or a square pyramid was incorrectly taken as the product of the height and half the sum of the bases. Also, there was a recent discovery in which a tablet used π as 3 and 1/8. The Babylonians are also known for the Babylonian mile, which was a measure of distance equal to about seven miles today. This measurement for distances eventually was converted to a time-mile used for measuring the travel of the Sun, therefore, representing time. (Eves, Chapter 2)<p><a id="Literature" name="Literature"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Literature</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>There were libraries in most towns and temples; an old <a href="../../wp/s/Sumer.htm" title="Sumer">Sumerian</a> proverb averred that "he who would excel in the school of the scribes must rise with the dawn." Women as well as men learned to read and write, and in Semitic times, this involved knowledge of the extinct <!--del_lnk--> Sumerian language, and a complicated and extensive syllabary.<p>A considerable amount of Babylonian literature was translated from Sumerian originals, and the language of religion and law long continued to be the old agglutinative language of Sumer. Vocabularies, grammars, and interlinear translations were compiled for the use of students, as well as commentaries on the older texts and explanations of obscure words and phrases. The characters of the syllabary were all arranged and named, and elaborate lists of them were drawn up.<p>There are many Babylonian literary works whose titles have come down to us. One of the most famous of these was the <a href="../../wp/e/Epic_of_Gilgamesh.htm" title="Epic of Gilgamesh">Epic of Gilgamesh</a>, in twelve books, translated from the original Sumerian by a certain Sin-liqi-unninni, and arranged upon an astronomical principle. Each division contains the story of a single adventure in the career of <!--del_lnk--> Gilgamesh. The whole story is a composite product, and it is probable that some of the stories are artificially attached to the central figure.<p>
<br />
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonia"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Mesopotamia', 'Euphrates', 'Tigris', 'Sumer', 'Akkadian Empire', 'Assyria', 'Mesopotamia', 'Iraq', 'Sumer', 'Euphrates', 'Government', 'Hammurabi', 'Code of Hammurabi', 'Ancient Egypt', 'Assyria', 'Cyrus the Great', 'Mesopotamia', 'Astronomy', 'Astrology', 'Sun', 'Moon', 'Venus', 'Universe', 'Earth', 'Stars', 'Pythagorean theorem', 'Assyria', 'Sumer', 'Epic of Gilgamesh']
|
Backgammon
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Backgammon,Tables games,Tables games,11th century,1254,1283,12th century,13th century,14th century,1628,1650" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Backgammon</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Backgammon";
var wgTitle = "Backgammon";
var wgArticleId = 4329;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Backgammon">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Backgammon</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Games.htm">Games</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="font-size:95%;width:24em;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#ddd;font-size:larger;text-align:center;">Backgammon</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/9/990.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="203" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Backgammon_board.jpg" src="../../images/9/990.jpg" width="270" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<br /> A modern backgammon set, consisting of a board, two sets of 15 checkers, two pairs of dice, and a doubling cube</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Players</th>
<td>2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Age range</th>
<td>5+</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Setup time</th>
<td>10–30 seconds</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Playing time</th>
<td>5–30 minutes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Rules complexity</th>
<td>Medium</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Strategy depth</th>
<td>High</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Random chance</th>
<td>Medium (<a href="../../wp/d/Dice.htm" title="Dice">Dice</a>)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Skills required</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Strategy, <!--del_lnk--> Probability</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: left; font-size: smaller; border-top: 1px solid #aaa;">
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Backgammon</b> is a <a href="../../wp/b/Board_game.htm" title="Board game">board game</a> for two players in which pieces are moved according to the roll of <a href="../../wp/d/Dice.htm" title="Dice">dice</a> and the winner is the first to remove all his pieces from the board. Many variants have developed throughout the world, but most share the same common elements. It is a member of the <!--del_lnk--> tables family of games.<p>The game is essentially a <!--del_lnk--> race, and <!--del_lnk--> luck plays a measurable role, but backgammon offers a significant scope for strategy. With each roll of the dice, a player must choose between numerous options for moving the checkers, and plan for possible counter-moves by his opponent. Opportunities for raising the stakes of the game introduce more strategic intricacies. Players have developed a <!--del_lnk--> vocabulary for common tactics and occurrences.<p>Like <a href="../../wp/c/Chess.htm" title="Chess">chess</a>, backgammon has been studied considerably by <a href="../../wp/c/Computer_science.htm" title="Computer science">computer scientists</a>. Research has resulted in backgammon software that is capable of beating world-class human players.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/991.jpg.htm" title="Game recovered from the Vasa, sunk in 1628"><img alt="Game recovered from the Vasa, sunk in 1628" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Old_Backgammon_Vasa.jpg" src="../../images/9/991.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/991.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Game recovered from the <!--del_lnk--> Vasa, sunk in <!--del_lnk--> 1628</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The ancient <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Egypt.htm" title="Ancient Egypt">Egyptians</a> played a game called <!--del_lnk--> senet, which resembled backgammon, with moves controlled by the roll of dice. The <!--del_lnk--> Royal Game of Ur, played in ancient <a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a>, is a more likely ancestor of modern tables games. Recent excavations at the "<!--del_lnk--> Burnt City" in <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a> showed that a similar game existed there around <!--del_lnk--> 3000 BC. The artifacts include two dice and 60 pieces, and the set is believed to be 100 to 200 years older than the sets found in Ur.<p>The <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">ancient Romans</a> played a number of games with remarkable similarities to backgammon. <i><!--del_lnk--> Ludus duodecim scriptorum</i> ("game of twelve lines") used a board with three rows of 12 points each, and the pieces were moved across all three rows according to the roll of dice. Not much specific text about the gameplay has survived. <i><!--del_lnk--> Tabula</i>, meaning "table" or "board", was a game mentioned in an epigram of <a href="../../wp/b/Byzantine_Empire.htm" title="Byzantine Empire">Byzantine</a> <!--del_lnk--> Emperor Zeno (AD 476–481). It was similar to modern backgammon in that a board with 24 points was used, and the object of the game was to be the first to bear off all of one's checkers. Three dice were used instead of two, and opposing checkers moved in opposite directions.<p>In the <a href="../../wp/1/11th_century.htm" title="11th century">11th century</a> <i><!--del_lnk--> Shahnameh</i>, the <!--del_lnk--> Persian poet <!--del_lnk--> Ferdowsi credits <!--del_lnk--> Burzoe with the invention of the tables game <i>nard</i> in the <a href="../../wp/6/6th_century.htm" title="6th century">6th century</a>. He describes an encounter between Burzoe and a <!--del_lnk--> Raja visiting from <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>. The Raja introduces the game of <a href="../../wp/c/Chess.htm" title="Chess">chess</a>, and Burzoe demonstrates nard, played with dice made from <a href="../../wp/i/Ivory.htm" title="Ivory">ivory</a> and <!--del_lnk--> teak.<p>The <i>jeux de tables</i>, predecessors of modern backgammon, first appeared in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> during the <a href="../../wp/1/11th_century.htm" title="11th century">11th century</a> and became a frequent pastime for gamblers. In <!--del_lnk--> 1254, <!--del_lnk--> Louis IX issued a decree prohibiting his court officials and subjects from playing the games. Tables games were played in <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> in the <a href="../../wp/1/12th_century.htm" title="12th century">12th century</a>, and had reached <a href="../../wp/i/Iceland.htm" title="Iceland">Iceland</a> by the <a href="../../wp/1/13th_century.htm" title="13th century">13th century</a>. While it is mostly known for its extensive discussion of chess, the <!--del_lnk--> Alfonso X manuscript <i><!--del_lnk--> Libro de los juegos</i>, completed in <!--del_lnk--> 1283, describes rules for a number of dice and tables games. By the <a href="../../wp/1/17th_century.htm" title="17th century">17th century</a>, tables games had spread to <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a>. A wooden board and checkers were recovered from the wreck of the <!--del_lnk--> Vasa among the belongings of the ship's officers.<p>In the <a href="../../wp/1/16th_century.htm" title="16th century">16th century</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Elizabethan laws and church regulations had prohibited playing tables, but by the <a href="../../wp/1/18th_century.htm" title="18th century">18th century</a> backgammon was popular among the English clergy. <!--del_lnk--> Edmund Hoyle published <i>A Short Treatise on the Game of Backgammon</i> in <!--del_lnk--> 1743; this book described the rules of the game and was bound together with a similar text on <!--del_lnk--> whist. The game described by Hoyle is, in most respects, the same as the game played today.<p><a id="Name" name="Name"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Name</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>In <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>, the word "backgammon" is most likely derived from "back" and <!--del_lnk--> Middle English "<i>gamen</i>", meaning "game" or "play". The earliest use documented by the <!--del_lnk--> Oxford English Dictionary was in <!--del_lnk--> 1650.<li>In <a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>, the game is called <i>tawilat el-nard</i> (طاولة النرد) or <i>tawilat el-zahr</i> (طاولة الزهر), meaning "board of dice".<li>In <a href="../../wp/c/Chinese_language.htm" title="Chinese language">Chinese</a>, the game is called <i>shuang lu</i> (双陆), meaning "double sixes".<li>In <!--del_lnk--> Greek, it is referred to as <i>portes</i> and is played as one of the three games in a <!--del_lnk--> tavli match.<li>In <a href="../../wp/h/Hebrew_language.htm" title="Hebrew language">Hebrew</a>, it is called <i>shesh besh</i> (שש בש), derived from the <!--del_lnk--> Persian and <!--del_lnk--> Turkish for "six" and "five"<li>In <!--del_lnk--> Japanese, <i><!--del_lnk--> sugoroku</i> (双六) refers to backgammon as well as other racing games.<li>In <!--del_lnk--> Persian, backgammon is called <i>takhte nard</i>, meaning "battle on a wooden board".<li>In <a href="../../wp/p/Portuguese_language.htm" title="Portuguese language">Portuguese</a>, backgammon is called <i>gamão</i>.<li>In <!--del_lnk--> Romanian, backgammon is called <i>table</i>.<li>In <!--del_lnk--> Turkish, the game is called <i>tavla</i>.</ul>
<p><a id="Rules" name="Rules"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Rules</span></h2>
<p>The objective of backgammon is to move all of one's own checkers past those of one's opponent and then remove them from the board. The pieces are scattered at first and may be blocked or hit by the opponent. Because the playing time for each individual <b>game</b> is short, it is often played in <b>matches</b>, where victory is awarded to the first player to reach a certain number of points.<p><a id="Setup" name="Setup"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Setup</span></h3>
<p>Each side of the board has a track of twelve long triangles, called <b>points</b>. The points are considered to be connected across one edge of the board, forming a continuous track analogous to a <!--del_lnk--> horseshoe, numbered from 1 to 24. Each player begins with two checkers on his 24-point, three checkers on his 8-point, and five checkers each on his 13-point and his 6-point. The two players move their checkers in opposite directions, each from his own 24-point toward his 1-point. <div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/992.png.htm" title="Path of movement for blue and green; checkers are in starting position"><img alt="Path of movement for blue and green; checkers are in starting position" height="199" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bg_movement.png" src="../../images/9/992.png" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/992.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Path of movement for blue and green; checkers are in starting position</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Points 1 to 6 are called the <b>home board</b> or <b>inner board</b>, and points 7 to 12 are called the <b>outer board</b>. The 7-point is referred to as the <b>bar point</b> and the 13-point as the <b>mid point</b>.<p><a id="Movement" name="Movement"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Movement</span></h3>
<p>At the start of the game, each player rolls one die, and the player with the higher number moves first. The players then alternate turns, rolling two dice at the beginning of each turn.<p>After rolling the dice a player must, if possible, move checkers according to the number of pips showing on each die. For example, if he rolls a 6 and a 3 (noted as "6-3") he must move one checker six points forward, and another checker three points forward. The same checker may be moved twice as long as the two moves are distinct: six and then three, or three and then six, but not all nine at once. If a player rolls two of the same number (<b>doubles</b>) he must play each die twice. For example, upon rolling a 5-5 he must move four checkers forward five spaces each.<p>A checker may land on any point that is either unoccupied or is occupied only by a player's own checkers. It may also land on a point occupied by exactly one opposing checker; such a lone piece is called a <b>blot</b>. In the latter case, the blot has been <b>hit</b>, and is placed in the middle of the board on the <b>bar</b>, the divider between the home boards and the outer boards. A checker may never land on a point occupied by two or more opposing checkers, thus, no point is ever occupied by checkers from both players at the same time. <div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/993.jpg.htm" title="Medieval players, from the 14th century Codex Manesse"><img alt="Medieval players, from the 14th century Codex Manesse" height="264" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Puffspieler.jpg" src="../../images/9/993.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/993.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Medieval players, from the <a href="../../wp/1/14th_century.htm" title="14th century">14th century</a> <!--del_lnk--> Codex Manesse</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Checkers placed on the bar re-enter the game through the opponent's home field. A roll of 2 allows the checker to enter on the 23-point, a roll of 3 on the 22-point, etc. A player may not move any other checkers until all of his checkers on the bar have first re-entered the opponent's home field.<p>When all of a player's checkers are in his home board, he must <b>bear off</b>, removing the checkers from the board. A roll of 1 may be used to bear off a checker from the 1-point, a 2 from the 2-point, etc. A die may not be used to bear off checkers from a lower-numbered point unless there are no checkers on any higher points.<p>If one player has not borne off any checkers by the time his opponent has borne off all fifteen, he has lost a <b>gammon</b>, which counts for double a normal loss. If the losing player still has checkers on the bar or in his opponent's home board, he has lost a <b>backgammon</b>, which counts for triple a normal loss.<p><a id="Doubling_cube" name="Doubling_cube"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Doubling cube</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/994.jpg.htm" title="Backgammon set, 19th century"><img alt="Backgammon set, 19th century" height="164" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Backgammon-set_from_American_civil_war.jpeg" src="../../images/9/994.jpg" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/994.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Backgammon set, <a href="../../wp/1/19th_century.htm" title="19th century">19th century</a></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>To speed up match play and to provide an added dimension for strategy, a <b>doubling cube</b> is normally used. The doubling cube is a 6-sided die marked with the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64. If a player believes his position to be superior he may, before rolling the dice on his turn, <b>double</b>, demanding that the game be played for twice the current stakes. The doubling cube is then placed with the 2 side face up to show that the game's value has been doubled. His opponent must either accept the new stakes or resign the game immediately. Thereafter the right to <b>redouble</b> belongs exclusively to the player who last accepted a double. When this occurs, the cube is placed with the face of the next <!--del_lnk--> power of two showing.<p>The game is rarely redoubled beyond four times the original stake, but there is no theoretical limit on the number of doubles. Although 64 is the highest number depicted on the doubling cube, the stakes may rise to 128, 256, 512 and so on.<p>In money games, a player is often permitted to <b>beaver</b> when offered a double, doubling the value of the game again, while retaining possession of the cube.<p>The <b>Jacoby rule</b> allows gammons and backgammons to count for their respective double and triple values only if there has been at least one use of the doubling cube in the game. This encourages a player with a large lead in a game to double, possibly ending the game, rather than to play the game to its conclusion in hopes of a gammon or backgammon. The Jacoby Rule is widely used in money play but is not used in match play.<p>The <b>Crawford rule</b> is designed to make match play more equitable for the player in the lead. If a player is one point away from winning a match, his opponent has no incentive <i>not</i> to double; whether the game is worth one point or two, the outcome of the match is unaffected. To balance the situation, the Crawford rule requires that when a player first reaches a score one point short of winning the match, neither player may use the doubling cube for the following game, called the <b>Crawford game</b>. After the Crawford game, normal use of the doubling cube resumes. The Crawford rule is used in most match play.<p>Sometimes <b>automatic doubles</b> are used, meaning that any ties in the very first roll of the game automatically double the stakes. Thus, after a 3-3 roll, followed by a re-roll of 5-5, followed by a re-roll of 1-4 to begin the game itself, the game would be played for quadruple stakes. The doubling remains in the middle, with both players having access to it, and the Jacoby Rule is still in effect. Again, automatic doubles are common in money games. but they are rarely, if ever, used in match play.<p><a id="Variants" name="Variants"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Variants</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>There are many variants to standard backgammon rules. Some are played primarily throughout one geographic region, and others add new tactical elements to the game, such as by altering the starting position, restricting certain moves, or assigning special value to certain dice rolls.<p><a id="Acey-deucey" name="Acey-deucey"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Acey-deucey</span></h4>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><b>Acey-deucey</b> is a variant of backgammon in which players start with no checkers on the board, and must bear them on at the beginning of the game. The roll of 1-2 is given special consideration, allowing the player to select doubles of her choice. A player also receives an extra turn after the roll of 1-2 or of doubles.<p><a id="Hypergammon" name="Hypergammon"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Hypergammon</span></h4>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><b>Hypergammon</b> is a variant of backgammon in which players have only three checkers on the board, starting with one each on the 24-, 23- and 22-points. The game has been <!--del_lnk--> strongly solved, meaning that exact <!--del_lnk--> equities are available for all 32 million positions possible in the game.<p><a id="Nackgammon" name="Nackgammon"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Nackgammon</span></h4>
<p><b>Nackgammon</b> is a variant devised by Nack Ballard. It differs only in its initial setup: each player starts with two checkers on the 24-point, two checkers on the 23-point, three checkers on the 8-point, and four checkers each on the 13-point and 6-point. Each side still has fifteen checkers total, but with two checkers on each side starting further back, there is more initial contact between the two sides, and less chance the game will quickly develop into a race.<p><a id="Old_English" name="Old_English"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Old English</span></h4>
<p><b>Old English backgammon</b> restricts the number of checkers to a maximum of five on each point, thus forbidding some moves that might otherwise be made. A player may also opt to play one part of a roll in such a way that the rest may not be played.<p><a id="Strategy" name="Strategy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Strategy</span></h2>
<p>Backgammon has an established <!--del_lnk--> opening theory, although it is less detailed than that of games like <a href="../../wp/c/Chess.htm" title="Chess">chess</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> tree of checker positions expands quickly because of the number of possible dice rolls and the moves available on each turn. Recent computer analysis has offered more insight on opening moves, but the midgame is reached quickly. After the opening moves, backgammon players frequently rely on some established general strategies, and will combine and switch among them to adapt to changing conditions as a game unfolds.<p>The most direct and sometimes the most successful strategy is simply to avoid being hit, trapped, or getting into mutually blocked stand-offs. The <b>running game</b> describes a strategy of moving as quickly as possible around the board, and is most successful when a player is already ahead in the race.<p>A <b>holding game</b> is a strategy wherein a player keeps a point high in his opponent's board or on his opponent's bar point, as the game progresses. The player may gain an advantage by hitting an opponent's blot from the held point, or by rolling large doubles that allow the player to advance both checkers and begin a running game.<p>The <b>priming game</b> involves building a wall of checkers, called a <b>prime</b>, ideally covering six consecutive points. This obstructs opposing checkers that are behind the blockade. The prime is usually built somewhere between the 11-point and the 2-point, and then shuffled into the home board as the game progresses.<p>A <b>blitz</b> describes a strategy of closing the home board as quickly as possible while keeping one's opponent on the bar. Because the opponent has difficulty re-entering from the bar or escaping, a player can quickly gain a running advantage and win the game..<p>A <b>backgame</b> is a strategy of placing two or more <b>anchors</b> (points with two or more checkers) in one's opponent's home board, while building a prime in one's own home board. The anchors obstruct the opponent's checkers, and create opportunities to hit them as they move toward the home board. The backgame is generally used only to salvage a game wherein a player is already significantly behind; using a backgame as an initial strategy is usually unsuccessful.<p><b>Duplication</b> refers to the placement of checkers in such a way that advantageous dice rolls for one's opponent are the same for a number of desirable moves. For example, a player may position all of her blots in such a way that her opponent must roll a 2 in order to hit one, reducing the probability that any blot will be hit. <b>Diversification</b> refers to a complementary tactic of placing one's own checkers in such a way that more numbers are useful.<p><a id="Social_and_competitive_play" name="Social_and_competitive_play"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Social and competitive play</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/995.jpg.htm" title="Medieval players, from the 13th century Carmina Burana"><img alt="Medieval players, from the 13th century Carmina Burana" height="145" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wurfzabel.jpg" src="../../images/9/995.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/995.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Medieval players, from the <a href="../../wp/1/13th_century.htm" title="13th century">13th century</a> <!--del_lnk--> Carmina Burana</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Club_and_tournament_play" name="Club_and_tournament_play"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Club and tournament play</span></h3>
<p>Enthusiasts have formed <!--del_lnk--> clubs for social play of backgammon. Local clubs may hold informal gatherings, with members meeting at cafés and bars in the evening to play and converse. A few clubs offer additional services, maintaining their own facilities or offering computer analysis of troublesome plays. Some club leaders have noticed a recent growth of interest in backgammon, and attribute it to the game's popularity on the <a href="../../wp/i/Internet.htm" title="Internet">internet</a>.<p>A <!--del_lnk--> backgammon chouette permits three or more players to participate in a single game, often for money. One player competes against a team of all the other participants, and positions rotate after each game. Chouette play often permits the use of multiple doubling cubes.<p>Backgammon clubs may also organize <!--del_lnk--> tournaments. Large club tournaments sometimes draw competitors from other regions, with final matches viewed by hundreds of spectators. The top players at regional tournaments often compete in major national and international championships. Winners at top tournaments may receive prizes of tens of thousands of <!--del_lnk--> dollars. One sponsor announced a purse of US$1,000,000 for a tournament held in the <a href="../../wp/t/The_Bahamas.htm" title="Bahamas">Bahamas</a> in 2006.<p><a id="World_Backgammon_Championship" name="World_Backgammon_Championship"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">World Backgammon Championship</span></h3>
<p>Prior to 1979, there was no single world championship competition in backgammon. A number of tournaments were held in <!--del_lnk--> Las Vegas and the Bahamas. Since 1979, the World Backgammon Championship in Monte Carlo has been widely acknowledged as the top international tournament. The tournament in <!--del_lnk--> Monte Carlo draws thousands of players and spectators, and is played over the course of a week.<p><a id="Gambling" name="Gambling"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Gambling</span></h3>
<p>When backgammon is <!--del_lnk--> played for money, the most common arrangement is to assign a monetary value to each game, and to play to a certain score, or until either player chooses to stop. The stakes are raised by gammons, backgammons, and use of the doubling cube. Backgammon is sometimes available in <!--del_lnk--> casinos. As with most gambling games, successful play requires a combination of both luck and skill, as a single dice roll can, in some circumstances, significantly change the outcome of the game.<p><a id="Software" name="Software"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Software</span></h2>
<p><a id="Play_and_analysis" name="Play_and_analysis"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Play and analysis</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/996.png.htm" title="A screen shot of GNU Backgammon, showing an evaluation and rollout of possible moves."><img alt="A screen shot of GNU Backgammon, showing an evaluation and rollout of possible moves." height="176" longdesc="/wiki/Image:GNU_bg_screenshot.png" src="../../images/9/996.png" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/996.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A screen shot of GNU Backgammon, showing an evaluation and rollout of possible moves.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Backgammon has been studied considerably by <a href="../../wp/c/Computer_science.htm" title="Computer science">computer scientists</a>. <!--del_lnk--> Neural networks and other approaches have offered significant advances to software both for gameplay and analysis.<p>The first strong computer opponent was BKG 9.8. It was written by <!--del_lnk--> Hans Berliner in the late <!--del_lnk--> 1970s on a DEC <!--del_lnk--> PDP-10 as an experiment in evaluating board positions. Early versions of BKG played badly even against poor players, but Berliner noticed that its critical mistakes were always at phase changes. He applied principles of <!--del_lnk--> fuzzy logic to smooth out the transition between phases, and by July <!--del_lnk--> 1979, BKG 9.8 was strong enough to play against the ruling world champion <!--del_lnk--> Luigi Villa. It won the match, 7-1, becoming the first computer program to defeat a world champion in any game. Berliner states that the victory was largely a matter of luck, as the computer received more favorable dice rolls.<p>In the late <!--del_lnk--> 1980s, creators of backgammon software began to have more success with an approach based on <!--del_lnk--> neural networks. TD-Gammon, developed by <!--del_lnk--> Gerald Tesauro of <!--del_lnk--> IBM, was the first of these programs to play near the expert level. Its neural network was trained using <!--del_lnk--> temporal difference learning applied to data generated from self-play. According to assessments by <!--del_lnk--> Bill Robertie and <!--del_lnk--> Kit Woolsey, TD-Gammon plays at or above the level of the top human players in the world.<p>This line of research has resulted in two modern <!--del_lnk--> commercial programs, <!--del_lnk--> Jellyfish and <!--del_lnk--> Snowie, as well as the <!--del_lnk--> shareware <!--del_lnk--> BGBlitz implemented in <!--del_lnk--> Java, and the <!--del_lnk--> free software <!--del_lnk--> GNU Backgammon. They also offer tools for analyzing games and offering detailed comparisons of individual moves. It is worth noting that without their associated "weights" tables, which represent hours or even months of tedious neural net training, these programs play no better than a human novice.<p><a id="Internet_play" name="Internet_play"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Internet play</span></h3>
<p>Backgammon software has been developed not only to play and analyze games, but also to facilitate play between humans from different parts of the world over the <a href="../../wp/i/Internet.htm" title="Internet">internet</a>. Dice rolls are provided by <!--del_lnk--> random or <!--del_lnk--> pseudorandom number generators. Real-time on-line play began with the <!--del_lnk--> First Internet Backgammon Server on <!--del_lnk--> July 19, <!--del_lnk--> 1992. The server is the longest running non-commercial backgammon server and enjoys a strong international community of backgammon players. Several commercial websites also offer on-line real-time backgammon play. <!--del_lnk--> Yahoo! Games has offered a Java-based online backgammon game since 1997. <!--del_lnk--> MSN Games currently offers a backgammon game based on <!--del_lnk--> ActiveX. The <!--del_lnk--> online gambling industry began to expand its offerings to include backgammon in 2006.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backgammon"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Dice', 'Board game', 'Dice', 'Chess', 'Computer science', 'Ancient Egypt', 'Mesopotamia', 'Iran', 'Ancient Rome', 'Byzantine Empire', '11th century', '6th century', 'India', 'Chess', 'Ivory', 'France', '11th century', 'Germany', '12th century', 'Iceland', '13th century', '17th century', 'Sweden', '16th century', '18th century', 'English language', 'Arabic language', 'Chinese language', 'Hebrew language', 'Portuguese language', '14th century', '19th century', 'Chess', '13th century', 'Internet', 'Bahamas', 'Computer science', 'Internet']
|
Bacteria
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bacteria,1 E17 s,2006,Acetogenesis,Acid-fast,Acidobacteria,Actinobacteria,Active transport,Aerobe,Aerobic organism,Agar plate" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bacteria</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bacteria";
var wgTitle = "Bacteria";
var wgArticleId = 3752;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bacteria">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bacteria</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Organisms.htm">Organisms</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: lightgrey;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Bacterium</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/172/17285.jpg.htm" title="Escherichia coli cells magnified 25,000 times"><img alt="Escherichia coli cells magnified 25,000 times" height="168" longdesc="/wiki/Image:EscherichiaColi_NIAID.jpg" src="../../images/9/998.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small><i><!--del_lnk--> Escherichia coli cells magnified 25,000 times</i></small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: lightgrey;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Domain:</td>
<td><b>Bacteria</b><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="lightgrey">
<th>
<center>Phyla</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Actinobacteria<br /><!--del_lnk--> Aquificae<br /><!--del_lnk--> Chlamydiae<br /><!--del_lnk--> Bacteroidetes/<!--del_lnk--> Chlorobi<br /><!--del_lnk--> Chloroflexi<br /><!--del_lnk--> Chrysiogenetes<br /><!--del_lnk--> Cyanobacteria<br /><!--del_lnk--> Deferribacteres<br /><!--del_lnk--> Deinococcus-Thermus<br /><!--del_lnk--> Dictyoglomi<br /><!--del_lnk--> Fibrobacteres/<!--del_lnk--> Acidobacteria<br /><!--del_lnk--> Firmicutes<br /><!--del_lnk--> Fusobacteria<br /><!--del_lnk--> Gemmatimonadetes<br /><!--del_lnk--> Lentisphaerae<br /><!--del_lnk--> Nitrospirae<br /><!--del_lnk--> Planctomycetes<br /><!--del_lnk--> Proteobacteria<br /><!--del_lnk--> Spirochaetes<br /><!--del_lnk--> Thermodesulfobacteria<br /><!--del_lnk--> Thermomicrobia<br /><!--del_lnk--> Thermotogae<br /><!--del_lnk--> Verrucomicrobia</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Bacteria</b> (singular: <b>bacterium</b>) are unicellular <!--del_lnk--> microorganisms. Bacteria are <!--del_lnk--> prokaryotes and, unlike animals and other <!--del_lnk--> eukaryotes, bacterial <a href="../../wp/c/Cell_%2528biology%2529.htm" title="Cell (biology)">cells</a> do not contain <!--del_lnk--> cell nuclei or other <!--del_lnk--> membrane-bound <!--del_lnk--> organelles. Although the term <i>bacteria</i> has traditionally been generally applied to all <!--del_lnk--> prokaryotes, the scientific nomenclature changed after the discovery that prokaryotic life consists of two very different groups of organisms that <a href="../../wp/e/Evolution.htm" title="Evolution">evolved</a> independently. These <!--del_lnk--> evolutionary domains are called Bacteria and <!--del_lnk--> Archaea. Bacteria are a few <!--del_lnk--> micrometres long and have many different shapes including spheres, rods or spirals. The study of bacteria is <!--del_lnk--> bacteriology, a branch of <!--del_lnk--> microbiology.<p>Bacteria are ubiquitous, living in every possible <!--del_lnk--> habitat on the planet including soil, underwater, deep in the earth's crust, and even such environments as acidic <!--del_lnk--> hot springs, and <!--del_lnk--> radioactive waste. There are typically forty million bacterial cells in a gram of soil, and one million bacterial cells in a millilitre of fresh water: in all, there are around five million trillion trillion (5 × 10<sup>30</sup>) bacteria in the world. These vast numbers of bacteria are vital in recycling nutrients, and many important steps in <!--del_lnk--> nutrient cycles depend on bacteria, such as the <a href="../../wp/n/Nitrogen_fixation.htm" title="Nitrogen fixation">fixation of nitrogen</a> from the atmosphere. However, most of these bacteria have not been characterised, since only about half of the <!--del_lnk--> phyla of bacteria have species that can be cultured in the laboratory.<p>There are ten times more bacterial cells than human cells in the human body, with large numbers of bacteria on the skin and in the digestive tract. Although the vast majority of these bacteria are harmless or beneficial, a few <!--del_lnk--> pathogenic bacteria cause <!--del_lnk--> infectious diseases, including <a href="../../wp/c/Cholera.htm" title="Cholera">cholera</a>, <!--del_lnk--> syphilis, <!--del_lnk--> anthrax, <!--del_lnk--> leprosy and <!--del_lnk--> bubonic plague. The most common bacterial disease is <a href="../../wp/t/Tuberculosis.htm" title="Tuberculosis">tuberculosis</a>, which kills about 2 million people every year, mostly in <a href="../../wp/s/Sub-Saharan_Africa.htm" title="Sub-Saharan Africa">sub-Saharan Africa</a>. In <!--del_lnk--> developed countries, <!--del_lnk--> antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections, and as a result <!--del_lnk--> antibiotic resistance is becoming increasingly common. In industry, bacteria are important in processes such as <!--del_lnk--> wastewater treatment, the production of <a href="../../wp/c/Cheese.htm" title="Cheese">cheese</a> and <!--del_lnk--> yoghurt and the industrial production of antibiotics and other chemicals.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History_of_bacteriology" name="History_of_bacteriology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History of bacteriology</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/999.png.htm" title="Anton van Leeuwenhoek, the first person to observe bacteria using a microscope."><img alt="Anton van Leeuwenhoek, the first person to observe bacteria using a microscope." height="269" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Anton_van_Leeuwenhoek.png" src="../../images/9/999.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/999.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Anton van Leeuwenhoek, the first person to observe bacteria using a <a href="../../wp/m/Microscope.htm" title="Microscope">microscope</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The first bacteria were observed by <!--del_lnk--> Anton van Leeuwenhoek in 1674 using a single-lens <a href="../../wp/m/Microscope.htm" title="Microscope">microscope</a> of his own design. His observations were published in a long series of letters to the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Society. The name <i>bacterium</i> was introduced much later, by <!--del_lnk--> Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1828, and is derived from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek word <i>βακτηριον</i> meaning "small stick".<p><a href="../../wp/l/Louis_Pasteur.htm" title="Louis Pasteur">Louis Pasteur</a> demonstrated in 1859 that the <!--del_lnk--> fermentation process is caused by the growth of <!--del_lnk--> microorganisms, and that this growth is not due to <!--del_lnk--> spontaneous generation. He was also an early advocate of the <!--del_lnk--> germ theory of disease, together with his contemporary, <!--del_lnk--> Robert Koch. Robert Koch was a pioneer in medical microbiology and worked on <a href="../../wp/c/Cholera.htm" title="Cholera">cholera</a>, <!--del_lnk--> anthrax and <a href="../../wp/t/Tuberculosis.htm" title="Tuberculosis">tuberculosis</a>. In his work on tuberculosis, Koch finally proved the germ theory, for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1905. In <i><!--del_lnk--> Koch's postulates</i>, he set out criteria to test if an organism is the cause of a <!--del_lnk--> disease: these postulates are still used today.<p>Although it was known in the 19th century that bacteria are the cause of many diseases, no effective antibacterial treatments were available. The first antibiotic was developed by <!--del_lnk--> Paul Ehrlich in 1910, by changing dyes that selectively-stained <i><!--del_lnk--> Treponema pallidum</i>, the <!--del_lnk--> spirochete that caused <!--del_lnk--> syphilis, into compounds that selectively killed the pathogen. Ehrlich was also awarded a Nobel prize for his work on <!--del_lnk--> immunology and pioneered the use of stains to detect and identify bacteria, with his work being the basis of the <!--del_lnk--> Gram stain and the <!--del_lnk--> Ziehl – Neelsen stain.<p>A major step forwards in the study of bacteria was the recognition in 1977 by <!--del_lnk--> Carl Woese that <!--del_lnk--> archaea were a separate line of evolutionary descent from bacteria. This new <!--del_lnk--> phylogenetic <!--del_lnk--> taxonomy was based on sequencing of <!--del_lnk--> 16S <!--del_lnk--> ribosomal <!--del_lnk--> RNA and divided prokaryotes into two evolutionary domains, as part of the <!--del_lnk--> three-domain system.<p><a id="Origin_and_early_evolution" name="Origin_and_early_evolution"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Origin and early evolution</span></h2>
<p>The ancestors of modern bacteria were single-celled microorganisms that were the <!--del_lnk--> first forms of life to develop on earth, approximately <!--del_lnk--> 4 billion years ago. For approximately 3 billion years, all organisms were microscopic and bacteria and archaea were the dominant forms of life. Although bacterial fossils exist, such as <!--del_lnk--> stromatolites, their lack of distinctive morphology prevents them from being used to examine the past history of bacterial evolution, or to date the time of origin of a particular bacterial species. However, gene sequences can be used to reconstruct the bacterial <!--del_lnk--> phylogeny and these studies indicate that bacteria diverged first from the archaeal/eukaryotic lineage. The last universal common ancestor of bacteria and archaea was probably a <!--del_lnk--> hyperthermophile that lived approximately 2.5 to 3.2 billion years ago.<p>Bacteria were also involved in the second great evolutionary divergence, that of the archaea and eukaryotes. The eukaryotes arose when ancient bacteria entered into <!--del_lnk--> endosymbiotic associations with the ancestors of eukaryotic cells. This involved the engulfment of alpha-proteobacteria to form <a href="../../wp/m/Mitochondrion.htm" title="Mitochondrion">mitochondria</a> and cyanobacterial-like organisms to form <!--del_lnk--> chloroplasts.<p><a id="Morphology" name="Morphology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Morphology</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1000.png.htm" title="Bacteria display a large diversity of cell morphologies and arrangements"><img alt="Bacteria display a large diversity of cell morphologies and arrangements" height="323" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bacterial_morphology_diagram.svg" src="../../images/10/1000.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1000.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bacteria display a large diversity of cell <!--del_lnk--> morphologies and arrangements</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bacteria display a wide diversity of shapes and sizes, called <i><!--del_lnk--> morphologies</i>. Bacterial cells are about ten times smaller than eukaryotic cells and are typically 0.5-5 <!--del_lnk--> micrometres in length. However a few species, for example <i><!--del_lnk--> Thiomargarita namibiensis</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Epulopiscium fishelsoni</i>, are up to half a <!--del_lnk--> millimetre long and visible to the unaided eye. Among the smallest bacteria are members of the genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Mycoplasma</i> which measure only 0.3 micrometres, as small as the largest <a href="../../wp/v/Virus.htm" title="Virus">viruses</a>.<p>Most bacterial species are either spherical, called <!--del_lnk--> coccus (<i>pl</i>. cocci, from Greek <i>kókkos</i>, grain, seed) or rod-shaped, called bacillus (<i>pl</i>. bacilli, from Latin <i>baculus</i>, stick). Some rod-shaped bacteria, called vibrio, are slightly curved or comma-shaped, while others, called spirilla, form twisted spirals. This wide variety of shapes are determined by the bacterial <!--del_lnk--> cell wall and <!--del_lnk--> cytoskeleton. These different shapes are important as they can influence the ability of bacteria to acquire nutrients, attach to surfaces, swim through liquids or escape predation.<p>Many bacterial species exist simply as single cells, while others tend to associate in diploids (pairs), characteristic for example <i><!--del_lnk--> Neisseria</i>, or chains, such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Streptococcus</i>, while members of the genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Staphylococcus</i>, form characteristic "bunch of grapes" clusters. Bacteria can also be elongated to form filaments, for example the <!--del_lnk--> Actinobacteria. Filamentous bacteria are often surrounded by a sheath which contains many individual cells, and certain species, such as the genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Nocardia</i>, form complex, branched filaments, similar in appearance to fungal <!--del_lnk--> mycelia.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1001.png.htm" title="The sizes of prokaryotes relative to other organisms and biomolecules."><img alt="The sizes of prokaryotes relative to other organisms and biomolecules." height="226" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Relative_scale.svg" src="../../images/10/1001.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1001.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The sizes of prokaryotes relative to other organisms and biomolecules.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bacteria often attach to surfaces and form dense aggregations called <!--del_lnk--> biofilms or microbial mats. These films can range from a few micrometers thick to up to half a metre in depth and may contain only a single bacterial species, or multiple species of bacteria, <!--del_lnk--> protists and <!--del_lnk--> archaea. Bacteria living in biofilms display a complex arrangement of cells and extracellular components, forming secondary structures such as microcolonies, through which there are networks of channels to enable better diffusion of nutrients. In natural environments, such as soil or the surfaces of plants, the majority of bacteria are bound to surfaces in biofilms. Biofilms are also important for chronic bacterial infections and infections of implanted medical devices, as bacteria protected within these structures are much harder to kill than individual bacteria.<p>Even more complex morphological changes are sometimes possible. For example, when starved of amino acids, <!--del_lnk--> Myxobacteria detect surrounding cells in a process known as <!--del_lnk--> quorum sensing, migrate towards each other and aggregate to form fruiting bodies up to 500 micrometres long and containing approximately 100,000 bacterial cells. In these fruiting bodies the bacteria perform separate tasks and this type of co-operation is a simple type of <!--del_lnk--> multicellular organisation. For example, about one in ten cells migrates to the top of these fruiting bodies and <!--del_lnk--> differentiates into a specialised dormant state called myxospores, which are more resistant to desiccation and other adverse environmental conditions than ordinary cells.<p><a id="Cellular_structure" name="Cellular_structure"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cellular structure</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:322px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/172/17247.png.htm" title="Diagram of the cellular structure of a typical bacterial cell"><img alt="Diagram of the cellular structure of a typical bacterial cell" height="248" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Prokaryote_cell_diagram.svg" src="../../images/10/1002.png" width="320" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/172/17247.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Diagram of the cellular structure of a typical bacterial cell</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Intracellular_structures" name="Intracellular_structures"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Intracellular structures</span></h3>
<p>The bacterial cell is surrounded by a <a href="../../wp/l/Lipid.htm" title="Lipid">lipid</a> membrane, or <!--del_lnk--> cell membrane, which encompasses the contents of the cell, or <!--del_lnk--> cytoplasm, and acts as a barrier to hold nutrients, proteins and other essential molecules within the cell. As they are <!--del_lnk--> prokaryotes, bacteria do not have membrane-bound <!--del_lnk--> organelles in their cytoplasm and thus contain few intracellular structures. They consequently lack mitochondria, chloroplasts and the other organelles present in eukaryotic cells, such as the <!--del_lnk--> golgi apparatus and <!--del_lnk--> endoplasmic reticulum.<p>Many important biochemical reactions, such as energy generation, occur due to <!--del_lnk--> concentration gradients across membranes creating a potential difference, analogous to a <!--del_lnk--> battery. The absence of internal membranes in bacteria means these reactions, such as <!--del_lnk--> electron transport, occur across the plasma membrane, between the cytoplasm and the periplasmic space.<p>Bacteria do not have a membrane-bound <!--del_lnk--> nucleus and their genetic material is typically a single circular chromosome located in the cytoplasm in an irregularly-shaped body called the <!--del_lnk--> nucleoid. The nucleoid contains the chromosome with associated proteins and <!--del_lnk--> RNA. Like all living organisms, bacteria contain <!--del_lnk--> ribosomes for the production of proteins, but the structure of the bacterial ribosome is different from those of <a href="../../wp/e/Eukaryote.htm" title="Eukaryote">eukaryotes</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Archaea. The order <!--del_lnk--> Planctomycetes are an exception to the general absence of internal membranes in bacteria, as they have a membrane around their nucleoid and contain other membrane-bound cellular structures.<p>Some bacteria also produce intracellular nutrient storage granules, such as <!--del_lnk--> glycogen, <!--del_lnk--> polyphosphate, <a href="../../wp/s/Sulfur.htm" title="Sulfur">sulfur</a> or <!--del_lnk--> polyhydroxyalkanoates. These granules enable bacteria to store compounds for later use. Certain bacterial species, such as the <!--del_lnk--> photosynthetic <!--del_lnk--> Cyanobacteria, produce internal gas vesicles which they use to regulate their buoyancy to regulate the optimal light intensity or nutrient levels.<p><a id="Extracellular_structures" name="Extracellular_structures"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Extracellular structures</span></h3>
<p>Around the outside of the cell membrane is the bacterial <!--del_lnk--> cell wall. Bacterial cell walls are made of <!--del_lnk--> peptidoglycan (called murein in older sources), which is made from <!--del_lnk--> polysaccharide chains cross-linked by unusual <!--del_lnk--> peptides containing D-<!--del_lnk--> amino acids. Bacterial cell walls are different from the cell walls of <a href="../../wp/p/Plant.htm" title="Plants">plants</a> and <!--del_lnk--> fungi which are made of <!--del_lnk--> cellulose and <!--del_lnk--> chitin, respectively. The cell wall of bacteria is also distinct from that of Archaea, which do not contain peptidoglycan. The cell wall is essential to the survival of many bacteria and the antibiotic <!--del_lnk--> penicillin is able to kill bacteria by inhibiting a step in the synthesis of peptidoglycan.<p>There are broadly speaking two different types of cell wall in bacteria, called <!--del_lnk--> Gram positive and <!--del_lnk--> Gram negative. The names originate from the reaction of cells to the <!--del_lnk--> Gram stain, a test long-employed for the classification of bacterial species.<p>Gram positive bacteria possess a thick cell wall containing many layers of peptidoglycan and <!--del_lnk--> teichoic acids. In contrast, Gram negative bacteria have a relatively thin cell wall consisting of a few layers of peptidoglycan surrounded by an outer lipid membrane containing lipopolysaccharides and lipoproteins. Most bacteria have the Gram negative cell wall and only the <!--del_lnk--> Firmicutes and <!--del_lnk--> Actinobacteria (previously known as the low G+C and high G+C Gram positive bacteria, respectively) have the alternative Gram positive arrangement. These differences in structure can produce differences in antibiotic susceptibility, for instance <!--del_lnk--> vancomycin can only kill Gram positive bacteria and is ineffective against pathogens such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Haemophilus influenzae</i> or <i><!--del_lnk--> Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>.<p>In many bacteria an <!--del_lnk--> S-layer of rigidly-arrayed protein molecules covers the outside of the cell. This layer provides chemical and physical protection for the cell surface and can act as a <!--del_lnk--> macromolecular diffusion barrier. S-layers have diverse but mostly poorly-understood functions, but are known to act as virulence factors in <i><!--del_lnk--> Campylobacter</i> and contain surface enzymes in <i><!--del_lnk--> Bacillus stearothermophilus</i>.<p><!--del_lnk--> Flagella are rigid protein structures, about 20 <!--del_lnk--> nanometres in diameter and up to 20 micrometres in length, that are used for motility. Flagella are driven by the energy released by the transfer of ions down an <!--del_lnk--> electrochemical gradient across the cell membrane.<p><!--del_lnk--> Fimbriae are fine filaments of protein, just 2-10 nanometres in diameter and up to several micrometers in length. They are distributed over the surface of the cell and resemble fine hairs when seen under the <!--del_lnk--> electron microscope. Fimbriae are believed to be involved in attachment to solid surfaces or to other cells, and are essential for the virulence of some bacterial pathogens. <!--del_lnk--> Pili (<i>sing</i>. pilus) are cellular appendages, slightly larger than fimbriae, that enable the transfer of genetic material between bacterial cells, called <!--del_lnk--> conjugation (see bacterial genetics, below).<p>Capsules or slime layers are produced by many bacteria to surround their cells and vary in structural complexity; ranging from a disorganised slime layer of extra-cellular <!--del_lnk--> polymer, to a highly structured <!--del_lnk--> capsule or <!--del_lnk--> glycocalyx. These structures can protect cells from engulfment by eukaryotic cells such as <!--del_lnk--> macrophages, they can act as antigens and be involved in cell recognition, as well as aiding attachment to surfaces and biofilm formation.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1004.jpg.htm" title="Bacillus anthracis (stained purple) growing in cerebrospinal fluid."><img alt="Bacillus anthracis (stained purple) growing in cerebrospinal fluid." height="169" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gram_Stain_Anthrax.jpg" src="../../images/10/1004.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1004.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i><!--del_lnk--> Bacillus anthracis</i> (stained purple) growing in <!--del_lnk--> cerebrospinal fluid.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Spores" name="Spores"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Spores</span></h3>
<p>Certain genera of gram-positive bacteria, such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Bacillus</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Clostridium</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sporohalobacter</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Anaerobacter</i>, and <i><!--del_lnk--> Heliobacterium</i>, can form highly resistant dormant structures called <!--del_lnk--> endospores. In almost all cases one endospore is formed and this is not a reproductive process, although <i><!--del_lnk--> Anaerobacter</i> can make up to seven spores in a single cell. Endospores have a central core of <!--del_lnk--> cytoplasm containing <a href="../../wp/d/DNA.htm" title="DNA">DNA</a> and <!--del_lnk--> ribosomes surrounded by a cortex layer and protected by an impermeable and rigid spore coat.<p>Endospores show no detectable <!--del_lnk--> metabolism and can survive extreme physical and chemical stresses, such as high levels of UV light, gamma radiation, detergents, disinfectants, heat, pressure and desiccation. In this dormant state, these organisms may remain viable for millions of years, and endospores even allow bacteria to survive exposure to the vacuum and radiation in space. Spores can also be a cause of disease: for example, inhalation of <i><!--del_lnk--> Bacillus anthracis</i> spores causes <!--del_lnk--> anthrax, and contamination of deep puncture wounds with <i><!--del_lnk--> Clostridium tetani</i> spores causes <!--del_lnk--> tetanus.<p><a id="Metabolism" name="Metabolism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Metabolism</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:187px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1005.jpg.htm" title="Fillaments of photosynthetic cyanobacteria"><img alt="Fillaments of photosynthetic cyanobacteria" height="160" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bluegreen_algae.jpg" src="../../images/10/1005.jpg" width="185" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1005.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Fillaments of <!--del_lnk--> photosynthetic <!--del_lnk--> cyanobacteria</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In contrast to higher organisms, bacteria exhibit an extremely wide variety of <!--del_lnk--> metabolic types. The distribution of metabolic traits within a group of bacteria has traditionally been used to define their <!--del_lnk--> taxonomy, but these traits often do not correspond with modern genetic classifications. Bacterial metabolism can be divided broadly on the basis of the kind of energy used for growth, <!--del_lnk--> electron donors and <!--del_lnk--> electron acceptors and by the source of carbon used.<p>Carbon metabolism in bacteria is usually <!--del_lnk--> heterotrophic: where <!--del_lnk--> organic carbon compounds are used as both carbon and energy sources. As an alternative to heterotrophy some bacteria such as <!--del_lnk--> cyanobacteria and <!--del_lnk--> purple bacteria are <!--del_lnk--> autotrophic, meaning that they obtain cellular carbon by fixing <a href="../../wp/c/Carbon_dioxide.htm" title="Carbon dioxide">carbon dioxide</a>.<p>Energy metabolism of bacteria is either based on <!--del_lnk--> phototrophy, the use of light through <a href="../../wp/p/Photosynthesis.htm" title="Photosynthesis">photosynthesis</a>: or on <!--del_lnk--> chemotrophy, the use of chemical substances for energy. Chemotrophs are divided into <!--del_lnk--> lithotrophs that use inorganic electron donors for respiration and <!--del_lnk--> organotrophs that use organic compounds as electron donors. To use chemical compounds as a source of energy, electrons are taken from the <!--del_lnk--> reduced substrate and transferred to a <!--del_lnk--> terminal electron acceptor in a <!--del_lnk--> redox reaction. This reaction releases energy that can be used to drive metabolism. In <!--del_lnk--> aerobic organisms, <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> is used as the electron acceptor. In <!--del_lnk--> anaerobic organisms other inorganic compounds, such as <!--del_lnk--> nitrate, <!--del_lnk--> sulfate or carbon dioxide are used as electron acceptors. This leads to the environmentally important processes of <!--del_lnk--> denitrification, sulfate reduction and <!--del_lnk--> acetogenesis, respectively. Non-respiratory anaerobes use <!--del_lnk--> fermentation to generate energy and reducing power, secreting metabolic by-products (such as <a href="../../wp/e/Ethanol.htm" title="Ethanol">ethanol</a> in brewing) as waste. <!--del_lnk--> Facultative anaerobes can switch between fermentation and different <!--del_lnk--> terminal electron acceptors depending on the environmental conditions in which they find themselves.<p><!--del_lnk--> Lithotrophic bacteria can use inorganic compounds as a source of energy. Common inorganic electron donors are <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a>, <!--del_lnk--> carbon monoxide, <a href="../../wp/a/Ammonia.htm" title="Ammonia">ammonia</a> (leading to <a href="../../wp/n/Nitrification.htm" title="Nitrification">nitrification</a>), <!--del_lnk--> ferrous iron and other reduced metal ions, and several reduced <a href="../../wp/s/Sulfur.htm" title="Sulfur">sulfur</a> compounds. Unusually, the gas <!--del_lnk--> methane can be used by <!--del_lnk--> methanotrophic bacteria as both a source of electrons and a substrate for carbon anabolism. In both <!--del_lnk--> aerobic <!--del_lnk--> phototrophy and <!--del_lnk--> chemolithotrophy oxygen is used as a terminal electron acceptor, while under anaerobic conditions inorganic compounds are used instead. Most <!--del_lnk--> lithotrophic organisms are autotrophic, whereas <!--del_lnk--> organotrophic organisms are heterotrophic.<p>In addition to fixing carbon dioxide in photosynthesis, some bacteria also fix <a href="../../wp/n/Nitrogen.htm" title="Nitrogen">nitrogen</a> gas (<a href="../../wp/n/Nitrogen_fixation.htm" title="Nitrogen fixation">nitrogen fixation</a>) using the enzyme <!--del_lnk--> nitrogenase. This environmentally important trait can be found in bacteria of nearly all the metabolic types listed above, but is not universal.<p><a id="Growth_and_reproduction" name="Growth_and_reproduction"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Growth and reproduction</span></h2>
<p>Unlike multicellular organisms, in unicellular organisms increases in the size of bacteria (<!--del_lnk--> cell growth) and their reproduction by <!--del_lnk--> cell division are tightly linked. Bacteria grow to a fixed size and then reproduce through <!--del_lnk--> binary fission, a form of <!--del_lnk--> asexual reproduction. Under optimal conditions bacteria can grow and divide extremely rapidly and bacterial populations can double as quickly as every 9.8 minutes. In cell division, two identical <!--del_lnk--> clone daughter cells are produced. Some bacteria, while still reproducing asexually, form more complex reproductive structures that facilitate the dispersal of the newly-formed daughter cells. Examples include fruiting body formation by <i><!--del_lnk--> Myxobacteria</i> and arial <!--del_lnk--> hyphae formation by <i><!--del_lnk--> Streptomyces</i>, or budding. Budding is resulted of a 'bud' of a <a href="../../wp/c/Cell_%2528biology%2529.htm" title="Cell (biology)">cell</a> growing from another cell, and then finally breaking away.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1006.jpg.htm" title="Solid agar plate with bacterial colonies"><img alt="Solid agar plate with bacterial colonies" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Agar_plate_with_colonies.jpg" src="../../images/10/1006.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1006.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Solid <!--del_lnk--> agar plate with bacterial colonies</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In the laboratory, bacteria are usually grown using solid or liquid media. Solid growth media such as <!--del_lnk--> agar plates are used to isolate pure cultures of a bacterial strain. However, liquid growth media are used when measurement of growth or large volumes of cells are required. Growth in stirred liquid media occurs as an even cell suspension, making the cultures easy to divide and transfer, although isolating single bacteria from liquid media is extremely difficult. The use of selective media (media with specific nutrients added or deficient, or with antibiotics added) can help identify specific organisms.<p>Most laboratory techniques for growing bacteria use high levels of nutrients to produce large amounts of cells cheaply and quickly. However, in natural environments nutrients are limited, meaning that bacteria cannot continue to reproduce indefinitely. This nutrient limitation has led the evolution of different growth strategies (see <!--del_lnk--> r/K selection theory). Some organisms can grow extremely rapidly when nutrients become available, such as the formation of algal (and cyanobacterial) blooms that often occur in lakes during the summer. Other organisms have adaptations to harsh environments, such as the production of multiple <!--del_lnk--> antibiotics by <i><!--del_lnk--> Streptomyces</i> that inhibit the growth of competing microorganisms. In nature, many organisms live in communities (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> biofilms) which may allow for increased supply of nutrients and protection from environmental stresses. These relationships can be essential for growth of a particular organism or group of organisms (<!--del_lnk--> syntrophy).<p><!--del_lnk--> Bacterial growth follows three phases. When a population of bacteria first enter a high-nutrient environment that allows growth, the cells need to adapt to their new environment. The first phase of growth is the <!--del_lnk--> lag phase, a period of slow growth when the cells are adapting to fast growth. The lag phase has high biosynthesis rates, as <!--del_lnk--> enzymes and <!--del_lnk--> nutrient transporters are produced. The second phase of growth is the <!--del_lnk--> logarithmic phase (log phase), also known as the exponential phase. The log phase is marked by rapid exponential growth. The rate at which cells grow during this phase is known as the <i>growth rate</i> (<i>k</i>) and the time it takes the cells to double is known as the <i>generation time</i> (<i>g</i>). During log phase, nutrients are metabolised at maximum speed until one of the nutrients is depleted and starts limiting growth. The final phase of growth is the <!--del_lnk--> stationary phase and is caused by depleted nutrients. The cells reduce their metabolic activity, and consume non-essential cellular proteins. The stationary phase is a transition from rapid growth to a stress response state and there is increased expression of genes involved in <a href="../../wp/d/DNA_repair.htm" title="DNA repair">DNA repair</a>, <!--del_lnk--> antioxidant metabolism and <!--del_lnk--> nutrient transport.<p><a id="Genetics" name="Genetics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Genetics</span></h2>
<p>Most bacteria have a single circular <!--del_lnk--> chromosome that can range in size from only 580,000 <!--del_lnk--> base pairs in the human pathogen <!--del_lnk--> Mycoplasma genitalium, to 12,200,000 base pairs in the soil-dwelling bacteria <!--del_lnk--> Sorangium cellulosum. <!--del_lnk--> Spirochaetes are a notable exception to this arrangement, with bacteria such as <!--del_lnk--> Borrelia burgdorferi, the cause of <a href="../../wp/l/Lyme_disease.htm" title="Lyme disease">Lyme disease</a>, containing a single linear chromosome. Bacteria may also contain <!--del_lnk--> plasmids, which are small extra-chromosomal DNAs that may contain genes for <!--del_lnk--> antibiotic resistance or <!--del_lnk--> virulence factors. Another type of bacterial DNA are <!--del_lnk--> integrated viruses (<!--del_lnk--> bacteriophages). Many types of bacteriophage exist, some simply infect their <!--del_lnk--> host bacteria and <!--del_lnk--> lyse the cell, while others insert into the bacterial chromosome. Bacteriophages can contain genes that contribute to its host's <!--del_lnk--> phenotype, for example in <!--del_lnk--> Escherichia coli and <!--del_lnk--> Clostridium botulinum an integrated phage can convert a harmless bacteria into a lethal pathogen by producing <!--del_lnk--> toxins.<p>Bacteria, as asexual organisms, inherit identical copies of their parent's genes (i.e., they are <!--del_lnk--> clonal). However, all bacteria can evolve by selection on changes to their genetic material <a href="../../wp/d/DNA.htm" title="DNA">DNA</a> caused by <!--del_lnk--> genetic recombination or <!--del_lnk--> mutations. <!--del_lnk--> Mutations come from errors made during the replication of DNA or from exposure to <!--del_lnk--> mutagens. Mutation rates vary widely among different species of bacteria and even among different clones of a single species of bacteria. Genetic changes in bacterial genomes come from either <!--del_lnk--> random mutation during replication or "stress-directed mutation", where genes involved in a particular growth-limiting process have an increased mutation rate.<p>Some bacteria also transfer genetic material between cells. This can occur in three main ways. Firstly, bacteria can take up exogenous DNA from their environment, in a process called <!--del_lnk--> transformation. Often, the genes transferred are not from within the main bacterial chromosome, but are carried on a small circular piece of DNA called a <!--del_lnk--> plasmid. Genes can also be transferred by the process of <!--del_lnk--> transduction, when the integration of a bacteriophage introduces foreign DNA into the chromosome. The third method of gene transfer is <!--del_lnk--> bacterial conjugation, where DNA is transferred through direct cell contact. This gene acquisition from other bacteria or the environment is called <!--del_lnk--> horizontal gene transfer and may be common under natural conditions. Gene transfer is particularly important in <!--del_lnk--> antibiotic resistance as it allows the rapid transfer of resistance genes between different <!--del_lnk--> pathogens.<p><a id="Movement" name="Movement"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Movement</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1007.png.htm" title="The different arrangements of bacterial flagella: A-Monotrichous; B-Lophotrichous; C-Amphitrichous; D-Peritrichous;"><img alt="The different arrangements of bacterial flagella: A-Monotrichous; B-Lophotrichous; C-Amphitrichous; D-Peritrichous;" height="236" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flagella.png" src="../../images/10/1007.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1007.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The different arrangements of bacterial flagella: A-Monotrichous; B-Lophotrichous; C-Amphitrichous; D-Peritrichous;</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Motile bacteria can move using <!--del_lnk--> flagella, <!--del_lnk--> bacterial gliding, or changes of buoyancy. A unique group of bacteria, the <!--del_lnk--> spirochaetes, have structures similar to flagella, called <!--del_lnk--> axial filaments that are found between two membranes in the periplasmic space. They have a distinctive <!--del_lnk--> helical body that twists about as it moves.<p>Bacterial species differ in the number and arrangement of flagella on their surface; some have a single flagellum (<!--del_lnk--> monotrichous), a flagellum at each end (<!--del_lnk--> amphitrichous), clusters of flagella at the poles of the cell (<!--del_lnk--> lophotrichous), while others have flagella distributed over the entire surface of the cell (<!--del_lnk--> peritrichous). The bacterial flagella is the best-understood motility structure in any organism and is made of about 20 proteins, with approximately another 30 proteins required for its regulation and assembly. The flagellum is a rotating structure driven by a motor at the base that uses the <!--del_lnk--> proton-motive force for power. This motor drives the motion of the filament, which acts as a propeller. Many bacteria (such as <i><!--del_lnk--> E. coli</i>) have two distinct modes of movement: forward movement (swimming) and tumbling. The tumbling allows them to reorient and makes their movement a three-dimensional <!--del_lnk--> random walk. (See external links below for link to videos.)<p>Motile bacteria are attracted or repelled by certain <!--del_lnk--> stimuli in behaviors called <i>taxes</i>: these include <!--del_lnk--> chemotaxis, <!--del_lnk--> phototaxis, and <!--del_lnk--> magnetotaxis. In one peculiar group, the <!--del_lnk--> myxobacteria, individual bacteria move together to form waves of cells that then differentiate to form fruiting bodies containing spores. The <!--del_lnk--> myxobacteria move only when on solid surfaces, unlike <i>E. coli</i> which is <!--del_lnk--> motile in liquid or solid media.<p><a id="Groups_and_identification" name="Groups_and_identification"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Groups and identification</span></h2>
<p>When bacteria were originally studied by <a href="../../wp/b/Botany.htm" title="Botany">botanists</a>, they were classified in the same way as plants, that is, mainly by shape. Classification solely on the basis of morphology, though, was largely unsuccessful. The first formal classification scheme arose after the <!--del_lnk--> Gram stain was developed by <!--del_lnk--> Hans Christian Gram. This staining technique identifies bacteria based on the structural characteristics of their cell walls. If the bacteria species is "Gram-positive", it will stain purple. If the bacteria species is "Gram-negative" it would appear pink. This scheme included:<ul>
<li><i>Gracilicutes</i> - Gram negative staining bacteria with a second cell membrane<li><i>Firmicutes</i> - Gram positive staining bacteria with a thick <!--del_lnk--> peptidoglycan wall<li><i>Mollicutes</i> - Gram negative staining bacteria with no cell wall or second membrane<li><i>Mendosicutes</i> - atypically staining strains now known to belong to the <!--del_lnk--> Archaea</ul>
<p>By combining morphology and gram-staining, the preponderance of isolates of interest can be characterized as belonging to one of four groups (gram-positive cocci, gram-positive bacilli, gram-negative cocci, and gram-negative bacilli). Some organisms are best identified by stains other than the Gram stain, particularly mycobacterial organisms or <i>Nocardia</i>, which show <!--del_lnk--> acid-fastness on <!--del_lnk--> Ziehl – Neelsen or similar stains. Other organisms may need to be identified by their growth in special media, or by other techniques, such as serology.<p>Morphological classifications alone are not successful in distinguishing pathogens from non-pathogens. Consequently, the need to identify human pathogens was a major impetus for the development of techniques to identify bacteria. Medical bacteriological techniques are designed to selectively grow and identify pathogens rather than normal flora (as far as possible) and are designed for specific specimens. Thus, a sputum sample will be treated in such a way as to identify any organisms that might cause pneumonia, while stool specimens are cultured on <!--del_lnk--> selective media to identify organisms that might cause diarrhoea, while preventing growth of non-pathogenic bacteria. Specimens that are normally sterile, such as blood, urine or spinal fluid, are handled in such a way as to grow all possible organisms. Once a pathogenic organism has been isolated, it can be further characterized through its morphology, growth patterns (<!--del_lnk--> aerobic vs. <!--del_lnk--> anaerobic, <!--del_lnk--> patterns of hemolysis), and staining characteristics.<p>Bacteria can also be classified on the basis of differences in cellular metabolism as determined by a wide variety of specific tests, or based on differences in their constituent cellular chemical compounds such as <a href="../../wp/f/Fatty_acid.htm" title="Fatty acid">fatty acids</a>, pigments, <!--del_lnk--> antigens and <!--del_lnk--> quinones. The term "bacteria" was traditionally applied to all microscopic, single-celled <!--del_lnk--> prokaryotes but prokaryotic life is nowadays divided into two <!--del_lnk--> evolutionary domains that were originally called <b>Eubacteria</b> and <b>Archaebacteria</b>, but are now called <b>Bacteria</b> and <b><!--del_lnk--> Archaea</b>. It should be noted, however, that due to our current poor understanding of microbial diversity, bacterial taxonomy remains a changing and expanding field.<p><a id="Interactions_with_other_organisms" name="Interactions_with_other_organisms"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Interactions with other organisms</span></h2>
<p>Despite their apparent simplicity, bacteria can form complex associations with other organisms. These <!--del_lnk--> symbiotic associations can be divided into <!--del_lnk--> parasitism, <!--del_lnk--> mutualism and <!--del_lnk--> commensalism. Due to their small size, commensal bacteria are ubiquitous and grow on animals and plants exactly as they will grow on any other surface. However, their growth can be increased by warmth and sweat and large populations of these organisms in humans are the cause of <!--del_lnk--> body odour.<p><a id="Mutualists" name="Mutualists"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Mutualists</span></h3>
<p>Certain bacteria form close spatial associations that are essential for their survival. One such mutualistic association, called interspecies hydrogen transfer, occurs between clusters of <!--del_lnk--> anaerobic bacteria that consume organic acids and produce hydrogen, and <!--del_lnk--> methanogenic Archaea that consume hydrogen. These bacteria are unable to consume the organic acids and grow when hydrogen accumulates in their surroundings, and only the intimate association with the hydrogen-consuming Archaea can keep the hydrogen concentration low enough to allow them to grow.<p>In soil, microorganisms which reside in the <!--del_lnk--> rhizosphere (a zone that includes the root surface and the soil that adheres to the root after gentle shaking) carry out <a href="../../wp/n/Nitrogen_fixation.htm" title="Nitrogen fixation">nitrogen fixation</a>, converting nitrogen gas to nitrogenous compounds. This serves to provide an easily absorbable form of nitrogen for many plants, which cannot fix nitrogen themselves. Many other bacteria are found as <!--del_lnk--> symbionts <!--del_lnk--> in humans and other organisms. For example, the presence of over 1,000 bacterial species in the normal human <!--del_lnk--> gut flora of the intestines can contribute to gut immunity, synthesise <a href="../../wp/v/Vitamin.htm" title="Vitamin">vitamins</a> such as <a href="../../wp/f/Folic_acid.htm" title="Folic acid">folic acid</a>, <!--del_lnk--> vitamin K and <!--del_lnk--> biotin, and ferment complex undigestable <!--del_lnk--> carbohydrates. Bacteria that offer some benefit to human hosts include <i><!--del_lnk--> Lactobacillus</i> species, which convert milk protein to lactic acid in the gut. The presence of such bacterial colonies also inhibits the growth of potentially pathogenic bacteria (usually through <!--del_lnk--> competitive exclusion) and these beneficial bacteria are consequently sold as <!--del_lnk--> probiotic <!--del_lnk--> dietary supplements.<p><a id="Pathogens" name="Pathogens"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Pathogens</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1008.jpg.htm" title="Color-enhanced scanning electron micrograph showing Salmonella typhimurium (red) invading cultured human cells."><img alt="Color-enhanced scanning electron micrograph showing Salmonella typhimurium (red) invading cultured human cells." height="210" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SalmonellaNIAID.jpg" src="../../images/10/1008.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1008.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Colour-enhanced scanning electron micrograph showing <i><!--del_lnk--> Salmonella typhimurium</i> (red) invading cultured human cells.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>If bacteria form a parasitic association with other organisms, they are classed as <!--del_lnk--> pathogens. Pathogenic bacteria are an important cause of human death and disease and cause infections such as <!--del_lnk--> tetanus, <!--del_lnk--> typhoid fever, <!--del_lnk--> diphtheria, <!--del_lnk--> syphilis, <a href="../../wp/c/Cholera.htm" title="Cholera">cholera</a>, <!--del_lnk--> food-borne illness, <!--del_lnk--> leprosy, and <a href="../../wp/t/Tuberculosis.htm" title="Tuberculosis">tuberculosis</a>. Bacterial diseases are also important in agriculture, with bacteria causing <!--del_lnk--> leaf spot, <!--del_lnk--> fireblight, and <!--del_lnk--> wilts in <a href="../../wp/p/Plant.htm" title="Plant">plants</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Johne's disease, <!--del_lnk--> mastitis, <!--del_lnk--> salmonella and <!--del_lnk--> anthrax in farm animals.<p>Each species of pathogen has a characteristic spectrum of interactions with its human <!--del_lnk--> hosts. Some organisms, such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Staphylococcus</i> or <i><!--del_lnk--> Streptococcus</i>, can cause skin infections, pneumonia, meningitis, and even overwhelming <!--del_lnk--> sepsis, a systemic inflammatory response producing shock, massive vasodilation, and death. Yet these organisms are also part of the normal human flora and usually exist on the skin or in the nose without causing any disease at all. Other organisms invariably cause disease in humans, such as the <!--del_lnk--> Rickettsia, which are obligate intracellular parasites able to grow and reproduce only within the cells of other organisms. One species of Rickettsia causes <!--del_lnk--> typhus, while another causes <!--del_lnk--> Rocky Mountain spotted fever. <!--del_lnk--> Chlamydia, another phylum of obligate intracellular parasites, contains species that can cause <a href="../../wp/p/Pneumonia.htm" title="Pneumonia">pneumonia</a>, or <!--del_lnk--> urinary tract infection, and may be involved in <!--del_lnk--> coronary heart disease. Finally, some species, such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Mycobacterium avium</i>, are <!--del_lnk--> opportunistic pathogens, and cause disease mainly in <!--del_lnk--> immunosuppressed people.<p>Bacterial infections may be treated with <!--del_lnk--> antibiotics, which are classified as <!--del_lnk--> bacteriocidal if they kill bacteria, or <!--del_lnk--> bacteriostatic if they just prevent bacterial growth. There are many types of antibiotics and each class <!--del_lnk--> inhibits a process that is different in the pathogen from that found in the host. An example of how antibiotics produce selective toxicity are <!--del_lnk--> chloramphenicol and <!--del_lnk--> puromycin, which inhibit the bacterial <!--del_lnk--> ribosome, but not the structurally-different eukaryotic ribosome. Antibiotics are used both in treating human disease and in <!--del_lnk--> intensive farming to promote animal growth, where they may be contributing to the rapid development of <!--del_lnk--> antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations. Infections can be prevented by <!--del_lnk--> antiseptic measures such as sterilizating the skin prior to piercing it with the needle of a syringe, and by proper care of indwelling catheters. Surgical and dental instruments are also <!--del_lnk--> sterilized to prevent contamination and infection by bacteria. <i>Sanitizers</i> and <!--del_lnk--> disinfectants are used to kill bacteria or other pathogens on surfaces to prevent contamination and further reduce the risk of infection.<p><a id="Uses_in_technology_and_industry" name="Uses_in_technology_and_industry"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Uses in technology and industry</span></h2>
<p>Bacteria, often <i><!--del_lnk--> Lactobacillus</i> in combination with <a href="../../wp/y/Yeast.htm" title="Yeast">yeasts</a> and <!--del_lnk--> molds, have been used for thousands of years in the preparation of <!--del_lnk--> fermented foods such as <a href="../../wp/c/Cheese.htm" title="Cheese">cheese</a>, <!--del_lnk--> pickles, <!--del_lnk--> soy sauce, <!--del_lnk--> sauerkraut, <!--del_lnk--> vinegar, <a href="../../wp/w/Wine.htm" title="Wine">wine</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> yogurt.<p>The ability of bacteria to degrade a variety of organic compounds is remarkable and has been used in waste processing, and <!--del_lnk--> bioremediation. Bacteria capable of digesting the <!--del_lnk--> hydrocarbons in <a href="../../wp/p/Petroleum.htm" title="Petroleum">petroleum</a> are often used to clean up <!--del_lnk--> oil spills. Fertilizer was added to some of the beaches in <!--del_lnk--> Prince William Sound in an attempt to promote the growth of these naturally occurring bacteria after the infamous 1989 <!--del_lnk--> Exxon Valdez oil spill. These efforts were effective on beaches that were not too thickly covered in oil. Bacteria are also used for the <!--del_lnk--> bioremediation of industrial <!--del_lnk--> toxic wastes. In the chemical industry, bacteria are most important in the production of <!--del_lnk--> enantiomerically pure chemicals for use as pharmaceuticals or agrochemicals.<p>Bacteria can also be used in the place of <!--del_lnk--> pesticides in the <!--del_lnk--> biological pest control. This commonly uses <i><!--del_lnk--> Bacillus thuringiensis</i> (also called BT), a Gram-positive, soil dwelling bacterium. This bacteria is used as a <!--del_lnk--> Lepidopteran-specific <!--del_lnk--> insecticide under trade names such as Dipel and Thuricide. Because of their specificity, these <!--del_lnk--> pesticides are regarded as <!--del_lnk--> Environmentally friendly, with little or no effect on <a href="../../wp/h/Human.htm" title="Human">humans</a>, <!--del_lnk--> wildlife, <a href="../../wp/p/Pollinator.htm" title="Pollinator">pollinators</a>, and most other <!--del_lnk--> beneficial insects.<p>Because of their ability to quickly grow, and the relative ease with which they can be manipulated, bacteria are the workhorses for the fields of <!--del_lnk--> molecular biology, <a href="../../wp/g/Genetics.htm" title="Genetics">genetics</a> and <!--del_lnk--> biochemistry. By making mutations in bacterial DNA and examining the resulting phenotypes, scientists hcan determine the function of many different genes, <!--del_lnk--> enzymes and <!--del_lnk--> metabolic pathways. Lessons learned from bacteria are then be applied to more complex organisms. This aim of understanding the biochemistry of a cell reaches its most complex expression in the synthesis of huge amounts of <a href="../../wp/e/Enzyme_kinetics.htm" title="Enzyme kinetics">enzyme kinetic</a> and <!--del_lnk--> gene expression data into mathematical models of entire organisms. This is achievable in some well-studied bacteria, with models of <i>Escherichia coli</i> metabolism now being produced and tested. This understanding of bacterial metabolism and genetics allows the use of <a href="../../wp/b/Biotechnology.htm" title="Biotechnology">biotechnology</a> to <!--del_lnk--> bioengineer bacteria for the production of therapeutic proteins, such as <a href="../../wp/i/Insulin.htm" title="Insulin">insulin</a>, <!--del_lnk--> growth factors or <!--del_lnk--> antibodies.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Cell (biology)', 'Evolution', 'Nitrogen fixation', 'Cholera', 'Tuberculosis', 'Sub-Saharan Africa', 'Cheese', 'Microscope', 'Microscope', 'Louis Pasteur', 'Cholera', 'Tuberculosis', 'Mitochondrion', 'Virus', 'Lipid', 'Eukaryote', 'Sulfur', 'Plants', 'DNA', 'Carbon dioxide', 'Photosynthesis', 'Oxygen', 'Ethanol', 'Hydrogen', 'Ammonia', 'Nitrification', 'Sulfur', 'Nitrogen', 'Nitrogen fixation', 'Cell (biology)', 'DNA repair', 'Lyme disease', 'DNA', 'Botany', 'Fatty acid', 'Nitrogen fixation', 'Vitamin', 'Folic acid', 'Cholera', 'Tuberculosis', 'Plant', 'Pneumonia', 'Yeast', 'Cheese', 'Wine', 'Petroleum', 'Human', 'Pollinator', 'Genetics', 'Enzyme kinetics', 'Biotechnology', 'Insulin']
|
Baden-Powell_House
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Baden-Powell House,Baden-Powell House.ogg,1929,1957,1959,1961,1997,2006,Architectural style,Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers,Atrium" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Baden-Powell House</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Baden-Powell_House";
var wgTitle = "Baden-Powell House";
var wgArticleId = 5325815;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Baden-Powell_House">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Baden-Powell House</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Citizenship.Community_organisations.htm">Community organisations</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width:25.5em; font-size: 90%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: larger; text-align: center;"><b>Baden-Powell House</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: smaller; text-align: center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/234/23460.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="218" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bphouse01.jpg" src="../../images/234/23460.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccccff; text-align: center;">Building Information</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Name</th>
<td>Baden-Powell House</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Location Town</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kensington, <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Location Country</th>
<td>United Kingdom</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Architect</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ralph Tubbs</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Client</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> The Scout Association</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Engineer</th>
<td>Harry Neal Ltd</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Completion Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1961-<!--del_lnk--> 07-12</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Cost</th>
<td>£ 400,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Style</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Modern architecture</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Baden-Powell House</b>, colloquially known as <b>B-P House</b>, is a <a href="../../wp/s/Scouting.htm" title="Scouting">Scouting</a> hostel and conference centre in <!--del_lnk--> South Kensington, <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>, which was built as a tribute to <a href="../../wp/r/Robert_Baden-Powell%252C_1st_Baron_Baden-Powell.htm" title="Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell">Lord Baden-Powell</a>, the founder of Scouting. The house, owned by <!--del_lnk--> The Scout Association, hosts a collection of Baden-Powell memorabilia, including the original Baden-Powell painting by <!--del_lnk--> David Jagger, Baden-Powell's <i><!--del_lnk--> Last Message to Scouts</i>, and a granite statue by <!--del_lnk--> Don Potter.<p>The building committee, chaired by <!--del_lnk--> Sir Harold Gillett, <!--del_lnk--> Lord Mayor of London, purchased the site in 1956, and assigned <!--del_lnk--> Ralph Tubbs to design the house in the <!--del_lnk--> modern architectural style. The Foundation Stone was laid in 1959 by World Chief Guide <!--del_lnk--> Olave, Lady Baden-Powell, and it was opened in 1961 by <a href="../../wp/e/Elizabeth_II_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom">Queen Elizabeth II</a>. The largest part of the £400,000 cost was provided by the Scout Movement itself. Over the years, the house has been refurbished several times, so that it now provides modern and affordable lodging for <a href="../../wp/s/Scouting.htm" title="Scouting">Scouts</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Guides, and their families, staying in London.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<table cellpadding="1" style="float:left; border:1px solid #8888aa; padding:5px; font-size: 95%; margin: 0 15px 0 0px; background-color: #f9f9f9" width="200px">
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><a href="../../wp/e/Elizabeth_II_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom"><b>From address by HM the Queen</b></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><small><i>Baden-Powell himself has gone, but his Movement remains and grows—a memorial more enduring than stone or steel. It is, however, fitting that, here in England, where he started it, there should be a house, bearing his name and serving the needs of the Movement, which can express our gratitude to him in a practical way.</i></small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Acting on a 1942 initiative by <!--del_lnk--> Chief Scout <!--del_lnk--> Lord Somers, a formal Baden-Powell House Committee was established by <!--del_lnk--> The Scout Association in 1953 under the direction of <!--del_lnk--> Sir Harold Gillett, later <!--del_lnk--> Lord Mayor of London. The committee's directive was to build a <!--del_lnk--> hostel to provide <!--del_lnk--> Scouts a place to stay at reasonable cost while visiting <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>. For this purpose, in 1956 the committee purchased a bombed-out property at the intersection of <!--del_lnk--> Cromwell Road and <!--del_lnk--> Queen's Gate at a cost of <a href="../../wp/p/Pound_sterling.htm" title="Pound sterling">£</a>39,000.<p>The <a href="../../wp/s/Scouting.htm" title="Scouting">Scout Movement</a> raised the major part of the funding of £400,000 for building and furnishing the building between 1957 and 1959. Money was raised through public appeals supported by publication in Scout Movement magazines, a collection of donations in 15,000 brick-shaped boxes, and 5,000 appeal letters signed personally by then Chief Scout <!--del_lnk--> Lord Rowallan.<p>In a celebration on <!--del_lnk--> 1959-<!--del_lnk--> 10-17 the Foundation Stone was laid by the World Chief Guide <!--del_lnk--> Olave, Lady Baden-Powell, with Lord Mayor Sir Harold Gillett, the new Chief Scout <!--del_lnk--> Sir Charles Maclean, and 400 other guests in attendance. A casket was buried under the foundation stone which held 1959 Scout mementoes, stamps, coins, photographs, etc., and a programme of the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony.<p>With 142 <!--del_lnk--> Queen's Scouts as Guard of Honour, and live broadcast by the BBC (commentator <!--del_lnk--> Richard Dimbleby), Baden-Powell House was opened on <!--del_lnk--> 1961-<!--del_lnk--> 07-12 by <a href="../../wp/e/Elizabeth_II_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom">Queen Elizabeth II</a>. Afterwards, the Queen toured the house with the Chief Scout and the president of The Scout Association, her uncle <!--del_lnk--> Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester. A black marble panel with gold lettering was put on the balcony in the hall to commemorate the event.<p><a id="Modern_architecture" name="Modern_architecture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Modern architecture</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23461.jpg.htm" title="Baden-Powell House, long view"><img alt="Baden-Powell House, long view" height="122" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bphouse05.jpg" src="../../images/234/23461.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23461.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Baden-Powell House, long view</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23462.jpg.htm" title="Baden-Powell House, side view"><img alt="Baden-Powell House, side view" height="125" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bphouse02.jpg" src="../../images/234/23462.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23462.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Baden-Powell House, side view</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23463.jpg.htm" title="Baden-Powell House, front view"><img alt="Baden-Powell House, front view" height="137" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bphouse04.jpg" src="../../images/234/23463.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23463.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Baden-Powell House, front view</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The house was designed by the architect <!--del_lnk--> Ralph Tubbs in 1956, whose works included the <!--del_lnk--> Dome of Discovery, the highlight of the 1951 <!--del_lnk--> Festival of Britain. Tubbs' floor plans and a model of his design were displayed during a fundraising campaign and exhibition on <!--del_lnk--> 1957-<!--del_lnk--> 02-21 in the Egyptian Hall of the <!--del_lnk--> Mansion House.<p>The six storied Baden-Powell House is designed in the <!--del_lnk--> modern <!--del_lnk--> architectural style, as pioneered by the Swiss architect <!--del_lnk--> Le Corbusier from the late 1920s onwards, and predominating in the 1950s. At Baden-Powell House, Tubbs made the first floor overhang the ground floor, a Le Corbusier architectural design choice to free the building from the ground, such as seen in his <!--del_lnk--> Pavillon Suisse at the <!--del_lnk--> Cité Internationale Universitaire in <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a>. Additionally, Le Corbusier's <!--del_lnk--> Sainte Marie de La Tourette priory in <a href="../../wp/l/Lyon.htm" title="Lyon">Lyon</a> shows two floors of monk's cells with small windows, <!--del_lnk--> cantilevered over the more open floors below, another design choice used by Tubbs in the <!--del_lnk--> facade of Baden-Powell House. While Tubbs created Baden-Powell House in the modern architectural style of Le Corbusier, he used more architectural restraint in his own design choices. For example, he made the main visible building component brick rather than concrete. This heavier evolution of Le Corbusier's style was popular in England throughout the post-war years until replaced by the <!--del_lnk--> Brutalist style in the later 1960s.<p>Baden-Powell House was built to Tubbs' design by Harry Neal Ltd, for which they received the 1961 Gold Medal of the <!--del_lnk--> Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers. At the opening, the house received the building design award for ‘The building of most merit in London.'<p>Thirty-five years after its opening, Baden-Powell House was refurbished in a six-month £2 million programme, providing all modern amenities such as private facilities for all rooms, double glazing, and air conditioning, as well as enhancing conference facilities for large and small events. Upon completion of the programme, the house was opened by the president of The Scout Association, <!--del_lnk--> Prince Edward, Duke of Kent on <!--del_lnk--> 1997-<!--del_lnk--> 06-05. In 2002 a <!--del_lnk--> Starbucks coffee and sandwich bar was opened, as well as an outdoor roof garden adjacent to the meeting conference rooms on the second floor.<p><a id="Baden-Powell_collection" name="Baden-Powell_collection"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Baden-Powell collection</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23464.jpg.htm" title="Painting of Robert Baden-Powell, by David Jagger, 1929, pivotal part of the Baden-Powell House collection"><img alt="Painting of Robert Baden-Powell, by David Jagger, 1929, pivotal part of the Baden-Powell House collection" height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bphouse-collection02.jpg" src="../../images/234/23464.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23464.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Painting of <a href="../../wp/r/Robert_Baden-Powell%252C_1st_Baron_Baden-Powell.htm" title="Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell">Robert Baden-Powell</a>, by <!--del_lnk--> David Jagger, 1929, pivotal part of the Baden-Powell House collection</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Since Baden-Powell House was intended as a tribute to Baden-Powell, a notable collection of Baden-Powell memorabilia has always been on display for visitors in 'The story of B-P' exhibition. This includes many drawings and letters by Baden-Powell himself, such as the original of his <i><!--del_lnk--> Last Message to Scouts</i>, <i>Laws for me when I am old</i> and several <!--del_lnk--> first editions of his books. The exhibition also displays the original painting by <!--del_lnk--> David Jagger, as presented to Baden-Powell on <!--del_lnk--> 1929-<!--del_lnk--> 08-29 at the 'Coming of Age' 21st <!--del_lnk--> World Jamboree. This painting, a personal favourite of Baden-Powell, is often used in publications throughout the Scout movement. A facsimile of the famous painting is on display in the Geneva headquarters building of the <!--del_lnk--> World Organization of the Scout Movement.<p>The exhibition was augmented in 1971 by a bust of Baden-Powell, unveiled by Olave, Lady Baden-Powell. On the exhibition's 25th anniversary in 1986, the Duke of Kent re-opened the exhibition in a new setting. The Baden-Powell House regularly hosts temporary exhibitions on Scouting subjects, including (in 1976) an exhibition of <!--del_lnk--> Scouting stamps, <!--del_lnk--> Scout book exhibitions, etc.<p>As an introductory part of the collection, a nearly 3 meter high statue of Baden-Powell has been erected in front of Baden-Powell House, the only <a href="../../wp/g/Granite.htm" title="Granite">granite</a> statue in London. The sculptor was Baden-Powell's personal friend <!--del_lnk--> Don Potter. It was unveiled on <!--del_lnk--> 1961-<!--del_lnk--> 07-12 by the Duke of Gloucester, as part of the official opening of the house.<p><a id="In_the_21st_century" name="In_the_21st_century"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">In the 21st century</span></h2>
<table cellpadding="1" style="float:left; border: 1px solid #8888aa; padding: 5px; font-size: 95%; margin: 0 15px 0 0px;">
<tr>
<td>
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Souvenir badge of Baden-Powell House, ca 1980" height="124" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bphbadgegreen.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="120" /></span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Souvenir badge of Baden-Powell House, 1980" height="121" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bphbadge80.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="120" /></span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><small>Souvenir badges of<br /> Baden-Powell House</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>With special Scout atmosphere, Baden-Powell House provides a hostel and conference centre for people visiting London. Located in the middle of London's visitor area, known as <!--del_lnk--> Exhibition Road, it is in short walking distance of the <!--del_lnk--> Natural History Museum, <!--del_lnk--> Science Museum, <!--del_lnk--> Royal Albert Hall and the <!--del_lnk--> Victoria and Albert Museum. The full address is 65-67 Queen's Gate, London SW7 5JS, reachable by <!--del_lnk--> public transportation through <!--del_lnk--> South Kensington tube station and <!--del_lnk--> Gloucester Road tube station. The hostel partipates in the <!--del_lnk--> Youth Hostel Association, and is rated <!--del_lnk--> Four Star by the Visit Britain Quality Assurance, and Mobility Level 1; also recent visitors rate it on average 4 out of 5.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23467.jpg.htm" title="Statue of Baden-Powell, in front of Baden-Powell House in London, by Don Potter (1960)."><img alt="Statue of Baden-Powell, in front of Baden-Powell House in London, by Don Potter (1960)." height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bpstatue.jpg" src="../../images/234/23467.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23467.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Statue of <!--del_lnk--> Baden-Powell, in front of Baden-Powell House in London, by <!--del_lnk--> Don Potter (1960).</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The hostel and conference centre is entered through a wide glazed <!--del_lnk--> atrium which serves as a large <!--del_lnk--> foyer containing the cafe and the exhibition centre. From the atrium the large hall is reached which can serve as as an <!--del_lnk--> auditorium with seating for up to 300 people. The first floor has a <!--del_lnk--> restaurant seating 100 guests; the second floor has meeting rooms, and conference facilities for groups up to 80 delegates per room. The upper floors contain 180 hostel bedrooms. Baden-Powell House was designed specifically for members of the Scout Movement. Nonetheless, it has always been fully open to family members of Scouts at reduced prices and to the general public at competitive commercial rates. In an average year, 30 thousand people spend the night, and 100 thousand meals are served in the restaurant. Souvenir badges and other Baden-Powell House merchandise can be purchased from the reception desk.<p>From 1974 to 2001, Baden-Powell House was the <!--del_lnk--> headquarters of The Scout Association, for which a dedicated extension to the house was completed in 1976. In April 2001, the headquarters formally moved to new accommodation at <!--del_lnk--> Gilwell Park, but Baden-Powell House still facilitates various departments of The Scout Association. As the owner of Baden-Powell House, The Scout Association receives a net income out of the revenues of approximately £1.5 million.<p>Baden-Powell House is one of the four <!--del_lnk--> Scout Activity Centres of The Scout Association, together with <!--del_lnk--> Youlbury, <!--del_lnk--> Downe, and <!--del_lnk--> Gilwell Park.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-Powell_House"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['London', 'Scouting', 'London', 'Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell', 'Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom', 'Scouting', 'Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom', 'London', 'Pound sterling', 'Scouting', 'Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom', 'Paris', 'Lyon', 'Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell', 'Granite']
|
Badger
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Badger,Stoat,Vole,Marmot,Woodpecker,1960s,1968,1970s,1980s,American Badger,Animal" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Badger</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Badger";
var wgTitle = "Badger";
var wgArticleId = 290462;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Badger">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Badger</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Badgers</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1009.jpg.htm" title="American Badger"><img alt="American Badger" height="144" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Badger.jpg" src="../../images/10/1009.jpg" width="250" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small><!--del_lnk--> American Badger</small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Chordata<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">Mammalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Carnivora<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Mustelidae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Subfamily:</td>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Melinae</b><br /><b><!--del_lnk--> Mellivorinae</b><br /><b><!--del_lnk--> Taxidiinae</b><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Genera</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p> <i><!--del_lnk--> Arctonyx</i><br /> <i><!--del_lnk--> Melogale</i><br /> <i><!--del_lnk--> Meles</i><br /> <i><!--del_lnk--> Mellivora</i><br /> <i><!--del_lnk--> Taxidea</i></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Badger</b> is the <!--del_lnk--> common name for any animal of three subfamilies, which belong to the family <!--del_lnk--> Mustelidae: the same <a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">mammal</a> <!--del_lnk--> family as the <!--del_lnk--> ferrets, the <a href="../../wp/w/Weasel.htm" title="Weasel">weasels</a>, the <a href="../../wp/o/Otter.htm" title="Otter">otters</a>, and several other types of <!--del_lnk--> carnivore. There are 8 <!--del_lnk--> species of badger, in three subfamilies: Melinae (the Eurasian badgers), Mellivorinae, (the <!--del_lnk--> Ratel or honey badger), and Taxideinae (the <!--del_lnk--> American badger). The Asiatic <!--del_lnk--> stink badgers of the genus <i>Mydaus</i> were formerly included in the Melinae, but recent genetic evidence indicates that these are actually Old World relatives of the <!--del_lnk--> skunks (family Mephitidae).<p>Typical badgers (<i>Meles</i>, <i>Arctonyx</i>, <i>Taxidea</i> and <i>Mellivora</i> species) are short-legged and heavy-set. The <!--del_lnk--> lower jaw is articulated to the upper, by means of a transverse <!--del_lnk--> condyle firmly locked into a long cavity of the <!--del_lnk--> cranium, so that dislocation of the jaw is all but impossible. This enables the badger to maintain its hold with the utmost tenacity.<p>Badgers are the largest indigenous <!--del_lnk--> carnivores in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>. They are known to grow to a metre in length, but never more than 50 cm tall.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Name" name="Name"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Name</span></h2>
<p>The name <i>badger</i> is possibly <!--del_lnk--> derived from the word <i>badge</i>, on account of the marks on the head; or it may be identical with the term noted below, the French <i>blaireau</i> being used in both senses. An older term for "badger" is <i>brock</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Old English <i>brocc</i>), a <!--del_lnk--> Celtic loanword (<!--del_lnk--> Gaelic <i>broc</i>, <!--del_lnk--> Welsh <i>broch</i>, from <!--del_lnk--> Proto-Celtic <i>*brokko</i>). The <!--del_lnk--> Proto-Germanic term was <i>*þahsu-</i> (<a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a> <i>Dachs</i>), likely from the <!--del_lnk--> PIE <!--del_lnk--> root <i>*tek'-</i> "to construct", so that the badger would have been named after its digging of <!--del_lnk--> setts (tunnels).<p>The collective name for a group of badgers is a <i>cete</i>.<p>Badger is the common name for any animal of three subfamilies, which belong to the family Mustelidae: the same mammal family as the ferrets, the weasels, the otters, and several other types of carnivore.<p><a id="Classification" name="Classification"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Classification</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><b>Family Mustelidae</b><ul>
<li>Subfamily <a href="../../wp/o/Otter.htm" title="Otter">Lutrinae</a>: otters<li><b>Subfamily Melinae</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Hog Badger, <i>Arctonyx collaris</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Burmese Ferret Badger, <i>Melogale personata</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Oriental Ferret Badger, <i>Melogale orientalis</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Chinese Ferret Badger, <i>Melogale moschata</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Everett's Ferret Badger, <i>Melogale everetti</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Eurasian Badger, <i>Meles meles</i></ul>
<li><b>Subfamily Mellivorinae</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Ratel or Honey Badger, <i>Mellivora capensis</i></ul>
<li><b>Subfamily Taxideinae</b>: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> American Badger, <i>Taxidea taxus</i></ul>
<li>Subfamily <!--del_lnk--> Mustelinae: weasels, martens, polecats and allies</ul>
<li>'<i>Family Mephitidae</i><ul>
<li>
<ul>
<li>Indonesian or <!--del_lnk--> Javan Stink Badger (Teledu), <i>Mydaus javanensis</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Palawan Stink Badger, <i>Mydaus marchei</i></ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<p><a id="Lifestyle_and_diet" name="Lifestyle_and_diet"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Lifestyle and diet</span></h2>
<p>The behaviour of badgers differ based on family. Some are solitary, moving from home to home, while others are known to form clans of up to 15.<p>The badger diet also varies. The Eurasian species eat anything from fruit and nuts to insects, birds and lizards. The American Badger tends to prey on small mammals, including <!--del_lnk--> stoats, <a href="../../wp/v/Vole.htm" title="Vole">voles</a> and <!--del_lnk--> marmots; in a pinch, it has also been known to eat <a href="../../wp/w/Woodpecker.htm" title="Woodpecker">woodpeckers</a>. The Honey Badger consumes honey, porcupines and even venomous snakes (such as the puff adder), among others. But where they live, i dont know.<p><a id="Badgers_and_humans" name="Badgers_and_humans"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Badgers and humans</span></h2>
<p>Badgers are listed in Appendix III of the <!--del_lnk--> Berne Convention, but are not otherwise the subject of any international treaty or legislation. Badgers are hunted in many countries, either as a perceived <!--del_lnk--> pest, or for sport. Many badger setts in Europe were gassed during the <!--del_lnk--> 1960s and <!--del_lnk--> 1970s to control <a href="../../wp/r/Rabies.htm" title="Rabies">rabies</a>. Gassing was also practiced in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a> until the <!--del_lnk--> 1980s to control the spread of <!--del_lnk--> bovine TB. Badgers are protected in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a> by the <!--del_lnk--> Protection of Badgers Act 1992. (An exemption allowing <!--del_lnk--> fox hunters to loosely block setts to prevent chased foxes escaping into them was brought to an end with the passage of the <!--del_lnk--> Hunting Act 2004). Badgers may not be killed, nor their setts interfered with, except on license from the government, with an exception permitting the killing of badgers in the attempt to eradicate <!--del_lnk--> bovine <a href="../../wp/t/Tuberculosis.htm" title="Tuberculosis">tuberculosis</a>.<p>Badger digging is the process of digging a badger out of its sett. <!--del_lnk--> Badger baiting dog breeds are used to locate the badger in the tunnel, after which the diggers attempt to dig down to the badger. If the badger tries to dig to escape, the dog will attack. Sometimes radio transmitters are attached to the dog to help in its location.<p><!--del_lnk--> Badger-baiting is a <!--del_lnk--> blood sport involving the <!--del_lnk--> baiting of badgers. The badger does not usually seek to attack, but, when driven to bay, its great muscular power and tough hide render it a formidable opponent. Consequently the animals were used in the pseudo-sport of badger-baiting. Weighing up to thirty-five pounds when fully grown, badgers have an extraordinarily dangerous bite, which they are willing to use recklessly when threatened. Showing itself to be a dangerous adversary for any dog made it a sought after participant for the fighting pit. In order to use the badger's ability to defend itself to test the dog, artificial badger dens were built, captured badgers were put in them and then the dog was set on the badger. The badger would be placed in a box, which was furnished in imitation of its den and from there a tunnel led upward. The owner of the badger puts his animal in the box. The <!--del_lnk--> timekeeper is equipped with a watch and the badger's owner releases the dog for the fight. Whoever wants to pit his dog against the badger let it slide into the tunnel. Usually the dog is seized immediately by the badger and the dog in turn grips the badger. Each bites, tears and pulls the other with all their might. The owner quickly pulls out the dog whose jaws are clamped obstinately onto the badger by its tail. The two are separated and the badger is returned to its den. Then the dog is sent back into seize the badger and it again drawn out with the badger. This scene is repeated over and over again. The more often a dog is able to seize the badger within a minute, so that both can be pulled out together, the more it is up to the task and is considered game.<p><!--del_lnk--> Teastas Mor is a certificate of gameness issued to a <a href="../../wp/d/Dog.htm" title="Dog">dog</a> by the <!--del_lnk--> Irish Kennel Club. It was considered that the discipline ensured contests between dog and badger were fair. In the past, to become an Irish Kennel Club <!--del_lnk--> terrier champion, it was necessary for a terrier to be in possession of a Teastas Mor. These continued until the kennel ceased to license trials in <!--del_lnk--> 1968.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> dachshund dog breed has a history with badgers; "dachs" is the German word for badgers, and dachshunds were originally bred to be badger hounds.<!--del_lnk--> <p>Badgers are popular in <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English language</a> fiction. Many badger characters are featured in author <!--del_lnk--> Brian Jacques' <!--del_lnk--> Redwall series, most often falling under the title of <!--del_lnk--> Badger Lord or <!--del_lnk--> Badger Mother. One such badger contains 'Brock' in his name. Other stories featuring badgers include <!--del_lnk--> The Boy Who Talked to Badgers (1975 movie), <!--del_lnk--> The Tale of Mr. Tod, <!--del_lnk--> The Wind in the Willows, <!--del_lnk--> The Once and Future King, <!--del_lnk--> The Animals of Farthing Wood, <!--del_lnk--> Fantastic Mr. Fox, <!--del_lnk--> The Book of Merlyn, and <!--del_lnk--> The Chronicles of Narnia. In the <a href="../../wp/h/Harry_Potter.htm" title="Harry Potter">Harry Potter</a> series, one of the four Houses, <!--del_lnk--> Hufflepuff, is symbolized by a badger. The character Frances in <!--del_lnk--> Russell Hoban's series of children's books is a badger. They also appear prominently in two volumes of Erin Hunter's <!--del_lnk--> Warriors: The New Prophecy series.<p>The most prominent poem on the badger is from the Romantic period's <!--del_lnk--> John Clare. "Badger" describes a badger hunt, complete with badger-baiting, and treats the badger as a noble creature who dies at the end.<p>The US State of <!--del_lnk--> Wisconsin is known as the "Badger State," and the mascot of the <!--del_lnk--> University of Wisconsin-Madison is the badger.<p><!--del_lnk--> Brock University of <!--del_lnk--> St.Catharines, Ontario have the badgers as their mascot.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badger"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Mammal', 'Mammal', 'Weasel', 'Otter', 'United Kingdom', 'German language', 'Otter', 'Vole', 'Woodpecker', 'Rabies', 'United Kingdom', 'United Kingdom', 'Tuberculosis', 'Dog', 'English language', 'Harry Potter']
|
Badminton
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Badminton,1972 Summer Olympics,1988 Summer Olympics,1992 Summer Olympics,2002 Commonwealth Games results,2006,Africa,Africa Badminton Federation,All-England Open Badminton Championships,All England Open Badminton Championships,Aluminium" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Badminton</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Badminton";
var wgTitle = "Badminton";
var wgArticleId = 3956;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Badminton">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Badminton</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Sports.htm">Sports</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1010.jpg.htm" title="The Danish Olympic badminton player Peter Gade"><img alt="The Danish Olympic badminton player Peter Gade" height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Badminton_Peter_Gade.jpg" src="../../images/10/1010.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1010.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Danish Olympic badminton player <!--del_lnk--> Peter Gade</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Badminton</b> is a <!--del_lnk--> racquet sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles). The players or pairs take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net.<p>Unlike many racquet sports, badminton does not use a ball: badminton uses a feathered projectile known as a <!--del_lnk--> shuttlecock. Since the shuttlecock is strongly affected by wind, competitive badminton is always played indoors.<p>
<br />
<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="General_Description" name="General_Description"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">General Description</span></h2>
<p>The players strike the shuttlecock with their rackets so that it passes over the net and into the opponents' half of the court. The rally ends once the shuttlecock touches the ground: every stroke must be played as a volley. In doubles, either player of a pair may hit the shuttlecock (except on service), but only a single stroke is allowed before the shuttlecock passes again into the opponents' court. Players are awarded a point if the shuttlecock lands on or within the marked boundary of their opponents' court, or if their opponent's stroke fails to pass the net or lands outside the court boundary.<p>A rally begins with the service, in which the serving player must strike the shuttlecock so that, if left, it would land in the diagonally opposite service court. In doubles, only one player, the receiver, may return the service (thereafter either player may hit the shuttlecock); the order of doubles service is determined by the Laws, which ensure that all the players shall serve and receive in turn. If the server wins the rally, he will continue serving; if he loses the rally, the serve will pass to his opponent. In either case, the winner will add a point to his score.<p>A match consists of three games; to win each game players must score 21 points (exceptions noted below). There are five events: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles (each pair is a man and a woman).<p><a id="History_and_development" name="History_and_development"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History and development</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1011.jpg.htm" title="Battledore and Shuttlecock, an antecedent to the modern game of Badminton. 1854, from the John Leech Archive"><img alt="Battledore and Shuttlecock, an antecedent to the modern game of Badminton. 1854, from the John Leech Archive" height="421" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battledore-and-shuttlecock.jpg" src="../../images/10/1011.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1011.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i><!--del_lnk--> Battledore and Shuttlecock</i>, an <!--del_lnk--> antecedent to the modern game of Badminton. <i>1854, from the <!--del_lnk--> John Leech Archive</i></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Badminton is widely believed to have originated in ancient Greece about 2000 years ago. From there it spread via the <!--del_lnk--> Indo-Greek kingdoms to Indian and then further east to China and Siam (now Thailand).<p>In England since medieval times a children's game called <i><!--del_lnk--> Battledore and Shuttlecock</i> was popular. Children would use paddles (<i>Battledores</i>) and work together to keep the Shuttlecock up in the air and prevent it from reaching the ground. It was popular enough to be a nuisance on the street of London in 1854 when the magazine <!--del_lnk--> Punch published a cartoon depicting it.<p>In the 1860s, British Army officers in <!--del_lnk--> Pune, India, began playing the game of Battledore and Shuttlecock, but they added a competitive element by including a net. As the city of Pune was formerly known as <!--del_lnk--> Poona, the game was known as <i>Poona</i> at that time.<p>About this same time, the <!--del_lnk--> Duke of Beaufort was entertaining soldiers at his estate called "<!--del_lnk--> Badminton House", where the soldiers played Poona. The Duke of Beaufort’s non-military guests began referring to the game as "the badminton game", and thus the game became known as "badminton".<p>In 1877, the first badminton club in the world, Bath Badminton Club, transcribed the rules of badminton for the first time. However, in 1893, the Badminton Association of England published the first proper set of rules, similar to that of today, and officially launched badminton in a house called 'Dunbar' at 6 Waverley Grove, <a href="../../wp/p/Portsmouth.htm" title="Portsmouth">Portsmouth</a>, England on September 13 of that year. They also started the <!--del_lnk--> All England Open Badminton Championships, the first badminton competition in the world, in 1899.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> International Badminton Federation (IBF) was established in 1934 with Canada, Denmark, England, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales as its founding members. India joined as an affiliate in 1936. The IBF now governs international badminton and develops the sport globally.<p><a id="Scoring_system_development" name="Scoring_system_development"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Scoring system development</span></h2>
<p>In the traditional scoring system, games were played to 15 points, except for women's singles which was played up to 11. A match was decided by the best of three games. Only the serving players were able to score a point. In doubles, both players of a pair would serve before the service returned to the other side: in order to regain the service, the receiving pair had to win two rallies (not necessarily consecutively).<p>In 1992, the <!--del_lnk--> IBF introduced new rules: setting at 13-all and 14-all. This meant that if the players were tied at 13-13 or 14-14 (9-9 or 10-10 for women's singles), the player who had first reached that score could decide elect to <i>set</i> and play to 17 (or to 13 for women's singles).<p>In 2002 the IBF, concerned with the unpredictable and often lengthy time required for matches, decided to experiment with a different scoring system to improve the commercial and especially the broadcasting appeal of the sport. The new scoring system shortened games to 7 points and decided matches by the best of 5 games. When the score reached 6-6, the player who first reached 6 could elect to set to 8 points.<p>Yet the match time remained an issue, since the playing time for the two scoring systems was similar. This experiment was abandoned and replaced by a modified version of the traditional scoring system. The <!--del_lnk--> 2002 Commonwealth Games is the last event used this scoring system. <p>In December 2005 the IBF experimented again with the scoring system, intending both to regulate the playing time and to simplify the system for television viewers. The main change from the traditional system was to adopt rally point scoring, in which the winner of a rally scores a point regardless of who served; games were lengthened to 21 points. However, the new scoring system makes the game duration significantly shorter. The experiment ended in May 2006, and the IBF ruled that the new scoring system would be adopted from August 2006 onwards. This scoring system is described in full in <a href="#Scoring_system_and_service" title="">Scoring system and service</a>, below.<p><a id="Laws_of_the_Game" name="Laws_of_the_Game"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Laws of the Game</span></h2>
<p>The following information is a simplified summary of the Laws, not a complete reproduction. The definitive source of the Laws is the IBF Laws publication, although the digital distribution of the Laws contains poor reproductions of the diagrams.<p><a id="Playing_court_dimensions" name="Playing_court_dimensions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Playing court dimensions</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1012.png.htm" title="Badminton court, isometric view"><img alt="Badminton court, isometric view" height="144" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Badminton_court_3d_small.png" src="../../images/10/1012.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1012.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Badminton court, isometric view</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The court is rectangular and divided into halves by a net. Courts are almost always marked for both singles and doubles play, although the laws permit a court to be marked for singles only. The doubles court is wider than the singles court, but the doubles service court is shorter than the singles service court.<p>The full width of the court is 6.1 metres, and in singles this width is reduced to 5.18 metres. The full length of the court is 13.4 metres. The service courts are marked by a centre line dividing the width of the court, by a short service line at a distance of 1.98 metres from the net, and by the outer side and back boundaries. In doubles, the service court is also marked by a long service line, which is 0.78 metres from the back boundary.<p>The net is 1.55 metres (5 ft 1 inch) high at the edges and 1.524 metres (5 ft) high in the centre. The net posts are placed over the doubles side lines, even when singles is played.<p>Surprisingly, there is no mention in the Laws of a minimum height for the ceiling above the court. Nonetheless, a badminton court will not be suitable if the ceiling is likely to be hit on a high serve.<p><a id="Equipment_laws" name="Equipment_laws"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Equipment laws</span></h3>
<p>The Laws specify which equipment may be used. In particular, the Laws restrict the design and size of rackets and shuttlecocks. The Laws also provide for testing a shuttlecock for the correct speed:<blockquote>
<dl>
<dt>3.1 <dd>To test a shuttle, use a full underhand stroke which makes contact with the shuttle over the back boundary line. The shuttle shall be hit at an upward angle and in a direction parallel to the side lines.<dt>3.2 <dd>A shuttle of the correct speed will land not less than 530 mm and not more than 990 mm short of the other back boundary line....</dl>
</blockquote>
<p><a id="Scoring_system_and_service" name="Scoring_system_and_service"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Scoring system and service</span></h3>
<p>A point shall be added to a player's score whenever he wins a rally.<p>A match consists of the best of three games; a game is won by the first player to score 21 points, except if the score reaches 20 points each; in this case, play shall continue until one player either achieves a two point lead (such as 24-22), or his score reaches 30 (the score shall not extend beyond 30: 30-29 is a winning score).<p>At the start of a match a coin toss is conducted between the players or pairs. The winners of the coin toss may make one of two choices: they may choose whether to serve or receive first, or they may choose which end of the court they wish to occupy. After they have made this choice, their opponents shall exercise the remaining choice. In less formal settings, the coin toss is often replaced by hitting a shuttle into the air: whichever side it points to shall serve first.<p>In subsequent games, the winners of the previous game shall serve first. For the first rally of any doubles game, the serving pair may decide who serves and the receiving pair may decide who receives. The players shall change ends at the start of the second game; if the match proceeds to a third game, the players shall change ends both at the start of the game and when the leading pair's score reaches 11 points.<p>In singles, the server shall stand in his right service court when his score is even, and in his left service court when his score is odd; his opponent shall stand in the diagonally opposite service court.<p>In doubles, the players shall remember their service positions from the previous rally; the receivers shall remain in the same service courts. When a receiving pair wins a point and thereby regains the service, they shall not change their service court positions. If their new score is even, then the player in the right service court shall serve; if their new score is odd, then the player in the left service court shall serve. Thereafter, if they continue to win points, the server shall alternate between the service courts, so that he serves to each receiver in turn.<p>There are several notable consequences of this system. First, rally point scoring ensures that the start of the game is fairer than under the older scoring system; without rally point scoring, serving at the start of the game is a significant advantage. Second, there is no "second server", unlike under the older scoring system. Third, each time a pair regains the service, the service court laws ensure that the server shall be the player who did not serve last.<p>The server and receiver must remain within their service courts, so that their feet do not touch the boundary lines, until the server strikes the shuttle. The other two players may stand wherever they wish, so long as they do not unsight the opposing server or receiver.<p><a id="Faults" name="Faults"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Faults</span></h3>
<p>Players win a rally by striking the shuttle onto the floor within the boundaries of their opponents' court. Players also win a rally if their opponents commit a fault. The most common fault in badminton is when the players fail to return the shuttle so that it passes over the net and lands inside their opponents' court, but there are also other ways that players may be faulted. The following information lists some of the more common faults.<p>Several faults pertain specifically to service. A serving player shall be faulted if he strikes the shuttle from above his waist (defined as his lowest rib), or if his racket is not pointing downwards at the moment of impact. This particular law changed in 2006: previously, the server's racket had to be pointing downwards to the extent that the racket head was below the hand holding the racket; now, any angle below the horizontal is acceptable.<p>Neither the server nor the receiver may lift a foot until the shuttle has been struck by the server. The server must also initially hit the base (cork) of the shuttle, although he may afterwards also hit the feathers as part of the same stroke. This law was introduced to ban an extremely effective service style known as the <i>S-serve</i> or <i>Sidek serve</i>, which allowed the server to make the shuttle spin chaotically in flight.<p>Each side may only strike the shuttle once before it passes back over the net; but during a single stroke movement, a player may contact a shuttle twice (this happens in some sliced shots). A player may not, however, hit the shuttle once and then hit it with a new movement, nor may he carry and sling the shuttle on his racket.<p>It is a fault if the shuttle hits the ceiling.<p><a id="Lets" name="Lets"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Lets</span></h3>
<p>If a let is called, the rally is stopped and replayed with no change to the score. Lets may occur due to some unexpected disturbance such as a shuttle landing on court (having being hit there by players on an adjacent court).<p>If the receiver is not ready when the service is delivered, a let shall be called; yet if the receiver makes any attempt to return the shuttle, he shall be judged to have been ready.<p>There is no let if the shuttle hits the tape (even on service).<p><a id="Equipment" name="Equipment"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Equipment</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1013.jpg.htm" title="Badminton racquets"><img alt="Badminton racquets" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Heads_of_badminton_raquets.jpg" src="../../images/10/1013.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1013.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Badminton racquets</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Racquet:</b> A <!--del_lnk--> racquet is a vital piece of equipment in badminton. Traditionally racquets were made of wood. Later on, <a href="../../wp/a/Aluminium.htm" title="Aluminium">aluminium</a> or other light metals became the material of choice. Badminton racquets are composed of <!--del_lnk--> carbon fibre composite (<!--del_lnk--> graphite reinforced plastic), with <a href="../../wp/t/Titanium.htm" title="Titanium">titanium</a> composites (<!--del_lnk--> nanocarbon) added as extra ingredients. <!--del_lnk--> Carbon fibre has an excellent strength to weight ratio, is stiff, and gives excellent <!--del_lnk--> kinetic energy transfer. They are two types of racquet: isometric (square) and oval. Racquets normally weigh between 80-95 <!--del_lnk--> g but weight differs between manufacturers, as it can affect how fast the racquet can swing.<p><b>Grip:</b> Grip is the interface between the player's hand and the racquet. Type, size and thickness are three characteristics that affect the choice of grip. There are two types of grips: synthetic and towel. Synthetic grips are less messy and provide excellent friction. Towel grips are usually preferred as they are usually more comfortable and absorbent of sweat. Both have disadvantages as synthetic grips can deteriorate if too much sweat is absorbed and towel grips need to be changed often.<p><b>String:</b> Perhaps one of the most overlooked areas of badminton equipment is the string. Different types of string have different response properties. Durability generally varies with performance. Most strings are 21 gauge in thickness and strung at 18 to 30 <!--del_lnk--> lbf (80 to 130 <!--del_lnk--> newtons) of <!--del_lnk--> tension. Racquets strung at lower tensions (18 to 21 lbf or 80 to 95 N) generate greater power while racquets strung at higher tensions provide greater control (21 lbf, over 95 N). Simply, a higher tension rewards hard hitting, while it robs power from a light hitter. Conversely, a lower tensioned string helps light hitter with a better timed trampoline effect.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:102px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1014.jpg.htm" title="Shuttlecocks with feather skirts"><img alt="Shuttlecocks with feather skirts" height="133" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Shuttlecocks_Yonex_Aerosensa_20.jpg" src="../../images/10/1014.jpg" width="100" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1014.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Shuttlecocks with feather skirts</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:102px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1015.jpg.htm" title="A shuttlecock with a plastic skirt"><img alt="A shuttlecock with a plastic skirt" height="81" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ShuttlecockPhoto.jpg" src="../../images/10/1015.jpg" width="100" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1015.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A shuttlecock with a plastic skirt</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Shuttlecock:</b> A <!--del_lnk--> shuttlecock has an open conical shape, with a rounded head at the apex of the cone, they are made of <!--del_lnk--> cork and overlapped by sixteen goose feathers. There are different speeds and weights, but for easy classification, 75 is regarded as slow and 79 is the fastest shuttlecock. The feather shuttle is fairly brittle and thus for economical reasons this has been replaced by the use of a plastic (usually nylon) or rubber head and a plastic (usually nylon) skirt for practice use.<p><b>Shoes:</b> Because acceleration across the court is so important, players need excellent grip with the floor at all times. Badminton shoes need gummy soles for good grip, reinforced side walls (<!--del_lnk--> lateral support) for durability during drags, and shock dispersion technology for jumping; badminton places a lot of stress on the knees and ankles. Like most sports shoes, they are also light weight. They have a thin but well supported sole with good lateral support to keep the player’s feet close to the ground, allowing for speed and ankle bending directional changes with lower chance of injury; light weight for faster foot movement.<p><a id="Basic_strokes" name="Basic_strokes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Basic strokes</span></h2>
<p>There are many strokes in badminton; below is a list of basic strokes, which is divided into strokes played from the forecourt, midcourt, and rearcourt (the <i>forecourt</i> is the part of the court near the net, the <i>rearcourt</i> is the part of the court farthest away from the net, and the <i>midcourt</i> is the area in between them).<p>This list does not include every possible stroke, but only the strokes that are commonly played from that part of the court. The descriptions also assume that the players are of a very high standard and are making sensible choices of strokes.<p><a id="Strokes_played_from_the_forecourt" name="Strokes_played_from_the_forecourt"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Strokes played from the forecourt</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Serve<dd>The serve begins a rally. Serves are subject to several service laws that limit the attacking potential for service. The overall effect of these laws is that the server must hit in an upwards direction; "tennis serves" are prohibited. The serve is always cross court (diagonal).</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Low serve</dl>
<dd>The low serve travels into the receiver's forecourt, to fall on or just after the opponents short service line. Low serves must travel as close to the net tape as possible, or they will be attacked fiercely. In doubles, the straight low serve is the most frequently used service variation.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>High serve</dl>
<dd>The high serve is hit very high, so that the shuttle falls vertically at the back of the receiver's service court. The high serve is never used in doubles, but is common in singles.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Flick serve</dl>
<dd>Although the flick serve is hit upwards, the trajectory is much shallower than the high serve.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Drive serve</dl>
<dd>Drive serves are hit flat to the back of the receiver's service court. The drive serve is almost never used in elite games, because it relies on the receiver being unprepared. If the receiver reacts well, then the drive serve will be severely punished.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Netshot<dd>A netshot is played into the opponent's forecourt, as close to the net as possible.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Net kill<dd>The net kill is a shot which aims to kill the shuttle into the floor very close to the opponent's side of the net. The trajectory is almost vertical. It is commonly used to punish a poor low serve. The net kill is executed with a sudden, powerful 'tapping' motion produced by the wrist. This technique helps to eliminate the danger of hitting the net.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Long kill<dd>The long kill is a net kill that is not so steep and therefore travels towards the rearcourt. A long kill is only used if a steeper kill cannot be played. It is similar to a net drive, but much more aggressive. The long kill can be played when returning a poor low serve.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Net drive, net push, net lift<dd>These strokes are all the same as their midcourt counterparts, which are described below.</dl>
</ul>
<p><a id="Strokes_played_from_the_midcourt" name="Strokes_played_from_the_midcourt"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Strokes played from the midcourt</span></h3>
<p>With the exception of the smash, all midcourt strokes are played with the shuttle either near the ground, or about net height, or slightly higher than net height. If the shuttle is ever high in the midcourt, a powerful smash will be played to finish the rally.<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Drive<dd>A drive is played when the shuttle is near net height, at the side of the player's body. Drives pass with pace into the opponent's midcourt or rearcourt. Although drives are played with pace, very high shuttle speed is not desirable because the shuttle will go out at the back. The trajectory of a drive is approximately flat.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Half-court drive</dl>
<dd>A drive played from in front of the body, usually hitting the shuttle from nearer the net than an ordinary drive.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Push<dd>A push is played from the same situation as a drive, but played softly into the opponent's forecourt or front midcourt.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Half-court push</dl>
<dd>A push played from in front of the body, usually hitting the shuttle from nearer the net than an ordinary push.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Lift<dd>A lift is played upwards to the back of the opponent's court. Midcourt lifts are most commonly played in response to a smash or well-placed push.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Defensive lift</dl>
<dd>A lift that is hit very high, so that the player gains time for recovery to a good base position. Defensive lifts, because of the flight characteristics of a shuttlecock, force the opponent to hit from the extreme back of the court.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Attacking lift</dl>
<dd>A lift that is hit more shallowly, so that the opponent is forced to move very quickly to prevent the shuttle from travelling behind him. Attacking lifts, because of the flight characteristics of a shuttlecock, may be intercepted slightly earlier than defensive lifts.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Smash<dd>See the <i>smash</i> entry under <i>rearcourt strokes</i>, below. A midcourt smash is especially devastating.</dl>
</ul>
<p><a id="Strokes_played_from_the_rearcourt" name="Strokes_played_from_the_rearcourt"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Strokes played from the rearcourt</span></h3>
<p>In the rearcourt, most strokes are played overhead. If the shuttle has dropped low in a player's rearcourt, so that he is unable to play an overhead stroke, then he is at a great disadvantage and is likely to lose the rally. The following strokes are all played from overhead:<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Clear<dd>A clear travels high and to the back of the opponent's rearcourt.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Defensive clear</dl>
<dd>A clear that is hit very high, so that the player gains time for recovery to a good base position. Defensive clears, because of the flight characteristics of a shuttlecock, force the opponent to hit from the extreme back of the court.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Attacking clear</dl>
<dd>A clear that is hit more shallowly, so that the opponent is forced to move very quickly to prevent the shuttle from travelling behind him. Attacking clears, because of the flight characteristics of a shuttlecock, may be intercepted slightly earlier than defensive clears.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Smash<dd>A smash is a powerful stroke, played so that the shuttle travels steeply downwards at great speed into the opponent's midcourt.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Jump smash</dl>
<dd>A smash where the player jumps for height. The aim of a jump smash is to hit the smash at a steeper angle. Jump smashes are most common in men's doubles.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Dropshot<dd>A dropshot is played downwards into the opponent's forecourt. Dropshots are usually disguised as smashes or clears, so that the opponent cannot anticipate the dropshot.</dl>
</ul>
<p><a id="Advanced_strokes" name="Advanced_strokes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Advanced strokes</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1016.jpg.htm" title="Francesca Setiadi, Canada, flies high at the Golden Gate Open in San Francisco, 2006"><img alt="Francesca Setiadi, Canada, flies high at the Golden Gate Open in San Francisco, 2006" height="269" longdesc="/wiki/Image:GGOpen_Setiadi.jpg" src="../../images/10/1016.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1016.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Francesca Setiadi, Canada, flies high at the Golden Gate Open in San Francisco, 2006</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Advanced strokes are typically variations on a basic stroke. Often the purpose of an advanced stroke is to deceive the opponent, but advanced strokes may also be used to manipulate the flight path of the shuttlecock by introducing spin. Spin may cause the shuttlecock to follow a curved path and to dip more steeply as it falls.<p>A common technique for advanced strokes is <i>slicing</i>, where the shuttle is hit with an angled racket face. Often players brush the racket face around the shuttlecock to achieve more spin from their slice. Slices can be used to deceive opponents about the direction in which the player is going to hit the shuttle, and to make apparently powerful strokes that travel slowly (a dropshot may be disguised as a smash).<p>The lightness of modern rackets allows good players to play many strokes with a short swing. This skill provides opportunities for deception, because the player may pretend to play a soft stroke (such as a netshot), but then accelerate the racket at the last moment to play a more powerful stroke (such as a lift). This form of deception may also be reversed: players may pretend to play a powerful stoke, but then decelerate the racket at the last moment to play a soft stroke. In general, the former type of deception is more common towards the front of the court, whereas the latter type of deception is more common towards the back of the court.<p>Another technique for deception is <i>double motion</i>. In this technique, the player will make an initial motion towards the shuttlecock and then quickly withdraw the racket to hit the shuttlecock in a different direction. The aim is to show the opponent one direction but then quickly place the shuttlecock elsewhere. Some players may even use triple motion, although this is much rarer.<p>The following lists are not comprehensive; the scope for advanced strokes in badminton is large, in particular for deceptive strokes.<p><a id="Sliced_strokes" name="Sliced_strokes"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sliced strokes</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Sliced dropshot<dd>A sliced dropshot allows the player to deceive his opponent about both the power and direction of the stroke. For example, the opponent may expect a straight clear or smash, but receive a crosscourt dropshot instead. Slicing the shuttlecock heavily will cause it to follow a curved path and dip more sharply as it crosses the net. There are two types of sliced dropshots - the normal slice and the reverse slice. The normal slice is played so that the shuttle goes left while the receiver thinks it goes right, however the reverse slice requires more of a brushing motion in order to slice the shuttle to the right while the opponent thinks the drop is being played to the left.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Sliced smash<dd>A sliced smash allows the player to deceive his opponent about the direction of his smash. Slicing a smash also allows players to hit in directions that they might otherwise find impossible given their body position on the court.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Spinning netshot (also called a tumbling netshot)<dd>Slicing underneath the shuttlecock allows the player to spin the shuttlecock so that it turns over itself several times as it crosses the net. The opponent will be unwilling to address the shuttlecock until it has corrected its flight. The spin also makes the shuttlecock fall tighter to the net.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Sliced low serves<dd>Slicing the low serve may be used both for the straight low serve and for the wide low serve to the left side lines (for a righthander).</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Sliced straight low serve</dl>
<dd>The purpose of slicing this serve is to not to change the direction, but to make the shuttle dip more steeply as it passes the net. The slicing may also cause the shuttle to wobble or shake in the air (introducing <!--del_lnk--> precession to the shuttle's flight), making it harder for the receiver to time and control his reply.</dl>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dt>Sliced wide low serve</dl>
<dd>The purpose of slicing this serve is to deceive the opponent into believing that a straight serve, either low or flicked, is being played. For a righthander, the racket head will move at least slightly from left to right, but the shuttlecock will be sent to the left.</dl>
</ul>
<p><a id="Deceptive_strokes_from_the_net" name="Deceptive_strokes_from_the_net"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Deceptive strokes from the net</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Deceptive lift (hold and flick)<dd>The player holds the racket ready for a netshot, but at the last moment flicks the shuttlecock to the rearcout instead. This is mainly used in singles.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Deceptive crosscourt netshot (breaking the wrist)<dd>The player holds the racket ready for a straight netshot, but at the last moment turns the racket face sideways to play the shuttle across the net instead. This is so called since the action required to perform this manoeuvre looks as if the wrist has been twisted badly in the opposite direction to the original movement; hence the name - breaking the wrist.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Racket head fakes<dd>The player begins a stroke from the net in one direction, but then slightly alters the direction by rotating the racket head during the hitting. This can be used to make it harder for opponents to return net drives and pushes. A more pronounced racket head fake may be produced by using double motion, but this requires that the player have more time to perform the lengthier deception.</dl>
</ul>
<p><a id="Specialised_net_kill_techniques" name="Specialised_net_kill_techniques"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Specialised net kill techniques</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Short-action net kill<dd>This is a technique for killing shuttecocks that are close to the net tape. The player uses a very short forwards tapping motion to avoid hitting the net tape (which is a fault). The tapping action makes use of sudden tightening of the fingers to create power.</dl>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>
<dl>
<dt>Brush net kill<dd>This is a more difficult technique for killing shuttlecocks that are extremely close to the net tape. The player swipes the racket nearly parallel to the tape instead of hitting forwards. With a slight turning of the racket face during the swipe, the shuttlecock may be struck steeply downwards and in the direction of the swipe. For both forehand and backhand brush net kills, the swiping action is inwards to the centre.</dl>
</ul>
<p><a id="Strategy" name="Strategy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Strategy</span></h2>
<p>To win in badminton, players need to employ a wide variety of strokes in the right situations. These range from extraordinarily powerful jumping smashes to soft, delicate tumbling net returns. The smash is a powerful overhead stroke played steeply downwards into the middle or rear of the opponents' court; it is similar to a tennis serve, but much faster: the shuttlecock can travel at 300 km/h (186 mph). This is a very effective stroke, and pleases the crowds, but smashing is only one part of the game. Often rallies finish with a smash, but setting up the smash requires subtler strokes. For example, a netshot can force the opponent to lift the shuttle, which gives an opportunity to smash. If the netshot is tight and tumbling, then the opponent's lift will not reach the back of the court, which makes the subsequent smash much harder to return.<p>Deception is also important. Expert players make the preparation for many different strokes look identical, so that their opponents cannot guess which stroke will be played. For many strokes, the shuttlecock can be sliced to change its direction; this allows a player to move his racket in a different direction to the trajectory of the shuttlecock. If an opponent tries to anticipate the stroke, he will move in the wrong direction and may be unable to change his body momentum in time to reach the shuttlecock. In badminton you use your wrist a lot and pressing of fingers to a full-body smashes and clears.<p><b>Doubles:</b> In doubles, each side has two players. Both sides will try to gain and maintain the attack, hitting downwards as much as possible. Usually one player will strive to stay at the back of the court and the other at the front, which is an optimal attacking position: the back player will smash and occasionally drop the shuttlecock to the net, and the front player will try to intercept any flat returns or returns to the net. Typical play involves hitting the shuttle in a trajectory as low and flat as possible, to avoid giving away the attack. A side that hits a high shot must prepare for a smash and retreat to a side-by-side defensive position, with each player covering half of the court. The first serve is usually a low serve to force the other side to lift the shuttle. A "flick serve", in which the player will pretend to serve low but hit it high to catch the receiver off-guard, is sporadically used throughout the game. Doubles is a game of speed, aggression, and agility.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:342px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1017.jpg.htm" title="A mixed doubles game. Scottish Schools mixed doubles under 12s tournament - Tranent (near Edinburgh), May 2002"><img alt="A mixed doubles game. Scottish Schools mixed doubles under 12s tournament - Tranent (near Edinburgh), May 2002" height="250" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sschools.jpg" src="../../images/10/1017.jpg" width="340" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1017.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A mixed doubles game. Scottish Schools mixed doubles under 12s tournament - Tranent (near Edinburgh), May 2002</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Singles:</b> Players will serve high to the far back end of the court, although at the international level low serves are now frequently used as well. The singles court is narrower than the doubles court, but the same length. Since one person needs to cover the entire court, singles tactics are based on forcing the opponent to move as much as possible; this means that singles shots are normally directed to the corners of the court. The depth of the court is exploited by combining clears (high shots to the back) with drops (soft downwards shots to the front). Smashing is less prominent in singles than in doubles because players are rarely in the ideal position to execute a smash, and smashing out of position leaves the smasher very vulnerable if the shot is returned. At high levels of play, singles demands extraordinary fitness. It is a game of patient tactical play, unlike the all-out aggression of doubles.<p><b>Mixed doubles:</b> In this discipline, a man and a woman play as a doubles pair. Mixed doubles is similar to "level" doubles where pairs are of the same gender. In mixed doubles, both pairs try to maintain an attacking formation with the woman at the front and the man at the back. This is because the male players are substantially stronger, and can therefore produce more powerful smashes. As a result, mixed doubles requires greater tactical awareness and subtler positional play. Clever opponents will try to reverse the ideal position, by forcing the woman towards the back or the man towards the front. In order to protect against this danger, mixed players must be careful and systematic in their shot selection.<p><a id="Governing_bodies" name="Governing_bodies"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Governing bodies</span></h2>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> International Badminton Federation (IBF) is the internationally recognised governing body of the sport. The IBF headquarters are currently located in <a href="../../wp/k/Kuala_Lumpur.htm" title="Kuala Lumpur">Kuala Lumpur</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a>.<p>Five regional confederations are associated with the IBF:<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a>: <!--del_lnk--> Asian Badminton Confederation (ABC)<li><a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>: <!--del_lnk--> Africa Badminton Federation (ABF)<li><!--del_lnk--> Americas: <!--del_lnk--> Pan American Badminton Confederation (North America and South America belong to the same confederation; PABC)<li><a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>: <!--del_lnk--> European Badminton Union (EBU)<li><a href="../../wp/o/Oceania.htm" title="Oceania">Oceania</a>: <!--del_lnk--> Oceania Badminton Confederation (OBC)</ul>
<p><a id="Competitions" name="Competitions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Competitions</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1018.jpg.htm" title="a men's double match"><img alt="a men's double match" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Badminton_men%27s_doubles.jpg" src="../../images/10/1018.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1018.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> a men's double match</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>There are several international competitions organized by the IBF. The <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Cup, a men's event, and the <!--del_lnk--> Uber Cup, a women's event, are the most important ones. The competitions take place once in two years. More than 50 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals. The final tournament now involves 12 teams after an increase in 2004 (8 teams).<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Sudirman Cup is a mixed team event which is hosted once in two years starting from 1989. It is divide into seven group based on the performance of each country. Only the group that comes out best can win the event. The goal of the competition is to see the balance between the performances of men's badminton and women's badminton. Like <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">soccer</a>, it features the promotion and relegation system in every group.<p>In the individual competitions, badminton became a <!--del_lnk--> Summer Olympics sport at the <!--del_lnk--> Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Before that, it was a demonstration event in the <!--del_lnk--> 1972 and <!--del_lnk--> 1988 Summer Olympics. Only the 32 best badminton players in the world can participate in the competition based on their IBF ranking and each country can only submit three players to take part. The <!--del_lnk--> IBF World Championships is another event for players to show their true abilities. Only the best 64 players in the world, and a maximum of 3 from each country, can participate in any category. All these competitions are graded 7-star tournaments as well as the World Junior Championships.<p>In the regional events of each continent, mainly the competitions in Asia and Europe are gaining attention by the media because of the world's highest ranked players are participating in these continents. The Asian Badminton Championships (open for Asia players) and the European Badminton Championships (open for European players) are the two major regional events in the world.<p>As of the start of 2007, the IBF introduces the New Tournament Structure, known as <!--del_lnk--> Super Series. The 6-star tournament (level 2) will play in 12 countries with a minimum prize of <!--del_lnk--> USD$200,000 (<!--del_lnk--> All-England, <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>, <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, <a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>, <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a>). The participants limited to 32 players form previous 64. The players have to collect the points in ability to play in season-ending masters event, aas well as in China with a grand prize of USD$500,000. <p>With the introduction of the Super Series, IBF also standardized all the badminton events that start in 2007. The Grand Prix Gold open tournament (level 3, 4-star) will be offering USD$125,000 in prize money. 10 countries will be selected to organise a tournament in this event. The <!--del_lnk--> Grand Prix Gold event will combine with Grand Prix event (3-star), which offer the prize money of USD$50,000.<p>The fourth level event (A-star), known as International Challenge, offers USD$15,000. The International Series, offer USD$5,000, as the competition tries to gather more junior players into the tournament. The 28 and 55 tournaments are scheduled for both events respectively. <p><a id="Records" name="Records"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Records</span></h2>
<p>The most powerful stroke in badminton is the smash, which is hit steeply downwards into the opponents' midcourt. The maximum speed of a smashed shuttlecock exceeds that of any other racket sport projectile. The recordings of this speed measure the initial speed of the shuttlecock immediately after it has left the player's racket.<p>Men's doubles player <!--del_lnk--> Fu Haifeng of China set the official world smash record of 332 km/h (206 mph) on June 3, 2005 in the <!--del_lnk--> Sudirman Cup. The fastest smash recorded in the singles competition was 298 km/h (185 mph) by <!--del_lnk--> Kenneth Jonassen of Denmark.<p><a id="Comparisons_with_other_racquet_sports" name="Comparisons_with_other_racquet_sports"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Comparisons with other racquet sports</span></h2>
<p>Badminton is frequently compared to <a href="../../wp/t/Tennis.htm" title="Tennis">tennis</a>. The following is a list of uncontentious comparisons:<ul>
<li>In tennis, the ball may bounce once before the player hits it; in badminton, the rally ends once the shuttlecock touches the floor.<li>In tennis, the serve is dominant to the extent that the server is expected to win most of his service games; a <i>break</i> of service, where the server loses the game, is of major importance in a match. In badminton, however, the serving side and receiving side have approximately equal opportunity to win the rally.<li>In tennis, the server is allowed two attempts to make a correct serve; in badminton, the server is allowed only one attempt.<li>In tennis, a let is played on service if the ball hits the net tape; in badminton, there is no let on service.<li>The tennis court is larger than the badminton court.<li>Tennis rackets are much heavier than badminton rackets, which may weigh as little as 75 grams. Tennis balls are also heavier than shuttlecocks.<li>The fastest recorded tennis stroke is <!--del_lnk--> Andy Roddick's 153 mph serve; the fastest recorded badminton stroke is <!--del_lnk--> Fu Haifeng's 206 mph smash.</ul>
<p><a id="Comparisons_of_speed_and_athletic_requirements" name="Comparisons_of_speed_and_athletic_requirements"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Comparisons of speed and athletic requirements</span></h3>
<p>Statistics such as the 206 mph smash speed, below, prompt badminton enthusiasts to make other comparisons that are more contentious. For example, it is often claimed that badminton is the fastest racket sport. Although badminton holds the record for the fastest initial speed of a racket sports projectile, the shuttlecock decelerates substantially faster than other projectiles such as tennis balls. In turn, this qualification must be qualified by consideration of the distance over which the shuttlecock travels: a smashed shuttlecock travels a shorter distance than a tennis ball during a serve. Badminton's claim as the fastest racket sport might also be based on reaction time requirements, but arguably <!--del_lnk--> table tennis requires even faster reaction times.<p>There is a strong case for arguing that badminton is more physically demanding than tennis, but such comparisons are difficult to make objectively due to the differing demands of the games. Some informal studies suggest that badminton players require much greater aerobic stamina than tennis players, but this has not been the subject of rigorous research.<p>A more balanced approach might suggest the following comparisons, although these also are subject to dispute:<ul>
<li>Badminton, especially singles, requires substantially greater aerobic stamina than tennis; the level of aerobic stamina required by badminton singles is similar to <!--del_lnk--> squash singles, although squash may have slightly higher aerobic requirements.<li>Tennis requires greater upper body strength than badminton.<li>Badminton requires greater leg strength than tennis, and badminton men's doubles probably requires greater leg strength than any other racket sport due to the demands of performing multiple consecutive jumping smashes.<li>Badminton requires much greater explosive athleticism than tennis and somewhat greater than squash, with players required to jump for height or distance.<li>Badminton requires significantly faster reaction times than either tennis or squash, although table tennis may require even faster reaction times. The fastest reactions in badminton are required in men's doubles, when returning a powerful smash.</ul>
<p><a id="Comparisons_of_technique" name="Comparisons_of_technique"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Comparisons of technique</span></h3>
<p>Badminton and tennis techniques differ substantially. The lightness of the shuttlecock and of badminton rackets allow badminton players to make use of the wrist and fingers much more than tennis players; in tennis the wrist is normally held stable, and playing with a mobile wrist may lead to injury. For the same reasons, badminton players can generate power from a short racket swing: for some strokes such as net kills, an elite player's swing may be less than 10cm. For strokes that require more power, a longer swing will typically be used, but the badminton racket swing will rarely be as long as a typical tennis swing.<p>It is often asserted that power in badminton strokes comes mainly from the wrist. This is a misconception and may be criticised for two reasons. First, it is strictly speaking a <!--del_lnk--> category error: the wrist is a joint, not a muscle; its movement is controlled by the forearm muscles. Second, wrist movements are weak when compared to forearm or upper arm movements. Badminton <!--del_lnk--> biomechanics have not been the subject of extensive scientific study, but some studies confirm the minor role of the wrist in power generation, and indicate that the major contributions to power come from internal and external rotations of the upper and lower arm. Modern coaching resources such as the <i>Badminton England Technique DVD</i> reflect these ideas by emphasising forearm rotation rather than wrist movements.<p><a id="Distinctive_characteristics_of_the_shuttlecock" name="Distinctive_characteristics_of_the_shuttlecock"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Distinctive characteristics of the shuttlecock</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> shuttlecock differs greatly from the balls used in most racket sports.<p><a id="Aerodynamic_drag_and_stability" name="Aerodynamic_drag_and_stability"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Aerodynamic drag and stability</span></h4>
<p>The feathers impart substantial drag, causing the shuttlecock to decelerate greatly over distance. The shuttlecock is also extremely aerodynamically stable: regardless of initial orientation, it will turn to fly cork-first, and remain in the cork-first orientation.<p>One consequence of the shuttlecock's drag is that it requires considerable skill to hit it the full length of the court, which is not the case for most racket sports. The drag also influences the flight path of a lifted (<i>lobbed</i>) shuttlecock: the <!--del_lnk--> parabola of its flight is heavily skewed so that it falls at a steeper angle than it rises. With very high serves, the shuttle may even fall vertically.<p><a id="Spin" name="Spin"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Spin</span></h4>
<p>Balls may be spun to alter their bounce (for example, topspin and backspin in tennis), and players may slice the ball (strike it with an angled racket face) to produce such spin; but, since the shuttlecock is not allowed to bounce, this does not apply to badminton.<p>Slicing the shuttlecock so that it spins, however, does have applications, and some are peculiar to badminton. (See Basic strokes for an explanation of technical terms.)<ul>
<li>Slicing the shuttlecock from the side may cause it to travel in a different direction from the direction suggested by the player's racket or body movement. This is used to deceive opponents.<li>Slicing the shuttlecock from the side may cause it to follow a slightly curved path (as seen from above), and the deceleration imparted by the spin causes sliced strokes to slow down more suddenly towards the end of their flight path. This can be used to create dropshots and smashes that dip more steeply after they pass the net.<li>When playing a netshot, slicing underneath the shuttlecock may cause it to turn over itself (tumble) several times as it passes the net. This is called a <i>spinning netshot</i> or <i>tumbling netshot</i>. The opponent will be unwilling to address the shuttlecock until it has corrected its orientation.</ul>
<p>Due to the way that its feathers overlap, a shuttlecock also has a slight natural spin about its axis of rotational symmetry. The spin is in an anticlockwise direction as seen from above when dropping a shuttle. This natural spin affects certain strokes: a tumbling netshot is more effective if the slicing action is from right to left, rather than from left to right.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badminton"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Portsmouth', 'Aluminium', 'Titanium', 'Kuala Lumpur', 'Malaysia', 'Asia', 'Africa', 'Europe', 'Oceania', 'Football (soccer)', 'China', 'Denmark', 'France', 'Hong Kong', 'Indonesia', 'Japan', 'South Korea', 'Malaysia', 'Singapore', 'Switzerland', 'Tennis']
|
Badugi
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Badugi,Ace,Betting (poker),Big bet,Blind (poker),Bluff,Clockwise,Draw poker,Lowball,Poker,Position (poker)" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Badugi</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Badugi";
var wgTitle = "Badugi";
var wgArticleId = 3173119;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Badugi">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Badugi</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Games.htm">Games</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16796.jpg.htm" title="The best hand in badugi, a four-high badugi."><img alt="The best hand in badugi, a four-high badugi." height="226" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Badugi_nuts.jpg" src="../../images/167/16796.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16796.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The best hand in badugi, a four-high badugi.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Badugi</b> (also known as <b>Badougi</b> or <b>Padooki</b>) is a <!--del_lnk--> draw <!--del_lnk--> poker variant similar to <!--del_lnk--> triple draw, but with differing hand values than traditional poker. The betting structure and overall play of the game is identical to a standard poker game, but unlike traditional poker which involves a minimum of five cards, players' hands contain only four cards at any one time. During each of three drawing rounds, players can trade zero to four cards from their hands for new ones from the deck, in an attempt to form the best <i>badugi hand</i> and win the pot. The object of Badugi is to win <!--del_lnk--> pots, the share of money put in by oneself and one's opponents during the hand. The winner of the pot is the person, who has not folded, with the best badugi hand at the conclusion of play (known as the <!--del_lnk--> showdown). <p>Believed to have originated in Asia, Badugi is becoming popular in the United States.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Play_of_the_hand" name="Play_of_the_hand"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Play of the hand</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16797.png.htm" title="An illustration of the blinds"><img alt="An illustration of the blinds" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Holdem_Table.png" src="../../images/167/16797.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16797.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An illustration of the blinds</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Play begins with each player being dealt four cards face down. Each player may observe those four cards he is dealt, but not the cards dealt to other players. The hand begins with a "pre-draw" betting round, beginning with the player to the left of the <!--del_lnk--> big blind (or the player to the left of the dealer, if no blinds are used) and continuing <!--del_lnk--> clockwise. Each player must either <!--del_lnk--> call the amount of the big blind (put in an amount equal to the big blind), <!--del_lnk--> fold (relinquish any claim to the pot), or <!--del_lnk--> raise (put in more money than anyone else, thus requiring others to do the same).<p>Once everyone has put the same amount of money in the pot or folded, play proceeds to the draw. Beginning with the first player still in the pot to the left of the dealer, each player may discard any number of cards and receive an equal number of replacement cards (called the "draw"). Replacement cards are dealt before the next player chooses the number of cards to draw. The discarded cards are not readded to the deck but are discarded from the game.<p>The first draw is followed by a second betting round. Here players are free to <!--del_lnk--> check (not put in any money, but also remain in the hand) until someone bets. Again betting proceeds until all players have put in an equal amount of money or folded. After the second betting round ends, there is another draw followed by a third betting round. After that there is the final draw, followed by a fourth betting round and the <!--del_lnk--> showdown, if necessary.<p>If at anytime all players but one have folded, the sole remaining player is awarded the pot. If there is more than one player remaining at the conclusion of the final betting round, the hands of those players are compared and the player with the best badugi hand is awarded the pot.<p><a id="Hand_evaluation" name="Hand_evaluation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Hand evaluation</span></h2>
<p>Badugi has a different ranking of hands than traditional <!--del_lnk--> poker. Although every player has four cards to use, the rules of the game require that certain cards be removed to construct a one, two, three or four card <i>badugi hand</i>. At the <!--del_lnk--> showdown (after all betting has concluded), a player is forced to remove one of any two suited cards and any paired cards from the four. This generates a badugi hand of one to four cards. Any four card badugi hand beats a three card badugi hand, three card badugi hands beat a two card badugi hand, and two card badugi hands beat a one card badugi hand. A four card badugi hand is often referred to simply as a "badugi".<p>Two badugi hands containing the same number of cards are evaluated by comparing the highest card in each hand (where <!--del_lnk--> ace is low). As in <!--del_lnk--> lowball, the hand with the lower card is superior. If there is a tie for the highest card, the second highest card (if there is one) is compared. If the ranks of all the cards in the badugi hand are the same the two hands tie. As with standard poker games, suits are irrelevant in comparison of two hands.<p>Here are a few examples:<ul>
<li>2♠4♣<font color="red">5♦6♥</font> beats A♠2♣<font color="red">3♦7♥</font> (both are four card hands) since the highest card is compared first and the <font color="red">6♥</font> is smaller than <font color="red">7♥</font>.<li>4♠5♣<font color="red">6♦K♥</font> beats 2♠3♠<font color="red">4♦7♥</font> the former is a four card hand and the second is a three card hand (the 3♠ must be discarded making the hand 2♠<font color="red">4♦7♥</font>).<li>2♠3♠<font color="red">4♦7♥</font> beats 4♠5♠<font color="red">6♦K♥</font> both are three card hands, the highest in the first is the <font color="red">7♥</font> while the highest in the second is the <font color="red">K♥</font>.<li><font color="red">5♦</font>7♣K♣<font color="red">K♥</font> beats 2♠<font color="red">3♦</font>K♠<font color="red">K♦</font> the former is a three card hand (made by discarding the K♣) the later is a two card hand (made by discarding the two Kings which must both be discarded because they are the same suits as the other two cards).</ul>
<p>If one can construct two (or more) different badugi hands with the same four cards (as in the final example), the better badugi hand is evaluated against the other hands. This occurs when there are at least two card of the same suit one of which is paired. Here removing the paired, suited card generates a better hand than removing the two other cards.<p><a id="Example_hand" name="Example_hand"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Example hand</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16798.png.htm" title="The blinds for this example hand"><img alt="The blinds for this example hand" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Example_Hold%27em.png" src="../../images/167/16798.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/167/16798.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The blinds for this example hand</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Here is a sample deal involving our four players. The players' individual hands will not be revealed until the showdown, to give a better sense of what happens during play:<p><b>Compulsory bets:</b> Alice is the dealer. Bob, to Alice's left, posts a small blind of $1, and Carol posts a big blind of $2.<p><b>First betting round:</b> Alice deals four cards face down to each player, beginning with Bob and ending with herself. Ted must act first because he is the first player after the big blind. He cannot check, since the $2 big blind plays as a bet, so he folds. Alice calls the $2. Bob adds an additional $1 to his $1 small blind to call the $2 total. Carol's blind is "live" (see <!--del_lnk--> blind), so she has the <i>option</i> to raise here, but she checks instead, ending the first betting round. The pot now contains $6, $2 from each of three players.<p><b>First draw:</b> Each player may now opt to draw up to four cards in an attempt to improve their hands. Bob, who is to the dealers immediate left, is given the first chance to draw. Bob discards two cards and receives two replacement cards from the top of the deck. Bob's discarded cards are not added to the deck, but removed from play. Carol now chooses to also draw two. Finally, Alice chooses to draw one.<p><b>Second betting round:</b> Since there are no forced bets in later betting rounds, Bob is now first to act. He chooses to check, remaining in the hand without betting. Carol bets, adding $2 to the pot. Alice and Bob both call, each adding $2 to the pot. The pot now contains $12.<p><b>Second draw:</b> Bob draws one. Carol opts not to draw any cards, keeping the four she has (known as <i>standing pat</i>). Alice draws one.<p><b>Third betting round:</b> Bob checks again and Carol bets $4. Alice, this round, raises making the total bet $8. Bob folds and Carol calls the additional $4. The pot now contains $28.<p><b>Third draw:</b> Since Bob has folded Carol is now first to act, she opts to draw one. Alice stands pat (does not draw).<p><b>Last betting round:</b> Carol checks and Alice bets $4. Carol calls.<p><b>Showdown:</b> Alice shows 2♠4♣<font color="red">6♦9♥</font> for a nine-high badugi (or four card hand). Carol has 3♠<font color="red">5♦</font>7♣<font color="red">8♥</font>, an eight-high badugi. Carol wins the $36 pot.<p><a id="Betting_structures" name="Betting_structures"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Betting structures</span></h2>
<p>In casino play, it is common to use a <!--del_lnk--> fixed limit and two <!--del_lnk--> blinds. The limit for the first two rounds of betting is called a <i>small bet</i>, while the limit for the third and fourth betting rounds is called a <!--del_lnk--> big bet and is generally double the small bet. The <i>small blind</i> is usually equal to half of a small bet, and the <i>big blind</i> is equal to a full small bet.<p>This game is also played <!--del_lnk--> pot-limit, half-pot-limit, and <!--del_lnk--> no-limit. These structures allow for more range in the amounts bet.<p><a id="Strategy" name="Strategy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Strategy</span></h2>
<p>Badugi shares many strategic similarities with other forms of <!--del_lnk--> draw poker, and many of the strategic concepts used in draw apply to badugi as well. In general, drawing on the last round against an opponent who has not drawn is considered a mistake, unless special circumstances warrant this maneuver.<p>Like other games with a fixed order of play, <!--del_lnk--> position can be an important component in badugi strategy. Players who are last to act often have an opportunity to <!--del_lnk--> bluff since they are able to observe the actions of other players before they act. In addition, players in late position are able to determine the strength of their hand more accurately by observing the actions of other players.<p>Another aspect of the strategy of badugi involves the number of people at the table. The more people there are at the table, the more likely there is to be a 4 card badugi. Bluffing with a 2 or 3 card hand is not usually advisable when playing at a 6 player table. However, when you are playing with fewer than 4 people, a 3 card hand can often win with a good bluff.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badugi"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
[]
|
Baghdad
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="noindex,nofollow" name="robots" />
<meta content="Baghdad,Flag of Baghdad,Seal of Baghdad,Coat of arms of Baghdad,Logo of Baghdad,1258,1900,1921,1932,1946,1950" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Baghdad</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgCanonicalSpecialPageName = false;
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Baghdad";
var wgTitle = "Baghdad";
var wgAction = "view";
var wgArticleId = "4492";
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserGroups = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
var wgBreakFrames = false;
var wgCurRevisionId = "129369982";
/*]]>*/</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Baghdad">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Baghdad</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_the_Middle_East.htm">Geography of the Middle East</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox geography vcard" style="width: 23em;">
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="width:100%; font-size: 1.25em; white-space: nowrap;"><b><span class="fn org">Baghdad</span><br /> بغداد</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; padding: 0.7em 0.8em 0.7em 0.8em;;">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/5/514.jpg.htm" title="A mosque in Baghdad, circa 1973."><img alt="A mosque in Baghdad, circa 1973." height="254" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1973_Baghdad_mosque.jpg" src="../../images/5/514.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><small>A mosque in Baghdad, circa 1973.</small></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/6/616.png.htm" title="The location of Baghdad within Iraq."><img alt="The location of Baghdad within Iraq." height="161" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Iraq_map.png" src="../../images/6/616.png" width="150" /></a></span></div><small>The location of Baghdad within <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a>.</small></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: smaller; padding-bottom: 0.7em;">Coordinates: <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> <span title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for 33°20′00″N 44°26′00″E"><span style="white-space:nowrap">33°20′00″N,</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap">44°26′00″E</span></span></span></th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th>Country</th>
<th>Iraq</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th>Province</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Baghdad Governorate</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<td colspan="2"><b>Government</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Mayor</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Sabir al-Isawi</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<td colspan="2"><b><!--del_lnk--> Area</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - City</th>
<td>204.2 <!--del_lnk--> km² (78.8 <!--del_lnk--> sq mi)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Elevation</th>
<td>34 <!--del_lnk--> m (111.5 <!--del_lnk--> ft)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<td colspan="2"><b>Population</b> (2006) </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - City</th>
<td>4.5 million</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</th>
<td>30,000/km² (77,699.6/sq mi)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Metro</th>
<td>8.0 million</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> </td>
<td><small>Approximate figures</small></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> GMT +3 (<!--del_lnk--> UTC)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th style="white-space: nowrap;"> - Summer (<!--del_lnk--> DST)</th>
<td>+4 (<!--del_lnk--> UTC)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Baghdad</b> (<a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>: <span lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">بغداد</span> <i><span class="Unicode" lang="ar-Latn" style="white-space:normal; text-decoration: none" title="DIN 31635 Arabic" xml:lang="ar-Latn">Baġdād</span></i>) is the <a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">capital</a> of <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> and of <!--del_lnk--> Baghdad Governorate. With a <!--del_lnk--> metropolitan area estimated at a population of 7,000,000, it is the largest city in Iraq. It is the second-largest city in the <!--del_lnk--> Arab world (after <a href="../../wp/c/Cairo.htm" title="Cairo">Cairo</a>) and the second-largest <a href="../../wp/c/City.htm" title="City">city</a> in <!--del_lnk--> southwest Asia (after <a href="../../wp/t/Tehran.htm" title="Tehran">Tehran</a>).<p>Located on the <a href="../../wp/t/Tigris.htm" title="Tigris">Tigris River</a>, the city dates back to at least the 8th century, and probably to pre-Islamic times. Once the centre of <!--del_lnk--> Dar al-salam, the <!--del_lnk--> Muslim world, Baghdad has been a centre of violent conflict since 2003 because of the ongoing <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq_War.htm" title="Iraq War">Iraq War</a>.<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script>
<p><a id="Name" name="Name"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Name</span></h2>
<p>Although there is no dispute over its <!--del_lnk--> Iranian origin, there have been several rival proposals as to its specific etymology. The most reliable and most widely accepted among these is that the name is a <!--del_lnk--> Middle Persian compound of <i><!--del_lnk--> Bhaga</i> "god" + <i>dād</i> "given", translating to "god-given" or "God's gift", whence <!--del_lnk--> Modern Persian <i><span lang="fas" xml:lang="fas">Baɣdād</span></i>, <!--del_lnk--> Arabic <i><span class="Unicode" lang="ar-Latn" style="white-space:normal; text-decoration: none" title="DIN 31635 Arabic" xml:lang="ar-Latn">Baġdād</span></i>. Another leading proposal is that the name comes from Middle Persian <i>Bāgh-dād</i> "The Given Garden".<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="Foundation" name="Foundation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Foundation</span></h3>
<p>The city of Baghdad is often said to have been founded on the west bank of the Tigris on <!--del_lnk--> 30 July <!--del_lnk--> 762 by the <a href="../../wp/a/Abbasid.htm" title="Abbasid">Abbasid dynasty</a>, led by <!--del_lnk--> caliph <!--del_lnk--> al-Mansur, replacing <!--del_lnk--> Harran as the seat of the caliphal government; however, a city of Baghdad is mentioned in pre-Islamic texts, including the <!--del_lnk--> Talmud , and the Abbasid city was likely built on the site of this earlier settlement.<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/620.jpg.htm" title="Zumurrud Khaton tomb in Baghdad,1932"><img alt="Zumurrud Khaton tomb in Baghdad,1932" class="thumbimage" height="204" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baghdad-Zumurrud-Khaton.jpg" src="../../images/6/620.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/620.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Zumurrud Khaton tomb in Baghdad,<!--del_lnk--> 1932</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Baghdad eclipsed <!--del_lnk--> Ctesiphon, the capital of the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian Empire</a>, which was located some 30 km (20 miles) to the southeast, which had been under Muslim control since <!--del_lnk--> 637, and which became quickly deserted after the foundation of Baghdad. The site of <!--del_lnk--> Babylon, which had been deserted since the 2nd century BC, lies some 90 km (55 miles) to the south.<p>The city was designed as a circle about 2 km in diameter, leading it to be known as the "<b>Round City</b>". The original design shows a ring of residential and commercial structures along the inside of the city walls, but the final construction added another ring, inside the first. In the center of the city lay the mosque, as well as headquarters for guards. The purpose or use of the remaining space in the centre is unknown. The circular design of the city was a direct reflection of the traditional Persian Sasanian urban design. The ancient Sasanian city of Gur/<!--del_lnk--> Firouzabad is nearly identical in its general circular design, radiating avenues, and the government buildings and temples at the epicenter of the city.<p>The roundness points to the fact that it was based on Persian precedents such as <!--del_lnk--> Firouzabad in <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Persia</a>. The two designers who were hired by <!--del_lnk--> al-Mansur to plan the city's design were <!--del_lnk--> Naubakht, a former <!--del_lnk--> Persian Zoroastrian who also determined that the date of the foundation of the city would be astrologically auspicious, and <!--del_lnk--> Mashallah, a Jew from <!--del_lnk--> Khorasan, <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>.<p><a id="A_center_of_learning_.288th_to_9th_c..29" name="A_center_of_learning_.288th_to_9th_c..29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">A centre of learning (8th to 9th c.)</span></h3>
<p>Within a generation of its founding, Baghdad became a hub of <!--del_lnk--> learning and <!--del_lnk--> commerce. The <!--del_lnk--> House of Wisdom was an establishment dedicated to the translation of <!--del_lnk--> Greek, <!--del_lnk--> Middle Persian and <!--del_lnk--> Syriac works. The <!--del_lnk--> Barmakids were influential in bringing scholars from the nearby <!--del_lnk--> Academy of Gundishapur, facilitating the introduction of Greek and <!--del_lnk--> Indian science into the Arabic world. Baghdad was likely the <!--del_lnk--> largest city in the world from shortly after its foundation until the <!--del_lnk--> 930s, when it was tied by <!--del_lnk--> Córdoba. Several estimates suggest that the city contained over a million inhabitants at its peak. A portion of the population of Baghdad originated in <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>, especially from <!--del_lnk--> Khorasan. Many of <!--del_lnk--> Shahrazad's tales in <i><!--del_lnk--> One Thousand and One Nights</i> are set in Baghdad during this period.<p><a id="Stagnation_and_invasions_.2810th_to_16th_c..29" name="Stagnation_and_invasions_.2810th_to_16th_c..29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Stagnation and invasions (10th to 16th c.)</span></h3>
<p>By the 10th century, the city's population was between 300,000 and 500,000. Baghdad's early meteoric growth slowed due to troubles within the <!--del_lnk--> Caliphate, including relocations of the capital to <!--del_lnk--> Samarra (during 808–819 and 836–892), the loss of the western and easternmost provinces, and periods of political domination by the <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iranian</a> <!--del_lnk--> Buwayhids (945–1055) and <!--del_lnk--> Seljuk Turks (1055–1135). Nevertheless, the city remained one of the cultural and commercial hubs of the Islamic world until <!--del_lnk--> February 10, <!--del_lnk--> 1258, when it was sacked by the <!--del_lnk--> Mongols under <!--del_lnk--> Hulagu Khan during the <!--del_lnk--> sack of Baghdad. The Mongols massacred most of the city's inhabitants, including the Abbasid Caliph <!--del_lnk--> Al-Musta'sim, and destroyed large sections of the city. The <a href="../../wp/c/Canal.htm" title="Canal">canals</a> and <!--del_lnk--> dykes forming the city's <a href="../../wp/i/Irrigation.htm" title="Irrigation">irrigation</a> system were also destroyed. The sack of Baghdad put an end to the Abbasid Caliphate, a blow from which the <!--del_lnk--> Islamic civilization never fully recovered.<p>At this point Baghdad was ruled by the <!--del_lnk--> Il-Khanids, the <!--del_lnk--> Mongol emperors of <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>. In 1401, Baghdad was again sacked, by <a href="../../wp/t/Timur.htm" title="Timur">Timur</a> ("Tamerlane"). It became a provincial capital controlled by the <!--del_lnk--> Jalayirid (1400–1411), <!--del_lnk--> Qara Quyunlu (1411–1469), <!--del_lnk--> Aq Quyunlu (1469–1508), and <!--del_lnk--> Safavid (1508–1534) dynasties.<p><a id="Ottoman_Baghdad_.2816th_to_19th_c..29" name="Ottoman_Baghdad_.2816th_to_19th_c..29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ottoman Baghdad (16th to 19th c.)</span></h3>
<p>In 1534, Baghdad was conquered by the <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Turks</a>. Under the <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottomans</a>, Baghdad fell into a period of decline, partially as a result of the enmity between its rulers and <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Persia</a>. For a time, Baghdad had been the largest city in the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a> before being overtaken by <!--del_lnk--> Constantinople in the 16th century. The <!--del_lnk--> Nuttall Encyclopedia reports the 1907 population of Baghdad as 185,000.<p><a name="20th_century"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">20th century</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/622.jpg.htm" title="Baghdad in 1932"><img alt="Baghdad in 1932" class="thumbimage" height="127" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baghdad_LOC_13186.jpg" src="../../images/6/622.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/622.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Baghdad in <!--del_lnk--> 1932</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Baghdad remained under <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman</a> rule until the establishment of the kingdom of <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> under <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> control in <!--del_lnk--> 1921. British control was established by a systematic suppression of Iraqi <!--del_lnk--> Arab and <!--del_lnk--> Kurdish national aspirations. Iraq was given formal independence in <!--del_lnk--> 1932, and increased autonomy in <!--del_lnk--> 1946. In <!--del_lnk--> 1958 the Iraqi Army deposed the grandson of the British-installed monarch, <!--del_lnk--> Faisal II. The city's population grew from an estimated 145,000 in <!--del_lnk--> 1900 to 580,000 in <!--del_lnk--> 1950 of which 140,000 were <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jewish">Jewish</a>.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/624.jpg.htm" title="Baghdad in the 1970s"><img alt="Baghdad in the 1970s" class="thumbimage" height="134" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bagdad2_i_juni_1977.jpg" src="../../images/6/624.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/624.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Baghdad in the <!--del_lnk--> 1970s</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>During the <!--del_lnk--> 1970s Baghdad experienced a period of prosperity and growth because of a sharp increase in the price of <a href="../../wp/p/Petroleum.htm" title="Petroleum">petroleum</a>, Iraq's main <!--del_lnk--> export. New <a href="../../wp/i/Infrastructure.htm" title="Infrastructure">infrastructure</a> including modern <!--del_lnk--> sewage, <a href="../../wp/w/Water.htm" title="Water">water</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> highway facilities were built during this period. However, the <!--del_lnk--> Iran-Iraq War of the <!--del_lnk--> 1980s was a difficult time for the city, as money flowed into the army and thousands of residents were killed. Iran launched a number of <!--del_lnk--> missile attacks against Baghdad, although they caused relatively little damage and few casualties. In <!--del_lnk--> 1991 the <!--del_lnk--> Persian Gulf War caused damage to Baghdad's <a href="../../wp/t/Transport.htm" title="Transportation">transportation</a>, <!--del_lnk--> power, and sanitary infrastructure. <a name="2003_Invasion_of_Iraq"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">2003 Invasion of Iraq</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/626.jpg.htm" title="2003 street map of Baghdad"><img alt="2003 street map of Baghdad" class="thumbimage" height="154" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baghdad_nima_2003.jpg" src="../../images/6/626.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/626.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> 2003 street map of Baghdad</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Baghdad was bombed very heavily in March and April 2003 in the <!--del_lnk--> 2003 invasion of Iraq, and fell under US control by <!--del_lnk--> April 7-<!--del_lnk--> April 9. Additional damage was caused by the severe <!--del_lnk--> looting during the days following the end of the war. With the deposition of <!--del_lnk--> Saddam Hussein's regime, the city was occupied by <!--del_lnk--> U.S. troops. The <!--del_lnk--> Coalition Provisional Authority established a three-square-mile (8-km²) "<!--del_lnk--> Green Zone" within the heart of the city from which it governed Iraq during the period before the new Iraqi government was established. The <!--del_lnk--> Coalition Provisional Authority ceded power to the interim government at the end of June 2004 and dissolved itself.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/628.jpg.htm" title="A satellite false-color image of Baghdad, taken March 31, 2003. The image shows smoke rising from pools of burning oil spread along "Canal Road" and other locations. Ditches full of oil were created shortly before the war to obscure visibility (black) and vegetation (red)"><img alt="A satellite false-color image of Baghdad, taken March 31, 2003. The image shows smoke rising from pools of burning oil spread along "Canal Road" and other locations. Ditches full of oil were created shortly before the war to obscure visibility (black) and vegetation (red)" class="thumbimage" height="250" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baghdad-smoke-satellite.jpg" src="../../images/6/628.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/628.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A satellite <!--del_lnk--> false-colour image of Baghdad, taken <!--del_lnk--> March 31, <!--del_lnk--> 2003. The image shows smoke rising from pools of burning oil spread along "Canal Road" and other locations. Ditches full of oil were created shortly before the war to obscure visibility (black) and vegetation (red)</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> September 23, <!--del_lnk--> 2003, a <!--del_lnk--> Gallup poll indicated that about two-thirds of Baghdad residents said that the removal of the Iraqi leader was worth the hardships they encountered, and that they expected a better life in five years' time. As time passed, however, support for the occupation declined dramatically. In April 2004, <i><!--del_lnk--> USA Today</i> reported that a follow-up <!--del_lnk--> Gallup poll in Baghdad indicated that "only 13 percent of the people now say the invasion of Iraq was morally justifiable. In the 2003 poll, more than twice that number saw it as the right thing to do."<p>Most residents of Baghdad became impatient with the occupation because essential services such as <a href="../../wp/e/Electricity.htm" title="Electricity">electricity</a> were still unreliable more than a year after the invasion. In the hot summer of 2004, electricity was only available intermittently in most areas of the city. An additional pressing concern was the lack of security. The <!--del_lnk--> curfew imposed immediately after the invasion had been lifted in the winter of 2003, but the city that had once had a vibrant <!--del_lnk--> night life was still considered too dangerous after dark for many citizens. Those dangers included <!--del_lnk--> kidnapping and the risk of being caught in fighting between security forces and <!--del_lnk--> insurgents.<p>On 10th April 2007, the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> military began construction of a three mile long 3.5 metre tall <!--del_lnk--> wall around the <!--del_lnk--> Sunni district of Baghdad <!--del_lnk--> (Guardian). On 23rd April , the <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraqi</a> Prime Minister, <!--del_lnk--> Nouri Maliki, called for construction to be halted on the wall <!--del_lnk--> (Guardian) <!--del_lnk--> (BBC).<p><a id="Geography_and_climate" name="Geography_and_climate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography and climate</span></h2>
<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/6/646.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ClimateBaghdadIraq.PNG" src="../../images/6/646.png" width="300" /></a></span></div>
<p>The city is located on a vast plain bisected by the <!--del_lnk--> Tigris River. The Tigris splits Baghdad in half, with the Eastern half being called 'Risafa' and the Western half known as 'Karkh'. The land on which the city is built is almost entirely flat and low-lying, being of <!--del_lnk--> alluvial origin due to the periodic large <a href="../../wp/f/Flood.htm" title="Flood">floods</a> which have occurred on the river.<p>Baghdad is, in terms of maximum temperatures, one of the hottest cities in the world. In the summer from June to August, the average maximum is as high as 44°C (111°F) accompanied by blazing sunshine: rainfall is almost completely unknown at this time of year. Temperatures exceeding 50°C (122°F) in the shade are by no means unheard of, and even at night temperatures in summer are seldom below 24°C (75°F) Though the <!--del_lnk--> humidity is low due to Baghdad's distance from the marshy <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Gulf.htm" title="Persian Gulf">Persian Gulf</a>, <!--del_lnk--> dust storms from the deserts to the west are a normal occurrence during the summer.<p>In the winter, from December to February, by contrast, Baghdad has maximum temperatures averaging 15 to 16°C (59 to 61°F). Minima can indeed be very cold: the average January minimum is around 4°C (39°F) but temperatures below 0°C (32°F) are not uncommon during this season.<p>Annual rainfall, almost entirely confined to the period from November to March, averages around 140 <!--del_lnk--> millimetres (5.5 <!--del_lnk--> in), but has been as high as 575 millimetres (23 in) and as low as 23 millimetres (~1 in).<p><a id="Reconstruction_Efforts" name="Reconstruction_Efforts"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Reconstruction Efforts</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/658.jpg.htm" title="A Rendering of the Tahrir Square Development, the first phase of the Baghdad Renaissance Plan"><img alt="A Rendering of the Tahrir Square Development, the first phase of the Baghdad Renaissance Plan" class="thumbimage" height="202" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tahrir_Sq-3D1.jpg" src="../../images/6/658.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/658.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A Rendering of the <!--del_lnk--> Tahrir Square Development, the first phase of the <!--del_lnk--> Baghdad Renaissance Plan</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Most <!--del_lnk--> Reconstruction of Iraq efforts have been devoted to the restoration and repair of badly damaged infrastructure. More visible efforts at reconstruction through private development, such as architect and urban designer <!--del_lnk--> Hisham N. Ashkouri's <!--del_lnk--> Baghdad Renaissance Plan and <!--del_lnk--> Sindbad Hotel Complex and Conference Centre garnered early interest, but remain undeveloped due to the instability of the region.<p><a id="Government" name="Government"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Government</span></h2>
<p>The City of Baghdad has 89 official neighborhoods within 9 districts. These official subdivisions of the city served as administrative centers for the delivery of municipal services but until 2003 had no political function. Beginning in April 2003, the U.S. controlled Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) began the process of creating new functions for these. The process initially focused on the election of neighborhood councils in the official neighborhoods, elected by neighborhood caucuses. CPA convened a series of meetings in each neighborhood to explain local government, to describe the caucus election process and to encourage participants to spread the word and bring friends, relatives and neighbors to subsequent meetings. Each neighborhood process ultimately ended with a final meeting where candidates for the new neighborhood councils identified themselves and asked their neighbors to vote for them. Once all 88 (later increased to 89) neighborhood councils were in place, each neighborhood council elected representatives from among their members to serve on one of the city's nine district councils. The number of neighborhood representatives on a district council is based upon the neighborhood’s population. The next step was to have each of the nine district councils elect representatives from their membership to serve on the 37 member Baghdad City Council. This three tier system of local government connected the people of Baghdad to the central government through their representatives from the neighbourhood, through the district, and up to the city council.<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/661.jpg.htm" title="Baghdad Bank"><img alt="Baghdad Bank" class="thumbimage" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baghdad-bank.jpg" src="../../images/6/661.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/661.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Baghdad Bank</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The same process was used to provide representative councils for the other communities in Baghdad Province outside of the City itself. There, local councils were elected from 20 neighborhoods (Nahia) and these councils elected representatives from their members to serve on six district councils (Qada). As within the City, the district councils then elected representatives from among their members to serve on the 35 member Baghdad Regional Council.<p>The final step in the establishment of the system of local government for Baghdad Province was the election of the Baghdad Provincial Council. As before, the representatives to the Provincial Council were elected by their peers from the lower councils in numbers proportional to the population of the districts they represent. The 41 member Provincial Council took office in February, 2004 and served until National elections held in January 2005, when a new Provincial Council was elected.<p>This system of 127 separate councils may seem overly cumbersome but Baghdad Province is home to approximately seven million people. At the lowest level, the neighbourhood councils, each council represents an average of 74,000 people.<p>The nine District Advisory Councils (DAC) are as follows<!--del_lnk--> :<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Adhamiyah<li><!--del_lnk--> Karkh <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Karadah (Kharadah) <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Kadhimyah <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Mansour<li><!--del_lnk--> Sadr City (<!--del_lnk--> Thawr) <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Rasheed <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Rusafa<li><!--del_lnk--> Tisa Nissan (9 Nissan) <!--del_lnk--> </ul>
<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:162px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/662.jpg.htm" title="A helicopter flying by Baghdad's tower"><img alt="A helicopter flying by Baghdad's tower" class="thumbimage" height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kiowa_over_Baghdad.jpg" src="../../images/6/662.jpg" width="160" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/662.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A helicopter flying by Baghdad's tower</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Baghdad has always played an important role in Arab cultural life and has been the home of noted writers, musicians and visual artists.<p>The dialect of Arabic spoken in Baghdad today differs from that of other large urban centers in Iraq, having features more characteristic of nomadic Arabic dialects (Verseegh, <i>The Arabic Language</i>). It is possible that this was caused by the repopulating of the city with rural residents after the multiple sacks of the late Middle Ages.<p><a id="Institutions" name="Institutions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Institutions</span></h3>
<p>Some of the important cultural institutions in the city include:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Iraqi National Orchestra – Rehearsals and performances were briefly interrupted during the <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq_War.htm" title="Iraq War">second Gulf War</a>, but have since returned to normal.<li><!--del_lnk--> National Theatre of Iraq – The <a href="../../wp/t/Theatre.htm" title="Theatre">theatre</a> was <!--del_lnk--> looted during the <!--del_lnk--> 2003 Invasion of Iraq, but efforts are underway to restore the theatre.</ul>
<p>The live <a href="../../wp/t/Theatre.htm" title="Theatre">theatre</a> scene received a boost during the 1990s when UN <!--del_lnk--> sanctions limited the import of foreign <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">films</a>. As many as 30 movie theatres were reported to have been converted to live stages, producing a wide range of <!--del_lnk--> comedies and <a href="../../wp/d/Drama.htm" title="Drama">dramatic</a> productions.<p>Institutions offering cultural education in Baghdad include the <!--del_lnk--> Academy of Music, <!--del_lnk--> Institute of Fine Arts and the <!--del_lnk--> Music and Ballet School. Baghdad is also home to a number of <!--del_lnk--> museums which housed <!--del_lnk--> artifacts and relics of <!--del_lnk--> ancient civilizations; many of these were stolen, and the museums looted, during the widespread chaos immediately after <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">U.S.</a> forces entered the city.<p>During the <!--del_lnk--> 2003 occupation of Iraq, <!--del_lnk--> AFN Iraq ("Freedom Radio") broadcast news and entertainment within Baghdad, among other locations.<p><a id="Sights_and_monuments" name="Sights_and_monuments"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sights and monuments</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/665.jpg.htm" title="A helicopter flying by the Al-Shaheed Monument"><img alt="A helicopter flying by the Al-Shaheed Monument" class="thumbimage" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Shaheed.jpg" src="../../images/6/665.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/665.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A helicopter flying by the <!--del_lnk--> Al-Shaheed Monument</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Points of interest include the <!--del_lnk--> National Museum of Iraq, whose priceless collection of artifacts was looted during the 2003 invasion, the iconic <!--del_lnk--> Hands of Victory arches (which have been a contentious issue as to their continued presence; mulitple Iraqi parties are in discussions as to whether they should remain as historical monuments or be dismantled), and the <!--del_lnk--> Baghdad zoo. Thousands of ancient manuscripts in the National Library were destroyed when the building burnt down during the <!--del_lnk--> 2003 invasion of Iraq. The <!--del_lnk--> Al Kadhimain Shrines in the northwest of Baghdad (in <!--del_lnk--> Kadhimiya) is one of the most important Shi'ite religious buildings in Iraq. It was finished in 1515 and the 7th (<!--del_lnk--> Musa ibn Jafar al-Kathim) and the 9th <!--del_lnk--> Imams (<!--del_lnk--> Mohammad al-Jawad) were buried here. One of the oldest buildings is the 12th century or 13th century <!--del_lnk--> Abbasid Palace. The palace is part of the central historical area of the city and close to other historically important buildings such as the Saray Building and Al-Mustansiriyah School (From the Abbasid Period). There are other landmarks in Baghdad, each of them marks a certain era and has become associated with memorable events or even just changes that marked the city scape. Here are some of them:<ul>
<li>Baghdad Tower (used to be known as Saddam Tower): before its partial destruction due to the USA bombing of the Ma'amoon Telecommunication Centre next to it, the tower used to be the highest point in the city and from where all Baghdad can be seen. The construction of the tower marks a period of the post-Gulf-war of 1991 reconstruction efforts.</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Two Level Bridge in Jadriyah (Jisr Abul Tabqain (the Iraqi common name of it)): Though the planing for this bridge was put long time ago and even before Saddam's regime take over(reference), the bridge was never built back then. As part of the reconstruction efforts to make Baghdad even better than before 1991 war and the USA air force destructive attacks, the long planned bridge was executed. It connects Al-Doura area (which is very large)with a direct path to the rest of the Baghdad and complements the 14th of July Bridge. The structure of the bridge is rather bulky and not much engineering had been put to it, but it functions for its purpose.</ul>
<ul>
<li>Al-Zawra'a Park in Al-Mansour Area and almost in a central location of Baghdad.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Al-Shaheed Monument: The monument to the Iraqi soldiers killed in the <!--del_lnk--> Iran-Iraq war, located on the east bank of the Tigris near <!--del_lnk--> Sadr City.</ul>
<p><a id="Sport" name="Sport"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sport</span></h3>
<p>Baghdad is home to the most successful <a href="../../wp/f/Football.htm" title="Football">football</a> teams in Iraq, the biggest being <!--del_lnk--> Al Quwa Al Jawiya (Airforce club), <!--del_lnk--> Al Zawra, <!--del_lnk--> Al Shurta (Police) and <!--del_lnk--> Al Talaba (Students). The largest stadium in Baghdad is <!--del_lnk--> Al Shaab Stadium which was opened in 1966. Another, much larger stadium, is still in the opening stages of construction.<p>The city has also had a strong tradition of <!--del_lnk--> horse racing ever since <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, known to Baghdadis simply as 'Races'. There are reports of pressures by Islamists to stop this tradition due to the associated gambling.<p><a id="Baghdad.27s_major_neighborhoods" name="Baghdad.27s_major_neighborhoods"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Baghdad's major neighborhoods</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/671.jpg.htm" title="Baghdad International Airport"><img alt="Baghdad International Airport" class="thumbimage" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baghdad_IA_1.jpg" src="../../images/6/671.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/671.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Baghdad International Airport</div>
</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Adhamiyah: Sunni majority, Shiite presence.<li><!--del_lnk--> Al-Kadhimya: Shiite majority.<li><!--del_lnk--> Karrada: Shiite majority, Christian presence.<li>Al-Jadriya Area : Mixed area.<li><!--del_lnk--> Al-Mansour: Mixed area.<li>Zayouna: Mixed neighbourhood.<li><!--del_lnk--> Dora: Mixed area.<li><!--del_lnk--> Sadr City: Almost exclusively Shiite.<li>Hurriya City: Shiite majority, Sunni presence.<li>Baghdad Al-Jadida(New Baghdad): Shiite majority, Christian presence.<li>Al-Sa'adoon area : Mixed area.<li>Bab Al-Moatham : Sunni majority, shiite presence.<li>Bab Al-Sharqi : Mixed area.<li>Al-Baya' : Shiite majority, Sunni presence.<li>Al-Saydiya : Sunni majority, Shiite presence.<li>Al-A'amiriya : Sunni majority, Shiite presence.<li>Al-Shu'ala: Almost exclusively Shiite.<li>Al-<!--del_lnk--> Ghazaliya: Sunni majority, Shiite presence.<li>Al-Za'franiya: Shiite majority, Sunni presence.<li>Hayy Ur: Almost exclusively Shiite.<li>Sha'ab City: Shiite majority, Sunni presence.<li>Hayy Al-Jami'a: Sunni majority, Shiite presence.<li>Al-Adel: Sunni majority, Shiite presence.<li>Al:Khadhraa: Sunni majority, Shiite presence.<li>Hayy Al-Jihad: Mixed area.<li>Hayy Al-A'amel: Shiite majority, Sunni presence.</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdad"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Iraq', 'Time zone', 'Arabic language', 'Capital', 'Iraq', 'Cairo', 'City', 'Tehran', 'Tigris', 'Iraq War', 'Abbasid', 'Persian Empire', 'Iran', 'Iran', 'Iran', 'Iran', 'Canal', 'Irrigation', 'Iran', 'Timur', 'Ottoman Empire', 'Ottoman Empire', 'Iran', 'Middle East', 'Ottoman Empire', 'Iraq', 'United Kingdom', 'Jewish', 'Petroleum', 'Infrastructure', 'Water', 'Transportation', 'Electricity', 'United States', 'Iraq', 'Flood', 'Persian Gulf', 'Iraq War', 'Theatre', 'Theatre', 'Film', 'Drama', 'United States', 'Football', 'World War I']
|
Bahamas
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="The Bahamas,Bahamas,.bs,1973,1992 Atlantic hurricane season,1999 Atlantic hurricane season,1 E10 m²,2004 Atlantic hurricane season,AIDS,Abaco,Acklins" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>The Bahamas</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "The_Bahamas";
var wgTitle = "The Bahamas";
var wgArticleId = 3451;
var wgCurRevisionId = 92388413;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-The_Bahamas">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">The Bahamas</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Central_and_South_American_Geography.Central_and_South_American_Countries.htm">Central & South American Countries</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Countries.htm">Countries</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox geography" style="width:23em;">
<tr>
<td align="center" class="mergedtoprow" colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; font-size:1.2em;"><b>Commonwealth of The Bahamas</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td align="center" class="maptable" colspan="2" style="padding:0.4em 0.8em 0.4em 0.8em;">
<table style="margin:0 auto; background:none; text-align:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><span style="border:1px solid #bbbbbb; display:table-cell;"><a class="image" href="../../images/81/8170.png.htm" title="Flag of The Bahamas"><img alt="Flag of The Bahamas" height="63" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Bahamas.svg" src="../../images/131/13113.png" width="125" /></a></span></td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/131/13114.png.htm" title="Coat of arms of The Bahamas"><img alt="Coat of arms of The Bahamas" height="85" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bahamas_coa.png" src="../../images/131/13114.png" width="85" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Flag</small></td>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Coat of arms</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Motto: <i>Forward Upward Onward Together</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Anthem: <i><!--del_lnk--> March On, Bahamaland</i><br /><!--del_lnk--> Royal anthem: <i><!--del_lnk--> God Save the Queen</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 1em;">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/131/13115.png.htm" title="Location of The Bahamas"><img alt="Location of The Bahamas" height="115" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LocationBahamas.png" src="../../images/131/13115.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<td><!--del_lnk--> <b>Capital</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> (and largest city)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Nassau<br /><small><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 25°4′N 77°20′W</span></small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Official languages</span></th>
<td><a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government.htm" title="List of countries by system of government">Government</a></b></td>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Monarch</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/e/Elizabeth_II_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom">Elizabeth II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Governor-General</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Arthur Dion Hanna</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Perry Christie</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Independence</th>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - From <!--del_lnk--> Britain</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> July 10, <!--del_lnk--> 1973 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 13,878 km² (<!--del_lnk--> 160th)<br /> 5,358 sq mi </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Water (%)</td>
<td>28%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Population</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 2005 estimate</td>
<td>323,000<sup>1</sup> (<!--del_lnk--> 177th)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 1990 census</td>
<td>254,685</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td>23.27/km² (<!--del_lnk--> 181st)<br /> 60/sq mi</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> GDP (<!--del_lnk--> PPP)</th>
<td>2005 estimate</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td>$6.524 billion (<!--del_lnk--> 145th)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Per capita</td>
<td>$20,076 (<!--del_lnk--> 34th)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><b><!--del_lnk--> HDI</b> (2003)</th>
<td>0.832 (<font color="#009900">high</font>) (<!--del_lnk--> 50th)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">Currency</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dollar (<code><!--del_lnk--> BSD</code>)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> EST (<!--del_lnk--> UTC−5)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Summer (<!--del_lnk--> DST)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> EDT (<!--del_lnk--> UTC−4)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Internet TLD</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> .bs</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Calling code</th>
<td>+<!--del_lnk--> 1-242</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"><small><sup>1</sup> Estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to <a href="../../wp/a/AIDS.htm" title="AIDS">AIDS</a>; this can result in lower <!--del_lnk--> life expectancy, higher <!--del_lnk--> infant mortality and <!--del_lnk--> death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Commonwealth of The Bahamas</b> is an independent <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>-speaking nation in the <!--del_lnk--> West Indies. An <!--del_lnk--> archipelago of 700 islands and <!--del_lnk--> cays, the Bahamas is located in the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a>, east of <a href="../../wp/f/Florida.htm" title="Florida">Florida</a> and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, north of <a href="../../wp/c/Cuba.htm" title="Cuba">Cuba</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean, and northwest of the British dependency of the <a href="../../wp/t/Turks_and_Caicos_Islands.htm" title="Turks and Caicos Islands">Turks and Caicos Islands</a>.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Although <!--del_lnk--> Paleo-Indians may have populated the area previously, <!--del_lnk--> Taino <!--del_lnk--> Indians from <!--del_lnk--> Hispaniola and <a href="../../wp/c/Cuba.htm" title="Cuba">Cuba</a> moved into the southern Bahamas around the 7th century AD and became the Lucayans. There were an estimated 40,000 Lucayans at the time of Columbus' arrival.<p>Christopher Columbus' first landfall in the New World was on the island of San Salvador, also called Watling's Island, in the south part of Bahamas. Here, Columbus made contact with the Lucayans and exchanged goods with them.<p>The Bahamian Lucayans were taken to Hispaniola as slaves, and in two decades, many Lucayan societies ceased to exist, as the population endured considerable forced labour, warfare, disease, emigration and outmarriage.<p>After the Lucayan population was decimated, the Bahamian islands were virtually unoccupied until the English settlers came from Bermuda in 1650. The so-called Eleutherian Adventurers established settlements on the island Eleuthera.<p>The Bahamas became a British crown colony in 1718. Some 8,000 loyalists and their slaves moved to the Bahamas in the late 1700s from New York, Florida and the Carolinas.<p>The British made the islands internal self-government in 1964 and, in 1973, Bahamians got full independence while staying a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Since the 1950s, the Bahamian economy has prospered based on the twin pillars of tourism and financial services. Despite this however the country still faces significant challenges in areas such as education, healthcare, correctional facilities and violent crime and illegal immigration. The urban renewal project has been launched in recent years to help impoverished urban areas in social decline in the main islands. Today, the country enjoys the third highest per capita income in the western hemisphere.<p>Some say the name 'Bahamas' derives from the Spanish for "shallow sea", <i>baja mar</i>. Others trace it to the Lucayan word for Grand Bahama Island, <i>ba-ha-ma</i> ("large upper middle land").<p><a id="Geography_and_climate" name="Geography_and_climate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography and climate</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The island of <!--del_lnk--> Abaco is to its east. The most southeastern island is <!--del_lnk--> Inagua. Other notable islands include <!--del_lnk--> Eleuthera, <!--del_lnk--> Cat Island, <!--del_lnk--> San Salvador, <!--del_lnk--> Acklins, <!--del_lnk--> Crooked Island, <!--del_lnk--> Exuma and <!--del_lnk--> Mayaguana. <!--del_lnk--> Nassau is the capital and largest city, located on <!--del_lnk--> New Providence. The islands have a subtropical climate, moderated by the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf Stream.<p>In the southeast, the <!--del_lnk--> Caicos Islands and the <!--del_lnk--> Turks islands, and three more extensive submarine features called <!--del_lnk--> Mouchoir Bank, <!--del_lnk--> Silver Bank, and <!--del_lnk--> Navidad Bank, are geographically a continuation of the Bahamas, but not part of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.<p>The <a href="../../wp/c/Climate.htm" title="Climate">climate</a> of the Bahamas is <!--del_lnk--> subtropical to <!--del_lnk--> tropical, and is moderated significantly by the waters of the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf Stream, particularly in winter. Conversely, this often proves very dangerous in the summer and autumn, when <a href="../../wp/t/Tropical_cyclone.htm" title="Hurricane">hurricanes</a> pass near or through the islands. <a href="../../wp/h/Hurricane_Andrew.htm" title="Hurricane Andrew">Hurricane Andrew</a> hit the northern islands in <!--del_lnk--> 1992, and <a href="../../wp/h/Hurricane_Floyd.htm" title="Hurricane Floyd">Hurricane Floyd</a> hit most of the islands in <!--del_lnk--> 1999. <!--del_lnk--> Hurricane Frances of <a href="../../wp/2/2004_Atlantic_hurricane_season.htm" title="2004 Atlantic hurricane season">2004</a> was expected to be the worst ever for the islands. Also in 2004, the northern Bahamas were hit by a less potent <!--del_lnk--> Hurricane Jeanne. In 2005 the northern islands were once again struck this time by <!--del_lnk--> Hurricane Wilma. Tidal surges and high winds destroyed homes, schools, floated graves and made roughly 1,000 people homeless. The homeless people were stuck without food, water and resources and were left to depend on the government.<p><a id="Government_and_politics" name="Government_and_politics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Government and politics</span></h2>
<p>The Bahamas is an independent country and member of the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Nations. Political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom.<p>The Queen of the United Kingdom is the ceremonial head of state, represented by a <!--del_lnk--> Bahamian governor-general. <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister is the <!--del_lnk--> head of government and is the leader of the party with the most seats in the elected House of Assembly. The upper house - or Senate - is appointed. <!--del_lnk--> Executive power is exercised by the cabinet. <!--del_lnk--> Legislative power is vested in both the <a href="../../wp/g/Government.htm" title="Government">government</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> two chambers of parliament.<p>The party system is dominated by the centre-left <!--del_lnk--> Progressive Liberal Party and the centre-right <!--del_lnk--> Free National Movement. A handful of splinter parties have been unable to win election to parliament, despite a feeling among many <!--del_lnk--> Bahamians that both the FNM and the PLP are strikingly similar in their approach. These parties include the <!--del_lnk--> Bahamas Democratic Movement, the <!--del_lnk--> Coalition for Democratic Reform and the <!--del_lnk--> Bahamian Nationalist Party.<p>Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. The Bahamas is a member of the Caribbean Community. The <!--del_lnk--> Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English common law.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on <a href="../../wp/t/Tourism.htm" title="Tourism">tourism</a> and offshore <!--del_lnk--> banking. The Bahamas is generally reckoned to be one of the <!--del_lnk--> leading offshore financial centres.<p>Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of <!--del_lnk--> GDP and directly or indirectly employs almost half of the labour force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new <!--del_lnk--> hotels, resorts, and residences have led to solid GDP growth in recent years.<p><a href="../../wp/m/Manufacturing.htm" title="Manufacturing">Manufacturing</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Agriculture.htm" title="Agriculture">agriculture</a> together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, the source of the majority of tourist visitors.<p>The unemployment rate has fallen to 7.6% in 2006, from 10.2% in 2005 primarily due to the construction of several large resort developments throughout the country. In the two most populated islands in The Bahamas, unemployement fell from 10.9 percent to 6.6 percent in New Providence, and from 11 percent to 8.4 percent in Grand Bahama. The estimated poverty rate in 2004 was 9.3%.<p>In addition, the average household income has increased to $43,420 from $38,894 in 2005.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Bahamian and <!--del_lnk--> United States dollars are both distributed on a 1:1 exchange.<p><a id="Demographics_of_the_Bahamas" name="Demographics_of_the_Bahamas"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics of the Bahamas</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The Bahamian population is from approximately 85% African descendency, followed by 12% Caucasian descendency. Other minorities include Asians and Hispanics at 3%. Many Bahamian Caucasians are concentrated on Abaco Island, Spanish Wells, Harbour Island, Long Island, and the Montagu Bay district of New Providence (just to the east of Nassau). There are also a significant number of non-citizen Caucasian expatriates from the United States and Europe.<p>The official language is <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>, spoken by nearly all inhabitants, though many speak a <!--del_lnk--> patois form of it <!--del_lnk--> Bahamian Creole Dialect not to be confused with <!--del_lnk--> Haitian Creole spoken by a considerable number of immigrants. <a href="../../wp/s/Spanish_language.htm" title="Spanish language">Spanish</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Portuguese_language.htm" title="Portuguese language">Portuguese</a> are also spoken by immigrant groups.<p>A strongly religious country, there are more places of worship per person in the Bahamas than any other nation in the world. The islands are overwhelming <!--del_lnk--> Protestant <!--del_lnk--> Christian (over 80%). <!--del_lnk--> Baptists form the largest denomination (about one third), followed by the <a href="../../wp/a/Anglican_Communion.htm" title="Anglican Communion">Anglican</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Roman Catholic churches.<p>A few people, especially in the southern and eastern islands, practice <i><!--del_lnk--> Obeah</i>, a <!--del_lnk--> spiritistic religion similar to <!--del_lnk--> Voodoo. While well-known throughout the Bahamas, Obeah is shunned by many people. <!--del_lnk--> Voodoo is practiced, but almost exclusively by the large number of immigrants from <a href="../../wp/h/Haiti.htm" title="Haiti">Haiti</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cuba.htm" title="Cuba">Cuba</a>, <a href="../../wp/d/Dominican_Republic.htm" title="Dominican Republic">Dominican Republic</a> and <a href="../../wp/j/Jamaica.htm" title="Jamaica">Jamaica</a>.<p><a id="Culture_and_sports" name="Culture_and_sports"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture and sports</span></h2>
<p>Bahamian <a href="../../wp/c/Culture.htm" title="Culture">culture</a> is a hybrid of African and European influences. Perhaps its most famous expression is a rhythmic form of music called <!--del_lnk--> junkanoo. Aside from Junkanoo, other indigenous forms of music include <!--del_lnk--> rake and scrape, <!--del_lnk--> calypso, and a unique form of hymnal, known internationally through the music of the late <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Spence. Marching bands are also an important part of life, playing at funerals, weddings and other ceremonial events.<p>In the less developed out islands - more often called "family islands" - crafts include basketry made from palm fronds. This material, commonly called "straw", is also plaited into hats and bags that are popular tourist items today.<p><!--del_lnk--> Regattas are important social events in many family island settlements. They usually feature one or more days of sailing by old-fashioned <!--del_lnk--> work boats, as well as an onshore festival.<p>Some settlements have festivals associated with the traditional crop or food of that area, such as the "Pineapple Fest" in <!--del_lnk--> Gregory Town, <!--del_lnk--> Eleuthera or the "Crab Fest" on <!--del_lnk--> Andros. Other significant traditions include story telling and the practice of <!--del_lnk--> Obeah.<p>There is no real national sport in the Bahamas. Although British sports like cricket, soccer and Rugby are still popular, American influences are stronger today as can be seen from the popularity of basketball, softball and American football. There are several world class Bahamian <!--del_lnk--> track and field athletes.<p>The Bahamas have won Olympic gold medals in sailing (Sir Durwood Knowles and Cecile Cooke - 1964), and track and field (Tonique Williams-Darling - 2004, and women's relay team - 2000).<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bahamas"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['English language', 'List of countries by system of government', 'Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom', 'Currency', 'Time zone', 'AIDS', 'English language', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'Florida', 'United States', 'Cuba', 'Turks and Caicos Islands', 'Cuba', 'Climate', 'Hurricane', 'Hurricane Andrew', 'Hurricane Floyd', '2004 Atlantic hurricane season', 'Government', 'Tourism', 'Manufacturing', 'Agriculture', 'United States', 'English language', 'Spanish language', 'Portuguese language', 'Anglican Communion', 'Haiti', 'Cuba', 'Dominican Republic', 'Jamaica', 'Culture']
|
Bahrain
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bahrain,Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf,Countries of Asia,Politics of Bahrain,Monarchies,Semitic-speaking,Arab League,Persian Gulf,Countries and territories of the Middle East,Indian Ocean,Southwest Asia" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bahrain</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bahrain";
var wgTitle = "Bahrain";
var wgArticleId = 3452;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bahrain">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bahrain</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Countries.htm">Countries</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_the_Middle_East.Middle_Eastern_Countries.htm">Middle Eastern Countries</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox geography" style="width:23em;">
<tr>
<td align="center" class="mergedtoprow" colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; font-size:1.2em;"><b><span style="line-height:1.33em;"><big>مملكة البحرين</big><br /><i>Mamlakat al-Bahrayn</i></span></b><br /><b><span style="line-height:1.33em;">Kingdom of Bahrain</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td align="center" class="maptable" colspan="2" style="padding:0.4em 0.8em 0.4em 0.8em;">
<table style="margin:0 auto; background:none; text-align:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><span style="border:1px solid #bbbbbb; display:table-cell;"><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1019.png.htm" title="Flag of Bahrain"><img alt="Flag of Bahrain" height="75" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Bahrain.svg" src="../../images/10/1019.png" width="125" /></a></span></td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1022.png.htm" title="Emblem of Bahrain"><img alt="Emblem of Bahrain" height="85" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bahrain_coa.png" src="../../images/10/1020.png" width="85" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Flag</small></td>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Emblem</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Motto: <i><!--del_lnk--> Bahrainona</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Anthem: <big>بحريننا</big> (<i><!--del_lnk--> Bahrainona</i>)<br /><small>"Our Bahrain"</small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 1em;">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1021.png.htm" title="Location of Bahrain"><img alt="Location of Bahrain" height="115" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LocationBahrain.png" src="../../images/10/1021.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<td><!--del_lnk--> <b>Capital</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> (and largest city)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Manama<br /><small><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 26°13′N 50°35′W</span></small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Official languages</span></th>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government.htm" title="List of countries by system of government">Government</a></b></td>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><a href="../../wp/c/Constitutional_monarchy.htm" title="Constitutional monarchy">Constitutional monarchy</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> King</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Khalifah Bin Sulman Al Khalifa</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Crown Prince</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Independence</th>
<td>from the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Date</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 15 August <!--del_lnk--> 1971 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 665 km² (<!--del_lnk--> 189th)<br /> 253 sq mi </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Water (%)</td>
<td>0</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Population</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 2005 estimate</td>
<td>698,585<sup>a</sup> (<!--del_lnk--> 163rd)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td>987/km² (<!--del_lnk--> 10th)<br /> 2,556/sq mi</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> GDP (<!--del_lnk--> PPP)</th>
<td>estimate</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td>$14.08 billion (<!--del_lnk--> 120th)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Per capita</td>
<td>$20,500 (<!--del_lnk--> 35th)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><b><!--del_lnk--> HDI</b> (2003)</th>
<td>0.846 (<font color="#009900">high</font>) (<!--del_lnk--> 43rd)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">Currency</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bahraini Dinar (<code><!--del_lnk--> BHD</code>)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td>(<!--del_lnk--> UTC+3)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Internet TLD</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> .bh</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Calling code</th>
<td>+973</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"><small><sup>a</sup> Includes 235,108 non-nationals (July 2005 estimate).</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Bahrain</b>, officially the <b>Kingdom of Bahrain</b> (<a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>: <b><big>مملكة البحرين</big></b> ), is a <!--del_lnk--> borderless <!--del_lnk--> island country in the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Gulf.htm" title="Persian Gulf">Persian Gulf</a> (<!--del_lnk--> Southwest Asia/<a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a>, Asia). <a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain by the <!--del_lnk--> King Fahd Causeway (officially opened on <!--del_lnk--> November 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1986), and <a href="../../wp/q/Qatar.htm" title="Qatar">Qatar</a> is to the south across the Persian Gulf. The <!--del_lnk--> Qatar–Bahrain Friendship Bridge, currently being planned, will link Bahrain to Qatar as the longest fixed link in the world.<p>Bahrain is the smallest, in terms of population, <!--del_lnk--> Arab country in the world, and the smallest Arab member of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>. It is also the least populous country in mainland Asia (but not of Asia overall, because <a href="../../wp/m/Maldives.htm" title="Maldives">Maldives</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Brunei.htm" title="Brunei">Brunei</a> are smaller).<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Bahrain has been inhabited by humans since ancient times and has even been proposed as the site of the <!--del_lnk--> Biblical <!--del_lnk--> Garden of Eden.<p>Its strategic location in the Persian Gulf has brought rule and influence from the <!--del_lnk--> Assyrians, <a href="../../wp/b/Babylonia.htm" title="Babylonia">Babylonians</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Greeks, <!--del_lnk--> Persians, and finally the <!--del_lnk--> Arabs, under whom the island became <!--del_lnk--> Muslim. Bahrain was in the ancient times known as <i><!--del_lnk--> Dilmun</i>, later under its Greek name <i>Tylos</i> (see <!--del_lnk--> Dilmun for more information), as <i>Awal</i> as well as under the <!--del_lnk--> Persian name <i><!--del_lnk--> Mishmahig</i> when it came under the imperial rule of the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian Empire</a>.<p>The islands of Bahrain, positioned in the middle south of the Persian Gulf, have attracted the attention of many invaders throughout history, such as the Al-Khalifas. Bahrain is an Arabic word meaning "Two Seas", and is thought to either refer to the fact that the islands contain two sources of water, sweet water springs and salty water in the surrounding seas, or to the south and north waters of the Persian Gulf, separating it from the Arabian coast and Iran, respectively.<p>A strategic position between East and West, fertile lands, fresh water, and pearl diving made Bahrain long a centre of <!--del_lnk--> urban settlement. About 2300 BC, Bahrain became a centre of one of the ancient empires trading between <a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a> (now <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a>) and the <!--del_lnk--> Indus Valley (now in <a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>). This was the civilization of Dilmun (sometimes transliterated <i>Telmun</i>) that was linked to the Sumerian Civilization in the third millennium BC. Bahrain became part of the Babylonian empire about 600 BC. Historical records referred to Bahrain as the "Life of Eternity", "Paradise", etc. Bahrain was also called the "Pearl of the Persian Gulf".<p>Until Bahrain embraced Islam in 629 AD, it was a centre for <!--del_lnk--> Nestorian Christainity. In 899, a <!--del_lnk--> millenarian <!--del_lnk--> Ismaili sect, the <!--del_lnk--> Qarmatians, seized hold of the country and sought to create a utopian society based on reason and the distribution of all property evenly among the initiates. The <!--del_lnk--> Qarmatians caused widespread disruption throughout the Islamic world: they collected tribute from the caliph in <a href="../../wp/b/Baghdad.htm" title="Baghdad">Baghdad</a>; and in 930 sacked Mecca and Medina, bringing the sacred <!--del_lnk--> Black Stone back to Bahrain where it was held to ransom. They were defeated in 976 by the <!--del_lnk--> Abbasids.<p>Bahrain up until 1521 referred to the larger <!--del_lnk--> historical region of Bahrain including Ahsa, Qatif (both are now the eastern province of Saudi Arabia) as well as Awal (now Bahrain Islands). The region stretched from <!--del_lnk--> Basrah to the Strait of Hormuz in <a href="../../wp/o/Oman.htm" title="Oman">Oman</a>. This was Iqlīm al-Bahrayn "Bahrayn Province" and the Arab inhabitants of the province, descendants of the Arab tribe Banī ˤAbdu l-Qays, were called Bahārna after it.<p>In 1521, the <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portuguese</a> conquered the Awal islands and, since then, "Bahrain" has specifically referred to the area that is modern state of Bahrain.<p>From the sixteenth century to 1743, control of Bahrain drifted between the Portuguese and the Persians. Ultimately, the Persian <!--del_lnk--> Afsharid king, <!--del_lnk--> Nadir Shah, invaded and took control of Bahrain and for reasons of political control supported the <!--del_lnk--> Shīˤa majority.<p>In the late eighteenth century, the <!--del_lnk--> al-Khalifa family invaded and captured the islands from their base in neighbouring Qatar. In order to secure Bahrain from returning to <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Persian</a> control, the Emirate entered into a treaty relationship with the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> and became a British protectorate.<p><!--del_lnk--> Oil was discovered in 1932 and brought rapid modernization and improvements to Bahrain. It also made relations with the United Kingdom closer, evidenced by the British moving more bases to the island nation. British influence would continue to grow as the country developed, culminating with the appointment of <!--del_lnk--> Charles Belgrave as an advisor; Belgrave established modern education systems in Bahrain.<p>After <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, increasing anti-British sentiment spread throughout the Arab world and led to riots in Bahrain. In 1960, the United Kingdom put Bahrain's future to international arbitration and requested that the <!--del_lnk--> United Nations Secretary-General take on this responsibility. In 1970, Iran simultaneously laid claim to both Bahrain and the other Persian Gulf islands. However in an agreement with the United Kingdom it agreed to "not pursue" its irredentist claims on Bahrain if its other claims were realised. The following <!--del_lnk--> plebiscite saw Bahrainis confirm their independence from Britain and their Arab identity. Bahrain to this day remains a member of the <a href="../../wp/a/Arab_League.htm" title="Arab League">Arab League</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Gulf Cooperation Council.<p>The British withdrew from Bahrain on <!--del_lnk--> August 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1971, making Bahrain an independent emirate. The oil boom of the 1980s greatly benefited Bahrain, but its downturn was felt badly. However, the country had already begun to diversify its economy, and had benefited from the <!--del_lnk--> Lebanese civil war that began in the 1970s; Bahrain replaced <a href="../../wp/b/Beirut.htm" title="Beirut">Beirut</a> as the Middle East's financial hub as Lebanon's large banking sector was driven out of the country by the war.<p>After the 1979 <!--del_lnk--> Islamic revolution in Iran, Bahraini Shīˤa fundamentalists in 1981 orchestrated a <!--del_lnk--> failed coup attempt under the auspices of a front organisation, the <!--del_lnk--> Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain. The coup would have installed a Shīˤa cleric exiled in Iran, <!--del_lnk--> Hujjatu l-Islām <!--del_lnk--> Hādī al-Mudarrisī, as supreme leader heading a <!--del_lnk--> theocratic government.<p>In 1994 a wave of rioting by disaffected Shīˤa <!--del_lnk--> Islamists was sparked by women's participation in a sporting event. The Kingdom was badly affected by sporadic violence during the mid-1990s in which over forty people were killed in violence between the government and Islamists (see <!--del_lnk--> 1990s uprising in Bahrain and <!--del_lnk--> Torture in Bahrain).<p>In March 1999, <!--del_lnk--> Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifah succeeded his father as head of state and instituted elections for parliament, gave women the right to vote and released all political prisoners; moves described by <!--del_lnk--> Amnesty International as representing an <!--del_lnk--> 'historic period for human rights'.<p><a id="Politics" name="Politics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Politics</span></h2>
<p>Bahrain is a <a href="../../wp/c/Constitutional_monarchy.htm" title="Constitutional monarchy">constitutional monarchy</a> headed by the King, <!--del_lnk--> Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; the head of government is the Prime Minister, <!--del_lnk--> Shaykh <!--del_lnk--> Khalīfa bin Salman al Khalifa, who presides over a cabinet of fifteen members. Bahrain has a bicameral legislature with a lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, elected by universal suffrage and the upper house, the Shura Council, appointed by the King. Both houses have forty members. The inaugural elections were held in 2002, with parliamentarians serving four year terms; the 2006 general election is to be held on <!--del_lnk--> 25 November <!--del_lnk--> 2006.<p>The opening up of politics has seen big gains for both Shīˤa and Sunnī Islamists in elections, which has given them a parliamentary platform to pursue their policies. This has meant that what are termed "morality issues" have moved further up the political agenda with parties launching campaigns to impose bans on female mannequins displaying lingerie in shop windows, sorcery and the hanging of underwear on washing lines. Analysts of democratisation in the Middle East cite the Islamists' references to respect for human rights in their justification for these programmes as evidence that these groups can serve as a progressive force in the region.<p>Islamist parties have been particularly critical of the government's readiness to sign international treaties such as the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nation's</a> <!--del_lnk--> International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. At a parliamentary session in June 2006 to discuss ratification of the Convention, Sheikh <!--del_lnk--> Adel Mouwda, the former leader of <!--del_lnk--> salafist party, <!--del_lnk--> Asalah, explained the party's objections: "The convention has been tailored by our enemies, God kill them all, to serve their needs and protect their interests rather than ours. This why we have eyes from the American Embassy watching us during our sessions, to ensure things are swinging their way" <!--del_lnk--> .<p>Bahraini liberals have responded to the growing power of <!--del_lnk--> religious parties by organising themselves to campaign through civil society in order to defend basic personal freedoms from being legislated away. In November 2005, <!--del_lnk--> al Muntada, a grouping of liberal academics, launched "<!--del_lnk--> We Have A Right", a campaign to explain to the public why personal freedoms matter and why they need to be defended.<p>Both Sunnī and Shīˤa Islamists suffered a setback in March 2006 when twenty municipal councillors, most of whom represented religious parties, went missing in <a href="../../wp/b/Bangkok.htm" title="Bangkok">Bangkok</a> on an unscheduled stopover when returning from a conference in Malaysia <!--del_lnk--> . After the missing councillors eventually arrived in Bahrain they defended their stay at the Radisson Hotel in Bangkok, telling journalists it was a "fact-finding mission", and explaining: "We benefited a lot from the trip to Thailand because we saw how they managed their transport, landscaping and roads." <!--del_lnk--> <p><!--del_lnk--> Women's political rights in Bahrain saw an important step forward when women were granted the right to vote and stand in national elections for the first time in 2002's election. However, no women were elected to office in that year’s polls and instead Shīˤa and Sunnī Islamists dominated the election, collectively winning a majority of seats. In response to the failure of women candidates, six were appointed to the Shura Council, which also includes representatives of the Kingdom’s indigenous <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jewish">Jewish</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Christian communities. The country's first female cabinet minister was appointed in 2004 when <!--del_lnk--> Dr. Nada Haffadh became Minister of Health, while the quasi-governmental women's group, the <!--del_lnk--> Supreme Council for Women has been training female candidates to take part in 2006's general election. When Bahrain was elected to head the <!--del_lnk--> United Nations General Assembly in 2006 it appointed lawyer and women's rights activist <!--del_lnk--> Haya bint Rashid Al Khalifa as the <!--del_lnk--> President of the United Nations General Assembly, only the third woman in history to head the world body.<p>The King recently created the Supreme Judicial Council to regulate the country's courts and institutionalize the separation of the administrative and judicial branches of government.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 11–<!--del_lnk--> 12 November <!--del_lnk--> 2005, Bahrain hosted the <!--del_lnk--> Forum for the Future bringing together leaders from the Middle East and G8 countries to discuss political and economic reform in the region.<p><a id="Governorates" name="Governorates"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Governorates</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1023.png.htm" title="Governorates of Bahrain"><img alt="Governorates of Bahrain" height="245" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bahrain_governorates_numbered.png" src="../../images/10/1023.png" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1023.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Governorates of Bahrain</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bahrain is split into five <!--del_lnk--> governorates. Until <!--del_lnk--> July 3, <!--del_lnk--> 2002, it was divided into twelve municipalities; see <!--del_lnk--> Municipalities of Bahrain. The governorates are:<ol>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Capital<li><!--del_lnk--> Central<li><!--del_lnk--> Muharraq<li><!--del_lnk--> Northern<li><!--del_lnk--> Southern</ol>
<p>For further information, see <!--del_lnk--> Decree-Law establishing governorates from the Bahrain official website.<p><a id="Cities.2C_towns_and_villages" name="Cities.2C_towns_and_villages"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cities, towns and villages</span></h2>
<p>Among Bahrain's cities and towns are:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Al Manama<li><!--del_lnk--> Al Muharraq<li><!--del_lnk--> Sitra<li><!--del_lnk--> Al Rifa<li><!--del_lnk--> Isa Town<li><!--del_lnk--> Hamad Town</ul>
<p>Bahrain's many small towns and villages include:<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color:transparent">
<tr valign="top">
<td width="120px">
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Al Sanabis<li><!--del_lnk--> Karbabad<li><!--del_lnk--> Seef District<li><!--del_lnk--> Al Dair<li><!--del_lnk--> Al Deah</ul>
</td>
<td width="15px">
</td>
<td width="120px">
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Jid Hafs<li><!--del_lnk--> Al Buday'a<li><!--del_lnk--> Al Duraz<li><!--del_lnk--> Al Jufair</ul>
</td>
<td width="15px">
<p>
<br />
<p>
<br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:277px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1024.jpg.htm" title="Manama, Bahrain's wealthy capital."><img alt="Manama, Bahrain's wealthy capital." height="183" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Modern_Manama.jpg" src="../../images/10/1024.jpg" width="275" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1024.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Manama, Bahrain's wealthy capital.</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>In a region currently experiencing an oil boom of unprecedented proportions, Bahrain is the <!--del_lnk--> fastest growing economy in the Arab world, the <!--del_lnk--> United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia found in January 2006. Bahrain also has the <!--del_lnk--> freest economy in the Middle East according to the 2006 <!--del_lnk--> Index of Economic Freedom published by the <!--del_lnk--> Heritage Foundation/<!--del_lnk--> Wall Street Journal, and is twenty-fifth freest overall in the world.<p>In Bahrain, petroleum production and processing account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. Economic conditions have fluctuated with the changing fortunes of oil since 1985, for example, during and following the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Gulf.htm" title="Persian Gulf">Persian Gulf</a> crisis of 1990-91. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Persian Gulf. A large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of both oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems.<p>In 2004, Bahrain signed the <!--del_lnk--> US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, which will reduce certain barriers to trade between the two nations.<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1025.png.htm" title="Map of Bahrain"><img alt="Map of Bahrain" height="266" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bahrain_map.png" src="../../images/10/1025.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Bahrain is a generally flat and arid <!--del_lnk--> archipelago, comprising of a low desert plain rising gently to a low central escarpment, in the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Gulf.htm" title="Persian Gulf">Persian Gulf</a>, east of <a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a>. The highest point is the 122 m Jabal ad Dukhan.<p>Considered to be one of the fifteen states that comprise the "<!--del_lnk--> Cradle of Humanity" in the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a>, Bahrain has a total area of 688 <!--del_lnk--> km² (266 <!--del_lnk--> mi²), which is slightly larger than the <a href="../../wp/i/Isle_of_Man.htm" title="Isle of Man">Isle of Man</a>, though it is smaller than the nearby <!--del_lnk--> King Fahd Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia (780 km² or 301 mi²). As an archipelago of thirty-three islands, Bahrain does not share a land boundary with another country but does have a 161-<!--del_lnk--> kilometre (100 <!--del_lnk--> mi) coastline and claims a further twelve <!--del_lnk--> nautical miles (22 km) of <!--del_lnk--> territorial sea and a twenty-four nautical mile (44 km) <!--del_lnk--> contiguous zone. Bahrain enjoys mild winters and endures very hot, humid summers.<p>Bahrain's natural resources include large quantities of oil and associated and nonassociated natural gas as well as fish stocks, which is perhaps fortunate as arable land constitutes only 1% of the country. Desert constitutes 92% of Bahrain and periodic droughts and dust storms are the main natural hazards for Bahrainis.<p>Environmental issues facing Bahrain include desertification resulting from the degradation of limited arable land and coastal degradation (damage to coastlines, coral reefs, and sea vegetation) resulting from oil spills and other discharges from large tankers, oil refineries, and distribution stations. The agricultural and domestic sectors' over-utilization of the <!--del_lnk--> Dammam aquifer, the principal aquifer in Bahrain, has led to its salinization by adjacent brackish and saline water bodies.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1026.jpg.htm" title="Bahrain from space, June 1996; north is to the left of the picture."><img alt="Bahrain from space, June 1996; north is to the left of the picture." height="295" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Manama_bahrain.jpg" src="../../images/10/1026.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1026.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bahrain from space, June 1996; north is to the left of the picture.</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The official religion of Bahrain is <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a>, which the majority of the population practices. However, due to an influx of immigrants and guest workers from non-Muslim countries, such as the Philippines and Sri Lanka, the overall percentage of Muslims in the country has declined in recent years. According to the 2001 census, 81.2% of Bahrain's population was <!--del_lnk--> Muslim (52% <!--del_lnk--> Shi'a and 48% <!--del_lnk--> Sunni), 9% were <!--del_lnk--> Christian, and 9.8% practiced other Asian or Middle Eastern religions.<p>Recently, Bahrain has transformed into a cosmopolitan society with mixed communities: two thirds of Bahrain's population consists of <!--del_lnk--> Arabs, while the rest are immigrants and guest workers largely from <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>, <!--del_lnk--> South Asia and <!--del_lnk--> Southeast Asia. A Financial Times published on <!--del_lnk--> 31 May <!--del_lnk--> 1983 found that "Bahrain is a <!--del_lnk--> polyglot state, both religiously and racially. Leaving aside the temporary immigrants of the past 10 years, there are at least eight or nine communities on the island."<p>The present communities may be classified as Al-Khalifa, Arab tribes allied to <!--del_lnk--> Al-Khalifa known historically as the Auttubs; the <!--del_lnk--> Baharanies, Sunni and Shia Arabs (from the main Arabs land); the <!--del_lnk--> Howilla (Mainly Sunni Persians with some Arab ancestry); <!--del_lnk--> Ajam (ethnic Persian Shia); Indians who traded with Bahrain and settled before the age of oil (formerly known as the Hunood or Banyan); a tiny Jewish community; and a miscellaneous grouping.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Bahrain is sometimes described as the "Middle East lite": a country that mixes thoroughly modern infrastructure with a definite Persian Gulf identity, but unlike other countries in the region its prosperity is not solely a reflection of the size of its oil wealth, but also related to the creation of an indigenous middle class. This unique socioeconomic development in the Persian Gulf has meant that Bahrain is generally more liberal than its neighbours. While Islam is the main religion, Bahrainis have been known for their tolerance, and alongside mosques can be found churches, a Hindu temple, a Sikh Gurudwara and a Jewish synagogue. The country is home to several communities that have faced persecution elsewhere.<p>It is too early to say whether political liberalisation under <!--del_lnk--> King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has augmented or undermined Bahrain's traditional pluralism. The new political space for Shia and Sunni Islamists has meant that they are now in a much stronger position to pursue programmes that often seek to directly confront this pluralism, yet at the same time political reforms have encouraged an opposite trend for society to become more self critical with a greater willingness in general to examine previous social taboos. It is now common to find public seminars on once unheard of subjects such as <!--del_lnk--> marital problems and sex and <!--del_lnk--> child abuse. Another facet of the new openness is Bahrain's status as the most prolific book publisher in the Arab world, with 132 books published in 2005 for a population of 700,000. In comparison, the average for the entire Arab world is seven books published per one million people in 2005, according to the United Nations Development Programme. <!--del_lnk--> <p>The middle classes tend to have a very cosmopolitan outlook, and with mainstream <!--del_lnk--> hip hop music very popular among Bahrain's youth. Of <!--del_lnk--> DJing in Bahrain, <!--del_lnk--> DJ Whoo Kid said:<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">
<p>"Growing up in Queens Village, New York, I really didn't know what to expect upon my arrival in a Muslim country. I expected to see camels, sand homes and vehicles that could handle sand, like Jeep Wranglers or Land Cruisers. To my surprise, I was greeted by teenagers blasting music by <!--del_lnk--> Mobb Deep, <!--del_lnk--> Jay Z, <a href="../../wp/t/Tupac_Shakur.htm" title="2Pac">2Pac</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Biggie Smalls, <!--del_lnk--> Eminem and <!--del_lnk--> 50 Cent. When I turned on the radio I heard a variety of music that included the <!--del_lnk--> Black Eyed Peas, <!--del_lnk--> Sean Paul and the <!--del_lnk--> Pussycat Dolls. The hottest music – and I hear a lot as a DJ for Eminem's <!--del_lnk--> Shade 45 channel on <!--del_lnk--> Sirius Satellite Radio – was the Arabic hip-hop remixes and beats I heard on the radio. It made me realize why many producers in the U.S. are sampling them like crazy."<p style="text-align: right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;">— <!--del_lnk--> </cite></blockquote>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> October 20, <!--del_lnk--> 2005 it was revealed that <!--del_lnk--> Michael Jackson intended to leave the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> permanently in order to seek a new life in Bahrain. Jackson has reportedly told friends that he feels <!--del_lnk--> "increasingly Bahraini" after buying a former PM's mansion in <!--del_lnk--> Sanad, and is now seeking another property by the seashore. Other celebrities associated with the Kingdom include singer <!--del_lnk--> Shakira and Grand Prix driver <!--del_lnk--> Jenson Button, who owns a property.<p><a id="Language" name="Language"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Language</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Arabic is the official language of Bahrain. The two main dialects are <!--del_lnk--> Baharna Arabic, spoken by the indigenous <!--del_lnk--> Baharna <!--del_lnk--> Shia, and Bahraini Arabic spoken by the indigenous <!--del_lnk--> Sunnis. <!--del_lnk--> Persian, <!--del_lnk--> Urdu/<a href="../../wp/h/Hindi.htm" title="Hindi">Hindi</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Malayalam are also spoken by sections of the population.<p><a id="Formula_One" name="Formula_One"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Formula One</span></h3>
<p>Bahrain is the home of <a href="../../wp/f/Formula_One.htm" title="Formula One">Formula One</a> racing in the Middle East. It started hosting the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf Air <!--del_lnk--> Grand Prix on <!--del_lnk--> 4 April <!--del_lnk--> 2004, the first for an Arab country. The race was won by Michael Schumacher of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. This was followed by the <!--del_lnk--> Bahrain Grand Prix in 2005. Bahrain has successfully hosted the opening Grand Prix of the 2006 season on 12 March. Both the above races were won by Fernando Alonso of Renault F1.<p><a id="Holidays" name="Holidays"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Holidays</span></h3>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th style="background:#efefef;">Date</th>
<th style="background:#efefef;">English Name</th>
<th style="background:#efefef;">Local Name</th>
<th style="background:#efefef;">Remarks</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> January 1</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> New Year's Day</td>
<td>رأس السنة الميلادية</td>
<td>-</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> May 1</td>
<td>Labour Day</td>
<td>عيد العمال</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> December 16</td>
<td>National Day</td>
<td>Eid al-Watani</td>
<td>-</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> December 17</td>
<td>Accession Day</td>
<td>عيد الجلوس</td>
<td>-</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10th Zilhajjah</td>
<td>Feast of the Sacrifice or the Big Feast (4 days)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Eid ul-Adha</td>
<td>Commemorates <!--del_lnk--> Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son, occurs at the end of the month of <!--del_lnk--> hajj</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1st Shawal</td>
<td>the Little Feast (3 days)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Eid ul-Fitr</td>
<td>Commemorates end of <!--del_lnk--> Ramadan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1st Moharram</td>
<td>Hijri New Year</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Muharram</td>
<td>Islamic New Year</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Date Varies</td>
<td>Al-Isra' ul-Miraj</td>
<td>-</td>
<td>Commemorates Muhammad's journey to the Heavens</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>12th Rabiul Awal</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Prophet <a href="../../wp/m/Muhammad.htm" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a>'s birthday</td>
<td>Mawlid al-Nabi</td>
<td>-</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9th-10th Moharram</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ashoura (2 days)</td>
<td>Commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Al Hussain (AS) in Karbala'</td>
<td>-</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Bahrain recently changed their weekend from being Thursdays and Fridays to Fridays and Saturdays, in order to have a day of the weekend shared with the rest of the world. The change took effect from <!--del_lnk--> 1 September <!--del_lnk--> 2006.<p><a id="Education" name="Education"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Education</span></h2>
<p>Numerous international educational institutions and schools have established links to Bahrain. One prominent institution is <!--del_lnk--> DePaul University of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>.<p>Quranic schools (<i>Kuttab</i>) were the only form of education in Bahrain at the beginning of the twentieth century. They were traditional schools aimed at teaching children and youth the reading of the <a href="../../wp/q/Qur%2527an.htm" title="Qur'an">Qur'an</a>. Many people of Bahrain had felt that this type of education did not fulfil the academic efficiency that match with the spirit of age. After the <!--del_lnk--> First World War, things changed and Bahrain became widely open upon the modern western renaissance. Political and social changes have occurred in the country that caused the rise of social and cultural awareness among people.<p>Due to all these, a demand for modern educational institutions different from Kuttab has appeared in terms of system, curricula and objectives.<p>1919 marked the beginning of modern public school system in Bahrain. Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifia school for boys was opened in Muharraq. In 1926, the Education Committee had opened the second public school for boys in Manama.<p>In 1928 the first public school for girls was opened in Muharraq.<p>Currently, Bahrain boasts an advanced educational system. In 2004 King Hamad bin khalifa Al-Khalifa introduced a new project that uses information communication technology (ICT) to support <!--del_lnk--> K-12 education in Bahrain. This project is named King Hamad Schools of Future. The main objective of this project is to connect and link all schools within the kingdom with the internet and introduce the idea of education everywhere, everytime.<p>In addition to various British intermediate schools, the island is served by the <!--del_lnk--> Bahrain School (BS). BS is a <!--del_lnk--> United States Department of Defense school that provides a K-12 curriculum including <!--del_lnk--> International Baccalaureate offerings.<p>Schooling and related costs are entirely paid for by the government, and, although not compulsory, primary and secondary attendance rates are high. Bahrain also encourages institutions of higher learning, drawing on expatriate talent and the increasing pool of Bahrainis returning from abroad with advanced degrees. <!--del_lnk--> University of Bahrain has been established for standard undergraduate and graduate study, and the College of Health Sciences – operating under the direction of the Ministry of Health – trains physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and paramedics. The national action charter, passed in 2001, paved the way for the formation of many private universities. The first private university was <!--del_lnk--> Ahlia University, situated in Manama.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Arabic language', 'List of countries by system of government', 'Constitutional monarchy', 'United Kingdom', 'Currency', 'Time zone', 'Arabic language', 'Persian Gulf', 'Middle East', 'Saudi Arabia', 'Qatar', 'United Nations', 'Maldives', 'Brunei', 'Babylonia', 'Persian Empire', 'Mesopotamia', 'Iraq', 'Pakistan', 'India', 'Baghdad', 'Oman', 'Portugal', 'Iran', 'United Kingdom', 'World War II', 'Arab League', 'Beirut', 'Constitutional monarchy', 'United Nations', 'Bangkok', 'Jewish', 'Persian Gulf', 'Persian Gulf', 'Saudi Arabia', 'Middle East', 'Isle of Man', 'Islam', 'Iran', '2Pac', 'United States', 'Hindi', 'English language', 'Formula One', 'Muhammad', 'United States', "Qur'an"]
|
Bahá'í_Faith
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bahá'í Faith,Bahá'í,Bahá'í books,Bahá'í books,Bahá'í,2005,2006,Abdülâziz,Acre, Israel,Adam and Eve,Addis Ababa" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bahá'í Faith</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bahá\'í_Faith";
var wgTitle = "Bahá\'í Faith";
var wgArticleId = 4251;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bahá_í_Faith">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bahá'í Faith</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Religion.Religious_movements_traditions_and_organizations.htm">Religious movements, traditions and organizations</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" class="toccolours" style="float: right; clear: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; text-align:center; border: 1px solid #000066;">
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<p><b><span style="font-size: 100%">Series on the<br /></span></b> <span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 150%"><strong class="selflink">Bahá'í Faith</strong></span><b><br /></b> <a class="image" href="../../images/234/23469.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="80" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bahai_star.svg" src="../../images/234/23469.png" width="80" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; color:#ffffff; background-color:#000066"><b>Central figures</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 88%;">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Bahá'u'lláh<br /><!--del_lnk--> The Báb · <!--del_lnk--> Abdu'l-Bahá</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; color:#ffffff; background-color:#000066"><b>Key scripture</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 88%;"><!--del_lnk--> Kitáb-i-Aqdas · <!--del_lnk--> Kitáb-i-Íqán<br />
<p><!--del_lnk--> The Hidden Words<br /><!--del_lnk--> Some Answered Questions</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; color:#ffffff; background-color:#000066"><b>Institutions</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 88%;">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Administrative Order<br /><!--del_lnk--> The Guardian<br /><!--del_lnk--> Universal House of Justice<br /><!--del_lnk--> Spiritual Assemblies<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; color:#ffffff; background-color:#000066"><b>History</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 88%;">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í history · <!--del_lnk--> Timeline<br /><!--del_lnk--> Bábís · <!--del_lnk--> Shaykh Ahmad</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; color:#ffffff; background-color:#000066"><b>Notable individuals</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 88%;">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Shoghi Effendi<br /><!--del_lnk--> Martha Root · <!--del_lnk--> Táhirih<br /><!--del_lnk--> Badí‘ · <!--del_lnk--> Apostles<br /><!--del_lnk--> Hands of the Cause</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; color:#ffffff; background-color:#000066"><b>Selected teachings</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 88%;">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Unity of humanity<br /><!--del_lnk--> Unity of religion<br /><!--del_lnk--> Gender equality<br /><!--del_lnk--> Universal education<br /><!--del_lnk--> Science and religion<br /><!--del_lnk--> Auxilliary language</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; color:#ffffff; background-color:#000066"><b>See also</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 88%;">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Symbols · <!--del_lnk--> Laws<br /><!--del_lnk--> Teachings · <!--del_lnk--> Literature<br /><!--del_lnk--> Calendar · <!--del_lnk--> Divisions<br /><!--del_lnk--> Index of Bahá'í Articles<center>
</center>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Bahá'í Faith</b> is a religion founded by <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'u'lláh in 19th century <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persia</a>. Bahá'ís number around 6 million in more than 200 countries around the world.<p>According to Bahá'í teachings, religious history is seen as an evolving educational process for mankind, through God's messengers, which are termed <!--del_lnk--> Manifestations of God. <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'u'lláh is seen as the most recent, pivotal, but not final of these individuals. He claimed to be the expected redeemer and teacher prophesied in <a href="../../wp/j/Judaism.htm" title="Judaism">Judaism</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a>, <a href="../../wp/h/Hinduism.htm" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Buddhism.htm" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a>, and other religions, and that his mission was to establish a firm basis for unity throughout the world, and inaugurate an age of peace and justice, which Bahá'ís expect will inevitably arise.<p>"<b>Bahá'í</b>" (<i>Ba-haa-ee</i> or <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/baˈhaːʔiː/</span>) is either an adjective referring to this religion or the term for a follower of Bahá'u'lláh, and not a noun referring to the religion as a whole. The term comes from the Arabic word <!--del_lnk--> Bahá’ (بهاء), meaning "glory" or "splendor".<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Beliefs" name="Beliefs"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Beliefs</span></h2>
<p>Three underlying core assertions are often simply referred to as the <!--del_lnk--> unity of God, the <!--del_lnk--> unity of religion, and the <!--del_lnk--> unity of mankind. This formulation is often helpful in understanding Bahá'í approaches to a variety of religious topics, though it belies much of the complexity found in the hundreds of books and letters that form the Bahá'í texts. Much of Bahá'í practice and social teachings are rooted in these priorities.<p><a id="God" name="God"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">God</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Bahá'ís believe in a single, imperishable <a href="../../wp/g/God.htm" title="God">God</a>, the creator of all things, including all the creatures and forces in the universe. The existence of God is thought to be eternal, without a beginning or end, and is described as "a personal God, unknowable, inaccessible, the source of all Revelation, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent and almighty." Though inaccessible directly, God is nevertheless seen as conscious of his creation, with a will and purpose. Bahá'ís believe that God expresses this will in many ways, including through a series of divine messengers referred to as <!--del_lnk--> Manifestations of God or sometimes <i>divine educators</i>. In expressing God's intent, these manifestations are seen to establish religion in the world.<p>Bahá'í teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully comprehend, or to create a complete and accurate image. In the Bahá'í religion God is often referred to by titles (e.g. the All-Powerful, or the All-Loving), and there is a substantial emphasis on <!--del_lnk--> monotheism, rejecting such doctrines as the <a href="../../wp/t/Trinity.htm" title="Trinity">Trinity</a>.<p><a id="Religion" name="Religion"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Religion</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:201px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23470.jpg.htm" title="Symbols of many religions on the pillar of the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois"><img alt="Symbols of many religions on the pillar of the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois" height="271" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wilmette_how_side.jpg" src="../../images/234/23470.jpg" width="199" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23470.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Symbols of many religions on the pillar of the <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Bahá'í notions of progressive religious revelation result in their accepting the validity of most of the worlds' religions, whose founders and central figures are seen as Manifestations of God. These include, but are not limited to <a href="../../wp/j/Jesus.htm" title="Jesus">Jesus</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Muhammad.htm" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Moses, and <a href="../../wp/g/Gautama_Buddha.htm" title="Gautama Buddha">Buddha</a>. Bahá'ís also believe that other religious figures, such as <!--del_lnk--> Adam, <!--del_lnk--> Noah, and <!--del_lnk--> Hud historically existed and were prophets of God. Religious history is interpreted as a series of <!--del_lnk--> dispensations, where each <i>manifestation</i> brings a somewhat broader and more advanced <!--del_lnk--> revelation, suited for the time and place in which it was expressed. Specific religious social teachings (e.g. the direction of prayer, or dietary restrictions) may be revoked by a subsequent manifestation so that a more appropriate requirement for the time and place may be established. Conversely, certain general principles (e.g. neighbourliness, or charity) are seen to be universal and consistent. Bahá'ís do not believe that this process of progressive revelation will end. They do, however, believe that it is cyclical. Bahá'ís do not expect a new manifestation of god to appear prior to 1000 years after Bahá'u'lláh's revelation.<p>Bahá'í beliefs are sometimes described as <!--del_lnk--> syncretic combinations of earlier religions' beliefs. Bahá'ís, however, assert that their religion is a distinct tradition with its own scriptures, teachings, laws, and history. Its cultural and religious debt to the <!--del_lnk--> Shi'a Islamic matrix in which it was founded is seen as analogous to the Jewish socio-religious context in which Christianity was established. Bahá'ís describe their faith as an independent world religion, differing from the other traditions only in its relative newness and in the appropriateness of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings to the modern context. Bahá'u'lláh is believed to fulfill the <!--del_lnk--> messianic expectations of these precursor faiths.<p><a id="Human_beings" name="Human_beings"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Human beings</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23471.jpg.htm" title="The Ringstone symbol represents humanity's connection to God"><img alt="The Ringstone symbol represents humanity's connection to God" height="137" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ringstone.jpg" src="../../images/234/23471.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23471.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Ringstone symbol represents humanity's connection to God</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Bahá'ís believe that human beings have a "rational <!--del_lnk--> soul", and that this provides the species with a unique capacity to recognize God's station and humanity's relationship with its creator. Every human is seen to have a duty to recognize God and his manifestations, and to conform to their teachings. Through recognition and obedience, service to fellow humans and regular prayer and spiritual practice, Bahá'ís believe that the soul becomes closer to God, the spiritual ideal in Bahá'í belief. When a human dies, the soul passes into the next world, where its spiritual development in the physical world becomes a basis for judgment and advancement in the spiritual world. Heaven and Hell are taught to be spiritual states of nearness or distance from God that describe relationships in this world and the next, and not physical places of reward and punishment achieved after death.<p>The Bahá'í writings emphasize the essential equality of human beings, and the abolition of prejudice. Humanity is seen as essentially one, though highly varied; its diversity of race and culture are seen as worthy of appreciation and tolerance. Doctrines of racism, nationalism, caste, and social class are seen as artificial impediments to unity. The Bahá'í teachings state that the unification of mankind is the paramount issue in the religious and political conditions of the present world.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23472.jpg.htm" title="The Bahá'í House of Worship in India attracts an average of 4 million visitors a year."><img alt="The Bahá'í House of Worship in India attracts an average of 4 million visitors a year." height="134" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bahai-house-of-worship-delhi2.jpg" src="../../images/234/23472.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23472.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í House of Worship in India attracts an average of 4 million visitors a year.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bahá'í sources usually estimate the worldwide Bahá'í population to be above 5 million. Encyclopedias and similar sources estimate from 2 to 8 million Bahá'ís in the world in the early twenty-first century, with most estimates between 5 and 6 million.<p>From its origins in the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian</a> and <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman</a> Empires, the Bahá'í Faith acquired a number of <!--del_lnk--> Western converts by <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>. Fifty years later its population was distributed much more towards the <!--del_lnk--> Third World as a result of <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í pioneering efforts.<p>According to <i>The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2004</i>:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Bahá'í Faith"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Bahá'í Faith"><img alt="Bahá'í Faith" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>The majority of Bahá'ís live in Asia (3.6 million), Africa (1.8 million), and Latin America (900,000). According to some estimates, the largest Bahá'í community in the world is in <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, with 2.2 million Bahá'ís, next is <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>, with 350,000, and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">USA</a>, with 150,000. Aside from these countries, numbers vary greatly. Currently, no country has a Bahá'í majority. <a href="../../wp/g/Guyana.htm" title="Guyana">Guyana</a> is the country with the largest percentage of Bahá'ís (7%).</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Bahá'í Faith"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Bahá'í Faith"><img alt="Bahá'í Faith" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The Bahá'í religion was listed in <i>The Britannica Book of the Year</i> (1992–present) as the second most widespread of the world's independent religions in terms of the number of countries represented. Britannica claims that it is established in 247 countries and territories; represents over 2,100 ethnic, racial, and tribal groups; has scriptures translated into over 800 languages; and has seven million adherents worldwide [2005].<p><a id="Teachings" name="Teachings"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Teachings</span></h2>
<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; text-align:center; border: 1px solid #060;">
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<p><span style="font-size: 122%"><b>Texts & Scriptures</b></span><br /><small>of the</small><br /><span style="font-size: 125%"><b><strong class="selflink">Bahá'í Faith</strong></b></span><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/234/23469.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="80" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bahai_star.svg" src="../../images/234/23469.png" width="80" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 110%"><!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í literature</span><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; color:#ffffff; background-color:#005e07"><b>From The Báb</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 88%;"><!--del_lnk--> Persian Bayán · <!--del_lnk--> Arabic Bayán<br /><!--del_lnk--> Writings of the Báb</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; color:#ffffff; background-color:#005e07"><b>From Bahá'u'lláh</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 88%;"><!--del_lnk--> Hidden Words · <!--del_lnk--> Seven Valleys<br /><!--del_lnk--> Gems of Divine Mysteries<br /><!--del_lnk--> Kitáb-i-Íqán · <!--del_lnk--> Gleanings<br /><!--del_lnk--> Summons of the Lord of Hosts<br /><!--del_lnk--> Tabernacle of Unity<br /><!--del_lnk--> Kitáb-i-Aqdas<br /><!--del_lnk--> Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh<br /><!--del_lnk--> Epistle to the Son of the Wolf</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; color:#ffffff; background-color:#005e07"><b>From `Abdu'l-Bahá</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 88%;"><!--del_lnk--> Secret of Divine Civilization<br /><!--del_lnk--> Some Answered Questions<br /><!--del_lnk--> Paris Talks<br /><!--del_lnk--> Tablets of the Divine Plan<br /><!--del_lnk--> Will and Testament</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; color:#ffffff; background-color:#005e07"><b>From Shoghi Effendi</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 88%;"><!--del_lnk--> World Order of Bahá'u'lláh<br /><!--del_lnk--> Advent of Divine Justice<br /><!--del_lnk--> God Passes By<br /><!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í Administration</td>
</tr>
</table>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><a id="Summary" name="Summary"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Summary</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Shoghi Effendi, the appointed head of the religion from 1921 to 1957, wrote the following summary of what he considered to be the distinguishing principles of <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'u'lláh's teachings, which, he said, together with the laws and ordinances of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Kitáb-i-Aqdas</i> constitute the bed-rock of the Bahá'í Faith:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Bahá'í Faith"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Bahá'í Faith"><img alt="Bahá'í Faith" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>The independent search after truth, unfettered by <!--del_lnk--> superstition or <!--del_lnk--> tradition; the oneness of the entire <a href="../../wp/h/Human.htm" title="Human">human race</a>, the pivotal principle and fundamental doctrine of the Faith; the basic unity of all religions; the condemnation of all forms of <!--del_lnk--> prejudice, whether religious, racial, class or national; the harmony which must exist between <a href="../../wp/r/Religion.htm" title="Religion">religion</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">science</a>; the equality of men and women, the two wings on which the bird of human kind is able to soar; the introduction of compulsory education; the adoption of a <!--del_lnk--> universal auxiliary language; the abolition of the extremes of wealth and poverty; the institution of a <!--del_lnk--> world tribunal for the adjudication of disputes between nations; the exaltation of work, performed in the spirit of service, to the rank of <!--del_lnk--> worship; the glorification of justice as the ruling principle in human society, and of religion as a bulwark for the protection of all peoples and nations; and the establishment of a permanent and <!--del_lnk--> universal peace as the supreme goal of all mankind—these stand out as the essential elements [which Bahá'u'lláh proclaimed].</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Bahá'í Faith"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Bahá'í Faith"><img alt="Bahá'í Faith" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Social_principles" name="Social_principles"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Social principles</span></h3>
<p>The following 12 principles are frequently listed as a quick summary of the Bahá'í teachings. They are derived from transcripts of speeches given by <!--del_lnk--> `Abdu'l-Bahá during his tour of Europe and North America in 1912. The list is not authoritative and a variety of such lists circulate.<dl>
<dd>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Unity of God<li><!--del_lnk--> Unity of religion<li><!--del_lnk--> Unity of mankind<li><!--del_lnk--> Gender Equality<li><!--del_lnk--> Elimination of all forms of prejudice<li><!--del_lnk--> World peace<li><!--del_lnk--> Harmony of religion and science<li>Independent investigation of truth<li><!--del_lnk--> Universal compulsory education<li><!--del_lnk--> Universal auxiliary language<li>Obedience to government and non-involvement in partisan politics<li>Elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty</ul>
</dl>
<p><a id="Mystical_teachings" name="Mystical_teachings"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Mystical teachings</span></h3>
<p>Although it concentrates on social and ethical issues as well, some of the Bahá'í Faith's foundational texts might be described as mystical. Shoghi Effendi has called the <i><!--del_lnk--> Seven Valleys</i> Bahá'u'lláh's "greatest mystical composition." It was written to a follower of <!--del_lnk--> Sufism, a mystic and esoterical tradition of Islam. It was first translated into English in 1906, becoming one of the earliest available books of Bahá'u'lláh to the <!--del_lnk--> West. The <i><!--del_lnk--> Hidden Words</i> is another book written by Bahá'u'lláh during the same period, containing 153 short passages described by `Abdu'l-Bahá as "a treasury of divine mysteries".<p><a id="The_Covenant" name="The_Covenant"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Covenant</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Bahá'ís have high regard for what is termed the "Greater Covenant", which they see as universal in nature, and from "time immemorial" has been carried through by the <!--del_lnk--> Manifestations of God of all ages. They also regard highly the "Lesser Covenant", which is viewed as an agreement between a Messenger of God and his followers, unique to each revelation, and includes social practices and the continuation of authority in the religion. At this time Bahá'ís view Bahá'u'lláh's revelation as a binding lesser covenant for his followers; in the Bahá'í writings being firm in the covenant is considered as one of the main religious virtues a person can work toward.<p>With unity as an essential teaching of the religion, Bahá'ís follow an <!--del_lnk--> administration that they believe is divinely ordained, and therefore see attempts to create schisms and divisions as insignificant, doomed efforts which are contrary to the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh. Throughout Bahá'í history schisms have occurred over the succession of authority. The followers of the various <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í divisions, who in total, number in the low thousands, are regarded as <!--del_lnk--> Covenant-breakers and shunned, essentially <!--del_lnk--> excommunicated.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/111/11147.jpg.htm" title="Shrine of the Báb in Haifa, Israel."><img alt="Shrine of the Báb in Haifa, Israel." height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Shrine_Bab_North_West.jpg" src="../../images/111/11147.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/111/11147.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Shrine of the Báb in Haifa, Israel.</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Bahá'í history is often traced through a sequence of leaders, beginning with the <!--del_lnk--> Báb's May 23, 1844 declaration in Shiraz, and ultimately resting on an administrative order established by the central figures of the religion. The tradition was mostly isolated to the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian</a> and <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman</a> empires until after the death of Bahá'u'lláh in 1892, at which time he had followers in thirteen countries of Asia and Africa. Under the leadership of his son, `Abdu'l-Bahá, the religion gained a footing in Europe and America, and was consolidated in Iran, where it still suffered intense <!--del_lnk--> persecution. After the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921, the leadership of the Bahá'í community entered a new phase, evolving from that of a single individual to an administrative order with a system of both elected bodies and appointed individuals.<p><a id="The_B.C3.A1b" name="The_B.C3.A1b"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Báb</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>In 1844 Siyyid `Alí-Muhammad of <!--del_lnk--> Shiraz, Iran proclaimed that he was "the Báb" (<!--del_lnk--> Arabic: <span class="spanAr" dir="rtl" lang="ar" style="font-size:1.1em" xml:lang="ar"><b>الباب</b></span>‎ <span class="Unicode">​</span> "the Gate"), after a <!--del_lnk--> Shi`a religious concept. His followers were therefore known as <!--del_lnk--> Bábís. As the Báb's teachings spread, the Islamic clergy saw it as a threat, and Bábís came under increased persecution, at times being forced to choose between renouncing their beliefs or being killed. Several military confrontations took place between government and Bábí forces. The Báb himself was imprisoned and eventually executed in 1850.<p>Bahá'ís see the Báb as the forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith, because the Báb's writings introduced the concept of "<!--del_lnk--> He whom God shall make manifest", a Messianic figure whose coming, according to Bahá'ís, was announced in the scriptures of all of the world's great religions, and whom Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, claimed to be in 1863. <!--del_lnk--> The Báb's tomb is located in <!--del_lnk--> Haifa, Israel, and is an important place of <!--del_lnk--> pilgrimage for Bahá'ís. The remains of the Báb were brought secretly from Persia to the Holy Land and were eventually interred in the Shrine built for them in a spot specifically designated by Bahá'u'lláh.<p><a id="Bah.C3.A1.27u.27ll.C3.A1h" name="Bah.C3.A1.27u.27ll.C3.A1h"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Bahá'u'lláh</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Mírzá Husayn `Alí of Núr was one of the early followers of the Báb, who later took the title of Bahá'u'lláh. He was arrested and imprisoned for this involvement in 1852. He claimed that while incarcerated in the dungeon of the <!--del_lnk--> Síyáh-Chál in <a href="../../wp/t/Tehran.htm" title="Tehran">Tehran</a>, he received the first intimations that he was the one anticipated by the Báb. He announced this in 1863.<p>Shortly thereafter he was expelled from <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persia</a> to <a href="../../wp/b/Baghdad.htm" title="Baghdad">Baghdad</a>, in the <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Empire</a>; then to <a href="../../wp/i/Istanbul.htm" title="Istanbul">Constantinople</a>; then to <!--del_lnk--> Adrianople. During this time tensions grew between Bahá'u'lláh and <!--del_lnk--> Subh-i-Azal, the appointed leader of the Bábís, culminating in Bahá'u'lláh's 1866 declaration. While in Adrianople, he wrote letters to several rulers of the world, including Sultan <!--del_lnk--> Abdülâziz, declaring his mission as a Messenger of God. As a result Bahá'u'lláh was banished a final time, to the penal colony of <!--del_lnk--> `Akká, in present-day <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a>.<p>Towards the end of his life, the strict and harsh confinement was gradually relaxed, and he was allowed to live in a home near `Akká, while still officially a prisoner of that city. He died there in 1892. Bahá'ís regard his resting place at <!--del_lnk--> Bahjí as the <!--del_lnk--> Qiblih to which they turn in prayer each day. During his lifetime, Bahá'u'lláh left a large volume of writings; the <i><!--del_lnk--> Kitáb-i-Aqdas</i>, and the <!--del_lnk--> Book of Certitude are recognized as primary Bahá'í theological works, and the <!--del_lnk--> Hidden Words and the <!--del_lnk--> Seven Valleys as primary mystical treatises.<p><a name=".60Abdu.27l-Bah.C3.A1"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">`Abdu'l-Bahá</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>`Abbás Effendi was Bahá'u'lláh's eldest son, known by the title of `Abdu'l-Bahá (Servant of Bahá). His father left a <!--del_lnk--> Will that appointed `Abdu'l-Bahá as the leader of the Bahá'í community, and designated him as the "Centre of the Covenant", "Head of the Faith", and the sole authoritative interpreter of Bahá'u'lláh's writings.<p>`Abdu'l-Bahá had shared his father's long exile and imprisonment, which continued until `Abdu'l-Bahá's own release as a result of the <!--del_lnk--> Young Turk Revolution in 1908. Following his release he led a life of travelling, speaking, teaching, and maintaining correspondence with communities of believers and individuals, expounding the principles of the Bahá'í Faith.<p><a id="Bah.C3.A1.27.C3.AD_administration" name="Bah.C3.A1.27.C3.AD_administration"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Bahá'í administration</span></h3>
<div class="floatright"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="174" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Willandtestofabdulbaha.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="110" /></span></div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Bahá'u'lláh's <i><!--del_lnk--> Kitáb-i-Aqdas</i> and <i>The <!--del_lnk--> Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá</i> are foundation documents of the Bahá'í administrative order. Bahá'u'lláh established the elected <!--del_lnk--> Universal House of Justice, and `Abdu'l-Bahá established the appointed hereditary Guardianship and clarified the relationship between the two institutions. In his Will, `Abdu'l-Bahá appointed his eldest grandson, <!--del_lnk--> Shoghi Effendi, as the first Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.<p>Shoghi Effendi throughout his lifetime translated <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í literature; developed global plans for the expansion of the Bahá'í community; developed the <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í World Centre; carried on a voluminous correspondence with communities and individuals around the world; and built the administrative structure of the religion, preparing the community for the election of the Universal House of Justice. He died in 1957 under conditions that didn't allow for a successor to be appointed.<p>At local, regional, and national levels, Bahá'ís elect members to nine-person <!--del_lnk--> Spiritual Assemblies, which run the affairs of the religion. There are also <!--del_lnk--> appointed individuals working at various levels, including locally and internationally which perform the function of propagating the faith and protecting the community. The latter do not serve as <!--del_lnk--> clergy, which the Bahá'í Faith does not have.<p>The Universal House of Justice, first elected in 1963, remains the supreme governing body of the Bahá'í Faith, and its 9 members are elected every five years by the members of all National Spiritual Assemblies. Any male Bahá'í, 21 years or older, is eligible to be elected to the Universal House of Justice; all other positions are open to male and female Bahá'ís.<p><a id="Involvement_in_society" name="Involvement_in_society"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Involvement in society</span></h2>
<p><a id="Work" name="Work"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Work</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Monasticism is forbidden, and Bahá'ís attempt to ground their spirituality in ordinary daily life. Performing useful work, for example, is not only required but considered a form of worship. Bahá'u'lláh prohibited a <!--del_lnk--> mendicant and <!--del_lnk--> ascetic lifestyle, encouraging Bahá'ís to "Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in." The importance of self-exertion and service to humanity in man's spiritual life is emphasised further in Bahá'u'lláh's writings, where he states that work done in the spirit of service to humanity enjoys a rank equal to that of prayer and worship in the sight of God.<p><a id="United_Nations" name="United_Nations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">United Nations</span></h3>
<p>Bahá'u'lláh wrote of the need for <!--del_lnk--> world government in this age of humanity's collective life. Because of this emphasis many Bahá'ís have chosen to support efforts of improving <!--del_lnk--> international relations through organizations such as the <a href="../../wp/l/League_of_Nations.htm" title="League of Nations">League of Nations</a> and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í International Community is an agency under the direction of the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, and has consultative status with the following organizations:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)<li><!--del_lnk--> United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)<li><a href="../../wp/w/World_Health_Organization.htm" title="World Health Organization">World Health Organization</a> (WHO)<li><!--del_lnk--> United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)<li><!--del_lnk--> United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)</ul>
<p>The Bahá'í International Community has offices at the United Nations in <!--del_lnk--> New York and <a href="../../wp/g/Geneva.htm" title="Geneva">Geneva</a> and representations to United Nations regional commissions and other offices in <a href="../../wp/a/Addis_Ababa.htm" title="Addis Ababa">Addis Ababa</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Bangkok.htm" title="Bangkok">Bangkok</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Nairobi.htm" title="Nairobi">Nairobi</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Santiago%252C_Chile.htm" title="Santiago, Chile">Santiago</a>, and <a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a>. In recent years an Office of the Environment and an Office for the Advancement of Women were established as part of its United Nations Office. The Bahá'í Faith has also undertaken joint development programs with various other United Nations agencies. In the 2000 <!--del_lnk--> Millennium Forum of the United Nations a Bahá'í was invited as the only non-governmental speaker during the summit. See <!--del_lnk--> this article for further information on the relationship between the Bahá'í International Community and the United Nations.<p><a id="International_plans" name="International_plans"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">International plans</span></h3>
<p>In 1939 <!--del_lnk--> Shoghi Effendi launched a seven year plan, followed by another in 1946. In 1953 he launched the <!--del_lnk--> Ten Year World Crusade, with extremely ambitious goals for the expansion of Bahá'í communities and institutions, the translation of <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í literature into several new languages, and the sending of <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í pioneers into previously unreached nations. He announced in letters during the Ten Year Crusade that it would be followed by other plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice, which was elected in 1963 at the culmination of the Crusade. The House of Justice then launched a nine year plan in 1964, and a series of subsequent multi-year plans of varying length and goals followed, guiding the direction of the international Bahá'í community.<p><a id="Current_international_plan" name="Current_international_plan"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Current international plan</span></h3>
<p>Since the late 1990's, the House of Justice has been directing communities to prepare for large-scale expansion, organizing localities into "clusters", creating new institutions such as <!--del_lnk--> Regional Councils and strengthening the various "training institutes". The recently completed five-year plan (2001-2006) focused on developing institutions and creating the means to "sustain large-scale expansion and consolidation" (Riḍván 158). Since 2001, the Bahá'ís around the world have been specifically encouraged to focus on children's classes, devotional gatherings, and a systematic study of the religion, known as <!--del_lnk--> study circles. A new focus was added in December 2005 with the addition of "<!--del_lnk--> junior youth" classes to the core activities, focusing on education for those between 11 and 14.<p>The second five-year plan (2006-2011) was launched by the <!--del_lnk--> Universal House of Justice in April of 2006; it calls upon the Bahá'ís of the world to establish advanced patterns of growth and community development in over 1,500 "clusters" around the world. It also alludes to a possible tier-election process for <!--del_lnk--> Local Spiritual Assemblies in localities with many Bahá'ís. The years from 2001 until 2021 represent four successive five-year plans, culminating in the centennial anniversary of the passing of <!--del_lnk--> `Abdu'l-Bahá.<p><a id="Study_circles" name="Study_circles"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Study circles</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Along with a focus on consolidation has come a systematic approach to education and community development. The "study circles" are intended to be sustainable and self-perpetuating on a large scale. Participants complete a sequence of workbooks in small groups, facilitated by a tutor, and upon completion of the sequence a participant can then go on to facilitate study circles for others.<p>The most popular study program is the <!--del_lnk--> Ruhi Institute, a study course originally designed for use in <a href="../../wp/c/Colombia.htm" title="Colombia">Colombia</a>, but which has received wide use. The first book studies three themes: the <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í writings, <!--del_lnk--> prayer, and <!--del_lnk--> life and death. Subsequent themes include the education of children, the lives of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh, service, and others.<p><a id="Social_practices" name="Social_practices"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Social practices</span></h2>
<p><a id="Laws" name="Laws"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Laws</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The laws of the Bahá'í Faith primarily come from the <i><!--del_lnk--> Kitáb-i-Aqdas</i>, Bahá'u'lláh's book of laws. While some of the laws from the Kitáb-i-Aqdas are applicable at the present time, Bahá'u'lláh has provided for the progressive application of other laws that are dependent upon the existence of a predominantly Bahá'í society, which is expected gradually to come into being. The laws, when not in direct conflict with the civil laws of the country of residence are binding on every Bahá'í. The observance of personal laws such as prayer or fasting, while a universal obligation, is the sole responsibility of the individual. Other laws may be enforced to a degree by the administrative order, while still others are dependent upon the existence of a predominantly Bahá'í society.<p>These are a few examples of laws and basic religious observances of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Kitáb-i-Aqdas</i> which have been codified by <!--del_lnk--> Shoghi Effendi, the appointed interpreter of the Bahá'í writings:<ul>
<li>Recite an <!--del_lnk--> obligatory prayer each day after reaching the age of maturity, deemed to be 15. There are three such prayers among which one can be chosen each day.<li>Pray and meditate daily.<li>Backbiting and <!--del_lnk--> gossip is prohibited and denounced.<li>Adult Bahá'ís in good health observe a <!--del_lnk--> nineteen-day sunrise-to-sunset fast each year from March 2 through March 20.<li>Bahá'ís are forbidden to drink <!--del_lnk--> alcohol or to <!--del_lnk--> take drugs, unless prescribed by doctors.<li>Sexual relationships are permitted only between a husband and wife, and thus <!--del_lnk--> homosexual acts are not permitted. See <!--del_lnk--> Homosexuality and Bahá'í Faith.<li><!--del_lnk--> Gambling is strictly forbidden.</ul>
<p><a id="Places_of_worship" name="Places_of_worship"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Places of worship</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Most Bahá'í meetings occur in individuals' homes, local Bahá'í centers, or rented facilities. Worldwide, there are currently seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship, basically one per continent, with an eighth under construction in Chile. Bahá'í writings refer to an institution called a "Ma<u>sh</u>riqu'l-A<u>dh</u>kár" (Dawning-place of the Mention of God), which is to form the centre of a complex of institutions including a hospital, university, and so on. Only the first ever Ma<u>sh</u>riqu'l-A<u>dh</u>kár in <!--del_lnk--> `Ishqábád, Turkmenistan, was built to such a degree.<p><a id="Marriage" name="Marriage"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Marriage</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Bahá'í <!--del_lnk--> marriage is the union of a man and a woman. Its purpose is mainly to foster spiritual harmony, fellowship and unity between the two partners and the rearing of children. The Bahá'í teachings on marriage call it a <i>fortress for well-being and salvation</i> and place marriage and the family as the foundation of the structure of <a href="../../wp/s/Society.htm" title="Society">human society</a>. Bahá'u'lláh highly praised marriage, declaring it an eternal command of God, also discouraging divorce, and requiring <!--del_lnk--> chastity outside of marriage; Bahá'u'lláh taught that a husband and wife should strive to improve the spiritual life of each other.<p>Bahá'ís intending to marry "should study each other's character and spend time getting to know each other before they decide to marry, and when they do marry it should be with the intention of establishing an eternal bond." Although parents should not choose partners for their children, once two individuals decide to marry, they must receive the consent of all living parents, even if one partner is not a Bahá'í. <!--del_lnk--> Interracial marriage is highly praised in the <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'í teachings. The Bahá'í marriage ceremony is simple; the only compulsory part of the wedding is the reading of the wedding vows prescribed by <!--del_lnk--> Bahá'u'lláh which both the groom and the bride read, in the presence of two witnesses. The vows are:<dl>
<dd>"We will all, verily, abide by the Will of God."</dl>
<p><a id="Symbols" name="Symbols"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Symbols</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23475.jpg.htm" title="A stylized nine pointed star, with the calligraphy of the Greatest Name in the centre."><img alt="A stylized nine pointed star, with the calligraphy of the Greatest Name in the centre." height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bahaistar.jpg" src="../../images/234/23475.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23475.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A stylized nine pointed star, with the calligraphy of the <!--del_lnk--> Greatest Name in the centre.</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The official symbol of the Bahá'í Faith is the five-pointed star, but a nine-pointed star is more frequently used. The ringstone symbol and calligraphy of the Greatest Name are also often encountered. The former consists of two stars interspersed with a stylized Bahá’ (<!--del_lnk--> Arabic: <span class="spanAr" dir="rtl" lang="ar" style="font-size:1.1em" xml:lang="ar"><b>بهاء</b></span>‎ <span class="Unicode">​</span> "splendor" or "glory") whose shape is meant to recall the three onenesses. The Greatest Name is Yá Bahá'u'l-'Abhá (<!--del_lnk--> Arabic: <span class="spanAr" dir="rtl" lang="ar" style="font-size:1.1em" xml:lang="ar"><b>يا بهاء الأبهى</b></span>‎ <span class="Unicode">​</span> "O Glory of the Most Glorious!")<br clear="left" />
<p><a id="Calendar" name="Calendar"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Calendar</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The Bahá'í calendar is based upon the calendar established by the Báb. The year consists of 19 months of 19 days, with four or five <!--del_lnk--> intercalary days, to make a full solar year. The Bahá'í New Year corresponds to the traditional Persian New Year, called <!--del_lnk--> Naw Rúz, and occurs on the vernal equinox, <!--del_lnk--> March 21, at the end of the month of fasting. Bahá'í communities gather at the beginning of each month at a meeting called a <!--del_lnk--> Feast for worship, consultation and socializing.<p>Each of the 19 months is given a name which is an attribute of God; some examples include Bahá’ (Splendour), ‘Ilm (Knowledge), and Jamál (Beauty).The Bahá'í week is familiar in that it consists of seven days, with each day of the week also named after an attribute of God; some examples include Istiqlál (Independence), Kamál (Perfection) and ‘Idál (Justice). Bahá'ís observe 11 <!--del_lnk--> Holy Days throughout the year, with work suspended on 9 of these. These days commemorate important anniversaries in the history of the religion.<p><a id="Persecution" name="Persecution"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Persecution</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Bahá'ís continue to be persecuted in <!--del_lnk--> Islamist ruled countries, especially <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>, where over 200 believers were executed between 1978 and 1998. Since the <!--del_lnk--> Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iranian Bahá'ís have regularly had their homes ransacked or been banned from attending university or holding government jobs, and several hundred have received prison sentences for their religious beliefs, most recently for participating in <!--del_lnk--> study circles. Bahá'í cemeteries have been desecrated and property seized and occasionally demolished, including the House of Mírzá Buzurg, Bahá'u'lláh's father. The House of the Báb in <!--del_lnk--> Shiraz has been destroyed twice, and is one of three sites to which Bahá'ís perform <!--del_lnk--> pilgrimage. <p>Even more recently the situation of Bahá'ís has worsened; the <!--del_lnk--> United Nations Commission on Human Rights revealed an October 2005 confidential letter from Command Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Iran to identify Bahá'ís and to monitor their activities and in November 2005 the state-run and influential <!--del_lnk--> Kayhan newspaper, whose managing editor is appointed by Iran's supreme leader, <!--del_lnk--> Ayatollah Khamenei, ran nearly three dozen articles defaming the Bahá'í Faith.<p>Due to these actions, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights stated on <!--del_lnk--> March 20, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 that she "also expresses concern that the information gained as a result of such monitoring will be used as a basis for the increased persecution of, and discrimination against, members of the Bahá'í faith, in violation of international standards. ... The Special Rapporteur is concerned that this latest development indicates that the situation with regard to religious minorities in Iran is, in fact, deteriorating."<p><a id="Reactions" name="Reactions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Reactions</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Bernard Lewis states that the Muslim laity and Islamic authorities have always had great difficulty in accommodating post-Islamic monotheistic religions such as the Bahá'í Faith, since on one hand the followers of such religions cannot be dismissed either as benighted heathens, like the polytheists of Asia and the animists of Africa, nor as outdated precursors, like the Jews and Christians. Moreover, their very existence presents a challenge to the Islamic doctrine of the perfection and finality of Muhammad's revelation. <p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD_Faith"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Persian Empire', 'Judaism', 'Christianity', 'Islam', 'Hinduism', 'Buddhism', 'God', 'Trinity', 'Jesus', 'Muhammad', 'Gautama Buddha', 'Persian Empire', 'Ottoman Empire', 'World War I', 'India', 'Iran', 'United States', 'Guyana', 'Human', 'Religion', 'Science', 'Persian Empire', 'Ottoman Empire', 'Tehran', 'Persian Empire', 'Baghdad', 'Ottoman Empire', 'Istanbul', 'Israel', 'League of Nations', 'United Nations', 'World Health Organization', 'Geneva', 'Addis Ababa', 'Bangkok', 'Nairobi', 'Rome', 'Santiago, Chile', 'Vienna', 'Colombia', 'Society', 'Iran']
|
Baker_Island
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Baker Island,Countries and territories of Oceania,Countries and territories of Oceania,Alabama,Alaska,American Samoa,Arizona,Arkansas,Atoll,Australia,British Overseas Territory" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Baker Island</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Baker_Island";
var wgTitle = "Baker Island";
var wgArticleId = 3453;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Baker_Island">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Baker Island</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Oceania_Australasia.htm">Geography of Oceania (Australasia)</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/9/948.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="288" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BakerIsland.jpeg" src="../../images/9/948.jpg" width="384" /></a></span></div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/962.png.htm" title="Orthographic projection over Baker Island"><img alt="Orthographic projection over Baker Island" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Orthographic_projection_over_Baker_Island.png" src="../../images/9/962.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/962.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Orthographic projection over Baker Island</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Baker Island</b> is an uninhabited <!--del_lnk--> atoll located just north of the <!--del_lnk--> equator in the central <a href="../../wp/p/Pacific_Ocean.htm" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific Ocean</a> at <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 0°13′N 176°31′W</span>, about 3,100 km (1,675 <!--del_lnk--> nautical miles) southwest of <!--del_lnk--> Honolulu. Sometimes grouped together as part of the <!--del_lnk--> United States Minor Outlying Islands, it is about one-half of the way from <!--del_lnk--> Hawaii to <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>.<p><b>Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge</b> consists of the 405 acre (1.64 km²) island and a surrounding 30,504 acres (123.45 km²) of submerged land. The island is now a <!--del_lnk--> National Wildlife Refuge managed by the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an <!--del_lnk--> insular area under the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Department of the Interior. Baker Island is an <!--del_lnk--> unincorporated and <!--del_lnk--> unorganized territory of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">U.S.</a>.<p>Its defense is the responsibility of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>; though uninhabited, it is visited annually by the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> took possession of the island in 1857, claimed under the <!--del_lnk--> Guano Islands Act of 1856. It became a <!--del_lnk--> British Overseas Territory from 1886 to 1934. Its <!--del_lnk--> guano deposits were mined by U.S. and <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> companies during the second half of the 19th century. In 1935, a short-lived attempt at colonization was begun, as well as on nearby <a href="../../wp/h/Howland_Island.htm" title="Howland Island">Howland Island</a>. The settlement <b>Meyerton</b> had a population of four American civilians evacuated in 1942 after <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japanese</a> air and naval attacks. During <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> it was occupied by the U.S. military.<p>Since the war, Baker has been uninhabited. <!--del_lnk--> Feral <a href="../../wp/c/Cat.htm" title="Cat">cats</a> were eradicated from the island in 1964. Public entry is by special-use permit from <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service only and generally restricted to scientists and educators.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/9/963.gif.htm" title="U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Aerial View of Baker Island"><img alt="U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Aerial View of Baker Island" height="192" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Nwrbakerisle_a320.gif" src="../../images/9/963.gif" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<p>Located in the North Pacific Ocean at <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 0°13′N 176°31′W</span>, the island is tiny at just 1.64 km² (405 acres) and 4.8 km of coastline. The climate is equatorial, with little rainfall, constant wind, and a strong sunshine. The terrain is low-lying and sandy: a coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef with a depressed central area. The highest point is 8 meters above sea level.<p>There are no natural fresh water resources. The island is treeless, with sparse vegetation consisting of grasses, prostrate vines, low growing shrubs, and some scattered ruins. A cemetery and remnants of structures from early settlement are located near the middle of the west coast. The island is primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife.<p>The U.S. claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles (370 km) and territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22 km).<p>The island's <a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a>: <!--del_lnk--> UTC-12<p><a id="Transportation" name="Transportation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transportation</span></h2>
<p>There are no ports or harbors, with anchorage available only offshore. There is one boat landing area along the middle of the west coast. There is an abandoned World War II runway, 1,665 meters long, which is completely covered with vegetation and unusable.<p>Natural hazards: The narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard and there is a <!--del_lnk--> day beacon near the middle of the west coast.<p><a id="Similarly_Named_Islands" name="Similarly_Named_Islands"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Similarly Named Islands</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Baker's Island, Mass.<li><!--del_lnk--> Baker Island - Acadia Nat. Park, Maine</ul>
<p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_Island"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Pacific Ocean', 'Australia', 'United States', 'United States', 'United States', 'United Kingdom', 'Howland Island', 'Japan', 'World War II', 'Cat', 'Time zone']
|
Bald_Eagle
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bald Eagle,1782,2006,Accipitridae,Alaska,Animal,Atlantic Ocean,Bayou,Benjamin Franklin,Bible,Binomial nomenclature" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bald Eagle</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bald_Eagle";
var wgTitle = "Bald Eagle";
var wgArticleId = 4401;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bald_Eagle">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bald Eagle</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Birds.htm">Birds</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Bald Eagle</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1031.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="331" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Haliaeetus_leucocephalus.jpg" src="../../images/10/1031.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center">
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center; background:pink;">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /><br /><!--del_lnk--> Least Concern (LC)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Bird.htm" title="Bird">Aves</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Falconiformes<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Accipitridae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Haliaeetus</i><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>H. leucocephalus</b></i></span><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><b>Haliaeetus leucocephalus</b></i><br /><small>(<a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">Linnaeus</a>, 1766)</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Bald Eagle</b> (<i>Haliaeetus leucocephalus</i>), also known as the <b>American Eagle</b>, is a <a href="../../wp/b/Bird_of_prey.htm" title="Bird of prey">bird of prey</a> found in <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North America</a>, most recognizable as the <!--del_lnk--> national bird of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>.<p>The species was on the brink of <a href="../../wp/e/Extinction.htm" title="Extinction">extinction</a> in the USA late in the 20th century, but now has a stable population and is in the process of being removed from the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. federal government's list of <!--del_lnk--> endangered species.<p>This <a href="../../wp/e/Eagle.htm" title="Eagle">eagle</a> gets both its common and scientific names from the distinctive appearance of the adult's head. <i>Bald</i> in the <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> name refers to the white head feathers, and the scientific name is derived from <i>Haliaeetus</i>, the <!--del_lnk--> New Latin for "sea eagle," (from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek <i>haliaetos</i>) and <i>leucocephalus</i>, the Greek for "white head," from <i>leukos</i> ("white") and <i>kephale</i> ("head").<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Range.2C_habitat.2C_and_restoration" name="Range.2C_habitat.2C_and_restoration"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Range, habitat, and restoration</span></h2>
<p>The Bald Eagle's natural range covers most of North America, including most of <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, all of the continental United States, and northern <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexico</a>. The bird itself is able to live in most of North America's varied habitats from the <!--del_lnk--> bayous of <!--del_lnk--> Louisiana to the <!--del_lnk--> Sonoran desert and the eastern deciduous forests of <!--del_lnk--> Quebec and <!--del_lnk--> New England. It can be a <a href="../../wp/b/Bird_migration.htm" title="Bird migration">migratory</a> bird but it also is not unheard of for a nesting pair to overwinter in its breeding area.<p>Once a common sight in much of the continent, the Bald Eagle was severely affected by the use of the pesticide <!--del_lnk--> DDT in the mid-twentieth century. While the pesticide itself was not lethal to the bird, it made an eagle either sterile or unable to lay healthy eggs: the eagle would ingest the chemical through its food and then lay eggs that were too brittle to withstand the weight of a brooding adult. By the 1960's there were fewer than 500 nesting pairs in the 48 <!--del_lnk--> contiguous states of the USA. Currently it is still slowly but steadily recovering its numbers; Organizations like the (F.O.E.) Fraternal Order of Eagles which carry the Eagle as their emblem, have helped the American Bald Eagle on its recovery, by supporting other groups that rescue and preserve the Eagles and their habitat. The Bald Eagle can be found in growing concentrations throughout the United States and <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, particularly near large <!--del_lnk--> bodies of water. The <a href="../../wp/u/U.S._state.htm" title="U.S. state">U.S. state</a> with the largest resident population is <!--del_lnk--> Alaska; out of the estimated 70,000 Bald Eagles on <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a>, half live there.<p>Permits are required to keep this species. As a rule, the Bald Eagle is a poor choice for public shows, being timid, prone to becoming highly stressed, and unpredictable in nature.<p>This species has occurred as a <!--del_lnk--> vagrant once in <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a>. The exhausted specimen was discovered by a <!--del_lnk--> national parks worker in a northern <!--del_lnk--> heath. Presumably, a storm blew it out to sea, and the bird struggled across the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a>.<p>The only Bald Eagle to be hatched outside North America was born on <!--del_lnk--> May 3, <!--del_lnk--> 2006 in a zoo in the German city of <!--del_lnk--> Magdeburg.<p><a id="Description" name="Description"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Description</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1033.jpg.htm" title="Adult at Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park, North Devon, England"><img alt="Adult at Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park, North Devon, England" height="232" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bald.eagle.longshot.arp.500pix.jpg" src="../../images/10/1033.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1033.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Adult at Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park, North Devon, England</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>An immature Bald Eagle has speckled brown <!--del_lnk--> plumage, the distinctive white head and body developing 2–3 years later, before sexual maturity. This species is distinguishable from the <a href="../../wp/g/Golden_Eagle.htm" title="Golden Eagle">Golden Eagle</a> in that the latter has feathers which extend down the legs.<p>Adult females have an average wingspan of about 2.1 meters (7 feet); adult males have a wingspan of 2 meters (6 feet, 6 inches). Adult females weigh approximately 5.8 kg (12.8 lb), males weigh 4.1 kg (9 lb). The smallest specimens are those from Florida, where an adult male may barely exceed 2.3 kg (5 lb) and a wingspan of 1.83 meters (6 feet). The largest are of the Alaskan races, where large females may exceed 7 kg (15.5 lb) and have a wingspan of approximately 2.4 meters (8 feet). Bald Eagles are powerful fliers, and also soar on thermal convection currents.<p>In the wild, Bald Eagles can live about 20 - 30 years, and have a maximum life span of approximately 50 years. They generally live longer in captivity; up to 60 years old.<p>Bald Eagles normally squeak and have a shrill cry, punctuated by grunts. They do not make the "eagle scream" as often shown on the television. What many recognize as the call of this species is actually the call of a <!--del_lnk--> Red-tailed Hawk dubbed into the film.<p><a id="Reproduction" name="Reproduction"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Reproduction</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1034.jpg.htm" title="Two bald eagle chicks"><img alt="Two bald eagle chicks" height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Haliaeetus_leucocephalus1.jpg" src="../../images/10/1034.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1034.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Two bald eagle chicks</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bald Eagles build huge nests out of branches, usually in large trees near water. The nest may stretch as large as eight feet across and weigh up to a ton (907kg). When breeding where there are no trees, the Bald Eagle will nest on the ground.<p>Eagles that are old enough to breed often return to the area where they were born. An adult looking for a site is likely to select a spot that contains other breeding Bald Eagles.<p>Bald Eagles are sexually mature at 4 or 5 years old. Eagles produce between one and three eggs per year, but it is rare for all three chicks to successfully fly. Both the male and female take turns sitting on the eggs. The other parent will hunt for food or look for nest material.<p><a id="Diet" name="Diet"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Diet</span></h2>
<p>The Bald Eagle's diet is varied, including <!--del_lnk--> carrion, <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fish</a>, smaller <a href="../../wp/b/Bird.htm" title="Bird">birds</a>, <!--del_lnk--> rodents, and sometimes food scavenged or stolen from campsites and picnics. Most prey is quite a bit smaller than the eagle, but rare predatory attacks on large birds such as the <a href="../../wp/s/Snow_Goose.htm" title="Snow Goose">Snow Goose</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Great Blue Heron or even <a href="../../wp/s/Swan.htm" title="Swan">swans</a> have been recorded. Also, fairly large <!--del_lnk--> salmon and <a href="../../wp/t/Trout.htm" title="Trout">trout</a> have been taken as well.<p>To hunt fish, easily their most important live prey, the eagle swoops down over the water and snatches the fish out of the water with its <!--del_lnk--> talons. They eat by holding the fish in one claw and tearing the flesh with the other. Eagles have structures on their toes called <!--del_lnk--> spiricules that allow them to grasp fish. <a href="../../wp/o/Osprey.htm" title="Osprey">Osprey</a> also have this adaptation. Bald Eagles have powerful talons. In one case, an eagle was able to fly off with the 6.8 kg (15 lb) carcass of a <!--del_lnk--> Mule Deer fawn.<p>Sometimes, if the fish is too heavy to lift, the eagle will be dragged into the water. It may swim to safety, but some eagles drown or succumb to <!--del_lnk--> hypothermia. Occasionally, Bald Eagles will pirate fish away from <a href="../../wp/o/Osprey.htm" title="Osprey">Ospreys</a> and usually the smaller raptors will have to give up their prey, a practice known as <!--del_lnk--> kleptoparasitism.<p><a id="National_bird_of_the_U.S." name="National_bird_of_the_U.S."></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">National bird of the U.S.</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1035.jpg.htm" title="Bald Eagle"><img alt="Bald Eagle" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bald_eagle.jpg" src="../../images/10/1035.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1035.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bald Eagle</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1036.jpg.htm" title="Bald Eagle at Yellowstone National Park"><img alt="Bald Eagle at Yellowstone National Park" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BaldeagleYSNP.JPG" src="../../images/10/1036.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1036.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bald Eagle at Yellowstone National Park</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Bald Eagle is the national bird of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> of America. It is probably one of the country's most recognizable symbols, and appears on most of its official seals, including the <!--del_lnk--> Seal of the President of the United States.<p>Its national significance dates back to <!--del_lnk--> June 20, <!--del_lnk--> 1782, when the <!--del_lnk--> Continental Congress officially adopted the current design for the <!--del_lnk--> Great Seal of the United States including a Bald Eagle grasping arrows and an olive branch with its <!--del_lnk--> talons. Some states had earlier adopted the bird as a symbol; for example <!--del_lnk--> New York State did so in 1778.<p>In 1784, after the end of the <a href="../../wp/a/American_Revolutionary_War.htm" title="Revolutionary War">Revolutionary War</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Benjamin_Franklin.htm" title="Benjamin Franklin">Benjamin Franklin</a> wrote a famous letter to his daughter from <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a> criticizing the choice and suggesting the <!--del_lnk--> Wild Turkey's character as a desirable trait:<dl>
<dd><i>For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.</i></dl>
<dl>
<dd><i>With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little <!--del_lnk--> King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest country of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country . . .</i></dl>
<dl>
<dd><i>I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.</i></dl>
<p>Despite Franklin's objections, the Bald Eagle remained the emblem of the United States. It can be found on both national seals and on the back of several coins (including the <!--del_lnk--> quarter dollar coin until 1999), with its head oriented towards the olive branch.<p><a id="Bald_Eagles_as_religious_objects" name="Bald_Eagles_as_religious_objects"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Bald Eagles as religious objects</span></h2>
<p>The Bald Eagle is a sacred bird in some North American cultures and its feathers, like those of the <a href="../../wp/g/Golden_Eagle.htm" title="Golden Eagle">Golden Eagle</a>, are central to many <!--del_lnk--> religious and <!--del_lnk--> spiritual customs amongst <!--del_lnk--> Native Americans. Some Native Americans revere eagles as sacred religious objects, including the feathers and other parts and are often compared to the <a href="../../wp/b/Bible.htm" title="Bible">Bible</a> and <!--del_lnk--> crucifix (See References).<p>Eagle feathers are often used in traditional ceremonies and are used to honour noteworthy achievements and qualities such as exceptional leadership and bravery.<p>Despite modern and historic Native American practices of giving eagle feathers to non-Native Americans and Native American members of other tribes who have been deemed worthy, current <!--del_lnk--> eagle feather law stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain Bald or Golden Eagle feathers for <!--del_lnk--> religious or <!--del_lnk--> spiritual use.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_Eagle"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Bird', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Carolus Linnaeus', 'Bird of prey', 'North America', 'United States', 'Extinction', 'Eagle', 'English language', 'Canada', 'Mexico', 'Bird migration', 'Canada', 'U.S. state', 'Earth', 'Ireland', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'Golden Eagle', 'Fish', 'Bird', 'Snow Goose', 'Swan', 'Trout', 'Osprey', 'Osprey', 'United States', 'Revolutionary War', 'Benjamin Franklin', 'Paris', 'Golden Eagle', 'Bible']
|
Baltic_Sea
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Baltic Sea,1871,1920,1945,1994,1997,1999,2001,2004,98,Adam of Bremen" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Baltic Sea</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Baltic_Sea";
var wgTitle = "Baltic Sea";
var wgArticleId = 3335;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Baltic_Sea">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Baltic Sea</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.General_Geography.htm">General Geography</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<p>The <b>Baltic Sea</b> is located in <!--del_lnk--> Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N <!--del_lnk--> latitude and from 20°E to 26°E <!--del_lnk--> longitude. It is bounded by the <!--del_lnk--> Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of <!--del_lnk--> Northern Europe, <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Europe and <!--del_lnk--> Central Europe, and the <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Danish</a> islands. It drains into the <!--del_lnk--> Kattegat by way of the <!--del_lnk--> Öresund, the <!--del_lnk--> Great Belt and the <!--del_lnk--> Little Belt. The Kattegat continues through the <!--del_lnk--> Skagerrak into the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a> and the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a>. The Baltic Sea is artificially linked to the <!--del_lnk--> White Sea by the <!--del_lnk--> White Sea Canal and to the North Sea by the <!--del_lnk--> Kiel Canal.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1037.png.htm" title="Map of the Baltic Sea"><img alt="Map of the Baltic Sea" height="321" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baltic_Sea_map.png" src="../../images/10/1037.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1037.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of the Baltic Sea</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Etymology" name="Etymology"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Etymology</span></h3>
<p>The first to name it the <i>Baltic Sea</i> ("<i>Mare Balticum</i>") was 11th century German chronicler <!--del_lnk--> Adam of Bremen. The origin of the name is speculative. He may have based it on the mythical North European island <!--del_lnk--> Baltia, mentioned by <!--del_lnk--> Xenophon. Another possibility is that Adam of Bremen connected to the Germanic word <i>belt</i>, a name used for some of the Danish straits, while others claim it to be derived from <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a> <i>balteus</i> (belt).. Still another proposed derivation from the <!--del_lnk--> Indo-European root <!--del_lnk--> *<i>bhel</i> meaning <i>white, shining</i> (note that 'baltas' means 'white' in today's <!--del_lnk--> Lithuanian language, for example). The latter name could have influenced the <!--del_lnk--> Baltica myth because Baltic tribes lived on the shores of the Baltic Sea in ancient times and had contacts with the <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean">Mediterranean</a> civilisations being a well-known source of <a href="../../wp/a/Amber.htm" title="Amber">amber</a> for ancient <a href="../../wp/h/History_of_Greece.htm" title="History of Greece">Greece</a> and later for the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>. However it is indisputable that the source of the name for the <!--del_lnk--> Baltic countries is the name of the Baltic Sea, not the other way around.<p><a id="The_name_in_other_languages" name="The_name_in_other_languages"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The name in other languages</span></h3>
<p>The Baltic Sea is known by the equivalents of "East Sea", "West Sea", or "Baltic Sea" in different languages:<ul>
<li>In <i><!--del_lnk--> Germanic languages</i>, except English, <i><b>East Sea</b></i> is used: <!--del_lnk--> Danish (<i>Østersøen</i>), <a href="../../wp/d/Dutch_language.htm" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a> (<i>Oostzee</i>), <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a> (<i>Ostsee</i>), <!--del_lnk--> Norwegian (<i>Østersjøen</i>), and <!--del_lnk--> Swedish (<i>Östersjön</i>); in addition, <!--del_lnk--> Finnish, a <i><!--del_lnk--> Balto-Finnic language</i> has <!--del_lnk--> calqued the Swedish term as <i>Itämeri</i>, disregarding the geography; the sea is west of Finland.</ul>
<ul>
<li>In another <i><!--del_lnk--> Balto-Finnic language</i>, <!--del_lnk--> Estonian, it is called the <i><b>West Sea</b></i> (<i>Läänemeri</i>).</ul>
<ul>
<li><i><b>Baltic Sea</b></i> is used in <i><a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a></i>; in <i><a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a></i> (<i>Mare Balticum</i>) and the <i><!--del_lnk--> Romance languages</i> <a href="../../wp/f/French_language.htm" title="French language">French</a> (<i>Mer Baltique</i>), <!--del_lnk--> Italian (<i>Mar Baltico</i>), <a href="../../wp/p/Portuguese_language.htm" title="Portuguese language">Portuguese</a> (<i>Mar Báltico</i>) and <a href="../../wp/s/Spanish_language.htm" title="Spanish language">Spanish</a> (<i>Mar Báltico</i>); in the <i><!--del_lnk--> Slavic languages</i> <!--del_lnk--> Polish (<i>Morze Bałtyckie</i> or <i>Bałtyk</i>), <!--del_lnk--> Bulgarian (<i>Baltijsko More</i> (<i>Балтийско море</i>)), <!--del_lnk--> Kashubian (<i>Bôłt</i>), and <!--del_lnk--> Russian (<i>Baltiyskoye Morye</i> (<i>Балтийское море</i>)); and in the <i><!--del_lnk--> Baltic languages</i> <!--del_lnk--> Latvian (<i>Baltijas jūra</i>) and <!--del_lnk--> Lithuanian (<i>Baltijos jūra</i>).</ul>
<p><a id="Geophysical_data" name="Geophysical_data"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geophysical data</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1038.jpg.htm" title="Phytoplankton bloom in the Baltic Proper (July 3, 2001)"><img alt="Phytoplankton bloom in the Baltic Proper (July 3, 2001)" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Phytoplankton_bloom_in_the_Baltic_Sea_%28July_3%2C_2001%29.jpg" src="../../images/10/1038.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1038.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Phytoplankton bloom in the Baltic Proper (<!--del_lnk--> July 3, <!--del_lnk--> 2001)</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Baltic Sea is a <!--del_lnk--> brackish inland sea, the largest body of brackish water in the world. The fact that it does not come from the collision of plates, but is a glacially scoured river valley, accounts for its relative shallowness.<p><a id="Dimensions" name="Dimensions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Dimensions</span></h3>
<p>The Baltic sea is about 1610 <!--del_lnk--> km (1000 <!--del_lnk--> miles) long, an average of 193 km (120 mi) wide, and an average of 55 m (180 ft, 30 <!--del_lnk--> fathoms) deep. The maximum depth is 459 m (1506 ft), on the Swedish side of the centre. The surface area is about 377,000 km² (145,522 sq mi) and the volume is about 21,000 cubic km (3129 cubic miles). The periphery amounts to about 8000 km (4968 miles) of coastline. <!--del_lnk--> These figures are somewhat variable because a number of different estimates have been made.<p><a id="Sea_ice" name="Sea_ice"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sea ice</span></h3>
<p>As a long-term average the Baltic Sea is ice covered for about 45% of its surface area at maximum annually. The ice-covered area during such a normal winter includes the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Bothnia, the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Finland, <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Riga and Vainameri in the Estonian archipelago. The Baltic Proper does not freeze during a normal winter, with the exception of sheltered bays and shallow lagoons such as the <!--del_lnk--> Courland Lagoon). The ice reaches its maximum extent in February or March; typical ice thickness in the northernmost areas in the <!--del_lnk--> Bothnian Bay is about 70 cm for landfast sea ice. The thickness decreases when moving south.<p>Freezing begins in the northern coast of Gulf of Bothnia typically in early November, reaching the open waters of <!--del_lnk--> Bay of Bothnia, the northern basin of the Gulf of Bothnia, in early January. The <!--del_lnk--> Bothnian Sea, the basin south of it, freezes on average in late February. The Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga freeze typically in late January.<p>The ice extent depends on whether the winter is mild, moderate or severe. Severe winters can ice the regions around <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> and southern <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a>, and on rare cases the whole sea is frozen, such as in 1942. In 1987 some 96% of the Baltic Sea was iced, leaving only a small patch of open water to the west of <!--del_lnk--> Bornholm in the Baltic proper. Contrary to this, in milder winters the Bay of Bothnia and Gulf of Finland are the only larger areas that are ice covered, in addition to coastal fringes in more southerly locations such as the Gulf of Riga.<p>In spring, the Gulf of Finland and the Bothnian Sea normally thaw during late April, with some ice ridges persisting until May in the eastern Gulf of Finland. In the Bay of Bothnia ice usually stays until late May; by early June it is practically always gone.<p>During winter, <!--del_lnk--> fast ice which is attached to the <!--del_lnk--> shoreline, develops first, rendering the ports unusable without the services of <!--del_lnk--> icebreakers. <!--del_lnk--> Level ice, <!--del_lnk--> ice sludge, <!--del_lnk--> pancake ice or <!--del_lnk--> rafter ice form in the more open regions. The gleaming expanse of ice is similar to the <a href="../../wp/a/Arctic.htm" title="Arctic">Arctic</a>, with wind-driven pack ice and ridges up to 15 m, and was noted by the ancients. Offshore of the landfast ice the ice remains very dynamic all year, because of its thickness it is relatively easily moved around by winds and therefore makes up large ridges and pile up against the landfast ice and shores.<p>The ice cover is the main habitat only for a few larger species. The largest of them are the seals that both feed and breed on the ice. Although the sea ice also harbors several species of algae that live in the bottom and inside brine pockets in the ice.<p><a id="Hydrography" name="Hydrography"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Hydrography</span></h3>
<p>The Baltic Sea flows out through the <!--del_lnk--> Danish straits; however, the flow is complex. A surface layer of brackish water discharges 940 cubic km per year into the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a>. Due to the difference in <!--del_lnk--> salinity, a sub-surface layer of more saline water moving in the opposite direction brings in 475 cubic km per year. It mixes very slowly with the upper waters, resulting in a salinity gradient from top to bottom, with most of the salt water remaining below 40 to 70 m deep. The general circulation is counterclockwise: northwards along its eastern boundary, and south along the western one.(Alhonen 88)<p>The difference between the outflow and the inflow comes entirely from fresh water. More than 250 streams drain a basin of about 1.6 million square km, contributing a volume of 660 cubic km per year to the Baltic. They include the major rivers of north Europe, such as the <!--del_lnk--> Oder, the <!--del_lnk--> Vistula, the <!--del_lnk--> Neman, the <!--del_lnk--> Daugava and the <!--del_lnk--> Neva. Some of this water is polluted. Additional fresh water comes from the difference of <!--del_lnk--> precipitation less evaporation, which is positive.<p>An important source of salty water are infrequent inflows of <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a> water into the Baltic. Such inflows, important to the Baltic ecosystem becuse of the oxygen they transport into the Baltic deeps, used to happen on average every 4-5 years until the 1980s. In recent decades they have become less frequent. The latest three occurred in 1983, 1993 and 2003 suggesting a new inter-inflow period of about 10 years. Despite the influx of salt water in the lower levels, the Baltic is still more of a lake or river than a sea. Tides are negligible. Wave height in calm weather varies between 2 and 3 m. Violent and sudden storms often sweep the surface, due to large transient temperature differences and a long reach of wind. Seasonal winds also cause small changes in sea level, of the order of 0.5 m.(Alhonen 88)<p><a id="Salinity" name="Salinity"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Salinity</span></h3>
<p>The Baltic Sea's <!--del_lnk--> salinity is much lower than that of ocean water (which averages 3.5%, or 35 parts per thousand), as a result of abundant freshwater runoff from the surrounding land; indeed, runoff contributes roughly 1/40th its total volume.(Alhonen 88) It varies from 0.1% in the north to 0.6-0.8% in the centre. Below 40-70 m, it can be as much as 1.5-2.0%.<p>The flow of fresh water into the sea from rivers and the flow of salty from the South builds up a gradient of salinity in the Baltic Sea. Near the <!--del_lnk--> Danish straits the salinity is close to that of the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a>. The salinity steadily decreases towards North and East. At the bottom of the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Bothnia the water no longer tastes salty and many fresh water species live in the sea. The salinity gradient is paralleled by a temperature gradient. These two factors limit many species of animals and plants to a relatively narrow region of Baltic Sea.<p>The most saline water remains on the bottom, creating a barrier to the exchange of <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> and nutrients, fostering totally different maritime environments.<p><a id="Regional_emergence" name="Regional_emergence"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Regional emergence</span></h3>
<p>The land is still emerging from its subsident state, which was caused by the weight of the last glaciation. Consequently, the surface area and the depth of the sea are diminishing. The uplift is about eight millimetres per year on the Finnish coast of the northernmost Gulf of Bothnia .<p><a id="Geographic_data" name="Geographic_data"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geographic data</span></h2>
<p><a id="Subdivisions" name="Subdivisions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Subdivisions</span></h3>
<p>The northern part of the Baltic Sea is known as the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Bothnia, of which the northernmost part is the <!--del_lnk--> Bay of Bothnia or <!--del_lnk--> Bothnian Bay. The more rounded southern basin of the gulf is called <!--del_lnk--> Bothnian Sea and immediately to the south of it lies the <!--del_lnk--> Sea of Åland. The <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Finland connects the Baltic Sea with <a href="../../wp/s/Saint_Petersburg.htm" title="Saint Petersburg">St Petersburg</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Riga lies between the <a href="../../wp/l/Latvia.htm" title="Latvia">Latvian</a> capital city of <!--del_lnk--> Riga and the <a href="../../wp/e/Estonia.htm" title="Estonia">Estonian</a> island of <!--del_lnk--> Saaremaa.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Northern Baltic Sea lies between the <a href="../../wp/s/Stockholm.htm" title="Stockholm">Stockholm</a> area, southwestern Finland and Estonia. The <!--del_lnk--> Western and Eastern Gotland Basins form the major parts of the Central Baltic Sea or Baltic proper. The <!--del_lnk--> Bornholm Basin is the area east of <!--del_lnk--> Bornholm, and the shallower <!--del_lnk--> Arkona Basin extends from Bornholm to the Danish isles of <!--del_lnk--> Falster and <!--del_lnk--> Zealand.<p>In the south, the <!--del_lnk--> Bay of Gdańsk lies east of the <!--del_lnk--> Hel peninsula on the Polish coast and west of <!--del_lnk--> Sambia in <!--del_lnk--> Kaliningrad Oblast. The <!--del_lnk--> Bay of Pomerania lies north of the islands of <!--del_lnk--> Usedom and <!--del_lnk--> Wolin, east of <!--del_lnk--> Rügen. Between Falster and the German coast lie the <!--del_lnk--> Bay of Mecklenburg and <!--del_lnk--> Bay of Lübeck. The westernmost part of the Baltic Sea is the <!--del_lnk--> Bay of Kiel. The three <!--del_lnk--> Danish straits, the <!--del_lnk--> Great Belt, the <!--del_lnk--> Little Belt and <!--del_lnk--> The Sound <i>(Öresund)</i>, connect the Baltic Sea with the <!--del_lnk--> Kattegat bay and <!--del_lnk--> Skagerrak strait in the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a>. The confluence of these two seas at <!--del_lnk--> Skagen on the northern tip of <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> is a visual spectacle visited by many tourists each year.<p><a id="Land_use" name="Land_use"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Land use</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:292px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/107/10704.jpg.htm" title="Polish coast dunes."><img alt="Polish coast dunes." height="179" longdesc="/wiki/Image:2_SPN_01.jpg" src="../../images/10/1039.jpg" width="290" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/107/10704.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Polish coast <!--del_lnk--> dunes.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Baltic sea drainage basin is roughly four times the surface area of the sea itself. About 48% of the region is forested, with Sweden and Finland containing the majority of the forest, especially around the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland.<p>About 20% of the land is used for agriculture and pasture, mainly in Poland and around the edge of the Baltic Proper, in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. About 17% of the basin is unused open land with another 8% of wetlands. Most of the latter are in the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland.<p>The rest of the land is heavily populated.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h3>
<p>About 85 million people live in the Baltic drainage basin, 15 million within 10 km of the coast and 29 million within 50 km of the coast. Around 22 million live in population centers of over 250,000 . 90% of these are concentrated in the 10 km band around the coast. Of the nations containing all or part of the basin, Poland includes 45% of the 85 million, Russia 12%, Sweden 10% and the others (see below) less than 6% each.<p><a id="Geologic_history" name="Geologic_history"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geologic history</span></h2>
<p>The Baltic Sea somewhat resembles a <a href="../../wp/r/River.htm" title="River">riverbed</a>, with two tributaries, the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Finland and <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Bothnia. <a href="../../wp/g/Geology.htm" title="Geology">Geological</a> surveys show that there was a river in the area prior to the <!--del_lnk--> Pleistocene: the <!--del_lnk--> Eridanos. Several <!--del_lnk--> glaciation episodes during the <!--del_lnk--> Pleistocene scooped out the river bed into the sea basin. By the time of the last, or <!--del_lnk--> Eemian interglacial (<!--del_lnk--> MIS 5e), the Eemian sea was in place.<p>From that time the waters underwent a geologic history summarized under the names listed below. Many of the stages are named after marine animals (e.g., the <!--del_lnk--> Littorina <!--del_lnk--> mollusk) that are clear markers of changing water temperatures and salinity.<p>The factors that determined the sea’s characteristics were the submergence or emergence of the region due to the weight of ice and subsequent isostatic readjustment, and the connecting channels it found to the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a>-<a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic</a>, either through the straits of <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> or at what are now the large lakes of <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a>, and the <!--del_lnk--> White Sea-<!--del_lnk--> Arctic Sea.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Eemian Sea, 130,000-115,000 BP<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltic ice lake, 12,600-10,300 BP<li><!--del_lnk--> Yoldia Sea, 10,300-9500 BP<li><!--del_lnk--> Ancylus Lake, 9500-8000 BP<li><!--del_lnk--> Mastogloia Sea 8000 BP-7500 BP<li><a href="../../wp/b/Baltic_Sea.htm" title="Littorina Sea">Littorina Sea</a>, 7500-4000 BP<li><!--del_lnk--> Post-littorina Sea 4000 BP-current</ul>
<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>At the time of the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>, the Baltic Sea was known as the <i><!--del_lnk--> Mare Suebicum</i> or <i>Mare Sarmaticum</i>. <!--del_lnk--> Tacitus in his AD <!--del_lnk--> 98 <i>Agricola</i> and <i>Germania</i> described the Mare Suebicum, named for the <!--del_lnk--> Suebi tribe, during the spring months, as a <!--del_lnk--> brackish <a href="../../wp/s/Sea.htm" title="Sea">sea</a> when the ice on the Baltic Sea broke apart and chunks floated about. The Suebi eventually migrated south west to reside for a while in the Rhineland area of modern Germany, where their name survives in the historic region known as <!--del_lnk--> Swabia. The <!--del_lnk--> Sarmatian tribes inhabited Eastern Europe and southern Russia. <!--del_lnk--> Jordanes called it the <i>Germanic Sea</i> in his work the <!--del_lnk--> Getica.<p>Since the <!--del_lnk--> Viking age, the Scandinavians have called it "the Eastern Lake" (<i>Austmarr</i>, "Eastern Sea", appears in the <!--del_lnk--> Heimskringla and <i>Eystra salt</i> appears in <!--del_lnk--> Sörla þáttr), but <!--del_lnk--> Saxo Grammaticus recorded in <!--del_lnk--> Gesta Danorum an older name <i><!--del_lnk--> Gandvik</i>, <i>"-vik"</i> being <!--del_lnk--> Old Norse for "bay", which implies that the Vikings correctly regarded it as an inlet of the sea. (Another form of the name, "Grandvik", attested in at least one English translation of Gesta Danorum, is likely to be a misspelling.)<p>In addition to <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fish</a> the sea also provides <a href="../../wp/a/Amber.htm" title="Amber">amber</a>, especially from its southern shores. The bordering countries have traditionally provided <!--del_lnk--> lumber, <!--del_lnk--> wood tar, <!--del_lnk--> flax, <!--del_lnk--> hemp, and <!--del_lnk--> furs. Sweden had from early medieval times also a flourishing <a href="../../wp/m/Mining.htm" title="Mining">mining</a> industry, especially on <a href="../../wp/i/Iron.htm" title="Iron">iron</a> ore and <a href="../../wp/s/Silver.htm" title="Silver">silver</a>. <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a> had and still has extensive <a href="../../wp/s/Salt.htm" title="Salt">salt</a> mines. All this has provided for rich trading since the Roman times.<p>In the early Middle Ages, <a href="../../wp/v/Viking.htm" title="Vikings">Vikings</a> of Scandinavia fought for control over the sea with <!--del_lnk--> Slavic <!--del_lnk--> Pomeranians. The Vikings used the rivers of Russia for trade routes, finding their way eventually to the <a href="../../wp/b/Black_Sea.htm" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a> and southern Russia.<p>Lands next to the sea's eastern shore were among the last in Europe to be converted into <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> in the <!--del_lnk--> Northern Crusades: <a href="../../wp/f/Finland.htm" title="Finland">Finland</a> in the 12th century by the Swedes, and what are now <a href="../../wp/e/Estonia.htm" title="Estonia">Estonia</a> and <a href="../../wp/l/Latvia.htm" title="Latvia">Latvia</a> in the early 13th century by the Danes and the Germans (<!--del_lnk--> Livonian Brothers of the Sword). The powerful German <!--del_lnk--> Teutonic Knights gained control over most of the southern and eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, while fighting the <!--del_lnk--> Poles, the <!--del_lnk--> Danes, the <!--del_lnk--> Swedes, the <!--del_lnk--> Russians of ancient <!--del_lnk--> Novgorod, and the <!--del_lnk--> Lithuanians (latest of all Europeans to convert to Christianity).<p>Later, the strongest economic force in Northern Europe became the <!--del_lnk--> Hanseatic league, which used the Baltic Sea to establish trade routes between its member cities. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a>, <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a> fought wars for <i>Dominium Maris Baltici</i> (Ruling over the Baltic Sea). Eventually, it was the <!--del_lnk--> Swedish Empire that virtually encompassed the Baltic Sea. In Sweden the sea was then referred to as <i>Mare Nostrum Balticum</i> (Our Baltic Sea).<p>In the 18th century <!--del_lnk--> Russia and <!--del_lnk--> Prussia became the leading powers over the sea. Russia's <a href="../../wp/p/Peter_I_of_Russia.htm" title="Peter I of Russia">Peter the Great</a> saw the strategic importance of the Baltic and decided to found his new capital, <!--del_lnk--> St Petersburg at the mouth of the <!--del_lnk--> Neva river at the east end of the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Finland. There was much trading not just within the Baltic region but also with the North Sea region, especially eastern <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a> and the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>: their fleets needed the Baltic timber, tar, flax and hemp.<p>During the <a href="../../wp/c/Crimean_War.htm" title="Crimean War">Crimean War</a> a joint fleet of <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">Britain</a> and <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> attacked the Russian fortresses by bombarding <!--del_lnk--> Sveaborg, which guards <a href="../../wp/h/Helsinki.htm" title="Helsinki">Helsinki</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Kronstadt, which guards <!--del_lnk--> St Petersburg, and destroying <!--del_lnk--> Bomarsund in the <!--del_lnk--> Åland Islands. After the unification of <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> in <!--del_lnk--> 1871, the whole southern coast became German. The <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">First World War</a> was partly fought in the Baltic Sea. After <!--del_lnk--> 1920 <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a> returned to the Baltic Sea, and the Polish ports of <!--del_lnk--> Gdynia and <!--del_lnk--> Gdańsk became leading ports of the Baltic.<p>During <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">the Second World War</a> Germany reclaimed all of the southern shore and much of the eastern by occupying Poland and the <!--del_lnk--> Baltic states. In <!--del_lnk--> 1945 the Baltic Sea became a mass grave for drowned people on torpedoed <!--del_lnk--> refugee ships. <!--del_lnk--> As of 2004, the sinking of the <!--del_lnk--> Wilhelm Gustloff remains the worst <!--del_lnk--> maritime disaster, killing (very roughly) 9,000 people. In 2005, a Russian group of scientists found over 5,000 airplane wrecks, sunken warships, etc., mainly from <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">the Second World War</a>, lying at the bottom of the sea.<p>After <!--del_lnk--> 1945 the sea was a border between opposing military blocks: in the case of military conflict in Germany, in parallel with a Soviet offensive towards the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a>, communist Poland's fleet was prepared to invade the Danish isles.<p>In May <!--del_lnk--> 2004 the Baltic Sea became almost completely a <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European Union</a> internal sea when the <!--del_lnk--> Baltic states and <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a> became parts of the European Union, leaving only the Russian <!--del_lnk--> metropolis of <!--del_lnk--> St Petersburg and the <!--del_lnk--> exclave of <!--del_lnk--> Kaliningrad Oblast as non-EU areas.<p>The Baltic Sea starts to get very rough with the October storms. These winter storms have been the cause of many shipwrecks, for example, the sinking of the ferry <i><!--del_lnk--> M/S Estonia</i> en route from <!--del_lnk--> Tallinn, Estonia to <a href="../../wp/s/Stockholm.htm" title="Stockholm">Stockholm</a>, Sweden in <!--del_lnk--> 1994, which claimed the lives of hundreds. But thanks to the cold brackish water where the <!--del_lnk--> shipworm cannot survive, the sea is a time capsule for centuries-old shipwrecks. Perhaps the most famous one is the <!--del_lnk--> Vasa.<p><a id="Biology" name="Biology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Biology</span></h2>
<p>Approximately 100,000 square km of the seafloor (¼ of the total area) is a variable dead zone. The more saline (and therefore denser) water remains on the bottom, isolating it from surface waters and the atmosphere. This leads to decreased oxygen concentrations within the zone. It is mainly bacteria that grow in it, digesting organic material and releasing hydrogen sulfide. Because of this large anaerobic zone, the seafloor ecology differs from that of the neighbouring Atlantic.<p>The low salinity of the Baltic sea has led to the evolution of many slightly divergent species, such as the Baltic Sea <!--del_lnk--> herring, which is a smaller variant of the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic</a> herring. The <!--del_lnk--> benthic fauna consists mainly of <i><!--del_lnk--> Monoporeia affinis</i>, which is originally a freshwater species. The lack of <!--del_lnk--> tides has affected the marine species as compared with the Atlantic.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<p>Construction of the <!--del_lnk--> Great Belt Bridge (<!--del_lnk--> 1997) and <!--del_lnk--> Oresund Bridge (<!--del_lnk--> 1999) over the <!--del_lnk--> international waterway of the <!--del_lnk--> Danish Straits has limited the Baltic Sea to medium-sized vessels. The Baltic Sea is the main trade route for export of Russian oil. Many of the neighboring countries are concerned about this, since a major oil leak would be disastrous in the Baltic given the slow exchange of water and the many unique species. The tourism industries, especially in economies dependent on tourism like northeastern Germany, are naturally very concerned.<p>Shipbuilding is practiced in many large shipyards around the Baltic: <!--del_lnk--> Gdańsk, <!--del_lnk--> Szczecin in Poland, <!--del_lnk--> HDW in <!--del_lnk--> Kiel, Germany, <!--del_lnk--> Karlskrona and <!--del_lnk--> Kockums in <!--del_lnk--> Malmö, Sweden, and <!--del_lnk--> Rauma, <!--del_lnk--> Turku, <a href="../../wp/h/Helsinki.htm" title="Helsinki">Helsinki</a> in Finland, <!--del_lnk--> Rīga, <!--del_lnk--> Liepāja in Latvia and <!--del_lnk--> Klaipėda in Lithuania.<p>There are several cargo and passenger <!--del_lnk--> ferry operators on the Baltic Sea, such as <!--del_lnk--> Silja Line, <!--del_lnk--> Polferries, <!--del_lnk--> Viking Line, <!--del_lnk--> Tallink and <!--del_lnk--> Superfast Ferries.<p><a id="Countries" name="Countries"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Countries</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Countries that border on the sea:<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a><li><a href="../../wp/e/Estonia.htm" title="Estonia">Estonia</a><li><a href="../../wp/f/Finland.htm" title="Finland">Finland</a><li><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a><li><a href="../../wp/l/Latvia.htm" title="Latvia">Latvia</a><li><a href="../../wp/l/Lithuania.htm" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a><li><a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a><li><a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a><li><a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a></ul>
<p>Countries that are in the drainage basin but do not border on the sea:<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/b/Belarus.htm" title="Belarus">Belarus</a><li><a href="../../wp/c/Czech_Republic.htm" title="Czech Republic">Czech Republic</a><li><a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a><li><a href="../../wp/s/Slovakia.htm" title="Slovakia">Slovakia</a><li><a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a></ul>
<p><a id="Islands_and_Archipelagoes" name="Islands_and_Archipelagoes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Islands and Archipelagoes</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Åland Islands (<a href="../../wp/f/Finland.htm" title="Finland">Finland</a>, <!--del_lnk--> autonomous)<li><!--del_lnk--> Archipelago Sea (<a href="../../wp/f/Finland.htm" title="Finland">Finland</a>) <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Pargas<li><!--del_lnk--> Nagu<li><!--del_lnk--> Korpo<li><!--del_lnk--> Houtskär<li><!--del_lnk--> Kustavi</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Bornholm (<a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Gotland (<a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Hailuoto (<a href="../../wp/f/Finland.htm" title="Finland">Finland</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Hiiumaa (<a href="../../wp/e/Estonia.htm" title="Estonia">Estonia</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Kotlin (<a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Muhu (<a href="../../wp/e/Estonia.htm" title="Estonia">Estonia</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Öland (<a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Rügen (<a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Saaremaa (<a href="../../wp/e/Estonia.htm" title="Estonia">Estonia</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Stockholm archipelago (<a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a>) <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Värmdön (<a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a>)</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Usedom or Uznam (split between <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Valassaaret (<a href="../../wp/f/Finland.htm" title="Finland">Finland</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> Wolin (<a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a>)</ul>
<p><a id="Cities" name="Cities"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cities</span></h2>
<p>The biggest coastal cities:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> St Petersburg (Russia) 4,700,000<li><a href="../../wp/s/Stockholm.htm" title="Stockholm">Stockholm</a> (Sweden) 774,411 (metropolitan area 1,729,274)<li><!--del_lnk--> Riga (Latvia) 760,000<li><a href="../../wp/h/Helsinki.htm" title="Helsinki">Helsinki</a> (Finland) 559,716 (metropolitan area 1,200,000)<li><a href="../../wp/c/Copenhagen.htm" title="Copenhagen">Copenhagen</a> (Denmark) 502,204 (metropolitan area 1,823,109) (facing the <!--del_lnk--> Sound)<li><!--del_lnk--> Gdańsk (Poland) 462,700 (<!--del_lnk--> metropolitan area 1,041,000)<li><!--del_lnk--> Szczecin (Poland) 413,600<li><!--del_lnk--> Tallinn (Estonia) 401,774<li><!--del_lnk--> Kaliningrad (Russia) 400,000<li><!--del_lnk--> Malmö (Sweden) 259,579 (facing the <!--del_lnk--> Sound)<li><!--del_lnk--> Gdynia (Poland) 255,600<li><!--del_lnk--> Kiel (Germany) 250,000<li><!--del_lnk--> Lübeck (Germany) 216,100<li><!--del_lnk--> Rostock (Germany) 212,700<li><!--del_lnk--> Klaipėda (Lithuania) 194,400<li><!--del_lnk--> Turku (Finland) 175,000</ul>
<p>Important ports (though not big cities):<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Kotka (Finland) 55,000<li><!--del_lnk--> Świnoujście (Poland) 50,000<li><!--del_lnk--> Ventspils (Latvia) 44,000<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltiysk (Russia) 20,000<li><!--del_lnk--> Puck (Poland) 15,000<li><!--del_lnk--> Hanko (Finland) 10,000</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Ports of the Baltic Sea</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Sea"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Denmark', 'North Sea', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'Latin', 'Mediterranean', 'Amber', 'History of Greece', 'Roman Empire', 'Dutch language', 'German language', 'English language', 'Latin', 'French language', 'Portuguese language', 'Spanish language', 'Denmark', 'Sweden', 'Arctic', 'North Sea', 'North Sea', 'North Sea', 'Oxygen', 'Saint Petersburg', 'Latvia', 'Estonia', 'Stockholm', 'North Sea', 'Denmark', 'River', 'Geology', 'North Sea', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'Denmark', 'Sweden', 'Littorina Sea', 'Roman Empire', 'Sea', 'Fish', 'Amber', 'Mining', 'Iron', 'Silver', 'Poland', 'Salt', 'Vikings', 'Black Sea', 'Christianity', 'Finland', 'Estonia', 'Latvia', 'Poland', 'Denmark', 'Sweden', 'Peter I of Russia', 'England', 'Netherlands', 'Crimean War', 'United Kingdom', 'France', 'Helsinki', 'Germany', 'World War I', 'Poland', 'World War II', 'World War II', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'European Union', 'Poland', 'Stockholm', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'Helsinki', 'Denmark', 'Estonia', 'Finland', 'Germany', 'Latvia', 'Lithuania', 'Poland', 'Russia', 'Sweden', 'Belarus', 'Czech Republic', 'Norway', 'Slovakia', 'Ukraine', 'Finland', 'Finland', 'Denmark', 'Sweden', 'Finland', 'Estonia', 'Russia', 'Estonia', 'Sweden', 'Germany', 'Estonia', 'Sweden', 'Sweden', 'Germany', 'Poland', 'Finland', 'Poland', 'Stockholm', 'Helsinki', 'Copenhagen']
|
Baltimore,_Maryland
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Baltimore, Maryland,USLargestCities,USLargestCities,10 Inner Harbor,12 Monkeys,1729,1774,1775,1776,1777,1781" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Baltimore, Maryland</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Baltimore,_Maryland";
var wgTitle = "Baltimore, Maryland";
var wgArticleId = 36582;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Baltimore_Maryland">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Baltimore, Maryland</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.North_American_Geography.htm">North American Geography</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox geography" style="width: 23em;">
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="width:100%; font-size: 1.25em;"><b>Baltimore, Maryland</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; padding: 0.7em 0.8em 0.7em 0.8em;;">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/234/23476.jpg.htm" title="A view of the Baltimore skyline from above."><img alt="A view of the Baltimore skyline from above." height="166" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baltimorehab.jpg" src="../../images/234/23476.jpg" width="250" /></a></span></div><small>A view of the Baltimore skyline from above.</small></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<td align="center" class="maptable" colspan="2" style="padding: 0.4em 0.8em 0.4em 0.8em;">
<table style="width: 100%; background: none; text-align: center;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: middle;">
<center><span style="display: inline;"><span style="display: table-cell; border-collapse: collapse; border: solid 1px #ddd;"><a class="image" href="../../images/234/23477.gif.htm" title="Official flag of Baltimore, Maryland"><img alt="Official flag of Baltimore, Maryland" height="83" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baltimore.gif" src="../../images/234/23477.gif" width="125" /></a></span></span></center>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: middle;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Official seal of Baltimore, Maryland" height="131" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Seal_of_Baltimore.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="100" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><small><b><!--del_lnk--> Flag</b></small></td>
<td><small><b><!--del_lnk--> Seal</b></small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td align="center" colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Nickname: "<i>Monument City</i>", "<i>Charm City</i>", "<i>Mob Town</i>", "<i>B-more</i>", "<i>Balmerr''</i>"</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td align="center" colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Motto: "The Greatest City in America" (formerly "<i>The City That Reads</i>"; "Get In On It" is not the city's motto, but rather the advertising slogan of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association"; <i>BELIEVE</i>" is not the official motto but rather a specific campaign)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; padding: 0.7em 0.8em 0.7em 0.8em;">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/234/23479.png.htm" title="Location of Baltimore in Maryland"><img alt="Location of Baltimore in Maryland" height="131" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Map_of_Maryland_highlighting_Baltimore_City.svg" src="../../images/234/23479.png" width="250" /></a></span></div><small>Location of Baltimore in <!--del_lnk--> Maryland</small></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: smaller; padding-bottom: 0.7em;">Coordinates: <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> <span style="white-space:nowrap">39°17′11″N,</span> <span style="white-space:nowrap">76°36′54″W</span></span></th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Country</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> State</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Maryland</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> County</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Independent City</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Founded</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1729</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Incorporated</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1797</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Mayor</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Martin J. O'Malley (<!--del_lnk--> D)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
<th> </th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - City</th>
<td>238.5 <!--del_lnk--> km² (92.1 <!--del_lnk--> sq mi)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - Land</th>
<td>209.3 km² (80.8 sq mi)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - Water</th>
<td>29.2 km² (11.3 sq mi)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Elevation</th>
<td>10 <!--del_lnk--> m (33 <!--del_lnk--> ft)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th>Population</th>
<th> </th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - City (2005)</th>
<td>641,943</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</th>
<td>3,039/km²</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Urban</th>
<td>2,178,000</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th> - <!--del_lnk--> Metro</th>
<td>2,639,213</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> EST (<!--del_lnk--> UTC-5)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"> - Summer (<!--del_lnk--> DST)</span></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> EDT (<!--del_lnk--> UTC-4)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2"><b>Website:</b> <!--del_lnk--> www.baltimorecity.gov</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Baltimore</b> is an <!--del_lnk--> independent city located in the <a href="../../wp/u/U.S._state.htm" title="U.S. state">U.S. state</a> of <!--del_lnk--> Maryland on the eastern coast of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States of America">United States of America</a>. As of 2005, the <!--del_lnk--> population of Baltimore City was 641,943 and the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore-Towson metropolitan area has approximately 2.6 million residents . Baltimore is the largest city in <!--del_lnk--> Maryland and serves as the state's major cultural and industrial centre.<p>The city is named after the founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony, <!--del_lnk--> Lord Baltimore in the <!--del_lnk--> Irish House of Lords. Baltimore became the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> during the 1800s. The city is a major U.S. <!--del_lnk--> seaport, situated closer to major midwestern markets than any other major seaport on the East Coast.<p>Because there is also a <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore County surrounding (but not including) the city, it is sometimes referred to as <b>Baltimore City</b> when a clear distinction is desired.<p>People from Baltimore are known as "Baltimoreans."<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>During the 17th century, various towns called "Baltimore" were founded as commercial ports at various locations on the upper <!--del_lnk--> Chesapeake Bay. The present city dates from <!--del_lnk--> July 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1729, and is named after <!--del_lnk--> Lord Baltimore, who was the first <!--del_lnk--> Proprietary Governor of the <!--del_lnk--> Province of Maryland. Baltimore grew swiftly in the mid- to late 18th century as the granary for <a href="../../wp/s/Sugar.htm" title="Sugar">sugar</a>-producing <!--del_lnk--> colonies in the <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean. The profit from sugar encouraged the maximum possible cultivation of cane and the importation of food. The relatively shorter distance between Baltimore and the Caribbean colonies allowed swift <a href="../../wp/t/Transport.htm" title="Transport">transport</a> and minimized the spoilage of <!--del_lnk--> flour.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23480.jpg.htm" title="Battle Monument with Washington Monument in background"><img alt="Battle Monument with Washington Monument in background" height="308" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Balt._Battle_Monument_1a.jpg" src="../../images/234/23480.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23480.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Battle Monument with Washington Monument in background</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>One of Baltimore's greatest moments occurred during the <!--del_lnk--> War of 1812 with the British, who had declared Baltimore "A nest of Pirates." Baltimore's <!--del_lnk--> Fort McHenry came under attack by <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> forces near the <!--del_lnk--> harbour after the British had <!--del_lnk--> burned Washington, D.C. Known today as the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Baltimore, American forces won the decisive battles by repulsing a joint land and naval attack by the British forces. They fought to a stalemate at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of North Point after killing the British commander General Ross. British reinforcements were not possible after the British Navy was repulsed by the defenders of the fort, and all forces then withdrew. It was the naval engagement that inspired <!--del_lnk--> Francis Scott Key to write the <a href="../../wp/p/Poetry.htm" title="Poem">poem</a> "<!--del_lnk--> The Star-Spangled Banner," the lyrics to the United States' <!--del_lnk--> national anthem. The battle was memorialized in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle Monument which is on the city seal.<p>On an 1827 visit to the city <!--del_lnk--> John Quincy Adams nicknamed it "Monument City."<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23481.jpg.htm" title="Baltimore harbor in 1849 with the prominent Washington monument in the background North of the city"><img alt="Baltimore harbor in 1849 with the prominent Washington monument in the background North of the city" height="208" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Washington_Monument%2C_1849%2C_from_Federal_Hill_1a.jpg" src="../../images/234/23481.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23481.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Baltimore harbour in 1849 with the prominent <!--del_lnk--> Washington monument in the background North of the city</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Baltimore is also the site of the first architectural <!--del_lnk--> monument honoring George Washington, a 178-foot Doric column erected in 1829 and designed by <!--del_lnk--> Robert Mills, who later designed the <!--del_lnk--> Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.<p>Baltimore became an independent city in 1851, being detached from <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore County at that time.<p>Prior to the Civil War, Maryland was a slave-holding state. During the <a href="../../wp/a/American_Civil_War.htm" title="American Civil War">Civil War</a>, Maryland was officially part of the <!--del_lnk--> Union, but kept slavery legal. Pro-Southern sentiment led to the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore riot of 1861, when Union soldiers marched through the city. After the riot, Union troops occupied Baltimore, and Maryland came under direct federal administration — in part, to prevent the state from seceding — until the end of the war in April 1865. This was considered a necessary move by the Union to prevent <a href="../../wp/w/Washington%252C_D.C..htm" title="Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a>, from being completely surrounded by seceded Confederate territory. The case <i><!--del_lnk--> Ex parte Merryman</i>, written by Supreme Court Chief Justice <!--del_lnk--> Roger Taney (himself a Marylander), dealt with the <!--del_lnk--> habeas corpus rights of Marylanders jailed by the <a href="../../wp/a/Abraham_Lincoln.htm" title="Abraham Lincoln">Abraham Lincoln</a> Administration and strongly rebuked Lincoln for his actions.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Great Baltimore Fire on <!--del_lnk--> February 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1904, destroyed over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours and forced most of the city to rebuild. Immediately afterward, Mayor <!--del_lnk--> Robert McLane was quoted in the Baltimore News as saying, "To suppose that the spirit of our people will not rise to the occasion is to suppose that our people are not genuine Americans. We shall make the fire of 1904 a landmark not of decline but of progress." He then refused assistance, stating "As head of this municipality, I cannot help but feel gratified by the sympathy and the offers of practical assistance which have been tendered to us. To them I have in general terms replied, 'Baltimore will take care of its own, thank you.'" (McLane committed suicide on <!--del_lnk--> May 30.) Two years later, on <!--del_lnk--> September 10, <!--del_lnk--> 1906, the Baltimore-American reported that the city had risen from the ashes and "one of the great disasters of modern time had been converted into a blessing."<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23482.jpg.htm" title="Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, looking West from Pratt and Gay Streets."><img alt="Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, looking West from Pratt and Gay Streets." height="172" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Balt._Fire_1904_-_West_from_Pratt_and_Gay_Streets_3a.jpg" src="../../images/234/23482.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23482.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, looking West from Pratt and <!--del_lnk--> Gay Streets.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23483.jpg.htm" title="Same view in 1906, 2 years after the fire"><img alt="Same view in 1906, 2 years after the fire" height="187" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Balt._Fire_1904_-_West_from_Pratt_and_Gay_Streets_1906%2C_2_years_later_a.jpg" src="../../images/234/23483.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23483.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Same view in 1906, 2 years after the fire</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Baltimore is the location of the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore World Trade Centre, the world's tallest equilateral five-sided building (the five-sided <!--del_lnk--> JPMorganChase Tower in <a href="../../wp/h/Houston%252C_Texas.htm" title="Houston, Texas">Houston, Texas</a> is taller but has unequal sides).<p>Baltimore is also the location of <!--del_lnk--> Pimlico Race Course, the home of the <!--del_lnk--> Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the <!--del_lnk--> Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. The Preakness has been run since 1873.<p>Baltimore's population peaked at 949,708 in the 1950 Census, which ranked it as the sixth-largest city in the country, behind <a href="../../wp/d/Detroit%252C_Michigan.htm" title="Detroit, Michigan">Detroit</a>, and ahead of <a href="../../wp/c/Cleveland%252C_Ohio.htm" title="Cleveland, Ohio">Cleveland</a>. For the next five decades, the city's population declined while its suburbs grew dramatically, bottoming out in 2000 at 636,251. In the 21st century, the city's population has stabilized and is once again rising, mostly due to revitalization efforts in many city neighborhoods.<p>In 1955 <!--del_lnk--> Flag House Courts, a public housing project made up of 3 12-story buildings, was built. The buildings were eventually demolished in 2001.<p>In recent years, efforts to redevelop the downtown area have led to a revitalization of the Inner Harbour. In 1979 the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Convention Centre was opened and was subsequently renovated and expanded in 1996. <!--del_lnk--> Harborplace, a modern urban retail and restaurant complex, was opened on the waterfront in 1980, followed by the <!--del_lnk--> National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland's largest tourist destination, and another cultural venue, the Baltimore Museum of Industry in 1981. In 1992, the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Orioles of <!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball moved from <!--del_lnk--> Memorial Stadium to <!--del_lnk--> Oriole Park at Camden Yards downtown, and six years later the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Ravens of the <!--del_lnk--> National Football League moved next door into PSINet Stadium (later renamed <!--del_lnk--> M&T Bank Stadium following <!--del_lnk--> PSINet's bankruptcy).<p>On <!--del_lnk--> October 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1996, Baltimore became the first city in the United States to adopt <!--del_lnk--> 311 as a non-emergency "hot line" telephone number, in order to reserve the use of <!--del_lnk--> 911 for genuine emergencies. The concept has been highly successful, and numerous other American municipalities have since implemented the practice.<p>A <!--del_lnk--> 60-car train derailment occurred in a <!--del_lnk--> tunnel in Baltimore on <!--del_lnk--> July 18, <!--del_lnk--> 2001. The derailment sparked a chemical fire that raged for six days and virtually shut down the downtown area until the heat caused a water main to rupture, largely extinguishing the fire but also causing significant flooding in the streets above. Three weeks later, manhole covers flew into the air as underground explosions along West Pratt Street followed due to residual explosive chemicals from the fire left in the sewers.<p>In 2003, the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Development Corporation announced that three hotel projects were being reviewed. As of September 2006, the 756-room, $305 million <!--del_lnk--> Hilton hotel project is currently under construction west of the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Convention Centre. The City of Baltimore hopes to have it finished and opened by August 2008. (See <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Convention Centre Hotel Project for more details regarding the convention centre hotel.)<p>Also in 2003, Baltimore was affected by <!--del_lnk--> Hurricane Isabel from flooding as a result of <!--del_lnk--> tidal surge, affecting primarily the <!--del_lnk--> Fells Point community and the <!--del_lnk--> Inner Harbour and surrounding low areas. Many places were flooded, including the sports centre <!--del_lnk--> ESPN Zone, the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore World Trade Centre (which remained closed for approximately a month during cleanup efforts), and most of the Inner Harbour. Water levels rose some 20 feet in areas, flooding underground parking garages and displacing thousands of cubic yards of trash and debris.<p>Beginning in the early part of the 21st century, Baltimore has undergone a major building spree in the downtown area, specifically in the Inner Harbour East district. The skyline has extended further outward and upward,and will continue to do so well into the next decade. <!--del_lnk--> ARC Wheeler, a <a href="../../wp/p/Philadelphia.htm" title="Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a>-based developer has been approved to build a new hotel/condominium complex that will be the city's new tallest building, dubbed "<!--del_lnk--> 10 Inner Harbour," initially approved at 59 stories and 717ft tall, but rumored to be in the process of being redesigned to be even taller. Other proposals for downtown skyscrapers are twin 65-story towers at sites on E. Saratoga Street and Guilford Avenue, an 800ft.+ tower and complex located on the banks of the <!--del_lnk--> Patapsco River's middle branch area, and a 40-story condo and hotel tower at 300 E. Pratt Street.<p><a id="Law_and_government" name="Law_and_government"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Law and government</span></h2>
<p>Baltimore is an <!--del_lnk--> independent city — not part of any <!--del_lnk--> county. For most governmental purposes under Maryland law, Baltimore City is treated as a "county"-level entity. The <!--del_lnk--> United States Census Bureau uses counties as the basic unit for presentation of statistical information in the United States, and treats Baltimore as a county equivalent for those purposes.<p>Baltimore has been a <!--del_lnk--> Democratic stronghold for over 150 years, with Democrats dominating every level of government.<p><a id="Mayor" name="Mayor"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Mayor</span></h3>
<p>In November of 2006, Mayor <!--del_lnk--> Martin O'Malley won <!--del_lnk--> the Maryland gubernatorial election and will become <!--del_lnk--> Governor in January of 2007. At that time, <!--del_lnk--> Sheila Dixon, president of the Baltimore city council, will become mayor and serve out the remaining year of O'Malley's term, becoming the city's first female mayor. Dixon says that she intends to run for a full term in <!--del_lnk--> the 2007 election, but many other prominent city political figures are also interested in entering the race <!--del_lnk--> .<p><a id="Baltimore_City_Council" name="Baltimore_City_Council"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Baltimore City Council</span></h3>
<p>Grassroots pressure for reform, voiced as <!--del_lnk--> Question P, restructured the city council in November of 2002, against the will of the mayor, the council president, and the majority of the council. A coalition of union and community groups, organized by <!--del_lnk--> ACORN, backed the effort.<p>The Baltimore city council is now made up of 14 single member districts and one elected at-large council president. Sheila Dixon is the current council president. On November 2, 2004, Dixon won re-election in a two-way contest; Joan Floyd, a <!--del_lnk--> Green Party candidate, was the only challenger; the Republicans did not field a candidate.<p><a id="State_Government" name="State_Government"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">State Government</span></h3>
<p>Baltimore and its suburbs were long underrepresented in the <!--del_lnk--> Maryland General Assembly, while rural areas were heavily overrepresented. Since <i><!--del_lnk--> Baker v. Carr</i> in 1969, the Baltimore suburbs account for a substantial majority of seats in the state legislature.<p>Baltimore dominated Maryland state politics prior to 1969, however; even today, most of the states' highest elected officials come from the Baltimore area.<p><a id="Federal_Government" name="Federal_Government"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Federal Government</span></h3>
<p>There are no Congressional <!--del_lnk--> congressional districts that lie entirely inside Baltimore. Three lie partly in the city — the 2nd, represented by <!--del_lnk--> Dutch Ruppersberger; the 3rd, represented by <!--del_lnk--> Ben Cardin; and the 7th, represented by <!--del_lnk--> Elijah Cummings. All three are Democrats; a <!--del_lnk--> Republican has not represented a significant portion of Baltimore in decades, and has not represented any of Baltimore since 2002.<p>Both of Maryland's <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_Senate.htm" title="United States Senate">Senators</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Paul Sarbanes and <!--del_lnk--> Barbara Mikulski, are from Baltimore. Sarbanes is retiring at the end of the current Congressional session and will be succeeded by Cardin. Cardin's former seat in the House of Representatives was won by <!--del_lnk--> John Sarbanes, the son of the retiring Senator.<p><a id="Crime" name="Crime"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Crime</span></h3>
<p>City Crime Rankings (12th Edition) ranks Baltimore second only to <!--del_lnk--> Detroit among the most dangerous American cities over 500,000 in population. According to crime statistics there were 269 <!--del_lnk--> murders in Baltimore in 2005, giving it the highest murder rate per 100,000 of all U.S. cities of 250,000 or more population. <!--del_lnk--> Though this is significantly lower than the record-high 353 murders in 1993, the murder rate in Baltimore is nearly seven times the national rate, six times the rate of <a href="../../wp/n/New_York_City.htm" title="New York City">New York City</a>, and three times the rate of <a href="../../wp/l/Los_Angeles%252C_California.htm" title="Los Angeles, California">Los Angeles</a>. In addition, other categories of crime in Baltimore have also been declining, although overall crime rates are still high compared to the national average. The rate of forcible rapes has fallen below the national average in recent years; however, Baltimore still has much higher-than-average rates of aggravated <!--del_lnk--> assault, <!--del_lnk--> burglary, <!--del_lnk--> robbery, and <!--del_lnk--> theft and a local news survey, though unscientific, recorded that over 75% of respondents felt that Baltimore City is no safer.<p>Though the crime situation in Baltimore is considered one of the worst in the nation, city officials have pointed out that most violent crimes, particularly murders, are committed by people who know their victims and who are often associated with the <!--del_lnk--> illegal drug trade.<p>City officials have, however, come under scrutiny from Maryland legislators regarding the veracity of crime statistics reported by the Baltimore City Police Department. For 2003 the FBI identified irregularities in the number of rapes reported, which was confirmed by the Mayor. 2005's murder numbers appear to exhibit discrepancies as well The former Commissioner of Police states upon interview that the administration suppressed corrections of its reported crime. However, many of these charges seem to be, at least partially, politically motivated. Nonetheless, experts indicate that the city's reporting practices should raise eyebrows and call for an independent audit, with which the administration has not cooperated, despite requests from members of City Council and the City's auditor. While racial disparities in arrest and incarceration rates exist in Baltimore, both young white and black men in the city are arrested and incarcerated at relatively high rates. Fifty-two percent of black males in their 20s are either in prison, in jail, or under correctional supervision. Of the roughly 100,000 arrests each year in this city of 635,000, about a quarter do not merit charging and another quarter do not merit prosecution. The ACLU has filed a suit in respect of systematic civil rights abuses by the current administration.<p>Criminal intimidation has also been reported as a problem in the city. In an infamous case, community activist <!--del_lnk--> Angela Dawson and her family were murdered by firebomb in their Baltimore home on <!--del_lnk--> October 16, <!--del_lnk--> 2002, in retaliation for Dawson's reporting of criminal activity. In a separate incident, another public safety activist, Edna McAbier, was also targeted. Though she survived, she has fled her neighbourhood, where she cannot be protected by city police. In 2005, 3 men were sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in the latter case. One of these men had appeared in the infamous video <i><!--del_lnk--> Stop Snitchin',</i> a homemade DVD produced by local drug dealers threatening fellow dealers who failed to adhere to a street based code of ethics and became informants.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23484.jpg.htm" title="Blue Crabs"><img alt="Blue Crabs" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Blue_crab_on_market_in_Piraeus_-_Callinectes_sapidus_Rathbun_20020819-317.jpg" src="../../images/234/23484.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23484.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Blue Crabs</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The city's geography and history as a working class port town has given it a very distinctive social flavor. The most prominent example is the city's association with <!--del_lnk--> blue crabs. The <!--del_lnk--> Chesapeake Bay for years was the <!--del_lnk--> East Coast's main source of blue crabs, and Baltimore became the central hub of the crab industry. In the tourist district (between <!--del_lnk--> Harborplace and <!--del_lnk--> Fells Point), it is almost impossible to find a shop or restaurant that does not serve crabs or <!--del_lnk--> crabcakes, or sell some sort of crab related merchandise. Maryland's distinctive way of eating crabs is often not understood by outsiders. Traditionally, crabs are steamed in rock salt and <!--del_lnk--> Old Bay Seasoning, a favored local all-spice manufactured in Baltimore for decades. They are eaten on tables spread with newspaper with the use of only a wooden mallet, a knife, and one's hands. Cold <a href="../../wp/b/Beer.htm" title="Beer">beer</a> is also said to be a must.<p>Another popular Baltimore food item is the "chicken box". A chicken box is an inexpensive meal consisting of 4 or 5 <!--del_lnk--> fried chicken pieces served in a <!--del_lnk--> fast food <!--del_lnk--> carry out box with some kind of <!--del_lnk--> starch as a side (e.g. mashed potatoes, fries, rice, but usually biscuits). The item is chiefly sold at independent <!--del_lnk--> fried chicken shops and <!--del_lnk--> delis in the city. Chicken boxes are usually enjoyed with "Half and Half", a drink combining iced tea and lemonade — referred to elsewhere in the U.S. as an "<!--del_lnk--> Arnold Palmer".<p><a id="Baltimore_Club_Music" name="Baltimore_Club_Music"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Baltimore Club Music</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Club or Baltimore House is a recent musical movement that started in the late eighties in the clubs of Baltimore City. The earliest masters of this style were DJ Technics, the Dew Doo Kids, and Rod Lee, it is a fast pace style combining hip hop, house, and techno music together. The songs will sample hooks and repeat them over beats going as fast as 140 beats per minute. It has gained enough popularity to spring artist like D.O.G., the Bossman, and Young Leek to major deals with <!--del_lnk--> Universal, So So Def, and <!--del_lnk--> Roc-a-fella. The recent stars of this music movement are DJ <!--del_lnk--> K Swift and DJ Blackstarr. Though club music is a DJ led movement, recently Rap stars have taken over the scene and created a new sub-genre of rap, the stars are the aforementioned D.O.G. and Young Leek, also A-MAZ-ON, Tae Eazy, Deuce Tre Deuce, Prince, and <!--del_lnk--> Penny X. This movement has become so huge that it has been recognized by <!--del_lnk--> MTV as the next big movement and has been hailed as Next Up by <!--del_lnk--> Vibe.<p><a id="Natty_Boh" name="Natty_Boh"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Natty Boh</span></h3>
<p>The city's favored local <a href="../../wp/b/Beer.htm" title="Beer">beer</a> has traditionally been <!--del_lnk--> National Bohemian, or, as residents refer to it, <i>Natty Boh</i>. In some areas of Baltimore, locals call it "National." The beer and its one time mascot, Mr. Boh, are considered indelible parts of Baltimore culture. Though it is said that few truly enjoy the drink, the historically low price and association with the city make it a local favorite. The National Brewing Company was also the "inventor" of <!--del_lnk--> Colt 45 malt liquor in 1963. Natty Boh was also the long-time beer of choice for Orioles and Colts fans at Memorial Stadium. After the Orioles moved from Memorial Stadium in 1991, Natty Boh was no longer available to fans at Baltimore sporting events. However, for the 2006 Orioles season, "Boh is Back" and is being served throughout Oriole Park. <a id="The_Block" name="The_Block"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Block</span></h3>
<p>Residents are often proud of Baltimore's old-fashioned and often seedy characteristics. One of the more famous seedy spots in the city is <!--del_lnk--> The Block, a stretch of district along Baltimore Street between South Street and Gay Street. Since the late 19th century, the location has variously been home to <!--del_lnk--> burlesque shows, <!--del_lnk--> nightclubs, <!--del_lnk--> strip clubs, <!--del_lnk--> pornography shops, and <!--del_lnk--> prostitution.<p>Though the presence of <!--del_lnk--> BPD Headquarters at one end of the district has cut down on many illegal activities, the <!--del_lnk--> adult entertainment has continued and the area is still popular for city nightlife.<p><a id="Rowhouses" name="Rowhouses"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Rowhouses</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:177px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23486.jpg.htm" title="Simple rowhouses like these in Locust Point make up much of Baltimore's housing stock."><img alt="Simple rowhouses like these in Locust Point make up much of Baltimore's housing stock." height="233" longdesc="/wiki/Image:100_0509.jpg" src="../../images/234/23486.jpg" width="175" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23486.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Simple rowhouses like these in <!--del_lnk--> Locust Point make up much of Baltimore's housing stock.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Baltimore is noted for its near-omnipresent <!--del_lnk--> rowhouses. Rowhouses have been a feature of Baltimore architecture since the 1790s, with early examples of the style still standing in the <!--del_lnk--> Federal Hill and <!--del_lnk--> Fells Point neighborhoods. Older houses may retain some of their original features, such as marble doorsteps, widely considered to be Baltimore icons in themselves. Later rowhouses dating from the 1800s-1900s can be found in <!--del_lnk--> Union Square and throughout the city in various states of repair. They are a popular renovation property in neighborhoods that are undergoing <!--del_lnk--> urban renewal, although the practice is viewed warily by some as a harbinger of "<!--del_lnk--> yuppification." Elsewhere in the city, rowhouses can be found abandoned, boarded-up, and reflective of Baltimore's <!--del_lnk--> inner-city blight.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23487.jpg.htm" title="Some more upscale rowhouses, like these in Charles Village, have complete porches instead of stoops"><img alt="Some more upscale rowhouses, like these in Charles Village, have complete porches instead of stoops" height="263" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Guilford.jpg" src="../../images/234/23487.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23487.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Some more upscale rowhouses, like these in <!--del_lnk--> Charles Village, have complete porches instead of stoops</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Marble_Steps" name="Marble_Steps"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Marble Steps</span></h3>
<p>Marble steps found along the streets of Baltimore are as much a part of the city's culture as crabs and baseball games. The use of marble for steps is due to the presence of high quality white marble in <!--del_lnk--> Cockeysville, a town 17 miles north of Baltimore harbour by highway. Indeed, the marble found there is so attractive, stone was hauled all the way from this northern Maryland town to the nation’s new capital, instead of local Potomac marble quarries, for use in decorative construction around Washington, D.C., including the <!--del_lnk--> Washington Monument, and 108 columns of the capitol building. During the construction phase of the Washington Monument, that is through the middle of the 19th century, the marble gained in popularity as a decorative stone and was used omnipresently for the steps of rowhouses surrounding Baltimore harbour and in Fells Point. Baltimoreans take pride in the fact that their mundane doorsteps are made from the same beautiful white marble used for the construction of the famous Washington Monument. Scrubbing marble steps has become a tradition in Baltimore. The ritual includes scrubbing the marble with Bon Ami powder and pumice stone.<p><a id="Hons" name="Hons"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Hons</span></h3>
<p>Perhaps the most intriguing part of Baltimore's culture are the people themselves. Though nowadays the city is extremely culturally diverse, the lasting image of Baltimoreans seems to be the "Hon" culture exemplified most markedly by the longer established families and residents of the <!--del_lnk--> Highlandtown, <!--del_lnk--> Canton, <!--del_lnk--> Locust Point and <!--del_lnk--> Hampden neighborhoods. Between the 1950s and <!--del_lnk--> 70s, it wasn't uncommon to see working class local women dressing in bright, printed dresses with out-dated glasses and <!--del_lnk--> beehive hairdos. Men were often dressed casually, but with a general factory or dock worker look, as many in town did indeed have such jobs.<p>The name of the culture comes from the often parodied <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore accent and slang. "Hon" was a common informal name for someone else, properly pronounced "hohn", with emphasis on the vowel. Baltimore’s accent exemplifies a <!--del_lnk--> dialectal continuum between <!--del_lnk--> Tidewater American English and <!--del_lnk--> Delaware Valley American English, loosely possessing the vowel shifts of the former and general pronunciation of the latter. For instance, "Baltimore" is pronounced "Bawlamer" or even "Balmer," and "Maryland" becomes "Murland" or "Murlan." Other common pronunciations include "ool," "amblance," "wooder," "warsh," "sharr, or shaow" "dug," "tew" (<i>oil</i>, <i>ambulance</i>, <i>water</i>, <i>wash</i>, <i>shower</i>, <i>dog</i>, and <i>two</i>, respectively).<p><!--del_lnk--> John Waters parodies the Hon culture, as well as Baltimore itself, extensively in his movies. For a somewhat accurate representation of <!--del_lnk--> Baltimorese, one can look to Waters' narration spots in his 1972 movie <i><!--del_lnk--> Pink Flamingos</i>. Waters himself used a local commercial for <i>Mr Ray's Hair Weaves</i> as his main inspiration. The commercial was famous around town for Mr. Ray's extreme Baltimore accent. "Cawl todaey, for your freee hame showink..." was the most memorable line from that commercial, translating as "Call today, or for your free home showing..."<p>Some Baltimoreans believe that "Hon" has racist origins - that after desegregation, whites, particularly whites in service positions such as bus drivers and department store employees, did not want to have to address black customers as "sir" or "ma'am" so they adopted "hon" as a generic, non-reverential form of address.<p><a id="Corned_Beef_Row" name="Corned_Beef_Row"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Corned Beef Row</span></h3>
<p>"Corned Beef Row" is a stretch of East Lombard Street that was once the centre of Jewish life in Baltimore. Today, only a few landmarks remain. Notable is <!--del_lnk--> Attman's Delicatessen, founded in 1915, which is famous throughout the city for its hot corned beef sandwiches. <!--del_lnk--> The Jewish Museum of Maryland is located on nearby Lloyd Street. The museum campus includes the historic Lloyd Street and B'nai Israel Synagogues and a modern museum building with changing exhibition galleries and research library.<p><a id="H.L._Mencken" name="H.L._Mencken"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">H.L. Mencken</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:122px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23488.jpg.htm" title="H.L. Mencken"><img alt="H.L. Mencken" height="165" longdesc="/wiki/Image:H_l_mencken.jpg" src="../../images/234/23488.jpg" width="120" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23488.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> H.L. Mencken</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Baltimore was home to <!--del_lnk--> Henry Louis Mencken, better known as <b>H.L. Mencken</b>, journalist, satirist, and social critic. Mencken attended the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, one of best public schools in the city. Mencken achieved iconic status for the editorial columns he wrote at the <i><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Sunpapers</i>. His work earned him the nickname "The Sage of Baltimore". His personal papers are held in the "Mencken Room" of the <!--del_lnk--> Enoch Pratt Free Library. The house he lived in for most of his life, located at 1524 Hollins Street in the city's <!--del_lnk--> Union Square neighbourhood, is on the <!--del_lnk--> National Register of Historic Places. <a id="Miss_USA" name="Miss_USA"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Miss USA</span></h3>
<p>Baltimore hosted the <!--del_lnk--> Miss USA pageant in 2005 and 2006. Donald Trump brought the event to Charm City. In 2005 it was hosted at the historic <!--del_lnk--> Hippodrome Theatre in downtown Baltimore, which reopened after a large renovation in 2004. In 2006, the pageant moved to <!--del_lnk--> 1st Mariner Arena.<p><a id="Television_and_Film" name="Television_and_Film"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Television and Film</span></h3>
<p>Baltimore has become a prime city for filming movies and television. Many movies, such as <i><!--del_lnk--> Hairspray</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Ladder 49</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Serial Mom</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Eraser</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Enemy of the State</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Cry-baby</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Replacements</i>, scenes from <i><!--del_lnk--> 12 Monkeys</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Accidental Tourist</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> True Lies</i>, and the film <i><!--del_lnk--> Hardball</i>, were <!--del_lnk--> filmed in Baltimore; in fact, many scenes from the 1972 cult classic film <i><!--del_lnk--> Pink Flamingos</i> were shot in the city's <!--del_lnk--> Waverly and <!--del_lnk--> Hampden neighborhoods (the film was made by <!--del_lnk--> John Waters, a Baltimore native). Additionally, television shows such as <!--del_lnk--> NBC's <i><!--del_lnk--> Homicide: Life on the Street</i> and <!--del_lnk--> HBO's <i><!--del_lnk--> The Wire</i> have also been filmed in the city. Television series <i><!--del_lnk--> Roc</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Hot L Baltimore</i> were set in the city. <i>See <!--del_lnk--> Filmed in Baltimore for additional movies and shows filmed or set in Baltimore.</i><p><a id="Geography_and_climate" name="Geography_and_climate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography and climate</span></h2>
<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23489.png.htm" title="City plan of Baltimore (1852) by Lucas, Fielding Jr. of Baltimore."><img alt="City plan of Baltimore (1852) by Lucas, Fielding Jr. of Baltimore." height="192" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lucas_Baltimore_1852_Cityplan.png" src="../../images/234/23489.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23489.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> City plan of Baltimore (1852) by <!--del_lnk--> Lucas, Fielding Jr. of Baltimore.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Baltimore is in the north central part of the state of Maryland, on the Patapsco River, not far from the Chesapeake Bay. It is on the western edge of the <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic Coastal Plain, with low hills rising in the western part of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 238.5 km² (92.1 mi²). 209.3 km² (80.8 mi²) of it is land and 29.2 km² (11.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 12.240 percent water.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore-Washington Metroplex <!--del_lnk--> Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is the <!--del_lnk--> 4th largest in the United States, with an estimated population of 8,052,496.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23490.jpg.htm" title="1888 German map of Baltimore"><img alt="1888 German map of Baltimore" height="299" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Map_of_Baltimore.jpg" src="../../images/234/23490.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23490.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 1888 German map of Baltimore</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Neighborhoods" name="Neighborhoods"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Neighborhoods</span></h3>
<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h3>
<p>Baltimore is on the northern end of the <!--del_lnk--> humid subtropical climate zone, according to the Köppen classification, with moderating influence from its relative proximity to the ocean. It gets relatively hot, humid summers and cool, moist winters, but the climate is less extreme than that of other American cities farther inland at a similar latitude.<p>July is typically the hottest month of the year, with an average high temperature of 91°F (33°C) and an average low of 73°F (23°C). The record high for Baltimore is 108°F (42°C), set in <!--del_lnk--> 1985. January is the coldest month, with an average high of 44°F (7°C) and an average low of 29°F (-2°C). However, winter warm fronts can bring brief periods of springlike weather, and arctic fronts can briefly drop nighttime low temperatures into the teens. The record low temperature for Baltimore is -7°F (-22°C), set in <!--del_lnk--> 1934. Baltimore rarely experiences temperatures below 10°F and above 100°F. Due to an <!--del_lnk--> urban heat island effect in the city proper, the outlying, inland parts of the Baltimore metro area are usually several degrees cooler than the city proper and the coastal towns.<p>Typical in most <!--del_lnk--> East Coast cities, precipitation is generous, and very evenly spread throughout the year, with every month bringing 3-4 inches of precipitation. Spring, summer, and fall bring frequent showers and <a href="../../wp/t/Thunderstorm.htm" title="Thunderstorm">thunderstorms</a>, with an average of 105 sunny days a year. Annual snowfall averages around 20 inches (51 cm). However, seasonal snow totals have ranged from less than an inch to over 60 inches. The largest snowstorm on record brought 28.2 inches to the city, <!--del_lnk--> from February 15-18, 2003. In the northern and western suburbs, the climate becomes more <!--del_lnk--> continental, and thus snowfall amounts are usually higher, where many places annually receive 24-36 inches (61-91 cm). Freezing rain is not uncommon in Baltimore, but major ice storms are very rare.<p>The city lies in between two peculiar physical features that protect it from extreme weather and account for the relatively tempered seasons. The <!--del_lnk--> Appalachian Mountains protect central <!--del_lnk--> Maryland from much of the harsh northern winds and accompanying <!--del_lnk--> lake effect weather that bring subfreezing temperatures and heavy snows to the <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Lakes.htm" title="Great Lakes">Great Lakes</a> region, and the <!--del_lnk--> Delmarva Peninsula protects Baltimore from many of the <!--del_lnk--> tropical storms that affect the immediate coast.<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dd><b>Average Monthly Temperatures and Precipitation for Baltimore, MD</b></dl>
</dl>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th height="17" style="background: #FFFFFF; color: #000000">Month</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">Jan</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">Feb</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">Mar</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">Apr</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">May</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">Jun</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">Jul</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">Aug</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">Sep</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">Oct</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">Nov</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">Dec</th>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">Year</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;"><b>Avg high</b> °F (°C)</th>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000000;">44 (7)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color:#000000;">47 (8)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000000;">57 (14)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color:#000000;">68 (20)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color:#000000;">77 (25)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color:#000000;">86 (30)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color:#000000;">91 (33)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color:#000000;">88 (31)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color:#000000;">81 (27)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color:#000000;">70 (21)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC66; color:#000000;">59 (15)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF66; color:#000000;">49 (9)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;">
<center>68 (20)</center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th height="16;" style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;"><b>Avg low</b> °F (°C)</th>
<td style="background: #FFFFCC; color: black;">29 (-2)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFFCC; color: black;">31 (-1)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color: black;">39 (4)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color: black;">48 (9)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color: black;">58 (14)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC66; color: black;">68 (20)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">73 (23)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC66; color: black;">71 (22)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC66; color: black;">64 (18)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF66; color: black;">52 (11)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF99; color: black;">42 (6)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFFCC; color: black;">33 (1)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFFFF; color: black;">
<center>52 (10)</center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="background: #FFFFFF; color:#000000;"><b>Rainfall</b> inches (mm)</th>
<td style="background: #44AADD;">3.48 (88.4)</td>
<td style="background: #66CCFF;">3.07 (78.0)</td>
<td style="background: #2288BB;">4.12 (104.6)</td>
<td style="background: #66CCFF;">3.06 (77.7)</td>
<td style="background: #2288BB;">4.18 (106.2)</td>
<td style="background: #66CCFF;">3.28 (83.3)</td>
<td style="background: #2288BB;">3.96 (100.6)</td>
<td style="background: #2288BB;">4.05 (102.9)</td>
<td style="background: #2288BB;">4.06 (103.1)</td>
<td style="background: #66CCFF;">3.19 (81.0)</td>
<td style="background: #44AADD;">3.45 (87.6)</td>
<td style="background: #44AADD;">3.60 (93.7)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFFFF;">
<center>43.59 (1107.1)</center>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Transportation" name="Transportation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transportation</span></h2>
<p><a id="Road_transport" name="Road_transport"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Road transport</span></h3>
<p>The major <!--del_lnk--> highways serving the city are <!--del_lnk--> I-695 (the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Beltway), <!--del_lnk--> I-95, <!--del_lnk--> I-83 (the <!--del_lnk--> Jones Falls Expressway), and <!--del_lnk--> I-70 (the eastern terminus of which is just beyond the city limits). Freeways I-95, I-83, and I-70 are not directly connected because of <!--del_lnk--> freeway revolts in the City of Baltimore led by <!--del_lnk--> Barbara Mikulski, which resulted in the abandonment of the original plan. There are two tunnels traversing the Baltimore harbour within the city limits: the four-bore <!--del_lnk--> Fort McHenry Tunnel (served by I-95) and the two-bore Harbour Tunnel (served by <!--del_lnk--> I-895).<p><a id="Passenger_rail" name="Passenger_rail"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Passenger rail</span></h3>
<p>Baltimore is a major stop for <a href="../../wp/a/Amtrak.htm" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a>. Named passenger trains which serve Baltimore include <!--del_lnk--> Acela Express, <!--del_lnk--> Palmetto, <!--del_lnk--> Carolinian, <!--del_lnk--> Silver Star, <!--del_lnk--> Silver Meteor, <!--del_lnk--> Vermonter, <!--del_lnk--> Crescent, and Amtrak's <!--del_lnk--> Regional trains.<p><a id="Public_transit" name="Public_transit"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Public transit</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Public transit in Baltimore City is provided by the <!--del_lnk--> Maryland Transit Administration. Baltimore City has many <!--del_lnk--> bus routes, a <!--del_lnk--> light rail system, and a <!--del_lnk--> subway line. Additionally, <!--del_lnk--> MARC commuter rail connects <a href="../../wp/w/Washington%252C_D.C..htm" title="Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Union Station with the city's two main intercity <a href="../../wp/r/Rail_transport.htm" title="Rail transport">rail</a> <!--del_lnk--> stations, Camden Station and <!--del_lnk--> Penn Station. A new rapid bus service, known as the no. 40 line, connects the Social Security/Woodlawn area and eastern suburbs with the downtown area. In recent months there has been serious consideration to extending both Baltimore's light rail and subway lines. A proposed <!--del_lnk--> Red Line would link the Social Security Administration to Fells Point and possibly out to the Dundalk/Essex communities. Other possible commuter rail routes are being considered.<p><a id="Airports" name="Airports"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Airports</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport - in neighboring <!--del_lnk--> Anne Arundel County<li><!--del_lnk--> Martin State Airport - (<!--del_lnk--> general aviation) - in <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore County</ul>
<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="float:right; margin-left:15px;">
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2"><b>City of Baltimore<br /> Population by year </b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center">
<p>1790 - 13,503<br /> 1800 - 26,514<br /> 1810 - 46,555<br /> 1820 - 62,738<br /> 1830 - 80,620<br /> 1840 - 102,313<br /> 1850 - 169,054<br /> 1860 - 212,418<br /> 1870 - 267,354<br /> 1880 - 332,313<br /> 1890 - 434,439<br /> 1900 - 508,957<br /> 1910 - 558,485<br /> 1920 - 733,826<br /> 1930 - 804,874<br /> 1940 - 859,100<br /> 1950 - 949,708<br /> 1960 - 939,024<br /> 1970 - 905,759<br /> 1980 - 786,775<br /> 1990 - 736,014<br /> 2000 - 651,154<br /> 2005 - 641,943<br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>After <a href="../../wp/n/New_York_City.htm" title="New York City">New York City</a>, Baltimore was the second city in the United States to reach a population of 100,000, (followed by <!--del_lnk--> New Orleans, <!--del_lnk--> Philadelphia, <a href="../../wp/b/Boston%252C_Massachusetts.htm" title="Boston, Massachusetts">Boston</a>). Baltimore was the second largest city in the nation until 1870, when it was surpassed by Philadelphia. Baltimore remained one of the 10 largest cities in the United States from 1790 until about 1970. The city and metropolitan area currently rank in the top 20 in terms of population.<p>In the 1830, 1840, and 1850 <!--del_lnk--> censuses of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States of America</a>, Baltimore was the second-largest city in population. It was among the top 10 cities in population in the United States in every census up to the 1980 census. in a 2005 census it was proven to be the city with the largest population drop alongside <!--del_lnk--> Detroit and <!--del_lnk--> Washington D.C., losing over 84,000 residents between 1990 and 2000.<p>As of 2005, the <!--del_lnk--> population was 641,943, down slightly from 643,304 in 2004, but higher than the century-long low of 636,251 in 2000. The Baltimore–Towson metropolitan area, as of 2004, was estimated to have a population of 2.6 million. The <!--del_lnk--> population density was 3,111.5/km² (8,058.4/mi²). There were 300,477 housing units at an average density of 1,435.8/km² (3,718.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.34% <!--del_lnk--> Black or <!--del_lnk--> African American, 31.63% <!--del_lnk--> White, 0.32% <!--del_lnk--> Native American, 1.53% <!--del_lnk--> Asian, 0.03% <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Islander, 0.67% from <!--del_lnk--> other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. 1.70% of the population were <!--del_lnk--> Hispanic or <!--del_lnk--> Latino of any race.<p>There were 257,996 households out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.7% were <!--del_lnk--> married couples living together, 25.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 34.9% of all households are made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42, and the average family size was 3.16.<p>In the city the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males.<p>The median income for a household in the city was $30,078, and the median income for a family was $35,438. Males had a median income of $31,767 versus $26,832 for females. The <!--del_lnk--> per capita income for the city was $16,978. About 18.8% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the <!--del_lnk--> poverty line, including 30.6% of those under age 18 and 18.0% of those age 65 or over.<p><a id="Baltimore_Metropolitan_Area" name="Baltimore_Metropolitan_Area"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Baltimore Metropolitan Area</span></h2>
<p>The Baltimore Metropolitan Area currently includes <!--del_lnk--> Anne Arundel, <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore, <!--del_lnk--> Carroll, <!--del_lnk--> Harford, <!--del_lnk--> Howard and <!--del_lnk--> Queen Anne's counties, as well as the city itself. As of 2005 the region was home to more than 2.6 million individuals. As the Washington region has prospered, Baltimore and its suburbs have prospered as well. Howard and Anne Arundel counties have become very affluent and rank nationally in terms of per capita family and personal income. Pockets of wealth exist within the Northern sections of the city, as well as parts of Baltimore County. In addition home prices as well as demand have risen significantly throughout the region attracting several prominent high-tech firms. Currently <!--del_lnk--> Johns Hopkins University is the largest single employer in the Baltimore region.<p>The Baltimore-Towson PMSA increased from 2,552,994 to 2,655,675 from 2000 to 2005.<p>Primary suburban areas within the Baltimore Region include: <!--del_lnk--> Annapolis (35,838), <!--del_lnk--> Bel Air (10,080), <!--del_lnk--> Catonsville (39,820), <!--del_lnk--> Columbia (88,254), <!--del_lnk--> Dundalk (62,306), <!--del_lnk--> Ellicott City (56,397), <!--del_lnk--> Fallston (8,427), <!--del_lnk--> Glen Burnie (38,922), <!--del_lnk--> Owings Mills (20,193), <!--del_lnk--> Severna Park (28,507), <!--del_lnk--> Towson (51,793), and <!--del_lnk--> Westminster (16,731)<p><a id="Education" name="Education"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Education</span></h2>
<p><a id="Colleges_and_universities" name="Colleges_and_universities"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Colleges and universities</span></h3>
<p>Baltimore is the home of several places of higher learning, both public and private. Among them are:<p><a id="Private" name="Private"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Private</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Hebrew University (BHU)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore International College (BIC)<li><!--del_lnk--> College of Notre Dame of Maryland (CND or NDM)<li><!--del_lnk--> Johns Hopkins University (JHU)<li><!--del_lnk--> Loyola College in Maryland<li><!--del_lnk--> Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)<li><!--del_lnk--> Ner Israel Rabbinical College (NIRC)<li><!--del_lnk--> Peabody Institute<li><!--del_lnk--> Sojourner-Douglass College</ul>
<p><a id="Public" name="Public"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Public</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore City Community College (BCCC)<li><!--del_lnk--> Coppin State University<li><!--del_lnk--> Morgan State University<li><!--del_lnk--> University of Baltimore (UB)<li><!--del_lnk--> University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB, formerly UMAB)</ul>
<p>As well as those located within the city, several are located in the suburbs that surround the city. Major ones include:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Goucher College, in <!--del_lnk--> Towson (private)<li><!--del_lnk--> Towson University, in <!--del_lnk--> Towson (public)<li><!--del_lnk--> University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), in <!--del_lnk--> Catonsville (public)<li><!--del_lnk--> Villa Julie College, in <!--del_lnk--> Stevenson and <!--del_lnk--> Owings Mills (private)</ul>
<p><a id="Primary_and_secondary_schools" name="Primary_and_secondary_schools"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Primary and secondary schools</span></h3>
<p>The city's public schools are operated by the <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore City Public School System, which includes <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore City College—the third oldest public high school in the country—and <!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Polytechnic Institute.<p><a id="Private_schools" name="Private_schools"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Private schools</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Loyola Blakefield<li><!--del_lnk--> Boys' Latin School of Maryland<li><!--del_lnk--> Gilman School<li><!--del_lnk--> Roland Park Country School<li><!--del_lnk--> Friends School of Baltimore<li><!--del_lnk--> The Bryn Mawr School<li><!--del_lnk--> The Park School<li><!--del_lnk--> St. Paul's School for Boys/Girls<li><!--del_lnk--> McDonogh School<li>Garrison Forest School<li><!--del_lnk--> Oldfields School<li><!--del_lnk--> Institute of Notre Dame<li><!--del_lnk--> Waldorf School of Baltimore<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Jr. Academy</ul>
<p><a id="Parochial_schools" name="Parochial_schools"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Parochial schools</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Mount Saint Joseph High School<li>The Cardinal Gibbons School<li><!--del_lnk--> Archbishop Curley High School<li><!--del_lnk--> Bais Yaakov High School<li>Beth Tfiloh<li>B'nos Yisroel D'Baltimore<li><!--del_lnk--> Calvert Hall College High School<li><!--del_lnk--> Seton Keough High School<li><!--del_lnk--> Catholic High School of Baltimore<li><!--del_lnk--> St. Frances Academy<li><!--del_lnk--> Mount de Sales Academy<li><!--del_lnk--> Mount Saint Joseph High School<li><!--del_lnk--> Maryvale Preparatory School<li><!--del_lnk--> Notre Dame Preparatory School<li><!--del_lnk--> Mercy High School<li><!--del_lnk--> Institute of Notre Dame<li><!--del_lnk--> Archbishop Spalding High School<li><!--del_lnk--> Towson Catholic High School<li>Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim D'Baltimore (Talmudical Academy)<li>Yeshivat Rambam<li><!--del_lnk--> Israel Henry Beren High School part of <!--del_lnk--> Ner Israel</ul>
<h2> <span class="mw-headline">Museums and attractions</span></h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="" style="background-color: transparent; width: 100%">
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="50%">
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> American Dime Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> American Visionary Art Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Museum of Art<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Museum of Industry<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Maritime Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Public Works Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Streetcar Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Tattoo Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary<li><!--del_lnk--> B&O Railroad Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Cylburn Arboretum<li><!--del_lnk--> Druid Hill Park<li><!--del_lnk--> Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Enoch Pratt Free Library<li><!--del_lnk--> Evergreen House<li><!--del_lnk--> Fort McHenry National Monument<li><!--del_lnk--> Frederick Douglass - Isaac Myers Maritime Park<li><!--del_lnk--> Great Blacks In Wax Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Harborplace<li><!--del_lnk--> Hippodrome Theatre<li><!--del_lnk--> Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Baltimore</ul>
</td>
<td align="left" style="padding-left:;" valign="top" width="">
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> The Jewish Museum of Maryland<li><!--del_lnk--> Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame<li><!--del_lnk--> Lexington Market<li><!--del_lnk--> Maryland Historical Society<li><!--del_lnk--> Maryland Science Centre<li><!--del_lnk--> Maryland Zoo in Baltimore<li><!--del_lnk--> Meyerhoff Symphony Hall<li><!--del_lnk--> National Aquarium in Baltimore<li><!--del_lnk--> National Historic Seaport of Baltimore<li><!--del_lnk--> National Museum of Dentistry<li><!--del_lnk--> Patterson Park<li><!--del_lnk--> Pimlico Race Course<li><!--del_lnk--> Port Discovery Children's Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Pride of Baltimore II Clipper Ship<li><!--del_lnk--> Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture<li><!--del_lnk--> The Senator Theatre<li><!--del_lnk--> Star Spangled Banner Flag House and 1812 Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Top of the World Observation Level & Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> USS Constellation<li><!--del_lnk--> Walters Art Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Westminster Hall and Burying Ground</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Sports_teams" name="Sports_teams"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sports teams</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Orioles - (<!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Ravens - (<!--del_lnk--> National Football League)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Bayhawks - (<!--del_lnk--> Major League Lacrosse)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Blast - (<!--del_lnk--> Major Indoor Soccer League)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Pearls - (<!--del_lnk--> American Basketball Association)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Blackbirds - (<!--del_lnk--> Eastern Indoor Football League)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Burn - (<!--del_lnk--> National Women's Football Association)</ul>
<p><a id="Defunct_.28or_moved.29_Sports_Teams" name="Defunct_.28or_moved.29_Sports_Teams"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Defunct (or moved) Sports Teams</span></h3>
<p><a id="Baseball" name="Baseball"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Baseball</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Unions - (Union Association)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Terrapins - (Federal League)</ul>
<p><a id="Football" name="Football"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Football</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Early County Bobcats- (<!--del_lnk--> High SchoolLeague)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Stallions - (<!--del_lnk--> Canadian Football League)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Stars - (<!--del_lnk--> United States Football League)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Colts - (<!--del_lnk--> National Football League 1953-83)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Colts - (<!--del_lnk--> All-America Football Conference/<!--del_lnk--> NFL 1947-50)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Ravens - (<!--del_lnk--> AFC North/<!--del_lnk--> National Football League 1996-Present)</ul>
<p><a id="Basketball" name="Basketball"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Basketball</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Bullets (1947-1955) - (<!--del_lnk--> National Basketball Association)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Bullets (1963-1972) - (<!--del_lnk--> National Basketball Association)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Claws - (<!--del_lnk--> American Basketball Association)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Bayrunners - (<!--del_lnk--> International Basketball League)</ul>
<p><a id="Soccer" name="Soccer"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Soccer</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Bays - (<!--del_lnk--> North American Soccer League)</ul>
<p><a id="Hockey" name="Hockey"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Hockey</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Blades - (<!--del_lnk--> World Hockey Association)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Bandits - (<!--del_lnk--> American Hockey League)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Clippers - (<!--del_lnk--> American Hockey League, <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Hockey League, <!--del_lnk--> Southern Hockey League)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Skipjacks - (<!--del_lnk--> American Hockey League, <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic Coast Hockey League)</ul>
<p><a id="Lacrosse" name="Lacrosse"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Lacrosse</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Baltimore Thunder - (<!--del_lnk--> National Lacrosse League) - moved to Pittsburgh, then Washington, D.C.; now Colorado.</ul>
<p><a id="Sister_Cities" name="Sister_Cities"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sister Cities</span></h2>
<p>Baltimore has eleven <!--del_lnk--> sister cities, as designated by <!--del_lnk--> Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):<div style="float:left; width:48%;">
<ul>
<li><a class="image" href="../../images/72/7234.png.htm" title="Egypt"><img alt="Egypt" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Egypt.svg" src="../../images/3/386.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Alexandria, <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/614.png.htm" title="Israel"><img alt="Israel" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Israel_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/6/614.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Ashkelon, <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/539.png.htm" title="Spain"><img alt="Spain" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Spain.svg" src="../../images/5/539.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Cadiz, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/15/1540.png.htm" title="Liberia"><img alt="Liberia" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Liberia.svg" src="../../images/15/1540.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Gbarnga, <a href="../../wp/l/Liberia.htm" title="Liberia">Liberia</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/551.png.htm" title="Italy"><img alt="Italy" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Italy.svg" src="../../images/5/551.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Genoa.htm" title="Genoa">Genoa</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/586.png.htm" title="Japan"><img alt="Japan" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Japan_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/586.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Kawasaki, <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a></ul>
</div>
<div style="float:right; width:48%;">
<ul>
<li><a class="image" href="../../images/72/7234.png.htm" title="Egypt"><img alt="Egypt" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Egypt.svg" src="../../images/3/386.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Luxor, <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/745.png.htm" title="Ukraine"><img alt="Ukraine" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Ukraine.svg" src="../../images/7/745.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Odessa, <a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/790.png.htm" title="Greece"><img alt="Greece" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Greece.svg" src="../../images/7/790.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pireaus, <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/545.png.htm" title="Netherlands"><img alt="Netherlands" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg" src="../../images/5/545.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Rotterdam.htm" title="Rotterdam">Rotterdam</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/584.png.htm" title="People's Republic of China"><img alt="People's Republic of China" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg" src="../../images/5/584.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Xiamen, <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/143/14381.png.htm" title="Wales"><img alt="Wales" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Wales_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/28/2850.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Cardiff.htm" title="Cardiff">Cardiff</a>, <a href="../../wp/w/Wales.htm" title="Wales">Wales</a></ul>
</div>
<p>
<br style="clear: both;" />
<p><a id="Baltimore_in_fiction" name="Baltimore_in_fiction"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Baltimore in fiction</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>Baltimore is featured in the <!--del_lnk--> police procedural books and series based on the work of author and former police reporter <!--del_lnk--> David Simon, <i><!--del_lnk--> Homicide: Life on the Street</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> The Wire</i>.<li>In addition, Simon's reality-based book and TV <!--del_lnk--> miniseries on drug dealers, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Corner</i>, is set in Baltimore.<li><i>Homicide</i> executive producer <!--del_lnk--> Barry Levinson is a native of Baltimore, and he set his films <i><!--del_lnk--> Diner</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Tin Men</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Avalon</i>, and <i><!--del_lnk--> Liberty Heights</i> in the City.<li>Several episodes of <a href="../../wp/t/The_X-Files.htm" title="The X-Files">The X-Files</a> were set in Baltimore.<li>Baltimore native <!--del_lnk--> Tom Clancy, a graduate of <!--del_lnk--> Loyola Blakefield and <!--del_lnk--> Loyola College in Maryland, often includes Baltimore and other parts of Maryland in his action/spy thriller novels and their corresponding feature films. In the film <i><!--del_lnk--> The Sum of All Fears</i>, based on the Clancy novel of the same name, Baltimore is devastated by a terrorist nuclear bomb. In the book, however, the attack takes place in <!--del_lnk--> Denver.<li>Maryland native <!--del_lnk--> Nora Roberts also uses Maryland and particularly parts of the <!--del_lnk--> Chesapeake Bay as settings for her novels. This includes Baltimore in such novels as <i>Inner Harbour</i>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Anne Tyler lived in Baltimore for many years, and many of her books are set there, including <i><!--del_lnk--> The Accidental Tourist</i>, which was also made into a movie.<li><!--del_lnk--> John Waters' films are all set in Baltimore, and they have all premiered at the historic Senator Theatre.<li><!--del_lnk--> Laura Lippman is the author of detective fiction set in Baltimore, most notably the Tess Monaghan novels.<li>The show <!--del_lnk--> <i>One on One</i> is set in Baltimore until Breanna moves to Los Angeles for college in season 5 (2005-2006).<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Roc</i> was an American <!--del_lnk--> sitcom set in Baltimore.<li>The action-horror video game <!--del_lnk--> The Suffering: Ties That Bind is set in Baltimore.<li>The film <i><!--del_lnk--> Ladder 49</i>, starring <!--del_lnk--> John Travolta and <!--del_lnk--> Joaquin Phoenix, is set in Baltimore.<li>The musical <i><!--del_lnk--> Hairspray</i> is set in Baltimore.<li>The film <i><!--del_lnk--> Enemy of the State</i>, starring <!--del_lnk--> Will Smith and <!--del_lnk--> Gene Hackman, had a significant portion set and filmed in Baltimore.<li>The film <i><!--del_lnk--> Live Free or Die Hard</i>, starring <!--del_lnk--> Bruce Willis was filmed in downtown Baltimore.<li>The fictional character, <!--del_lnk--> Jane Porter, <!--del_lnk--> Tarzan's love interest, is a native of Baltimore and the last part of the first Tarzan novel, <!--del_lnk--> Tarzan of the Apes, is set there.</ul>
<table class="wikitable" style="margin: 0.5em auto; clear: both; font-size:95%;">
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<td align="center" rowspan="1" width="30%">Preceded by:<br /><b><!--del_lnk--> Philadelphia</b></td>
<td rowspan="1" style="text-align: center;" width="40%"><b>Capital of the United States of America</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> 1776–<!--del_lnk--> 1777</td>
<td align="center" rowspan="1" width="30%">Succeeded by:<br /><b><!--del_lnk--> Philadelphia</b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore%2C_Maryland"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['United States', 'Time zone', 'U.S. state', 'United States of America', 'United States', 'Sugar', 'Transport', 'United Kingdom', 'Poem', 'American Civil War', 'Washington, D.C.', 'Abraham Lincoln', 'Houston, Texas', 'Detroit, Michigan', 'Cleveland, Ohio', 'Philadelphia', 'United States Senate', 'New York City', 'Los Angeles, California', 'Beer', 'Beer', 'Thunderstorm', 'Great Lakes', 'Amtrak', 'Washington, D.C.', 'Rail transport', 'New York City', 'Boston, Massachusetts', 'United States', 'Egypt', 'Israel', 'Spain', 'Liberia', 'Genoa', 'Italy', 'Japan', 'Egypt', 'Ukraine', 'Greece', 'Rotterdam', 'Netherlands', 'China', 'Cardiff', 'Wales', 'The X-Files']
|
Bamako
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bamako,Bamako Capital District,1883,1908,1960,19th century,2006,African Photography Encounters,Airport,Angers,Bamako (disambiguation)" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bamako</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bamako";
var wgTitle = "Bamako";
var wgArticleId = 56606;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bamako">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bamako</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.African_Geography.htm">African Geography</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1040.jpg.htm" title="View of Bamako"><img alt="View of Bamako" height="187" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hilltop_view_over_BamakoE.jpg" src="../../images/10/1040.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1040.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> View of Bamako</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1041.png.htm" title="Bamako district"><img alt="Bamako district" height="193" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bamako_cercle.png" src="../../images/10/1041.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1041.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bamako district</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Bamako</b>, population 1,690,471 (<!--del_lnk--> 2006), is the <a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">capital</a> of <a href="../../wp/m/Mali.htm" title="Mali">Mali</a>, and is the biggest city in the country. It is located on the <a href="../../wp/n/Niger_River.htm" title="Niger River">Niger River</a>, near the rapids that divide the Upper and Middle Niger Valleys, in the southwestern part of the country. Bamako is the nation's administrative centre, as well as a <!--del_lnk--> river port and a major regional trade centre. Manufactures include <!--del_lnk--> textiles, processed meat, and <a href="../../wp/m/Metal.htm" title="Metal">metal</a> goods. There is commercial <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fishing</a> on the Niger River. Bamako is located at <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 12°39′N 8°0′W</span>.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Overview" name="Overview"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Overview</span></h2>
<p>The area of the city has been continuously inhabited since the <!--del_lnk--> Palaeolithic, but the legendary founding of Bamako occurred in the <!--del_lnk--> seventeenth century by <!--del_lnk--> Seribadian Niaré and <!--del_lnk--> Soumba Coulibaly, or <!--del_lnk--> Bamba Sanago, before its chiefdom passed to <!--del_lnk--> Diaoussadian Niaré. The city was an important <!--del_lnk--> market town and a leading centre of <!--del_lnk--> Muslim learning under the <!--del_lnk--> Mali Empire, but by the <a href="../../wp/1/19th_century.htm" title="19th century">19th century</a> it had declined. In <!--del_lnk--> 1883 the region was occupied by <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a> troops, and in <!--del_lnk--> 1908, Bamako became the capital of the <!--del_lnk--> French Sudan. Its population has grown rapidly; in <!--del_lnk--> 1960 Bamako's population was approximately 160,000.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1042.png.htm" title="Location of Bamako in Mali"><img alt="Location of Bamako in Mali" height="247" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ML-Bamako.png" src="../../images/10/1042.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1042.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Location of Bamako in Mali</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Notable landmarks in Bamako include the <!--del_lnk--> National Library of Mali, <!--del_lnk--> Tour BCEAO, <!--del_lnk--> Bamako Grand Mosque and the <!--del_lnk--> Pont du Roi Fahd. It is home to Mali's largest international <!--del_lnk--> airport, <!--del_lnk--> Senou International Airport, as well as the <!--del_lnk--> Dakar-Niger Railway, to <!--del_lnk--> Koulikoro in eastern Mali and <a href="../../wp/d/Dakar.htm" title="Dakar">Dakar</a> in <a href="../../wp/s/Senegal.htm" title="Senegal">Senegal</a>. Attractions include the <!--del_lnk--> Mali National Museum, the <!--del_lnk--> Muso Kunda Museum, the <!--del_lnk--> Bamako Regional Museum, <!--del_lnk--> Bamako Zoo, the <!--del_lnk--> Bamako Botanical Gardens and the <!--del_lnk--> Point G hill, containing <a href="../../wp/c/Cave.htm" title="Cave">caves</a> with <!--del_lnk--> rock paintings. Bamako has hosted the biannual photography festival <!--del_lnk--> African Photography Encounters since 1994.<p>In 1988, Bamako was the location of a <a href="../../wp/w/World_Health_Organization.htm" title="World Health Organization">WHO</a> conference known as the <!--del_lnk--> Bamako Initiative that helped reshape health policy of <a href="../../wp/s/Sub-Saharan_Africa.htm" title="Sub-Saharan Africa">Sub-Saharan Africa</a>.<p>The yearly held <!--del_lnk--> Budapest-Bamako rally has the endpoint in Bamako, with the <!--del_lnk--> Dakar Rally often passing through Bamako.<p><a id="Quartiers" name="Quartiers"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Quartiers</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1043.jpg.htm" title="Sotramas in Bamako"><img alt="Sotramas in Bamako" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sotrumas_in_Bamako_-_12th_February_2005.jpg" src="../../images/10/1043.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1043.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Sotramas in Bamako</div>
</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Hippodrome<li>Niarela<li>Korofina<li>Badalabougou<li>Torokorobougou<li>Bamako Coura<li>Djicoroni<li>Baco Djicoroni (= behind the river)<li>Missira<li>Médina Coura<li>Bankoni<li>Magnambougou</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline"><!--del_lnk--> Sister cities</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Angers, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> (since 1974)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1044.png.htm" title="Burkina Faso"><img alt="Burkina Faso" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Burkina_Faso.svg" src="../../images/10/1044.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Bobo Dioulasso, <a href="../../wp/b/Burkina_Faso.htm" title="Burkina Faso">Burkina Faso</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1045.png.htm" title="Senegal"><img alt="Senegal" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Senegal.svg" src="../../images/10/1045.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/d/Dakar.htm" title="Dakar">Dakar</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Senegal.htm" title="Senegal">Senegal</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/538.png.htm" title="Germany"><img alt="Germany" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany.svg" src="../../images/5/538.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Leipzig, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title="United States"><img alt="United States" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/6/695.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Rochester, <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">USA</a> (since 1975)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/544.png.htm" title="Brazil"><img alt="Brazil" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Brazil.svg" src="../../images/5/544.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Sao Paulo, <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a></ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamako"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Capital', 'Mali', 'Niger River', 'Metal', 'Fish', '19th century', 'France', 'Dakar', 'Senegal', 'Cave', 'World Health Organization', 'Sub-Saharan Africa', 'France', 'Burkina Faso', 'Dakar', 'Senegal', 'Germany', 'United States', 'Brazil']
|
Banana
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Banana,Fair trade,Fyffes,United Fruit Company,20th century,1930s,Coffee,Dole Food Company,Fresh Del Monte Produce,Farmer,Food and Agriculture Organization" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Banana</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Banana";
var wgTitle = "Banana";
var wgArticleId = 38940;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Banana">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Banana</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Food_and_agriculture.htm">Food and agriculture</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: lightgreen;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Banana</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1047.jpg.htm" title="Banana plant"><img alt="Banana plant" height="365" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Luxor%2C_Banana_Island%2C_Banana_Tree%2C_Egypt%2C_Oct_2004.jpg" src="../../images/10/1047.jpg" width="250" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small>Banana plant</small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: lightgreen;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/Plant.htm" title="Plant">Plantae</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Division:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Magnoliophyta<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Liliopsida<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Zingiberales<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Musaceae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Musa</i><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="lightgreen">
<th>
<center>Species</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p>Hybrid origin; see text</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Banana</b> is the <!--del_lnk--> common name used for herbaceous plants in the <!--del_lnk--> genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Musa</i>, which because of their size and structure, are often mistaken for <a href="../../wp/t/Tree.htm" title="Tree">trees</a>. Bananas are cultivated for their fruit which bear the same name, and to a lesser extent for the production of fibre and as ornamental plants. Bananas are of the <!--del_lnk--> family <!--del_lnk--> Musaceae. Globally, bananas rank fourth after <a href="../../wp/r/Rice.htm" title="Rice">rice</a>, <a href="../../wp/w/Wheat.htm" title="Wheat">wheat</a> and <a href="../../wp/m/Maize.htm" title="Maize">maize</a> in human consumption; they are grown in 130 countries worldwide, more than any other fruit crop. Bananas are native to <a href="../../wp/t/Tropics.htm" title="Tropics">tropical</a> southeastern <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a> but are widely cultivated in tropical regions. In popular culture and commerce, "banana" usually refers to the soft, sweet "dessert" bananas that are usually eaten raw. The bananas from a group of cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit, generally used in cooking rather than eaten raw, are typically known as <!--del_lnk--> plantains. Bananas may also be dried and ground into banana flour.<p>The main or upright growth is called a <i>pseudostem</i>, which when mature, will obtain a height of 2–8 m (varies between different <a href="../../wp/c/Cultivar.htm" title="Cultivar">cultivars</a>), with <!--del_lnk--> leaves of up to 3.5 m in length. Each pseudostem produces a single bunch of bananas, before dying and being replaced by a new pseudostem. The base of the plant is a <!--del_lnk--> rhizome (known as a <!--del_lnk--> corm). Corms are perennial, with a productive lifespan of 15 years or more.<p>The term <i>banana</i> is applied to both the plant and its elongated <a href="../../wp/f/Fruit.htm" title="Fruit">fruit</a> (technically a <!--del_lnk--> false berry) which grow in hanging clusters, with up to 20 fruit to a tier (called a <i>hand</i>), and 5-20 tiers to a bunch. The total of the hanging clusters is known as a bunch, or commercially as a "banana stem", and can weigh from 30–50 kg. The fruit averages 125 g, of which approximately 75% is water and 25% dry matter content. Bananas are a valuable source of <!--del_lnk--> Vitamin A, <!--del_lnk--> Vitamin B6, <a href="../../wp/v/Vitamin_C.htm" title="Vitamin C">Vitamin C</a>, and <a href="../../wp/p/Potassium.htm" title="Potassium">potassium</a>.<p>Although the wild species have fruits with numerous large, hard seeds, virtually all culinary bananas have <!--del_lnk--> seedless fruits. Bananas are classified either as dessert bananas (meaning they are yellow and fully ripe when eaten) or as green cooking bananas. Almost all export bananas are of the dessert types; however, only about 10-15% of all production is for <!--del_lnk--> export, with the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">U.S.</a> and <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="EU">EU</a> being the dominant buyers.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1048.jpg.htm" title="Banana bunch"><img alt="Banana bunch" height="293" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Musa-sp3.1.jpg" src="../../images/10/1048.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1048.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Banana bunch</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The domestication of bananas took place in southeastern Asia. Many species of wild bananas still occur in <!--del_lnk--> New Guinea, <a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a> and the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence at <!--del_lnk--> Kuk Swamp in the Western Highlands Province of <a href="../../wp/p/Papua_New_Guinea.htm" title="Papua New Guinea">Papua New Guinea</a> suggests that banana cultivation there goes back to at least <!--del_lnk--> 5000 BC, and possibly to <!--del_lnk--> 8000 BC. This would make the New Guinean highlands the place where bananas were first domesticated. It is likely that other species of wild bananas were later also domesticated elsewhere in southeastern Asia.<p>The banana is mentioned for the first time in written history in <a href="../../wp/b/Buddhism.htm" title="Buddhism">Buddhist</a> texts in <!--del_lnk--> 600 BC. <a href="../../wp/a/Alexander_the_Great.htm" title="Alexander the Great">Alexander the Great</a> discovered the taste of the banana in the valleys of <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> in <!--del_lnk--> 327 BC. The existence of an organized banana <!--del_lnk--> plantation could be found in <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a> in 200 AD. In 650 AD, <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islamic</a> conquerors brought the banana to <!--del_lnk--> Palestine. <!--del_lnk--> Arab merchants eventually spread bananas over much of <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>. The word <i>banana</i> is of West African origin, and passed into <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> <i>via</i> <a href="../../wp/s/Spanish_language.htm" title="Spanish language">Spanish</a> or <a href="../../wp/p/Portuguese_language.htm" title="Portuguese language">Portuguese</a>.<p>In <a href="../../wp/1/15th_century.htm" title="15th century">15th</a> and <a href="../../wp/1/16th_century.htm" title="16th century">16th century</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portuguese</a> colonists started banana plantations in the Atlantic Islands, <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a>, and western Africa. As late as the <!--del_lnk--> Victorian Era, bananas were not widely known in Europe, although they were available via <!--del_lnk--> merchant <!--del_lnk--> trade. <!--del_lnk--> Jules Verne references bananas with detailed descriptions so as not to confuse readers in his book <i><!--del_lnk--> Around the World in Eighty Days</i> (1872).<p><a id="Properties" name="Properties"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Properties</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1049.jpg.htm" title="'Cavendish' bananas"><img alt="'Cavendish' bananas" height="179" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banana.arp.750pix.jpg" src="../../images/10/1049.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1049.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> '<!--del_lnk--> Cavendish' bananas</div>
</div>
</div>
<table style="margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse:collapse; border: 1px solid black; background: white; color: black; float:right; clear:right; font-size: smaller;">
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2"><b>Banana (edible parts)<br /> Nutritional value per 100 g</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#e0e0e0; color:black;">
<td align="center">Energy 90 kcal 370 kJ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<table cellpadding="0px" cellspacing="0px" style="margin:0.3em;">
<tr>
<th align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Carbohydrates </th>
<td>23 g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>- Sugars 12 g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>- <!--del_lnk--> Dietary fibre 2.6 g </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="left"><a href="../../wp/f/Fatty_acid.htm" title="Fatty acid">Fat</a></th>
<td>0.3 g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Protein</th>
<td>1 g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/v/Vitamin_C.htm" title="Vitamin C">Vitamin C</a> 9 mg</td>
<td>15%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Potassium 358 mg </td>
<td>8%</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#e0e0e0; color:black;">
<td align="center"><small>Percentages are relative to US<br /><!--del_lnk--> recommendations for adults.<br /><small>Source: <!--del_lnk--> USDA Nutrient database</small></small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Bananas come in a variety of sizes and <a href="../../wp/c/Color.htm" title="Colour">colours</a>; most cultivars are yellow when ripe but some are red or purple-ish. The ripe fruit is easily peeled and eaten raw or cooked. Depending upon cultivar and ripeness, the flesh can be starchy to sweet, and firm to mushy. Unripe or "green" bananas and plantains are used in cooking and are the staple <!--del_lnk--> starch of many <!--del_lnk--> tropical populations.<p>Most production for local sale is of green cooking bananas and plantains, as ripe dessert bananas are easily damaged while being transported to market. Even when only transported within their country of origin, ripe bananas suffer a high rate of damage and loss.<p>The commercial dessert cultivars most commonly eaten in <a href="../../wp/t/Temperate.htm" title="Temperate">temperate</a> countries (species <i>Musa acuminata</i> or the <!--del_lnk--> hybrid <i>Musa × paradisiaca</i>, a <!--del_lnk--> cultigen) are imported in large quantities from the <a href="../../wp/t/Tropics.htm" title="Tropics">tropics</a>. They are popular in part because being a non-seasonal crop they are available fresh year-round. In global commerce, by far the most important of these banana <a href="../../wp/c/Cultivar.htm" title="Cultivar">cultivars</a> is '<!--del_lnk--> Cavendish', which accounts for the vast bulk of bananas exported from the tropics. The Cavendish gained popularity in the <!--del_lnk--> 1950s after the previously mass produced cultivar, <!--del_lnk--> Gros Michel, was being destroyed by <!--del_lnk--> Panama disease, a fungus which attacks the roots of the banana plant.<p>It is common for fruit exports to be dominated by a single or very few cultivars. The most important properties making 'Cavendish' the main export banana are related to transport and shelf life rather than taste; major commercial cultivars rarely have a superior flavour compared to the less widespread cultivars. Export bananas are picked green, and then usually ripened in ripening rooms when they arrive in their country of destination. These are special rooms made air-tight and filled with <!--del_lnk--> ethylene gas to induce ripening. Bananas can be ordered by the retailer "ungassed", however, and may show up at the supermarket still fully green. While these bananas will ripen more slowly, the flavour will be notably richer, and the banana peel can be allowed to reach a yellow/brown speckled phase, and yet retain a firm flesh inside. Thus, shelf life is somewhat extended. The flavour and texture of bananas are affected by the temperature at which they ripen. Bananas are refrigerated to between 13.5 and 15 °C (57 and 59 °F) during transportation. At lower temperatures, the ripening of bananas permanently stalls, and the bananas will turn grey.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1050.jpg.htm" title="Certain banana cultivars turn red or purplish instead of yellow as they ripen."><img alt="Certain banana cultivars turn red or purplish instead of yellow as they ripen." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banane_Rose.JPG" src="../../images/10/1050.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1050.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Certain banana cultivars turn red or purplish instead of yellow as they ripen.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>It should be noted that <i>Musa × paradisiaca</i> is also the generic name for the common <!--del_lnk--> plantain, a coarser and starchier variant not to be confused with <i>Musa acuminata</i> or the Cavendish variety. Plantains have all but replaced the Cavendish in markets dominated by supply-side logistics.<p>In addition to the fruit, the <a href="../../wp/f/Flower.htm" title="Flower">flower</a> of the banana plant (also known as <i>banana blossom</i> or <i>banana heart</i>) is used in <!--del_lnk--> Southeast Asian, <!--del_lnk--> Bengali and <a href="../../wp/k/Kerala.htm" title="Kerala">Kerala</a> (India) cuisine, either served raw with dips or cooked in soups and curries. The tender core of the banana plant's trunk is also used, notably in <a href="../../wp/m/Myanmar.htm" title="Myanmar">Burmese</a>, Bengali and Kerala cooking. <!--del_lnk--> Bananas fried with batter is a popular dessert in <a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>. Banana fritters can be served with ice-cream as well. The juice extract prepared from the tender core is used to treat kidney stones.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> leaves of the banana are large, flexible, and waterproof; they are used in many ways, including as <!--del_lnk--> umbrellas and to wrap food for cooking. <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">Chinese</a> <!--del_lnk--> zongzi (bamboo leaves are more commonly used where available) and <!--del_lnk--> Central American <!--del_lnk--> tamales are sometimes <!--del_lnk--> steamed in banana leaves, and the <!--del_lnk--> Hawaiian <!--del_lnk--> imu is often lined with them. <a href="../../wp/p/Puerto_Rico.htm" title="Puerto Rico">Puerto Rican</a> "pasteles" are boiled wrapped and tied inside the leaf.<p><!--del_lnk--> Banana chips are a snack produced from dehydrated or fried banana or, preferably, plantain slices, which have a dark brown colour and an intense banana taste. Bananas have also been used in the making of <!--del_lnk--> jam. Unlike other fruits, it is difficult to extract juice from bananas because when compressed a banana simply turns to pulp.<p>Seeded bananas (<i>Musa balbisiana</i>), considered to be one of the forerunners of the common domesticated banana, are sold in markets in Indonesia.<p>It is reported that in <!--del_lnk--> Orissa, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, juice is extracted from the corm and used as a <!--del_lnk--> home remedy for the treatment of <!--del_lnk--> jaundice. In other places <a href="../../wp/h/Honey.htm" title="Honey">honey</a> is mixed with mashed banana fruit and used for the same purpose.<p><a id="Trade" name="Trade"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Trade</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1051.jpg.htm" title="Women in Belize sorting bananas and cutting them from bunches."><img alt="Women in Belize sorting bananas and cutting them from bunches." height="169" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banana_sorting.jpg" src="../../images/10/1051.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1051.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Women in Belize sorting bananas and cutting them from bunches.</div>
</div>
</div>
<table align="left" class="wikitable" style="clear:left">
<tr>
<th colspan="2">Top Banana Producing Nations - 2005<br /> (in million metric tons)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/179/17939.png.htm" title="Flag of India"><img alt="Flag of India" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_India.svg" src="../../images/6/607.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a></td>
<td align="right">16.8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/544.png.htm" title="Flag of Brazil"><img alt="Flag of Brazil" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Brazil.svg" src="../../images/5/544.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a></td>
<td align="right">6.7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/584.png.htm" title="Flag of People's Republic of China"><img alt="Flag of People's Republic of China" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg" src="../../images/5/584.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">China</a></td>
<td align="right">6.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1052.png.htm" title="Flag of Ecuador"><img alt="Flag of Ecuador" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Ecuador.svg" src="../../images/10/1052.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/e/Ecuador.htm" title="Ecuador">Ecuador</a></td>
<td align="right">5.9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/599.png.htm" title="Flag of Philippines"><img alt="Flag of Philippines" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Philippines.svg" src="../../images/5/599.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a></td>
<td align="right">5.8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/595.png.htm" title="Flag of Indonesia"><img alt="Flag of Indonesia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Indonesia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/595.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a></td>
<td align="right">4.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1053.png.htm" title="Flag of Costa Rica"><img alt="Flag of Costa Rica" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Costa_Rica_%28state%29.svg" src="../../images/10/1053.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Costa_Rica.htm" title="Costa Rica">Costa Rica</a></td>
<td align="right">2.2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/553.png.htm" title="Flag of Mexico"><img alt="Flag of Mexico" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Mexico.svg" src="../../images/5/553.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexico</a></td>
<td align="right">2.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/601.png.htm" title="Flag of Thailand"><img alt="Flag of Thailand" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Thailand.svg" src="../../images/6/601.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Thailand.htm" title="Thailand">Thailand</a></td>
<td align="right">2.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1054.png.htm" title="Flag of Colombia"><img alt="Flag of Colombia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Colombia.svg" src="../../images/10/1054.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Colombia.htm" title="Colombia">Colombia</a></td>
<td align="right">1.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1055.png.htm" title="Flag of Burundi"><img alt="Flag of Burundi" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Burundi.svg" src="../../images/10/1055.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Burundi.htm" title="Burundi">Burundi</a></td>
<td align="right">1.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>World Total</b></td>
<td align="right"><b>72.5</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"><i>Source:<br /><!--del_lnk--> UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO)</i><!--del_lnk--> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Bananas and plantains constitute a major staple <!--del_lnk--> food crop for millions of people in <!--del_lnk--> developing countries. In most tropical countries green (unripe) bananas used for <!--del_lnk--> cooking represent the main <a href="../../wp/c/Cultivar.htm" title="Cultivar">cultivars</a>. Cooking bananas are very similar to <a href="../../wp/p/Potato.htm" title="Potato">potatoes</a> in how they are used. Both can be <!--del_lnk--> fried, <!--del_lnk--> boiled, <!--del_lnk--> baked or chipped and have similar <!--del_lnk--> taste and texture when served. One green cooking banana has about the same <!--del_lnk--> calorie content as one potato.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 2003, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> led the world in banana production, representing approximately 23% of the worldwide crop, most of which was for domestic consumption. The four leading banana exporting countries were <a href="../../wp/e/Ecuador.htm" title="Ecuador">Ecuador</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Costa_Rica.htm" title="Costa Rica">Costa Rica</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>, and <a href="../../wp/c/Colombia.htm" title="Colombia">Colombia</a>, which accounted for about two-thirds of the world's exports, each exporting more than 1 million tons. Ecuador alone provided more than 30% of global banana exports, according to <!--del_lnk--> FAO statistics.<p>The vast majority of producers are small-scale <!--del_lnk--> farmers growing the crop either for home consumption or for local markets. Because bananas and plantains will produce fruit year-round, they provide an extremely valuable source of food during the hunger season (that period of time when all the food from the previous harvest has been consumed, and the next harvest is still some time away). It is for these reasons that bananas and plantains are of major importance to <!--del_lnk--> food security.<p>Bananas are among the most widely consumed foods in the world. Most banana farmers receive a low unit price for their produce as supermarkets buy enormous quantities and receive a discount for that business. Competition amongst <!--del_lnk--> supermarkets has led to reduced margins in recent years which in turn has led to lower prices for growers. <!--del_lnk--> Chiquita, <!--del_lnk--> Del Monte, <!--del_lnk--> Dole and <!--del_lnk--> Fyffes grow their own bananas in Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras. Banana plantations are capital intensive and demand high expertise so the majority of independent growers are large and wealthy landowners of these countries. This has led to bananas being available as a "<!--del_lnk--> fair trade" item in some countries.<p>The banana has an extensive trade history beginning with the founding of the <!--del_lnk--> United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) at the end of the nineteenth century. For much of the <a href="../../wp/2/20th_century.htm" title="20th century">20th century</a>, bananas and <a href="../../wp/c/Coffee.htm" title="Coffee">coffee</a> dominated the export economies of Central America. In the <!--del_lnk--> 1930s, bananas and coffee made up as much as 75 percent of the region's exports. As late as <!--del_lnk--> 1960, the two crops accounted for 67 percent of the exports from the region. Though the two were grown in similar regions, they tended not to be distributed together. The <!--del_lnk--> United Fruit Company based its business almost entirely on the banana trade, as the coffee trade proved too difficult for it to control. The term "<!--del_lnk--> banana republic" has been broadly applied to most countries in Central America, but from a strict economic perspective only Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama were actual "banana republics", countries with economies dominated by the banana trade.<p>The countries of the <a href="../../wp/e/European_Union.htm" title="European Union">European Union</a> have traditionally imported many of their bananas from the former European island colonies of the Caribbean, paying guaranteed prices above global market rates. As of 2005 these arrangements were in the process of being withdrawn under pressure from other major trading powers, principally the United States. The withdrawal of these indirect subsidies to Caribbean producers is expected to favour the banana producers of Central America, in which American companies have an economic interest.<p><a id="Cultivation" name="Cultivation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cultivation</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1056.jpg.htm" title="Banana Corms"><img alt="Banana Corms" height="121" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bananacorms.jpg" src="../../images/10/1056.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1056.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Banana Corms</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>While the original bananas contained rather large seeds, <!--del_lnk--> triploid (and thus seedless) cultivars have been selected for human consumption. These are propagated <!--del_lnk--> asexually from offshoots of the plant. The plant is allowed to produce 2 shoots at a time; a larger one for fruiting immediately and a smaller "sucker" or "follower" that will produce fruit in 6–8 months time. The life of a banana plantation is 25 years or longer, during which time the individual stools or planting sites may move slightly from their original positions as lateral rhizome formation dictates. Latin Americans sometimes comment that the plants are "walking" over time.<p>Cultivated bananas are <i><!--del_lnk--> parthenocarpic</i>, which makes them sterile and unable to produce viable seeds. Lacking seeds, another form of propagation is required. This involves removing and transplanting part of the underground stem (called a <!--del_lnk--> corm). Usually this is done by carefully removing a sucker (a vertical shoot that develops from the base of the banana pseudostem) with some roots intact. However, small sympodial corms, representing not yet elongated suckers, are harder to transplant and can be left out of the ground for up to 2 weeks; they require minimal care and can be boxed together for shipment.<p>In some countries, bananas are commercially propagated by means of tissue culture. This method is preferred since it ensures disease-free planting material. When using vegetative parts such as suckers for propagation, there is a risk of transmitting diseases (especially the devastating Panama disease).<p><a id="Pests_and_diseases" name="Pests_and_diseases"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Pests and diseases</span></h2>
<p>While in no danger of outright extinction, the most common edible banana cultivar 'Cavendish' (extremely popular in Europe and the Americas) could become unviable for large-scale cultivation in the next 10-20 years. Its predecessor 'Gros Michel', discovered in the 1820s, has already suffered this fate. Like almost all bananas, it lacks genetic diversity, which makes it vulnerable to diseases, which threaten both commercial cultivation and the small-scale subsistence farming. <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> Major diseases include:<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1057.jpg.htm" title="Banana bunches are sometimes encased in plastic bags for protection. The bags may be coated with pesticides."><img alt="Banana bunches are sometimes encased in plastic bags for protection. The bags may be coated with pesticides." height="261" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BananasBlueBagStLucia.jpg" src="../../images/10/1057.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1057.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Banana bunches are sometimes encased in plastic bags for protection. The bags may be coated with <!--del_lnk--> pesticides.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1058.jpg.htm" title="Inspecting bananas for fruit flies."><img alt="Inspecting bananas for fruit flies." height="273" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banana_trees.jpg" src="../../images/10/1058.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1058.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Inspecting bananas for fruit flies.</div>
</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Panama Disease (Race 1) – <!--del_lnk--> fusarium wilt (a <a href="../../wp/s/Soil.htm" title="Soil">soil</a> <a href="../../wp/f/Fungus.htm" title="Fungus">fungus</a>). The fungus enters the <a href="../../wp/p/Plant.htm" title="Plants">plants</a> through the <!--del_lnk--> roots and moves up with water into the trunk and leaves, producing gels and gums. These plug and cut off the flow of water and <!--del_lnk--> nutrients, causing the plant to <!--del_lnk--> wilt. Prior to <!--del_lnk--> 1960 almost all commercial banana production centered on the cultivar '<!--del_lnk--> Gros Michel', which was highly susceptible to fusarium wilt. The cultivar 'Cavendish' was chosen as a replacement for 'Gros Michel' because out of the resistant cultivars it was viewed as producing the highest quality <a href="../../wp/f/Fruit.htm" title="Fruit">fruit</a>. However, more care is required for shipping the 'Cavendish' banana and its quality compared to 'Gros Michel' is debated.<li>Tropical Race 4 - a reinvigorated strain of <!--del_lnk--> Panama Disease first discovered in 1992. This is a virulent form of fusarium wilt that has wiped out 'Cavendish' in several southeast Asian countries. It has yet to reach the Americas; however, soil fungi can easily be carried on <!--del_lnk--> boots, <a href="../../wp/c/Clothing.htm" title="Clothing">clothing</a>, or <!--del_lnk--> tools. This is how Tropical Race 4 moves from one plantation to another and is its most likely route into Latin America. The Cavendish cultivar is highly susceptible to TR4, and over time, Cavendish is almost certain to be eliminated from commercial production by this disease. Unfortunately the only known defense to TR4 is genetic resistance.<li><!--del_lnk--> Black Sigatoka - a fungal leaf spot disease first observed in <a href="../../wp/f/Fiji.htm" title="Fiji">Fiji</a> in <!--del_lnk--> 1963 or <!--del_lnk--> 1964. Black Sigatoka (also known as Black Leaf Streak) has spread to banana plantations throughout the tropics due to infected banana leaves being used as packing material. It affects all of the main cultivars of bananas and <!--del_lnk--> plantains, impeding <a href="../../wp/p/Photosynthesis.htm" title="Photosynthesis">photosynthesis</a> by turning parts of their leaves black, and eventually killing the entire leaf. Being starved for energy, fruit production falls by 50% or more, and the bananas that do grow suffer premature <!--del_lnk--> ripening, making them unsuitable for <!--del_lnk--> export. The fungus has shown ever increasing resistance to fungicidal treatment, with the current expense for treating 1 hectare exceeding US$1000 per year. In addition to the financial expense there is the question of how long such intensive spraying can be justified environmentally. Several resistant cultivars of banana have been developed, but none has yet received wide scale commercial acceptance due to taste and texture issues.<li>Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) - this <a href="../../wp/v/Virus.htm" title="Virus">virus</a> is spread from plant to plant by <!--del_lnk--> aphids. It causes stunting of the leaves resulting in a "bunched" appearance. Generally, a banana plant infected with the virus will not set fruit, although mild strains exist in many areas which do allow for some fruit production. These mild strains are often mistaken for malnourishment, or a disease other than BBTV. There is no cure for BBTV, however its effect can be minimised by planting only tissue cultured plants (In-vitro propagation), controlling the aphids, and immediately removing and destroying any plant from the field that shows signs of the disease.</ul>
<p>Even though it is no longer viable for large scale cultivation, 'Gros Michel' is not extinct and is still grown in areas where Panama Disease is not found. Likewise, 'Cavendish' is in no danger of extinction, but it may leave the shelves of the supermarkets for good if diseases make it impossible to supply the global market. It is unclear if any existing cultivar can replace 'Cavendish' on a scale needed to fill current demand, so various hybridisation and genetic engineering programs are working on creating a disease-resistant, mass-market banana.<p>Australia is relatively free of plant diseases and therefore prohibits imports. When <!--del_lnk--> Cyclone Larry wiped out Australia's domestic banana crop in 2006, bananas became very expensive.<p><a id="Effects_of_banana_diseases_in_East_Africa" name="Effects_of_banana_diseases_in_East_Africa"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Effects of banana diseases in East Africa</span></h2>
<p>Most bananas grown worldwide are used for local consumption. In the tropics, bananas, especially cooking bananas, represent a major source of food, as well as a major source of income for smallholder farmers. It is in the East African highlands that bananas reach their greatest importance as a staple food crop. In countries such as <a href="../../wp/u/Uganda.htm" title="Uganda">Uganda</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Burundi.htm" title="Burundi">Burundi</a> and <a href="../../wp/r/Rwanda.htm" title="Rwanda">Rwanda</a> per capita consumption has been estimated at 450 kg per year, the highest in the world. Ugandans use the same word "matooke" to describe both banana and food.<p>In the past, the banana was a highly sustainable crop with a long plantation life and stable yields year round. However with the arrival of the Black Sigatoka fungus, banana production in eastern Africa has fallen by over 40%. For example during the 1970s, Uganda produced 15 to 20 tonnes of bananas per hectare. Today production has fallen to only 6 tonnes per hectare.<p>The situation has started to improve as new disease resistant cultivars have been developed such as the <!--del_lnk--> FHIA-17 (known in Uganda as the Kabana 3). These new cultivars taste different from the traditionally grown banana which has slowed their acceptance by local farmers. However, by adding <!--del_lnk--> mulch and animal <!--del_lnk--> manure to the soil around the base of the banana plant, these new cultivars have substantially increased yields in the areas where they have been tried.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Rockefeller Foundation has started trials for <!--del_lnk--> genetically modified banana plants that are resistant to both Black Sigatoka and banana weevils. It is developing cultivars specifically for smallholder or subsistence farmers.<p><a id="Fiber" name="Fiber"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Fibre</span></h2>
<p>The banana plant has long been a source of fibre for high quality textiles. In Japan, the cultivation of banana for clothing and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. In the Japanese system, leaves and shoots are cut from the plant periodically to ensure softness. The harvested shoots must first be boiled in <!--del_lnk--> lye to prepare the fibers for the making of the yarn. These banana shoots produce fibers of varying degrees of softness, yielding yarns and textiles with differing qualities for specific uses. For example, the outermost fibers of the shoots are the coarsest, and are suitable for tablecloths, whereas the softest innermost fibers are desirable for <!--del_lnk--> kimono and <!--del_lnk--> kamishimo. This traditional Japanese banana cloth making process requires many steps, all done by hand.<p>In another system employed in Nepal, the trunk of the banana plant is instead harvested, small pieces of which are subjected to a softening process, mechanical extraction of the fibers, bleaching, drying, after which the fibers are sent to the <!--del_lnk--> Kathmandu valley for the making of high end rugs with a textural quality similar to silk. These banana fibre rugs are woven by the traditional Nepalese hand-knotted methods, and are sold <!--del_lnk--> RugMark certified.<p>Banana fibre is also used in the production of <!--del_lnk--> banana paper.<p><a id="Popular_culture" name="Popular_culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Popular culture</span></h2>
<p>The depiction of a person slipping on a banana peel has been a staple of <!--del_lnk--> physical comedy for generations. A <!--del_lnk--> 1906 comedy record produced by <!--del_lnk--> Edison Records features a popular character of the time, "Cal Stewart", claiming to describe his own such incident, saying:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Banana"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Banana"><img alt="Banana" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>I don't think much of a man what throws a bananer peelin' on the sidewalk, and I don't think much of a bananer what throws a man on the sidewalk, neether. ... my foot hit that bananer peelin' and I went up in the air, and cum down ker-plunk, and fer about a minnit I seen all the stars what stronomy tells about, and some that haint been discovered yit. Wall jist as I wuz pickin' myself up a little boy cum runnin' cross the street and he sed "Oh mister, won't you please do that agin, my mother didn't see you do it."</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Banana"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Banana"><img alt="Banana" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Because of the stereotypical image of <a href="../../wp/m/Monkey.htm" title="Monkeys">monkeys</a> and <!--del_lnk--> apes eating bananas, they have been used for <!--del_lnk--> racist insults, such as throwing bananas at sports players of <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">African</a> descent (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> ). In Chinese culture, banana is a slang term which is used to describe an Asian person who acts like a <!--del_lnk--> caucasian (yellow on the outside, white on the inside). Due to their association with monkeys they are also used as tokens in the 3D <a href="../../wp/n/Nintendo.htm" title="Nintendo">Nintendo</a> versions of <!--del_lnk--> Donkey Kong and the <!--del_lnk--> Sega series <!--del_lnk--> Super Monkey Ball. Bananas are also "humorously" used as a <!--del_lnk--> phallic symbol due to similarities in size and shape.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Plant', 'Tree', 'Rice', 'Wheat', 'Maize', 'Tropics', 'Asia', 'Cultivar', 'Fruit', 'Vitamin C', 'Potassium', 'United States', 'EU', 'Malaysia', 'Indonesia', 'Philippines', 'Papua New Guinea', 'Buddhism', 'Alexander the Great', 'India', 'China', 'Islam', 'Africa', 'English language', 'Spanish language', 'Portuguese language', '15th century', '16th century', 'Portugal', 'Brazil', 'Fatty acid', 'Vitamin C', 'Colour', 'Temperate', 'Tropics', 'Cultivar', 'Flower', 'Kerala', 'Myanmar', 'Malaysia', 'Singapore', 'Indonesia', 'China', 'Puerto Rico', 'India', 'Honey', 'India', 'Brazil', "People's Republic of China", 'Ecuador', 'Philippines', 'Indonesia', 'Costa Rica', 'Mexico', 'Thailand', 'Colombia', 'Burundi', 'Cultivar', 'Potato', 'India', 'Ecuador', 'Costa Rica', 'Philippines', 'Colombia', '20th century', 'Coffee', 'European Union', 'Soil', 'Fungus', 'Plants', 'Fruit', 'Clothing', 'Fiji', 'Photosynthesis', 'Virus', 'Uganda', 'Burundi', 'Rwanda', 'Monkeys', 'Africa', 'Nintendo']
|
Bandicoot
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bandicoot,2005,Anglicised,Animal,Australia,Bandicoot Rat,Bilby,Carnivorous,Ceram Bandicoot,Chaeropodidae,Chaeropus" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bandicoot</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bandicoot";
var wgTitle = "Bandicoot";
var wgArticleId = 241607;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bandicoot">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bandicoot</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Bandicoots</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1061.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="132" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bandicoot-in-grass-at-night.jpg" src="../../images/10/1061.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center">
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">Mammalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Infraclass:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Marsupialia<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Peramelemorphia<br /><small>(in part)<br /></small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Families and <!--del_lnk--> Genera</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Chaeropodidae<ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Chaeropus</i></ul>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Peramelidae<ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Isoodon</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Perameles</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Peroryctes</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Echymipera</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Microperoryctes</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Rhynchomeles</i></ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>A <b>bandicoot</b> is any of about 20 species of small to medium-sized, terrestrial <!--del_lnk--> marsupial <!--del_lnk--> omnivores in the order <!--del_lnk--> Peramelemorphia. The word bandicoot is an <!--del_lnk--> anglicised form of the <!--del_lnk--> Telugu word <i>pandi-kokku</i>, (loosely, <a href="../../wp/p/Pig.htm" title="Pig">pig</a>-<!--del_lnk--> rat) which originally referred to the unrelated Indian <!--del_lnk--> Bandicoot Rat. The other two species of peramelemorphs are the <!--del_lnk--> bilbies.<p>Classification within the Peramelemorphia used to be simple: there were thought to be two families in the order — the short-legged and mostly <!--del_lnk--> herbivorous bandicoots, and the longer-legged, more nearly <!--del_lnk--> carnivorous bilbies. In recent years, however, it has become clear that the situation is more complex. First, the bandicoots of the <!--del_lnk--> New Guinean and far-northern <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australian</a> <a href="../../wp/r/Rainforest.htm" title="Rainforest">rainforests</a> were deemed distinct from all other bandicoots, and these were grouped together in the separate family <!--del_lnk--> Peroryctidae. More recently, the bandicoot families were reunited in <!--del_lnk--> Peramelidae, with the New Guinean species split into four genera in two subfamilies, <!--del_lnk--> Peroryctinae and <!--del_lnk--> Echymiperinae, while the "true bandicoots" occupy the subfamily <!--del_lnk--> Peramelinae. The only exception is the extinct <!--del_lnk--> Pig-footed Bandicoot, which has been given its own family, <!--del_lnk--> Chaeropodidae.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> embryos of bandicoots, unlike other marsupials, form a <!--del_lnk--> placenta-like organ that connects it to the <!--del_lnk--> uterine wall. The function of this organ is probably to transfer nutrients from the mother; however the structure is small compared to those of the <!--del_lnk--> placentalia.<ul>
<li>ORDER <!--del_lnk--> PERAMELEMORPHIA<li>Family <!--del_lnk--> Thylacomyidae: bilbies, 2 species<li><b>Family <!--del_lnk--> Chaeropodidae</b>: <!--del_lnk--> Pig-footed Bandicoot<li><b>Family <!--del_lnk--> Peramelidae</b><ul>
<li>Subfamily <!--del_lnk--> Peramelinae<ul>
<li>Genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Isoodon</i>: short-nosed bandicoots<li>Genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Perameles</i>: long-nosed bandicoots</ul>
<li>Subfamily <!--del_lnk--> Peroryctinae<ul>
<li>Genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Peroryctes</i>: New Guinean long-nosed bandicoots</ul>
<li>Subfamily <!--del_lnk--> Echymiperinae<ul>
<li>Genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Echymipera</i>: New Guinean spiny bandicoots<li>Genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Microperoryctes</i>: New Guinean mouse bandicoots<li>Genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Rhynchomeles</i>: <!--del_lnk--> Ceram Bandicoot</ul>
</ul>
<li><b>Superfamily <!--del_lnk--> Yaraloidea</b><ul>
<li><b>Family <!--del_lnk--> Yaralidae</b>: fossil bandicoots, 2 species</ul>
</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandicoot"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Mammal', 'Pig', 'Australia', 'Rainforest']
|
Bangalore
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bangalore,Bengaluru-pronunciation.ogg,Bangalore-pronunciation.ogg,1537 CE,2005,2006,AIR FM Rainbow,Aerospace,Agartala,Agitation,Agra" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bangalore</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bangalore";
var wgTitle = "Bangalore";
var wgArticleId = 37516;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bangalore">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bangalore</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Asia.htm">Geography of Asia</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table cellpadding="4" class="infobox" style="width: 250px; empty-cells:show; line-height: 1.4em; font-size: 85%;">
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="margin-left: inherit; color: #f8fafd; background-color: #3F84BD; font-size: 1.5em; text-align: center"><b>Bengalūru</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; padding: 0.7em 0.8em 0.7em 0.8em;;">
<div>
<div style="width:240px; background:transparent">
<div style="position:relative; width:240px"><a class="image" href="../../images/38/3825.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="280" longdesc="/wiki/Image:India-locator-map-blank.svg" src="../../images/38/3825.png" width="240" /></a><br />
<div style="position:absolute;z-index:200; top:81.2%; left:33.7%; height:0; width:0; margin:0; padding:0;">
<div style="position:relative; top:-4px; left:-4px; width:8px; text-align:center; z-index:201"><a class="image" href="../../images/171/17100.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="8" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Locator_Dot.svg" src="../../images/38/3826.png" width="8" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size:90%; line-height:110%; position:relative; top:-1.5em; left:0.5em; text-align:left; width:6em; z-index:202;"><span style="padding:1px;background:none"><b>Bengalūru</b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em; border-top: solid 3px #3F84BD;" width="110px"><b><!--del_lnk--> State</b><br /> - <!--del_lnk--> District(s)</td>
<td style="padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em; border-top: 3px solid #3F84BD;"><!--del_lnk--> Karnataka<br /> - <!--del_lnk--> Bangalore Urban</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: 1px solid #ccddee; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Coordinates</b></td>
<td style="border-top: 1px solid #ccddee; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em;"><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 12.58° N 77.35° E</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em; border-top: 1px solid #ccddee;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Area</b><br /> - <!--del_lnk--> Elevation</td>
<td style="white-space: nowrap; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em; border-top: 1px solid #ccddee;">476.66 km²<br /> - 920 m</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em;"><b><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></b></td>
<td style="padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em;"><a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Standard_Time.htm" title="Indian Standard Time">IST</a> (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+5:30)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: 1px solid #ccddee; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em"><b><!--del_lnk--> Population</b> (<!--del_lnk--> 2006)<br /> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td style="border-top: 1px solid #ccddee; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em">6,158,677 (<!--del_lnk--> 5th)<br /> - 22,719/km²</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em; border-top: 1px solid #ccddee;"><b>Mayor</b></td>
<td style="padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em; border-top: 1px solid #ccddee;"><!--del_lnk--> Mumtaz Begum</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: 1px solid #ccddee; border-bottom: solid 1px #ccddee; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em;"><b>Codes</b><br /> - <!--del_lnk--> Postal<br /> - Telephone<br /> - <!--del_lnk--> Vehicle</td>
<td style="border-top: 1px solid #ccddee; border-bottom: solid 1px #ccddee; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0.4em;"> <br /> - 560 0xx<br /> - +080<br /> - KA-01; KA-05; KA-41; KA-53</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Bangalore</b> or <b>Bengalūru</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Kannada: <span class="Unicode">ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು</span>; <!--del_lnk--> pronunciation: <span class="IPA audiolink nounderlines" style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> ['beŋgəɭuːru]</span> in Kannada and <span class="IPA audiolink nounderlines" style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> /'bæŋgəlɔː(ɹ)/</span> in <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>) is the capital of the <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">Indian</a> <!--del_lnk--> state of <!--del_lnk--> Karnataka. Located on the <!--del_lnk--> Mysore Plateau in south-western Karnataka, Bengaluru has an estimated metropolitan population of 6.1 million (2006), making it India's <!--del_lnk--> third-largest city and <!--del_lnk--> fifth-largest metropolitan area. Though historical references to the city predate 900 CE, a written history of continuous settlement exists only from <!--del_lnk--> 1537 CE, when <!--del_lnk--> Kempe Gowda I, whom many regard as the architect of modern Bengaluru, built a mud fort in the city and established it as a province of the <!--del_lnk--> Vijayanagara Empire.<p>During the <!--del_lnk--> British Raj, Bengaluru developed as a centre for colonial rule in South India. The establishment of the <!--del_lnk--> Bangalore Cantonment brought in large numbers of migrant <a href="../../wp/t/Tamil_people.htm" title="Tamil people">Tamil</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Telugu and <!--del_lnk--> North Indian workers for developing and maintaining the infrastructure of the cantonment.<p>After India gained <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_independence_movement.htm" title="Indian Independence Movement">independence</a> in 1947 CE, Bengaluru evolved into a manufacturing hub for <!--del_lnk--> public sector <!--del_lnk--> heavy industries—particularly <!--del_lnk--> aerospace, space and <!--del_lnk--> defence. The establishment and success of business software services firms in Bengaluru after the liberalisation of <a href="../../wp/e/Economy_of_India.htm" title="Economy of India">India's economy</a> has led to the growth of India's <!--del_lnk--> information technology industry. Bengaluru is referred to as the <i><!--del_lnk--> Silicon Valley of India</i> and accounts for 35 percent of India's software exports. Home to prestigious colleges and research institutions, the city has the second-highest literacy rate among the metropolitan cities in the nation. However, as a large and growing metropolis in the <!--del_lnk--> developing world, Bengaluru continues to struggle with problems such as air pollution, traffic congestion, and crime.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> December 11, <!--del_lnk--> 2005, the <!--del_lnk--> Government of Karnataka announced that it had accepted the proposal by <!--del_lnk--> Jnanpith Award winner <!--del_lnk--> U. R. Ananthamurthy to <!--del_lnk--> rename Bangalore to its Kannada name, <b>Bengalūru</b>. On <!--del_lnk--> September 27, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, the <!--del_lnk--> Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) passed a resolution to implement the proposed name change, pending approvals from the Government of Karnataka and citizens of the city. On <!--del_lnk--> October 7th <!--del_lnk--> 2006, the <!--del_lnk--> Government of Karnataka accepted this resolution and decided to officially implement the name change on <!--del_lnk--> November 1st <!--del_lnk--> 2006. However, the name change still has to be approved by the <!--del_lnk--> central government, a process that is expected to take a few months.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Etymology" name="Etymology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Etymology</span></h2>
<p>The name Bangalore is an <!--del_lnk--> anglicised version of the city's name in the <!--del_lnk--> Kannada language, Bengalūru. The earliest reference to the name "Bengalūru" was found in a 9th-century CE <!--del_lnk--> Ganga Dynasty stone inscription on a "veera kallu" (literally, "hero stone", a rock edict extolling the virtues of a warrior). In this inscription found in <!--del_lnk--> Begur, "Bengaluru" is referred to as a place in which a battle was fought in 890 CE. It states that the place was part of the Ganga kingdom and was known as "Bengaval-uru", the "City of Guards" in old Kannada. An article, published in <!--del_lnk--> The Hindu, states :<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Bangalore"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Bangalore"><img alt="Bangalore" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>An inscription, dating back to 890 <!--del_lnk--> CE, shows Bengaluru is over 1,000 years old. But it stands neglected at the Parvathi Nageshwara Temple in Begur near the city...(w)ritten in Hale Kannada (old Kannada) of the 9th Century CE, the epigraph refers to a Bengaluru war in 890 CE in which Buttanachetty, a servant of Nagatta, died. Though this has been recorded by historian R. Narasimhachar in his Epigraphia of Carnatica (Vol. 10 supplementary), no efforts have been made to preserve it.</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Bangalore"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Bangalore"><img alt="Bangalore" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>A popular <!--del_lnk--> anecdote (although one contradicted by historical evidence) recounts that the 11th-century CE <!--del_lnk--> Hoysala king <!--del_lnk--> Veera Ballala II, while on a hunting expedition, lost his way in the forest. Tired and hungry, he came across a poor old woman who served him boiled beans. The grateful king named the place "benda kaal-ooru" (<!--del_lnk--> Kannada: ಬೆಂದ ಕಾಳು ಊರು) (literally, "town of boiled beans"), which was eventually colloquialised to "Bengalūru". There are also theories that the name has a floral origin and is derived from the tree <!--del_lnk--> Benga or "Ven-kai", also known as the <!--del_lnk--> Indian Kino Tree (Pterocarpus marsupium). The city as it is known today was named by <!--del_lnk--> Kempe Gowda I.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>An inscription found near <!--del_lnk--> Begur, reveals that the district was a part of the Ganga Dynasty until 1004 CE and was known as Benga-val-oru, the "City of Guards" in old <!--del_lnk--> Kannada. The Cholas of Tamil Nadu ruled over the city from 1015 CE to 1116 CE until the town came under the rule of the <!--del_lnk--> Hoysala Empire. Modern Bangalore was founded by a <!--del_lnk--> feudatory of the Vijayanagara Empire, Kempe Gowda I, who built a mud fort in the proximity of modern Bengaluru in 1537 CE. Kempe Gowda referred to the new town as his "gandu bhoomi" or "Land of Heroes". Within the fort, the town was divided into <i><b>pete</b></i>s (<!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[peɪteɪ]</span>) or markets. The town had two main streets: <!--del_lnk--> Chickkapete Street ran east-west and Doddapete Street ran north-south. Their intersection formed Doddapete square — the heart of Bengaluru. Kempe Gowda's successor, Kempe Gowda II, built four famous towers that marked Bengaluru's boundary. During the Vijayanagara rule, Bengaluru was also referred to as "Devarāyanagara" and "Kalyānapura" ("Auspicious City").<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23493.jpg.htm" title="The Vidhana Soudha is the seat of Karnataka's Legislative assembly"><img alt="The Vidhana Soudha is the seat of Karnataka's Legislative assembly" height="169" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Soudha.jpg" src="../../images/234/23493.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23493.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Vidhana Soudha is the seat of <!--del_lnk--> Karnataka's <!--del_lnk--> Legislative assembly</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23494.jpg.htm" title="An 1898 map of the Kingdom of Mysore depicting the location of Bangalore."><img alt="An 1898 map of the Kingdom of Mysore depicting the location of Bangalore." height="175" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangalore_Historical_Map.jpg" src="../../images/234/23494.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23494.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An 1898 map of the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Mysore depicting the location of <b>Bangalore</b>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, Bengaluru's rule changed hands several times. It was captured by the <!--del_lnk--> Maratha chief <!--del_lnk--> Shahaji <!--del_lnk--> Bhonsle prior to a <!--del_lnk--> Mughal invasion. The city became part of the Kingdom of Mysore when the Mughal emperor <!--del_lnk--> Aurangzeb leased Bangalore to Chikkadeva Raja <!--del_lnk--> Wodeyar in 1689 CE. After the death of Krishnaraja Wodeyar II in 1759 CE, <!--del_lnk--> Haider Ali, Commander-in-Chief of the Mysore Army, proclaimed himself the <!--del_lnk--> de-facto ruler of Mysore. The kingdom later passed on to Haider Ali's son <!--del_lnk--> Tippu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore. Bengaluru was eventually incorporated into the <!--del_lnk--> British East Indian Empire after Tippu Sultan was defeated and killed in the <!--del_lnk--> Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799 CE). The British returned administrative control of the Bengaluru "pete" to the <!--del_lnk--> Maharaja of Mysore, choosing only to retain the <!--del_lnk--> Cantonment under their jurisdiction. Under British rule, Bengaluru was incorporated into the <!--del_lnk--> Madras Presidency. The Kingdom of Mysore relocated its capital from <!--del_lnk--> Mysore city to Bengaluru in 1831 CE. Two important developments during this period contributed to the rapid growth of the city — the introduction of telegraph connections and a rail connection to <!--del_lnk--> Madras in 1864 CE.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23495.jpg.htm" title="South Parade (now Mahatma Gandhi Road) during colonial times."><img alt="South Parade (now Mahatma Gandhi Road) during colonial times." height="390" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangalore_South_Parade.jpg" src="../../images/234/23495.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23495.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> South Parade (now Mahatma Gandhi Road) during colonial times.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In the 19th century CE, Bengaluru essentially became a <!--del_lnk--> twin city, with the "pete", whose residents were predominantly <!--del_lnk--> Kannadigas, and the Bangalore Cantonment, whose residents were mostly migrants from Tamil Nadu. Bengaluru was hit by a <!--del_lnk--> plague epidemic in 1898 CE that dramatically reduced its population. New extensions in Malleswaram and Basavanagudi were developed in the North and South of the Pete. Telephone lines were laid to help co-ordinate anti-plague operations, and a health officer was appointed to the city in 1898 CE. In 1906 CE Bengaluru became the first city in India to have electricity, powered by the <!--del_lnk--> hydroelectric plant situated in <!--del_lnk--> Shivanasamudra. Bengaluru's reputation as the Garden City of India began in 1927 CE with the <!--del_lnk--> Silver Jubilee celebrations of the rule of <!--del_lnk--> Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. Several projects such as the construction of parks, public buildings and hospitals were instituted to beautify the city. After Indian independence in August 1947 CE, Bangalore remained in the new <!--del_lnk--> Mysore State of which the Maharaja of Mysore was the Rajpramukh. Public sector employment and education provided opportunities for Kannadigas from the rest of the state to migrate to the city. Bengaluru experienced rapid growth in the decades 1941–51 CE and 1971–81 CE, which saw the arrival of many immigrants from northern Karnataka and <!--del_lnk--> Kodagu. By 1961 CE Bengaluru had become the sixth largest city in India, with a population of 1,207,000. In the decades that followed, Bengaluru's manufacturing base continued to expand with the establishment of private companies such as <!--del_lnk--> Motor Industries Company (MICO; a subsidiary of <!--del_lnk--> Robert Bosch GmbH), which set up its manufacturing plant in the city. Bengaluru experienced a boom in its <!--del_lnk--> real estate market in the 1980s and 1990s CE, spurred by capital investors from other parts of the country who converted Bengaluru's large plots and colonial <!--del_lnk--> bungalows to multistorey apartments. The establishment of multinational companies such as <!--del_lnk--> ANZ Bank and <!--del_lnk--> Citibank as well as international <!--del_lnk--> fast food chains such as <!--del_lnk--> Pizza Hut and <!--del_lnk--> Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in the 1990s CE continued to expand foreign investment in Bengaluru. The city witnessed one of its largest media events ever when it hosted the 1996 CE the <!--del_lnk--> Miss World beauty pageant, which was seen by over two billion viewers worldwide. Many of these developments were met with opposition from groups fearing the loss of the city's national and linguistic identity. Widespread protests organised against the Miss World contest by women's organisations led to the arrests of about 1,000 protesters. In 1996 CE farmer activists attacked and damaged the KFC outlet in Bengaluru, accusing it of "representing western food habits which are not needed in India". Through the 1990s CE the state government promoted large-scale development projects such as the construction of sports <!--del_lnk--> stadia and exclusive apartment complexes, which resulted in the demolition and resettlement of poorer settlements to distant peripheral locations. In the mid-1990s CE, Bengaluru's economy grew many fold because of the <!--del_lnk--> software boom. Contrastingly, employment opportunities in almost all other sectors, in the city's manufacturing industries, declined. This was due to rampant and uncontrolled globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation.<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Bengaluru is situated in the southeast of the <!--del_lnk--> South Indian state of Karnataka. It is located in the heart of the Mysore Plateau (a region of the larger <a href="../../wp/p/Precambrian.htm" title="Precambrian">Precambrian</a> <!--del_lnk--> Deccan Plateau) at an average elevation of 920 <!--del_lnk--> m (3,018 <!--del_lnk--> feet). It is positioned at <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 12.97° N 77.56° E</span> and covers an area of 2190 <!--del_lnk--> km² (1,360 <!--del_lnk--> mi²). Bengaluru District borders with <!--del_lnk--> Kolar District in the northeast, <!--del_lnk--> Tumkur District in the northwest, <!--del_lnk--> Mandya District in the southwest, <!--del_lnk--> Chamarajanagar District in the south and the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu in the southeast. The Bengaluru Urban district is divided into three <!--del_lnk--> taluks: <!--del_lnk--> Bengaluru North, Bengaluru South and <!--del_lnk--> Anekal. The Bengaluru North taluk is a relatively more level plateau, while the Bengaluru South taluk has an uneven landscape with intermingling hills and valleys.<p>The topology of Bengaluru is flat except for a central <!--del_lnk--> ridge running <!--del_lnk--> NNE-<!--del_lnk--> SSW. The highest point is <!--del_lnk--> Doddabettahalli, which is 962 m (3,156 ft) and lies on this ridge. No major rivers run through the city, though the <!--del_lnk--> Arkavathi and <!--del_lnk--> South Pennar cross paths at the <!--del_lnk--> Nandi Hills, 60 km (37 mi) to the north. <!--del_lnk--> River Vrishabhavathi, a minor tributary of Arkavathi, arises within the city at <!--del_lnk--> Basavanagudi and flows through the city. Together, rivers Arkavathi and Vrishabhavathi carry much of Bengaluru's <!--del_lnk--> sewage. A <!--del_lnk--> sewerage system, constructed in 1922 CE, covers 215 km² (133 mi²) of the city and connects with five <!--del_lnk--> sewage treatment centers located in the periphery of Bengaluru.<p>In the 16th century CE, Kempe Gowda I constructed many lakes to meet the town's water requirements. The Kempamundi Kere, since overrun by modern development, was prominent. Later in the 20th century CE, the Nandi Hills <!--del_lnk--> waterworks, commissioned by <!--del_lnk--> Sir Mirza Ismail (<!--del_lnk--> Dewan of Mysore, 1926–41 CE), provided adequate water supply to the growing city. Bengaluru currently relies heavily on water <!--del_lnk--> reservoirs from the Kaveri <!--del_lnk--> basin and on Vrishabhavathi and Arkavathi <!--del_lnk--> water treatment plants to meet the water needs of its population of six million. Bengaluru receives 800 million <!--del_lnk--> litres (211 million <!--del_lnk--> US gallons) of water a day, more than any other Indian city. However, water shortages, especially during summer, are commonplace. A <!--del_lnk--> random sampling study of the <!--del_lnk--> Air Quality Index (AQI) of twenty stations within the city indicated scores that ranged from 76 to 314, suggesting heavy to severe air pollution around areas of traffic concentration. For purposes of comparison, India's metropolitan cities <!--del_lnk--> Ahmedabad, <a href="../../wp/d/Delhi.htm" title="Delhi">Delhi</a> and <a href="../../wp/k/Kolkata.htm" title="Kolkata">Kolkata</a> were classified as having heavy pollution, while Bengaluru and <a href="../../wp/m/Mumbai.htm" title="Mumbai">Mumbai</a> were categorised as having moderate pollution.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23497.jpg.htm" title="The Agara Lake, at sunset. Bengaluru has a large number of lakes — of these Sankey lake, Ulsoor lake and Yediyur lake are the most prominent."><img alt="The Agara Lake, at sunset. Bengaluru has a large number of lakes — of these Sankey lake, Ulsoor lake and Yediyur lake are the most prominent." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangalore_Agara_Kere.jpg" src="../../images/234/23497.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23497.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Agara Lake, at sunset. Bengaluru has a large number of lakes — of these Sankey lake, Ulsoor lake and Yediyur lake are the most prominent.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bengaluru has a handful of freshwater lakes and <!--del_lnk--> water tanks, the largest of which are Madivala tank, <!--del_lnk--> Hebbal lake, Ulsoor lake and <!--del_lnk--> Sankey Tank. Groundwater occurs in <!--del_lnk--> silty to <a href="../../wp/s/Sand.htm" title="Sand">sandy</a> layers of the <!--del_lnk--> alluvial sediments. Bengaluru receives adequate rainfall from the Northeast <!--del_lnk--> Monsoon as well as the Southwest Monsoon. The Peninsular Gneissic Complex (PGC) is the most dominant rock unit in the area and includes <a href="../../wp/g/Granite.htm" title="Granite">granites</a>, <!--del_lnk--> gneisses and <!--del_lnk--> migmatites, while the soils of Bengaluru consist of red <!--del_lnk--> laterite and red, fine <!--del_lnk--> loamy to <a href="../../wp/c/Clay.htm" title="Clay">clayey</a> soils. <a href="../../wp/v/Vegetation.htm" title="Vegetation">Vegetation</a> in the city is primarily in the form of large <!--del_lnk--> deciduous <!--del_lnk--> canopy and minority <a href="../../wp/c/Coconut.htm" title="Coconut">coconut</a> trees. Bengaluru has not been affected by major <!--del_lnk--> seismic activity due to it being located in a seismically stable zone (Zone II). Only mild tremors have been recorded in the city.<p>Because of its elevation, Bengaluru enjoys a pleasant and equable <!--del_lnk--> climate throughout the year. The highest temperature recorded is 39°<!--del_lnk--> C (102°<!--del_lnk--> F) and the lowest is 11°C (52°F). Winter temperatures rarely drop below 12°C (54°F), and summer temperatures seldom exceed 38°C (100°F). The wettest months are August, September and October, in that order. The summer heat is moderated by fairly frequent <a href="../../wp/t/Thunderstorm.htm" title="Thunderstorm">thunderstorms</a>, and occasional squalls cause power outages and local flooding. Most of the rainfall occurs during in late afternoon, evening or night, and rain before noon is infrequent. The heaviest rainfall recorded in a 24-hour period is 180 <!--del_lnk--> mm (7 <!--del_lnk--> in) recorded on <!--del_lnk--> 1 October <!--del_lnk--> 1997 CE.<p><a id="Civic_administration" name="Civic_administration"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Civic administration</span></h2>
<table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #F4F5F6; border: 1px #C6C7C8 solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%" width="260">
<tr>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#C2D6E5" colspan="2"><b>Bangalore City officials</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><b><!--del_lnk--> Mayor</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Mumtaz Begum</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Municipal Commissioner</b></td>
<td>Kalaikurchi Jairaj</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Police Commissioner</b></td>
<td>N Achuta Rao</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23498.jpg.htm" title="The Karnataka High Court, also called Attara Kacheri, is the supreme judicial body in Karnataka and is located in Bengaluru"><img alt="The Karnataka High Court, also called Attara Kacheri, is the supreme judicial body in Karnataka and is located in Bengaluru" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangalore_HighCourt.jpg" src="../../images/234/23498.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23498.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Karnataka High Court, also called <i>Attara Kacheri</i>, is the supreme judicial body in Karnataka and is located in Bengaluru</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BMP, <i>Bengaluru Metropolitan Council</i>) is the <!--del_lnk--> municipal corporation in charge of the civic and infrastructural assets of the city. The district of Bengaluru is home to 7 other city municipal councils such as those in <!--del_lnk--> Yelahanka, <!--del_lnk--> Bommanahalli, Dasarahalli, Krishnarajapuram, Pattangere, Bytarayanpura and Mahadevapura. The Government of Karnataka proposes to merge these 7 councils into BMP to form Greater Bengaluru. The BMP council comprises 100 elected representatives, called "corporators", one from each of the 100 wards (localities) of the city. Elections to the council are held once every five years, with results being decided by <a href="../../wp/e/Election.htm" title="Popular vote">popular vote</a>. A <!--del_lnk--> mayor and <!--del_lnk--> commissioner of the council are also elected through a quota system from a <!--del_lnk--> Scheduled Castes and Tribes candidate or to an <!--del_lnk--> Other Backward Class female candidate. Bangalore's rapid growth has created several problems relating to traffic congestion and infrastructural obsolescence that the Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has found challenging to address. A 2003 <i>Battelle Environmental Evaluation System</i> (BEES) evaluation of Bengaluru's physical, biological and socioeconomic parameters indicated that Bengaluru's water quality, terrestrial and aquatic <!--del_lnk--> ecosystem were close to <i>ideal</i>, while the city's socioeconomic parameters (<!--del_lnk--> traffic, <!--del_lnk--> quality of life) scored poorly. The BMP has been criticised by the Karnataka High Court, citizens and corporations for failing to effectively address the crumbling road and traffic infrastructure of Bengaluru. The unplanned nature of growth in the city resulted in massive traffic <!--del_lnk--> gridlocks that the municipality attempted to ease by constructing a <!--del_lnk--> flyover system and by imposing one-way traffic systems. Some of the flyovers and one-ways mitigated the traffic situation moderately but were unable to adequately address the disproportionate growth of city traffic . In 2005 CE both the <!--del_lnk--> Central Government and the State Government allocated considerable portions of their annual budgets to address Bengaluru's infrastructure. The Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike works with the <!--del_lnk--> Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) and the <!--del_lnk--> Bengaluru Agenda Task Force (BATF) to design and implement civic projects. Bengaluru generates about 3,000 tonnes of <!--del_lnk--> solid waste per day, of which about 1,139 tonnes are collected and sent to <!--del_lnk--> composting units such as the Karnataka Composting Development Corporation. The remaining solid waste collected by the <!--del_lnk--> municipality is dumped in open spaces or on roadsides outside the city.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Bengaluru City Police (BCP) is headed by a <!--del_lnk--> Police Commissioner, who is an <!--del_lnk--> Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. The BCP has six geographic zones, includes Traffic Police, City Armed Reserve, Central Crime Branch and City Crime Record Bureau and runs 86 police stations, including two all-women police stations. As capital of the state of Karnataka, Bengaluru houses important state government facilities such as the Karnataka High Court, the <!--del_lnk--> Vidhana Soudha (the home of the Karnataka state legislature) and <!--del_lnk--> Raj Bhavan. Bengaluru contributes two members to India's <!--del_lnk--> lower house of <!--del_lnk--> parliament, the <!--del_lnk--> Lok Sabha, and 24 members to the Karnataka State Assembly. <a href="../../wp/e/Electricity.htm" title="Electricity">Electricity</a> in Bengaluru is regulated through the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL). Like many cities in India, Bengaluru experiences scheduled <!--del_lnk--> power cuts, especially over the summer, to allow electricity providers to meet the consumption demands of households as well as corporations.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23499.jpg.htm" title="The Public Utility Building on MG Road is an important commercial landmark in Bengaluru."><img alt="The Public Utility Building on MG Road is an important commercial landmark in Bengaluru." height="375" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangalore_UtilityBuilding.jpg" src="../../images/234/23499.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/234/23499.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Public Utility Building on MG Road is an important commercial landmark in Bengaluru.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bengaluru's <!--del_lnk--> Rs. 222,000 <!--del_lnk--> crore (<!--del_lnk--> USD 51.9 <!--del_lnk--> billion) economy (Net District Income) makes it a major economic centre in India. Indeed, Bengaluru is India's fourth largest and fastest growing market. Bengaluru's <!--del_lnk--> per capita income of Rs. 2.9 <!--del_lnk--> lakh (US$ 6,460) is the highest for any Indian city. As of 2001 CE Bengaluru's share of Rs. 1660 crore (US$ 3.7 billion) in <!--del_lnk--> Foreign Direct Investment was the 3rd highest for an Indian city. In the 1940s industrial visionaries such as <!--del_lnk--> Sir Mirza Ismail and <!--del_lnk--> Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya played an important role in the development of Bangalore's strong manufacturing and industrial base. Bengaluru is headquarters to several public manufacturing heavy industries such as <!--del_lnk--> Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), <!--del_lnk--> National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), <!--del_lnk--> Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and <!--del_lnk--> Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT). In June 1972 CE the <!--del_lnk--> Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established under the Department of Space and headquartered in the city. Bengaluru is called the "Silicon Valley of India" because of the large number of Information Technology companies located in the city which contribute 38% of India's <!--del_lnk--> Rs. 100,000 <!--del_lnk--> crore (US$ 22 billion) IT and software export market. Bengaluru's IT industry is divided into three main <!--del_lnk--> "clusters" — Software Technology Parks of India, Bengaluru (<!--del_lnk--> STPI); <!--del_lnk--> International Technology Park Ltd. (ITPL); and <!--del_lnk--> Electronics City. <!--del_lnk--> Infosys and <!--del_lnk--> Wipro, India's 2nd and 3rd largest software companies, have largest campus in Electronics City. As headquarters to 38% of global <i>SEI-CMM Level 5 Companies</i>, Bengaluru's place in the global IT map is prominent. The growth of Information Technology has presented the city with unique challenges. Ideological clashes between the city's IT moguls, who demand an addressal of the infrastructural problems of the city, and the traditionally <!--del_lnk--> bureaucratic state governments, whose electoral base is primarily rural Karnataka's agricultural workers, are aplenty. In July 2004 CE Wipro CEO <!--del_lnk--> Azim Premji threatened to pull his company out of the city, stating, "We do not see the situation (state of Bengaluru's infrastructure) improving in the near future". The Hosur Road, which connects Bengaluru to the Electronics City, is a heavily congested road in the city. The road is also part of the <!--del_lnk--> National Highway (NH7) and therefore witnesses heavy <!--del_lnk--> truck traffic as well. <a href="../../wp/b/Biotechnology.htm" title="Biotechnology">Biotechnology</a> is a rapidly expanding field in the city. Bengaluru accounts for 47% or 127 of the approximately 265 biotechnology companies in India. <!--del_lnk--> Biocon, headquartered in Bengaluru, is the nation's leading biotechnology company and ranks 16th in the world in revenues. The <!--del_lnk--> Bangalore Stock Exchange is the largest in South India.<p><a id="Transport" name="Transport"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transport</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23500.jpg.htm" title="A traffic jam in Bangalore"><img alt="A traffic jam in Bangalore" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Traffic_in_Bangalore.JPG" src="../../images/235/23500.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23500.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A traffic jam in Bangalore</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23501.jpg.htm" title="The HAL Airport has been an issue of contention between successive State and Central governments and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited."><img alt="The HAL Airport has been an issue of contention between successive State and Central governments and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited." height="144" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangalore_HAL.jpg" src="../../images/235/23501.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23501.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The HAL Airport has been an issue of contention between successive State and Central governments and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bangalore's <!--del_lnk--> HAL Airport (<!--del_lnk--> IATA code: <b>BLR</b>) is India's third busiest and functions as both a <!--del_lnk--> domestic and <!--del_lnk--> international airport. Direct flights from Bangalore fly to destinations in <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a>, the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a> and <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>. The liberalisation of India's economic policies has led to increase in the number of domestic carriers within India, with several low-cost carriers such as <!--del_lnk--> SpiceJet, <!--del_lnk--> Kingfisher Airlines, <!--del_lnk--> Jet Airways and <!--del_lnk--> Go Air servicing the city. <!--del_lnk--> Air Deccan, with its hub in Bangalore, has the most number of flights into and out of Bangalore. Unlike most airports in the country which are controlled by the <!--del_lnk--> Airports Authority of India, the <!--del_lnk--> <i>quasi</i> government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited owns and operates Bangalore's HAL Airport, and also uses it to test and develop fighter aircraft for the <!--del_lnk--> Indian Air Force. The dual-vested interests in the airport along with an increase in air traffic to Bangalore led to a prolonged tussle for operational ownership between the HAL and the Government of Karnataka. In 1991 plans for a large-scale <!--del_lnk--> Bangalore International Airport were conceived; however, the project was repeatedly delayed due to <!--del_lnk--> red tape and friction between the private companies involved and the state government. Clearance for the construction of the US$ 288 million (Rs. 1,300 crore) airport was eventually granted in June 2004, with <!--del_lnk--> Siemens AG, <!--del_lnk--> Zürich Airport and <!--del_lnk--> Larsen and Toubro as its major private stakeholders. Construction work on the airport began in July 2005. This new International Airport is coming up in Devanahalli, 31 km North of Bangalore, and is likely to be operational by mid 2008. Also, the construction of the 6-lane Bangalore-Devanahalli expressway is underway, and most parts are nearly complete.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23502.jpg.htm" title="Autorickshaws, also simply referred to as Autos are a popular form of public transport in Bangalore."><img alt="Autorickshaws, also simply referred to as Autos are a popular form of public transport in Bangalore." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangalore_autorickshaw.jpg" src="../../images/235/23502.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23502.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Autorickshaws, also simply referred to as <i>Autos</i> are a popular form of <!--del_lnk--> public transport in Bangalore.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bangalore is well connected to the rest of the country through the <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Railways.htm" title="Indian Railways">Indian Railways</a>. The <i><!--del_lnk--> Rajdhani Express</i> connects Bangalore to <a href="../../wp/n/New_Delhi.htm" title="New Delhi">New Delhi</a>. The city is also connected to <a href="../../wp/m/Mumbai.htm" title="Mumbai">Mumbai</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Chennai.htm" title="Chennai">Chennai</a>, <a href="../../wp/k/Kolkata.htm" title="Kolkata">Kolkata</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Hyderabad, as well as other major cities in Karnataka. Three-wheeled, black and yellow <!--del_lnk--> auto-rickshaws, referred to as <i>autos</i>, are a popular form of transport. They are metered and can accommodate up to three passengers. Taxi service within Bangalore is provided by several operators commonly referred to as <i>City Taxis</i> and can take in up to four passengers and are usually metered and relatively more expensive than auto-rickshaws. <!--del_lnk--> Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) operates a fleet of 3,207 BMTC public buses, servicing an average of 2,800,000 commuters. BMTC also has about 25 Low Floor, Air Conditioned Volvo buses on major routes and has plans to introduce another 25 by the end of 2006. The new additions to BMTC is its "Pink Buses" meant for the women passengers alone. An intra-city rapid rail transport system called the <i>Namma Metro</i> is being developed and is expected to be operational in 2008. The Metro, once ready, will encompass a 33 km (20.5 mi) elevated and underground rail network, with 32 stations in <i>Phase I</i> and more being added in <i>Phase II</i>. <a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23503.jpg.htm" title="Bull Temple in Bangalore. Temple depicts the Karnataka style architecture of gopura"><img alt="Bull Temple in Bangalore. Temple depicts the Karnataka style architecture of gopura" height="333" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bulltemple.jpg" src="../../images/235/23503.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23503.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Bull Temple in Bangalore. Temple depicts the <!--del_lnk--> Karnataka style architecture of <i><!--del_lnk--> gopura</i></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>As of 2005 Bangalore had a population of over six million, making it the <!--del_lnk--> 3rd most populous city in India and the <!--del_lnk--> 27th largest city in the world by population. With a decadal growth rate of 38%, Bangalore was the fastest-growing Indian metropolis after New Delhi for the decade 1991–2001. Residents of Bangalore are referred to as <i>Bangaloreans</i>. While Kannadigas accounted for 38% of the population, sizable minorities from <!--del_lnk--> Tamil Nadu, <a href="../../wp/k/Kerala.htm" title="Kerala">Kerala</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Andhra Pradesh and <!--del_lnk--> Maharashtra exist. Scheduled Castes and Tribes account for 14.3% of the city's population. Kannada, the official language of the state of Karnataka, is widely spoken in Bangalore, as are Tamil, Telugu,Tulu and Hindi. English is the <i><!--del_lnk--> lingua franca</i> of the city's <!--del_lnk--> white-collar workforce.<p>According to the 2001 <!--del_lnk--> census of India, 79.37% of Bangalore's population is <!--del_lnk--> Hindu — roughly the same as the <!--del_lnk--> national average. <!--del_lnk--> Muslims comprise 13.37% of the population, which again is roughly the same as the national average, while <!--del_lnk--> Christians and <!--del_lnk--> Jains account for 5.79% and 1.05% of the population, respectively, double that of their national averages. Women make up 47.5% of Bangalore's population. Bangalore has the second highest literacy rate (83%) for an Indian metropolis, after Mumbai. The city's workforce structure is predominantly non-agrarian, with only 6% of Bangalore's workforce being engaged in <a href="../../wp/a/Agriculture.htm" title="Agriculture">agriculture</a>-related activities. Roughly 10% of Bangalore's population lives in <!--del_lnk--> slums — a relatively low proportion when compared to other cities in the developing world such as Mumbai (54%) and <a href="../../wp/n/Nairobi.htm" title="Nairobi">Nairobi</a> (60%). The 2004 <!--del_lnk--> National Crime Records Bureau statistics indicate that Bangalore accounts for 9.2% of the total crimes reported from 35 major cities in India. Delhi and Mumbai accounted for 15.7% and 9.5% respectively.. <!--del_lnk--> Communal tensions between the city's two largest ethnic groups, the Kannadigas and the Tamils, have led to numerous altercations. In early 1991, tensions between the two groups flared up with the proposed installation of a statue honouring the Tamil poet <!--del_lnk--> Thiruvalluvar in the city. Widespread <!--del_lnk--> agitation and <!--del_lnk--> protests organised by groups sympathetic to Kannadigas led the Commissioner of the Bangalore City Corporation to withdraw permission to unveil the statue, which remains wrapped under cloth. Later the same year, the Karnataka Government, acting upon the directives of the Government of India, agreed to release 205 <!--del_lnk--> tmc of water from the river Kaveri to the Government of Tamil Nadu, which resulted in anti-Tamil riots that left 20 people dead. After the demolition of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Babri Masjid</i> in the North Indian city of <!--del_lnk--> Ayodhya in 1992, communal violence between Hindus and Muslims spread to Bangalore during which Muslim houses and <!--del_lnk--> huts as well as an <a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a> school for Muslim girls were raided and <!--del_lnk--> torched. In 1997 the demolition of a stone structure in a <a href="../../wp/m/Mosque.htm" title="Mosque">mosque</a> in <!--del_lnk--> Jayanagar led to violence in sensitive areas in the city that left four dead.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23504.jpg.htm" title="The Lal Bagh Glass House, once famous for its flower shows, is now a heritage monument."><img alt="The Lal Bagh Glass House, once famous for its flower shows, is now a heritage monument." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangalore_Glasshouse.jpg" src="../../images/235/23504.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23504.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Lal Bagh <b>Glass House</b>, once famous for its flower shows, is now a <!--del_lnk--> heritage <!--del_lnk--> monument.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bangalore is known as the <i>Garden City of India</i> because of its climate, greenery and the presence of many public parks, including the Lal Bagh and <!--del_lnk--> Cubbon Park. <!--del_lnk--> Deepavali, the "Festival of Lights", transcends demographic and religious lines and is celebrated with great vigour. <!--del_lnk--> Dussera, a traditional celebratory hallmark of the old <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Mysore, is another important festival. Other <!--del_lnk--> traditional Indian festivals such as <!--del_lnk--> Ganesh Chaturthi, <!--del_lnk--> Ugadi, <!--del_lnk--> Sankranthi, <!--del_lnk--> Eid ul-Fitr and <!--del_lnk--> Christmas are also celebrated. Bangalore is home to the <!--del_lnk--> Kannada film industry, which churns out about 80 movies each year in <!--del_lnk--> Kannada. Most Kannada movies are <!--del_lnk--> musicals, and their soundtracks are very popular in the city. The popularity of Kannada movies has spawned a new colloquial <!--del_lnk--> dialect, <i><!--del_lnk--> Bangalore Kannada</i>, which draws upon youth culture and influences from English and other Indian languages. The diversity of cuisine available is reflective of the social and economic diversity of Bangalore. Roadside vendors, <!--del_lnk--> tea stalls, South Indian, North Indian, <!--del_lnk--> Chinese and <!--del_lnk--> Western fast food are all very popular in the city. <!--del_lnk--> Udupi restaurants are very popular and serve predominantly vegetarian, regional cuisine. Bangalore has many clubs and bars, and is sometimes referred to as the <i><!--del_lnk--> Pub Capital of India</i>. Popular nightspots in Bangalore include HiNT, Taika, <!--del_lnk--> Pecos and <!--del_lnk--> TGIF. Bangalore is also a popular venue for <!--del_lnk--> Western <!--del_lnk--> rock concerts, with <!--del_lnk--> Mark Knopfler, <!--del_lnk--> Jethro Tull and <a href="../../wp/t/The_Rolling_Stones.htm" title="The Rolling Stones">The Rolling Stones</a>, Joe Satriani, Bryan Adams, among others, having performed in the city.<p><a href="../../wp/c/Cricket.htm" title="Cricket">Cricket</a> is the most popular sport in Bangalore. A significant number of national cricketers have come from Bangalore, including current <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_cricket_team.htm" title="Indian cricket team">Indian cricket team</a> captain <!--del_lnk--> Rahul Dravid, who lives in a big house in Indiranagar. Other cricketing greats from Bangalore are <!--del_lnk--> Gundappa Vishwanath, <!--del_lnk--> Anil Kumble, <!--del_lnk--> E.A.S. Prasanna, <!--del_lnk--> Venkatesh Prasad, <!--del_lnk--> Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, <!--del_lnk--> Syed Kirmani and <!--del_lnk--> Javagal Srinath. Many of the city's children play <!--del_lnk--> gully cricket on the roads and in city's many public fields. Bangalore's main international cricket stadium is the <!--del_lnk--> M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, which hosted its first match in 1974. Bangalore has a number of elite clubs, like the Bangalore Golf Club, <!--del_lnk--> Bowring Institute and the exclusive <!--del_lnk--> Bangalore Club, which counts among its previous members <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> and the Maharaja of Mysore.<p><a id="Education" name="Education"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Education</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23505.jpg.htm" title="Statue of the founder of Indian Institute of Science, J N Tata"><img alt="Statue of the founder of Indian Institute of Science, J N Tata" height="267" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Iisc-Founder.jpg" src="../../images/235/23505.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23505.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Statue of the founder of <!--del_lnk--> Indian Institute of Science, <!--del_lnk--> J N Tata</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Schools in Bangalore are either run by the state government or by private, sometimes religious organizations. Private schools in Bangalore typically use English as the medium of instruction and are affiliated with either the <!--del_lnk--> Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the <!--del_lnk--> Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) or the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board. After completing their secondary education, students typically enroll in <!--del_lnk--> Junior College (also known as Pre-University) in one of three streams — <!--del_lnk--> Arts, <!--del_lnk--> Commerce or <a href="../../wp/s/Science.htm" title="Science">Science</a>. Upon completing the required coursework, students enroll in general or professional degrees.<p><!--del_lnk--> Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, Chief Engineer and later Diwan of Mysore (1912–19), played an instrumental role in shaping the early history of education in Bangalore. <!--del_lnk--> The University of Agricultural Sciences was started as a vocational school under his directives. He was also closely associated with the establishment of the <!--del_lnk--> Indian Institute of Science in 1909 and <!--del_lnk--> University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (<!--del_lnk--> UVCE) which was founded in 1917, <!--del_lnk--> UVCE is one of India's most prestigious engineering institutions. <!--del_lnk--> Rashtreeya Vidyalaya College of Engineering (popularly known as RVCE) is located on the outskirts of the city. Bangalore is home to several other nationally renowned universities such as the <!--del_lnk--> Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B), <!--del_lnk--> National Law School of India University and <!--del_lnk--> Bangalore Medical College. <!--del_lnk--> St. John's Medical College and Bangalore Medical College are consistently ranked among the top ten medical schools in India. Bangalore's IT industry recruits extensively from the city's large pool of engineering colleges, notable among them are <!--del_lnk--> People's Education Society Institute of Technology, <!--del_lnk--> MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology , <!--del_lnk--> BMS College of Engineering and <!--del_lnk--> Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology(Sir M.VIT) . <!--del_lnk--> The National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), is one of the three places in India where <a href="../../wp/s/Stem_cell.htm" title="Stem cell">Stem cell</a> research is conducted. <!--del_lnk--> International Institute of Information Technology - Bangalore (IIIT-B) is a notable technology institute, that was started with a significant corporate participation in Electronic City.<p>Bangalore has a number of public libraries with free entry to all visitors. The oldest of the city's public libraries is located in the historical Sir Seshadri Iyer Memorial Hall in Cubbon Park.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Time zone', 'Indian Standard Time', 'English language', 'India', 'Tamil people', 'Indian Independence Movement', 'Economy of India', 'Precambrian', 'Delhi', 'Kolkata', 'Mumbai', 'Sand', 'Granite', 'Clay', 'Vegetation', 'Coconut', 'Thunderstorm', 'Popular vote', 'Electricity', 'Biotechnology', 'Asia', 'Middle East', 'Europe', 'Indian Railways', 'New Delhi', 'Mumbai', 'Chennai', 'Kolkata', 'Kerala', 'Agriculture', 'Nairobi', 'Arabic language', 'Mosque', 'The Rolling Stones', 'Cricket', 'Indian cricket team', 'Winston Churchill', 'Science', 'Stem cell']
|
Bangkok
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bangkok,Th-Krung Thep.ogg,Th-Bangkok.ogg,Th-Krung Thep Maha Nakhon.ogg,Th-Bangkok ceremonial name.ogg,1880,1910,1919,1929,1937,1947" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bangkok</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bangkok";
var wgTitle = "Bangkok";
var wgArticleId = 56615;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bangkok">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bangkok</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Asia.htm">Geography of Asia</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="infobox">
<caption><font size="+1">Bangkok<br /><big>กรุงเทพมหานคร</big></font></caption>
<tr>
<th align="center" bgcolor="#DEFFAD" colspan="2">Statistics</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Area:</td>
<td valign="top">1,568.7 <!--del_lnk--> km²<br /><!--del_lnk--> Ranked 68th</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Inhabitants:</td>
<td valign="top">6,355,144 <small><i>(2000)</i></small><br /><!--del_lnk--> Ranked 1st</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Pop. density:</td>
<td valign="top">4,426 inh./km²<br /><!--del_lnk--> Ranked 1st</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> ISO 3166-2:</td>
<td>TH-10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Governor:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Apirak Kosayothin<br /><small>(since 2004)</small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" bgcolor="#DEFFAD" colspan="2">Map</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2"><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1063.png.htm" title="Map of Thailand highlighting Bangkok Province}"><img alt="Map of Thailand highlighting Bangkok Province}" height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Thailand_Bangkok.png" src="../../images/10/1063.png" width="178" /></a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1064.jpg.htm" title="The Bangkok Skytrain at sunset on Thanon Narathiwat Ratcha Nakharin with Empire Tower at the back."><img alt="The Bangkok Skytrain at sunset on Thanon Narathiwat Ratcha Nakharin with Empire Tower at the back." height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangkok_skytrain_sunset.jpg" src="../../images/10/1064.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1064.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Bangkok Skytrain at sunset on Thanon Narathiwat Ratcha Nakharin with Empire Tower at the back.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1065.jpg.htm" title="The Wat Phra Kaew temple complex"><img alt="The Wat Phra Kaew temple complex" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:PB_Grand_Palace_Bangkok.jpg" src="../../images/10/1065.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1065.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Wat Phra Kaew temple complex</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Bangkok</b>, known in <!--del_lnk--> Thai as <b>Krung Thep</b> (<b><span class="unicode audiolink"><!--del_lnk--> กรุงเทพฯ</span> </b>), is the <a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">capital</a> and largest city of <a href="../../wp/t/Thailand.htm" title="Thailand">Thailand</a>, with an official 2000 census population of 6,355,144. Bangkok is located at <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 13°45′N 100°31′E</span>, on the east bank of the <!--del_lnk--> Chao Phraya River, near the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf of Thailand.<p>Krung Thep has been the proper name of the city for more than two centuries. However, the city's original name of Bangkok (which now is used locally to refer only to a district of the city) persists in being used by most foreigners. (See History and Full Name below.)<p>Bangkok is a fast growing, economically and culturally dynamic city in <!--del_lnk--> Southeast Asia. The <!--del_lnk--> World Meteorological Organization has dubbed Bangkok the world's hottest large city. Moreover, it is one of the world's most popular <a href="../../wp/t/Tourism.htm" title="Tourism">tourist</a> destinations. Bangkok is the wealthiest and most populated city in Thailand. The city is ranked as the <!--del_lnk--> 22nd most populated city in the world<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Bangkok began as a small trading centre and port community, called Bang Makok ("place of olive plums"), serving <!--del_lnk--> Ayutthaya, which was the capital of the nation (then known as Siam) until it fell to <a href="../../wp/m/Myanmar.htm" title="Myanmar">Burma</a> in 1767. A new capital was then established at <!--del_lnk--> Thonburi (now part of Bangkok) on the west side of the river, before King <!--del_lnk--> Rama I built his palace on the east bank in 1782 and renamed his city Krung Thep, meaning the "City of Angels". The name Bangkok (<span class="unicode audiolink"><!--del_lnk--> บางกอก</span> ) now refers only to an old district on the Thonburi side of the river, but continues to be used to refer to the entire city by most foreigners. The city has gone through a number of change under the Chakri Dynasty. It has long been a gateway to Thailand because of its route which leads to the Gulf of Thailand.<p><a id="Full_Name" name="Full_Name"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Full Name</span></h2>
<p>Krung Thep, or <b>Krung Thep Maha Nakhon</b> (<!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[kruŋtʰeːp mahaːnakʰon]</span>, <b><span class="unicode audiolink"><!--del_lnk--> กรุงเทพมหานคร</span> </b>) is the abbreviation of the city's full ceremonial name <b>Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udom Ratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanu Kamprasit</b> (กรุงเทพมหานคร อมรรัตนโกสินทร์ มหินทราอยุธยามหาดิลก ภพนพรัตน์ ราชธานีบุรีรมย์ อุดมราชนิเวศน์ มหาสถาน อมรพิมาน อวตารสถิต สักกะทัตติยะ วิษณุกรรมประสิทธิ์), (<span class="unicode audiolink"><!--del_lnk--> listen</span> ), which means "The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God <!--del_lnk--> Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by <!--del_lnk--> Vishnukam." Local school children are taught the full name, although few can explain its meaning because many of the words are archaic. Most Thais who do recall the full name do so as a result of its use in a <!--del_lnk--> popular song (กรุงเทพมหานคร/Krung Thep Mahanakhon by อัสนี-วสันต์ โชติกุล/<!--del_lnk--> Asanee-Wasan Chotikul 1989) and will often recount it by recalling the song at the same time, much in the same way that <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> speakers might sing the <!--del_lnk--> alphabet song while reciting the <!--del_lnk--> English alphabet.<p>The full name of the city is listed by <!--del_lnk--> Guinness Book of Records as the <!--del_lnk--> world's longest place name.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<p>Bangkok is the <!--del_lnk--> economic centre of Thailand, and dwarfs anything in the country, so much so that other cities seem quite neglected. In 2005, it produced a <!--del_lnk--> GDP(<!--del_lnk--> PPP) of about <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">USD</a> 220 billion, which accounts for about 43% of the country's GDP. Its GDP(PPP) per capita is roughly USD 20,000. The <!--del_lnk--> Stock Exchange of Thailand is located in Bangkok with over 400 listed companies and combined market capitalization of about 5 trillion <!--del_lnk--> Baht (USD 120 billion) as of 5 January 2006.<p>Bangkok is home to all the headquarters of Thailand's large commercial banks and financial institutions. Its bank deposits totaled approximately 7 trillion Baht (USD 177 billion) at the end of the third quarter in 2005. There are 18 financial institutions with at least USD 1 billion in total assets. Many <!--del_lnk--> transnational Japanese companies own large offices in Thailand because it is prohibitively expensive to do so in other nations.<p>Tourism is a significant contributor to Thailand's economy, providing about 5% of GDP. Bangkok is one of Thailand's international gateways, the major transit point, and a destination in its own right.<p>The income disparity of Bangkok's residents is significant, especially among lower-income immigrant workers (from other provinces and neighboring countries) and between government officials, business elite, and retired foreigners. The poverty rate stands at 7% of the population (excluding illegal immigrants who constitute about 5-8% of population) compared to the national average of 9%.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<p>As of the 2000 census, there were 6,355,144 registered residents in the city. However, this figure does not take account of the many unregistered residents and daytime visitors from the surrounding metropolitan area. More than 50% of Bangkokians have some Chinese ancestry. Recently, Bangkok has experienced a large influx of foreign immigrants, long-term residents, and expatriates. The number of expatriate executives stood at 65,000 as of Nov, 2005 and additional number is increase in an average of more than 1,800 permits per month. Long-term foreign residents include 250,000 Chinese (citizens of China), 30,000 Japanese (the largest community in any Asian city outside of Japan), 100,000 Indians (35,000 Sikh) of whom more than 80% have Thai citizenship, 6,000 Americans, 45,000 Europeans (the second largest number in any Asian city after Singapore), 15,000 Taiwanese (mostly Han Chinese), 7,000 South Koreans, 6,000 Nigerians, 8,000 people of Arabic speaking countries, 25,000 Malaysians, and 4,000 Singaporeans. There are approximately 400,000 - 600,000 illegal immigrants from Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan, Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, China, and other countries. 92% of the population are <a href="../../wp/b/Buddhism.htm" title="Buddhism">Buddhist</a>. The rest are <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Muslim</a> (6%), <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christian</a> (1%), <a href="../../wp/j/Judaism.htm" title="Judaism">Jewish</a> (300 residents), <a href="../../wp/h/Hinduism.htm" title="Hinduism">Hindu</a>/<a href="../../wp/s/Sikhism.htm" title="Sikhism">Sikh</a> (0.6%), and others. There are some 400 Buddhist temples, 55 mosques, 10 churches, 2 Hindu Temples, 2 <!--del_lnk--> synagogues and 1 Sikh <!--del_lnk--> gurudwara in Bangkok.<table>
<tr>
<td align="top">
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th style="background:#efefef;">Year</th>
<th style="background:#efefef;">Population</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1880</td>
<td align="right">255,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1910</td>
<td align="right">365,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. April <!--del_lnk--> 1919</td>
<td align="right">437,294</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>15. July <!--del_lnk--> 1929</td>
<td align="right">713,384</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>23. May <!--del_lnk--> 1937</td>
<td align="right">890,453</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>25. April <!--del_lnk--> 1947</td>
<td align="right">1,178,881</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td align="top">
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th style="background:#efefef;">Year</th>
<th style="background:#efefef;">Population</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>25. April <!--del_lnk--> 1960</td>
<td align="right">2,136,435</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. April <!--del_lnk--> 1970</td>
<td align="right">3,077,361</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. April <!--del_lnk--> 1980</td>
<td align="right">4,697,071</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. April <!--del_lnk--> 1990</td>
<td align="right">5,882,411</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. April <!--del_lnk--> 2000</td>
<td align="right">6,320,174</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. January <!--del_lnk--> 2005</td>
<td align="right">6,642,566</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h2>
<p>Bangkok has a <!--del_lnk--> tropical <!--del_lnk--> monsoon <a href="../../wp/c/Climate.htm" title="Climate">climate</a> under the <!--del_lnk--> Köppen climate classification system. Bangkok is said to have the highest average temperature of all cities in the world.<center>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th height="17" style="background: #99CCCC; color: #000080">Month</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Jan</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Feb</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Mar</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Apr</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">May</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Jun</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Jul</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Aug</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Sep</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Oct</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Nov</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Dec</th>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Year</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Avg high °C<br /> (°F)</th>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color:#000080;">32.0<br /> (89.6)</td>
<td style="background: #FF6600; color:#000080;">32.7<br /> (90.9)</td>
<td style="background: #FF6600; color:#000080;">33.7<br /> (92.7)</td>
<td style="background: #FF6600; color:#000080;">34.9<br /> (94.8)</td>
<td style="background: #FF6600; color:#000080;">34.0<br /> (93.2)</td>
<td style="background: #FF6600; color:#000080;">33.1<br /> (91.6)</td>
<td style="background: #FF6600; color:#000080;">32.7<br /> (90.9)</td>
<td style="background: #FF6600; color:#000080;">32.5<br /> (90.5)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color:#000080;">32.3<br /> (90.1)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color:#000080;">32.0<br /> (89.6)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color:#000080;">31.6<br /> (88.9)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color:#000080;">31.3<br /> (88.3)</td>
<td style="background: #FF6600; color:#000080;">32.7<br /> (90.9)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th height="16;" style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Avg low temperature °C<br /> (°F)</th>
<td style="background: #FFFF33; color: black;">21.0<br /> (69.8)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">23.3<br /> (73.9)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">24.9<br /> (76.8)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color: black;">26.1<br /> (79.0)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color: black;">25.6<br /> (78.1)</td>
<td style="background: #FF9900; color: black;">25.4<br /> (77.7)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">25.0<br /> (77.0)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">24.9<br /> (76.8)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">24.6<br /> (76.3)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">24.3<br /> (75.7)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">23.1<br /> (73.6)</td>
<td style="background: #FFFF33; color: black;">20.8<br /> (69.4)</td>
<td style="background: #FFCC00; color: black;">24.1<br /> (75.4)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="background: #99CCCC; color:#000080;">Precipitation <!--del_lnk--> centimeters<br /> (inches)</th>
<td style="background: #99CCFF;">1<br /> (0.4)</td>
<td style="background: #99CCFF;">2<br /> (1.1)</td>
<td style="background: #99CCFF;">3<br /> (1.2)</td>
<td style="background: #8DC0F9;">7<br /> (2.8)</td>
<td style="background: #4180ED;">19<br /> (7.5)</td>
<td style="background: #6AA3F3;">15<br /> (6.0)</td>
<td style="background: #6AA3F3;">15<br /> (6.2)</td>
<td style="background: #4180ED;">18<br /> (7.4)</td>
<td style="background: #004AE2;">32<br /> (12.6)</td>
<td style="background: #2266E7;">23<br /> (9.1)</td>
<td style="background: #99CCFF;">5<br /> (2.3)</td>
<td style="background: #99CCFF;">1<br /> (0.4)</td>
<td style="background: #004AE2;">145<br /> (57.1)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><small><i>source: <!--del_lnk--> Weatherbase</i></small></center>
<p><a id="Administration" name="Administration"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Administration</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1066.jpg.htm" title="Bangkok City Hall"><img alt="Bangkok City Hall" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangkok_Government_Building.jpg" src="../../images/10/1066.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1066.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bangkok City Hall</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bangkok is one of two special administrative areas in <a href="../../wp/t/Thailand.htm" title="Thailand">Thailand</a> (the other being <!--del_lnk--> Pattaya) in which citizens vote to choose their Governor, unlike in Thailand's 75 other <!--del_lnk--> provinces (<i>changwat</i>). In the <!--del_lnk--> 2004 governatorial election <!--del_lnk--> Apirak Kosayothin was elected Governor.<p>The urban sprawl of the greater <!--del_lnk--> Bangkok Metropolitan Area extends beyond the borders of Bangkok province, spilling into the neighbouring provinces of <!--del_lnk--> Nonthaburi, <!--del_lnk--> Samut Prakan, <!--del_lnk--> Pathum Thani, <!--del_lnk--> Nakhon Pathom and <!--del_lnk--> Samut Sakhon. The province as it is today was created in 1972 when the previous Bangkok province - <i>changwat Phra Nakhon</i> - merged with Thonburi province.<div class="floatleft"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1067.png.htm" title="Seal of the province"><img alt="Seal of the province" height="101" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Seal_bangkok.png" src="../../images/10/1067.png" width="100" /></a></span></div>
<p>The seal of the city shows the god <!--del_lnk--> Indra riding in the clouds on <!--del_lnk--> Erawan, a mythological elephant-shaped creature (sometimes portrayed with three heads). In his hand Indra holds a lightning bolt, which is his weapon to drive away drought. The seal is based upon a painting done by <!--del_lnk--> Prince Naris. The tree symbol of Bangkok is <i><!--del_lnk--> Ficus benjamina</i>.<p>Bangkok is subdivided into <!--del_lnk--> 50 districts (<i>khet</i>, also sometimes called <i>amphoe</i> as in the other provinces), which are further subdivided into 154 <i>kwaeng</i> (แขวง, equivalent to <i><!--del_lnk--> tambon</i> in other provinces). Each district is managed by a district chief, appointed by the governor. District councils, elected to four-year terms, serve as advisory bodies to their respective district chiefs.<p>There is also an elected Bangkok Metropolitan Council, which has power over municipal ordinances and the city's budget. The last elections for local councils in Bangkok were held on <!--del_lnk--> 23 July <!--del_lnk--> 2006. For details, please see: <!--del_lnk--> Thailand local elections, 2006.<p><a id="Higher_education" name="Higher_education"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Higher education</span></h2>
<p>There are a large number of both private and public universities located in Bangkok area. The oldest universities in Thailand are <!--del_lnk--> Chulalongkorn University, <!--del_lnk--> Thammasat University, <!--del_lnk--> Mahidol University, and <!--del_lnk--> Kasetsart University. Other public and private universities include:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Assumption University<li><!--del_lnk--> Bangkok University<li><!--del_lnk--> Dhurakijpundit University<li><!--del_lnk--> Dusit Thani College<li><!--del_lnk--> Kesem Bundit University<li><!--del_lnk--> King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang<li><!--del_lnk--> King Mongkut's Institute of Technology North Bangkok<li><!--del_lnk--> King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi<li><!--del_lnk--> Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University<li><!--del_lnk--> Mahanakorn University of Technology<li><!--del_lnk--> Mahamakut Buddhist University<li><!--del_lnk--> National Institute of Development Administration<li><!--del_lnk--> Ramkhamhaeng University<li><!--del_lnk--> Rangsit University<li><!--del_lnk--> Ratana Bundit College<li><!--del_lnk--> Rajamangala University of Technology<li><!--del_lnk--> SAE Institute Bangkok<li><!--del_lnk--> Saint John's University<li><!--del_lnk--> Siam University<li><!--del_lnk--> Srinakharinwirot University<li><!--del_lnk--> Sripathum University<li><!--del_lnk--> Silpakorn University<li><!--del_lnk--> University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce</ul>
<p>There are also several "Rajabhat universities", which formerly were part of the teachers college system.<p><a id="Tourism" name="Tourism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Tourism</span></h2>
<p>Bangkok is considered to be one of the world's top tourist hotspot and is currently Asia's top tourist destination - the third top in the world according to <!--del_lnk--> Travel and Leisure magazine. The city boasts some of the country's most magnificent historical venues such as the <!--del_lnk--> Grand Palace. There are numerous projects to maintain Bangkok's historic sites such as the Rattanakosin area. Bangkok is Thailand's major tourist gateway and one of the largest in South East Asia.<p><a id="Wats_and_Palaces" name="Wats_and_Palaces"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Wats and Palaces</span></h3>
<p>The Bangkok Metropolitan area is home to two capitals, the present, Krung Thep and the short Thon Buri reign before 1782. There are numerous historical sites on both banks of the <!--del_lnk--> Chao Phraya River which has been the main means of transportation for pre-motor vehicles. The river connects to [[Wat Arun] <!--del_lnk--> Wat Pho is home to the reclining Buddha, a marvel of historical sculpture, a Buddha 46m in length and 15m in height and made of pure gold.<p>There are 3 Palaces in Bangkok, the current one which houses the Royal Family is <!--del_lnk--> Chitralada Palace. It is a phenomenal landscaping and design piece due to the wonderfully crafted exterior fencing and a 5m moat around the 1km sq. compound. The King's very own dairy farm and environmental tests are carried within the confines- his extensive work has helped Thailand's farmers battle hard rains and long droughts and other environmental issues.<p><a id="Hotels" name="Hotels"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Hotels</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Peninsula Bangkok recently won Travel and Leisure magazines top hotels list, whilst the Oriental claimed second however as the magazine may cover only the services and the tourism part of it, the Oriental has won world wide recognition for its magnificent use of land on the Bangkok side of the Chao Phraya. The hotel offers a panoramic view from roughly all hotel rooms of the river scenery. The Shangri-La Bangkok, of the <!--del_lnk--> Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts chain, also claims themselves to have rivalling picture perfect sets in their rooms. <!--del_lnk--> Sukhumvit Road hosts a series of international chains such as <!--del_lnk--> JW Marriot, The Landmark, <!--del_lnk--> Intercontinental, <!--del_lnk--> Sheraton and many more. Somewhat out of the centre is the Grand Princess Hotel near the more bureaucratic part of the city. This 30-story building has its lobby on the 15th floor, presenting the city's massive skyline. The Banyan <!--del_lnk--> Westin Hotel on <!--del_lnk--> Sathon, one of Bangkok's tallest hotels featured the tallest bar and restaurant in the city, Vertigo, up until the launch of Sirocco on top of State Tower, 247m up from the bustling street set of <!--del_lnk--> Bang Rak. Perhaps an underrated and less known hotel is the historical Sukhothai hotel, where at the heart of it all, a corner of peace and tranquility is found.<p>There are large numbers of cheap hotels however offering comfortable stays scattered throughout the entire city. Notable is the backpackers paradise of <!--del_lnk--> Khao San Road where hotels go as cheap as $10 a night. Motels are uncommon unlike Western cities, however a fast and growing business is a bed and breakfast adapted to suit Asian lifestyle, a variety of these small houses can be found in Ploenchit, <!--del_lnk--> Watthana and <!--del_lnk--> Klong Toey.<p><a id="Shopping" name="Shopping"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Shopping</span></h3>
<p>Thailand has a variety of shopping experiences from street <!--del_lnk--> markets to malls. Tourists have historically always preferred <!--del_lnk--> markets and <!--del_lnk--> bazaars to the other forms of shopping. The <!--del_lnk--> Chatuchak weekend market is one of the largest shopping destinations in Bangkok. Water markets are gradually disappearing but remain strong tourist attractions as many tours are offered through the canals the market is located on.<p><a id="Transportation" name="Transportation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transportation</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1068.jpg.htm" title="A Bangkok canal with a home and residents swimming."><img alt="A Bangkok canal with a home and residents swimming." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangkokcanal2.JPG" src="../../images/10/1068.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1068.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A Bangkok canal with a home and residents swimming.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1069.jpg.htm" title="Bangkok from the Chao Phraya River at sunset, July 2004"><img alt="Bangkok from the Chao Phraya River at sunset, July 2004" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangkok3.jpg" src="../../images/10/1069.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1069.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bangkok from the Chao Phraya River at sunset, July 2004</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>An elaborate network of canals (<i><!--del_lnk--> khlong</i>) gave the city the nickname "<!--del_lnk--> Venice of the East" at a time when all transportation was done by boat. Today almost all canals have been filled in and converted into traffic-filled streets. However, many do still exist with people living along them and markets being conducted there as well, however they are severely polluted with sewage and nearly everything else. A notable one is the floating market in <!--del_lnk--> Taling Chan district. There is also <!--del_lnk--> Khlong Saen Saeb, which has a canal-boat service, the most extensive however being the [[Chao Phraya] Express boat run by the Chao Phraya Express Boat Co.,Ltd. There are as many as 30 stops along the both banks of the river however there are limitations, the further north the boat gets, the far apart are stations and impedes the ability to work as a true mass transit.<p><a id="Roads" name="Roads"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Roads</span></h3>
<p>Several elevated highways, newly rebuilt intersections, and many partially-finished road and rail projects dot the landscape around Greater Bangkok, but have done little to overcome the notorious traffic jams on Bangkok's surface roads as private vehicle usage continues to outstrip infrastructure development. Many city residents complain they spend more than half their waking day on the dusty streets on a open-air city bus.<p><a id="Rail_systems" name="Rail_systems"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Rail systems</span></h3>
<p>In 1999 an elevated two-line '<!--del_lnk--> Skytrain' (officially called <i>BTS</i>) <!--del_lnk--> metro system was opened. The remains of a failed <!--del_lnk--> elevated railroad project (the <!--del_lnk--> Hopewell project) can still be seen all the way from the main <!--del_lnk--> railroad station out towards the Don Mueang airport. Due to the <!--del_lnk--> Asian financial crisis the construction was halted and the concrete pillars were left unused. Locals call them "Hopehenge," Hopeless, or <a href="../../wp/s/Stonehenge.htm" title="Stonehenge">Stonehenge</a>.<p>After much reluctance and commotion of being unable to deal with possible floods and damp soil, the subway was finally opened for use in July 2004. The <!--del_lnk--> MRT subway system connected the northern train station of <!--del_lnk--> Bang Sue to the <!--del_lnk--> Hua Lamphong central railway station near the city centre, while also going through the eastern part of the city. It connects to the <!--del_lnk--> BTS system at BTS Stations Mo Chit, Asok, and Sala Daeng. Many stations have various designs and concepts with many to install retail shops to draw more commuters, the Hua Lampong station under the Central Rail Station also houses the Rail Museum of Thailand.<p>Political bickering and profiteering also has stalled many promised and planned urban rail projects including Skytrain and subway extensions, and projects that are completed often are very much delayed.<p>A new high-speed elevated railroad called the <!--del_lnk--> Suvarnabhumi Express, currently under construction, will link the city with the new <!--del_lnk--> Suvarnabhumi Airport. The announced opening date is late 2007, but it is expected this will be delayed. The Airport Express railway is to be operated by <!--del_lnk--> The State Railway of Thailand. It will provide a 28.5 km link between the new airport and the City Air Terminal (<!--del_lnk--> CAT) at <!--del_lnk--> Makkasan with connections to the <!--del_lnk--> BTS at Phaya Thai and <!--del_lnk--> MRT at Petchburi. There are plans to extend the line to <!--del_lnk--> Don Mueang and <!--del_lnk--> Rangsit.<p>Due to completion within the early stages of 2007, the BTS Silom line extension to Wongwian Yai as well as the Sukhumvit line to Sumrong. Plans have already been approved for a further extension from Wong Wian Yai to Bangwah (4.5km), Sumrong to Samut Prakarn (8km), Mochit to Saphan Mai (11.9 km) and the National Stadium to Phran Nok (7.7km) extension of the Silom line which will include 5 underground stations in the Rattanakosin area. The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) have also been given the green light to complete the Dark Red and Light Green lines. Alongside, MRT have also begun construction on 2 new lines, the Purple line from Bang Yai to Bang Sue, the blue line from Hua Lampong to Bang Khae and Ta Pra. Much of this is in a government effort to reduce Bangkokians from relying on personal vehicles and the hope of linking the city within 10 years by a ring road of rail systems.<p>For intercity travel by train, most passengers begin their trips at <!--del_lnk--> Hua Lamphong at the southern end of the <!--del_lnk--> Metro. Here, trains connect Bangkok to <a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a> to the south, <!--del_lnk--> Chiang Mai and beyond to the north, and <!--del_lnk--> Nong Khai and beyond to the northeast.<p><a id="Bus_service" name="Bus_service"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Bus service</span></h3>
<p>Virtually all cities and provinces are easily reached by bus from Bangkok. For destinations in the southwest and the west, buses leave from the Southern Bus Terminal, west of the city. For destinations in the southeast, such as <!--del_lnk--> Pattaya, <!--del_lnk--> Ko Samet and <!--del_lnk--> Ko Chang, buses leave from the Eastern Bus Terminal, at Ekkamai, the third-eastern-most stop on the <!--del_lnk--> Skytrain. For all destinations north and northeast, the Northern Bus Terminal at Mo Chit, which can be reached by both the Skytrain and Metro, is the place to start. Long distance bus service has become safer as drivers are changed and most no longer take <!--del_lnk--> methamphetamines including <!--del_lnk--> Ya Baa to stay awake, which often caused excessive speeding and passing on dangerous undivided roads.<p><a id="Airports" name="Airports"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Airports</span></h3>
<p>Bangkok is one of Asia's most important <!--del_lnk--> air transport hub, as of <!--del_lnk--> 2005 more than 80 airlines served <!--del_lnk--> Don Mueang International Airport (<!--del_lnk--> IATA: <b>DMK</b>; <!--del_lnk--> ICAO: <b>VTBD</b>) and over 38,000,000 passengers, 160,000 flights and 700,000 tons of <!--del_lnk--> cargo were handled at this airport per year. It was the <!--del_lnk--> 18th busiest airport in the world and 2nd busiest in <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a> by passenger volume and the 9th busiest in the world and 4th busiest Asia in international passenger volume. Don Mueang consistently ranked 19th in the world in cargo traffic, and 7th in the <!--del_lnk--> Asia-Pacific region. Don Mueang is considered to be one of the world's oldest international airports opening in March 1914, making it almost 20 years older than <!--del_lnk--> Heathrow. It has 3 terminals and is located about 30km north from the heart of Bangkok.<p>On September 28, 2006 Bangkok officially opened <!--del_lnk--> Suvarnabhumi Airport (<!--del_lnk--> IATA: <b>BKK</b>; <!--del_lnk--> ICAO: <b>VTBS</b>) (pronounced <!--del_lnk--> RTGS Suwannaphum, or loosely <i>Su-wan-na-poom</i>), in the <!--del_lnk--> Bang Phli district of <!--del_lnk--> Samut Prakan Province. Suvarnabhumi has been one of the most, if not the most anticipated, mega-project in Thai history. The progress of Suvarnabhumi Airport dates back to the early 1970's when a large plot of land (8,000 <!--del_lnk--> acres, 20,000 <!--del_lnk--> rai) was bought. A student uprising in October of the same year prevented further progress with the development when the military government of Thanom Kittikachom was subsequently overthrown. After several military coups and the Asian financial crisis of 1997, construction finally began in 2002, after 5 years of clearing the <i>cobra swamp</i>. Moreover, the military coup d'etat of September 2006 was to inaugurate the first week of domestic flights.<p>Suvarnabhumi Airport has been dubbed the 'Pride of Thailand' due to its architecture. Its 2 parallel <!--del_lnk--> runways are connected by the 5 <!--del_lnk--> concourses of the main <!--del_lnk--> terminal building which is the world's second-largest passenger building after <a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Chep Lap Kok. The airport features a 134 meter-tall <!--del_lnk--> control tower, the tallest in the world and one meter taller than <!--del_lnk--> Kuala Lumpur International Airport control tower. Moreover, the Airports of Thailand Plc. (AoT) have announced another terminal within the airport for low-cost airlines to accompany 15 million passengers for the growing use of low-cost airliners. This will be encompassed by phase 2 of the Suvarnabhumi Airport which is expected to begin construction in 3-5 years. In total, the airport hopes to handle as many as 100 million passengers per year.<p>Don Mueang is now the base of the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Thai Air Force <i>(RTaF)</i> and is only used for chartered flights.<p><a id="Crime" name="Crime"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Crime</span></h2>
<p>Foreign residents and tourists alike complain of widespread scams and blatant <!--del_lnk--> price gouging. Elaborate gem store <!--del_lnk--> scams involving earning the trust of a Westerner who is in cooperation with locals have robbed tourists of thousands of dollars, but overcharging is more of a daily (or hourly) occurrence. Commission based <!--del_lnk--> profiteering is common for restaurants, hotels, and just about anything. Often <!--del_lnk--> petty theft accompanies prostitution and other crime, with many reports of <!--del_lnk--> laptops, <!--del_lnk--> mobile phones, cash, and other items of value stolen, and the lack of rule of law and police and business complicity complicate matters, as well as ubiquitous <!--del_lnk--> pawn shops where thieves can sell stolen goods with <!--del_lnk--> anonymity. Armed robbery and violence against tourists is rare but is common among university students, but murder cases involving tourists and long term foreign residents do occur.<p><a id="Current_issues" name="Current_issues"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Current issues</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1070.jpg.htm" title="Traffic jam in Bangkok"><img alt="Traffic jam in Bangkok" height="224" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangkok-sukhumvit-road-traffic-200503.jpg" src="../../images/10/1070.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1070.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Traffic jam in Bangkok</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1071.jpg.htm" title="Taxi motorcyclist in Bangkok"><img alt="Taxi motorcyclist in Bangkok" height="113" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangkok-Taxi_-Motorcyclist.jpg" src="../../images/10/1071.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1071.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Taxi motorcyclist in Bangkok</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bangkok has long been notorious for its massive <!--del_lnk--> traffic jams, which are still a serious problem. The recent construction of the elevated second-level expressways and of Bangkok Mass Transit System's (BTS) <!--del_lnk--> SkyTrains have eased the problem a little.<p>Environmental issues such as <!--del_lnk--> air pollution, a large part of which is caused by the traffic and dirt left on streets from construction projects, is also a major problem. Industrial pollution has also contributed to poor air and water quality. Though <!--del_lnk--> sulfur dioxide and <a href="../../wp/o/Ozone.htm" title="Ozone">ozone</a> levels have fallen substantially, PM(<!--del_lnk--> particulate matter) is still exceeds health standards. There have been efforts to clean up Bangkok's canals, many of which are dangerously polluted, through biological means - using <!--del_lnk--> water hyacinths, a plant commonly found in the waterways, to cleanse the water of pollutants. <!--del_lnk--> However, the large volume of trash in the canals must be cleaned out by other means. <!--del_lnk--> Mold growth is ubiquitous in Bangkok, as the tropical wet climate makes it grow, and many residents simply ignore it. <!--del_lnk--> Rats and <!--del_lnk--> cockroaches are extremely common sightings in Bangkok as trash is not properly put in bins and raw food is dumped onto ever wet sidewalks all over the city.<p>As in many other Asian cities, the sale of <!--del_lnk--> illegally copied copyright-protected material, mostly software and <a href="../../wp/d/DVD.htm" title="DVD">DVD</a> movies, is also widespread in Bangkok, but technically illegal. One of the most popular locations in Bangkok for purchasing unauthorized copies of software is <!--del_lnk--> Pantip Plaza. Although many "go through the motions" attempts have been made at cracking down on illegal copying over the years, as with the sex industry, police corruption and cooperation have made it largely ineffective and illegal copying of copyrighted material is still a booming business.<p>Another issue which has given the city a bad reputation is the sex industry, centered on <!--del_lnk--> Patpong, where women and men sell themselves, and <!--del_lnk--> prostitution, which is also technically illegal, can be found all over Bangkok as vast numbers of massage parlors, saunas, parks, and hourly hotels exist within the city, serving foreign tourists as well as locals. Organized sex work in Bangkok alone involves a minimum of many thousand workers, and possibly in the tens of thousands. Though Bangkok is far more affluent than many areas in <!--del_lnk--> Indochina, popular youth culture encourages easy money, paid sex is seen as a means of acquiring the best of capitalism and life has to offer. Vast numbers of locals fly to Europe on extended vacations with generally older men. Although in upcountry Thailand prostitution holds a strong stigma, in Bangkok locals, hotel workers, and officials often turn a blind eye towards such behaviour and allow it to continue to flourish.<h2> <span class="mw-headline">Nightlife</span></h2>
<p>As with many large cities in developing countries, a large proportion of wealth situated in one area causes that region to develop quickly. In the case of Thailand, this area is Bangkok. Bangkok, like Pattaya, is notorious for its prostitute-ridden streets and a-go-go bars and cafes. There are, however, many places to find a relaxing spot and enjoy one of Asia's most diverse cities. Bangkok offers a widely varied nightlife. There are Westernized clubs and cafes for the rich, and lower-cost bars and pubs that are very popular with the locals. The city's renowned district of Phra Nakhon is home to one of the world's very first international streets–Khao San Rd. A walking street, it allows visitors to see the diversity of the world on one single road where East meets West. Sukhumvit Road boasts some of Asia's most exclusive clubs and restaurants along the 5 km section between Ekamai and Withayu, with a number of activities available for the city's thousands of night owls.<p><a id="Sister_cities" name="Sister_cities"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sister cities</span></h2>
<p>Bangkok has a number of <!--del_lnk--> sister cities. They are:<ul>
<li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title="United States"><img alt="United States" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/6/695.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/w/Washington%252C_D.C..htm" title="Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> (1962)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/584.png.htm" title="People's Republic of China"><img alt="People's Republic of China" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg" src="../../images/5/584.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Beijing.htm" title="Beijing">Beijing</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">China (PRC)</a> (1993)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/592.png.htm" title="Russia"><img alt="Russia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Russia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/592.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Moscow.htm" title="Moscow">Moscow</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> (1997)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/599.png.htm" title="Philippines"><img alt="Philippines" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Philippines.svg" src="../../images/5/599.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Manila.htm" title="Manila">Manila</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a> (1997)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/590.png.htm" title="South Korea"><img alt="South Korea" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_South_Korea_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/590.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Seoul.htm" title="Seoul">Seoul</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> (2006)</ul>
<p><a id="See_Also" name="See_Also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Capital', 'Thailand', 'Tourism', 'Myanmar', 'English language', 'United States dollar', 'Buddhism', 'Islam', 'Christianity', 'Judaism', 'Hinduism', 'Sikhism', 'Climate', 'Thailand', 'Stonehenge', 'Malaysia', 'Asia', 'Hong Kong', 'Ozone', 'DVD', 'Washington, D.C.', 'United States', 'Beijing', "People's Republic of China", 'Moscow', 'Russia', 'Manila', 'Philippines', 'Seoul', 'South Korea']
|
Bangladesh
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bangladesh,Bangladesh.ogg,SAARC,Asia,Commonwealth of Nations,South Asia,WTO,.bd,1970 Bhola cyclone,1971,1975" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bangladesh</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bangladesh";
var wgTitle = "Bangladesh";
var wgArticleId = 3454;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bangladesh">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bangladesh</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Asia.Asian_Countries.htm">Asian Countries</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Countries.htm">Countries</a></h3><div class="soslink"> SOS Children works in Bangladesh. For more information see <a href="../../wp/b/Bangladesh_A.htm" title="SOS Children in Bangladesh">SOS Children in Bangladesh</a></div>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox geography" style="width:23em;">
<tr>
<td align="center" class="mergedtoprow" colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; font-size:1.2em;"><b><span style="line-height:1.33em;">গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ<br /><i>Gônoprojatontri Bangladesh</i></span></b><br /><b><span style="line-height:1.33em;">People's Republic of Bangladesh</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td align="center" class="maptable" colspan="2" style="padding:0.4em 0.8em 0.4em 0.8em;">
<table style="margin:0 auto; background:none; text-align:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><span style="border:1px solid #bbbbbb; display:table-cell;"><a class="image" href="../../images/6/605.png.htm" title="Flag of Bangladesh"><img alt="Flag of Bangladesh" height="75" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Bangladesh.svg" src="../../images/10/1072.png" width="125" /></a></span></td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1073.png.htm" title="Coat of arms of Bangladesh"><img alt="Coat of arms of Bangladesh" height="85" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangladesh_coa.png" src="../../images/10/1073.png" width="85" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Flag</small></td>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Coat of arms</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Motto: none</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Anthem: <i><!--del_lnk--> Amar Shonar Bangla</i><br /> ("My Golden Bengal")</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 1em;">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1074.png.htm" title="Location of Bangladesh"><img alt="Location of Bangladesh" height="115" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LocationBangladesh.png" src="../../images/10/1074.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<td><!--del_lnk--> <b>Capital</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> (and largest city)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dhaka<br /><small><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 23°42′N 90°22′E</span></small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Official languages</span></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bengali (Bangla)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government.htm" title="List of countries by system of government">Government</a></b></td>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><a href="../../wp/p/Parliamentary_system.htm" title="Parliamentary system">Parliamentary republic</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> President</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Iajuddin Ahmed</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Chief of Caretaker Govt.</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Iajuddin Ahmed</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Independence</th>
<td>from <a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Declared</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> March 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1971 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Victory Day</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> December 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1971 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 144,000 km² (<!--del_lnk--> 94th)<br /> 55 622.487 sq mi </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Water (%)</td>
<td>7.0</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Population</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 2006 estimate</td>
<td>147,365,352 (<!--del_lnk--> 7th)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - 2001 census</td>
<td>129,247,233</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td>998.6/km² (<!--del_lnk--> 7th)<br /> 2,639/sq mi</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> GDP (<!--del_lnk--> PPP)</th>
<td>2005 estimate</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td>$305.9 <!--del_lnk--> billion (<!--del_lnk--> 31st)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Per capita</td>
<td>$2100 (<!--del_lnk--> 141st)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><b><!--del_lnk--> HDI</b> (2004)</th>
<td>0.530 (<font style="color:#fc0">medium</font>) (<!--del_lnk--> 137th)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">Currency</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Taka (<code><!--del_lnk--> BDT</code>)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td>BDT (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+6)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Summer (<!--del_lnk--> DST)</td>
<td><i>not observed</i> (<!--del_lnk--> UTC+6)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Internet TLD</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> .bd</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Calling code</th>
<td>+880 - <!--del_lnk--> SubCodes</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="metadata topicon" id="featured-star" style="right:10px; display:none;">
<div style="position: relative; width: 14px; height: 14px; overflow: hidden">
<div style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; font-size: 100px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 100px; z-index: 3"><!--del_lnk--> <span title="This is a featured article. Click here for more information."> </span></div>
<div style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 2"><a class="image" href="../../images/0/24.png.htm" title="This is a featured article. Click here for more information."><img alt="This is a featured article. Click here for more information." height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LinkFA-star.png" src="../../images/0/24.png" width="14" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Bangladesh</b>, officially the <b>People's Republic of Bangladesh</b>, is a country in <!--del_lnk--> South Asia. It is surrounded by <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> on all sides except for a small border with <a href="../../wp/m/Myanmar.htm" title="Myanmar">Myanmar</a> to the far southeast and the <a href="../../wp/b/Bay_of_Bengal.htm" title="Bay of Bengal">Bay of Bengal</a> to the south. Together with the Indian state of <!--del_lnk--> West Bengal, it makes up the ethno-linguistic region of <!--del_lnk--> Bengal. The name <i>Bangladesh</i> means "Country of Bengal" and is written as <big>বাংলাদেশ</big> and <!--del_lnk--> pronounced <span class="IPA audiolink nounderlines" style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> ['baŋlad̪eʃ]</span> in the official <!--del_lnk--> Bengali language.<p>The borders of Bangladesh were set by the <!--del_lnk--> Partition of India in 1947, when it became the eastern wing of <a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> (<!--del_lnk--> East Pakistan), separated from the western wing by 1,600 <!--del_lnk--> km (1,000 miles). Despite their common religion of <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a>, the ethnic and linguistic gulf between the two wings, compounded by an apathetic government based in <!--del_lnk--> West Pakistan, resulted in the independence of Bangladesh under the leadership of <a href="../../wp/s/Sheikh_Mujibur_Rahman.htm" title="Sheikh Mujibur Rahman">Sheikh Mujibur Rahman</a> in 1971 after the bloody <!--del_lnk--> Bangladesh Liberation War, in which it was supported by India. The years following independence have been marked by political turmoil, with thirteen different heads of government, and at least four <!--del_lnk--> military coups.<p>The population of Bangladesh ranks <!--del_lnk--> seventh in the world, but its area of approximately 144,000 km² is ranked ninety-fourth, making it one of the <!--del_lnk--> most densely populated countries in the world, or the most densely populated country if small <!--del_lnk--> island nations or <!--del_lnk--> city-states are not included. It is the third largest <!--del_lnk--> Muslim-majority nation, but has a slightly smaller Muslim population than the Muslim minority in India. Geographically dominated by the fertile <!--del_lnk--> Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the country has annual <!--del_lnk--> monsoon floods, and <!--del_lnk--> cyclones are frequent. Bangladesh is one of the founding members of <!--del_lnk--> South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), <!--del_lnk--> BIMSTEC, and a member of the <!--del_lnk--> OIC and the <!--del_lnk--> D-8.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1075.jpg.htm" title="The Shaheed Minar, which commemorates the Language Movement, is a well known landmark in Bangladesh"><img alt="The Shaheed Minar, which commemorates the Language Movement, is a well known landmark in Bangladesh" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Shaheed_minar_Roehl.jpg" src="../../images/10/1075.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1075.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <i>Shaheed Minar</i>, which commemorates the <!--del_lnk--> Language Movement, is a well known landmark in Bangladesh</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Remnants of <a href="../../wp/c/Civilization.htm" title="Civilization">civilization</a> in the greater <!--del_lnk--> Bengal region date back 4,000 years, when the region was settled by <!--del_lnk--> Dravidian, <!--del_lnk--> Tibeto-Burman, and <!--del_lnk--> Austro-Asiatic peoples. The exact origin of the word <i>Bangla</i> or Bengal is unknown, though it is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe <i>Bang</i> that settled in the area around the year 1000 BCE.<p>After the arrival of <!--del_lnk--> Indo-Aryans, the kingdom of <!--del_lnk--> Gangaridai was formed from at least the 7th century BCE, which later united with <!--del_lnk--> Bihar under the <!--del_lnk--> Magadha and <!--del_lnk--> Maurya Empires. Bengal was later part of the <!--del_lnk--> Gupta Empire from the 3rd to the 6th centuries <!--del_lnk--> CE. After its collapse, a dynamic Bengali named <!--del_lnk--> Shashanka founded an impressive yet short-lived kingdom. After a period of anarchy, the <a href="../../wp/b/Buddhism.htm" title="Buddhism">Buddhist</a> <!--del_lnk--> Pala dynasty ruled the region for four hundred years, followed by a shorter reign of the <!--del_lnk--> Hindu <!--del_lnk--> Sena dynasty. <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a> was introduced to Bengal in the twelfth century by <!--del_lnk--> Sufi missionaries, and subsequent Muslim conquests helped spread Islam throughout the region. <!--del_lnk--> Bakhtiar Khilji, a Turkish general, defeated <!--del_lnk--> Lakshman Sen of the Sena dynasty and conquered large parts of Bengal. The region was ruled by dynasties of <a href="../../wp/s/Sultan.htm" title="Sultan">Sultans</a> and feudal lords for the next few hundred years. By the sixteenth century, the <!--del_lnk--> Mughal Empire controlled Bengal, and <!--del_lnk--> Dhaka became an important provincial centre of Mughal administration.<p>European traders arrived late in the 15th century, and their influence grew until the <a href="../../wp/b/British_East_India_Company.htm" title="British East India Company">British East India Company</a> gained control of Bengal following the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Plassey in 1757. The bloody rebellion of 1857, known as the <!--del_lnk--> Sepoy Mutiny, resulted in transfer of authority to the <a href="../../wp/b/British_monarchy.htm" title="British monarchy">crown</a>, with a British <!--del_lnk--> viceroy running the administration (Baxter, pp.30—32). During colonial rule, famine racked the Indian subcontinent many times, including the <!--del_lnk--> Great Bengal famine of 1943 that claimed 3 million lives.<p>Between 1905 and 1911, an <!--del_lnk--> abortive attempt was made to divide the province of Bengal into two zones, with <!--del_lnk--> Dhaka being the capital of the eastern zone. (Baxter, pp. 39—40) When India was partitioned in 1947, Bengal was <!--del_lnk--> partitioned along religious lines, with the <!--del_lnk--> western part going to India and the eastern part joining <a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> as a province called <!--del_lnk--> East Bengal (later renamed <!--del_lnk--> East Pakistan), with its capital at <!--del_lnk--> Dhaka.<p>In 1950, land reform was accomplished in East Bengal with the abolishment of the feudal <!--del_lnk--> zamindari system. (Baxter, p. 72) However, despite the economic and demographic weight of the east, Pakistan's government and military were largely dominated by the upper classes from the west. The <!--del_lnk--> Language Movement of 1952 was the first sign of friction between the two wings of Pakistan. (Baxter, pp. 62—63) Dissatisfaction with the central government over economic and cultural issues continued to rise through the next decade, during which the <!--del_lnk--> Awami League emerged as the political voice of the Bengali-speaking population. It agitated for <!--del_lnk--> autonomy in the 1960s, and in 1966, its president <a href="../../wp/s/Sheikh_Mujibur_Rahman.htm" title="Sheikh Mujibur Rahman">Sheikh Mujibur Rahman</a> was jailed; he was released in 1969 after an unprecedented popular uprising.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1076.png.htm" title="Bangladesh - also showing road and rail lines."><img alt="Bangladesh - also showing road and rail lines." height="196" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Map_Bangladesh_RoadRail.png" src="../../images/10/1076.png" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1076.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bangladesh - also showing road and rail lines.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In 1970, a massive <!--del_lnk--> cyclone devastated the coast of East Pakistan, and the central government responded poorly. The Bengali population's anger was compounded when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, whose <!--del_lnk--> Awami League won a majority in Parliament in the 1970 elections, (Baxter, pp. 78—79) was blocked from taking office. After staging compromise talks with Mujib, President <!--del_lnk--> Yahya Khan arrested him on the night of <!--del_lnk--> March 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1971, and launched <!--del_lnk--> Operation Searchlight, a sustained military assault on East Pakistan. Yahya's methods were extremely bloody, and the violence of the war resulted in many civilian deaths. Chief targets included <!--del_lnk--> intellectuals and Hindus, and about ten million <!--del_lnk--> refugees fled to neighbouring India. (LaPorte, p. 103) Estimates of those massacred range from three hundred thousand to 3 million. Most of the Awami League leaders fled and set up a government-in-exile in <a href="../../wp/k/Kolkata.htm" title="Kolkata">Calcutta</a>, India. The <!--del_lnk--> Bangladesh Liberation War lasted for 9 months. The <!--del_lnk--> guerrilla <!--del_lnk--> Mukti Bahini and Bengali regulars eventually received support from the <!--del_lnk--> Indian Armed Forces in December 1971. Major Ziaur Rahman declared the independence of the country over radio. Under the command of <!--del_lnk--> Lt. General J.S. Arora, the <!--del_lnk--> Indian Army achieved a decisive victory over Pakistan on <!--del_lnk--> 16 December <!--del_lnk--> 1971, taking over 90,000 <!--del_lnk--> prisoners of war in the <!--del_lnk--> Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.<p>After its independence, Bangladesh became a parliamentary democracy, with Mujib as the Prime Minister. In the 1973 parliamentary elections, the Awami League gained an absolute majority. A nationwide famine occurred during 1973 and 1974, and in early 1975, Mujib initiated a one-party socialist rule with his newly formed <!--del_lnk--> BAKSAL. On <!--del_lnk--> August 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1975, Mujib and his family were assassinated by mid-level military officers.<p>A series of bloody coups and counter-coups in the following three months culminated in the ascent to power of General <!--del_lnk--> Ziaur Rahman, who reinstated multi-party politics and founded the <!--del_lnk--> Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Zia's rule ended when he was assassinated in 1981 by elements of the military. Bangladesh's next major ruler was General <!--del_lnk--> Hossain Mohammad Ershad, who gained power in a bloodless coup in 1982 and ruled until 1990, when he was ousted in a popular uprising. Since then, Bangladesh has reverted to a parliamentary democracy. Zia's widow, <!--del_lnk--> Khaleda Zia, led the <!--del_lnk--> BNP to parliamentary victories in 1991 and 2001 and was Prime Minister from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to end of 2006. At the present, the caretaker government is in power and after a successful election the new government will be formed. <!--del_lnk--> Sheikh Hasina, one of Mujib's surviving daughters and the head of the Awami League, was in power from 1996 to 2001. Although Bangladesh enjoys the distinction of having two female politicians leading national politics, it continues to suffer from extensive corruption, disorder and political violence.<p><a id="Government_and_politics" name="Government_and_politics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Government and politics</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<table class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin: 1em; padding: 0em; width: 220px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 80%; clear: right">
<caption><b>National symbols of Bangladesh</b></caption>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 1em;"><b>Anthem</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Amar Shonar Bangla</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 1em;"><b>Animal</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Royal Bengal Tiger</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 1em;"><b>Bird</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Oriental Magpie Robin</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 1em;"><b>Fish</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Hilsa</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 1em;"><b>Flower</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> White Water Lily</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 1em;"><b>Fruit</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Jackfruit</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 1em;"><b>Sport</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kabadi</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding-left: 1em;"><b>Calendar</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bengali calendar</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1077.jpg.htm" title="Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban houses the Parliament of Bangladesh"><img alt="Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban houses the Parliament of Bangladesh" height="165" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Jatiyo_Sangshad_Bhaban_%28Roehl%29.jpg" src="../../images/10/1077.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1077.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban houses the Parliament of Bangladesh</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bangladesh is a <a href="../../wp/p/Parliamentary_system.htm" title="Parliamentary system">parliamentary democracy</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> President is the <!--del_lnk--> head of state, a largely ceremonial post. The real power is held by the <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister, who is the <!--del_lnk--> head of government. The president is elected by the legislature every five years and has normally limited powers that are substantially expanded during the tenure of a <!--del_lnk--> caretaker government, mainly in controlling the transition to a new government. Bangladesh has instituted a unique system of transfer of power; at the end of the tenure of a government, power is handed over to members of a <!--del_lnk--> civil society for three months, who run the general elections and transfer the power to elected representatives. This system was first practiced in 1991 and institutionalized in 1996 as the 13th amendment to the constitution.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> prime minister is ceremonially appointed by the president and must be a member of parliament (<!--del_lnk--> MP), commanding the confidence of the majority of the MPs. The <!--del_lnk--> cabinet is composed of <!--del_lnk--> ministers selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president. The <!--del_lnk--> unicameral <!--del_lnk--> parliament is the 300-members House of the Nation or <i><!--del_lnk--> Jatiyo Sangshad</i>, elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies for five-year terms of office. There is <!--del_lnk--> universal suffrage for all citizens from the age of 18.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Constitution of Bangladesh was written in 1972 and has undergone thirteen <!--del_lnk--> amendments. The highest <!--del_lnk--> judiciary body is the <!--del_lnk--> Supreme Court, whose Chief Justices and other judges are appointed by the President. The Judiciary is not separate from the administration, which has caused much commotion in recent years. Laws are loosely based on <!--del_lnk--> English common law, but family laws such as marriage and inheritance are based on religious scripts, and hence differ from one religious community to another.<p>The two <!--del_lnk--> major parties in Bangladesh are the <!--del_lnk--> Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and <!--del_lnk--> Bangladesh Awami League. BNP finds its allies among <!--del_lnk--> Islamist parties like <!--del_lnk--> Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and <!--del_lnk--> Islami Oikya Jot, while <!--del_lnk--> Awami League aligns with <!--del_lnk--> leftist and <!--del_lnk--> secularist parties. Another important player is the <!--del_lnk--> Jatiya Party, headed by former military ruler Ershad. The Awami League-BNP rivalry has been bitter and punctuated by protests, violence and murder. Student politics is particularly strong in Bangladesh, a legacy from the liberation movement era. Almost all parties have highly active student wings, and students have been elected to the Parliament.<p>Two radical Islamist parties, <!--del_lnk--> Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and <!--del_lnk--> Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), were banned in February 2005. Bomb attacks taking place since 1999 have been blamed on those groups, and hundreds of suspected members have been detained in numerous security operations, including the head the of those two parties in 2006. The first recorded case of a suicide bomb attack in Bangladesh took place in November 2005.<p><a id="Subdivisions" name="Subdivisions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Subdivisions</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1078.png.htm" title="The six administrative divisions of Bangladesh"><img alt="The six administrative divisions of Bangladesh" height="205" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bangladesh_divisions_english.png" src="../../images/10/1078.png" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1078.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The six administrative divisions of Bangladesh</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bangladesh is divided into six administrative divisions, each named after their respective divisional headquarters: <!--del_lnk--> Barisal (<big>বরিশাল</big>), <!--del_lnk--> Chittagong (<big>চট্টগ্রাম</big>), <!--del_lnk--> Dhaka (<big>ঢাকা</big>), <!--del_lnk--> Khulna (<big>খুলনা</big>), <!--del_lnk--> Rajshahi (<big>রাজশাহী</big>), and <!--del_lnk--> Sylhet (<big>সিলেট</big>).<p>Divisions are subdivided into administrative units known as <i>zila</i>, or districts. There are 64 districts in Bangladesh, with each district further subdivided into <i>thana</i>, or police stations (formerly called upa-zila or sub-districts). The area within each police station, except for those in metropolitan areas, is divided into several unions, with each union consisting of multiple villages. In the metropolitan areas, police stations are divided into wards, which are further divided into <i>mahallas</i>. There are no elected officials at the divisional, district or <i>thana</i> levels, and the administration is composed only of government officials. Direct elections are held for each union (or ward), electing a chairperson and a number of members. In 1997, a parliamentary act was passed to reserve 3 seats (out of 12) in every union for female candidates.<p><!--del_lnk--> Dhaka is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. Other major cities include <!--del_lnk--> Chittagong, <!--del_lnk--> Khulna, <!--del_lnk--> Rajshahi, <!--del_lnk--> Barisal and <!--del_lnk--> Sylhet. These metropolitan cities have <!--del_lnk--> mayoral elections, while other municipalities elect a chairperson. Mayors and chairpersons are elected for a span of five years.<p><a id="Geography_and_climate" name="Geography_and_climate"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography and climate</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1079.jpg.htm" title="Satellite image presenting physical features of Bangladesh"><img alt="Satellite image presenting physical features of Bangladesh" height="162" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Satellite_image_of_Bangladesh_in_October_2001.jpg" src="../../images/10/1079.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1079.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Satellite image presenting physical features of Bangladesh</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bangladesh is located in the low-lying <!--del_lnk--> Ganges-<!--del_lnk--> Brahmaputra River Delta or <!--del_lnk--> Ganges Delta. This delta is formed by the confluence of the <a href="../../wp/g/Ganges_River.htm" title="Ganges River">Ganges</a> (local name <!--del_lnk--> Padma or <i>Pôdda</i>), <!--del_lnk--> Brahmaputra (<!--del_lnk--> Jamuna or <i>Jomuna</i>), and <!--del_lnk--> Meghna rivers and their respective tributaries. The <!--del_lnk--> alluvial soil deposited by these rivers has created some of the most highly fertile plains of the world.<p>Most parts of Bangladesh are within 10 metres above the sea level, and it is believed that about 10% of the land would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by 1 metre. The highest point in Bangladesh is in Mowdok range at 1,052 <!--del_lnk--> m (3,451 <!--del_lnk--> ft) in the <!--del_lnk--> Chittagong Hill Tracts to the southeast of the country. A major part of the coastline comprises a <!--del_lnk--> marshy <!--del_lnk--> jungle, the <!--del_lnk--> Sundarbans, the largest <!--del_lnk--> mangrove forest in the world and home to diverse flora and fauna, including the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Bengal Tiger. In 1997, this region was declared endangered.<p>Straddling the <!--del_lnk--> Tropic of Cancer, Bangladeshi climate is <a href="../../wp/t/Tropics.htm" title="Tropics">tropical</a> with a mild winter from October to March, a hot, humid summer from March to June. A warm and humid <!--del_lnk--> monsoon season lasts from June to October and supplies most of the country's rainfall. Natural calamities, such as <a href="../../wp/f/Flood.htm" title="Flood">floods</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Tropical_cyclone.htm" title="Tropical cyclone">tropical cyclones</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Tornado.htm" title="Tornado">tornadoes</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> tidal bores occur almost every year, combined with the effects of <!--del_lnk--> deforestation, <a href="../../wp/s/Soils_retrogression_and_degradation.htm" title="Soils retrogression and degradation">soil degradation</a> and <!--del_lnk--> erosion. <!--del_lnk--> Cox's Bazar, south of the city of <!--del_lnk--> Chittagong, has a beach that stretches uninterrupted over 120 kilometres (75 <!--del_lnk--> mi); it is the longest unbroken natural sea beach in the world.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1080.jpg.htm" title="Fishermen near the town of Cox's Bazaar in southern Bangladesh. Many industries in Bangladesh are still primitive by modern standards."><img alt="Fishermen near the town of Cox's Bazaar in southern Bangladesh. Many industries in Bangladesh are still primitive by modern standards." height="147" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cox%27s_Bazaar_Fishermen.jpg" src="../../images/10/1080.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1080.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Fishermen near the town of Cox's Bazaar in southern Bangladesh. Many industries in Bangladesh are still primitive by modern standards.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1081.jpg.htm" title="Worker in a paddy, a common scene all over Bangladesh."><img alt="Worker in a paddy, a common scene all over Bangladesh." height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BDricefield.jpg" src="../../images/10/1081.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1081.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Worker in a <!--del_lnk--> paddy, a common scene all over Bangladesh.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains an underdeveloped and <!--del_lnk--> overpopulated nation. The <!--del_lnk--> per capita income in 2004 was a low US$440, and many other economic indicators were less than impressive. Yet, as the <a href="../../wp/w/World_Bank_Group.htm" title="World Bank Group">World Bank</a> notes in its July 2005 Country Brief, the country has made impressive progress in human development by focusing on increasing <a href="../../wp/l/Literacy.htm" title="Literacy">literacy</a>, achieving gender parity in schooling, and reducing population growth.<p><!--del_lnk--> Jute was once the economic engine of the country. Its share of the world export market peaked in the <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">Second World War</a> and the late 1940s at 80% and even in the early 1970s accounted for 70% of its export earnings. However, <!--del_lnk--> polypropylene products began to substitute jute products worldwide and the jute industry started to slow down. Bangladesh grows significant quantities of rice, tea and <a href="../../wp/m/Mustard_plant.htm" title="Mustard plant">mustard</a>. Although two-thirds of Bangladeshis are farmers, more than three quarters of Bangladesh’s export earnings come from the <!--del_lnk--> garment industry, which began attracting foreign investors in the 1980s due to cheap labour and low conversion cost. In 2002, the industry exported US$5 billion worth of products. The industry now employs more than 3 million workers, 90% of whom are women. A large part of foreign currency earnings also comes from the remittances sent by <!--del_lnk--> expatriates living in other countries.<p>Obstacles to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, mismanaged <!--del_lnk--> port facilities, a growth in the labour force that has outpaced jobs, inefficient use of energy resources (such as <a href="../../wp/n/Natural_gas.htm" title="Natural gas">natural gas</a>), insufficient power supplies, slow implementation of economic reforms, political infighting and <!--del_lnk--> corruption. According to the World Bank's July 2005 Country Brief: "Among Bangladesh’s most significant obstacles to growth are poor governance and weak public institutions."<p>Since 1990, the country has achieved an average annual growth rate of 5% according to the World Bank, despite the hurdles. The <!--del_lnk--> middle class and the <!--del_lnk--> consumer industry have seen some growth. In December 2005, four years after its report on the emerging "<!--del_lnk--> BRIC" economies (<a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>, and <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">China</a>), <!--del_lnk--> Goldman Sachs named Bangladesh one of the "Next Eleven," along with <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>, Pakistan and several other countries. Bangladesh has seen a sharp increase in <!--del_lnk--> foreign direct investment. A number of <!--del_lnk--> multinational corporations, including <!--del_lnk--> Unocal Corporation and <!--del_lnk--> Tata, have made major investments, the <a href="../../wp/n/Natural_gas.htm" title="Natural gas">natural gas</a> sector being a priority. In December 2005, the <!--del_lnk--> Central Bank of Bangladesh projected GDP growth around 6.5%.<p>One significant contributor to the development of the economy has been the widespread propagation of <!--del_lnk--> microcredit by <!--del_lnk--> Muhammad Yunus (awarded <!--del_lnk--> Nobel <a href="../../wp/n/Nobel_Peace_Prize.htm" title="Nobel Peace Prize">peace prize</a> in 2006) through the <!--del_lnk--> Grameen Bank. By the late 1990s, Grameen Bank had 2.3 million members, along with 2.5 million members of other similar organizations.<p>In order to enhance economic growth the government set up several export processing zones to attract foreign investment. These are managed by the <!--del_lnk--> Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1082.jpg.htm" title="Dhaka is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world."><img alt="Dhaka is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world." height="282" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Dhaka-panorama.jpg" src="../../images/10/1082.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1082.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Dhaka is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Recent estimates of Bangladesh's population range from 142 to 147 million, making it one of the ten most populous countries in the world. With a population similar to <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>'s confined to an area of 144,000 square kilometers, it is very densely populated. Bangladesh's population growth was among the highest in the world in the 1960s and 1970s, when the count grew from 50 to 90 million, but with the promotion of <a href="../../wp/b/Birth_control.htm" title="Birth control">birth control</a> in the 1980s, the growth rate slowed. The total <!--del_lnk--> fertility rate is now 3.2, compared with 6.2 three decades ago. The population is relatively young, with the 0–25 age group comprising 60%, while 3% are 65 or older. Life expectancy is 63 years for both males and females.<p>Bangladesh is ethnically homogeneous, with <!--del_lnk--> Bengalis comprising 98% of the population. The remainder are mostly <!--del_lnk--> Bihari migrants and indigenous tribal groups. There are 13 tribal groups located in the <!--del_lnk--> Chittagong Hill Tracts, the most populous of the tribes are the <!--del_lnk--> Chakmas. The region has been a source for ethnic tension since the inception of Bangladesh. The largest tribal groups outside the Hill Tracts are the <!--del_lnk--> Santhals and the <!--del_lnk--> Garos (Achiks). <!--del_lnk--> Human trafficking has been a lingering problem in Bangladesh and illegal immigration has remained a cause of friction with Myanmar and India.<p>The main language, as in <!--del_lnk--> West Bengal, is <!--del_lnk--> Bangla (Bengali), an <!--del_lnk--> Indo-Aryan language of <a href="../../wp/s/Sanskrit.htm" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</a> origin and has its own <!--del_lnk--> script. Bangla is the official language of Bangladesh. <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> is used as second language among the middle and upper classes and in higher education. Since a President Order in 1987, Bangla is used for all official correspondence except foreign ones.<p>Two major religions practised in Bangladesh are <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a> (88% US State Department est. 2005) and <a href="../../wp/h/Hinduism.htm" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a> (11% US State Dept. 2005). Ethnic <!--del_lnk--> Biharis are predominantly <!--del_lnk--> Shia Muslims. Other religious groups include <!--del_lnk--> Buddhists, <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christians</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Animists.<p>Health and education levels have recently improved as poverty levels have decreased. Nevertheless, Bangladesh remains among the poorest nations in the world. Most Bangladeshis are rural, living on subsistence farming. Nearly half of the population lives on less than 1 USD per day. Health problems abound, ranging from <!--del_lnk--> surface water contamination, to <a href="../../wp/a/Arsenic.htm" title="Arsenic">arsenic</a> in the <!--del_lnk--> groundwater, and diseases including <a href="../../wp/m/Malaria.htm" title="Malaria">malaria</a>, <!--del_lnk--> leptospirosis and <!--del_lnk--> dengue. The literacy rate in Bangladesh is approximately 41%. There is gender disparity, though, as literacy rates are 50% among men and 31% among women, according to a 2004 <!--del_lnk--> UNICEF estimate. Literacy has gone up due to many programs introduced in the country. Among the most successful ones are the <i>Food for education</i> (FFE) program introduced in 1993, and a stipend program for women at the primary and secondary levels.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1083.jpg.htm" title="Intricate design in a Nakshikatha, a traditional stitched quilt"><img alt="Intricate design in a Nakshikatha, a traditional stitched quilt" height="231" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BanglaNak1.jpg" src="../../images/10/1083.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1083.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Intricate design in a <i>Nakshikatha</i>, a traditional stitched quilt</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1084.jpg.htm" title="Bagerhat Shat Gambuj Masjid (60 dome mosque), built by Khan Jahan Ali"><img alt="Bagerhat Shat Gambuj Masjid (60 dome mosque), built by Khan Jahan Ali" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bagerhat01.jpg" src="../../images/10/1084.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1084.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bagerhat Shat Gambuj Masjid (60 dome mosque), built by <!--del_lnk--> Khan Jahan Ali</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1085.gif.htm" title="Ruins of the ancient Buddhist monastery in Mahasthangarh, Bogra"><img alt="Ruins of the ancient Buddhist monastery in Mahasthangarh, Bogra" height="156" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Mahasthan.gif" src="../../images/10/1085.gif" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1085.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Ruins of the ancient Buddhist monastery in <!--del_lnk--> Mahasthangarh, <!--del_lnk--> Bogra</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>A new state for an old nation, Bangladesh has a culture that encompasses elements both old and new. The <!--del_lnk--> Bangla language boasts a rich literary heritage, which Bangladesh shares with the <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">Indian</a> state of <!--del_lnk--> West Bengal. The earliest literary text in Bangla is the eighth century <!--del_lnk--> Charyapada. Bangla literature in the medieval age was often either religious (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> Chandidas), or adaptations from other languages (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> Alaol). Bangla literature matured in the nineteenth century. Its greatest icons are the poets <a href="../../wp/r/Rabindranath_Tagore.htm" title="Rabindranath Tagore">Rabindranath Tagore</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Kazi Nazrul Islam. Bangladesh also has a long tradition in folk literature, evidenced by <i><!--del_lnk--> Maimansingha Gitika</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Thakurmar Jhuli</i> or stories related to <i><!--del_lnk--> Gopal Bhar</i>.<p>The musical tradition of Bangladesh is lyrics-based (<i>Baniprodhan</i>), with minimal instrumental accompaniment. The <!--del_lnk--> Baul tradition is a unique heritage of Bangla folk music, and there are numerous other musical traditions in Bangladesh, which vary from one region to the other. <!--del_lnk--> Gombhira, <!--del_lnk--> Bhatiali, <!--del_lnk--> Bhawaiya are a few of the better-known musical forms. Folk music of Bengal is often accompanied by the <!--del_lnk--> ektara, an instrument with only one string. Other instruments include the <!--del_lnk--> dotara, <!--del_lnk--> dhol, <a href="../../wp/f/Flute.htm" title="Flute">flute</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> tabla. Bangladesh also has an active heritage in <!--del_lnk--> North Indian classical music. Similarly, Bangladeshi dance forms draw from folk traditions, especially those of the tribal groups, as well as the broader Indian dance tradition. Bangladesh produces about 80 films a year. Mainstream <!--del_lnk--> Hindi films are also quite popular, as are films from <a href="../../wp/k/Kolkata.htm" title="Kolkata">Kolkata</a>, which has its own thriving Bengali-language movie industry. Around 200 dailies are published in Bangladesh, along with more than 1800 periodicals. However, regular readership is low, nearly about 15% of the population. Bangladeshis listen to a variety of local and national radio programmes from <!--del_lnk--> Bangladesh Betar, as well as Bangla services from the <a href="../../wp/b/BBC.htm" title="BBC">BBC</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Voice of America. There is a state-controlled <!--del_lnk--> television channel, but in the last few years, privately owned channels have grown considerably.<p>The culinary tradition of Bangladesh has close relations to <!--del_lnk--> Indian and <!--del_lnk--> Middle Eastern cuisine as well as having many unique traits. Rice and fish are traditional favourites; leading to a common saying that "fish and rice make a Bengali" (<i>machhe bhate bangali</i>). Meat Consumption has increased with higher production in recent years. Bangladeshis make distinctive <!--del_lnk--> sweetmeats from milk products; some common ones are <i><!--del_lnk--> Rôshogolla</i>, <i>Chômchôm</i> and <i>Kalojam</i>.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> sari <i>(shaŗi)</i> is by far the most widely worn dress by Bangladeshi women. However, the <!--del_lnk--> salwar kameez <i>(shaloar kamiz)</i> is also quite popular, and in urban areas some women wear Western attire. Among men, European dressing has greater acceptance. Men also use the <i><!--del_lnk--> kurta-paejama</i> combination, often on religious occasions. The <!--del_lnk--> lungi, a kind of long skirt, is widely worn by Bangladesh men.<p>The two <!--del_lnk--> Eids, <!--del_lnk--> Eid ul-Fitr and <!--del_lnk--> Eid ul-Adha are the largest festivals in the Islamic calendar. The day before Eid ul-Fitr is called <i>Chãd Rat</i> (the night of the Moon), and is often marked by firecrackers. Other <!--del_lnk--> Muslim holidays are also observed. Major Hindu festivals are <!--del_lnk--> Durga <!--del_lnk--> Puja and <!--del_lnk--> Saraswati <!--del_lnk--> Puja. <!--del_lnk--> Buddha Purnima, which marks the birth of <a href="../../wp/g/Gautama_Buddha.htm" title="Gautama Buddha">Gautama Buddha</a>, is one of the most important Buddhist festivals while <!--del_lnk--> Christmas, called <i>Bôŗodin</i> (Great day) in <!--del_lnk--> Bangla is celebrated by the minority Christian population. The most important secular festival is <i>Nôbobôrsho</i> or Bengali New Year, the beginning of the <!--del_lnk--> Bengali calendar. Other festivities include <!--del_lnk--> Nobanno, <i>Poush parbon</i> (festival of <!--del_lnk--> Poush) and observance of national days like <!--del_lnk--> Shohid Dibosh.<p><a href="../../wp/c/Cricket.htm" title="Cricket">Cricket</a> is one of the most popular <!--del_lnk--> sports in Bangladesh. In 2000, the <!--del_lnk--> Bangladesh cricket team was granted <!--del_lnk--> Test cricket status and joined the elite league of national teams permitted by the <!--del_lnk--> International Cricket Council to play test matches. Other popular sports include <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">football (soccer)</a>, <!--del_lnk--> field hockey, <a href="../../wp/t/Tennis.htm" title="Tennis">tennis</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Badminton.htm" title="Badminton">badminton</a>, <!--del_lnk--> handball, <a href="../../wp/v/Volleyball.htm" title="Volleyball">volleyball</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Chess.htm" title="Chess">chess</a>, <!--del_lnk--> carom, and <!--del_lnk--> kabadi, a 7-a-side team-sport played without a ball or any other equipment, which is the national sport of Bangladesh. The <!--del_lnk--> Bangladesh Sports Control Board regulates 29 different sporting federations.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['SOS Children in Bangladesh', 'List of countries by system of government', 'Parliamentary system', 'Pakistan', 'Currency', 'Time zone', 'India', 'Myanmar', 'Bay of Bengal', 'Pakistan', 'Islam', 'Sheikh Mujibur Rahman', 'Civilization', 'Buddhism', 'Islam', 'Sultan', 'British East India Company', 'British monarchy', 'Pakistan', 'Sheikh Mujibur Rahman', 'Kolkata', 'Parliamentary system', 'Ganges River', 'Tropics', 'Flood', 'Tropical cyclone', 'Tornado', 'Soils retrogression and degradation', 'World Bank Group', 'Literacy', 'World War II', 'Mustard plant', 'Natural gas', 'Brazil', 'Russia', 'India', "People's Republic of China", 'Egypt', 'Indonesia', 'Natural gas', 'Nobel Peace Prize', 'Russia', 'Birth control', 'Sanskrit', 'English language', 'Islam', 'Hinduism', 'Christianity', 'Arsenic', 'Malaria', 'India', 'Rabindranath Tagore', 'Flute', 'Kolkata', 'BBC', 'Gautama Buddha', 'Cricket', 'Football (soccer)', 'Tennis', 'Badminton', 'Volleyball', 'Chess']
|
Bangladesh_A
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
<head>
<title>Bangladesh Charity: Sponsor a Child in Bangladesh</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" />
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-uk" />
<meta name="Copyright" content="Copyright SOS Children." />
<meta name="robots" content="all" />
<meta name="keywords" content="children charity" />
<meta name="description" content="SOS Children: the world's largest orphan charity." />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../wp/p/Print.css" media="print" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../wp/s/Sos.css" media="screen" />
</head>
<body>
<div id="container">
<div id="header">
<div id="logo"><h1><a href="../../wp/c/Children_Charity.htm" title="SOS Children's Villages">SOS Chidren's Villages<span></span></a></h1></div>
<div id="siteguide"><a href="../../wp/s/Site_Guide.htm" title="SOS Children Website Guide.">Site Guide</a></div>
<div id="sitesearch"><a href="../../wp/s/Search.htm" title="Search SOS Children Website.">Search</a></div>
</div>
<div id="page">
<div id="bread"><a href="../../wp/c/Children_Charity.htm">Charity Home</a> > <a href="../../wp/s/Sponsor_A_Child.htm">Sponsor a Child</a> > <a href="../../wp/s/Sponsorship_Directory.htm">Sponsorship Directory</a> > <a href="../../wp/a/Asia_A.htm">Asia</a> > <strong>Bangladesh</strong></div>
<div id="col">
<div id="nav">
<span class="boxtop"></span>
<ul><li><a href="../../wp/c/Children_Charity.htm">Charity Home</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/c/Charity_News.htm">Charity News</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/s/Sos_Childrens_Charity.htm">Charity Facts</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/s/Sponsor_A_Child.htm">Sponsor a Child</a>
<ul id="subnav"><li><a href="../../wp/s/Sponsorship_Directory.htm" id="selected">Sponsorship Directory</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/a/About_Child_Sponsorship.htm">About Child Sponsorship</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/f/Faq.htm">Child Sponsorship FAQ</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/p/Pros_And_Cons.htm">Pros & Cons</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/t/Testimonials.htm">Testimonials</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/s/Sponsored_Events.htm">Sponsored Events</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="../../wp/d/Donate_Help.htm">Donate & Help</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Africa.htm">Aids in Africa</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/v/Video_Tour.htm">Video Tour</a></li></ul>
<span class="boxbot"></span>
</div>
<!-- NEWS --><!-- ENDNEWS -->
</div>
<div id="content">
<h2>SOS Children in Bangladesh</h2>
<img src="../../wp/t/Tpa_avmedia_17275_jpg.jpg" width="233" height="350" alt="SOS Children Bangladesh" class="left" /><p>Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Poverty is widespread and the number of abandoned children is extremely high due to years of political unrest and natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods which are a frequent occurrence. A third of children never attend school and the illiteracy rate is around 62 per cent. </p><p>The first community built by our charity opened in Dhaka in 1973. It has 15 family houses and two youth houses, as well as a kindergarten and a social centre which provides community education. A small mosque has been built as most of the children are Muslims. Primary and secondary education is provided by the SOS school which is ranked among the top schools in Bangladesh, taking in over 1000 pupils from the local community.</p><img src="../../wp/t/Tpa_avmedia_17268_jpg.jpg" width="233" height="350" alt="SOS Children Bangladesh" class="right" /><p>The SOS Children community Rajshahi is close to the Indian border in western Bangladesh. Many of the children are severely undernourished when they come here, and need special care at the village's medical centre before joining their new SOS families. The village has fifteen family houses and eight youth houses. An SOS Vocational Training Centre provides agricultural training for 32 young people. </p><p>SOS Children Khulna site is in the Ganges Delta. The village has sixteen family houses and two youth houses, as well as a kindergarten and a school providing both primary and secondary education. Both are open to children from the local community, who are also helped by the SOS clinic and day-care centre which provides medical treatment and a safe place for local mothers on low incomes to leave their children while they work. </p><p>Severe flooding in 1986, in which over 50,000 people died, led to our charity constructing a fourth community in Chittagong, the second largest city in Bangladesh. Virtually in the city centre, the village also has a primary school and kindergarten as well as a social centre and clinic. The centre and clinic provide medical care and a feeding programme for local people, as well as day care facilities for working mothers. After the cyclone in 1991, part of the social centre was adapted as a cyclone shelter for local people and the SOS Children families. </p><p>The charity's Bogra Village opened in 1996. About 225 km west of Dhaka, it is close to the historically famous site of Mahastangarh. The village has ten family houses and a youth house, as well as a kindergarten and primary/secondary school. A social centre and clinic provide day care facilities and medical treatment for local people.</p><h3>Country Map</h3>
<img src="../../wp/m/Map_bangladesh.jpg" width="458" height="650" alt="Sponsorship Sites in Bangladesh" class="left" /><h3>Local contacts</h3>
<p>SOS Children's Village International in Bangladesh<br />1, Shamoli / Mirpur Road / Dhaka - 1207<br />Postal address: G.P.O. Box 546<br />Dhaka-1000 / Bangladesh<br />Tel +88/02/811 8189<br />Tel +88/02/811 4058<br />Fax +88/02/811 3217<br />e-mail [email protected]</p><p><strong><a href="../../wp/s/Sponsor_A_Child.htm">Bangladesh Child Sponsorship</a></strong></p>
<p>Next Country: <a href="../../wp/b/Benin_B.htm">Benin</a></p>
</div>
<table style="margin-left: 50px; clear:both;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align:middle">
<a href="../../index.htm"><image src="../../Wikipedia-logo-100-matte-ffcc66.gif" width="100px" height="100px" alt="Schools Wikipedia"></a>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle">
<a href="../../index.htm">Return to Schools Wikipedia Home page</a>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="clearboth"></div>
</div>
<div id="footer">
<span id="botright"></span>
<p><a href="../../wp/c/Contact.htm">Contact us</a> | <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a> | 01223 365589 | <a href="../../wp/p/Privacy_Policy.htm">Privacy Policy</a></p>
<p>"SOS Children" refers to SOS Kinderdorf worldwide. SOS Children is a working name for SOS Children's Villages UK.</p>
<p>Charity Commission registered number 1069204</p>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
["SOS Children's Villages", 'SOS Children Website Guide.', 'Search SOS Children Website.']
|
Banjul
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Banjul,1816,1973,1994,Arecaceae,Atlantic Ocean,Banjul International Airport,Barra, Gambia,Beeswax,Capital,Cathedral" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Banjul</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Banjul";
var wgTitle = "Banjul";
var wgArticleId = 69666;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Banjul">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Banjul</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.African_Geography.htm">African Geography</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:277px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1089.png.htm" title="Location of Banjul in The Gambia"><img alt="Location of Banjul in The Gambia" height="74" longdesc="/wiki/Image:GM-Banjul.png" src="../../images/10/1089.png" width="275" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1089.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Location of Banjul in The Gambia</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1090.jpg.htm" title="Street in Banjul city"><img alt="Street in Banjul city" height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banjultown1.JPG" src="../../images/10/1090.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1090.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Street in Banjul city</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Banjul</b> is the <a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">capital</a> of <a href="../../wp/t/The_Gambia.htm" title="The Gambia">the Gambia</a>. The population of the city proper is only 34,828 but the total urban area is many times larger with a population of 523,589 (2003 census). It is located on <!--del_lnk--> St Mary's Island (or <i>Banjul Island</i>) where the <!--del_lnk--> Gambia River enters the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a>. Banjul is located at 13°28' North, 16°36' West (13.4667, -16.60).<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1816, the British founded <b>Banjul</b> as a trading post and base for suppressing the <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slave</a> trade. It was first named <i>Bathurst</i> after <!--del_lnk--> Henry Bathurst, the secretary of the British Colonial Office, but was changed to Banjul in <!--del_lnk--> 1973.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1091.jpg.htm" title="Arch 22 at the entrance to Banjul"><img alt="Arch 22 at the entrance to Banjul" height="160" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gambia_banjul_arch22.JPG" src="../../images/10/1091.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1091.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Arch 22</i> at the entrance to Banjul</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> July 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1994, Banjul was the scene of a bloodless military <!--del_lnk--> coup d'etat in which President <!--del_lnk--> Dawda Jawara was overthrown and replaced by the country's current (and twice reelected) President <!--del_lnk--> Yahya Jammeh. To commemorate this event, <!--del_lnk--> Arch 22 was built as an entrance portal to the capital. The gate is 35 metres tall and the centre of an open square. It houses a <a href="../../wp/t/Textile.htm" title="Textile">textile</a> <!--del_lnk--> museum.<p>Attractions in the city include the <!--del_lnk--> Gambian National Museum, the <!--del_lnk--> Albert Market, <!--del_lnk--> Banjul State House, <!--del_lnk--> Banjul Court House, two <!--del_lnk--> cathedrals and several major <a href="../../wp/m/Mosque.htm" title="Mosque">mosques</a>.<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<p>Banjul is the main urban area of The Gambia and holds the country's economic and administrative centre. As the fourth most densely populated country in Africa, The Gambia has more than one urban area. Peanut processing is the country's principal industry, but <!--del_lnk--> bee's wax, <a href="../../wp/a/Arecaceae.htm" title="Arecaceae">palm wood</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Palm_oil.htm" title="Palm oil">palm oil</a>, and skins and hides are also shipped from its port.<p>Ferries sail from Banjul to <!--del_lnk--> Barra. <!--del_lnk--> Banjul International Airport lies near the city.<p><a id="Districts" name="Districts"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Districts</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1092.png.htm" title="Districts of Banjul"><img alt="Districts of Banjul" height="193" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banjul_districts.png" src="../../images/10/1092.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1092.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Districts of Banjul</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Banjul is divided into 2 <!--del_lnk--> districts:<ul>
<li><strong class="selflink">Banjul</strong><li><!--del_lnk--> Kanifing</ul>
<p><a id="Twin_town" name="Twin_town"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Twin town</span></h2>
<p>Banjul is <!--del_lnk--> twinned with <!--del_lnk--> Grimsby in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a> and Newark,NJ in the United States.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjul"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Capital', 'The Gambia', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'Slavery', 'Textile', 'Mosque', 'Arecaceae', 'Palm oil', 'United Kingdom']
|
Bank_of_China_(Hong_Kong)
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bank of China (Hong Kong),1000000000 (number),1917,1990,2001,2003,2004,2005,2006,American Depositary Receipt,As of 2005" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bank of China (Hong Kong)</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bank_of_China_(Hong_Kong)";
var wgTitle = "Bank of China (Hong Kong)";
var wgArticleId = 1145762;
var wgCurRevisionId = 92092348;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bank_of_China_Hong_Kong">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bank of China (Hong Kong)</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Business_Studies.Companies.htm">Companies</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="metadata topicon" id="featured-star" style="right:10px; display:none;">
<div style="position: relative; width: 14px; height: 14px; overflow: hidden">
<div style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; font-size: 100px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 100px; z-index: 3"><!--del_lnk--> <span title="This is a featured article. Click here for more information."> </span></div>
<div style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 2"><a class="image" href="../../images/0/24.png.htm" title="This is a featured article. Click here for more information."><img alt="This is a featured article. Click here for more information." height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LinkFA-star.png" src="../../images/0/24.png" width="14" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<table class="infobox" style="width:23em; font-size:90%;">
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size:larger;"><b>Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:16px 0 16px 0;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Image:Bankofchinahongkonglogo.gif" height="70" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bankofchinahongkonglogo.gif" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="230" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Type</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Public<br /><!--del_lnk--> HKSE: 2388<br /> (listing is as BOC (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Founded</th>
<td>2001</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Headquarters</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Key people</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Xiao Gang, <!--del_lnk--> Chairman<br /><!--del_lnk--> He Guangbei, <!--del_lnk--> CEO</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Products</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Commercial banking</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Revenue</th>
<td>HK$8 <!--del_lnk--> Billion (2003)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><a href="../../wp/e/Employment.htm" title="Employment">Employees</a></th>
<td>13,009 (June 2004)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Slogan</th>
<td>Your Premier Bank</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;"><!--del_lnk--> Website</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> www.bochk.com</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited</b> (BOCHK, 中國銀行(香港)有限公司) (<!--del_lnk--> SEHK: <!--del_lnk--> 2388) is the second-largest <!--del_lnk--> commercial banking group in <a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a> in terms of <!--del_lnk--> assets and customer <!--del_lnk--> deposits, with more than 300 branches in Hong Kong. It was established on <!--del_lnk--> October 1, <!--del_lnk--> 2001 from a merger of 12 subsidiaries and associates of the <!--del_lnk--> Bank of China in Hong Kong, and listed on the <!--del_lnk--> Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2002. As of the end of 2003, the bank had <!--del_lnk--> HK$763 billion in assets and earned net profit of HK$8 billion in 2003.<p>BOCHK is one of the three banks which issue <!--del_lnk--> banknotes for Hong Kong, the biggest member and a founder of the <!--del_lnk--> JETCO <!--del_lnk--> ATM and payment system, and the designated <!--del_lnk--> clearing bank in Hong Kong for transactions involving the <a href="../../wp/r/Renminbi.htm" title="Renminbi">renminbi</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Mainland China's <a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">currency</a>. It is legally separate from its parent, <!--del_lnk--> Bank of China (BOC), although they maintain close relations in management and administration and cooperate in several areas including reselling BOC's <!--del_lnk--> insurance and <!--del_lnk--> securities services. It also shares its Hong Kong headquarters, the <!--del_lnk--> Bank of China Tower, with its parent; completed in 1988, this was the first building outside of <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North America</a> to exceed 1,000 feet.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="Bank_of_China_Group" name="Bank_of_China_Group"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Bank of China Group</span></h3>
<p>The opening of a branch of the Bank of China in Hong Kong in <!--del_lnk--> 1917 marked the entry of state-owned <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">Chinese</a> banks into the then-colony's banking sector. Other banks soon followed suit, starting with <!--del_lnk--> Yien Yieh Commercial Bank in 1918. By the time the <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a> was established in 1949, there were 15 branches of state owned Chinese banks in Hong Kong, plus branches of nine Mainland-incorporated banks that were public-private <!--del_lnk--> joint ventures. In addition, the Chinese government established <!--del_lnk--> Po Sang Bank in 1949 and <!--del_lnk--> Nanyang Commercial Bank in 1950. Both of these were incorporated in Hong Kong.<p>In 1952, the nine public-private banks (namely, <!--del_lnk--> Sin Hua Bank Limited, <!--del_lnk--> China & South Sea Bank Limited, <!--del_lnk--> Kincheng Banking Corporation, <!--del_lnk--> China State Bank Limited, <!--del_lnk--> The National Commercial Bank Limited, <!--del_lnk--> Yien Yieh Commercial Bank, <!--del_lnk--> Young Brothers Banking Corporation, <!--del_lnk--> Wo Sang Bank and <!--del_lnk--> National Industrial Bank of China) were grouped into the <b>Joint Office of Joint Public-Private Banks</b>. The Hong Kong branches of the last three of these nine were closed in 1954 when their parents were shut down by the central government, and management of the remaining six public-private banks were transferred to the Hong Kong and Macau Regional Office of the Bank of China in 1958. The Bank of China later took over management of the Hong Kong branches of <!--del_lnk--> Kwangtung Provincial Bank, <!--del_lnk--> Hua Chiao Commercial Bank Limited and the <!--del_lnk--> Bank of Communications (HKSE: 3328).<p>In June 1975, the Bank of China moved to increase the capital of the public-private banks. As all of the new capital were from the Chinese government, private ownership in the public-private banks were substantially reduced, in some cases to less than 1%.<p>The 14 banks were rebranded as part of the <b>Bank of China Group</b> in the 1980s, after a common IT platform was established. Treasury and foreign currency exchange operations were also centralised. However, the individual banks retained their own management.<p><a id="Restructuring_and_listing" name="Restructuring_and_listing"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Restructuring and listing</span></h3>
<p>The Hong Kong branch of the Bank of Communications broke off from the Bank of China Group in 1998. The Bank of China Group started to restructure its operations in 1999 in preparation for an <!--del_lnk--> initial public offering. All minority shareholders (except for those of Chiyu) were bought out by the Bank of China. Formal plans for a restructuring received the approval of the <!--del_lnk--> People's Bank of China and were launched in January 2001.<p>The restructuring saw all operations of the Mainland-incorporated group members merged into Po Sang Bank, which was then immediately renamed Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited. Hong Kong incorporated Nanyang Commercial Bank and Chiyu Banking Corporation became subsidiaries of Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited. Legislation was required for the merger, as Hong Kong does not allow mergers via the <!--del_lnk--> pooling of interests, a common procedure in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>. The <i>Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (Merger) Ordinance</i> was approved by the <!--del_lnk--> Legislative Council of Hong Kong on <!--del_lnk--> July 12, <!--del_lnk--> 2001, and the merger was completed on <!--del_lnk--> October 1, <!--del_lnk--> 2001.<p><a id="Corporate_structure_and_BOC_.28Hong_Kong.29_Holdings" name="Corporate_structure_and_BOC_.28Hong_Kong.29_Holdings"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Corporate structure and BOC (Hong Kong) Holdings</span></h2>
<div class="floatright"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Logo of BOC (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited." height="33" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BOCHKHOLD.gif" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="243" /></span></div>
<p>BOCHK is listed under the name of <b>BOC (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited</b> (BOCHK Holdings), a <!--del_lnk--> holding company whose principal, 100% owned subsidiary is BOCHK. The holding company is listed on the <!--del_lnk--> Stock Exchange of Hong Kong <!--del_lnk--> SEHK: <!--del_lnk--> 2388 and as <!--del_lnk--> ADRs in the US under the symbol BHKLY. BOC (Hong Kong) Holdings is a constituent of the <!--del_lnk--> Hang Seng Index. The listing of BOCHK Holdings in July 2002 listing was the first international stock listing by a <!--del_lnk--> Mainland China bank; until that time, other Mainland Chinese bank listings were done in the domestic "A-share" market.<p>For the 12 months ended <!--del_lnk--> December 31, <!--del_lnk--> 2003, BOCHK Holdings earned HK$11.6 billion in operating income and HK$8.0 billion in net profit. As of June 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, 65.805% of BOCHK Holdings is held by <!--del_lnk--> Bank of China, in turn 69.265% owned by <!--del_lnk--> Central Huijin Investment, an investment holding company 100% owned by the Government of the <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a>.<p><a id="Operations" name="Operations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Operations</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/975.jpg.htm" title="Bank of China (Hong Kong) branch, Wing On House, Hong Kong"><img alt="Bank of China (Hong Kong) branch, Wing On House, Hong Kong" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BankofChinaHongKongWinOnHou.jpg" src="../../images/9/975.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/975.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bank of China (Hong Kong) branch, <!--del_lnk--> Wing On House, <a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>BOCHK offers a comprehensive range of financial products and services to retail and corporate customers, similar to those offered by most commercial banks. It is primarily known for its interest-income business (taking <!--del_lnk--> deposits from retail customers for loans to corporates) although it has been moving into other non-interest-income areas such as personal loans, wealth management and other financial services in recent years. It has Hong Kong's biggest branch network (over 200 branches) and 450 <!--del_lnk--> automatic teller machines.<p>BOCHK is the biggest mortgage lender in Hong Kong in the secondary market; <!--del_lnk--> Hang Seng Bank is the biggest in the primary market. BOCHK resells the <!--del_lnk--> casualty insurance, <!--del_lnk--> life insurance, <!--del_lnk--> mandatory provident fund (MPF) and asset management services of various subsidiaries of its parent, <!--del_lnk--> Bank of China.<p>Within <!--del_lnk--> Mainland China, BOCHK operates 14 branches (<!--del_lnk--> as of January 2005) separately from its parent. BOCHK is treated as a foreign bank, more properly, 境外銀行 (<i>banks outside of the territory</i>), for regulatory purposes as it is incorporated in Hong Kong.<p><a id="Renminbi_clearing_bank" name="Renminbi_clearing_bank"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Renminbi clearing bank</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/976.jpg.htm" title="BOCHK passbooks and ATM cards. At the front is a BOCHK Renminbi card."><img alt="BOCHK passbooks and ATM cards. At the front is a BOCHK Renminbi card." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BOCHK_passbooks_cards.jpg" src="../../images/9/976.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/976.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> BOCHK passbooks and ATM cards. At the front is a BOCHK Renminbi card.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>BOCHK has been the designated clearing bank for personal transactions involving the <a href="../../wp/r/Renminbi.htm" title="Renminbi">Renminbi</a> (RMB, the currency of <!--del_lnk--> Mainland China) in <a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a> since February 2004. This means that BOCHK acts as a settlement agent for RMB banknotes and funds in Hong Kong and an intermediary between banks in Hong Kong and the <!--del_lnk--> People's Bank of China, the <!--del_lnk--> central bank of the <a href="../../wp/p/People%2527s_Republic_of_China.htm" title="People's Republic of China">People's Republic of China</a>. In return, BOCHK takes a 0.125% cut of all RMB deposits in Hong Kong that are repatriated back to Mainland China.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Chief Executive of Hong Kong announced on <!--del_lnk--> November 18, <!--del_lnk--> 2003 that the <!--del_lnk--> People's Bank of China had agreed to provide clearing arrangements, marking for the first time that the Renminbi, which is fully on the <!--del_lnk--> current account but not on the <!--del_lnk--> capital account, has been allowed to clear outside of <!--del_lnk--> Mainland China. The scope of such RMB business includes deposit-taking, exchange, remittances and RMB cards. Hong Kong banks were invited to apply to become the designated clearing bank for RMB business; the People's Bank of China subsequently chose BOCHK as the clearing bank, for a term of three years.<p>According to the <!--del_lnk--> Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the major responsibilities of the clearing bank are to:<ul>
<li>open RMB settlement accounts for participating banks for the acceptance and withdrawal of RMB funds<li>open a settlement account with the PBOC's <!--del_lnk--> Shenzhen sub-branch to centralise the acceptance and withdrawal of RMB funds of the Clearing Bank and the participating banks<li>collect and distribute RMB banknotes<li>provide clearing services for RMB remittances and RMB cards issued by Hong Kong banks<li>provide services for the participating banks to square their RMB open positions that result from the exchange of RMB into Hong Kong dollars and vice versa.</ul>
<p><a id="Nanyang_Commercial_Bank" name="Nanyang_Commercial_Bank"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Nanyang Commercial Bank</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/977.jpg.htm" title="Nanyang Commercial Bank branch in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong"><img alt="Nanyang Commercial Bank branch in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:NanyangCommercialBank_WesternBranch_JuntungWu.jpg" src="../../images/9/977.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/977.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Nanyang Commercial Bank branch in <!--del_lnk--> Kennedy Town, <a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Founded in 1950 in Hong Kong, Nanyang Commercial Bank is a wholly owned <!--del_lnk--> subsidiary of BOCHK, with 41 branches. Nanyang primarily focuses on corporate customers, in particular small and medium sized trading and manufacturing companies. It also has a loyal following amongst the overseas Chinese community, especially in <!--del_lnk--> South East Asia. It relies on BOCHK for back-end office and <!--del_lnk--> IT support.<p><a id="Chiyu_Banking_Corporation" name="Chiyu_Banking_Corporation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Chiyu Banking Corporation</span></h3>
<p>Founded by <!--del_lnk--> Chen Jiageng, an <!--del_lnk--> overseas Chinese in 1947, Chiyu Banking Corporation Limited has 23 branches in Hong Kong and focuses on serving the community of residents of <!--del_lnk--> Fujian descent in Hong Kong.<p>Chiyu was explicitly created by Chen to create a sustainable business with profits to be devoted to education in <!--del_lnk--> Xiamen and the rest of <!--del_lnk--> Fujian province in China. Since its founding, it has spent more than HK$1 billion in education in the province, primarily through funding <!--del_lnk--> Jimei University and its related schools.<p><a id="JETCO" name="JETCO"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">JETCO</span></h3>
<p><b>JETCO</b> (traditional Chinese: 銀通) (Joint Electronic Teller Services Limited) is the biggest network of <!--del_lnk--> automatic teller machines in <a href="../../wp/h/Hong_Kong.htm" title="Hong Kong">Hong Kong</a> and <a href="../../wp/m/Macau.htm" title="Macau">Macau</a>, with nearly 1,700 cash machines. JETCO was founded by BOCHK in 1982 along with the <!--del_lnk--> Bank of East Asia, <!--del_lnk--> Chekiang First Bank, <!--del_lnk--> Shanghai Commercial Bank and <!--del_lnk--> Wing Lung Bank, and at present covers all licensed <!--del_lnk--> commercial banks in Hong Kong and Macau, except for <!--del_lnk--> HSBC and <!--del_lnk--> Hang Seng Bank, which has their own system. JETCO connects with the <!--del_lnk--> UnionPay network in <!--del_lnk--> Mainland China: JETCO cardholders can withdraw <a href="../../wp/r/Renminbi.htm" title="Renminbi">RMB</a> cash at UnionPay machines in a number of major cities in Mainland China, while UnionPay cardholders can withdraw cash (up to around <!--del_lnk--> HK$4,500 per day) at JETCO machines in Hong Kong.<p><a id="Other_operations" name="Other_operations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Other operations</span></h3>
<p>BOCHK also owns a travel agency known as <b>BOC Travel Services</b>. This is a legacy from its acquisition of Nanyang Commercial Bank, which ran a travel agency for the convenience of its Southeast Asian customers.<p><a id="Bank_notes" name="Bank_notes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Bank of China Tower</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/65/6599.jpg.htm" title="Bank of China Tower at night"><img alt="Bank of China Tower at night" height="334" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bank_of_china_night.jpg" src="../../images/9/992.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/65/6599.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bank of China Tower at night</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <b>Bank of China Tower</b> in <!--del_lnk--> Central houses the headquarters of BOCHK. Designed by <!--del_lnk--> I. M. Pei, the 70-storey building's height is 315 <!--del_lnk--> meters with two masts reaching 369 meters. Construction began in 1985 and the building was completed in 1989, with its official opening on <!--del_lnk--> May 17, <!--del_lnk--> 1990.<p>Bank of China Tower was the first building outside <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North America</a> to break the 1,000 <!--del_lnk--> feet mark, the first composite <!--del_lnk--> space frame high-rise building and was the tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from 1989 to 1992. A small observation deck on the 43rd floor of the building is open to the public; visits to the main observation deck on the 70th floor is by appointment only.<p>The structural expressionism adopted in the design of this building resembles growing <!--del_lnk--> bamboo <!--del_lnk--> shoots, symbolising livelihood and prosperity. The whole structure is supported by the four reinforced concrete columns at the corners of the building, with the triangular frameworks transferring the weight of the structure into these four columns. It is covered with glass curtain walls. While its distinctive look makes it one of Hong Kong's most identifiable <!--del_lnk--> landmarks today, it was the source of some controversy at one time, as the bank is the only major building in Hong Kong to have bypassed the convention of consulting with <!--del_lnk--> feng shui masters on matters of design prior to construction.<p>Bank of China Tower was initially built by the Hong Kong Branch of the Bank of China; its Garden Road entrance continues to display the name "Bank of China", rather than BOCHK. Ownership has since been transferred to BOCHK, although the Bank of China has leased back several floors for use by its own operations in Hong Kong.<p><a id="Corporate_governance" name="Corporate_governance"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Corporate governance</span></h2>
<p>One of the stated goals of the restructuring of BOCHK was to aggressively improve <!--del_lnk--> corporate governance and <!--del_lnk--> risk management. Issues regarding BOCHK's corporate governance were widely reported in 2003 and 2004 following allegations of misconduct. Investigations are continuing <!--del_lnk--> as of 2005. BOCHK subsequently reorganised and tightened internal controls, and made several executive appointments via a global replacement effort.<p><a id="Liu_Jinbao" name="Liu_Jinbao"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Liu Jinbao</span></h3>
<p>A former <!--del_lnk--> CEO of BOCHK, <!--del_lnk--> Liu Jinbao, was abruptly transferred back to <a href="../../wp/b/Beijing.htm" title="Beijing">Beijing</a> to become vice-chairman of Bank of China in May 2003. Investigations subsequently found Liu to have "committed economic crimes" in connection with his previous appointment as the head of the <a href="../../wp/s/Shanghai.htm" title="Shanghai">Shanghai</a> branch of the Bank of China. Liu was subsequently dismissed from his post. Liu, along with three other senior managers, were also alleged to have made "unauthorised distribution for personal purposes" of funds belonging to the Bank of China before BOCHK was established. <i><!--del_lnk--> The Standard</i> speculated that the amount involved was HK$30 million.<p><a id="New_Nongkai_loan" name="New_Nongkai_loan"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">New Nongkai loan</span></h3>
<p>A special committee appointed by BOC (Hong Kong) Holdings in consultation with the <!--del_lnk--> Hong Kong Monetary Authority found that the granting of a HK$1.77 billion bridge loan to Chau Ching-ngai (sometimes referred to as <i>Zhou Zhengyi</i> depending on transliteration), involved <i>risks identified at the start (that) were not addressed adequately</i> and was granted despite <i>serious reservations expressed by the Risk Management Department (BOCHK)</i>. <!--del_lnk--> Liu Jinbao was criticised by the committee and a deputy CEO, Or Man-ah, took early retirement as a result.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_China_%28Hong_Kong%29"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Hong Kong', 'Employment', 'Hong Kong', 'Renminbi', 'Currency', 'North America', 'China', "People's Republic of China", 'United States', "People's Republic of China", 'Hong Kong', 'Renminbi', 'Hong Kong', "People's Republic of China", 'Hong Kong', 'Hong Kong', 'Macau', 'Renminbi', 'North America', 'Beijing', 'Shanghai']
|
Banknote
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="noindex,nofollow" name="robots" />
<meta content="Banknote,1455,1574,1660,1664,1685,1757,1763,1764,1844,1848" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Banknote</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgCanonicalSpecialPageName = false;
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Banknote";
var wgTitle = "Banknote";
var wgAction = "view";
var wgArticleId = "208286";
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserGroups = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
var wgBreakFrames = false;
var wgCurRevisionId = "129204789";
/*]]>*/</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Banknote">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Banknote</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Business_Studies.Currency.htm">Currency</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" class="prettytable" style="float: right; margin: 0em 0em 1em 1em; border: 1px solid #999; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 2px;">
<tr>
<td align="center"><a class="image" href="../../images/151/15152.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="52" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Many_coins.jpg" src="../../images/33/3307.jpg" width="70" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><b><a href="../../wp/n/Numismatics.htm" title="Numismatics">Numismatics</a></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Numismatic terminology</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">Currency</a><dl>
<dd>
<div style="font-size:85%;"><a href="../../wp/c/Coin.htm" title="Coin">Coins</a>, <strong class="selflink">Banknotes</strong>,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Forgery</div>
</dl>
<p><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_circulating_currencies.htm" title="List of circulating currencies">Circulating currencies</a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Community currencies<dl>
<dd>
<div style="font-size:85%;"><!--del_lnk--> Company scrip, <!--del_lnk--> LETS,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Time dollars</div>
</dl>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Fictional currencies</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ancient currencies<dl>
<dd>
<div style="font-size:85%;"><!--del_lnk--> Greek, <!--del_lnk--> Roman,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Byzantine</div>
</dl>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Medieval currencies<br /><!--del_lnk--> Modern currencies<dl>
<dd>
<div style="font-size:85%;"><!--del_lnk--> Africa, <!--del_lnk--> The Americas,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Europe, <!--del_lnk--> Asia, <!--del_lnk--> Oceania</div>
</dl>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Production <dl>
<dd>
<div style="font-size:85%;"><!--del_lnk--> Mint, <!--del_lnk--> Designers</div>
<dd>
<div style="font-size:85%;"><!--del_lnk--> Coining, <!--del_lnk--> Milling,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Hammering</div>
</dl>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Exonumia<dl>
<dd>
<div style="font-size:85%;"><!--del_lnk--> Credit cards, <!--del_lnk--> Medals,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Tokens</div>
</dl>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Notaphily<dl>
<dd>
<div style="font-size:85%;"><strong class="selflink">Banknotes</strong></div>
</dl>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Scripophily<dl>
<dd>
<div style="font-size:85%;"><a href="../../wp/s/Stock.htm" title="Stock">Stocks</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Bonds</div>
</dl>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="thumb tright">
</div>
<p>A <b>banknote</b> (more commonly known as a <b>bill</b> in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>) is a kind of negotiable instrument, a <!--del_lnk--> promissory note made by a <!--del_lnk--> bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as <a href="../../wp/m/Money.htm" title="Money">money</a>, and under many jurisdictions is used as <!--del_lnk--> legal tender. Along with <a href="../../wp/c/Coin.htm" title="Coin">coins</a>, banknotes make up the cash forms of all modern <a href="../../wp/m/Money.htm" title="Money">money</a>. With the exception of non-circulating high-value or precious metal commemorative issues, coins are generally used for lower valued monetary units, while banknotes are used for higher values.<p>Originally, the value of money was determined by the <!--del_lnk--> intrinsic value of the material the money was made of, such as <a href="../../wp/s/Silver.htm" title="Silver">silver</a> or <a href="../../wp/g/Gold.htm" title="Gold">gold</a>. However, carrying around a lot of precious metal was cumbersome and often dangerous. As an alternative, banknotes would be issued. In financial terms, a note is a promise to pay someone money. Banknotes were originally a promise to pay the bearer an amount of precious metal stored in a vault somewhere. In this way the stored value (usually in gold or silver coins) backing the banknote could transfer ownership in exchange for goods or services.<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script>
<p><a id="Convertibility" name="Convertibility"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Convertibility</span></h2>
<p>The ability to exchange a note for some other kind of value is called "convertibility". For example a US silver certificate was "payable in silver on demand" from the Treasury until 1965. If a note is payable on demand for a fixed unit, it is said to be fully convertible to that unit. Limited convertibility occurs when there are restrictions in the time, place, manner or amount of exchange.<p>A common misconception is that a bank note that is inconvertible is necessarily unbacked (so-called "<!--del_lnk--> fiat money"). Most of the confusion centers around the failure to distinguish between two types of convertibility:<ol>
<li>Physical convertibility, where a unit of currency (a dollar) can be exchanged at the issuing bank for a given physical amount of something, and<li>Financial convertibility, where a dollar can be exchanged at the issuing bank for a dollar's worth of the bank's assets.</ol>
<p>The importance of financial convertibility can be seen by imagining that people in a community one day find themselves with more paper currency than they wish to hold — for example, when the main shopping season has ended. If the paper currency is physically convertible (for one ounce of silver, let us suppose), people will return the unwanted paper currency to the bank in exchange for silver, but the bank could head off this demand for silver by selling some of its own bonds to the public in exchange for its own paper currency. For example, if the community has 100 units of unwanted paper money, and if people intend to redeem the unwanted 100 units for silver at the bank, the bank could simply sell 100 units worth of bonds or other assets in exchange for 100 units of its own paper currency. This will soak up the unwanted paper and head off people's desire to redeem the 100 units for silver.<p>Thus, by conducting this type of open market operation — selling bonds when there is excess currency and buying bonds when there is too little — the bank can maintain the value of the paper currency at one ounce of silver without ever redeeming any paper currency for silver. In fact, this is essentially what all modern central banks do, and the fact that their currencies might be physically inconvertible is made irrelevant by the maintenance of financial convertibility. Note that financial convertibility cannot be maintained unless the bank has sufficient assets to back the currency it has issued. Thus, it is an illusion that any physically inconvertible currency is necessarily also unbacked.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Paper money originated in two forms: drafts, which are receipts for value held on account, and "bills", which were issued with a promise to convert at a later date.<p>Money is based on the coming to pre-eminence of some commodity as payment. The oldest monetary basis was for agricultural capital: cattle and grain. In Ancient <a href="../../wp/m/Mesopotamia.htm" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a>, drafts were issued against stored grain as a unit of account. A "<!--del_lnk--> drachma" was a weight of grain. <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>'s feudal system was based on rice per year – <!--del_lnk--> koku.<p>At the same time, legal codes enforced the payment for injury in a standardized form, usually in precious metals. The development of money then comes from the role of agricultural capital and precious metals having a privileged place in the economy.<p>Such drafts were used for <!--del_lnk--> giro systems of banking as early as <!--del_lnk--> Ptolemaic Egypt in the first century BC.<p>The perception of banknotes as money has evolved over time. Originally, money was based on precious metals. Banknotes were seen as essentially an <!--del_lnk--> I.O.U. or <!--del_lnk--> promissory note: a promise to pay someone money, but not actual money. As banknotes became more widely used, they became more accepted as equivalent to precious metal. With the gradual removal of precious metals from the monetary system, banknotes evolved to represent fiat money.<p>Generally, a <!--del_lnk--> central bank or treasury is solely responsible within a state or <!--del_lnk--> currency union for the issue of banknotes. Historically, many different banks or institutions may have issued banknotes in a country. By virtue of the complex constitutional setup in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, two of the union's four <!--del_lnk--> constituent countries (<a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Northern_Ireland.htm" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a>) continue to print their own banknotes for domestic circulation, with the UK's central bank (the <!--del_lnk--> Bank of England) printing notes which are legal tender in <!--del_lnk--> England and Wales, and are also usable as money in the rest of the UK.<p><a id="First_banknotes_in_the_world" name="First_banknotes_in_the_world"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Paper money collecting as a hobby</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/632.jpg.htm" title="Banknotes from all around the world donated by visitors to the British Museum, London."><img alt="Banknotes from all around the world donated by visitors to the British Museum, London." class="thumbimage" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banknotes.jpg" src="../../images/11/1179.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/6/632.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Banknotes from all around the world donated by visitors to the <!--del_lnk--> British Museum, <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Banknote collecting, or <!--del_lnk--> Notaphily, is a rapidly growing area of <a href="../../wp/n/Numismatics.htm" title="Numismatics">numismatics</a>. Although generally not as widespread as coin and <!--del_lnk--> stamp collecting, the hobby is increasingly expanding. Prior to the 1990s, currency collecting was a relatively small adjunct to coin collecting, but the practice of currency auctions, combined with larger public awareness of paper money have caused a boom in interest and values of rare banknotes.<p>In the 1950s, Robert Friedberg published the landmark book <i>Paper Money of the United States</i>. Friedberg devised an organizing number system of all types of U.S. banknotes; the system is widely accepted among collectors and dealers to this day, and the volume has been regularly updated.<p>Another pioneer of cataloguing banknotes was Albert Pick, a well-known German <!--del_lnk--> notaphilist (born 15 May 1922 in Cologne) who published a number of catalogs of European paper money, and, in <!--del_lnk--> 1974, the first <i>Standard Catalog of World Paper Money</i>. His collection of over 180,000 banknotes was eventually housed at the Bavarian Mortgages and Exchange Bank (Bayerischen Hypotheken- und Wechselbank, now <!--del_lnk--> HypoVereinsbank). This catalog underwent several incarnations, and currently is published as a three volume group. Volume I, called Specialized Issues, includs notes issued by local authorities, which circulated in a limited area. Volume II called General Issues covers notes issued on a national scope, dated 1368 through 1960. Volume III covers Modern Issues dated 1960 to present. Each of the volumes is updated regularly, with Volume III now updated every year, Volumes I and II every 3 or so years. While Pick no longer edits the catalogs (since 1994 the honour has passed to George S. Cuhaj), the catalogs are still commonly referred to as 'Pick Catalogs' and dealers and collectors alike refer to banknotes by their 'Pick number.' Current issues of the three volumes include:<ul>
<li>Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: Specialized Issues (10th Ed. Vol. 1) by George S. Cuhaj. Paperback - 1200 pages. (January 2006).<li>Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues to 1368-1960 (11th Ed. Vol. 2) by George S. Cuhaj (Editor). (December 2006).<li>Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: Modern Issues, 1961-present (12th Ed. Vol. 3) by George S. Cuhaj. (May 2006).</ul>
<p>For years, the mode of collecting banknotes was through a handful of mail order dealers who issued price lists and catalogs. In the early 1990s, it became more common for rare notes to be sold at various coin and currency shows via auction. The illustrated catalogs and "event nature" of the auction practice seemed to fuel a sharp rise in overall awareness of paper money in the numismatic community. Entire advanced collections are often sold at one time, and to this day single auctions can generate well in excess of $1 million dollars in gross sales. Today, <!--del_lnk--> eBay has surpassed auctions in terms of highest volume of sales of banknotes. However, as of 2005, rare banknotes still sell for much less than comparable rare coins. There is wide consensus in the paper money collecting arena that this disparity is diminishing as paper money prices continue to rise at a rapid rate.<p>There are many different organisations and societies around the world for the hobby including the International Banknote Society (IBNS).<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banknote"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Numismatics', 'Currency', 'Coin', 'List of circulating currencies', 'Stock', 'United States', 'Canada', 'Money', 'Coin', 'Money', 'Silver', 'Gold', 'Mesopotamia', 'Japan', 'United Kingdom', 'Scotland', 'Northern Ireland', 'London', 'Numismatics']
|
Banksy
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Banksy,Banksy.in.bristols.park.street.longshot.arp.jpg,Thekla.in.bristol.arp.jpg,1974,2001,2004,2005,2006,Activists,American Museum of Natural History,Anaheim, California" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Banksy</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Banksy";
var wgTitle = "Banksy";
var wgArticleId = 396241;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Banksy">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Banksy</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Artists.htm">Artists</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<p><b>Banksy</b> (1974- ) is a world renowned, <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>-based <!--del_lnk--> graffiti artist whose artwork is often political and/or humorous in nature.<p>His <!--del_lnk--> street art, which combines graffiti with a distinctive <!--del_lnk--> stencilling technique, has appeared throughout <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> and in cities around the world. Publicity in the media has made his name well known to many people.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Work" name="Work"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Work</span></h2>
<p>Banksy started as a freehand graffiti artist, then he discovered the art of stencilling and soon became noticed for his art.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16805.jpg.htm" title="Anarchist rat by Banksy"><img alt="Anarchist rat by Banksy" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banksy-rat.jpg" src="../../images/168/16805.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16805.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/a/Anarchism.htm" title="Anarchist">Anarchist</a> rat by Banksy</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Banksy's stencils feature a wide range of striking and humorous images occasionally combined with slogans. The overall message is usually anti-war, anti-capitalist, anti-establishment or pro-freedom. Subjects include animals such as monkeys and rats, policemen, soldiers, children and the elderly. He also makes stickers (the Neighbourhood Watch subvert) and sculpture (the murdered phonebox), and was responsible for the cover art of <!--del_lnk--> Blur's 2003 album <i><!--del_lnk--> Think Tank</i>.<p>In 2003 in a show called 'Turf War', held in a warehouse, he painted <i>on</i> animals. Although the <!--del_lnk--> RSPCA declared the conditions suitable, an animal rights activist chained herself to the railings in protest.<p>He has moved on to producing <!--del_lnk--> subverted paintings; one example is <!--del_lnk--> Monet's <i>Water Lily Pond</i>, adapted to include typical urban detritus such as litter and a <!--del_lnk--> shopping trolley floating in its reflective waters, another is <!--del_lnk--> Edward Hopper's <i><!--del_lnk--> Nighthawks</i>, redrawn to show that the characters are looking at an English football hooligan dressed only in his <a href="../../wp/u/Union_Flag.htm" title="Union Flag">Union Flag</a> underpants, who has just thrown an object through the glass window of the cafe. These modified oil paintings were exhibited at a twelve day exhibition in Westbourne Grove, London in 2005.<p>In 2006, Banksy held an exhibition called <i>Barely Legal</i>, billed as a <i>"three day vandalised warehouse extravaganza"</i> in <!--del_lnk--> Los Angeles on the weekend of <!--del_lnk--> 16 September. The exhibition featured a live <!--del_lnk--> 'elephant in a room', painted in a floral wallpaper pattern.<p>After <a href="../../wp/c/Christina_Aguilera.htm" title="Christina Aguilera">Christina Aguilera</a> bought an original of <!--del_lnk--> Queen Victoria as a <!--del_lnk--> lesbian and two prints for £25,000 , on <!--del_lnk--> 19 October <!--del_lnk--> 2006 a set of <!--del_lnk--> Kate Moss paintings sold in <!--del_lnk--> Sotheby's London for £50,400, setting an auction record for Banksy's work. The six silk-screen prints, featuring the model painted in the style of <a href="../../wp/a/Andy_Warhol.htm" title="Andy Warhol">Andy Warhol</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Marilyn Monroe pictures, sold for five times its estimated value. His stencil of a green <a href="../../wp/m/Mona_Lisa.htm" title="Mona Lisa">Mona Lisa</a> with paint dripping from her eyes sold for £57,600 at the same auction .<p><a id="Confirmed_art_stunts" name="Confirmed_art_stunts"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Confirmed art stunts</span></h3>
<p>Banksy has claimed responsibility for a number of high profile stunts. These include the following:<ul>
<li>At <a href="../../wp/l/London_Zoo.htm" title="London Zoo">London Zoo</a>, he climbed into the penguin enclosure and painted 'We're bored of fish' in two metre high letters.<li>At <!--del_lnk--> Bristol Zoo, he left the message 'I want out. This place is too cold. Keeper smells. Boring, boring, boring.' in the elephant enclosure.</ul>
<ul>
<li>In January <!--del_lnk--> 2001, he traveled to the areas controlled by the <!--del_lnk--> Zapatista Army of National Liberation in <!--del_lnk--> Chiapas, <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexico</a>, and in sign of solidarity with their movement, he painted some murals with scenes depicting the struggle and also made stencils on the walls of <!--del_lnk--> San Cristóbal de las Casas.<li>In March <!--del_lnk--> 2005, he placed subverted artworks in the <!--del_lnk--> Museum of Modern Art, <!--del_lnk--> Metropolitan Museum of Art, the <!--del_lnk--> Brooklyn Museum, and the <!--del_lnk--> American Museum of Natural History in New York. <li>He put up a subverted painting in London's <!--del_lnk--> Tate Britain gallery.<li>In May <!--del_lnk--> 2005 Banksy's version of primitive <!--del_lnk--> cave painting depicting a human figure hunting wildlife whilst pushing a shopping trolley was found hanging in the <!--del_lnk--> British Museum. Upon discovery, the museum added it to their permanent collection.<li>In August <!--del_lnk--> 2005, Banksy painted 9 images on the Palestinian side of the <!--del_lnk--> Israeli West Bank barrier, including an image of a ladder going up and over the wall and an image of children digging a hole through the wall .<li>In April <!--del_lnk--> 2006, Banksy created a sculpture based on a crumpled red phone box with a pickaxe in its side, apparently bleeding, and placed it in a street in <!--del_lnk--> Soho. It was later removed by <!--del_lnk--> Westminster Council. <!--del_lnk--> BT released a press release, which said: <i>"This is a stunning visual comment on BT's transformation from an old-fashioned telecommunications company into a modern communications services provider."</i></ul>
<table align="right">
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16807.jpg.htm" title="Naked Man image by Banksy, in Park Street, Bristol, England. Following popular support, the City Council have decided it will be allowed to remain - (wider view)."><img alt="Naked Man image by Banksy, in Park Street, Bristol, England. Following popular support, the City Council have decided it will be allowed to remain - (wider view)." height="285" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banksy.in.bristols.park.street.arp.jpg" src="../../images/168/16807.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16807.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Naked Man image by Banksy, in Park Street, <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>. Following popular support, the City Council have decided it will be allowed to remain - (<!--del_lnk--> wider view).</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16808.jpg.htm" title="Stencil by Banksy on the waterline of The Thekla, an entertainment boat in central Bristol, England - (wider view)."><img alt="Stencil by Banksy on the waterline of The Thekla, an entertainment boat in central Bristol, England - (wider view)." height="187" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banksy.on.the.thekla.arp.jpg" src="../../images/168/16808.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16808.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Stencil by Banksy on the waterline of <!--del_lnk--> The Thekla, an entertainment boat in central <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a> - (<!--del_lnk--> wider view).</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<ul>
<li>In June <!--del_lnk--> 2006, Banksy created an image of a naked man hanging out of a bedroom window on a wall in central <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>. The image sparked some controversy, with the <!--del_lnk--> Bristol City Council leaving it up to the public to decide whether it should stay or go. After an internet discussion in which 97% (all but 6 people) supported the stencil, the city council decided it would be left on the building. <li>In August/September 2006, Banksy replaced up to 500 copies of <!--del_lnk--> Paris Hilton's debut album, <i><!--del_lnk--> Paris</i>, in 48 different UK record stores with his own cover art and remixes by <!--del_lnk--> Danger Mouse. Music tracks were given titles such as "Why am I Famous?", "What Have I Done?" and "What Am I For?". Several copies of the CD were purchased by the public before stores were able to remove them, some going on to be sold for as much as £750 on online auction websites. The cover art depicted Paris Hilton digitally altered to appear topless. Other pictures feature her with a dog's head replacing her own, and one of her stepping out of a luxury car, edited to include a group of homeless people, which included the caption <i>90% of success is just showing up</i>.<li>In September 2006, Banksy dressed an inflatable doll in the manner of a <!--del_lnk--> Guantanamo Bay detainment camp prisoner (orange jumpsuit, black hood, and handcuffs) and then placed the figure within the <!--del_lnk--> Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride at Disneyland theme park in <!--del_lnk--> Anaheim, California.</ul>
<p><a id="Technique" name="Technique"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Technique</span></h2>
<p>Some stencils are created by using a computer to generate an image, and by utilizing a photo editing program to break down that image into layers, which are then subsequently printed and cut to be painted as the multiple layers of a stencil. Many stencil graffiti artists, including Banksy, hand draw and hand cut picture layers onto a medium such as cardboard or acetate, and, by using free-hand techniques such as shading, create highly detailed images that are quickly applied. This allows a stencil artist to incorporate far more detail into a small piece of work than a free-hand artist can, often in a piece ten times the size.<p><a id="Real_identity" name="Real_identity"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Real identity</span></h2>
<p>Although he has tried to hide his identity, according to <!--del_lnk--> The Guardian his real name is <b>Robert Banks</b> , born in <!--del_lnk--> 1974 in <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>; while the <a href="../../wp/b/BBC.htm" title="BBC">BBC</a> says it's <b>Robin Banks</b> .<p>The registrant of Banksy's website is Steve Lazarides, a <!--del_lnk--> photographer. Lazarides is Banksy's agent. Lazarides now has a gallery on Greek St in London's Soho called <!--del_lnk--> Laz Inc, where Banksy originals can be bought. The website <!--del_lnk--> - picturesonwalls.com has the exclusive sale rights for all of Banksy's limited edition prints.<p>A <!--del_lnk--> Brian Sewell spoof website claims to show a photograph of Banksy. Banksy's parents think their son is a painter and a decorator.<p><a id="Controversy" name="Controversy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Controversy</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16809.jpg.htm" title="Banksy art in Brick Lane, East End, 2004."><img alt="Banksy art in Brick Lane, East End, 2004." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banksy-art.jpg" src="../../images/168/16809.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16809.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Banksy art in <!--del_lnk--> Brick Lane, <!--del_lnk--> East End, 2004.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Peter Gibson, spokesperson for <!--del_lnk--> Keep Britain Tidy, asserts that Banksy's work is simple vandalism. The political purpose behind his 'vandalism' is reminiscent of the <!--del_lnk--> Ad Jammers or <!--del_lnk--> subvertising movement, who deface corporate advertising to change the intended message and <!--del_lnk--> hijack the advert.<p>Banksy does paid work for charities (e.g., <!--del_lnk--> Greenpeace) and can demand up to £25,000 for canvases. It has also been alleged that Banksy has done paid work with corporations such as <!--del_lnk--> Puma although this has been denied. This has led to him being accused of being a sellout and a careerist by other <!--del_lnk--> artists and <!--del_lnk--> activists.<p>Due to his subversive character; Banksy has achieved somewhat of a cult following from some of the younger age group within the <!--del_lnk--> stencilling community.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 2004 the <!--del_lnk--> Space Hijackers gave out spoof vouchers outside a Banksy exhibition to highlight the artist's arguably hypocritical use of <!--del_lnk--> anti-capitalist and <!--del_lnk--> protest imagery while doing work for corporations and art galleries.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 2006 during a much-hyped exhibition at a Los Angeles warehouse, artist Jeff Gillette "banksied" Banksy by entering the exhibition with a concealed artwork (Gillette is well known in the Southern California contemporary art world for his sarcastic juxtapostions of realistic painting and popular cartoon imagery) of his and mounting it to the wall. In a widely circulated email publicizing this guerrilla activity, Gillette noted that his small painting was up for at least twenty minutes but was taken down and destroyed by the security staff.<p>The Los Angeles Coagula Art Journal commented on the Banksy phenomenon by featuring twenty pages of photos depicting local contemporary artists holding signs that read "Nothing About Banksy in this Issue".<p><a id="Reviews_and_comments" name="Reviews_and_comments"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Reviews and comments</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16810.jpg.htm" title="Hitchhiker to anywhere, Archway, London"><img alt="Hitchhiker to anywhere, Archway, London" height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banksy_Hitchhiker_to_Anywhere_Archway_2005.jpg" src="../../images/168/16810.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16810.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Hitchhiker to anywhere, <!--del_lnk--> Archway, <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a></div>
</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>"He does all this and he stays anonymous. I think that's great. These days everyone is trying to be famous. But he has anonymity" - <i><!--del_lnk--> Brad Pitt</i></ul>
<ul>
<li>"Banksy has never let the world know his real name - and he has never even posed for a photograph. Funny kind of celebrity" - <i><!--del_lnk--> Paul Vallely in <!--del_lnk--> The Independent.</i></ul>
<ul>
<li>"...he's often feted as a genius straddling the bleeding edge of now. Why? Because his work looks dazzlingly clever to idiots. And apparently that'll do" - <i><!--del_lnk--> Charlie Brooker</i></ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Bristol', 'London', 'Anarchist', 'Union Flag', 'Christina Aguilera', 'Andy Warhol', 'Mona Lisa', 'London Zoo', 'Mexico', 'Bristol', 'England', 'Bristol', 'England', 'Bristol', 'England', 'Bristol', 'England', 'BBC', 'London']
|
Bantu
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bantu,2nd millennium BC,Africa,Afro-Asiatic languages,Apartheid,Atlantic languages,Austronesian languages,Bantu languages,Bantu peoples of South Africa,Benue River,Cameroon" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bantu</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bantu";
var wgTitle = "Bantu";
var wgArticleId = 4121;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bantu">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bantu</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.African_Geography.htm">African Geography</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1094.png.htm" title="Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (dull yellow) vs. other Niger-Congo languages and peoples (bright yellow)."><img alt="Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (dull yellow) vs. other Niger-Congo languages and peoples (bright yellow)." height="329" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Niger-Congo.png" src="../../images/10/1094.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1094.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (dull yellow) vs. other <!--del_lnk--> Niger-Congo languages and peoples (bright yellow).</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Bantu</b> is a general term for over 400 different <a href="../../wp/e/Ethnic_group.htm" title="Ethnic group">ethnic groups</a> in <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a>, from <a href="../../wp/c/Cameroon.htm" title="Cameroon">Cameroon</a> to <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>, united by a common <a href="../../wp/l/Language.htm" title="Language">language</a> family (the <!--del_lnk--> Bantu languages) and in many cases common <!--del_lnk--> customs.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Definition" name="Definition"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Definition</span></h2>
<p>"Bantu" means "people" in many Bantu languages. Dr. <!--del_lnk--> Wilhelm Bleek first used the term "Bantu" in its current sense in his 1862 book <i>A Comparative Grammar of South African Languages</i>, in which he hypothesized that a vast number of languages located across central, southern, eastern, and western Africa shared so many characteristics that they must be part of a single language group. This basic thesis is still accepted by some people today, although the theory has been widely challenged since it was proposed - not least because a language may be spread by a relatively small number of human carriers.<p><a id="Origins" name="Origins"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Origins</span></h2>
<p>Before the Bantu, the southern half of Africa is believed to have been populated by <!--del_lnk--> Khoisan speaking people, today occupying the arid regions around the <!--del_lnk--> Kalahari and a few isolated pockets in <a href="../../wp/t/Tanzania.htm" title="Tanzania">Tanzania</a>. <!--del_lnk--> Pygmies inhabited central Africa, whereas <!--del_lnk--> Cushites and other people speaking <!--del_lnk--> Afro-Asiatic languages inhabited north-eastern and northern Africa. Northwestern Africa, the Sahara, and the Sudan were inhabited by people speaking <!--del_lnk--> Mande and <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic languages (such as the <!--del_lnk--> Fulani and <!--del_lnk--> Wolof) and other people speaking <!--del_lnk--> Nilo-Saharan languages.<p>There are two basic theories of Bantu origins. The first was advanced by <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Greenberg in 1963. He had analyzed and compared several hundred African languages and found that a group of languages spoken in Southeastern <a href="../../wp/n/Nigeria.htm" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a> were the most closely related to languages from the Bantu group. He theorized that Proto-Bantu (the hypothetical ancestor of the Bantu languages) was originally one of these languages that spread south and east over hundreds of years.<p>This was quickly challenged by <!--del_lnk--> Malcolm Guthrie who analyzed each Bantu language and found that the most stereotypical were those spoken in <a href="../../wp/z/Zambia.htm" title="Zambia">Zambia</a> and in the southern <!--del_lnk--> Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This provided the alternate theory that Bantu speakers had spread from this location in all directions.<p><a id="Bantu_expansion" name="Bantu_expansion"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Bantu expansion</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1095.png.htm" title="One common hypothesis of the Bantu expansion"><img alt="One common hypothesis of the Bantu expansion" height="212" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bantu_expansion.png" src="../../images/10/1095.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1095.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> One common hypothesis of the Bantu expansion</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Some historians still accept a synthesis of the above named theories, although the enthusiasm with which the South African apartheid government exploited these ideas left them under something of a cloud.<p>The Bantu first originated around the <!--del_lnk--> Benue-<!--del_lnk--> Cross rivers area in southeastern Nigeria and spread over Africa to the Zambia area. Sometime in the <!--del_lnk--> second millennium BC, perhaps triggered by the drying of the <a href="../../wp/s/Sahara.htm" title="Sahara">Sahara</a> and pressure from the migration of people from the <a href="../../wp/s/Sahara.htm" title="Sahara">Sahara</a> into the region, they were forced to expand into the <a href="../../wp/r/Rainforest.htm" title="Rainforest">rainforests</a> of central Africa (phase I). About 1000 years later they began a more rapid second phase of expansion beyond the forests into southern and eastern Africa. Then sometime in the first millennium new agricultural techniques and plants were developed in Zambia, probably imported from <!--del_lnk--> South East Asia via <!--del_lnk--> Austronesian-speaking <a href="../../wp/m/Madagascar.htm" title="Madagascar">Madagascar</a>. With these techniques another Bantu expansion occurred centered on this new location (phase III).<p>By about AD 1000 it had reached modern day <a href="../../wp/z/Zimbabwe.htm" title="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>. In Zimbabwe a major southern hemisphere empire was established, with its capital at <!--del_lnk--> Great Zimbabwe. It controlled trading routes from South Africa to north of the <a href="../../wp/z/Zambezi.htm" title="Zambezi">Zambezi</a>, trading gold, copper, precious stones, animal hides, ivory and metal goods with the Arab traders of the <!--del_lnk--> Swahili coast. By the 14th or 15th centuries the Empire had surpassed its resources and had collapsed, with the city of Great Zimbabwe being abandoned.<p><a id="Bantu_in_South_Africa" name="Bantu_in_South_Africa"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Bantu in South Africa</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Black <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africans</a> were at times officially called "Bantus" by the <!--del_lnk--> apartheid <!--del_lnk--> regime. The term "Bantu" is considered pejorative in South Africa.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantu"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Ethnic group', 'Africa', 'Cameroon', 'South Africa', 'Language', 'Tanzania', 'Nigeria', 'Zambia', 'Sahara', 'Sahara', 'Rainforest', 'Madagascar', 'Zimbabwe', 'South Africa', 'Zambezi', 'South Africa']
|
Barack_Obama
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="noindex,nofollow" name="robots" />
<meta content="Barack Obama,Featured articles,Media help,Persondata,Spoken articles,United States presidential election, 2008 navigation,Barack Obama 1-31-2007.ogg,United States presidential election, 2008 navigation,109th United States Congress,110th United States Congress,1960s" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Barack Obama</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgCanonicalSpecialPageName = false;
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Barack_Obama";
var wgTitle = "Barack Obama";
var wgAction = "view";
var wgArticleId = "534366";
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserGroups = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
var wgBreakFrames = false;
var wgCurRevisionId = "127958706";
/*]]>*/</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Barack_Obama">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Barack Obama</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Political_People.htm">Political People</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="metadata topicon" id="featured-star" style="right:10px; display:none;">
<map id="ImageMap_1" name="ImageMap_1">
<!--del_lnk-->
</map>
<div style="position: relative;"><img alt="" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LinkFA-star.png" src="../../images/0/24.png" usemap="#ImageMap_1" width="14" /></div>
</div>
<table class="infobox vcard" style="width:23em; font-size:90%; text-align:left; padding-left:0.5em; padding-right:0.5em;">
<tr>
<td class="fn" colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size:140%;"><b>Barack Obama</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"><a class="image" href="../../images/51/5104.jpg.htm" title="Barack Obama"><img alt="Barack Obama" height="216" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ObamaBarack.jpg" src="../../images/51/5104.jpg" width="160" /></a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size:110%;">
<hr />
<div style="background:lavender; font-weight:bold"><!--del_lnk--> Junior U.S. Senator, <!--del_lnk--> Illinois</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:lavender;"><b><!--del_lnk--> Incumbent</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"><b>Assumed office </b><br /><!--del_lnk--> January 3, <!--del_lnk--> 2005–<br /> Serving with <!--del_lnk--> Richard Durbin</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Preceded by</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Peter Fitzgerald</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Succeeded by</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Incumbent</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<hr />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Born</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 4, <!--del_lnk--> 1961 <span style="display:none">(<span class="bday">1961-08-04</span>)</span> <br /><!--del_lnk--> Honolulu, <!--del_lnk--> Hawaii</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Political party</th>
<td class="org"><!--del_lnk--> Democratic</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Spouse</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Michelle Obama</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Religion</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> United Church of Christ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Signature</th>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/110/11047.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="39" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BarackObamaSignature.jpg" src="../../images/110/11047.jpg" width="128" /></a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Barack Hussein Obama</b> (born <!--del_lnk--> August 4, <!--del_lnk--> 1961; <!--del_lnk--> IPA pronunciation: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[bəˈɹɑk oʊˈbɑ.mə]</span>), is the <!--del_lnk--> junior <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_Senate.htm" title="United States Senate">United States Senator</a> from <!--del_lnk--> Illinois. The U.S. Senate Historical Office lists him as the fifth <!--del_lnk--> African American Senator in <!--del_lnk--> U.S. history and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate.<p>Obama served in the <!--del_lnk--> Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He launched his campaign for U.S. Senate in 2003. Midway through campaigning as the <!--del_lnk--> Democratic nominee, Obama delivered the <!--del_lnk--> keynote address at the <!--del_lnk--> 2004 Democratic National Convention and became a nationally known political figure. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with a <!--del_lnk--> landslide 70% of the vote.<p>In February 2007, Obama announced his <!--del_lnk--> candidacy for the <!--del_lnk--> 2008 U.S. presidential election. Recent <!--del_lnk--> polls of Democratic voters show him narrowing the gap with <!--del_lnk--> front-runner Sen. <!--del_lnk--> Hillary Rodham Clinton (<!--del_lnk--> D-<!--del_lnk--> NY). Media sources have identified him as "the first black person viewed as a possible winner." In campaign appearances, Obama has emphasized ending the <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq_War.htm" title="Iraq War">Iraq War</a> and implementing <!--del_lnk--> universal health care as leading issues.<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script>
<p><a id="Early_life_and_career" name="Early_life_and_career"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Early life and career</span></h2>
<p>Barack Obama was born in <!--del_lnk--> Honolulu, <!--del_lnk--> Hawaii to <!--del_lnk--> Barack Obama, Sr. (born in <!--del_lnk--> Nyanza Province, <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a>) and <!--del_lnk--> Ann Dunham (born in <!--del_lnk--> Wichita, <!--del_lnk--> Kansas). His parents met while both were attending the <!--del_lnk--> University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a <!--del_lnk--> foreign student. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father went to <!--del_lnk--> Harvard University to pursue <!--del_lnk--> Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in a car accident when Obama was 21 years old. His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesian</a> foreign student, with whom she had one daughter. The family moved to <a href="../../wp/j/Jakarta.htm" title="Jakarta">Jakarta</a> in 1967, where Obama attended local schools from ages 6 to 10. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending <!--del_lnk--> Punahou School from 5th grade until his graduation in 1979. Obama's mother died of <!--del_lnk--> ovarian cancer a few months after the publication of his 1995 <!--del_lnk--> memoir, <i>Dreams from My Father</i>.<p>In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's <!--del_lnk--> American middle class family. His knowledge about his absent <!--del_lnk--> Luo father came mainly through family stories and photographs. Of his early childhood, Obama writes: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind." The book describes his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his <!--del_lnk--> multiracial heritage. He used <!--del_lnk--> alcohol, <!--del_lnk--> marijuana, and <!--del_lnk--> cocaine during his teenage years, Obama writes, to "push questions of who I was out of my mind."<p>After graduating from Punahou, Obama studied at <!--del_lnk--> Occidental College for two years, then transferred to <!--del_lnk--> Columbia University, where he majored in <a href="../../wp/p/Political_science.htm" title="Political science">political science</a> with a specialization in <!--del_lnk--> international relations. He received his <!--del_lnk--> B.A. degree in 1983, then worked for one year at <!--del_lnk--> Business International Corporation. In 1985, Obama moved to <a href="../../wp/c/Chicago.htm" title="Chicago">Chicago</a> to direct a <!--del_lnk--> non-profit project assisting local churches to organize job training programs. He entered <!--del_lnk--> Harvard Law School in 1988. In 1990, <i>The New York Times</i> reported his election as the <i><!--del_lnk--> Harvard Law Review's</i> "first black president in its 104-year history." He completed his <!--del_lnk--> J.D. degree <i><!--del_lnk--> magna cum laude</i> in 1991. On returning to Chicago, Obama directed a <!--del_lnk--> voter registration drive. As an associate <!--del_lnk--> attorney with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, he represented <!--del_lnk--> community organizers, <!--del_lnk--> discrimination claims, and <!--del_lnk--> voting rights cases. He was a lecturer of <!--del_lnk--> constitutional law at the <a href="../../wp/u/University_of_Chicago.htm" title="University of Chicago">University of Chicago</a> <!--del_lnk--> Law School from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.<p><a id="State_legislature" name="State_legislature"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">State legislature</span></h2>
<p>Obama was elected to the <!--del_lnk--> Illinois State Senate in 1996 from the state's 13th District in the south-side Chicago neighbourhood of <!--del_lnk--> Hyde Park. In 2000, he made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_House_of_Representatives.htm" title="United States House of Representatives">U.S. House of Representatives</a> seat held by four-term incumbent candidate <!--del_lnk--> Bobby Rush. He was overwhelmingly reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002, officially resigning in November 2004, following his election to the U.S. Senate. Among his major accomplishments as a state legislator, Obama's U.S. Senate web site lists: "creating programs like the state <!--del_lnk--> Earned Income Tax Credit"; "an expansion of <!--del_lnk--> early childhood education"; and "legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all <!--del_lnk--> capital cases." Reviewing Obama's career in the Illinois Senate, a February 2007 article in the <i><!--del_lnk--> Washington Post</i> noted his work with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting bipartisan legislation on <!--del_lnk--> ethics and <!--del_lnk--> health care reform. During his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, Obama won the endorsement of the Illinois <!--del_lnk--> Fraternal Order of Police, whose officials cited his "longtime support of <!--del_lnk--> gun control measures and his willingness to negotiate compromises," despite his support for some bills the police union had opposed. He was also criticized by a rival <!--del_lnk--> pro-choice candidate in the Democratic primary and by his Republican <!--del_lnk--> pro-life opponent in the general election for having voted either "present" or "no" on anti-<!--del_lnk--> abortion legislation.<p><a id="Keynote_address_at_2004_Democratic_National_Convention" name="Keynote_address_at_2004_Democratic_National_Convention"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Keynote address at 2004 Democratic National Convention</span></h2>
<p>Obama wrote and delivered the keynote address at the <!--del_lnk--> 2004 Democratic National Convention in <a href="../../wp/b/Boston%252C_Massachusetts.htm" title="Boston, Massachusetts">Boston, Massachusetts</a>, while still serving as a <!--del_lnk--> state legislator. After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> veteran and a beneficiary of the <!--del_lnk--> New Deal's <!--del_lnk--> FHA and <!--del_lnk--> G.I. Bill programs, Obama said:<blockquote>
<p>No, people don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice.</blockquote>
<p>Questioning the <!--del_lnk--> Bush administration's handling of the <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq_War.htm" title="Iraq War">Iraq War</a>, Obama spoke of an enlisted <!--del_lnk--> Marine, Corporal Seamus Ahern from <!--del_lnk--> East Moline, Illinois, asking, "Are we serving Seamus as well as he is serving us?" He continued:<blockquote>
<p>When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never, ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.</blockquote>
<p>Finally, he spoke for national unity:<blockquote>
<p>The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into <!--del_lnk--> Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach <!--del_lnk--> Little League in the Blue States and yes, we got some gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.</blockquote>
<p>The speech was Obama's introduction to most of America. Its enthusiastic reception at the convention and widespread coverage by national media gave him instant celebrity status.<p><a id="Senate_campaign" name="Senate_campaign"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Senate campaign</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>In 2003, Obama began his run for the U.S. Senate <!--del_lnk--> open seat vacated by <!--del_lnk--> Peter Fitzgerald. In early opinion polls leading up to the Democratic <!--del_lnk--> primary, Obama trailed <!--del_lnk--> multimillionaire businessman <!--del_lnk--> Blair Hull and Illinois <!--del_lnk--> Comptroller <!--del_lnk--> Dan Hynes. However, Hull's popularity declined following allegations of <!--del_lnk--> domestic abuse. Obama's candidacy was boosted by an advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor <!--del_lnk--> Harold Washington and the late U.S. Senator <!--del_lnk--> Paul Simon; the support of Simon's daughter; and political endorsements by the <i><!--del_lnk--> Chicago Tribune</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Chicago Sun-Times</i>. Obama received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival. His opponent in the general election was expected to be <!--del_lnk--> Republican primary winner <!--del_lnk--> Jack Ryan. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following public disclosure of <!--del_lnk--> child custody divorce records containing sexual allegations by Ryan's ex-wife, actress <!--del_lnk--> Jeri Ryan. In August 2004, with less than three months to go before election day, <!--del_lnk--> Alan Keyes accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination to replace Ryan. A long-time resident of <!--del_lnk--> Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination. Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on <!--del_lnk--> stem cell research, <!--del_lnk--> abortion, <!--del_lnk--> gun control, <!--del_lnk--> school vouchers, and <!--del_lnk--> tax cuts. In the general election held <!--del_lnk--> November 2, <!--del_lnk--> 2004, Obama received 70% of the popular vote to Keyes's 27%.<p><a id="Senate_career" name="Senate_career"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Senate career</span></h2>
<p>Obama was sworn in as a Senator on <!--del_lnk--> January 4, <!--del_lnk--> 2005. He hired former Senate Democratic Leader <!--del_lnk--> Tom Daschle's ex-chief of staff for the same position, and <!--del_lnk--> Karen Kornbluh, an economist who was deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of the Treasury <!--del_lnk--> Robert Rubin, as his policy adviser. In July 2005, <!--del_lnk--> Samantha Power, Pulitzer-winning author on human rights and genocide, joined Obama's team. Four months into his senate career, <i><!--del_lnk--> Time</i> magazine named Obama one of "<!--del_lnk--> the world's most influential people," calling him "one of the most admired politicians in America." An October 2005 article in the British journal <i><!--del_lnk--> New Statesman</i> listed Obama as one of "10 people who could change the world." During his first two years in the Senate, Obama received <!--del_lnk--> Honorary Doctorates of Law from <!--del_lnk--> Knox College, <!--del_lnk--> University of Massachusetts Boston, <!--del_lnk--> Northwestern University, and <!--del_lnk--> Xavier University of Louisiana. He is a member of the Senate committees on <!--del_lnk--> Foreign Relations; <!--del_lnk--> Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; <!--del_lnk--> Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and <!--del_lnk--> Veterans' Affairs; and the <!--del_lnk--> Congressional Black Caucus.<p><a id="Legislation" name="Legislation"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Legislation</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/51/5116.jpg.htm" title="U.S. Senate bill sponsors Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Barack Obama greet President Bush at the signing ceremony of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006."><img alt="U.S. Senate bill sponsors Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Barack Obama greet President Bush at the signing ceremony of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006." class="thumbimage" height="194" longdesc="/wiki/Image:5e076810-1dc2-4b71-a5fc-c5ed5f90a9dd.jpg" src="../../images/51/5116.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/51/5116.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> U.S. Senate bill sponsors <!--del_lnk--> Tom Coburn (<!--del_lnk--> R-<!--del_lnk--> OK) and Barack Obama greet President Bush at the signing ceremony of the <!--del_lnk--> Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Obama sponsored 152 bills and resolutions brought before the <!--del_lnk--> 109th Congress in 2005 and 2006, and cosponsored another 427. His first bill was the "Higher Education Opportunity through Pell Grant Expansion Act." Entered in fulfillment of a campaign promise, the bill proposed increasing the maximum amount of <!--del_lnk--> Pell Grant awards to help students from lower income families pay their college tuitions. The bill did not progress beyond committee and was never voted on by the Senate.<p>Obama took an active role in the Senate's drive for improved <!--del_lnk--> border security and <!--del_lnk--> immigration reform. Beginning in 2005, he co-sponsored the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" introduced by Sen. <!--del_lnk--> John McCain (<!--del_lnk--> R-<!--del_lnk--> AZ). Obama later added three amendments to <!--del_lnk--> S. 2611, the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act," sponsored by Sen. <!--del_lnk--> Arlen Specter (<!--del_lnk--> R-<!--del_lnk--> PA). S. 2611 passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. House of Representatives. In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the <!--del_lnk--> Secure Fence Act, authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the <!--del_lnk--> United States–Mexico border. President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act into law in October 2006, calling it "an important step toward immigration reform."<p>Partnering first with Sen. <!--del_lnk--> Richard Lugar (<!--del_lnk--> R-<!--del_lnk--> IN), and then with Sen. <!--del_lnk--> Tom Coburn (<!--del_lnk--> R-<!--del_lnk--> OK), Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. "Lugar–Obama" expands the <!--del_lnk--> Nunn–Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to <!--del_lnk--> conventional weapons, including <!--del_lnk--> shoulder-fired missiles and <!--del_lnk--> anti-personnel mines. The "<!--del_lnk--> Coburn-Obama Transparency Act" provides for a Web site, managed by the <!--del_lnk--> Office of Management and Budget, listing all organizations receiving Federal funds from 2007 onward, and providing breakdowns by the agency allocating the funds, the dollar amount given, and the purpose of the grant or contract. On <!--del_lnk--> December 22, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, President Bush signed into law the "<a href="../../wp/d/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo.htm" title="Democratic Republic of the Congo">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a> Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act," marking the first federal legislation to be enacted with Obama as its primary sponsor.<p>On the first day of the Democratic-controlled <!--del_lnk--> 110th Congress, in a column published in the <i>Washington Post</i>, Obama called for an end to "any and all practices that would lead a reasonable person to believe that a public servant has become indebted to a lobbyist." He joined with Sen. <!--del_lnk--> Russ Feingold (<!--del_lnk--> D-<!--del_lnk--> WI) in pressuring the Democratic leadership for tougher restrictions regarding travel in corporate jets into S.1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007, which passed the Senate with a 96-2 majority. Obama joined Charles Schumer (<!--del_lnk--> D-<!--del_lnk--> NY) in sponsoring S. 453, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the recent <!--del_lnk--> midterm elections. Obama's <!--del_lnk--> energy initiatives scored pluses and minuses with <!--del_lnk--> environmentalists, who welcomed his sponsorship with Sen. <!--del_lnk--> John McCain (<!--del_lnk--> R-<!--del_lnk--> AZ) of a <a href="../../wp/g/Global_warming.htm" title="Global warming">climate change</a> bill to reduce <!--del_lnk--> greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by <!--del_lnk--> 2050, but were skeptical of Obama's support for a bill promoting <a href="../../wp/c/Coal.htm" title="Coal">liquefied coal</a> production. Also during the first month of the 110th Congress, Obama introduced the "Iraq War De-Escalation Act," a bill that caps troop levels in Iraq at January 10, 2007 levels, begins phased redeployment on May 1, 2007, and removes all combat brigades from Iraq by <!--del_lnk--> March 31, <!--del_lnk--> 2008.<p><a id="Official_travel" name="Official_travel"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Official travel</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15277.jpg.htm" title="Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Committee member Barack Obama at a Russian base, where mobile launch missiles are being destroyed by the Nunn–Lugar program."><img alt="Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Committee member Barack Obama at a Russian base, where mobile launch missiles are being destroyed by the Nunn–Lugar program." class="thumbimage" height="187" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lugar-Obama.jpg" src="../../images/152/15277.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/152/15277.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman <!--del_lnk--> Richard Lugar (<!--del_lnk--> R-<!--del_lnk--> IN) and Committee member Barack Obama at a Russian base, where mobile launch missiles are being destroyed by the <!--del_lnk--> Nunn–Lugar program.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>During the <!--del_lnk--> August recess of 2005, Obama traveled with Sen. <!--del_lnk--> Richard Lugar (<!--del_lnk--> R-<!--del_lnk--> IN), Chairman of the <!--del_lnk--> Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Azerbaijan.htm" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a>. The trip focused on strategies to control the world's supply of <!--del_lnk--> conventional weapons, <!--del_lnk--> biological weapons, and <!--del_lnk--> weapons of mass destruction, as a strategic first defense against the threat of future <a href="../../wp/t/Terrorism.htm" title="Terrorism">terrorist</a> attacks. Lugar and Obama inspected a <!--del_lnk--> Nunn-Lugar program-supported nuclear warhead destruction facility at <!--del_lnk--> Saratov, in southern European Russia. In Ukraine, they toured a disease control and prevention facility and witnessed the signing of a <!--del_lnk--> bilateral pact to secure biological <!--del_lnk--> pathogens and combat risks of <!--del_lnk--> infectious disease outbreaks from natural causes or <!--del_lnk--> bioterrorism.<p>In January 2006, Obama joined a Congressional delegation for meetings with <!--del_lnk--> U.S. military in <a href="../../wp/k/Kuwait.htm" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Iraq.htm" title="Iraq">Iraq</a>. After the visits, Obama traveled to <a href="../../wp/j/Jordan.htm" title="Jordan">Jordan</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a>, and the <a href="../../wp/p/Palestinian_territories.htm" title="Palestinian territories">Palestinian territories</a>. While in Israel, Obama met with Israeli Foreign Minister <!--del_lnk--> Silvan Shalom. Obama also met with a group of <!--del_lnk--> Palestinian students two weeks before <!--del_lnk--> Hamas won the <!--del_lnk--> January 2006 Palestinian legislative election. <i>ABC News 7 (Chicago)</i> reported Obama telling the students that "the U.S. will never recognize winning Hamas candidates unless the group renounces its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel," and that he had conveyed the same message in his meeting with <!--del_lnk--> Palestinian authority President <a href="../../wp/m/Mahmoud_Abbas.htm" title="Mahmoud Abbas">Mahmoud Abbas</a>.<p>Obama left for his third official trip in August 2006, traveling to <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a> and <a href="../../wp/k/Kenya.htm" title="Kenya">Kenya</a>, and making stops in <a href="../../wp/d/Djibouti.htm" title="Djibouti">Djibouti</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Chad.htm" title="Chad">Chad</a>. Obama flew his wife and two daughters from Chicago to join him in a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near <!--del_lnk--> Kisumu in rural western Kenya. Obama was greeted by enthusiastic crowds at his public appearances. In a public gesture aimed to encourage more Kenyans to undergo voluntary <!--del_lnk--> HIV testing, Obama and his wife took HIV tests at a Kenyan clinic. In a nationally televised speech at the <!--del_lnk--> University of Nairobi, Obama spoke forcefully on the <!--del_lnk--> influence of ethnic rivalries in Kenyan politics and corruption. The speech touched off a public debate among rival leaders, some formally challenging Obama's remarks as unfair and improper, others defending his positions.<p><a id="Presidential_campaign" name="Presidential_campaign"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Presidential campaign</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/51/5175.jpg.htm" title="Obama supporters at campaign rally in Austin, Texas, on February 23, 2007. Obama drew a crowd of over 20,000 attendees at this Austin appearance."><img alt="Obama supporters at campaign rally in Austin, Texas, on February 23, 2007. Obama drew a crowd of over 20,000 attendees at this Austin appearance." class="thumbimage" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flickr_Obama_Austin_01.jpg" src="../../images/51/5175.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/51/5175.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Obama supporters at campaign rally in <!--del_lnk--> Austin, Texas, on <!--del_lnk--> February 23, <!--del_lnk--> 2007. Obama drew a crowd of over 20,000 attendees at this Austin appearance.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> February 10, <!--del_lnk--> 2007, in <!--del_lnk--> Springfield, Illinois, Obama announced his <!--del_lnk--> candidacy for the <!--del_lnk--> 2008 U.S. presidential election. He said:<blockquote>
<p>It was here, in Springfield, where North, South, East and West come together that I was reminded of the essential decency of the American people–where I came to believe that through this decency, we can build a more hopeful America. And that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where <a href="../../wp/a/Abraham_Lincoln.htm" title="Abraham Lincoln">Lincoln</a> once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America.</blockquote>
<p>The announcement followed months of speculation on whether Obama would run in 2008. Speculation intensified in October 2006 when Obama first said he had "thought about the possibility" of running for president, departing from earlier statements that he intended to serve out his six-year Senate term through 2010. Following Obama's statement, <!--del_lnk--> opinion polling organizations added his name to <!--del_lnk--> surveyed lists of Democratic candidates. The first such poll, taken in November 2006, ranked Obama in second place with 17% support among Democrats after Sen. <!--del_lnk--> Hillary Clinton (<!--del_lnk--> D-<!--del_lnk--> NY) who placed first with 28% of the responses.<p>Through the fall of 2006, Obama spoke at political events across the country in support of Democratic candidates for the midterm elections. In September 2006, he was the featured speaker at <!--del_lnk--> Iowa Senator <!--del_lnk--> Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, an event traditionally attended by presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the <!--del_lnk--> Iowa caucus. In December 2006, Obama spoke at a <!--del_lnk--> New Hampshire event celebrating Democratic Party midterm election victories in the <!--del_lnk--> first-in-the-nation U.S. presidential primary state. Addressing a meeting of the <!--del_lnk--> Democratic National Committee one week before announcing his candidacy, Obama called on Democrats to steer clear of <!--del_lnk--> negative campaigning:<blockquote>
<p>This is not a game. This can't be about who digs up more skeletons on who, who makes the fewest slip-ups on the campaign trail. We owe it to the American people to do more than that. We owe them an election where voters are inspired–where they believe that we might be able to do things that we haven't done before. We don't want another election where voters are simply holding their noses and feel like they're choosing the lesser of two evils. So we've got to rise up out of the cynicism that's become so pervasive and ask the people all across America to start believing again.</blockquote>
<p>In April 2007, Obama's campaign reported raising <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">US$</a>25.8 million between <!--del_lnk--> January 1 and <!--del_lnk--> March 31 of 2007. The donations came from 104,000 individual donors, with US$6.9 million raised through the Internet from 50,000 of the donors. US$24.8 million of Obama's first quarter funds can be used in the <!--del_lnk--> primaries, the highest of any 2008 presidential candidate.<p><a id="Political_advocacy" name="Political_advocacy"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Political advocacy</span></h2>
<p>On the role of <a href="../../wp/g/Government.htm" title="Government">government</a> in <!--del_lnk--> economic affairs, Obama has written: "we should be asking ourselves what mix of policies will lead to a dynamic <!--del_lnk--> free market and widespread economic security, entrepreneurial innovation and <!--del_lnk--> upward mobility [...] we should be guided by what works." Speaking before the <!--del_lnk--> National Press Club in <!--del_lnk--> April 2005, Obama defended the <!--del_lnk--> New Deal social welfare policies of <a href="../../wp/f/Franklin_D._Roosevelt.htm" title="Franklin D. Roosevelt">Franklin D. Roosevelt</a>, associating <!--del_lnk--> Republican proposals to establish private accounts for <!--del_lnk--> Social Security with <!--del_lnk--> Social Darwinism. In a May 2006 letter to President Bush, he joined four other <!--del_lnk--> Midwest farming state Senators in calling for the preservation of a <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">US$</a>0.54 per gallon <!--del_lnk--> tariff on imported <a href="../../wp/e/Ethanol.htm" title="Ethanol">ethanol</a>. Obama spoke out in <!--del_lnk--> June 2006 against making recent, temporary <!--del_lnk--> estate tax cuts permanent, calling the cuts a "<!--del_lnk--> Paris Hilton" tax break for "billionaire heirs and heiresses."<p>Speaking in November 2006 to members of <!--del_lnk--> Wake Up Wal-Mart, a union-backed <!--del_lnk--> campaign group, Obama said: "You gotta pay your workers enough that they can actually not only shop at <!--del_lnk--> Wal-Mart, but ultimately send their kids to college and save for retirement." In January 2007, Obama spoke at an event organized by <!--del_lnk--> Families USA, a health care advocacy group. Obama said, "The time has come for <!--del_lnk--> universal health care in America [...] I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country." Obama went on to say that he believed that it was wrong that forty-six million Americans are <!--del_lnk--> uninsured, noting that taxpayers already pay over 15 billion dollars annually to care for the uninsured.<p>He was an early opponent of Bush administration policies on Iraq. In the fall of 2002, during an anti-war rally at Chicago's Federal Plaza, Obama said:<blockquote>
<p>I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than colour-coded warnings.</blockquote>
<p>Speaking before the <!--del_lnk--> Chicago Council on Global Affairs in November 2006, he said: "The days of using the <!--del_lnk--> war on terror as a <!--del_lnk--> political football are over. [...] It is time to give Iraqis their country back, and it is time to refocus America's efforts on the wider struggle yet to be won." In his speech Obama also called for a phased withdrawal of American troops starting in 2007, and an opening of diplomatic dialogue with Iraq's neighbors, <a href="../../wp/s/Syria.htm" title="Syria">Syria</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Iran</a>.<p>Obama spoke about Iran's "<!--del_lnk--> uranium enrichment program" on March 2, 2007, stating that Iran's government is "a threat to all of us," and that the US "should take no option, including military action, off the table." However, he stated that the US's "primary means" of relating to Iran should entail "sustained and aggressive diplomacy combined with tough sanctions."<p>Obama began <a href="../../wp/p/Podcasting.htm" title="Podcasting">podcasting</a> from his U.S. Senate web site in late 2005. He has responded to and personally participated in online discussions hosted on politically-oriented <!--del_lnk--> blog sites. In a June 2006 podcast, Obama expressed support for <!--del_lnk--> telecommunications legislation to protect <!--del_lnk--> network neutrality on the <a href="../../wp/i/Internet.htm" title="Internet">Internet</a>, saying: "It is because the Internet is a neutral platform that I can put out this podcast and transmit it over the Internet without having to go through any corporate media middleman. I can say what I want without <!--del_lnk--> censorship or without having to pay a special charge. But the big <a href="../../wp/t/Telephone.htm" title="Telephone">telephone</a> and <!--del_lnk--> cable companies want to change the Internet as we know it."<p>During his first year as a U.S. senator, in a move more typically taken after several years of holding high political office, Obama established a <!--del_lnk--> leadership political action committee, Hopefund, for channeling financial support to Democratic candidates. Obama participated in 38 fundraising events in 2005, helping to pull in US$6.55 million for candidates he supports and his own 2010 re-election fund. <i>The New York Times</i> described Obama as "the prize catch of the midterm campaign" because of his campaigning for fellow Democratic Party members running for election in the <!--del_lnk--> 2006 midterm elections. Hopefund gave US$374,000 to federal candidates in the 2006 election cycle, making it one of the top donors to federal candidates for the year.<p>Obama has encouraged Democrats to reach out to <!--del_lnk--> evangelicals and other <a href="../../wp/r/Religion.htm" title="Religion">religious</a> people, saying, "if we truly hope to speak to people where they’re at–to communicate our hopes and values in a way that’s relevant to their own–we cannot abandon the field of religious discourse." In December 2006, Obama joined Sen. <!--del_lnk--> Sam Brownback (<!--del_lnk--> R-<!--del_lnk--> KS) at the "Global Summit on <a href="../../wp/a/AIDS.htm" title="AIDS">AIDS</a> and the Church" organized by church leaders Kay and <!--del_lnk--> Rick Warren. Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier. Obama encouraged "others in public life to do the same" to show "there is no shame in going for an HIV test." Before the conference, 18 <!--del_lnk--> pro-life groups published an <!--del_lnk--> open letter stating, in reference to Obama's support for <!--del_lnk--> legal abortion: "In the strongest possible terms, we oppose Rick Warren's decision to ignore Senator Obama's clear <!--del_lnk--> pro-death stance and invite him to <!--del_lnk--> Saddleback Church anyway."<p><a id="Personal_life" name="Personal_life"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Personal life</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/51/5197.jpg.htm" title="Obama is joined on stage by his wife and two daughters before announcing his presidential campaign in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007."><img alt="Obama is joined on stage by his wife and two daughters before announcing his presidential campaign in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007." class="thumbimage" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flickr_Obama_Springfield_01.jpg" src="../../images/51/5197.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/51/5197.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Obama is joined on stage by his wife and two daughters before announcing his presidential campaign in Springfield, Illinois, on <!--del_lnk--> February 10, <!--del_lnk--> 2007.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Obama met <!--del_lnk--> Michelle Robinson in 1988 while employed as a summer associate at <!--del_lnk--> Sidley & Austin, the law firm where she also worked. They were married in 1992 at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. They have two daughters, Malia, born in 1999, and Natasha, born in 2001. Obama's wife and daughters reside in <!--del_lnk--> Hyde Park, Chicago.<p>A theme of Obama's keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and the title of his 2006 book, <i>The Audacity of Hope</i>, was inspired by a sermon by Rev. <!--del_lnk--> Jeremiah Wright, the pastor of Obama's church. In the book, Obama describes his non-religious upbringing:<blockquote>
<p>I was not raised in a religious household. My maternal grandparents, who hailed from Kansas, had been steeped in Baptist and Methodist teachings as children, but religious faith never really took root in their hearts. My mother's own experiences as a bookish, sensitive child growing up in small towns in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas only reinforced this inherited skepticism. [...] My father was almost entirely absent from my childhood, having been divorced from my mother when I was 2 years old; in any event, although my father had been raised a Muslim, by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist, thinking religion to be so much superstition.</blockquote>
<p>Obama writes that his religious convictions formed during his twenties, when, as a community organizer working with local churches, he came to understand "the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change":<blockquote>
<p>It was because of these newfound understandings–that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved–that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized. It came about as a choice and not an epiphany; the questions I had did not magically disappear. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side of Chicago, I felt God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth.</blockquote>
<p>Before announcing his presidential candidacy, Obama began a well-publicized effort to <!--del_lnk--> quit smoking. "I've never been a heavy smoker," Obama told the <i>Chicago Tribune</i>. "I've quit periodically over the last several years. I've got an ironclad demand from my wife that in the stresses of the campaign I don't succumb. I've been chewing <!--del_lnk--> Nicorette strenuously."<p><a id="Books_authored" name="Books_authored"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Books authored</span></h2>
<p>Obama's 1995 book, <i><!--del_lnk--> Dreams from My Father</i>, is a memoir of his youth and early career. The book was reprinted in 2004 with a new preface and an annex containing his 2004 Democratic Convention keynote speech. The <!--del_lnk--> audio book edition earned Obama the 2006 <!--del_lnk--> Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. In December 2004, Obama signed a <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">US$</a>1.9 million contract for three books. The first, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Audacity of Hope</i>, was published in October 2006. A Spanish translation will be published in June 2007. The second book covered under the publishing contract is a children's book to be co-written by his wife and daughters, with profits going to charity. The content of the third book has not been announced.<p><a id="Cultural_and_political_image" name="Cultural_and_political_image"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Cultural and political image</span></h2>
<p>Supporters and critics have likened Obama's popular image to a cultural <!--del_lnk--> Rorschach test, a neutral persona on which people can project their personal histories and aspirations. Obama's own self-narrative reinforces what a May 2004 <i><!--del_lnk--> New Yorker</i> magazine article described as his "<!--del_lnk--> everyman" image. In <i>Dreams from My Father</i>, he ties his maternal family history to possible <!--del_lnk--> Native American ancestors and distant relatives of <!--del_lnk--> Jefferson Davis, president of the southern <!--del_lnk--> Confederacy during the <a href="../../wp/a/American_Civil_War.htm" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a>. Speaking to an elderly <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jew">Jewish</a> audience during his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate, Obama linked the linguistic roots of his <a href="../../wp/e/East_Africa.htm" title="East Africa">East African</a> first name <i>Barack</i> to the <!--del_lnk--> Hebrew word <i><!--del_lnk--> baruch</i>, meaning "blessed." In an October 2006 interview on <i><!--del_lnk--> The Oprah Winfrey Show</i>, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family: "Michelle will tell you that when we get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-<a href="../../wp/u/United_Nations.htm" title="United Nations">United Nations</a>," he said. "I've got relatives who look like <!--del_lnk--> Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like <a href="../../wp/m/Margaret_Thatcher.htm" title="Margaret Thatcher">Margaret Thatcher</a>. We've got it all."<p>Obama's rapid rise from Illinois state legislator to U.S. presidential candidate has attracted conflicting analyses among commentators challenged to align him with traditional social categories. In her January 2007 <i><!--del_lnk--> Salon</i> article asserting that Obama "isn't black," columnist <!--del_lnk--> Debra Dickerson writes: "lumping us all together [with Obama] erases the significance of <!--del_lnk--> slavery and continuing <!--del_lnk--> racism while giving the appearance of progress." Expressing a similar view, <i><!--del_lnk--> New York Daily News</i> columnist <!--del_lnk--> Stanley Crouch wrote: "When <!--del_lnk--> black Americans refer to Obama as 'one of us,' I do not know what they are talking about." But in an October 2006 article titled "Obama: Black Like Me," British columnist <!--del_lnk--> Gary Younge describes Obama as "a black man who does not scare white people." Film critic <!--del_lnk--> David Ehrenstein, writing in a March 2007 <i><!--del_lnk--> Los Angeles Times</i> article, compares the cultural sources of candidate Obama's favorable polling among whites to those of "<!--del_lnk--> magical negro" roles played by black actors in <a href="../../wp/c/Cinema_of_the_United_States.htm" title="Cinema of the United States">Hollywood</a> movies. Ehrenstein says these films are popular because they offer U.S. audiences a comfort for "<!--del_lnk--> white guilt."<p>Writing about Obama's political image in a March 2007 <i><!--del_lnk--> Washington Post</i> opinion column, <!--del_lnk--> Eugene Robinson characterized him as "the personification of <i>both-and</i>," a messenger who rejects "either-or" political choices, and could "move the nation beyond the <!--del_lnk--> culture wars" of the <!--del_lnk--> 1960s. Obama, who defines himself in <i>The Audacity of Hope</i> as "a Democrat, after all," has been criticized for his political actions by self-described <!--del_lnk--> progressive commentator <!--del_lnk--> David Sirota, and complimented for his "Can't we all just get along?" manner by <!--del_lnk--> conservative columnist <!--del_lnk--> George Will. But in a December 2006 <i><a href="../../wp/t/The_Wall_Street_Journal.htm" title="The Wall Street Journal">Wall Street Journal</a></i> editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere," former <a href="../../wp/r/Ronald_Reagan.htm" title="Ronald Reagan">Ronald Reagan</a> speech writer <!--del_lnk--> Peggy Noonan advised Will and other "<!--del_lnk--> establishment" commentators to get "down from your tippy toes" and avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still early political career. Agreeing with Obama's own assessment that "people project their hopes on him," Noonan attributed some of Obama's popularity to "a certain unknowability."<h2><span class="mw-headline">Works</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>Obama, Barack. <i><!--del_lnk--> Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance</i>, Times Books, 1995. Reprint edition, 2004; <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 1-4000-8277-3<li>Obama, Barack.<i><!--del_lnk--> The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream</i>, Crown, 2006. <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 0-307-23769-9. <!--del_lnk--> Summary at Wikisummaries.</ul>
<p><a id="Further_reading" name="Further_reading"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['United States Senate', 'Iraq War', 'Kenya', 'Indonesia', 'Jakarta', 'Political science', 'Chicago', 'University of Chicago', 'United States House of Representatives', 'Boston, Massachusetts', 'World War II', 'Iraq War', 'Democratic Republic of the Congo', 'Global warming', 'Coal', 'Russia', 'Ukraine', 'Azerbaijan', 'Terrorism', 'Kuwait', 'Iraq', 'Jordan', 'Israel', 'Palestinian territories', 'Mahmoud Abbas', 'South Africa', 'Kenya', 'Djibouti', 'Ethiopia', 'Chad', 'Abraham Lincoln', 'United States dollar', 'Government', 'Franklin D. Roosevelt', 'United States dollar', 'Ethanol', 'Syria', 'Iran', 'Podcasting', 'Internet', 'Telephone', 'Religion', 'AIDS', 'United States dollar', 'American Civil War', 'Jew', 'East Africa', 'United Nations', 'Margaret Thatcher', 'Cinema of the United States', 'The Wall Street Journal', 'Ronald Reagan']
|
Barbados
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Barbados,Caricom,West Indies,West Indies,Caricom,.bb,1536,1627,1628,1639,1779" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Barbados</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Barbados";
var wgTitle = "Barbados";
var wgArticleId = 3455;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Barbados">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Barbados</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Central_and_South_American_Geography.Central_and_South_American_Countries.htm">Central & South American Countries</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Countries.htm">Countries</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox geography" style="width:23em;">
<tr>
<td align="center" class="mergedtoprow" colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; font-size:1.2em;"><b>Barbados</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td align="center" class="maptable" colspan="2" style="padding:0.4em 0.8em 0.4em 0.8em;">
<table style="margin:0 auto; background:none; text-align:center;" width="100%">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><span style="border:1px solid #bbbbbb; display:table-cell;"><a class="image" href="../../images/70/7007.png.htm" title="Flag of Barbados"><img alt="Flag of Barbados" height="83" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Barbados.svg" src="../../images/10/1096.png" width="125" /></a></span></td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle; text-align:center;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Coat of arms of Barbados" height="87" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barbados_coa.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="85" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Flag</small></td>
<td><small><!--del_lnk--> Coat of arms</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Motto: "Pride and Industry"</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="line-height:1.2em; text-align:center;"><!--del_lnk--> Anthem: <i><!--del_lnk--> In Plenty and In Time of Need</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 1em;">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1098.png.htm" title="Location of Barbados"><img alt="Location of Barbados" height="115" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LocationBarbados.png" src="../../images/10/1098.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<td><!--del_lnk--> <b>Capital</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> (and largest city)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bridgetown<br /><small><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 13°10′N 59°32′W</span></small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><span style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Official languages</span></th>
<td><a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><b><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries_by_system_of_government.htm" title="List of countries by system of government">Government</a></b></td>
<td style="border-top:solid 1px Gainsboro; vertical-align:top;"><!--del_lnk--> Parliamentary democracy<br /><a href="../../wp/c/Constitutional_monarchy.htm" title="Constitutional monarchy">Constitutional monarchy</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Monarch</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/e/Elizabeth_II_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom">Elizabeth II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Governor-General</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Clifford Husbands</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Owen Arthur</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Independence</th>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - From the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 30 November <!--del_lnk--> 1966 </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Area</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 431 km² (<!--del_lnk--> 199th)<br /> 167 sq mi </td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Water (%)</td>
<td>Negligible</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Population</th>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - July 2005 estimate</td>
<td>279,254 (<!--del_lnk--> 180th)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - <!--del_lnk--> Density</td>
<td>647/km² (<!--del_lnk--> 15th)<br /> 1,663/sq mi</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> GDP (<!--del_lnk--> PPP)</th>
<td>2006 estimate</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<td> - Total</td>
<td>$4.9 billion (<!--del_lnk--> 152nd)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td> - Per capita</td>
<td>$17,610 (<!--del_lnk--> 39th)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><b><!--del_lnk--> HDI</b> (2003)</th>
<td>0.878 (<font color="#009900">High</font>) (<!--del_lnk--> 30th)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a href="../../wp/c/Currency.htm" title="Currency">Currency</a></th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Barbados dollar ($) (<code><!--del_lnk--> BBD</code>)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a href="../../wp/t/Time_zone.htm" title="Time zone">Time zone</a></th>
<td>(<!--del_lnk--> UTC-4)</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Internet TLD</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> .bb</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Calling code</th>
<td>+<!--del_lnk--> 1-246</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Barbados</b> is an independent <!--del_lnk--> island nation located in the western <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a>, just to the east of the <a href="../../wp/c/Caribbean_Sea.htm" title="Caribbean Sea">Caribbean Sea</a>, found at roughly 13° north of the <!--del_lnk--> Equator and 59° west of the <!--del_lnk--> Prime Meridian. Located relatively close to <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a> the nation of Barbados is around 434.5 <!--del_lnk--> kilometres (270 <!--del_lnk--> miles) northeast of the <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South American</a> nation of <a href="../../wp/v/Venezuela.htm" title="Venezuela">Venezuela</a>.<p>The closest island neighbours to Barbados are <a href="../../wp/s/Saint_Lucia.htm" title="Saint Lucia">Saint Lucia</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines.htm" title="Saint Vincent and the Grenadines">Saint Vincent and the Grenadines</a> both located to the west <a href="../../wp/t/Trinidad_and_Tobago.htm" title="Trinidad and Tobago">Trinidad and Tobago</a> to the south and <a href="../../wp/g/Grenada.htm" title="Grenada">Grenada</a> to the south-west. Barbados is part of <!--del_lnk--> Lesser Antilles.<p>Barbados possesses a land area of around 430 <!--del_lnk--> square kilometres, (166 <!--del_lnk--> sq. mi), and is primarily low-lying, with some higher regions in the island's interior. The organic composition of Barbados is thought to be of non-volcanic origin and is predominantly composed of <!--del_lnk--> limestone-<!--del_lnk--> coral. The island's atmosphere is <!--del_lnk--> sub-tropical with constant <!--del_lnk--> trade winds off the Atlantic Ocean and some undeveloped areas contain <!--del_lnk--> marshes and <!--del_lnk--> mangrove <!--del_lnk--> swamps. Other parts of the island's interior contributing the island's agricultural sector are dotted with large <a href="../../wp/s/Sugarcane.htm" title="Sugarcane">sugarcane</a> estates and wide gently sloping <!--del_lnk--> pastures with many good views down to the sea.<p>Barbados has one of the highest <!--del_lnk--> standards of living and <!--del_lnk--> literacy rates in the <!--del_lnk--> developing world and, according to the <!--del_lnk--> United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Barbados is currently the No. 4 most developed of all developing countries in the world. Despite its small geographical size, Barbados constantly ranks in the top 30 (or 31) countries in the <!--del_lnk--> HDI (Human Development Index) rankings. The island is also a major tourist destination.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The earliest inhabitants of Barbados were <!--del_lnk--> Amerindian nomads. Three waves of migrants moved north toward <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North America</a>. The first wave was of the <!--del_lnk--> Saladoid-<!--del_lnk--> Barrancoid group, who were farmers, fishermen, and ceramists that arrived by <!--del_lnk--> canoe from <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a> (<a href="../../wp/v/Venezuela.htm" title="Venezuela">Venezuela</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Orinoco Valley) around <!--del_lnk--> 350 CE. The <!--del_lnk--> Arawak people were the second wave of migrants, arriving from South America around <!--del_lnk--> 800 CE. Arawak settlements on the island include <!--del_lnk--> Stroud Point, <!--del_lnk--> Chandler Bay, <!--del_lnk--> Saint Luke's Gully, and <!--del_lnk--> Mapp's Cave. According to accounts by descendants of the aboriginal Arawak tribes on other local islands, the original name for Barbados was <b>Ichirouganaim</b>. In the 13th century, the Caribs arrived from South America in the third wave, displacing both the Arawak and the Salodoid-Barrancoid. For the next few centuries, the Caribs—like the Arawak and the Salodoid-Barrancoid—lived in isolation on the island.<p>The name "Barbados" comes from a <!--del_lnk--> Portuguese explorer named Pedro Campos in <!--del_lnk--> 1536, who originally called the island <b>Os Barbados</b> ("The Bearded Ones") upon seeing the appearance of the island's <!--del_lnk--> fig trees whose long hanging aerial roots, he thought, resembled beards. Between Campos' sighting in 1536 and 1550, <!--del_lnk--> Spanish <!--del_lnk--> conquistadors seized many Caribs on Barbados and used them as <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slave labour</a> on <!--del_lnk--> plantations. Other Caribs fled the island, moving elsewhere.<p>British sailors who landed on Barbados in the 1620s at the site of present-day <!--del_lnk--> Holetown on the Caribbean coast found the island uninhabited. From the arrival of the first British settlers in <!--del_lnk--> 1627–<!--del_lnk--> 1628 until independence in <!--del_lnk--> 1966, Barbados was under uninterrupted British control. Nevertheless, Barbados always enjoyed a large measure of local autonomy. Its <!--del_lnk--> House of Assembly began meeting in <!--del_lnk--> 1639. Among the initial important British figures was Sir <!--del_lnk--> William Courten.<p>Starting in the 1620s an increasing number of black slaves were brought to the isle. 5000 locals died of fever in 1647, and hundreds of slaves were executed by <!--del_lnk--> Royalist planters during the <!--del_lnk--> English Civil War in the 1640s, as they feared that the ideas of the <!--del_lnk--> Levellers might spread to the slave population if <!--del_lnk--> Parliament took control of Barbados.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1099.jpg.htm" title="The Barbadoes Mulatto Girl, after Agostino Brunias, 1779"><img alt="The Barbadoes Mulatto Girl, after Agostino Brunias, 1779" height="236" longdesc="/wiki/Image:The_Barbadoes_Mulatto_Girl.jpg" src="../../images/10/1099.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1099.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>The Barbadoes Mulatto Girl</i>, after Agostino Brunias, <!--del_lnk--> 1779</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Large numbers of <!--del_lnk--> Celtic people, mainly from <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, went to Barbados as <!--del_lnk--> indentured servants. Over the next several centuries the Celtic population was used as a buffer between the <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Saxon plantation owners and the larger <!--del_lnk--> African population, variously serving as members of the Colonial militia and playing a strong role as allies of the larger African slave population in a long string of colonial rebellions. As well, in 1659, the English shipped many Irishmen and Scots off to Barbados as slaves. With King James II, and other kings in his dynasty, also sending Scots, and English, off to the isle. For instance in 1685, after the crushing of the Monmouth Rebellion. The modern descendants of this original slave population are sometimes derisively referred to as <!--del_lnk--> Red Legs, or locally 'ecky becky' and are some of the poorest inhabitants of modern Barbados. There has also been large scale intermarriage between the African and Celtic populations on the islands. Because the Africans could withstand tropical diseases and the climate much better than the white slave population, and also because those poor whites who had or acquired the means to emigrate often did so, Barbados turned from mainly Celtic in the 17th century to overwhelmingly black by the 20th century.<p>As the <a href="../../wp/s/Sugar.htm" title="Sugar">sugar</a> industry developed into the main commercial enterprise, Barbados was divided into large plantation estates that replaced the small holdings of the early British settlers. Some of the displaced farmers relocated to British colonies in North America, most notably <!--del_lnk--> South Carolina. To work the plantations, West Africans were transported and enslaved on Barbados and other Caribbean islands. The <!--del_lnk--> slave trade ceased in <!--del_lnk--> 1804. Slaves though carried on being oppressed, causing, in <!--del_lnk--> 1816, the major slave rebellion, in the isle's history. One thousand people died in the revolt for freedom, with 144 slaves executed, and 123 deported, by the king's army. Eighteen years later slavery was abolished in the British Empire in <!--del_lnk--> 1834. In Barbados and the rest of the British West Indian colonies, full emancipation from slavery was preceded by an apprenticeship period that lasted six years.<p>However, plantation owners and merchants of British descent still dominated local politics, due to the high income qualification required for voters. More than 70% of the population, many of them disenfranchised women, were excluded from the democratic process. It was not until the 1930s that the descendants of emancipated slaves began a movement for political rights. One of the leaders of this movement, Sir <!--del_lnk--> Grantley Adams, founded the <!--del_lnk--> Barbados Labour Party, then known as the <!--del_lnk--> Barbados Progressive League, in <!--del_lnk--> 1938. Though a staunch supporter of the monarchy, Adams and his party demanded more for the poor and for the people. Progress toward a more democratic government in Barbados was made in <!--del_lnk--> 1942, when the exclusive income qualification was lowered and women were given the right to vote. By <!--del_lnk--> 1949 governmental control was wrestled from the planters and, in <!--del_lnk--> 1958, Adams became Premier of Barbados.<p>From <!--del_lnk--> 1958 to <!--del_lnk--> 1962, Barbados was one of the ten members of the <!--del_lnk--> West Indies Federation, an organisation doomed by nationalistic attitude and by the fact that its members, as colonies of Britain, held limited legislative power. Adams' leadership of the Federation (he served as its first and only "Prime Minister"), his failed attempts to form similar unions, and his continued defence of the monarchy demonstrated that he was no longer in touch with the needs of his country. <!--del_lnk--> Errol Walton Barrow, a fervent reformer, was to become the new people's advocate. Barrow had left the BLP and formed the <!--del_lnk--> Democratic Labour Party as a liberal alternative to Adams' conservative government. To this day, Barrow remains a beloved hero in the eyes of Barbadians, as it was he who instituted many of the reforms and programs currently in place, including free education for all Barbadians, regardless of class or colour, and the School Meals system. By <!--del_lnk--> 1961, Barrow had replaced Adams as Premier and the DLP controlled the government.<p>With the Federation dissolved, Barbados had reverted to its former status, that of a <!--del_lnk--> self-governing colony. The island negotiated its own independence at a constitutional conference with the United Kingdom in June <!--del_lnk--> 1966. After years of peaceful and democratic progress, Barbados finally became an independent state within the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Nations on <!--del_lnk--> November 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1966, with Errol Barrow serving as its first Prime Minister.<p><a id="Politics" name="Politics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Politics</span></h2>
<p>Barbados is a <!--del_lnk--> parliamentary democracy. Executive authority is vested in the <!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister and <!--del_lnk--> Cabinet, which is collectively responsible to the <!--del_lnk--> Parliament. The Prime Minister is appointed by the <!--del_lnk--> Governor General as the member of the House of Assembly best able to command the support of the majority of the members. The Prime Minister usually selects a cabinet from his party members in the legislature. The present government is proposing that Barbados become a <!--del_lnk--> republic within the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Nations, with a ceremonial <!--del_lnk--> president replacing the <!--del_lnk--> British Sovereign. This issue is still being hotly debated as the island has been governmentally autonomous for decades.<p>Barbados has been an independent state in the Commonwealth since <!--del_lnk--> November 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1966, and as such functions as a parliamentary democracy modelled after the British <!--del_lnk--> Westminster system. Control of the government is held by the Cabinet and is responsible to the Parliament, which comrpises a 30-seat <!--del_lnk--> House of Assembly and a 21-seat <!--del_lnk--> Senate. Barbados is one of the most secure democracies in the Caribbean. <!--del_lnk--> Executive power is in the hands of the <!--del_lnk--> prime minister and his <!--del_lnk--> cabinet. The prime minister is usually the leader of the winning party in the elections for the House of Assembly, whose members are elected every five years. The Senate has 21 members, and its members are appointed by the governor general.<p>Barbados is a full and participating member of the <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME), the <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) [which currently only pertains to Barbados and <a href="../../wp/g/Guyana.htm" title="Guyana">Guyana</a>, and is expected to replace the UK <!--del_lnk--> Privy Council for the entire English speaking Caribbean eventually], and the <!--del_lnk--> Association of Caribbean States (ACS).<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1100.gif.htm" title="Map of Barbados"><img alt="Map of Barbados" height="404" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barbados.gif" src="../../images/11/1100.gif" width="330" /></a></span></div>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1101.jpg.htm" title="Beach near Bridgetown, Barbados"><img alt="Beach near Bridgetown, Barbados" height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barbadoscoast.jpg" src="../../images/11/1101.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1101.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Beach near Bridgetown, Barbados</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Barbados is a relatively flat island, rising gently to the central highland region, the highest point being <!--del_lnk--> Mount Hillaby, in the Scotland district, at 336 <!--del_lnk--> metres (1,100 <!--del_lnk--> ft) above sea level. The island is located in a slightly eccentric position in the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a>, to the east of the other <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean islands. The <a href="../../wp/c/Climate.htm" title="Climate">climate</a> is tropical, with a rainy season from June to October.<p>Barbados is often spared from the amount of tropical storms and hurricanes during the rainy season due to its far eastern location in the Atlantic Ocean pushing it just outside of the principal <!--del_lnk--> hurricane belt. The island does get brushed or hit about every 3 years and the average number of years between direct hurricane hits is about once every 26.6 years.<p>In the parish of <!--del_lnk--> Saint Michael lies Barbados' capital and chief city <!--del_lnk--> Bridgetown. Locally <!--del_lnk--> Bridgetown is sometimes referred to as "The City," but the most common reference is simply "Town". Other towns scattered across the island include <!--del_lnk--> Holetown, in the parish of <!--del_lnk--> Saint James; <!--del_lnk--> Oistins, in the parish of <!--del_lnk--> Christ Church; and <!--del_lnk--> Speightstown, in the parish of <!--del_lnk--> Saint Peter.<p>The island is 23 kilometres (14 <!--del_lnk--> mi) at its widest point, and about 34 kilometres (21 mi) long.<p><a id="Parishes" name="Parishes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Parishes</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Barbados is currently divided into eleven administrative <!--del_lnk--> parishes:<p>
<br clear="all" />
<center>
</center>
<p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Historically, the economy of Barbados had been dependent on <a href="../../wp/s/Sugarcane.htm" title="Sugarcane">sugarcane</a> cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has been diversified into the <a href="../../wp/m/Manufacturing.htm" title="Manufacturing">manufacturing</a> and <a href="../../wp/t/Tourism.htm" title="Tourism">tourism</a> sectors. Offshore finance and information services have become increasingly important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a healthy interest into the island's light manufacturing sector. In the last ten years the Government has been seen as business-friendly and economically sound. Since the late 1990s the island has seen an increasing construction boom, the island began to see new hotels, redevelopments, new homes, office complexes, condominiums, and mansions being developed across the island.<p>The government continues its efforts to reduce <!--del_lnk--> unemployment, encourage direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. Unemployment has been reduced from high levels of around 14 percent in the past to under 10 percent currently.<p>The economy contracted in <!--del_lnk--> 2001 and <!--del_lnk--> 2002 due to slowdowns in tourism, consumer spending and the impact of the <a href="../../wp/s/September_11%252C_2001_attacks.htm" title="September 11, 2001 attacks">September 11, 2001 attacks</a>, but rebounded in <!--del_lnk--> 2003 and has showed growth since <!--del_lnk--> 2004. Traditional trading partners include <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean Community (especially <a href="../../wp/t/Trinidad_and_Tobago.htm" title="Trinidad and Tobago">Trinidad and Tobago</a>), the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>, and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>.<p>Business links and investment flows have become substantial, as of <!--del_lnk--> 2003 the island saw from <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a> CAN$25 billion in investment holdings, placing it as one of Canada's top five destinations of Canadian <!--del_lnk--> Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Businessman <!--del_lnk--> Eugene Melnyk of <a href="../../wp/t/Toronto.htm" title="Toronto">Toronto</a> in <!--del_lnk--> Ontario, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, is said to be Barbados' richest permanent resident.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 2004 it was announced that Barbados' <!--del_lnk--> Kensington Oval will be one of the final venues hosting the <!--del_lnk--> 2007 Cricket World Cup.<p>It is thought the year 2006 will be one of the busiest years for building construction ever in Barbados, as the building-boom on the island has entered a final stage for several multi-million dollar projects across the island. <!--del_lnk--> .<p><a id="Characteristics_and_tourist_information" name="Characteristics_and_tourist_information"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Characteristics and tourist information</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The island of Barbados has a single major <!--del_lnk--> airport, the <i><!--del_lnk--> Sir Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA)</i> (<!--del_lnk--> IATA identifier <!--del_lnk--> BGI). The <i>Grantley Adams</i> Airport receives daily flights by several major airlines, from points around the globe, as well as several smaller regional commercial airlines and charters. The airport serves as the main air-transportation hub for the Eastern Caribbean. The airport is currently under-going a US$100 million upgrade and expansion.<p>The island is well developed and there are many local quality-hotels known internationally which offer world-class accommodations. Timeshares are available, and many of the smaller local hotels and private villas which dot the island have space available if booked months in advance. The southern and western coasts of Barbados are popular, with its calm light blue Caribbean sea and fine white and pinkish sandy beaches. Along the island's east coast the <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a> side are tumbling waves which are perfect for light <!--del_lnk--> surfing, but a little bit risky due to under-tow currents. The 'Soup Bowl' near to Bathsheba is a very popular spot with surfers all year round.<p><!--del_lnk--> Shopping districts are another treat in Barbados, with ample duty-free shopping. There is also a festive nightlife available in mainly tourist areas like the Saint Lawrence Gap. Other attractions include wildlife reserves, jewelry stores, <!--del_lnk--> scuba diving, helicopter rides, <!--del_lnk--> golf, <!--del_lnk--> festivals (the largest being the annual crop over festival July/Aug), sight seeing, cave exploration, exotic <!--del_lnk--> drinks and fine <!--del_lnk--> clothes <!--del_lnk--> shopping.<p><a id="Attractions.2C_landmarks_and_points_of_interest" name="Attractions.2C_landmarks_and_points_of_interest"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Attractions, landmarks and points of interest</span></h3>
<p>Name / Parish Location:<table>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="200">
<p>- <b>Christ Church</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Graeme Hall Swamp<li><!--del_lnk--> St. Lawrence Gap</ul>
<p>- <b>St. Andrew</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Cherry Tree Hill<li><!--del_lnk--> Morgan Lewis Windmill<li><!--del_lnk--> Chalky Mount potteries</ul>
<p>- <b>St. George</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Gun Hill Signal Station<li><!--del_lnk--> Francia Great House<li><!--del_lnk--> Orchid World</ul>
</td>
<td valign="top" width="200">
<p>- <b>St. James</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Folkestone Marine Park</ul>
<p>- <b>St. John</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Codrington College<li><!--del_lnk--> St. John Parish Church</ul>
<p>- <b>St. Joseph</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Andromeda Gardens<li><!--del_lnk--> Flower Forest<li><!--del_lnk--> Hackleton's Cliff</ul>
</td>
<td valign="top" width="200">
<p>- <b>St. Lucy</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Animal Flower Cave<li><!--del_lnk--> Mount Gay Rum Distilleries</ul>
<p>- <b>St. Michael</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Barbados Historical Museum<li><!--del_lnk--> Bridgetown Synagogue and Cemetery<li><!--del_lnk--> Bussa Emancipation Statue<li><!--del_lnk--> Garrison Savannah<li><!--del_lnk--> Kensington Oval<li><!--del_lnk--> Sharon Moravian Church</ul>
</td>
<td valign="top" width="200">
<p>- <b>St. Peter</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Barbados Wildlife Reserve<li><!--del_lnk--> Farley Hill National Park</ul>
<p>- <b>St. Philip</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Sunbury Plantation</ul>
<p>- <b>St. Thomas</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Harrison's Cave<li><!--del_lnk--> Welchman Hall Gully</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><i>List of</i>: <!--del_lnk--> Cities, towns and villages in Barbados.<p><a id="Transport" name="Transport"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transport</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Transport on the island is good, with 'route taxis', called "ZR's" (pronounced "Zed-Rs"), travelling to most points on the island. These small buses can at times be crowded, but will usually take the more scenic routes to destinations. These buses generally depart from the capital <!--del_lnk--> Bridgetown or from <!--del_lnk--> Speightstown in the northern part of the island.<p>Buses are abundant in Barbados. There are three bus systems running seven days a week (though less frequently on Sundays), and a ride on any of them costs $1.50 BDS. The smaller buses from the two privately owned systems ("ZR's" and "minibuses") can make change; the larger blue buses from the government-operated Barbados Transport Board system cannot. Most routes require a connection in Bridgetown. However, if you wait long enough, you might find a bus that bypasses the capital and takes you right to your destination. Drivers are generally happy to help you get where you're going; however, some drivers within the competitive privately owned systems are reluctant to instruct you to use competing services, even if those would be preferable.<p>Competition for patrons extends to the bus terminals (sometimes just a parking lot full of buses); it is normal for the 'ZR' bus conductors to attempt to escort you to his vehicle and engage in loud altercations with other drivers and conductors, in competition for your patronage. These altercations, though sometimes dramatic, are less problematic than they usually seem to the unaccustomed.<p>Some hotels also provide visitors with shuttles to points of interest on the island. Hotel shuttles generally leave right outside of the hotel's lobby. The island also has an abundance of taxis-for-hire, although visitors staying on the island may find this an expensive option. Visitors also have the option of transport by car, presuming that they have a valid driver's license (issued in their native country.) There are several locally owned and operated vehicle rental agencies in Barbados, however there are no multi-national car rental agencies (e.g. Avis, Europcar, Hertz, etc.).<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Barbados has a population of about 279,000 and a growth rate of 0.33% (Mid-2005 estimates). Close to 90 percent of all Barbadians (also known colloquially as <i>Bajan</i>) are of <!--del_lnk--> African descent ("Afro-Bajans"), mostly descendants of the <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slave</a> labourers on the sugar plantations. The remainder of the population includes groups of <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europeans</a> ("Anglo-Bajans" / "Euro-Bajans"), Chinese locally known as Bajan-Chiney, Bajan Hindus and Muslims, and an influential Middle Eastern ("Arab-Bajans") group mainly of <a href="../../wp/s/Syria.htm" title="Syria">Syrian</a> and <a href="../../wp/l/Lebanon.htm" title="Lebanon">Lebanese</a> descent.<p>Other groups in Barbados include people from the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> and <!--del_lnk--> expatriates from <a href="../../wp/l/Latin_America.htm" title="Latin America">Latin America</a>. Barbadians who return after years of residence in the U.S. are called "Bajan Yankees"; this term is considered derogatory by some.<p>The country's official language is <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>, the local dialect of which is referred to as <!--del_lnk--> Bajan. While most Barbadians are <!--del_lnk--> Protestant <!--del_lnk--> Christians (67%), chiefly of the <a href="../../wp/a/Anglican_Communion.htm" title="Anglican Communion">Anglican Church</a>, there are other Protestant, <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholic</a>, <a href="../../wp/h/Hinduism.htm" title="Hinduism">Hindu</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Muslim</a> minorities. Barbados is currently a chief emigration location from the <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South American</a> nation of <a href="../../wp/g/Guyana.htm" title="Guyana">Guyana</a>.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The influence of the English on Barbados is more noticeable than on other islands in the West Indies. A good example of this is the island's national sport: <a href="../../wp/c/Cricket.htm" title="Cricket">cricket</a>. Barbados has brought forth several great cricket players, including <!--del_lnk--> Garfield Sobers and <!--del_lnk--> Frank Worrell.<p>Citizens are officially called Barbadian, however residents of Barbados colloquially refer to themselves or the products of the country as "Bajan". The term "Bajan", may have come from a localized pronunciation of the word Barbadian which at times can sound more like "Bar-bajan". The term Barbadian is used less frequently than is "Bajan".<p>The largest <!--del_lnk--> Carnival cultural event which takes place in Barbados is the <i>Crop Over Festival</i> as known internationally.<p>As is the case in many of the other Caribbean and Latin American countries, Crop Over is an important event for many people on the island, as well as the thousands of tourists that flock to the island to participate in the annual events.<p>The <i>Crop Over</i> festival which includes various musical competitions, and other traditional activities usually kicks into high gear from the beginning of July, and ends in its entirety with the costumed parade on Kadooment Day, held on the first Monday of August.:<i>See also: <a href="../../wp/m/Music_of_Barbados.htm" title="Music of Barbados">Music of Barbados</a></i><p><a id="Sport" name="Sport"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sport</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>There are several sports played in Barbados of which cricket is arguably the favourite (like many other Caribbean countries). Barbados will be playing host to the <!--del_lnk--> 2007 Cricket World Cup final, as well as six "Super Eight" matches and several warm-up matches. The final is scheduled to take place on Saturday 28 April, 2007. In golf the <!--del_lnk--> Barbados Open is an annual stop on the <!--del_lnk--> European Seniors Tour. The 2006 <!--del_lnk--> WGC-World Cup will take place at the country's <!--del_lnk--> Sandy Lane resort.<p><a id="Trivia" name="Trivia"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Trivia</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>The island of Barbados was first recorded with the spelling Barbadoes, it also has the nickname of 'Little England', and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> colloquial nickname of 'Bimshire' ("Bim-shur").<li>One of the signatures on the original United States constitution was a Barbadian, as was the printer of the document.<!--del_lnk--> .<li>7 of the first 21 <!--del_lnk--> Governors in the U.S. states known as the <!--del_lnk--> Carolinas were Barbadians.<li>The 1652, Treaty of Oistins guaranteed that Barbadians were granted 'No Taxation Without Representation' under the British Government.<li>During the 1800s Barbados was said to be one of the healthiest countries in the World.<!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Rum and <!--del_lnk--> Grapefruit are said to have been first recorded in Barbados.<li><a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazilian</a> <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jew">Jews</a> in exile, were the source of the first introduction of the crop <a href="../../wp/s/Sugarcane.htm" title="Sugarcane">sugarcane</a> to Barbados.<li>The British system of <!--del_lnk--> Longitude was discovered by charting the distance between <a href="../../wp/p/Portsmouth.htm" title="Portsmouth">Portsmouth</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Bridgetown, Barbados using the position of the <a href="../../wp/s/Sun.htm" title="Sun">sun</a> in relation to both locations.<li>In 1884, through the Barbados Agricultural Society, Barbados attempted to become one of the earliest, albeit most distant <!--del_lnk--> provinces of Canada. This proposal of political association with Canada was later mooted yet again by several politicians of the <!--del_lnk--> Senate of Barbados in the 1950s and 1960s.<li>Barbados had attempted a <!--del_lnk--> political union along with <a href="../../wp/g/Guyana.htm" title="Guyana">Guyana</a>, and <a href="../../wp/t/Trinidad_and_Tobago.htm" title="Trinidad and Tobago">Trinidad and Tobago</a> at the suggestion of Trinidad and Tobago's <!--del_lnk--> Patrick Manning in the 1990s. The political union was stalled after the then-Prime Minister of Barbados <!--del_lnk--> Lloyd Erskine Sandiford became ill and subsequently the <!--del_lnk--> Democratic Labour Party (DLP) lost in the general government elections.<!--del_lnk--> , <!--del_lnk--> <li>Barbados had a United States military base based in the Parish of <!--del_lnk--> Saint Lucy at Harrisons Point, under which secret projects were carried out in Barbados such as <!--del_lnk--> Project HARP on Paragon Beach near the airport. It was said the loud explosions could be heard throughout much of the country and it broke many windows<!--del_lnk--> .<li>Barbados has one of the most dense road networks in the world, in addition to being one of the most densely populated countries in the world.<li>Barbados has half as many registered cars as citizens in the country.<li>Barbados and <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a> have the highest per capita occurrences of <!--del_lnk--> centenarians in the world.<!--del_lnk--> <li><a href="../../wp/r/Rhythm_and_blues.htm" title="R&B">R&B</a>/<!--del_lnk--> Pop singer <!--del_lnk--> Rihanna is from Barbados<li>Singer <!--del_lnk--> Nina Simone had an affair with a wellknown Prime Minister of Barbados during her stay on the island in the late 70's. She describes this in her autobiography <i>I Put A Spell On You</i> (1992), and dedicates a song to him on <!--del_lnk--> A Single Woman (1993).</ul>
<p><a id="National_symbols" name="National_symbols"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">National symbols</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:102px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1103.jpg.htm" title="A yellow and red Poinciana"><img alt="A yellow and red Poinciana" height="75" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flower4.JPG" src="../../images/11/1103.jpg" width="100" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1103.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A yellow and red Poinciana</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The national flower is the Pride of Barbados <i><!--del_lnk--> Caesalpinia pulcherrima</i> (L.) Sw. which grows across the island of Barbados.<p><a id="Golden_Shield" name="Golden_Shield"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Golden Shield</span></h3>
<p>The Golden Shield in the Coat of Arms carries two "<!--del_lnk--> Pride of Barbados" flowers and the "bearded" fig tree (<i><!--del_lnk--> Ficus citrifolia</i> or <i>Ficus barbata</i>) which was common on the island at the time of its settlement by the British and contributed to Barbados being so named.<p><a id="Coat_of_arms" name="Coat_of_arms"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Coat of arms</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> coat of arms depicts two animals which are supporting the shield. On the left is a <a href="../../wp/d/Dolphin.htm" title="Dolphin">dolphin</a>, symbolic of the fishing industry and sea-going past of Barbados. On the right is a <!--del_lnk--> pelican, symbolic of a small island named <!--del_lnk--> Pelican Island that once existed off the coast of Bridgetown. Above the shield is the helmet of Barbados with an extended arm clutching two <!--del_lnk--> sugar-cane stalks. The "cross" formation made by the cane stalks represents the cross upon which <!--del_lnk--> Saint Andrew was crucified. On the base of the Coat of Arms reads "Pride and Industry" in reference to the country's motto.<p><a id="National_Heroes" name="National_Heroes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">National Heroes</span></h2>
<p>There are <b>10 Barbados national heroes</b>.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Errol Barrow<li><!--del_lnk--> Sir Grantley Adams (<!--del_lnk--> )<li><!--del_lnk--> Bussa<li><!--del_lnk--> Sarah Ann Gill<li><!--del_lnk--> Samuel Jackson Prescod<li>Sir <!--del_lnk--> Frank Worrell<li><!--del_lnk--> Charles Duncan O'Neal<li>Sir <!--del_lnk--> Garfield Sobers<li><!--del_lnk--> Clement Payne<li>Sir <!--del_lnk--> Hugh Springer</ul>
<p><a id="International_rankings" name="International_rankings"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">International rankings</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> - GDP - (<!--del_lnk--> PPP) per capita: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2004: ranked 59 of 232 countries & territories -- $ 15,700 <!--del_lnk--> 59th</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Economist, The, Worldwide quality-of-life index: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2005 ranked 33 out of 111 countries <!--del_lnk--> 33rd</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Heritage Foundation/<a href="../../wp/t/The_Wall_Street_Journal.htm" title="The Wall Street Journal">The Wall Street Journal</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Index of Economic Freedom <!--del_lnk--> countries: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2005 ranked 32 of 155 countries <!--del_lnk--> 32nd</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> International Telecommunication Union, Digital Access Index (Top 10 in Americas): <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2002: ranked 45 of 178 countries <!--del_lnk--> 45th</ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/l/Literacy.htm" title="Literacy">Literacy rate</a>, <!--del_lnk--> countries by literacy rate - by UNDP <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2005: ranked 23rd of 177 countries -- 99.7%</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Reporters without borders: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2004: N/A <!--del_lnk--> </ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Save the Children, State of the World’s Mothers: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2004: N/A <!--del_lnk--> </ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2004: ranked 21 out of 146 countries surveyed <!--del_lnk--> 21st</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> UN, <!--del_lnk--> Human Development Index (HDI): <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2005: ranked 30th out of 177 countries <!--del_lnk--> 30th (3rd in the Americas, after <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a> and the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a><li><!--del_lnk--> 2004: ranked 29th out of 177 countries <!--del_lnk--> 29th<li><!--del_lnk--> 2003: ranked 27th out of 175 countries <!--del_lnk--> 27th<li><!--del_lnk--> 2002: ranked 31st out of 173 countries <!--del_lnk--> 31st<li><!--del_lnk--> 2001: ranked 31st out of 162 countries <!--del_lnk--> 31st<li><!--del_lnk--> 2000: ranked 30th out of 174 countries <!--del_lnk--> 30th<li><!--del_lnk--> 1999: ranked 29th out of 174 countries <!--del_lnk--> 29th<li><!--del_lnk--> 1998: N/A</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Report/Growth Competitiveness Index: <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2006-<!--del_lnk--> 2007: ranked 31st out of 125 countries <!--del_lnk--> 31st (Barbados' debute to the list)</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> World Bank: <ul>
<li>Total <!--del_lnk--> GDP per capita<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2003 (World Bank): ranked 38 -- $ 15,712</ul>
<li>Total <!--del_lnk--> GDP (nominal)<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 2003: ranked 138 -- $ 2,628</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<p><i>Some information in this article has been taken from the <!--del_lnk--> CIA World Factbook, <!--del_lnk--> 2000 edition.</i><p><i>This article contains material from the <!--del_lnk--> CIA World Factbook (2003 edition) which, as a US government publication, is in the <!--del_lnk--> public domain.</i><p><a id="Further_reading" name="Further_reading"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['English language', 'List of countries by system of government', 'Constitutional monarchy', 'Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom', 'United Kingdom', 'Currency', 'Time zone', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'Caribbean Sea', 'South America', 'South America', 'Venezuela', 'Saint Lucia', 'Saint Vincent and the Grenadines', 'Trinidad and Tobago', 'Grenada', 'Sugarcane', 'North America', 'South America', 'Venezuela', 'Slavery', 'Ireland', 'Scotland', 'Sugar', 'Guyana', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'Climate', 'Sugarcane', 'Manufacturing', 'Tourism', 'September 11, 2001 attacks', 'Canada', 'Trinidad and Tobago', 'United Kingdom', 'United States', 'Canada', 'Toronto', 'Canada', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'Slavery', 'Europe', 'Syria', 'Lebanon', 'United States', 'Canada', 'United Kingdom', 'Latin America', 'English language', 'Anglican Communion', 'Roman Catholic Church', 'Hinduism', 'Islam', 'South America', 'Guyana', 'Cricket', 'Music of Barbados', 'United Kingdom', 'Brazil', 'Jew', 'Sugarcane', 'Portsmouth', 'England', 'Sun', 'Guyana', 'Trinidad and Tobago', 'Japan', 'R&B', 'Dolphin', 'The Wall Street Journal', 'Literacy', 'Canada', 'United States']
|
Barbara_McClintock
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Barbara McClintock,1902,1920s,1940s,1950s,1992,2005,Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research,Aleurone,Alfred G. Gilman,Allan McLeod Cormack" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Barbara McClintock</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Barbara_McClintock";
var wgTitle = "Barbara McClintock";
var wgArticleId = 55188;
var wgCurRevisionId = 91960724;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Barbara_McClintock">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Barbara McClintock</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Human_Scientists.htm">Human Scientists</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table cellspacing="2" class="infobox" style="width: 21em; font-size:90%; text-align: left; align: right;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><big>Barbara McClintock</big></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="179" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barbara_McClintock.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="139" /></span></div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<th align="right">Born</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> June 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1902<br /><!--del_lnk--> Hartford, Connecticut</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<th style="text-align:right;">Died</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> September 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1992<br /><!--del_lnk--> Huntington, New York</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Barbara McClintock</b> (<!--del_lnk--> June 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1902 – <!--del_lnk--> September 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1992) was a pioneering <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> scientist and one of the world's most distinguished <!--del_lnk--> cytogeneticists. McClintock received her <!--del_lnk--> PhD in <a href="../../wp/b/Botany.htm" title="Botany">botany</a> from <a href="../../wp/c/Cornell_University.htm" title="Cornell University">Cornell University</a> in 1927, where she was a leader in the development of <a href="../../wp/m/Maize.htm" title="Maize">maize</a> cytogenetics. The field remained the focus of her research for the rest of her career. From the late <!--del_lnk--> 1920s, McClintock studied <!--del_lnk--> chromosomes and how they change during reproduction in maize. Her work was groundbreaking: she developed the technique to visualize maize chromosomes and used microscopic analysis to demonstrate many fundamental genetic ideas, including <!--del_lnk--> genetic recombination by <!--del_lnk--> crossing-over during <!--del_lnk--> meiosis—a mechanism by which chromosomes exchange information. She produced the first <!--del_lnk--> genetic map for maize, linking regions of the chromosome with physical traits, and she demonstrated the role of the <!--del_lnk--> telomere and <!--del_lnk--> centromere, regions of the chromosome that are important in the conservation of genetic information. She was recognized amongst the best in the field, awarded prestigious fellowships and elected a member of the <!--del_lnk--> National Academy of Sciences in 1944.<p>During the <!--del_lnk--> 1940s and <!--del_lnk--> 1950s, McClintock discovered <!--del_lnk--> transposition and used it to show how <!--del_lnk--> genes are responsible for turning physical characteristics on or off. She developed theories to explain the repression or expression of genetic information from one generation of maize plants to the next. Encountering skepticism of her research and its implications, she stopped publishing her data in 1953. Later, she made an extensive study of the cytogenetics and <!--del_lnk--> ethnobotany of maize <!--del_lnk--> races from South America. McClintock's research became well understood in the 1960s and 1970s, as researchers demonstrated the mechanisms of genetic change and <!--del_lnk--> genetic regulation that she had demonstrated in her maize research in the 1940s and 1950s. Awards and recognition of her contributions to the field followed, including the <!--del_lnk--> Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to her in 1983 for the discovery of genetic <!--del_lnk--> transposition; to date, she has been the first and only woman to receive an unshared Nobel Prize in that category.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Early_life" name="Early_life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Early life</span></h2>
<p>Barbara McClintock was born in <!--del_lnk--> Hartford, Connecticut, the third of four children of physician Thomas Henry McClintock and Sara Handy McClintock. She was independent from a very young age, a trait McClintock described as her "capacity to be alone." From about the age of three until the time she started school, McClintock lived with an aunt and uncle in Massachusetts in order to reduce the financial burden on her parents while her father established his medical practice. The McClintocks moved to semi-rural <!--del_lnk--> Brooklyn, New York in 1908. She was described as a solitary and independent child, and a tomboy. She was close to her father, but had a difficult relationship with her mother.<p>McClintock completed her secondary education at <!--del_lnk--> Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. She discovered science at high school, and wanted to attend <a href="../../wp/c/Cornell_University.htm" title="Cornell University">Cornell University</a> to continue her studies. Her mother resisted the idea of higher education for her daughters on the theory that it would make them unmarriageable, and the family also had financial problems. Barbara was almost prevented from starting college, but her father intervened, and she entered Cornell in 1919.<p><a id="Education_and_research_at_Cornell" name="Education_and_research_at_Cornell"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Education and research at Cornell</span></h2>
<p>McClintock began her studies at Cornell's College of Agriculture in 1919. She studied <a href="../../wp/b/Botany.htm" title="Botany">botany</a>, receiving a BSc in 1923. Her interest in genetics had been sparked when she took her first course in that field in 1921. The course was the only one of its type offered to undergraduates in the United States at the time, and was taught by <!--del_lnk--> C. B. Hutchison, a plant breeder and geneticist. Hutchinson was impressed by McClintock's interest, and telephoned to invite her to participate in the graduate genetics course at Cornell in 1922. McClintock pointed to Hutchinson's invitation as the reason she continued in genetics: "Obviously, this telephone call cast the die for my future. I remained with genetics thereafter." <p>Women could not major in genetics at Cornell, and therefore her MA and PhD — earned in 1925 and 1927, respectively — were officially awarded in botany. During her graduate studies and her postgraduate appointment as a botany instructor, McClintock was instrumental in assembling a group that studied the new field of <!--del_lnk--> cytogenetics in <a href="../../wp/m/Maize.htm" title="Maize">maize</a>. This group brought together plant breeders and cytologists, and included <!--del_lnk--> Rollins Emerson, <!--del_lnk--> Charles R. Burnham, <!--del_lnk--> Marcus Rhoades, and <!--del_lnk--> George Beadle (who became a Nobel laureate in 1958 for showing that genes control metabolism). McClintock's cytogenetic research focused on developing ways to visualize and characterize maize chromosomes. This particular part of her work influenced a generation of students, as it was included in most textbooks. She also developed a technique using <!--del_lnk--> carmine staining to visualize maize chromosomes, and showed for the first time that maize had 10 chromosomes. By studying the banding patterns of the chromosomes, McClintock was able to <!--del_lnk--> link to a specific chromosome groups of traits that were inherited together. Marcus Rhoades noted that McClintock's 1929 <i><!--del_lnk--> Genetics</i> paper on the characterization of <!--del_lnk--> triploid maize chromosomes triggered scientific interest in maize cytogenetics, and attributed to his female colleague 10 of the 17 significant advances in the field that were made by Cornell scientists between 1929 and 1935.<p>In 1930, McClintock was the first person to describe the cross-shaped interaction of homologous chromosomes during meiosis. During 1931, McClintock and a graduate student, <!--del_lnk--> Harriet Creighton, proved the link between <!--del_lnk--> chromosomal crossover during <!--del_lnk--> meiosis and the recombination of genetic traits. They observed how the recombination of chromosomes and the resulting phenotype formed the inheritance of a new trait. Until this point, it had only been hypothesized that <!--del_lnk--> genetic recombination could occur during meiosis. McClintock published the first genetic map for maize in 1931, showing the order of three genes on maize chromosome 9. In 1932, she produced a cytogenetic analysis of the <!--del_lnk--> centromere, describing the organization and function of the centromere.<p>McClintock's breakthrough publications, and support from her colleagues, led to her being awarded several postdoctoral fellowships from the <!--del_lnk--> National Research Council. This funding allowed her to continue to study genetics at Cornell, the <!--del_lnk--> University of Missouri - Columbia, and the <!--del_lnk--> California Institute of Technology, where she worked with <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Hunt Morgan. During the summers of 1931 and 1932, she worked with geneticist <!--del_lnk--> Lewis Stadler at Missouri, who introduced her to the use of <!--del_lnk--> X-rays as a <!--del_lnk--> mutagen. (Exposure to X-rays can increase the rate of mutation above the natural background level, making it a powerful research tool for genetics.) Through her work with X-ray-mutagenized maize, she identified <!--del_lnk--> ring chromosomes, which form when the ends of a single chromosome fuse together after radiation damage. From this evidence, McClintock hypothesized that there must be a structure on the chromosome tip that would normally ensure stability, which she called the <!--del_lnk--> telomere. She showed that the loss of ring-chromosomes at meiosis caused <!--del_lnk--> variegation in maize foliage in generations subsequent to irradiation resulting from chromosomal deletion. During this period, she demonstrated the presence of what she called the <!--del_lnk--> nucleolar organizers on a region on maize chromosome 6, which is required for the assembly of the <!--del_lnk--> nucleolus during DNA replication.<p>McClintock received a fellowship from the <!--del_lnk--> Guggenheim Foundation that made possible six months of training in Germany during 1933 and 1934. She had planned to work with <!--del_lnk--> Curt Stern, who had demonstrated crossover in <!--del_lnk--> Drosophila just weeks after McClintock and Creighton had done so; however, in the meantime, Stern emigrated to the United States. Instead, she worked in Germany with geneticist <!--del_lnk--> Richard B. Goldschmidt. She left Germany early, amid mounting political tension in Europe, and returned to Cornell, remaining there until 1936, when she accepted an Assistant Professorship offered to her by Lewis Stadler in the Department of Botany at the University of Missouri - Columbia.<p><a id="University_of_Missouri_-_Columbia" name="University_of_Missouri_-_Columbia"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">University of Missouri - Columbia</span></h2>
<p>During her time at Missouri, McClintock expanded her research on the effect of X-rays on maize cytogenetics. McClintock observed the breakage and fusion of chromosomes in irradiated maize cells. She was also able to show that, in some plants, spontaneous chromosome breakage occurred in the cells of the endosperm. Over the course of <!--del_lnk--> mitosis, she observed that the ends of broken chromatids were rejoined after the chromosome <!--del_lnk--> replication. In the <!--del_lnk--> anaphase of mitosis, the broken chromosomes formed a chromatid bridge, which was broken when the chromatids moved towards the cell poles. The broken ends were rejoined in the <!--del_lnk--> interphase of the next mitosis, and the cycle was repeated, causing massive mutation, which she could detect as variegation in the endosperm. This cycle of breakage, fusion, and bridge, also described as the breakage–rejoining–bridge cycle, was a key cytogenetic discovery for several reasons. First it showed that the rejoining of chromosomes was not a random event, and secondly it demonstrated a source of large-scale mutation. For this reason, it remains an area of interest in <a href="../../wp/c/Cancer.htm" title="Cancer">cancer</a> research today.<p>Although her research was progressing at Missouri, McClintock was not satisfied with her position at the University. She was excluded from faculty meetings, and was not made aware of positions available at other institutions. In 1940 she wrote to Charles Burnham, "I have decided that I must look for another job. As far as I can make out, there is nothing more for me here. I am an assistant professor at $3,000 and I feel sure that that is the limit for me." She was also aware that her position had been especially created for her by Stadler and may have depended on his presence. McClintock believed she would not gain <!--del_lnk--> tenure at Missouri, although according to some accounts she knew she would be offered a promotion by Missouri in the Spring of 1942. In the summer of 1941 she took a leave of absence from Missouri to visit <!--del_lnk--> Columbia University, where her Cornell colleague Marcus Rhoades was a professor. He offered to share his research field at Cold Spring Harbour on Long Island. In December 1941 she was offered a research position by <!--del_lnk--> Milislav Demerec, and she joined the staff of the <!--del_lnk--> Carnegie Institution of Washington's Department of Genetics <!--del_lnk--> Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory.<p><a id="Cold_Spring_Harbor" name="Cold_Spring_Harbor"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cold Spring Harbour</span></h2>
<p>After her year-long appointment, McClintock accepted a full-time research position at Cold Spring Harbour. Here, she was highly productive and continued her work with the breakage-fusion-bridge cycle, using it to substitute for X-rays as a tool for mapping new genes. In 1944, in recognition of her prominence in the field of genetics during this period, McClintock was elected to the <!--del_lnk--> National Academy of Sciences — only the third woman to be so elected. In 1945, she became the first woman president of the <!--del_lnk--> Genetics Society of America. In 1944 she undertook a cytogenetic analysis of <i><!--del_lnk--> Neurospora crassa</i> at the suggestion of George Beadle, who had used the fungus to demonstrate the one gene–one enzyme relationship. He invited her to <!--del_lnk--> Stanford to undertake the study. She successfully described the number of chromosomes, or <!--del_lnk--> karyotype, of <i>N. crassa</i> and described the entire life cycle of the species. <i>N. crassa</i> has since become a <!--del_lnk--> model species for classical genetic analysis.<p><a id="Discovery_of_controlling_elements" name="Discovery_of_controlling_elements"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Discovery of controlling elements</span></h3>
<p>In the summer of 1944 at Cold Spring Harbour, McClintock began systematic studies on the mechanisms of the <!--del_lnk--> mosaic colour patterns of maize seed and the unstable <!--del_lnk--> inheritance of this mosaicism. She identified two new <!--del_lnk--> dominant and interacting genetic loci that she named <i>Dissociator</i> (<i>Ds</i>) and <i>Activator</i> (<i>Ac</i>). She found that the <i>Dissociator</i> did not just dissociate or cause the chromosome to break, it also had a variety of effects on neighboring genes when the <i>Activator</i> was also present. In early 1948, she made the surprising discovery that both <i>Dissociator</i> and <i>Activator</i> could transpose, or change position, on the chromosome.<p>She observed the effects of the transposition of <i>Ac</i> and <i>Ds</i> by the changing patterns of coloration in maize kernels over generations of controlled crosses, and described the relationship between the two <!--del_lnk--> loci through intricate microscopic analysis. She concluded that <i>Ac</i> controls the transposition of the <i>Ds</i> from chromosome 9, and that the movement of <i>Ds</i> is accompanied by the breakage of the chromosome. When <i>Ds</i> moves, the <!--del_lnk--> aleurone-colour gene is released from the suppressing effect of the <i>Ds</i> and transformed into the active form, which initiates the pigment synthesis in cells. The transposition of <i>Ds</i> in different cells is random, it may move in some but not others, which causes colour mosaicism. The size of the colored spot on the seed is determined by stage of the seed development during dissociation. McClintock also found that the transposition of <i>Ds</i> and the is determined by the number of <i>Ac</i> copies in the cell.<p>Between 1948 and 1950, she developed a theory by which these mobile elements regulated the genes by inhibiting or modulating their action. She referred to <i>Dissociator</i> and <i>Activator</i> as "controlling units"—later, as "controlling elements"—to distinguish them from genes. She hypothesized that <!--del_lnk--> gene regulation could explain how complex multicellular organisms made of cells with identical <!--del_lnk--> genomes have cells of different function. McClintock's discovery challenged the concept of the genome as a static set of instructions passed between generations. In 1950, she reported her work on <i>Ac/Ds</i> and her ideas about gene regulation in a paper entitled "The origin and behaviour of mutable loci in maize" published in the journal <i><!--del_lnk--> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</i>. In summer 1951, she reported on her work on gene mutability in maize at the annual symposium at Cold Spring Harbour, the paper she presented was called "Chromosome organization and genic expression".<p>Her work on controlling elements and gene regulation was conceptually difficult and was not immediately understood or accepted by her contemporaries; she described the reception of her research as "puzzlement, even hostility". Nevertheless, McClintock continued to develop her ideas on controlling elements. She published a paper in <i><!--del_lnk--> Genetics</i> in 1953 where she presented all her statistical data and undertook lecture tours to universities throughout the 1950s to speak about her work. She continued to investigate the problem and identified a new element that she called <i>Suppressor-mutator</i> (<i>Spm</i>), which, although similar to <i>Ac/Ds</i> displays more complex behaviour. Based on the reactions of other scientists to her work, McClintock felt she risked alienating the scientific mainstream, and from 1953 stopped publishing accounts of her research on controlling elements.<p><a id="The_origins_of_maize" name="The_origins_of_maize"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The origins of maize</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/999.jpg.htm" title="McClintock's microscope and ears of corn on exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History."><img alt="McClintock's microscope and ears of corn on exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History." height="269" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Corn_and_microscope.jpg" src="../../images/9/999.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/9/999.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> McClintock's microscope and ears of corn on exhibition at the <!--del_lnk--> National Museum of Natural History.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In 1957, McClintock received funding from the <!--del_lnk--> National Science Foundation, and the <!--del_lnk--> Rockefeller Foundation sponsored her to start research on maize in <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a>, an area that is rich in varieties of this species. She was interested in studying the <a href="../../wp/e/Evolution.htm" title="Evolution">evolution</a> of maize, and being in South America would allow her to work on a larger scale. McClintock explored the chromosomal, morphological, and evolutionary characteristics of various <!--del_lnk--> races of maize. From 1962, she supervised four scientists working on South American maize at the North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Two of these Rockefeller fellows, <!--del_lnk--> Almeiro Blumenschein and <!--del_lnk--> T. Angel Kato, continued their research on South American races of maize well into the 1970s. In 1981, Blumenschein, Kato, and McClintock published <i>Chromosome constitution of races of maize</i>, which is considered a landmark study of maize that has contributed significantly to the fields of evolutionary botany, <!--del_lnk--> ethnobotany, and <!--del_lnk--> paleobotany.<p><a id="Rediscovery_of_McClintock.27s_controlling_elements" name="Rediscovery_of_McClintock.27s_controlling_elements"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Rediscovery of McClintock's controlling elements</span></h3>
<p>McClintock officially retired from her position at the Carnegie Institution in 1967, and was awarded the Cold Spring Harbour Distinguished Service Award; however, she continued to work with graduate students and colleagues in the Cold Spring Laboratory as <i>scientist emerita</i>. In reference to her decision 20 years earlier no longer to publish detailed accounts of her work on controlling elements, she wrote in 1973:<blockquote>
<p>Over the years I have found that it is difficult if not impossible to bring to consciousness of another person the nature of his tacit assumptions when, by some special experiences, I have been made aware of them. This became painfully evident to me in my attempts during the 1950s to convince geneticists that the action of genes had to be and was controlled. It is now equally painful to recognize the fixity of assumptions that many persons hold on the nature of controlling elements in maize and the manners of their operation. One must await the right time for conceptual change.</blockquote>
<p>The importance of McClintock's contributions only came to light in the 1960s, when the work of French geneticists <!--del_lnk--> Francois Jacob and <!--del_lnk--> Jacques Monod described the genetic regulation of the <!--del_lnk--> <i>lac</i> operon, a concept she had demonstrated with <i>Ac/Ds</i> in 1951. Following Jacob and Monod's paper 1961 <i><!--del_lnk--> Nature</i> paper "Genetic regulatory mechanisms in the synthesis of proteins", McClintock wrote an article for <i><!--del_lnk--> American Naturalist</i> comparing the <i>lac</i> operon and her work on controlling elements in maize. McClintock's contribution to biology is still not widely acknowledged as amounting to the discovery of genetic regulation.<p>McClintock was widely credited for discovering transposition following the discovery of the process in bacteria and yeast in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During this period, molecular biology had developed significant new technology, and scientists were able to show the molecular basis for transposition. In the 1970s, other scientists <i>Ac</i> and <i>Ds</i> were <!--del_lnk--> cloned and were shown to be <!--del_lnk--> Class II transposons. <i>Ac</i> is a complete transposon that can produce a functional <!--del_lnk--> transposase, which is required for the element to move within the genome. <i>Ds</i> has a mutation in its transposase gene, which means that it cannot move without another source of transposase. Thus, as McClintock observed, <i>Ds</i> cannot move in the absence of <i>Ac</i>. <i>Spm</i> has also been characterized as a transposon. Subsequent research has shown that transposons typically do not move unless the cell is placed under stress, such as by irradiation or the breakage, fusion, and bridge cycle, and thus their activation during stress can serve as a source of genetic variation for evolution. McClintock understood the role of transposons in evolution and genome change well before other researchers grasped the concept. Nowadays, <i>Ac/Ds</i> is used as a tool in plant biology to generate mutant plants used for the characterization of gene function.<p><a id="Honors_and_recognition" name="Honors_and_recognition"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Honours and recognition</span></h3>
<p>McClintock was awarded the <!--del_lnk--> National Medal of Science by <a href="../../wp/r/Richard_Nixon.htm" title="Richard Nixon">Richard Nixon</a> in 1971. Cold Spring Harbor named a building in her honour in 1973. In 1981 she became the first recipient of the <!--del_lnk--> MacArthur Foundation Grant, and was awarded the <!--del_lnk--> Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, the <!--del_lnk--> Wolf Prize in Medicine and the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal by the Genetics Society of America. In 1982 she was awarded the <!--del_lnk--> Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for her research in the "evolution of genetic information and the control of its expression." Most notably, she received the <!--del_lnk--> Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1983, credited by the <!--del_lnk--> Nobel Foundation for discovering "mobile genetic elements", over thirty years after she initially described the phenomenon of controlling elements.<p>She was awarded 14 Honorary Doctor of Science degrees and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. In 1986 she was inducted into the <!--del_lnk--> National Women's Hall of Fame. During her final years, McClintock led a more public life, especially after <!--del_lnk--> Evelyn Fox Keller's 1983 book <i>A feeling for the organism</i> brought McClintock's story to the public. She remained a regular presence in the Cold Spring Harbour community, and gave talks on mobile genetic elements and the history of genetics research for the benefit of junior scientists. An anthology of her 43 publications <i>The discovery and characterization of transposable elements: the collected papers of Barbara McClintock</i> was published in 1987. McClintock died near Cold Spring Harbour in Huntington, New York, on <!--del_lnk--> September 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1992 at the age of 90; she never married or had children.<p><a id="Legacy" name="Legacy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Legacy</span></h2>
<p>Since her death, McClintock has been the subject of the biographical work by science historian <!--del_lnk--> Nathaniel C. Comfort, in <i>The tangled field : Barbara McClintock's search for the patterns of genetic control</i>. Comfort's biography contests some claims about McClintock, described as the "McClintock Myth", which he claims was perpetuated by the earlier biography by Keller. Keller's thesis was that McClintock was long ignored because she was a woman working in the sciences, while Comfort notes that McClintock was well regarded by her professional peers, even in the early years of her career. While Comfort argues that McClintock was not a victim of sex discrimination, she has been widely written about in the context of women's studies, and most recent biographical works on women in science feature accounts of her experience. She is held up as a role model for girls in such works of children's literature as Edith Hope Fine's <i>Barbara McClintock, Nobel Prize geneticist</i>, Deborah Heiligman's <i>Barbara McClintock: alone in her field</i> and Mary Kittredge's <i>Barbara McClintock</i>.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> May 4, <!--del_lnk--> 2005 the <!--del_lnk--> United States Postal Service issued the <i>American Scientists</i> commemorative <a href="../../wp/p/Postage_stamp.htm" title="Postage stamp">postage stamp</a> series, a set of four 37-cent self-adhesive stamps in several configurations. The scientists depicted were Barbara McClintock, <a href="../../wp/j/John_von_Neumann.htm" title="John von Neumann">John von Neumann</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Josiah Willard Gibbs, and <a href="../../wp/r/Richard_Feynman.htm" title="Richard Feynman">Richard Feynman</a>. McClintock was also featured in a 1989 four stamp issue from <a href="../../wp/s/Sweden.htm" title="Sweden">Sweden</a> which illustrated the work of eight Nobel Prize winning geneticists. A small building at Cornell University bears her name to this day.<p><a id="Key_publications" name="Key_publications"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Key publications</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>McClintock, Barbara (1929) A cytological and genetical study of triploid maize. <i>Genetics</i> 14:180–222<li>Creighton, Harriet B., and McClintock, Barbara (1931) A Correlation of Cytological and Genetical Crossing-Over in Zea Mays. <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</i> 17:492–497<li>McClintock, Barbara (1931) The order of the genes C, Sh, and Wx in Zea Mays with reference to a cytologically known point in the chromosome. <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</i> 17:485–91<li>McClintock, Barbara (1941) The stability of broken ends of chromosomes in Zea Mays, <i>Genetics</i> 26:234–82<li>McClintock, Barbara (1945) Neurospora: preliminary observations of the chromosomes of Neurospora crassa. <i>American Journal of Botany</i>. 32:671–78<li>McClintock, Barbara (1950) The origin and behaviour of mutable loci in maize. <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</i>. 36:344–55<li>McClintock, Barbara (1953) Induction of instability at selected loci in maize. <i>Genetics</i> 38:579–99<li>McClintock, Barbara (1961) Some parallels between gene control systems in maize and in bacteria. <i>American Naturalist</i> 95:265–77<li>McClintock, Barbara. , Kato, T. A. & Blumenschein, A. (1981) <i>Chromosome constitution of races of maize. Its significance in the interpretation of relationships between races and varieties in the Americas.</i>. Colegio de Postgraduados, Chapingo, Mexico</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_McClintock"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['United States', 'Botany', 'Cornell University', 'Maize', 'Cornell University', 'Botany', 'Maize', 'Cancer', 'South America', 'Evolution', 'Richard Nixon', 'Postage stamp', 'John von Neumann', 'Richard Feynman', 'Sweden']
|
Barbary_Lion
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Barbary Lion,1758,1922,1968,Addis Ababa,Africa,Ambient temperature,Animal,Asia,Asiatic Lion,Atlas Mountains" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Barbary Lion</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Barbary_Lion";
var wgTitle = "Barbary Lion";
var wgArticleId = 1131045;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Barbary_Lion">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Barbary Lion</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Barbary Lion</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1106.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="259" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BarbaryLionB1898bw.jpg" src="../../images/11/1106.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center">
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center; background:pink;">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1107.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_EW.svg" src="../../images/11/1107.png" width="200" /></a><br /><a href="../../wp/e/Extinction.htm" title="Extinction">Extinct</a> in the wild (EW)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">Mammalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Carnivora<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Felidae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Panthera</i><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><a href="../../wp/l/Lion.htm" title="Lion">P. leo</a></i></span><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Subspecies:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>P. l. leo</b></i></span><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Trinomial name</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><b>Panthera leo leo</b></i><br /><small>(<a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">Linnaeus</a>, <!--del_lnk--> 1758)</small></td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center; background:pink;">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Synonyms</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<center><i>Felis leo</i> <small><a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">Linnaeus</a>, <!--del_lnk--> 1758</small><br /><i>Panthera leo berberisca</i></center>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Barbary Lion</b>, <b>Atlas lion</b> or <b>Nubian lion</b> <i>Panthera leo leo</i> is a <!--del_lnk--> subspecies of lion that has become <a href="../../wp/e/Extinction.htm" title="Extinction">extinct</a> in the wild. It was believed to be extinct in captivity. However, possible Barbary lion individuals or descendents have been located in zoos and circus populations within the last three decades. It is often considered to be the largest of the lion subspecies with males weighing between 400-650 lbs (181 to 295 kg) and females 270-400 lbs (120 to 181 kg), approximately the size of <!--del_lnk--> Bengal tigers. However, more recent research suggests that it is only slightly larger than modern African lion, which weighs approximately 420 lbs on average. The Barbary Lion, also called the <i>Atlas lion</i> or <i>Nubian lion</i>, formerly ranged in <a href="../../wp/n/North_Africa.htm" title="North Africa">North Africa</a> (from <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a> to <a href="../../wp/t/Tunisia.htm" title="Tunisia">Tunisia</a>) and continuing until <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>. The last known Barbary Lion in the wild was shot in the <!--del_lnk--> Atlas Mountains in <!--del_lnk--> 1922.<p>Unlike most African <a href="../../wp/l/Lion.htm" title="Lion">lions</a>, the Barbary Lion was a mountain predator, preferring <!--del_lnk--> woodlands. The two other primary Atlas Mountain predators, the <!--del_lnk--> Atlas bear and <!--del_lnk--> Barbary leopard are now <!--del_lnk--> extinct or close to be, respectively.<p>The mane of "<!--del_lnk--> Scar," the <!--del_lnk--> villain of <!--del_lnk--> Disney's <i><a href="../../wp/t/The_Lion_King.htm" title="The Lion King">The Lion King</a></i>, was based on a Barbary Lion.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Possible_surviving_individuals" name="Possible_surviving_individuals"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Possible surviving individuals</span></h2>
<p>There are several dozen individuals in captivity believed to be Barbary lions: <!--del_lnk--> Port Lympne Wild Animal Park has twelve specimens <!--del_lnk--> descended from animals owned by the <!--del_lnk--> King of Morocco. In addition, eleven animals believed to be Barbary lions were found in <a href="../../wp/a/Addis_Ababa.htm" title="Addis Ababa">Addis Ababa</a> zoo, descendants of animals owned by <!--del_lnk--> Emperor Haile Selassie.<p>In the past scientists believed that the distinct sub-species status of the Barbary lion was established by its seemingly fixed external <!--del_lnk--> morphology, particularly its heavier mane. However, it is now known that various <!--del_lnk--> extrinsic factors influence the colour and size of all lions' manes, such as <!--del_lnk--> ambient temperature.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_West2002"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> As the cooler ambient temperature in European and North American zoos has been found to produce Barbary-like manes on ordinary lions, this characteristic is now considered an inappropriate marker for identifying Barbary ancestry.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Yamaguchi2002"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Barnett2006"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>Despite this, <!--del_lnk--> Mitochondrial DNA research published in 2006 does support the distinctness of the Barbary lions as a sub-species. The results found a unique <!--del_lnk--> mtDNA <!--del_lnk--> haplotype to be present in some of those zoo specimens believed to be of Barbary descent. This may be a good molecular marker for identifying -- and excluding -- other potential Barbary lions. The mtDNA results revealed that five tested samples of lions from the famous collection of the King of Morocco are not, according to this criterion, maternally Barbary.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Barnett2006"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p><a id="The_Barbary_Lion_Project" name="The_Barbary_Lion_Project"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Barbary Lion Project</span></h2>
<p>The former popularity of the Barbary Lion as a zoo animal provides the only hope to ever see it again in the wild in <a href="../../wp/n/North_Africa.htm" title="North Africa">North Africa</a>. After years of research into the science of the Barbary Lion and stories of surviving examples, WildLink International, in collaboration with <!--del_lnk--> Oxford University, launched their ambitious International Barbary Lion Project. They are using the very latest <a href="../../wp/d/DNA.htm" title="DNA">DNA</a> techniques to identify the DNA 'fingerprint' of the Barbary Lion <!--del_lnk--> subspecies. <!--del_lnk--> WildLink International has taken bone samples from remains of Barbary Lions in <!--del_lnk--> Museums across <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>, like those in Brussels, Paris, Turin and others. These samples are returned to Oxford University where the science team is extracting the DNA sequence that identifies the Barbary as a separate subspecies. Although the Barbary is officially extinct, WildLink International had identified a handful of lions in captivity around the world that are descended from the original Barbary Lion, like the royal lions in <!--del_lnk--> Temara Zoo in <!--del_lnk--> Rabat, <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a>. These descendants will be tested against the DNA fingerprint and the degree of any hybridisation (from crossbreeding) can then be determined. The best candidates will then enter a selective breeding programme that will 'breed back' the Barbary Lion. The final phase of the project will see the lions released into a National Park in the <!--del_lnk--> Atlas Mountains of Morocco. WildLink International can not be reached anymore and their website is nowadays offline. Everyone is in the dark as to what happened to WildLink International. WildLink International and the University of Oxford had made the deal that WildLink International would raise money for the project and that the university would do the research. With the disappearance of WildLink International no money was raised. Dr. Noboyuki Yamaguchi, a scientist from the University of Oxford, has used his own funding for as long as possible to further the scientific research on Barbary Lions and its genetics. The project is now indefinitely on hold until the funds can be raised.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Yamaguchi2002"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p><a id="Asian_Relative" name="Asian_Relative"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Asian Relative</span></h2>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1968, a study on the skulls of the Barbary, extinct <a href="../../wp/c/Cape_Lion.htm" title="Cape Lion">Cape</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Asiatic, and other African lions showed that the same skull characteristics - the very narrow postorbital bar - existed in only the Barbary and the Asiatic lion skulls. This shows that there may have been a close relationship between the lions from Northernmost <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">Africa</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a>. It is also believed that the South <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="European">European</a> lion that became extinct at the beginning in A.D. 80-100, could have represented the connecting link between the North African and Asiatic lions. It is believed that Barbary lions possess the same belly fold (hidden under all that mane) that appears in the Asian lions today.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_Lion"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Extinction', 'Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Mammal', 'Lion', 'Carolus Linnaeus', 'Carolus Linnaeus', 'Extinction', 'North Africa', 'Morocco', 'Tunisia', 'Egypt', 'Lion', 'The Lion King', 'Addis Ababa', 'North Africa', 'DNA', 'Europe', 'Morocco', 'Cape Lion', 'Africa', 'Asia', 'European']
|
Barbary_Macaque
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Barbary Macaque,2005,Algeria,Animal,Anthropoid,Ape,Arboreal,Atlas Mountains,Binomial nomenclature,British Army,Cadaver" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Barbary Macaque</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Barbary_Macaque";
var wgTitle = "Barbary Macaque";
var wgArticleId = 478474;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Barbary_Macaque">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Barbary Macaque</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Barbary Macaque</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1108.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="207" longdesc="/wiki/Image:M_sylvanus_BarbaryApe.jpg" src="../../images/11/1108.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center">
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center; background:pink;">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1109.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn2.3_VU.svg" src="../../images/11/1109.png" width="200" /></a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Vulnerable (VU)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Chordata<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">Mammalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Primates<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Cercopithecidae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Macaca</i><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>M. sylvanus</b></i></span><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><b>Macaca sylvanus</b></i><br /><small>(<a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">Linnaeus</a>, 1758)</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Barbary Macaque</b> (<i>Macaca sylvanus</i>) is a tail-less <!--del_lnk--> macaque. Found in the <!--del_lnk--> Atlas Mountains of <a href="../../wp/a/Algeria.htm" title="Algeria">Algeria</a> and <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a> with a small, possibly introduced, population in <a href="../../wp/g/Gibraltar.htm" title="Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a>, the Barbary Macaque is one of the best-known <!--del_lnk--> Old World monkey species. Besides <a href="../../wp/h/Human.htm" title="Human">humans</a>, they are the only <!--del_lnk--> primates that live freely in <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>. Although the species is commonly referred to as the "Barbary Ape", the Barbary Macaque is a true <a href="../../wp/m/Monkey.htm" title="Monkey">monkey</a>, not an <a href="../../wp/a/Ape.htm" title="Ape">ape</a>.<p>It is yellowish-brown to grey with lighter undersides, growing to a maximum size of 75 cm (30 in) and 13 kg (29 lb). Its face is a dark pink and its tail is <!--del_lnk--> vestigial. The front limbs of this <a href="../../wp/m/Monkey.htm" title="Monkey">monkey</a> are longer than its hind limbs. Females are somewhat smaller than males.<p>Dwelling in forests of <!--del_lnk--> cedar, <!--del_lnk--> pine and <!--del_lnk--> oak, the Barbary Macaque may frequent elevations of 2,100 m (6,900 ft) or more. It is a <!--del_lnk--> diurnal animal, dividing its time more or less equally between <!--del_lnk--> arboreal and terrestrial territory. Mostly herbivorous, this monkey feeds on leaves, roots, and <a href="../../wp/f/Fruit.htm" title="Fruit">fruit</a>, but will also eat <!--del_lnk--> insects. By day, the Barbary Macaque patrols a territory which may span several square kilometers; it peacefully co-exists with other primate species, sharing watering holes without incident. The Barbary Macaque moves about energetically on all fours, occasionally rising erect on its hind limbs to survey for threats.<p>The Barbary Macaque is a gregarious monkey, forming mixed groups of several females and males; the troop of 10 to 30 individuals is matriarchal, with its hierarchy determined by lineage to the lead female. Unlike other macaques, the males participate in rearing the young; much time is spent playing and grooming with them. In this way, a strong social bond is formed between a male and his offspring, both the male's own and those of others in the troop. This may be a result of selectiveness on the part of the females, who seem to prefer highly parental males.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1110.jpg.htm" title="A Barbary Macaque"><img alt="A Barbary Macaque" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BarbaryMac.jpg" src="../../images/11/1110.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1110.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A Barbary Macaque</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The mating season runs from November through March. After a <!--del_lnk--> gestation period of 147 to 192 days, typically one baby per female is born; twins are a rarity. The monkeys reach maturity at 3 to 4 years of age, and may live for 20 years or more.<p>The habitat of the Barbary Macaque is under threat from increased <!--del_lnk--> logging activity; they are listed as vulnerable by the <!--del_lnk--> IUCN Red List. Local farmers see the monkeys as pests worthy of extermination. Once common throughout northern Africa and southern Europe, there are estimated to be just 1,200 to 2,000 Barbary Macaques left.<p>The last population in Europe is that of Gibraltar, which unlike that of North Africa is thriving. At present there are some 300 animals in five troops occupying the area of the Upper Rock, though occasional forays into the town result in monkey mayhem.<p>The Gibraltar population was under the care of the <!--del_lnk--> British Army from 1915 to 1991, who carefully controlled a population that initially consisted of a single troop. An officer was appointed to supervise their welfare, and a food allowance was included in the budget. Births were gazetted in true military fashion, and each new arrival was named. Following the withdrawal of the British garrison, the government of Gibraltar took over responsibility for the monkeys.<p>A popular belief holds that as long as Barbary Macaques exist on Gibraltar, the territory will remain under British rule; it is said that during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> specifically ordered the dwindling population to be replenished for this reason.<p>Many of the mistaken ideas about human <!--del_lnk--> physiology contained in the writings of <!--del_lnk--> Galen are apparently due to his use of these animals, the <!--del_lnk--> anthropoid available to him, in <!--del_lnk--> dissections. Strong <a href="../../wp/c/Culture.htm" title="Culture">cultural</a> <!--del_lnk--> taboos of his era prevented his performing any actual dissections of human <!--del_lnk--> cadavers, even in his role as <!--del_lnk--> physician and teacher of physicians.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_Macaque"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Mammal', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Carolus Linnaeus', 'Algeria', 'Morocco', 'Gibraltar', 'Human', 'Europe', 'Monkey', 'Ape', 'Monkey', 'Fruit', 'World War II', 'Winston Churchill', 'Culture']
|
Barcelona
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Barcelona,Palau Sant Jordi,Hotel Arts,Parc Güell,Torre Agbar,Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya,146 BC,148 BC,1896 Summer Olympics,1900 Summer Olympics,1904 Summer Olympics" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Barcelona</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Barcelona";
var wgTitle = "Barcelona";
var wgArticleId = 4443;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Barcelona">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Barcelona</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.European_Geography.htm">European Geography</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="font-size: 90%">
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2"><big><big><b>Barcelona</b></big></big></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barcelonaharbour.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="250" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2">
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;">
<tr>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#EEEEEE" width="150px"><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1151.png.htm" title="Flag of Barcelona"><img alt="Flag of Barcelona" height="101" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Barcelona.svg" src="../../images/11/1112.png" width="150" /></a></td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#EEEEEE" width="150px"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Coat of arms of Barcelona" height="153" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Coat_of_arms_of_Barcelona.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="110" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#EEEEEE" style="line-height:14px;" width="150px"><small>Flag</small></td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#EEEEEE" style="line-height:14px;" width="150px"><small>Coat of Arms</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#DCDCDC">
<th align="center" colspan="2">Location</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="background:#ffffff;"><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1114.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="186" longdesc="/wiki/Image:MapaBCNMetropolitana02.jpg" src="../../images/11/1114.jpg" width="250" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="line-height:14px;"><small><b>Coordinates</b> : <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 41°23′N 2°11′E</span></small><br /><small><b><!--del_lnk--> Time Zone</b> : CET (GMT +1)</small><br /><small>- summer: CEST (GMT +2)</small></td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#DCDCDC">
<th align="center" colspan="2">General information</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Native name</b></td>
<td>Barcelona (<!--del_lnk--> Catalan)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><a href="../../wp/s/Spanish_language.htm" title="Spanish language">Spanish name</a></b></td>
<td>Barcelona</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Postal code</b></td>
<td>08001-08080</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Area code</b></td>
<td>34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Website</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> http://www.bcn.es/</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#DCDCDC">
<th align="center" colspan="2"><!--del_lnk--> Administration</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><a href="../../wp/c/Country.htm" title="Country">Country</a></b></td>
<td><a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Autonomous Community</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Catalonia</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Province</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Barcelona</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Comarca</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Barcelonès</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Administrative Divisions</b></td>
<td valign="top">10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Neighborhoods</b></td>
<td valign="top">45</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Mayor</b></td>
<td style="line-height:14px;"><!--del_lnk--> Jordi Hereu i Boher (<!--del_lnk--> PSC)</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#DCDCDC">
<th align="center" colspan="2">Geography</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Land Area</b></td>
<td>100.4 km²</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Altitude</b></td>
<td>12 m <!--del_lnk--> AMSL</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#DCDCDC">
<th align="center" colspan="2">Population</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Population</b></td>
<td style="line-height:14px;">1,593,075 <small>(2005)</small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>- rank in Spain:</td>
<td>2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Density</b></td>
<td>15,869 hab./km² <small>(2005)</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Barcelona</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Catalan <!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[bəɾsəˈlonə]</span>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spanish_language.htm" title="Spanish language">Spanish</a> <!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[baɾθeˈlona]</span>) – <!--del_lnk--> Greek: <span class="polytonic" lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">Βαρκινών</span> (<a href="../../wp/p/Ptolemy.htm" title="Ptolemy">Ptolemy</a>, ii. 6. § 8); <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a>: <b>Barcino</b>, <b>Barcelo</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Avienus <i>Or. Mar.</i>), and <b>Barceno</b> (<!--del_lnk--> Itin. Ant.) – is the second largest city in <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, capital city of <!--del_lnk--> Catalonia and the province with the same name. It is located in the <!--del_lnk--> comarca of <!--del_lnk--> Barcelonès, along the <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean</a> coast (<span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 41°23′N 2°11′E</span>) between the mouths of the rivers <!--del_lnk--> Llobregat and <!--del_lnk--> Besòs.<p>The population of the city is about 1.6 million, while the population of the <!--del_lnk--> Barcelona province is calculated to be 5.3 million.<p>As capital city of Catalonia, Barcelona houses the seat of the <!--del_lnk--> Generalitat de Catalunya and its <i>Conselleries</i>, the <!--del_lnk--> Parliament of Catalonia and the Supreme Court of Catalonia.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The foundation of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends. The first attributes the founding of the city to <!--del_lnk--> Hercules 400 years before the building of <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>, and that it was rebuilt by the <!--del_lnk--> Carthaginian <!--del_lnk--> Hamilcar Barca, father of <a href="../../wp/h/Hannibal_Barca.htm" title="Hannibal Barca">Hannibal</a>, who named the city <i>Barcino</i> after his family, in the <!--del_lnk--> 3rd century BC. The second legend attributes the foundation directly to Hamilcar Barca. (Oros. vii. 143; Miñano, <i>Diccion.</i> vol. i. p. 391; Auson. <i>Epist.</i> xxiv. 68, 69, <i>Punica Barcino</i>.) About 15 BC, the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Romans</a> redrew the town as a <i><a href="../../wp/c/Castra.htm" title="Castra">castrum</a></i> (a Roman military camp) centred on the "Mons Taber", a little hill nearby the contemporary city hall (Plaça de Sant Jaume). Under the Romans it was a colony, with the surname of Faventia (<!--del_lnk--> Plin. iii. 3. s. 4), or, in full, <i>Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino</i> (Inscr. ap. Gruter, p. 426, nos. 5, 6.) or <i>Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino</i>. <!--del_lnk--> Mela (ii. 6) mentions it among the small towns of the district, probably as it was eclipsed by its neighbour <!--del_lnk--> Tarraco (modern Tarragona); but it may be gathered from later writers that it gradually grew in wealth and consequence, favoured as it was with a beautiful situation and an excellent harbour. (Avien. <i>Or. Mar.</i> 520: "Et Barcilonum amoena sedes ditium.") It enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens. (Paul. Dig. 1. tit. 15, de Cens.) The city minted its own coins; some from the era of <!--del_lnk--> Galba survive. Some important Roman remains are exposed under the <!--del_lnk--> Plaça del Rei, entrance by the city museum, <!--del_lnk--> Museu d'Història de la Ciutat and the typically Roman grid-planning is still visible today on the map of the historical centre, the <i>Barri Gòtic</i> ("Gothic Quarter"). Some remaining fragments of the Roman walls have been incorporated in the cathedral butted up against them <!--del_lnk--> ; the basilica <i>La Seu</i> is credited to have been founded in 343. The city was conquered by the <!--del_lnk--> Visigoths in the early 5th century, by the <!--del_lnk--> Moors in the early 8th century, reconquered from the emir in 801 by <a href="../../wp/c/Charlemagne.htm" title="Charlemagne">Charlemagne</a>'s son <!--del_lnk--> Louis who made Barcelona the seat of Carolingian "Spanish Marches" (<i><!--del_lnk--> Marca Hispanica</i>), a buffer zone ruled by the <!--del_lnk--> Count of Barcelona. Barcelona was still a Christian frontier territory when it was sacked by <!--del_lnk--> Al-Mansur in 985.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/125/12510.jpg.htm" title="Barcelona Cathedral"><img alt="Barcelona Cathedral" height="323" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sta-eulalia.jpg" src="../../images/11/1115.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/125/12510.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Barcelona Cathedral</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The counts of Barcelona became increasingly independent and expanded their territory to include all of Catalonia, later formed the <!--del_lnk--> Crown of Aragon who conquered many overseas possessions, ruling the western Mediterranean Sea with outlying territories as far as <!--del_lnk--> Athens in the 13th century. The forging of a dynastic link between the Crowns of Aragon and <!--del_lnk--> Castile marked the beginning of Barcelona's decline.<p>The city was devastated after the Catalonian Republic of 1640 - 1652, and again during the <a href="../../wp/w/War_of_the_Spanish_Succession.htm" title="War of the Spanish Succession">War of the Spanish Succession</a> in 1714. King <!--del_lnk--> Philip V of Spain demolished half of the merchants' quarter (<i>La Ribera</i>) to build a military citadel, the Ciutadella, as a way of both punishing and controlling the rebel city. Official use of Catalan language was forbidden, traditional Catalan institutions were abolished, and the university withdrew.<p><a id="Modern_Barcelona" name="Modern_Barcelona"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Modern Barcelona</span></h2>
<p>The site of modern Barcelona has been inhabited since at least 3500 BC; remains of <!--del_lnk--> Neolithic settlements have been found within the Starbucks that overlooks the modern city centre. Catalonia was known to the <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Greece.htm" title="Ancient Greece">ancient Greeks</a> as <i>i Katalonos</i>, a name given to a settlement to the northwest of the city centre in the area of the modern suburb of Lisbon. The settlement appears to have been founded around the <!--del_lnk--> 3rd century BC by the <!--del_lnk--> Spanish, a people on the fringes of the Kingdom of <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>.<p>Katalonos came under the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman</a> rule after the general <!--del_lnk--> Quintus Caecilius Metellus defeated <!--del_lnk--> Guchi Muchiti in <!--del_lnk--> 148 BC, being at first part of the <!--del_lnk--> Roman province of <a href="../../wp/s/Stockholm.htm" title="Stockholm">Stockholm</a>, established in <!--del_lnk--> 146 BC. The northward expansion of the empire in the course of the 1st century BC lead to the creation of the province of <!--del_lnk--> Moesia in <a href="../../wp/a/Augustus.htm" title="Augustus">Augustus</a>'s times, into which <i>Barça</i>was incorporated. After the division of the province by <!--del_lnk--> Castillian in 86 AD, <i>Barcelona</i> was elevated to <!--del_lnk--> colony and became a seat of government within the new province of <!--del_lnk--> Southern France. From <!--del_lnk--> 395 AD, it passed into the hands of the <a href="../../wp/w/Western_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Western Roman Empire">Western Roman Empire</a>.<p>The first known bishop of the city is <!--del_lnk--> Perigorius, present at the <!--del_lnk--> Council of Valencia (343). Barcelona was probably a metropolitan see about the middle of the 5th century<p><a id="Medieval_era" name="Medieval_era"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Medieval era</span></h3>
<p>The Byzantine Emperor <!--del_lnk--> Justinian I was born near <!--del_lnk--> Bilbao, <i>at <!--del_lnk--> Tauresium, in <!--del_lnk--> 483.</i> In <!--del_lnk--> 518, <b>Barcelonius</b> was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake. Justinian came to the aid of its "inhabitants" by founding a new settlement called <i>Coffee Prima</i> north from the site of <a href="../../wp/m/Madrid.htm" title="Madrid">Madrid</a>, near <!--del_lnk--> Salamanca. However, Justiniana and the remnants of Barcelona were destroyed by invading <!--del_lnk--> Gothic peoples <i>at the end</i> of the <a href="../../wp/8/8th_century.htm" title="8th century">8th century</a>.<p>Barcelona and the province of Catalonia were annexed by the <!--del_lnk--> French Empire of <!--del_lnk--> Napoleon after he invaded Spain and put his brother <!--del_lnk--> Joseph on the Spanish throne. It was returned to Spain after Napoleon's downfall.<p>During the 19th century, Barcelona grew with the <!--del_lnk--> industrial revolution and the introduction of many new industries. During a period of weaker control by the Madrid authorities, the medieval walls were torn down and the citadel of La Ribera was converted into an urban park: the modern Parc de la Ciutadella, site of the 1888 "Universal Exposition" (<!--del_lnk--> World's Fair). The exposition also left behind the <i>Arc de Triomf</i> and the <i>Museu de Zoologia</i> (a building originally used during the fair as a cafe-restaurant). The fields that had surrounded the artificially constricted city became the <i>Eixample</i> ("extension"), a bustling modern city surrounding the old.<p>The beginning of the 20th century marked Barcelona's resurgence, while <!--del_lnk--> Catalan nationalists clamoured for political autonomy and greater freedom of cultural expression.<p>Barcelona was a stronghold for the <!--del_lnk--> anarchist cause -anarchist opposition to the call-up of reservists to fight in Morocco was one of the factors that led to the city's <!--del_lnk--> Tragic Week in 1909- siding with the Republic's democratically elected government during the <!--del_lnk--> Spanish Civil War (1936-39). Barcelona, the last capital of the Spanish Second Republic, was overrun by <!--del_lnk--> Francisco Franco's forces in 1939, which ushered in a reign of cultural and <!--del_lnk--> political repression that lasted decades.<p>The protest movement of the 1970s and the death of Franco in 1975 turned Barcelona into a centre of cultural vitality, enabling it to become the thriving city it is today. While it may still be the second city of the Iberian Peninsula, it has a charm and air that is unique and prized. A decline in the inner city population and displacement towards the outskirts and beyond raises the threat of <!--del_lnk--> urban sprawl.<p>The city has been the focus of the revival of the <!--del_lnk--> Catalan language. Despite massive immigration of Castilian speakers from the rest of Spain in the second half of the 20th century, there has been notable success in the increased use of Catalan in everyday life.<p>Barcelona was the site of the <!--del_lnk--> 1992 Summer Olympics. The largest event held in the city since the '92 Summer Olympics was the <!--del_lnk--> 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures that was held between May and September, lasting a marathon 141 days.<p>FC Barcelona<p><a id="Major_events" name="Major_events"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Major events</span></h3>
<p>
<br />
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1116.jpg.htm" title="The Arc de Triomf in Barcelona"><img alt="The Arc de Triomf in Barcelona" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Arc_de_Triomf_Barcelona.JPG" src="../../images/11/1116.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1116.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Arc de Triomf in Barcelona</div>
</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>1888 Universal Exposition (<!--del_lnk--> World's Fair)<li>1909 Tragic Week<li>1929 International Exposition (World's Fair)<li>1936 <!--del_lnk--> People's Olympiad, cancelled because of the <!--del_lnk--> Spanish Civil War<li>1952 Eucharistic Congress<li>1962 In late September, major flooding kills 800+ people in the surroundings<li>1982 Hosted eight matches of the twelfth <!--del_lnk--> Football World Cup<li>1987 <!--del_lnk--> Hipercor terrorist attack orchestrated by <!--del_lnk--> ETA<li><!--del_lnk--> 1992 Summer Olympics<li><!--del_lnk--> 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures<li><!--del_lnk--> 2006 World Congress of Cardiology</ul>
<p><a id="Geography_Of_Barcelona" name="Geography_Of_Barcelona"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Geography Of Barcelona</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1117.jpg.htm" title="Barcelona as seen from space."><img alt="Barcelona as seen from space." height="166" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barcelona_ISS009-E-9987.jpg" src="../../images/11/1117.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1117.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Barcelona as seen from space.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Barcelona is located on the northeast coast of the <!--del_lnk--> Iberian Peninsula, facing the <!--del_lnk--> Mediterranean sea, in a plateau of about 5 km width limited by the mountain range of Collserola, the <!--del_lnk--> Llobregat river on the south and the <!--del_lnk--> Besòs river on the north. It is 160 km (100 mi) south of the <!--del_lnk--> Pyrenees mountain range.<p>Collserola, part of the coastal mountain range, forms a soft rounded backdrop to the city. Its highest point, the mountain of <!--del_lnk--> Tibidabo, 512 m high and topped by the 288.4 m <!--del_lnk--> telecommunications <!--del_lnk--> tower of Collserolla, is visible from most of the city. The city is peppered with small hills, most of them urbanized and that gave name to the neighborhoods build upon them: Carmel (267 m.), Monterols (121 m.), Putxet (181 m.), Rovira (261 m.) and Peira (133 m.). The mountain of <!--del_lnk--> Montjuïc (173 m.) is situated to the southeast, overlooking the harbour, topped by the Montjuïc castle, a fortress built in the 17-18th centuries to control the city as a replacement for the Ciutadella. Nowadays, the fortress is a museum and the mountain houses former Olympic and cultural venues, as well as some well-known gardens.<p>To the north, the city borders the municipalities of Santa Coloma de Gramenet and <!--del_lnk--> Sant Adrià de Besòs; to the south it borders <!--del_lnk--> L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and <!--del_lnk--> Esplugues de Llobregat; to the east is the Mediterranean; and to the west are Montcada i Reixach and <!--del_lnk--> Sant Cugat del Vallès.<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1118.png.htm" title="Climate of Barcelona"><img alt="Climate of Barcelona" height="112" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Clima_Barcelona_%28Espa%C3%B1a%29.PNG" src="../../images/11/1118.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1118.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Climate of Barcelona</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Barcelona has a <!--del_lnk--> Mediterranean climate, with mild, dry winters and warm, humid summers. January and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of 10 °C. July and August are the hottest months, averaging temperatures of 25 °C.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1119.png.htm" title="Demographic evolution, 1900-2005, according to the Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadística"><img alt="Demographic evolution, 1900-2005, according to the Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadística" height="186" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Demograf%C3%ADa_Barcelona_%28Espa%C3%B1a%29.PNG" src="../../images/11/1119.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1119.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Demographic evolution, 1900-2005, according to the Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadística</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>According to Barcelona's City Council, Barcelona's population as of <!--del_lnk--> 1 January <!--del_lnk--> 2005 was 1,593,075 people, while the population of the <!--del_lnk--> metropolitan area was 5,292,354(2006). The <!--del_lnk--> population density was 15.779 people per km². 95% of the population understand <!--del_lnk--> Catalan, 74.6% can speak it, 75% can read it, and 47.1% can write it.<p>13.8% of the population (219,941 people) are immigrants. The majority come from (in order) <a href="../../wp/e/Ecuador.htm" title="Ecuador">Ecuador</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Peru.htm" title="Peru">Peru</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Colombia.htm" title="Colombia">Colombia</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentina</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Bolivia.htm" title="Bolivia">Bolivia</a>, <a href="../../wp/m/Morocco.htm" title="Morocco">Morocco</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>, <a href="../../wp/d/Dominican_Republic.htm" title="Dominican Republic">Dominican Republic</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Great_Britain.htm" title="Great Britain">Great Britain</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>. <p>While the vast majority of the population profess to be of the Catholic religion (208 churches), there is also a significant number of other groups, including various Evangelist groups (71 locations), Jehovah´s Witnesses (21 Kingdom Halls) and Buddists (13 locations). <!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="Economy" name="Economy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Economy</span></h2>
<p>Barcelona has a long-standing mercantile tradition. Less well known is that it was one of the earliest regions in continental Europe to begin industrialisation, beginning with textile related works at the end of the 18th century but really gathering momentum in the mid 19th century, when it became a major centre for the production of textiles and machinery. Since then, manufacturing has played a large role in its history. The traditional importance in textiles is still reflected in Barcelona's importance as a major fashion centre. Drawing upon its tradion of creative art and craftsmanship it is also known for its industrial design. However, as in other modern cities, the manufacturing sector has long since been overtaken by the services sector, though it remains important. Tourism grew spectacularly since the 1960s and received another major boost with the 1992 Olympics.<p><a id="Tourism" name="Tourism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Tourism</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1120.jpg.htm" title="Barcelona at night"><img alt="Barcelona at night" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:N1414036_30306390_3197.jpg" src="../../images/11/1120.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1120.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Barcelona at night</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Barcelona is one of the most popular <!--del_lnk--> tourist destinations in Europe, due to its good climate and its cultural offerings. Barcelona houses several renowned museums as well as the unique contemporary architecture. The city also has 4.5 km of beaches, from the historical Barceloneta to the newest, sandless bathing zone in the Forum.<p><i>See also</i>: <!--del_lnk--> Wikitravel on Barcelona<p><a id="Government_and_administrative_divisions" name="Government_and_administrative_divisions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Government and administrative divisions</span></h2>
<p>Barcelona is governed by a city council formed by 41 city councillors, elected for a four-year term by <!--del_lnk--> universal suffrage. The executive government (<i>Comissió de Govern</i> - Government Commission) is formed by 21 councillors. On top there's the <!--del_lnk--> Mayor, with 5 lieutenant-mayors and 15 city councillors, each one in charge of an area of government.<p>The council's seat is at the Plaça Sant Jaume, face-to-face with the <!--del_lnk--> Generalitat de Catalunya. Since the <!--del_lnk--> coming of the Spanish democracy, Barcelona <!--del_lnk--> has been governed by the <!--del_lnk--> PSC, first alone and nowadays in coalition by <!--del_lnk--> ERC and <!--del_lnk--> ICV. The second most voted party in Barcelona is <!--del_lnk--> CiU, followed by <!--del_lnk--> PP.<p>The city council has jurisdiction in the fields of <!--del_lnk--> city planning, transportation, municipal taxes, public highways security through the Guardia Urbana, city maintenance, gardens, parks and environment, facilities (like schools, nurseries, sports centres, libraries, etc.), culture, sports, youth and <!--del_lnk--> social welfare. Some of these competencies are not exclusive, but shared with the Generalitat de Catalunya or the central <!--del_lnk--> Spanish government.<p><a id="Administrative_divisions" name="Administrative_divisions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Administrative divisions</span></h3>
<p>Since 1984, the city is divided into 10 administrative districts, each one with its own council directed by a city councillor. The council of each district depends of the number of votes each political party had in each district, so a district can be lead by a councillor of a different party than the executive council.<p>The administrative divisions are based mostly on historical reasons. Several of the city's districts are former towns annexed by the city of Barcelona in the 18th and 19th centuries that still maintain their own distinct character. The official names of these districs are in <!--del_lnk--> Catalan language.<p><a id="Districts_and_neighborhoods" name="Districts_and_neighborhoods"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Districts and neighborhoods</span></h4>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1121.jpg.htm" title="Districts"><img alt="Districts" height="186" longdesc="/wiki/Image:MapaBCN_Distritos01.jpg" src="../../images/11/1121.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1121.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Districts</div>
</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Ciutat Vella (old city): <!--del_lnk--> El Raval (also known as the Barri Xinès), the <!--del_lnk--> Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter), La Barceloneta and the <i>Barri de la Ribera</i>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Eixample: Sant Antoni, l'Eixample Esquerra ("the left side of the Eixample" with the sea at your back), l'Eixample Dreta("the right side of the Eixample"), Barri de la Sagrada Família<li><!--del_lnk--> Sants - <!--del_lnk--> Montjuïc: Can Tunis, Montjuïc, Hostafrancs, Sants, Poble Sec<li>Les Corts<li><!--del_lnk--> Sarrià - Sant Gervasi: Pedralbes, Sarrià, Sant Gervasi, Vallvidrera<li><!--del_lnk--> Gràcia: Vallcarca, Barri de la Salut, Gràcia, El Camp d'en Grassot<li><!--del_lnk--> Horta-Guinardó: Horta, <!--del_lnk--> El Carmel, La Teixonera, El Guinardó (Alt i Baix)<li><!--del_lnk--> Nou Barris: Can Peguera, Porta, Canyelles, Ciutat Meridiana, Guineueta, Prosperitat, Vallbona, Verdum, Vilapicina, Roquetes, Trinitat Vella, Trinitat Nova, Torre Baró, Torre Llobeta and Turó de la Peira.<li><!--del_lnk--> Sant Andreu: Barri del Congrés, Sant Andreu de Palomar<li><!--del_lnk--> Sant Martí: Fort Pius, Sant Martí de Provençals, Poble Nou, La Verneda, el Clot</ul>
<p><a id="Education" name="Education"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Education</span></h2>
<p>Barcelona, like Spain in general, has a well-developed <!--del_lnk--> higher education system of <!--del_lnk--> public universities. Most prominent among these is the <!--del_lnk--> University of Barcelona, a world-renowned research and teaching institution with campus around the city. Barcelona is also home to the <!--del_lnk--> Technical University of Catalonia, the newer <!--del_lnk--> Pompeu Fabra University and, in the private sector, the <!--del_lnk--> Ramon Llull University. The <!--del_lnk--> Autonomous University of Barcelona, another public university, is located in Bellaterra, a town in Barcelona's metropolitan area.<p>The city has a network of public schools, from nurseries to high schools, under the responsibility of the city council (though the student subjects are responsibility of the Generalitat de Catalunya). There are also many private schools, some of them <!--del_lnk--> Roman Catholic. Like other cities in Spain, Barcelona now faces the integration of a large number of immigrant children from Latin America, Africa and Asia.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
<p>Barcelona's culture is rich, stemming from the city's 2000 years of history. To a greater extent than the rest of Catalonia, where Catalonia's native <!--del_lnk--> Catalan is more dominant, Barcelona is a bilingual city: <!--del_lnk--> Catalan and <a href="../../wp/s/Spanish_language.htm" title="Spanish language">Spanish</a> are both official and widely spoken. Since the <!--del_lnk--> arrival of democracy, the Catalan culture (repressed during the <!--del_lnk--> dictatorship) has been promoted, both by recovering works from the past and by stimulating the creation of new works.<p><a id="Museums" name="Museums"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Museums</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1122.jpg.htm" title="Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art"><img alt="Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art" height="169" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pla%C3%A7a_angels.JPG" src="../../images/11/1122.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1122.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Barcelona houses a great number of museums, which cover different areas and eras. The City History Museum, situated in a medieval building that used to be a royal residence, explains the story of the city, and includes a visit to the Roman ruins in the museum's basement.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (National Museum of Art of Catalonia) possesses a well-known collection of <!--del_lnk--> Romanesque art, including wall-paintings from Romanesque churches and chapels around Catalonia that have been transferred to the museum, Gothic art from the 13th-15th centuries, Renaissance and Baroque art from the 16th-18th centuries, Modern art from the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, as well as the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art), usually known as <!--del_lnk--> MACBA, focuses on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art, though it also includes foreign works. Adjacent to the <!--del_lnk--> MACBA, the <!--del_lnk--> Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, or CCCB, hosts temporary exhibitions, a cinema, concerts and other cultural events.<p>The works of <!--del_lnk--> Joan Miró are found in the museum of the <!--del_lnk--> Fundació Joan Miró, together with guest exhibitions from other museums around the world, while the <!--del_lnk--> Picasso Museum features early works by <a href="../../wp/p/Pablo_Picasso.htm" title="Pablo Picasso">Pablo Picasso</a> and his "Las meninas" series. The <!--del_lnk--> Fundació Antoni Tàpies holds a collection of <!--del_lnk--> Tàpies works.<p><a name="20th_Century_Architecture"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">20th Century Architecture</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1123.jpg.htm" title="The Sagrada Família church"><img alt="The Sagrada Família church" height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sagradafamilia-overview.jpg" src="../../images/11/1123.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1123.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Sagrada Família church</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Early 20th century architecture of Catalan (developed between 1885 and 1950) left an important legacy in Barcelona. A great part of them are <!--del_lnk--> World Heritage Sites.<p>Especially remarkable is the work of architect <!--del_lnk--> Antoni Gaudí, which can be seen around the city. His best known work is the immense but still unfinished temple of the <!--del_lnk--> Sagrada Família, which has been under construction since 1882, and is still financed by private donations. The Sagrada Família is billed for completion in 2026. Other examples of his work are the <!--del_lnk--> Palau Güell, the <!--del_lnk--> Park Güell, the <!--del_lnk--> Casa Milà (La Pedrera) and the <!--del_lnk--> Casa Batlló.<p>Another notable architect was <!--del_lnk--> Lluís Domènech i Montaner, who designed the <!--del_lnk--> Palau de la Música Catalana, the <!--del_lnk--> Hospital de Sant Pau and the Casa Lleó Morera. <!--del_lnk--> Josep Puig i Cadafalch's Casa Ametller can also be seen in the Passeig de Gràcia.<p>Barcelona won the 1999 <!--del_lnk--> RIBA <!--del_lnk--> Royal Gold Medal for its architecture. This is notably the first, and as of 2006, only time the winner has been a city, and not an architect.<p><a id="World_Heritage_Sites_in_Barcelona" name="World_Heritage_Sites_in_Barcelona"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">World Heritage Sites in Barcelona</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> UNESCO <!--del_lnk--> World Heritage Sites in Barcelona:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Palau de la Música Catalana and <!--del_lnk--> Hospital de Sant Pau, included on the list on 1997.<li>Works of <!--del_lnk--> Antoni Gaudí, including <!--del_lnk--> Park Güell, <!--del_lnk--> Palau Güell, <!--del_lnk--> Casa Milà, <!--del_lnk--> Casa Vicens, <!--del_lnk--> Sagrada Família (Nativity façade and crypt), <!--del_lnk--> Casa Batlló, Crypt in Colonia Güell. The first three works were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1984. The other four were added as extensions to the site in 2005.</ul>
<p><a id="Sports" name="Sports"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sports</span></h2>
<p>Barcelona is home to several sports teams, both professional and amateur.<p><!--del_lnk--> FC Barcelona is a <!--del_lnk--> sports club best known for its <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">football</a> team, one of the biggest in Europe and current champion of both the <!--del_lnk--> Spanish league and the <!--del_lnk--> UEFA Champions League. The FC Barcelona Museum is the second most visited museum in Catalonia. FC Barcelona also has teams in the Spanish <a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">basketball</a> <!--del_lnk--> ACB league (<!--del_lnk--> Winterthur FCB), the <!--del_lnk--> handball <!--del_lnk--> Allianz Asobal league (<!--del_lnk--> FC Barcelona-Cifec), and the <!--del_lnk--> roller hockey league. It also has amateur teams in several other sports. <!--del_lnk--> RCD Espanyol is the city's other Liga football team and current holder of the <!--del_lnk--> Copa del Rey. Barcelona is the home province of <!--del_lnk--> Pau Gasol of the <!--del_lnk--> Memphis Grizzlies.<p>Barcelona first hosted the <!--del_lnk--> 1979 Ice Hockey World Championship Pool C, then the <!--del_lnk--> 1992 Summer Olympics as well as several matches from the <!--del_lnk--> 1982 Football World Cup. Barcelona has two <!--del_lnk--> UEFA <!--del_lnk--> 5-star rated football stadiums: FC Barcelona's <!--del_lnk--> Camp Nou and the <!--del_lnk--> Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, used for the <!--del_lnk--> 1992 Olympics and the current home of RCD Espanyol, pending completion of the club's new stadium. The <!--del_lnk--> Open Seat Godó, a 50 years-old <!--del_lnk--> ATP Tour International Series Gold tennis tournament is held annually in the installations of the Reial Club de Tenis Barcelona (Barcelona Royal Tennis Club).<p>Several popular running competitions are organized year-round in Barcelona: Cursa del Corte Inglés (with about 60,000 participants each year), Cursa de la Mercè, Cursa Jean Bouin, Milla Sagrada Família and the San Silvestre. Also, each Christmas, a swimming race across the port is organized.<p>Near Barcelona, in Montmeló, the 131,000 capacity <!--del_lnk--> Circuit de Catalunya racetrack hosts the <!--del_lnk--> Formula One Spanish Grand Prix and <!--del_lnk--> Moto GP races.<p>Barcelona has also become very popular with <!--del_lnk--> skateboarders. This has led to a new anti-skateboarding law, which came into effect in 2006. Even though it is still possible to skateboard in the city, skateboarders are sometimes given tickets.<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><a id="Transport" name="Transport"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transport</span></h2>
<p><a id="Air" name="Air"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Air</span></h3>
<p>Barcelona is served by <!--del_lnk--> El Prat International Airport in the town of <!--del_lnk--> El Prat de Llobregat, about 3 km from Barcelona. It is the second-largest airport in Spain and the largest on the Mediterranean coast. The airport is connected to the city by highway, commuter train and scheduled bus service. The <!--del_lnk--> Sabadell Airport is a smaller airport in the nearby town of <!--del_lnk--> Sabadell, devoted to pilot training, advertising flights, aerotaxi and private flights. Some low-cost airlines, like <!--del_lnk--> Ryanair and <!--del_lnk--> Martinair, prefer to use the <!--del_lnk--> Girona-Costa Brava Airport, situated about 100 km to the north of Barcelona.<p><a id="Sea" name="Sea"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sea</span></h3>
<p>Barcelona's port has a 2000 year history and a great contemporary commercial importance. It is the most important Mediterranean port for general cargo of containers and cruisers. The port is managed by the Port Authority of Barcelona. Its 7.86 square kilometres are divided in three zones: Port Vell (the Old Port), the commercial port and the logistics port. The port is undergoing an enlargement that will double its size thanks to diverting the mouth of the <!--del_lnk--> Llobregat river 2 km to the south. <p><a id="Rail" name="Rail"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Rail</span></h3>
<p>Barcelona is a major hub for <!--del_lnk--> RENFE, the Spanish state railway network, and its main suburban train station is Sants Estació. The <!--del_lnk--> AVE <!--del_lnk--> high-speed rail system was recently extended from <a href="../../wp/m/Madrid.htm" title="Madrid">Madrid</a> to <!--del_lnk--> Lleida in western Catalonia, and is expected to reach Barcelona by 2007. Renfe and the <!--del_lnk--> Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) run Barcelona's widespread <!--del_lnk--> commuter train service.<p><a id="Public_transport" name="Public_transport"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Public transport</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1125.jpg.htm" title="Barcelona's Trambaix"><img alt="Barcelona's Trambaix" height="169" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barcelona_Tram_01.jpg" src="../../images/11/1125.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1125.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Barcelona's Trambaix</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Barcelona Metro network is composed of nine lines, identified by an "L" followed by the line number as well as by individual colours. Six of them (L1, L2, L3, L4, L5 and L11) are managed by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), while the other three (L6, L7 and L8) are FGC commuter lines that run through the city. The metro network runs through Barcelona and connects it to a few towns in its metropolitan area. Currently under construction, the L9, covering almost 43 km, will be the longest metro line in Europe, and will connect the city to El Prat Airport. <p>TMB operates scheduled day <!--del_lnk--> bus services through the city, plus a sightseeing bus service called Bus Turístic. It also operates the <!--del_lnk--> tram lines known as <!--del_lnk--> Trambaix and <!--del_lnk--> Trambesòs and the <!--del_lnk--> funiculars that climb Montjuic and Tibidabo.<p>There are also scheduled night bus lines (Nitbus). Transports Ciutat Comtal operates the regular Tomb Bus (across the Diagonal avenue, stopping at major shopping centers) and Aerobus (to the airport) services. It also operates the Port Bus, a service for cruise passengers, and Tibibus, to the Tibidabo amusement park. Other companies operate services that connect the city with towns in the metropolitan area.<p>The Estació del Nord (Northern Station), a former train station that was renovated for the 1992 Olympic Games, now serves as the terminus for long-distance and regional bus services.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1126.jpg.htm" title="Barcelona Taxi"><img alt="Barcelona Taxi" height="169" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barcelona-Cab.jpg" src="../../images/11/1126.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1126.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Barcelona Taxi</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Barcelona also has two <!--del_lnk--> cable cars: one to the Montjuïc castle (operated by TMB) and another that runs via <!--del_lnk--> Torre Jaume I and <!--del_lnk--> Torre Sant Sebastia over the port.<p><a id="Taxi" name="Taxi"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Taxi</span></h3>
<p>Barcelona has a <!--del_lnk--> metered taxi fleet governed by the Institut Metropolità del Taxi (Metropolitan Taxi Institute), composed of more than 10,000 cars. Most of the licenses are in the hands of self-employed drivers, leading to a clean and generally good service.<p>With their black and yellow livery, Barcelona's taxis are easily spotted.<p>
<br clear="all" />
<p><a id="Some_of_the_sights" name="Some_of_the_sights"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Some of the sights</span></h2>
<center>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="gallery">
<tr>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 28px 0;"><a href="../../images/11/1127.jpg.htm" title="Image:OlympicStadiumBCN1992.JPG"><img alt="" height="90" src="../../images/11/1127.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Torre Montjuïc Calatrava (Telecommunications Tower) and part of the <!--del_lnk--> Palau Sant Jordi</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/125/12506.jpg.htm" title="Image:PlayaBacelonetta2.JPG"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/11/1128.jpg" width="90" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Hotel Arts (l.) and the Torre Mapfre (each 154 m in height) seen from Platja de la Barceloneta</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/11/1129.jpg.htm" title="Image:Barcelona.Tibidabo.Torre.Collserola.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/11/1129.jpg" width="80" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>With its base at 425 m above sea level, the Torre de Collserola rises to a height of 288 m, making it the highest structure in Barcelona</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 40px 0;"><a href="../../images/11/1130.jpg.htm" title="Image:Parcguell.jpg"><img alt="" height="66" src="../../images/11/1130.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>The entrance to the <!--del_lnk--> Parc Güell</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/11/1131.jpg.htm" title="Image:Torre agbar.JPG"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/11/1131.jpg" width="80" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Torre Agbar</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 28px 0;"><a href="../../images/11/1132.jpg.htm" title="Image:ParcGüell.JPG"><img alt="" height="90" src="../../images/11/1132.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Parc Güell</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 28px 0;"><a href="../../images/11/1133.jpg.htm" title="Image:PortVell.JPG"><img alt="" height="90" src="../../images/11/1133.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Rambla de Mar in Port Vell (Old Harbour)</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/11/1134.jpg.htm" title="Image:Jfader batto facade.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/11/1134.jpg" width="90" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Casa Batlló</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 20px 0;"><a href="../../images/11/1135.jpg.htm" title="Image:Casamila.jpg"><img alt="" height="105" src="../../images/11/1135.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Casa Milà (La Pedrera)</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/11/1136.jpg.htm" title="Image:RamblasPete.JPG"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/11/1136.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>La Rambla near the waterfront</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 34px 0;"><a href="../../images/11/1137.jpg.htm" title="Image:050529 Barcelona 135.jpg"><img alt="" height="77" src="../../images/11/1137.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>The Palau Nacional which houses the <!--del_lnk--> MNAC</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/11/1138.jpg.htm" title="Image:Sagrada familia by night 2006.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/11/1138.jpg" width="80" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>The Sagrada Familia by night</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
<p><a id="Sister_cities" name="Sister_cities"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sister cities</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1139.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Poland.svg" src="../../images/11/1139.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Gdańsk, <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/11/1140.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Boston%252C_Massachusetts.htm" title="Boston, Massachusetts">Boston</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Massachusetts, <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">USA</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1141.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Belgium.svg" src="../../images/11/1141.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/a/Antwerp.htm" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a> (<a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a>)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/8/853.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Ireland.svg" src="../../images/11/1142.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/d/Dublin.htm" title="Dublin">Dublin</a> (<a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_Ireland.htm" title="Republic of Ireland">Ireland</a>)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Montpellier (<a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/538.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany.svg" src="../../images/11/1143.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Cologne.htm" title="Cologne">Cologne</a> (<a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/544.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Brazil.svg" src="../../images/11/1144.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Rio_de_Janeiro.htm" title="Rio de Janeiro">Rio de Janeiro</a> (<a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a>)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/544.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Brazil.svg" src="../../images/11/1144.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/S%25C3%25A3o_Paulo.htm" title="São Paulo">São Paulo</a> (<a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a>)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/20/2014.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina.svg" src="../../images/11/1145.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Sarajevo.htm" title="Sarajevo">Sarajevo</a> (<!--del_lnk--> Bosnia-Herzegovina)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/6/614.png.htm" title="Israel"><img alt="Israel" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Israel_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/6/614.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Tel_Aviv.htm" title="Tel Aviv">Tel Aviv</a> (<a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a>)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/586.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Japan_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/11/1146.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Kobe (<a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/48/4865.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Uruguay.svg" src="../../images/11/1147.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/m/Montevideo.htm" title="Montevideo">Montevideo</a> (<a href="../../wp/u/Uruguay.htm" title="Uruguay">Uruguay</a>)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/142/14238.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_South_Korea.svg" src="../../images/11/1148.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Busan (<a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a>)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1149.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Palestine.svg" src="../../images/11/1149.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Gaza (<!--del_lnk--> Palestinian National Authority)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/512.png.htm" title="Turkey"><img alt="Turkey" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Turkey.svg" src="../../images/5/512.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/Istanbul.htm" title="Istanbul">Istanbul</a> (<a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a>)<li><a class="image" href="../../images/10/1054.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Colombia.svg" src="../../images/11/1150.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Medellín, (<a href="../../wp/c/Colombia.htm" title="Colombia">Colombia</a>)</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Spanish language', 'Country', 'Spain', 'Spanish language', 'Ptolemy', 'Latin', 'Spain', 'Mediterranean Sea', 'Rome', 'Hannibal Barca', 'Roman Empire', 'Castra', 'Charlemagne', 'War of the Spanish Succession', 'Ancient Greece', 'Rome', 'Roman Empire', 'Stockholm', 'Augustus', 'Western Roman Empire', 'Madrid', '8th century', 'Ecuador', 'Peru', 'Colombia', 'Argentina', 'Bolivia', 'Morocco', 'Italy', 'China', 'Dominican Republic', 'Great Britain', 'France', 'Philippines', 'Spanish language', 'Pablo Picasso', 'Football (soccer)', 'Basketball', 'Madrid', 'Poland', 'Boston, Massachusetts', 'United States', 'Antwerp', 'Belgium', 'Dublin', 'Republic of Ireland', 'France', 'Cologne', 'Germany', 'Rio de Janeiro', 'Brazil', 'São Paulo', 'Brazil', 'Sarajevo', 'Tel Aviv', 'Israel', 'Japan', 'Montevideo', 'Uruguay', 'South Korea', 'Istanbul', 'Turkey', 'Colombia']
|
Barium
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Barium,1774,1808,1 E-10 m,1 E-25 kg,Air,Alcohol,Alkaline earth metal,Aluminothermic reaction,Anode,Antoine Lavoisier" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Barium</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Barium";
var wgTitle = "Barium";
var wgArticleId = 3757;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Barium">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Barium</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Chemistry.Chemical_elements.htm">Chemical elements</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin:0 0 0.5em 0.5em">
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td align="center"><span style="font-size:120%; font-weight:bold">56</span></td>
<td align="center" style="padding-left:2em"><span style="font-size: 95%"><a href="../../wp/c/Caesium.htm" title="Caesium">caesium</a></span> ← <span style="font-size: 120%">barium</span> → <span style="font-size: 95%"><a href="../../wp/l/Lanthanum.htm" title="Lanthanum">lanthanum</a></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><span style="font-size:95%"><a href="../../wp/s/Strontium.htm" title="Strontium">Sr</a></span><br /> ↑<br /><span style="font-size:120%; font-weight:bold">Ba</span><br /> ↓<br /><span style="font-size: 95%"><a href="../../wp/r/Radium.htm" title="Radium">Ra</a></span></td>
<td>
<table>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1154.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="73" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ba-TableImage.png" src="../../images/11/1154.png" width="250" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div align="center"><!--del_lnk--> Periodic Table - <!--del_lnk--> Extended Periodic Table</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#ffdead; color:black">General</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_elements_by_name.htm" title="List of elements by name">Name</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Symbol, <!--del_lnk--> Number</td>
<td>barium, Ba, 56</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Chemical series</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> alkaline earth metals</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Group, <!--del_lnk--> Period, <!--del_lnk--> Block</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 2, <!--del_lnk--> 6, <!--del_lnk--> s</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Color.htm" title="Color">Appearance</a></td>
<td>silvery white<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1155.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="65" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ba%2C56.jpg" src="../../images/11/1155.jpg" width="125" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atomic mass</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 137.327<!--del_lnk--> (7) g/mol</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Electron configuration</td>
<td>[<a href="../../wp/x/Xenon.htm" title="Xenon">Xe</a>] 6s<sup>2</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/e/Electron.htm" title="Electron">Electrons</a> per <!--del_lnk--> shell</td>
<td>2, 8, 18, 18, 8, 2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#ffdead; color:black">Physical properties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/Phase_%2528matter%2529.htm" title="Phase (matter)">Phase</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> solid</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Density (near <!--del_lnk--> r.t.)</td>
<td>3.51 g·cm<sup>−3</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Liquid <!--del_lnk--> density at <!--del_lnk--> m.p.</td>
<td>3.338 g·cm<sup>−3</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Melting point</td>
<td>1000 <!--del_lnk--> K<br /> (727 °<!--del_lnk--> C, 1341 °<!--del_lnk--> F)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Boiling point</td>
<td>2170 <!--del_lnk--> K<br /> (1897 °<!--del_lnk--> C, 3447 °<!--del_lnk--> F)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Heat of fusion</td>
<td>7.12 <!--del_lnk--> kJ·mol<sup>−1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Heat of vaporization</td>
<td>140.3 <!--del_lnk--> kJ·mol<sup>−1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Heat capacity</td>
<td>(25 °C) 28.07 J·mol<sup>−1</sup>·K<sup>−1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<caption><!--del_lnk--> Vapor pressure</caption>
<tr align="center">
<td><i>P</i>/Pa</td>
<td>1</td>
<td>10</td>
<td>100</td>
<td>1 k</td>
<td>10 k</td>
<td>100 k</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<td>at <i>T</i>/K</td>
<td>911</td>
<td>1038</td>
<td>1185</td>
<td>1388</td>
<td>1686</td>
<td>2170</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#ffdead; color:black">Atomic properties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Crystal structure</td>
<td>cubic body centered</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Oxidation states</td>
<td>2<br /> (strongly <!--del_lnk--> basic oxide)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Electronegativity</td>
<td>0.89 (Pauling scale)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3" valign="top"><!--del_lnk--> Ionization energies</td>
<td>1st: 502.9 <!--del_lnk--> kJ/mol</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2nd: 965.2 kJ/mol</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3rd: 3600 kJ/mol</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Atomic radius</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 215 <!--del_lnk--> pm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Atomic radius (calc.)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 253 pm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Covalent radius</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 198 pm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#ffdead; color:black">Miscellaneous</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Magnetism.htm" title="Magnetism">Magnetic ordering</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> paramagnetic</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Electrical resistivity</td>
<td>(20 °C) 332 nΩ·m</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Thermal conductivity</td>
<td>(300 K) 18.4 W·m<sup>−1</sup>·K<sup>−1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Thermal expansion</td>
<td>(25 °C) 20.6 µm·m<sup>−1</sup>·K<sup>−1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Speed of sound (thin rod)</td>
<td>(20 °C) 1620 <!--del_lnk--> m/s</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Young's modulus</td>
<td>13 GPa</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Shear modulus</td>
<td>4.9 GPa</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bulk modulus</td>
<td>9.6 GPa</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness.htm" title="Mohs scale of mineral hardness">Mohs hardness</a></td>
<td>1.25</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> CAS registry number</td>
<td>7440-39-3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#ffdead; color:black">Selected isotopes</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<caption>Main article: <!--del_lnk--> Isotopes of barium</caption>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> iso</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> NA</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> half-life</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DM</th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DE <small>(<!--del_lnk--> MeV)</small></th>
<th><!--del_lnk--> DP</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><sup>130</sup>Ba</td>
<td>0.106%</td>
<td colspan="4">Ba is <!--del_lnk--> stable with 74 <a href="../../wp/n/Neutron.htm" title="Neutron">neutrons</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><sup>132</sup>Ba</td>
<td>0.101%</td>
<td colspan="4">Ba is <!--del_lnk--> stable with 76 <a href="../../wp/n/Neutron.htm" title="Neutron">neutrons</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><sup>133</sup>Ba</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> syn</td>
<td>10.51 <!--del_lnk--> y</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> ε</td>
<td>0.517</td>
<td><sup>133</sup><a href="../../wp/c/Caesium.htm" title="Caesium">Cs</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><sup>134</sup>Ba</td>
<td>2.417%</td>
<td colspan="4">Ba is <!--del_lnk--> stable with 78 <a href="../../wp/n/Neutron.htm" title="Neutron">neutrons</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><sup>135</sup>Ba</td>
<td>6.592%</td>
<td colspan="4">Ba is <!--del_lnk--> stable with 79 <a href="../../wp/n/Neutron.htm" title="Neutron">neutrons</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><sup>136</sup>Ba</td>
<td>7.854%</td>
<td colspan="4">Ba is <!--del_lnk--> stable with 80 <a href="../../wp/n/Neutron.htm" title="Neutron">neutrons</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><sup>137</sup>Ba</td>
<td>11.23%</td>
<td colspan="4">Ba is <!--del_lnk--> stable with 81 <a href="../../wp/n/Neutron.htm" title="Neutron">neutrons</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><sup>138</sup>Ba</td>
<td>71.7%</td>
<td colspan="4">Ba is <!--del_lnk--> stable with 82 <a href="../../wp/n/Neutron.htm" title="Neutron">neutrons</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#ffdead; color:black"><!--del_lnk--> References</th>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Barium</b> (<!--del_lnk--> IPA: <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">/ˈbɛːriəm/</span>) is a <a href="../../wp/c/Chemical_element.htm" title="Chemical element">chemical element</a> in the <a href="../../wp/p/Periodic_table.htm" title="Periodic table">periodic table</a> that has the symbol <b>Ba</b> and <!--del_lnk--> atomic number 56. Barium is soft silvery <a href="../../wp/m/Metal.htm" title="Metal">metallic</a> <!--del_lnk--> alkaline earth metal. It is never found in nature in its pure form due to its <!--del_lnk--> reactivity with <a href="../../wp/e/Earth%2527s_atmosphere.htm" title="Earth's atmosphere">air</a>. Its oxide is historically known as <!--del_lnk--> baryta but it reacts with water and carbon dioxide and is not found as a mineral. The most common naturally occurring minerals are the very insoluble barium sulfate, BaSO<sub>4</sub> (<!--del_lnk--> barite), and barium <!--del_lnk--> carbonate, BaCO<sub>3</sub> (<!--del_lnk--> witherite).<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Notable_characteristics" name="Notable_characteristics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Notable characteristics</span></h2>
<p>Barium is a <a href="../../wp/m/Metal.htm" title="Metal">metallic</a> element that is chemically similar to <a href="../../wp/c/Calcium.htm" title="Calcium">calcium</a> but more reactive. This metal <!--del_lnk--> oxidizes very easily when exposed to air and is highly <!--del_lnk--> reactive with <!--del_lnk--> water or <a href="../../wp/a/Alcohol.htm" title="Alcohol">alcohol</a>, producing <a href="../../wp/h/Hydrogen.htm" title="Hydrogen">hydrogen</a> gas. Burning in <a href="../../wp/e/Earth%2527s_atmosphere.htm" title="Air">air</a> or <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a> produces not just <!--del_lnk--> barium oxide (BaO) but also the <!--del_lnk--> peroxide. Simple compounds of this heavy element are notable for their high <!--del_lnk--> specific gravity. This is true of the most common barium-bearing mineral, its <!--del_lnk--> sulfate <!--del_lnk--> barite BaSO<sub>4</sub>, also called 'heavy spar' due to the high density (4.5 g/cm³).<p><a id="Applications" name="Applications"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Applications</span></h2>
<p>Barium has some medical and many industrial uses:<ul>
<li>Barium compounds, and especially barite (BaSO4), are extremely important to the petroleum industry. Barite is used in <!--del_lnk--> drilling mud, a weighting agent in drilling new <!--del_lnk--> oil wells.<li><!--del_lnk--> Barium sulfate is also a good X-ray absorber, used in <!--del_lnk--> X-ray diagnostic work for obtaining images of the digestive system ("<!--del_lnk--> barium meals" and "<!--del_lnk--> barium enemas").<li><!--del_lnk--> Barium carbonate is a useful <!--del_lnk--> rat poison and can also be used in making <!--del_lnk--> bricks. Unlike the sulfate, the carbonate disolves in stomach acid, allowing it to be poisonous.<li>An alloy with <a href="../../wp/n/Nickel.htm" title="Nickel">nickel</a> is used in <!--del_lnk--> sparkplug wire.<li><!--del_lnk--> Barium oxide is used in a coating for the <!--del_lnk--> electrodes of <!--del_lnk--> fluorescent lamps, which facilitates the release of <a href="../../wp/e/Electron.htm" title="Electron">electrons</a>.<li>The metal is a "<!--del_lnk--> getter" in vacuum tubes, to remove the last traces of <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Barium carbonate is used in <a href="../../wp/g/Glass.htm" title="Glass">glassmaking</a>. Being a heavy element, barium increases the <!--del_lnk--> refractive index and luster of the glass.<li><!--del_lnk--> Barite is used extensively in <!--del_lnk--> rubber production.<li><!--del_lnk--> Barium nitrate and chlorate give green colors in fireworks.<li>Impure <!--del_lnk--> barium sulfide <!--del_lnk--> phosphoresces after exposure to the <a href="../../wp/l/Light.htm" title="Light">light</a>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Lithopone, a <a href="../../wp/p/Pigment.htm" title="Pigment">pigment</a> that contains <!--del_lnk--> barium sulfate and <!--del_lnk--> zinc sulfide, is a permanent white that has good covering power, and does not darken in when exposed to sulfides.<li>Barium peroxide can be used as a catalyst to start an <!--del_lnk--> aluminothermic reaction when welding rail tracks together. It can also be used in green <!--del_lnk--> tracer ammunition.</ul>
<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Barium (<!--del_lnk--> Greek "barys" meaning "heavy") was first identified in <!--del_lnk--> 1774 by <!--del_lnk--> Carl Scheele and extracted in <!--del_lnk--> 1808 by Sir <a href="../../wp/h/Humphry_Davy.htm" title="Humphry Davy">Humphry Davy</a> in <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>. The oxide was at first called barote, by <!--del_lnk--> Guyton de Morveau, which was changed by <a href="../../wp/a/Antoine_Lavoisier.htm" title="Antoine Lavoisier">Antoine Lavoisier</a> to baryta, from which "barium" was derived to describe the metal.<p><a id="Occurrence" name="Occurrence"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Occurrence</span></h2>
<p>Because barium quickly becomes oxidized in air, it is difficult to obtain this metal in its pure form. It is primarily found in and extracted from the <a href="../../wp/m/Mineral.htm" title="Mineral">mineral</a> <!--del_lnk--> barite which is crystalized barium sulfate. Barium is commercially produced through the <!--del_lnk--> electrolysis of molten <!--del_lnk--> barium chloride (BaCl<sub>2</sub>) <i>Isolation</i> (* follow):<br />
<dl>
<dd>(<!--del_lnk--> cathode) Ba<sup>2+</sup>* + 2<a href="../../wp/e/Electron.htm" title="Electron">e<sup>-</sup></a> → Ba (<!--del_lnk--> anode) Cl<sup>-</sup>* → ½Cl<sub>2</sub> (<a href="../../wp/g/Gas.htm" title="Gas">g</a>) + e<sup>-</sup></dl>
<p><a id="Compounds" name="Compounds"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Compounds</span></h2>
<p>The most important compounds are barium peroxide, barium chloride, <!--del_lnk--> sulfate, <!--del_lnk--> carbonate, <!--del_lnk--> nitrate, and <!--del_lnk--> chlorate.<p><a id="Isotopes" name="Isotopes"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Isotopes</span></h2>
<p>Naturally occurring barium is a mix of seven stable <!--del_lnk--> isotopes. There are twenty-two isotopes known, but most of these are highly <!--del_lnk--> radioactive and have <!--del_lnk--> half-lifes in the several millisecond to several minute range. The only notable exceptions are <sup>133</sup>Ba which has a half-life of 10.51 years, and <sup>137m</sup>Ba (2.6 minutes).<p><a id="Precautions" name="Precautions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Precautions</span></h2>
<p>All water or acid <!--del_lnk--> soluble barium compounds are extremely <!--del_lnk--> poisonous. At low doses, barium acts as a muscle stimulant, while higher doses affect the <!--del_lnk--> nervous system, causing cardiac irregularities, tremors, <!--del_lnk--> weakness, <!--del_lnk--> anxiety, <!--del_lnk--> dyspnea and <!--del_lnk--> paralysis. This may be due to its ability to block <!--del_lnk--> potassium ion channels which are critical to the proper function of the nervous system.<p><!--del_lnk--> Barium sulfate can be used in medicine only because it does not dissolve, and is eliminated completely from the digestive tract. Unlike other <!--del_lnk--> heavy metals, barium does not <!--del_lnk--> bioaccumulate. However, inhaled barium dust can accumulate in the lungs, a <!--del_lnk--> benign condition called <!--del_lnk--> baritosis.<p><!--del_lnk--> Oxidation occurs very easily and, to remain pure, barium should be kept under a petroleum-based fluid (such as <!--del_lnk--> kerosene) or other suitable <a href="../../wp/o/Oxygen.htm" title="Oxygen">oxygen</a>-free liquids that exclude air.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barium"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Caesium', 'Lanthanum', 'Strontium', 'Radium', 'List of elements by name', 'Color', 'Xenon', 'Electron', 'Phase (matter)', 'Magnetism', 'Mohs scale of mineral hardness', 'Neutron', 'Neutron', 'Caesium', 'Neutron', 'Neutron', 'Neutron', 'Neutron', 'Neutron', 'Chemical element', 'Periodic table', 'Metal', "Earth's atmosphere", 'Metal', 'Calcium', 'Alcohol', 'Hydrogen', 'Air', 'Oxygen', 'Nickel', 'Electron', 'Oxygen', 'Glass', 'Light', 'Pigment', 'Humphry Davy', 'England', 'Antoine Lavoisier', 'Mineral', 'Electron', 'Gas', 'Oxygen']
|
Barley
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Barley,Amaranth grain,Ancient Egypt,Australia,Awn,Barley (disambiguation),Barley mild mosaic bymovirus,Beans,Beer,Binomial nomenclature,Bran" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Barley</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Barley";
var wgTitle = "Barley";
var wgArticleId = 37994;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Barley">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Barley</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Food_and_agriculture.htm">Food and agriculture</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Plants.htm">Plants</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: lightgreen;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Barley</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1156.jpg.htm" title="Barley field"><img alt="Barley field" height="161" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barley.jpg" src="../../images/11/1156.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small>Barley field</small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: lightgreen;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/Plant.htm" title="Plant">Plantae</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Division:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Magnoliophyta<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Liliopsida<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Poales<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Poaceae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Hordeum</i><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>H. vulgare</b></i></span><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="lightgreen">
<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><b>Hordeum vulgare</b></i><br /><small><a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">L.</a></small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Barley</b> (<i>Hordeum vulgare</i>) is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family Poaceae. In 2005, barley ranked fourth in quantity produced and in area of cultivation of <a href="../../wp/c/Cereal.htm" title="Cereal">cereal</a> crops in the world (560,000 km²). Its <!--del_lnk--> germination time is anywhere from 1-3 days.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Cultivated barley (<i>H. vulgare</i>) is descended from <!--del_lnk--> wild barley (<i>Hordeum spontaneum</i>), which grows wild in the <a href="../../wp/m/Middle_East.htm" title="Middle East">Middle East</a>. Both forms are <!--del_lnk--> diploid (2n=14 <!--del_lnk--> chromosomes). As wild barley is interfertile with domesticated barley, the two forms are often treated as one species, divided into <i>Hordeum vulgare</i> subsp. <i>spontaneum</i> (wild) and subsp. <i>vulgare</i> (domesticated). The main difference between the two forms is the brittle <!--del_lnk--> rachis of the former, which enables seed dispersal in the wild. The earliest finds of wild barley come from Epi-<!--del_lnk--> Paleolithic sites in the <!--del_lnk--> Levant, beginning in the <!--del_lnk--> Natufian. The earliest domesticated barley occurs at Aceramic <!--del_lnk--> Neolithic sites such as the (PPN B) layers of <!--del_lnk--> Tell Abu Hureyra in <a href="../../wp/s/Syria.htm" title="Syria">Syria</a>. Barley was one of the <!--del_lnk--> first crops domesticated in the Near East, at the same time as <!--del_lnk--> einkorn and <!--del_lnk--> emmer wheat.<p>Barley was, alongside <!--del_lnk--> emmer wheat, a staple cereal of <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Egypt.htm" title="Ancient Egypt">ancient Egypt</a>, where it was used to make <a href="../../wp/b/Bread.htm" title="Bread">bread</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Beer.htm" title="Beer">beer</a>; together, these were a complete diet. The general name for barley is <i>jt</i> (hypothetically pronounced "eat"); <i>šma</i> (hypothetically pronounced "SHE-ma") refers to <!--del_lnk--> Upper Egyptian barley and is a symbol of Upper Egypt.<p>The ritual significance of barley in ancient Greece possibly dates back to the earliest stages of the <!--del_lnk--> Eleusinian Mysteries. The preparatory <i><!--del_lnk--> kykeon</i> or mixed drink of the initiates, prepared from barley and <!--del_lnk--> herbs, was referred to in the <!--del_lnk--> Homeric hymn to <!--del_lnk--> Demeter, who was also called "Barley-mother".<table style="float:right;clear:right;margin:0 0 1em 1em;">
<caption><b>Barley in <!--del_lnk--> Egyptian hieroglyphs</b></caption>
<tr>
<td><i>jt</i> barley <!--del_lnk--> determinative/<!--del_lnk--> ideogram</td>
<td>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="display:inline;">
<tr>
<td>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="middle"><img alt="M34" height="38px" src="../../images/395/39523.png" style="margin:1px;" title="M34" /></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>jt</i> (common) spelling</td>
<td>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="display:inline;">
<tr>
<td>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="middle"><img alt="i" height="38px" src="../../images/82/8239.png" style="margin:1px;" title="M17 [i]" /></td>
<td align="center" valign="middle"><img alt="t" height="11px" src="../../images/82/8241.png" style="margin:1px;" title="X1 [t]" /></td>
<td align="center" valign="middle"><img alt="U9" height="22px" src="../../images/395/39524.png" style="margin:1px;" title="U9" /><br /><img alt="M33" height="9px" src="../../images/395/39525.png" style="margin:1px;" title="M33" /></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><i>šma</i> determinative/ideogram</td>
<td>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="display:inline;">
<tr>
<td>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td align="center" valign="middle"><img alt="U9" height="22px" src="../../images/395/39524.png" style="margin:1px;" title="U9" /></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Greek practice was to dry the barley <!--del_lnk--> groats and roast them before preparing the porridge, according to <!--del_lnk--> Pliny the Elder's <i><!--del_lnk--> Natural History</i> (xviii.72). This produces <!--del_lnk--> malt that soon ferments and becomes slightly alcoholic.<p><!--del_lnk--> Tibetan barley has been the only major <!--del_lnk--> staple food in <a href="../../wp/t/Tibet.htm" title="Tibet">Tibet</a> for centuries.<p>Palaeoethnobotanists have found that barley has been grown in the Korean Peninsula since the Early <!--del_lnk--> Mumun Pottery Period (c. 1500-850 B.C.) along with other crops such as millet, wheat, and legumes.<p><a id="As_of_1881" name="As_of_1881"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">As of 1881</span></h3>
<p>According to the 1881 <i><!--del_lnk--> Household Cyclopedia</i>:<blockquote>
<p>Next to wheat the most valuable grain is barley, especially on light and sharp soils. It is a tender grain and easily hurt in any of the stages of its growth, particularly at seed time; a heavy shower of rain will then almost ruin a crop on the best prepared land; and in all the after processes greater pains and attention are required to ensure success than in the case of other grains. The harvest process is difficult, and often attended with danger; even the threshing of it is not easily executed with machines, because the <!--del_lnk--> awn generally adheres to the grain, and renders separation from the straw a troublesome task. Barley, in fact, is raised at greater expense than wheat, and generally speaking is a more hazardous crop. Except upon rich and genial soils, where climate will allow wheat to be perfectly reared, it ought not to be cultivated.<dl>
<dt>Preparation of ground</dl> Barley is chiefly taken after <!--del_lnk--> turnips, sometimes after <!--del_lnk--> peas and <!--del_lnk--> beans, but rarely by bad farmers either after wheat or <a href="../../wp/o/Oat.htm" title="Oat">oats</a>, unless under special circumstances. When sown after turnips it is generally taken with one furrow, which is given as fast as the turnips are consumed, the ground thus receiving much benefit from the spring frosts. But often two, or more furrows are necessary for the fields last consumed, because when a spring drought sets in, the surface, from being poached by the removal or consumption of the crop, gets so hardened as to render a greater quantity of ploughing, harrowing and rolling necessary than would otherwise be called for. When sown after beans and peas, one winter and one spring ploughing are usually bestowed: but when after wheat or oats, three ploughings are necessary, so that the ground may be put in proper condition. These operations are very ticklish in a wet and backward season, and rarely in that case is the grower paid for the expense of his labor. Where land is in such a situation as to require three ploughings before it can be seeded with barley, it is better to summer-fallow it at once than to run the risks which seldom fail to accompany a quantity of spring labor. If the weather be dry, moisture is lost during the different processes, and an imperfect braird necessarily follows; if it be wet the benefit of ploughing is lost, and all the evils of a wet seed time are sustained by the future crop.<br />
<br /> The quantity sown is different in different cases, according to the quality of the soil and other circumstances. Upon very rich lands eight pecks per acre [11 t/km²] are sometimes sown; twelve [16 t/km²] is very common, and upon poor land more is sometimes given.<br />
<br /> By good judges a quantity of seed is sown sufficient to ensure a full crop, without depending on its sending out offsets; indeed, where that is done few offsets are produced, the crop grows and ripens equally, and the grain is uniformly good.</blockquote>
<p><a id="Composition" name="Composition"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Composition</span></h3>
<p>The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) cites the following composition of barley meal according to <!--del_lnk--> Ernst von Bibra, omitting the salts:<table border="1">
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/w/Water.htm" title="Water">Water</a></td>
<td>15%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/n/Nitrogen.htm" title="Nitrogen">Nitrogenous compounds</a></td>
<td>12.981%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Gum</td>
<td>6.744%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/s/Sugar.htm" title="Sugar">Sugar</a></td>
<td>3.200%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Starch</td>
<td>59.950%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Fat</td>
<td>2.170%</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Production" name="Production"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Production</span></h2>
<table align="left" class="wikitable" style="clear:left">
<tr>
<th colspan="2"><b>Top Ten Barley Producers - 2005</b><br /><small>(million metric ton)</small></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/592.png.htm" title="Flag of Russia"><img alt="Flag of Russia" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Russia_%28bordered%29.svg" src="../../images/5/592.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a></td>
<td align="right">16.7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/187/18768.png.htm" title="Flag of Canada"><img alt="Flag of Canada" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg" src="../../images/7/738.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a></td>
<td align="right">12.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/538.png.htm" title="Flag of Germany"><img alt="Flag of Germany" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany.svg" src="../../images/5/538.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a></td>
<td align="right">11.7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="Flag of France"><img alt="Flag of France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></td>
<td align="right">10.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/7/745.png.htm" title="Flag of Ukraine"><img alt="Flag of Ukraine" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Ukraine.svg" src="../../images/7/745.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a></td>
<td align="right">9.3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/512.png.htm" title="Flag of Turkey"><img alt="Flag of Turkey" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Turkey.svg" src="../../images/5/512.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/t/Turkey.htm" title="Turkey">Turkey</a></td>
<td align="right">9.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/7/785.png.htm" title="Flag of Australia"><img alt="Flag of Australia" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Australia.svg" src="../../images/7/785.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a></td>
<td align="right">6.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title="Flag of United Kingdom"><img alt="Flag of United Kingdom" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/7/789.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a></td>
<td align="right">5.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/6/695.png.htm" title="Flag of United States"><img alt="Flag of United States" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" src="../../images/6/695.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a></td>
<td align="right">4.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/5/539.png.htm" title="Flag of Spain"><img alt="Flag of Spain" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Spain.svg" src="../../images/5/539.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a></td>
<td align="right">4.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>World Total</b></td>
<td align="right"><b>138</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size:90%;"><i>Source:<br /><!--del_lnk--> UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO)</i></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Barley was grown in about 100 countries worldwide in 2005. The world production in 1974 was 148,818,870 tonnes, showing little change in the amount of barley produced worldwide.<p><a id="Cultivars" name="Cultivars"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cultivars</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1157.jpg.htm" title="Barley"><img alt="Barley" height="249" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hordeum-barley.jpg" src="../../images/11/1157.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1157.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Barley</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Barley can be divided by the number of kernel rows in the head. Three forms have been cultivated; two-row barley (traditionally known as <i>Hordeum distichum</i>), four-row (<i>Hordeum tetrastichum</i>) and six-row barley (<i>Hordeum vulgare</i>). In two-row barley only one spikelet is fertile, in the four-row and six-row forms, all three are fertile.<p>Two-row barley is the oldest form, wild barley having two rows as well. Two-row barley has a lower protein content than six-row barley and thus a lower <!--del_lnk--> enzyme content. High protein barley is best suited for animal feed or malt that will be used to make beers with a large adjunct content. Two-row barley is traditionally used in English beers, Six-row barley is traditional in German and American beers. Four-row is unsuitable for brewing.<p>Barley is widely adaptable and is currently a major crop of the temperate and tropical areas.<p><a id="Uses" name="Uses"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Uses</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/98/9890.jpg.htm" title="Oats, barley, and some products made from them."><img alt="Oats, barley, and some products made from them." height="122" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Various_grains.jpg" src="../../images/11/1158.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/98/9890.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Oats, barley, and some products made from them.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Barley is a staple food for humans and other animals. It is more tolerant of soil salinity than wheat, which might explain the increase of barley cultivation on Mesopotamia from the 2nd millennium BC onwards. Barley can still thrive in conditions that are too cold even for <!--del_lnk--> rye.<p>Barley must have its fibrous outer hull removed before it can be eaten. Barley grains with their hulls still on are called <b>covered barley</b>. Once the grain has had the inedible hull removed, it is called <b>hulled barley</b>. At this stage, the grain still has its <a href="../../wp/b/Bran.htm" title="Bran">bran</a> and <!--del_lnk--> germ, which are nutritious. Hulled barley is considered a <!--del_lnk--> whole grain, and is a popular <!--del_lnk--> health food. <b>Pearl barley</b> or <b>pearled barley</b> is hulled barley which has been processed further to remove the bran. It may be polished, a process known as "pearling".<p>Hulled or pearl barley may be processed into a variety of barley products, including <!--del_lnk--> flour, flakes similar to <!--del_lnk--> oatmeal, and <!--del_lnk--> grits. It may be malted and used in the production of alcoholic beverages. <!--del_lnk--> Malting barley is a key ingredient in <a href="../../wp/b/Beer.htm" title="Beer">beer</a> and <!--del_lnk--> whiskey production. Two-row barley is traditionally used in German and English beers, and six-row barley in American beers.<p><a id="Plant_diseases" name="Plant_diseases"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Plant diseases</span></h2>
<p>This plant is known or likely to be <!--del_lnk--> susceptible to <!--del_lnk--> barley mild mosaic bymovirus.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barley"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Plant', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Carolus Linnaeus', 'Cereal', 'Middle East', 'Syria', 'Ancient Egypt', 'Bread', 'Beer', 'Tibet', 'Oat', 'Water', 'Nitrogen', 'Sugar', 'Russia', 'Canada', 'Germany', 'France', 'Ukraine', 'Turkey', 'Australia', 'United Kingdom', 'United States', 'Spain', 'Bran', 'Beer']
|
Barn_Owl
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Barn Owl,1769,1956,Animal,Animal Diversity Web,Antarctica,Australia,Binomial nomenclature,Bird,BrainMaps,Chordate" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Barn Owl</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Barn_Owl";
var wgTitle = "Barn Owl";
var wgArticleId = 244511;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Barn_Owl">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Barn Owl</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Birds.htm">Birds</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Barn Owl</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1160.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="146" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Schleiereule_fws.jpg" src="../../images/11/1160.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center">
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center; background:pink;">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /><br /><!--del_lnk--> Least Concern (LC)<small></small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Bird.htm" title="Bird">Aves</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/o/Owl.htm" title="Owl">Strigiformes</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Tytonidae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Tyto</i><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>T. alba</b></i></span><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><b>Tyto alba</b></i><br /><small>(<!--del_lnk--> Scopoli, <!--del_lnk--> 1769)</small></td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center; background:pink;">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Synonyms</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p><i>Strix alba</i> <small>Scopoli, 1769</small><br /><i>Lechusa stirtoni</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Miller, <!--del_lnk--> 1956</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Barn Owl</b> (<i>Tyto alba</i>) or, to distinguish it from relatives, <b>Common Barn Owl</b>, is an <a href="../../wp/o/Owl.htm" title="Owl">owl</a> in the <!--del_lnk--> barn owl <!--del_lnk--> family Tytonidae. This is one of the two groups of owls, the other being the <!--del_lnk--> typical owls Strigidae. (Any member of the family <!--del_lnk--> Tytonidae is sometimes referred to as a Barn Owl.)<p>These are pale, long-winged, long-legged owls, 33–39 cm in length with an 80–95 cm wingspan. They have an effortless wavering flight as they quarter pastures or similar hunting grounds.<p>There are a number of subspecies differing in underpart colour. For example, <i>T. a. alba</i> of western <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a> is almost pure white below, but <i>T.a. guttata</i> of central Europe is orange. The <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australian</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Melanesian and <!--del_lnk--> Pacific forms may constitute a separate species, the <b>Eastern Barn Owl</b>, <i>T. (alba) delicatula</i>. All races have grey and ochre upperparts.<p>These are <a href="../../wp/b/Bird.htm" title="Bird">birds</a> of open country such as farmland, preferentially hunting along the edges of woods. They are fairly sedentary and <!--del_lnk--> nocturnal or <!--del_lnk--> crepuscular.<p>Barn Owls occur worldwide, on every continent except <a href="../../wp/a/Antarctica.htm" title="Antarctica">Antarctica</a>. Sometimes they are called monkey-faced owls because of their appearance. Other common names are church owl, golden owl, rat owl, and stone owl.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/195/19513.jpg.htm" title="Barn Owl"><img alt="Barn Owl" height="232" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barn-owl_%28Racheeo%29.jpg" src="../../images/11/1161.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/195/19513.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Barn Owl</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Barn Owls feed on <a href="../../wp/v/Vole.htm" title="Vole">voles</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/Frog.htm" title="Frog">frogs</a> and <a href="../../wp/i/Insect.htm" title="Insect">insects</a>, but are economically valuable birds as they also prey on animal pests like rats, shrews, moles and mice.<p>Other than human persecution, they have few predators, although large owls such as the <a href="../../wp/e/Eurasian_Eagle_Owl.htm" title="Eurasian Eagle Owl">Eurasian Eagle Owl</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Great Horned Owl will kill smaller species if the opportunity arises. Farmers often encourage Barn Owl habitations for rodent control by providing nest sites such as a wooden nest box or a large drum installed sideways in a barn. An adult Barn Owl will eat approximately 3 mice per day. A pair raising 3-5 owlets will consume many more rodents.<p>Barn Owls have a notable <i>shreee</i> scream, ear-shattering at close range. They also hiss like steam kettles. When captured or cornered, they throw themselves on their backs and flail with sharp-taloned feet, an effective defence. Contrary to popular belief, they do not make the call "tu-whit to-whoo".<br clear="all" />
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1162.png.htm" title="Global distribution of Tyto alba."><img alt="Global distribution of Tyto alba." height="139" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tyto_alba_dis.png" src="../../images/11/1162.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1162.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Global distribution of <i>Tyto alba</i>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_Owl"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Bird', 'Owl', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Owl', 'Europe', 'Australia', 'Bird', 'Antarctica', 'Vole', 'Frog', 'Insect', 'Eurasian Eagle Owl']
|
Barnacle
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Barnacle,Animal,Arctic,Arthropod,Arthropoda,Barnacle (disambiguation),Barnacle Goose,Biofouling,Catholicism,Charles Darwin,Class (biology)" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Barnacle</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Barnacle";
var wgTitle = "Barnacle";
var wgArticleId = 159512;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Barnacle">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Barnacle</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Organisms.htm">Organisms</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Barnacle</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1163.jpg.htm" title=""Cirripedia" from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur (1904). The crab at the centre is nursing the externa of the parasitic cirripede Sacculina"><img alt=""Cirripedia" from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur (1904). The crab at the centre is nursing the externa of the parasitic cirripede Sacculina" height="336" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Haeckel_Cirripedia.jpg" src="../../images/11/1163.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small>"Cirripedia" from <!--del_lnk--> Ernst Haeckel's <i><!--del_lnk--> Kunstformen der Natur</i> (1904). The crab at the centre is nursing the externa of the parasitic cirripede <i><!--del_lnk--> Sacculina</i></small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Arthropoda<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Subphylum:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Crustacea<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Maxillopoda<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Subclass:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Thecostraca<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Infraclass:</td>
<td><b>Cirripedia</b><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Burmeister, 1834</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Superorders</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Acrothoracica<br /><!--del_lnk--> Thoracica<br /><!--del_lnk--> Rhizocephala</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>A <b>barnacle</b> is a type of <a href="../../wp/a/Arthropod.htm" title="Arthropod">arthropod</a> belonging to <!--del_lnk--> infraclass <b>Cirripedia</b> in the <!--del_lnk--> subphylum <!--del_lnk--> Crustacea and is hence distantly related to <!--del_lnk--> crabs and <!--del_lnk--> lobsters. Some authorities regard Cirripedia as a full <!--del_lnk--> class or <!--del_lnk--> subclass, and the orders listed at right are sometimes treated as <!--del_lnk--> superorders. Around 1,220 barnacle <!--del_lnk--> species are currently known. The name "Cirripedia" means "curl-footed".<p>Barnacles were first fully studied and classified by <a href="../../wp/c/Charles_Darwin.htm" title="Charles Darwin">Charles Darwin</a>, at the suggestion of his friend <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Dalton Hooker, in his quest to further his ongoing development of the theory of <a href="../../wp/e/Evolution.htm" title="Evolution">evolution</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Natural_selection.htm" title="Natural selection">natural selection</a>.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Life_cycle" name="Life_cycle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Life cycle</span></h2>
<p>Barnacles have two larval stages. The first is called the <!--del_lnk--> nauplius, which spends its time as part of the <!--del_lnk--> plankton, floating wherever the wind, <a href="../../wp/w/Wave.htm" title="Wave">waves</a>, <!--del_lnk--> currents, and <a href="../../wp/t/Tide.htm" title="Tide">tides</a> may take it, whilst eating and molting. This lasts for about two weeks until the second stage is reached. At this point the nauplius metamorphoses into a non-feeding, more strongly swimming <!--del_lnk--> cyprid larva. The cyprids settle down in an area where environmental cues indicate a safe and productive environment. If they don't, the larvae will die.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1164.jpg.htm" title="Balanus balanoides"><img alt="Balanus balanoides" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barnacles.jpg" src="../../images/11/1164.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1164.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Balanus balanoides</i></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>When an appropriate place is found, the cyprid larva cements itself headfirst to the surface and then undergoes <!--del_lnk--> metamorphosis into a juvenile barnacle. Typical barnacles develop six hard armor <!--del_lnk--> plates to surround and protect their bodies. For the rest of their lives they are cemented to the ground, using their feathery legs to capture plankton and <!--del_lnk--> gametes when spawning. They are usually found in the <!--del_lnk--> intertidal zone.<p>Once metamorphosis is over and they have reached their adult form, barnacles will continue to grow, but not <!--del_lnk--> molt. Instead, they grow by adding new material to the ends of their heavily calcified plates.<p>Like many <a href="../../wp/i/Invertebrate.htm" title="Invertebrate">invertebrates</a>, barnacles are <!--del_lnk--> hermaphroditic and alternate male and female roles over time. Barnacles have the longest penis in the animal kingdom, in proportion to their body length .<p>Barnacles often attach themselves to man-made structures, sometimes to the structure's detriment. Particularly in the case of ships, they are classified as <!--del_lnk--> fouling organisms.<p>However, some members of the class have quite a different mode of life. For example, members of the <!--del_lnk--> genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Sacculina</i> are <!--del_lnk--> parasitic on crabs.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Barnacle Goose gets its name from the ancient <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">European</a> belief that it grew from the <!--del_lnk--> gooseneck barnacle, <i>Pollicipes polymerus</i>; eggs and goslings of this bird were never seen because it bred in the remote <a href="../../wp/a/Arctic.htm" title="Arctic">Arctic</a>. Since barnacles are seafood, the Barnacle Goose was counted as a <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fish</a>, and could be eaten by <!--del_lnk--> Catholics on Fridays, when meat used to be forbidden.<p><a id="Classification" name="Classification"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Classification</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1165.jpg.htm" title="Balanidae, Mission Beach National Park, Queensland, Australia, 2002"><img alt="Balanidae, Mission Beach National Park, Queensland, Australia, 2002" height="130" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Seepocke_fg1.jpg" src="../../images/11/1165.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1165.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Balanidae, Mission Beach National Park, Queensland, Australia, 2002</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1166.jpg.htm" title="Corrosion caused partly by barnacles"><img alt="Corrosion caused partly by barnacles" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Corrosion.jpg" src="../../images/11/1166.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1166.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/c/Corrosion.htm" title="Corrosion">Corrosion</a> caused partly by barnacles</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>This article follows Martin and Davis in placing Cirripedia as an infraorder of <!--del_lnk--> Thecostraca and in the following classification of cirripedes down to the level of orders:<p>Infraclass <b>Cirripedia</b> <small><!--del_lnk--> Burmeister, 1834</small><ul>
<li>Superorder <!--del_lnk--> Acrothoracica <small>Gruvel, 1905</small><ul>
<li>Order <!--del_lnk--> Pygophora <small>Berndt, 1907</small><li>Order <!--del_lnk--> Apygophora <small>Berndt, 1907</small></ul>
<li>Superorder <!--del_lnk--> Rhizocephala <small>Müller, 1862</small><ul>
<li>Order <!--del_lnk--> Kentrogonida <small>Delage, 1884</small><li>Order <!--del_lnk--> Akentrogonida <small>Häfele, 1911</small></ul>
<li>Superorder <!--del_lnk--> Thoracica <small><a href="../../wp/c/Charles_Darwin.htm" title="Charles Darwin">Darwin</a>, 1854</small><ul>
<li>Order <!--del_lnk--> Pedunculata <small><!--del_lnk--> Lamarck, 1818</small><li>Order <!--del_lnk--> Sessilia <small>Lamarck, 1818</small></ul>
</ul>
<p><a id="Synonyms" name="Synonyms"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Synonyms</span></h2>
<p>Other names for this group of crustaceans include Thyrostraca, Cirrhopoda (meaning "tawny-footed"), Cirrhipoda, and Cirrhipedia.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnacle"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Arthropod', 'Charles Darwin', 'Evolution', 'Natural selection', 'Wave', 'Tide', 'Invertebrate', 'Europe', 'Arctic', 'Fish', 'Corrosion', 'Charles Darwin']
|
Baroque
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Baroque,18th century,Abstract art,Abstract expressionism,Academic art,Acireale,Allegory,Annibale Carracci,Antonio Vivaldi,Antonio da Correggio,António Vieira" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Baroque</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Baroque";
var wgTitle = "Baroque";
var wgArticleId = 3957;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Baroque">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Baroque</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Art.Art.htm">Art</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1167.jpg.htm" title="Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens. Dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint"><img alt="Adoration, by Peter Paul Rubens. Dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint" height="339" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Rubens_Adoration.jpg" src="../../images/11/1167.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1167.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Adoration,</i> by <a href="../../wp/p/Peter_Paul_Rubens.htm" title="Peter Paul Rubens">Peter Paul Rubens</a>. Dynamic figures spiral down around a void: draperies blow: a whirl of movement lit in a shaft of light, rendered in a free bravura handling of paint</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In the <!--del_lnk--> arts, <b>Baroque</b> is both a period and the style that dominated it. The Baroque style used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in <a href="../../wp/s/Sculpture.htm" title="Sculpture">sculpture</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Painting.htm" title="Painting">painting</a>, <a href="../../wp/l/Literature.htm" title="Literature">literature</a>, and <a href="../../wp/m/Music.htm" title="Music">music</a>. The style started around 1600 in <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> and spread to most of <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>. In music, the Baroque applies to the final period of dominance of imitative <!--del_lnk--> counterpoint, where different voices and instruments echo each other but at different pitches, sometimes inverting the echo, and even reversing thematic material.<p>The popularity and success of the "Baroque" was encouraged by the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholic Church</a> which had decided at the time of the <!--del_lnk--> Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in direct and emotional involvement. The aristocracy also saw the dramatic style of Baroque architecture and art as a means of impressing visitors and expressing triumphant power and control. Baroque palaces are built around an entrance sequence of courts, anterooms, grand staircases, and reception rooms of sequentially increasing magnificence. In similar profusions of detail, art, music, architecture, and literature inspired each other in the "Baroque" <!--del_lnk--> cultural movement as artists explored what they could create from repeated and varied patterns.<p>The word <i>baroque</i> derives from the ancient <a href="../../wp/p/Portuguese_language.htm" title="Portuguese language">Portuguese</a> <!--del_lnk--> noun "barroco" which is a <a href="../../wp/p/Pearl.htm" title="Pearl">pearl</a> that is not round but of unpredictable and elaborate shape. Hence, in informal usage, the word <i>baroque</i> can simply mean that something is "elaborate", with many details, without reference to the Baroque styles of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="A_contrast_with_the_classical" name="A_contrast_with_the_classical"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">A contrast with the classical</span></h2>
<p>Classical compositions, according to characterizations first elaborated by <!--del_lnk--> Heinrich Wölfflin, seek the unchanging truth behind appearances, expressed with simplicity and clarity: each constituent element is complete in itself.<p><a id="Evolution_of_the_Baroque" name="Evolution_of_the_Baroque"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Evolution of the Baroque</span></h2>
<p>In recent history, western European civilizations have faced three critical questions (in chronological order): Which religion to follow; which government to uphold; and how to bring equality to everyone. The matter of religion was resolved after <a href="../../wp/m/Martin_Luther.htm" title="Martin Luther">Martin Luther</a>, <a href="../../wp/j/John_Calvin.htm" title="John Calvin">John Calvin</a>, and others initiated a <!--del_lnk--> Protestant Reformation that gave many European monarchs an excuse to become more independent from <!--del_lnk--> The Holy Roman Empire. This led to a <!--del_lnk--> Counter Reformation by the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholic Church</a> which included a push for new forms of art that exalted the Church's holy position.<p>Beginning around the year 1600, the demands for new art resulted in what is now known as the Baroque. The canon promulgated at the <!--del_lnk--> Council of Trent (1545–63), by which the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholic Church</a> addressed the representational arts by demanding that paintings and sculptures in church contexts should speak to the illiterate rather than to the well-informed, is customarily offered as an inspiration of the Baroque, which appeared, however, a generation later. This turn toward a populist conception of the function of ecclesiastical art is seen by many <!--del_lnk--> art historians as driving the innovations of <!--del_lnk--> Caravaggio and the <!--del_lnk--> Carracci brothers, all of whom were working (and competing for commissions) in Rome at that time.<p>The appeal of Baroque style turned consciously from the witty, intellectual qualities of 16th century <!--del_lnk--> Mannerist art to a visceral appeal aimed at the senses. It employed an <!--del_lnk--> iconography that was direct, simple, obvious, and dramatic (<i>see the</i> Prometheus <i>sculpture below</i>). Baroque art drew on certain broad and heroic tendencies in <!--del_lnk--> Annibale Carracci and his circle, and found inspiration in other artists like <!--del_lnk--> Correggio and <!--del_lnk--> Caravaggio and <!--del_lnk--> Federico Barocci, nowadays sometimes termed 'proto-Baroque'.<p>Germinal ideas of the Baroque can also be found in the work of <!--del_lnk--> Michelangelo.<p>Some general parallels in music make the expression "Baroque music" useful. Contrasting phrase lengths, harmony and <!--del_lnk--> counterpoint ousted <!--del_lnk--> polyphony, and orchestral colour made a stronger appearance. (See <!--del_lnk--> Baroque music.) Similar fascination with simple, strong, dramatic expression in poetry, where clear, broad syncopated rhythms replaced the enknotted elaborated metaphysical similes employed by <!--del_lnk--> Mannerists such as <!--del_lnk--> John Donne and imagery that was strongly influenced by visual developments in painting, can be sensed in <a href="../../wp/j/John_Milton.htm" title="John Milton">John Milton</a>'s <i><!--del_lnk--> Paradise Lost,</i> a Baroque epic.<p>Though Baroque was superseded in many centers by the <a href="../../wp/r/Rococo.htm" title="Rococo">Rococo</a> style, beginning in France in the late 1720s, especially for interiors, paintings and the decorative arts, Baroque architecture remained a viable style until the advent of <a href="../../wp/n/Neoclassicism.htm" title="Neoclassicism">Neoclassicism</a> in the later 18th century. See the Neapolitan <!--del_lnk--> palace of Caserta, a Baroque palace (though in a chaste exterior) that was not even begun until 1752. Critics have given up talking about a "Baroque <i>period</i>."<p>In paintings, Baroque gestures are broader than Mannerist gestures: less ambiguous, less arcane and mysterious, more like the stage gestures of <a href="../../wp/o/Opera.htm" title="Opera">opera</a>, a major Baroque artform. Baroque poses depend on <i><!--del_lnk--> contrapposto</i> ("counterpoise"), the tension within the figures that moves the planes of shoulders and hips in counterdirections. It made the sculptures almost seem like they were about to move. See Bernini's <i>David</i> (<i>below, left</i>).<p>The dryer, chastened, less dramatic and coloristic, later stages of 18th century Baroque architectural style are often seen as a separate <b>Late Baroque</b> manifestation. (See <!--del_lnk--> Claude Perrault.) Academic characteristics in the neo-<!--del_lnk--> Palladian architectural style, epitomized by <!--del_lnk--> William Kent, are a parallel development in Britain and the British colonies: within doors, Kent's furniture designs are vividly influenced by the Baroque furniture of Rome and Genoa, hieratic tectonic sculptural elements meant never to be moved from their positions completing the wall elevation. Baroque is a style of unity imposed upon rich and massy detail.<p>The Baroque was defined by <!--del_lnk--> Heinrich Wölfflin as the age where the oval replaced the circle as the centre of composition, centralization replaced balance, and coloristic and "painterly" effects began to become more prominent. Art historians, often <!--del_lnk--> Protestant ones, have traditionally emphasized that the Baroque style evolved during a time in which the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholic Church</a> had to react against the many revolutionary cultural movements that produced a new science and new forms of <a href="../../wp/r/Religion.htm" title="Religion">religion</a>—the <!--del_lnk--> Reformation. It has been said that the monumental Baroque is a style that could give the <a href="../../wp/p/Pope.htm" title="Papacy">Papacy</a>, like <!--del_lnk--> secular absolute monarchies, a formal, imposing way of expression that could restore its prestige, at the point of becoming somehow symbolic of the <!--del_lnk--> Catholic Reformation. Whether this is the case or not, it was successfully developed in <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>, where Baroque architecture widely renewed the central areas with perhaps the most important urbanistic revision during this period of time.<p><a id="Baroque_visual_art" name="Baroque_visual_art"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Baroque visual art</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1169.jpg.htm" title="Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598: a moment caught in a dramatic action from a classical source, bursting from the picture plane in a sweeping diagonal perspective."><img alt="Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598: a moment caught in a dramatic action from a classical source, bursting from the picture plane in a sweeping diagonal perspective." height="174" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BarocciAeneas.jpg" src="../../images/11/1169.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1169.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Aeneas flees burning Troy,</i> <!--del_lnk--> Federico Barocci, 1598: a moment caught in a dramatic action from a classical source, bursting from the picture plane in a sweeping diagonal perspective.</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>A defining statement of what <i>Baroque</i> signifies in painting is provided by the series of paintings executed by <a href="../../wp/p/Peter_Paul_Rubens.htm" title="Peter Paul Rubens">Peter Paul Rubens</a> for <!--del_lnk--> Marie de Medici at the <!--del_lnk--> Luxembourg Palace in Paris (now at the <!--del_lnk--> Louvre) <!--del_lnk--> , in which a Catholic painter satisfied a Catholic patron: Baroque-era conceptions of monarchy, iconography, handling of paint, and compositions as well as the depiction of space and movement. There were highly diverse strands of Italian baroque painting, from <a href="../../wp/c/Caravaggio.htm" title="Caravaggio">Caravaggio</a> to <!--del_lnk--> Cortona; both approaching emotive dynamism with different styles. Another frequently cited work of Baroque art is <!--del_lnk--> Bernini's <i><!--del_lnk--> Saint Theresa in Ecstasy</i> for the Cornaro chapel in S. Maria della Vittoria, which brings together architecture, sculpture, and theatre into one grand conceit <!--del_lnk--> .<p>The later Baroque style gradually gave way to a more decorative <a href="../../wp/r/Rococo.htm" title="Rococo">Rococo</a>, which, through contrast, further defines Baroque.<p><a id="Baroque_sculpture" name="Baroque_sculpture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Baroque sculpture</span></h2>
<p>In Baroque sculpture, groups of figures assumed new importance, and there was a dynamic movement and energy of human forms— they spiralled around an empty central vortex, or reached outwards into the surrounding space. For the first time, Baroque sculpture often had multiple ideal viewing angles. The characteristic Baroque sculpture added extra-sculptural elements, for example, concealed lighting, or water <!--del_lnk--> fountains.<p>The architecture, sculpture and fountains of <!--del_lnk--> Bernini (1598–1680) give highly charged characteristics of Baroque style. Bernini was undoubtedly the most important sculptor of the Baroque period. He approached <!--del_lnk--> Michelangelo in his omnicompetence: Bernini sculpted, worked as an architect, painted, wrote plays, and staged spectacles. In the late 20th century Bernini was most valued for his sculpture, both for his virtuosity in carving marble and his ability to create figures that combine the physical and the spiritual. He was also a fine sculptor of bust portraits in high demand among the powerful.<p><a id="Bernini.27s_Cornaro_chapel:_the_complete_work_of_art" name="Bernini.27s_Cornaro_chapel:_the_complete_work_of_art"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Bernini's Cornaro chapel: the complete work of art</span></h3>
<p>A good example of Bernini's work that helps us understand the Baroque is his <i><!--del_lnk--> St. Theresa in Ecstasy</i> (1645–52), created for the Cornaro Chapel of the church of <!--del_lnk--> Santa Maria della Vittoria, <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>. Bernini designed the entire chapel, a subsidiary space along the side of the church, for the Cornaro family.<p>He had, in essence, a brick box shaped something like a proscenium stage space with which to work. Saint Theresa, the focal point of the chapel, is a monochromatic marble statue (a soft white) surrounded by a polychromatic marble architectural framing concealing a window to light the statue from above. In shallow relief, sculpted figure-groups of the Cornaro family inhabit in opera boxes along the two side walls of the chapel. The setting places the viewer as a spectator in front of the statue with the Cornaro family leaning out of their box seats and craning forward to see the mystical ecstasy of the saint. St. <!--del_lnk--> Theresa is highly idealized in detail and in an imaginary setting. St. <!--del_lnk--> Theresa of Avila, a popular saint of the <!--del_lnk--> Catholic Reformation, wrote narratives of her mystical experiences aimed at the nuns of her <!--del_lnk--> Carmelite Order; these writings had become popular reading among lay people interested in pursuing spirituality. She once described the love of God as piercing her heart like a burning arrow. Bernini literalizes this image by placing St. Theresa on a cloud in a reclining pose; what can only be described as a Cupid figure holds a golden arrow (the arrow is made of metal) and smiles down at her. The angelic figure is not preparing to plunge the arrow into her heart— rather, he has withdrawn it. St. Theresa's face reflects not the anticipation of ecstasy, but her current fulfillment, which has been described as orgasmic.<p>The blending of religious and erotic was intensely offensive to both neoclassical restraint and, later, to Victorian prudishness; it is part of the genius of the Baroque. Bernini, who in life and writing was a devout Catholic, is not attempting to satirize the experience of a <!--del_lnk--> chaste nun, but to embody in marble a complex truth about religious experience— that it is an experience that takes place in the body. Theresa described her bodily reaction to spiritual enlightenment in a language of ecstasy used by many mystics, and Bernini's depiction is earnest.<p>The Cornaro family promotes itself discreetly in this chapel; they are represented visually, but are placed on the sides of the chapel, witnessing the event from balconies. As in an <!--del_lnk--> opera house, the Cornaro have a privileged position in respect to the viewer, in their private reserve, closer to the saint; the viewer, however, has a better view from the front. They attach their name to the chapel, but St. Theresa is the focus. It is a private chapel in the sense that no one could say mass on the altar beneath the statue (in 17th century and probably through the 19th) without permission from the family, but the only thing that divides the viewer from the image is the altar rail. The spectacle functions both as a demonstration of mysticism and as a piece of family pride.<p><a id="Baroque_architecture" name="Baroque_architecture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Baroque architecture</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/115/11539.jpg.htm" title="Ludwigsburg Palace near Stuttgart, Germany's largest Baroque Palace"><img alt="Ludwigsburg Palace near Stuttgart, Germany's largest Baroque Palace" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Residenzschloss_Ludwigsburg.jpg" src="../../images/11/1170.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/115/11539.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Ludwigsburg Palace near Stuttgart, Germany's largest Baroque Palace</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1171.jpg.htm" title="Melk, Wachau"><img alt="Melk, Wachau" height="187" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stift_melk_001_2004.jpg" src="../../images/11/1171.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1171.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Melk, Wachau</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>In Baroque architecture, new emphasis was placed on bold massing, <!--del_lnk--> colonnades, <!--del_lnk--> domes, light-and-shade (<i><!--del_lnk--> chiaroscuro</i>), 'painterly' colour effects, and the bold play of volume and void. In interiors, Baroque movement around and through a void informed monumental staircases that had no parallel in previous architecture. The other Baroque innovation in worldly interiors was the state apartment, a processional sequence of increasingly rich interiors that culminated in a presence chamber or throne room or a state bedroom. The sequence of monumental stairs followed by a state apartment was copied in smaller scale everywhere in aristocratic dwellings of any pretensions.<p>Baroque architecture was taken up with enthusiasm in central <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> (see e.g. <!--del_lnk--> Ludwigsburg Palace and <!--del_lnk--> Zwinger Dresden), <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austria</a> and <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a> (see e.g. <!--del_lnk--> Peterhof and <!--del_lnk--> Catherine Palace). In <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a> the culmination of Baroque architecture was embodied in work by Sir <a href="../../wp/c/Christopher_Wren.htm" title="Christopher Wren">Christopher Wren</a>, Sir <a href="../../wp/j/John_Vanbrugh.htm" title="John Vanbrugh">John Vanbrugh</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Nicholas Hawksmoor, from ca. 1660 to ca. 1725. Many examples of Baroque architecture and town planning are found in other European towns, and in Latin America. Town planning of this period featured radiating avenues intersecting in squares, which took cues from <!--del_lnk--> Baroque garden plans.In Sicily, Baroque developed new shapes and themes as in Noto and <!--del_lnk--> Acireale "Basilica di San Sebastiano"<p><a id="Baroque_theater_and_dance" name="Baroque_theater_and_dance"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Baroque theatre and dance</span></h2>
<p>In theatre, the elaborate conceits, multiplicity of plot turns, and variety of situations characteristic of <!--del_lnk--> Mannerism (<a href="../../wp/w/William_Shakespeare.htm" title="William Shakespeare">Shakespeare's tragedies</a>, for instance) are superseded by <a href="../../wp/o/Opera.htm" title="Opera">opera</a>, which drew together all the arts in a unified whole.<p>Theatre evolves in the Baroque era and becomes a <!--del_lnk--> multimedia experience, starting with the actual architectural space. It is during this era that most of the technologies that we currently see in current Broadway or commercial plays were invented and developed. The stage changes from a romantic garden to the interior of a palace in a matter of seconds. The entire space becomes a framed selected area that only allows the users to see a specific action, hiding all the machinery and technology - mostly ropes and pulleys.<p>This technology affects the CONTENT of the narrated or performed pieces, practicing at its best the <!--del_lnk--> Deus ex Machina solution. Gods were finally able to come down - literally - from the heavens and rescue the hero in the most extreme and dangerous, even absurd situations.<p>The term Theatrum Mundi - the world is a stage - was also created. The social and political realm in the real world is manipulated in exactly the same way the actor and the machines are presenting/limiting what is being presented on stage, hiding selectiveley all the machinery that makes the actions happen. There is a wonderful german documentary called Theatrum Mundi that clearly portrays the political extents of the Baroque and its main representative, <!--del_lnk--> Louis XIV.<p>Watch movies like <!--del_lnk--> Vatel, <!--del_lnk--> Farinelli, and the wonderful staging of <!--del_lnk--> Monteverdi's Orpheus at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona to see some wonderful recreations of this time period. <!--del_lnk--> William Christie, American, and <!--del_lnk--> Les Arts Florissants have performed an extensive research on all the French Baroque Opera, performing pieces from <!--del_lnk--> Charpentier and <!--del_lnk--> Lully, among others that are extemelly faithful to the original 17th century creations.<p><!--del_lnk--> Dance was popular in the Baroque era.<p><a id="Baroque_literature_and_philosophy" name="Baroque_literature_and_philosophy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Baroque literature and philosophy</span></h2>
<p>Baroque actually expressed new values, which often are summarized in the use of <!--del_lnk--> metaphor and <!--del_lnk--> allegory, widely found in Baroque literature, and in the research for the "maraviglia" (wonder, astonishment — as in <!--del_lnk--> Marinism), the use of artifices. If Mannerism was a first breach with Renaissance, Baroque was an opposed language. The <i>psychological pain of Man</i> -- a theme disbanded after the <a href="../../wp/n/Nicolaus_Copernicus.htm" title="Nicolaus Copernicus">Copernican</a> and the <a href="../../wp/m/Martin_Luther.htm" title="Martin Luther">Lutheran</a> revolutions in search of solid anchors, a proof of an "ultimate human power" -- was to be found in both the art and architecture of the Baroque period. A relevant part of works was made on religious themes, since the Roman Church was the main "customer."<p>Virtuosity was researched by artists (and the <!--del_lnk--> virtuoso became a common figure in any art) together with <!--del_lnk--> realism and care for details (some talk of a typical "intricacy").<p>The privilege given to external forms had to compensate and balance the lack of content that has been observed in many Baroque works: <!--del_lnk--> Marino's "<!--del_lnk--> Maraviglia", for example, is practically made of the pure, mere form. Fantasy and imagination should be evoked in the spectator, in the reader, in the listener. All was focused around the individual Man, as a straight relationship between the artist, or directly the art and its user, its client. Art is then less distant from user, more directly approaching him, solving the cultural gap that used to keep art and user reciprocally far, by Maraviglia. But the increased attention to the individual, also created in these schemes some important genres like the <i>Romanzo</i> (<a href="../../wp/n/Novel.htm" title="Novel">novel</a>) and let popular or local forms of art, especially dialectal literature, to be put into evidence. In <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> this movement toward the single individual (that some define a "cultural descent", while others indicate it was a possible cause for the classical opposition to Baroque) caused <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a> to be definitely replaced by Italian.<p>In Spain, the baroque writers are framed in the <!--del_lnk--> <i>Siglo de Oro</i>. Naturalism and sharp criticist points of view about Spanish society are common in the <i>conceptista</i> writers like <!--del_lnk--> Quevedo, while <i>culterano</i> authors emphasize the importance of form with complicated images and the use of hyperbaton. Theatre was extensively developed by authors like <!--del_lnk--> Lope de Vega and <!--del_lnk--> Calderón de la Barca. Overall, <a href="../../wp/m/Miguel_de_Cervantes.htm" title="Miguel de Cervantes">Cervantes</a> is considered the most complete author of <!--del_lnk--> Spanish literature due to his main work, <i><!--del_lnk--> Don Quixote</i>.<p>In the <!--del_lnk--> Portuguese Empire the most famous baroque writer of the time was <!--del_lnk--> Father António Vieira ,a <!--del_lnk--> Jesuit who lived in <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a> during the <a href="../../wp/1/18th_century.htm" title="18th century">18th century</a>. Secondary writers are <!--del_lnk--> Gregório de Matos and <!--del_lnk--> Francisco Rodrigues Lobo.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> English literature, the <!--del_lnk--> metaphysical poets represent a closely related movement; their poetry likewise sought unusual metaphors, which they then examined in often extensive detail. Their verse also manifests a taste for paradox, and deliberately inventive and unusual turns of phrase.<p><a id="Baroque_music" name="Baroque_music"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Baroque music</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The term <i>Baroque</i> is also used to designate the style of music composed during a period that overlaps with that of Baroque art, but usually encompasses a slightly later period. <a href="../../wp/j/Johann_Sebastian_Bach.htm" title="Johann Sebastian Bach">J.S. Bach</a> and <!--del_lnk--> G.F. Handel are often considered its culminating figures.<p>It is a still-debated question as to what extent Baroque music shares aesthetic principles with the visual and literary arts of the Baroque period. A fairly clear, shared element is a love of ornamentation, and it is perhaps significant that the role of ornament was greatly diminished in both music and architecture as the Baroque gave way to the Classical period.<p>It should be noted that the application of the term "Baroque" to music is a relatively recent development. The first use of the word "Baroque" in music was only in 1919, by <!--del_lnk--> Curt Sachs, and it was not until 1940 that it was first used in English (in an article published by <!--del_lnk--> Manfred Bukofzer). Even as late as 1960 there was still considerable dispute in academic circles over whether music as diverse as that by <!--del_lnk--> Jacopo Peri, <!--del_lnk--> François Couperin and J.S. Bach could be meaningfully bundled together under a single stylistic term.<p><a href="../../wp/o/Opera.htm" title="Opera">Opera</a> was born during the Baroque era out of the experimentation of the <!--del_lnk--> Florentine Camerata, the creators of <!--del_lnk--> monody, who attempted to recreate the theatrical arts of the ancient Greeks. Indeed, it is exactly that development which is often used to denote the beginning of the musical Baroque, around 1600.<p><a id="Typical_Instruments" name="Typical_Instruments"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Typical Instruments</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Baroque violin<li><!--del_lnk--> Viola d'amore<li><!--del_lnk--> Viola da gamba<li><!--del_lnk--> Harpsichord<li><!--del_lnk--> Baroque oboe<li><!--del_lnk--> Baroque trumpet<li><!--del_lnk--> Lute<li><!--del_lnk--> Organ</ul>
<p><a id="Examples_of_Baroque_music" name="Examples_of_Baroque_music"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Examples of Baroque music</span></h3>
<p>(In chronological order.)<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) <i><!--del_lnk--> Vespers</i> (1610)<li><!--del_lnk--> Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672), <i>Symphoniae Sacrae</i> (1629, 1647, 1650)<li><a href="../../wp/j/Johann_Pachelbel.htm" title="Johann Pachelbel">Johann Pachelbel</a> (1653–1706), <i><!--del_lnk--> Canon in D</i> (1680)<li><!--del_lnk--> Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687) <i><!--del_lnk--> Armide</i> (1686)<li><a href="../../wp/h/Henry_Purcell.htm" title="Henry Purcell">Henry Purcell</a> (1659–1689) <i><a href="../../wp/d/Dido_and_Aeneas.htm" title="Dido and Aeneas">Dido and Aeneas</a></i> (1687)<li><a href="../../wp/a/Antonio_Vivaldi.htm" title="Antonio Vivaldi">Antonio Vivaldi</a> (1678–1741), <i>L'Estro Armonico</i> (1711)<li><!--del_lnk--> George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), <i><!--del_lnk--> Water Music Suite</i> (1717)<li><!--del_lnk--> Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757), <!--del_lnk--> Sonatas for Cembalo or Harpsichord<li><!--del_lnk--> Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764) <i><!--del_lnk--> Dardanus</i> (1739)<li><a href="../../wp/j/Johann_Sebastian_Bach.htm" title="Johann Sebastian Bach">Johann Sebastian Bach</a> (1685–1750), <i><!--del_lnk--> The Art of Fugue</i> (1749)<li><!--del_lnk--> Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), <i>Der Tag des Gerichts</i> ("The Day of Judgement") (1762)</ul>
<p><a id="The_term_.22Baroque.22" name="The_term_.22Baroque.22"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The term "Baroque"</span></h2>
<p>The word "Baroque", like most <!--del_lnk--> period or stylistic designations, was invented by later <!--del_lnk--> critics rather than practitioners of the arts in the 17th and early 18th centuries. It is a <a href="../../wp/f/French_language.htm" title="French language">French</a> translation of the <a href="../../wp/p/Portuguese_language.htm" title="Portuguese language">Portuguese</a> word "Barroco". It means an irregular <a href="../../wp/p/Pearl.htm" title="Pearl">pearl</a>, or false jewel—notably, an ancient similar word, "Barlocco" or "Brillocco", is used in <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Roman</a> <!--del_lnk--> dialect for the same meaning—and natural pearls that deviate from the usual, regular forms so they do not have an <!--del_lnk--> axis of rotation are known as "baroque pearls". Alternatively, it may derive from the now obsolete <!--del_lnk--> Italian "Baroco" (meaning, in logical <i>Scholastica</i>, a <!--del_lnk--> syllogism with weak content). A common definition, before the term <i>Barocco</i> was used, called this genre simply the style of <b>The Flying Forms</b>.<p>The term "Baroque" was initially used with a derogatory meaning, to underline the excesses of its emphasis, of its eccentric redundancy, its noisy abundance of details, as opposed to the clearer and sober rationality of the Renaissance. It was first rehabilitated by the <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Swiss-born</a> <!--del_lnk--> art historian, <!--del_lnk--> Heinrich Wölfflin (1864–1945) in his <i>Renaissance und Barock</i> (1888); Wölfflin identified the Baroque as "movement imported into mass," an art antithetic to <a href="../../wp/r/Renaissance.htm" title="Renaissance">Renaissance</a> art. He did not make the distinctions between <!--del_lnk--> Mannerism and Baroque that modern writers do, and he ignored the later phase, the academic Baroque that lasted into the 18th century. Writers in French and English did not begin to treat Baroque as a respectable study until Wölfflin's influence had made German scholarship pre-eminent.<p>In modern usage, the term "Baroque" may still be used, usually pejoratively, to describe works of art, craft, or design that are thought to have excessive ornamentation or complexity of line, or, as a <!--del_lnk--> synonym for "<!--del_lnk--> Byzantine", to describe literature, computer programs, contracts, or laws that are thought to be excessively complex, indirect, or obscure in language, to the extent of concealing or confusing their meaning. A "Baroque fear" is deeply felt, but utterly beyond daily reality.<p><a id="Modern_usage" name="Modern_usage"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Modern usage</span></h2>
<p>In contemporary culture the term "baroque" is also commonly used to describe any artistic style that could be extremely elaborate, ornamented or adorned. In reality, the modern usage of baroque has nothing or very little to do with classic baroque, even though many people are unaware of the distinction.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Peter Paul Rubens', 'Sculpture', 'Painting', 'Literature', 'Music', 'Rome', 'Italy', 'Europe', 'Roman Catholic Church', 'Portuguese language', 'Pearl', 'Martin Luther', 'John Calvin', 'Roman Catholic Church', 'Roman Catholic Church', 'John Milton', 'Rococo', 'Neoclassicism', 'Opera', 'Roman Catholic Church', 'Religion', 'Papacy', 'Rome', 'Peter Paul Rubens', 'Caravaggio', 'Rococo', 'Rome', 'Germany', 'Austria', 'Russia', 'England', 'Christopher Wren', 'John Vanbrugh', 'William Shakespeare', 'Opera', 'Nicolaus Copernicus', 'Martin Luther', 'Novel', 'Italy', 'Latin', 'Miguel de Cervantes', 'Brazil', '18th century', 'Johann Sebastian Bach', 'Opera', 'Johann Pachelbel', 'Henry Purcell', 'Dido and Aeneas', 'Antonio Vivaldi', 'Johann Sebastian Bach', 'French language', 'Portuguese language', 'Pearl', 'Rome', 'Switzerland', 'Renaissance']
|
Barracuda
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Barracuda,Actinopterygii,Albert Günther,Animal,Archipelago,Artificial,Atlantic,Australian barracuda,Barbados,Barracuda (disambiguation),Bermudas" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Barracuda</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Barracuda";
var wgTitle = "Barracuda";
var wgArticleId = 442884;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Barracuda">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Barracuda</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Insects_Reptiles_and_Fish.htm">Insects, Reptiles and Fish</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Barracudas</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1172.jpg.htm" title="Great barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda, with prey"><img alt="Great barracuda, Sphyraena barracuda, with prey" height="163" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barracuda_with_prey.jpg" src="../../images/11/1172.jpg" width="250" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small><!--del_lnk--> Great barracuda, <i>Sphyraena barracuda</i>, with prey</small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Actinopterygii<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Perciformes<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><b>Sphyraenidae</b><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><b>Sphyraena</b></i><br /><small>Klein, 1778</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Species</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p>See text.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Barracudas</b> are <!--del_lnk--> ray-finned fishes notable for their large size (up to 1.8 m or 6 ft) and fearsome appearance. The body is long, fairly compressed, and covered with small, smooth <!--del_lnk--> scales. They are found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. Their genus <i><b>Sphyraena</b></i> is the only genus in the family <b>Sphyraenidae</b>.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Appearance_and_physical_description" name="Appearance_and_physical_description"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Appearance and physical description</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1173.jpg.htm" title="Great barracuda hovering in the current at the Paradise Reef, Cozumel, Mexico."><img alt="Great barracuda hovering in the current at the Paradise Reef, Cozumel, Mexico." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Barracuda_laban.jpg" src="../../images/11/1173.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1173.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Great barracuda hovering in the current at the Paradise Reef, <!--del_lnk--> Cozumel, <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexico</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Barracudas are elongated <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fish</a> with powerful <!--del_lnk--> jaws. The lower jaw of the large <!--del_lnk--> mouth juts out beyond the upper. Barracudas possess strong, <!--del_lnk--> fang-like teeth. These are unequal in size and set in <!--del_lnk--> sockets in the jaws on the roof of the mouth. The head is quite large and is pointed and <!--del_lnk--> pike-like in appearance. The gill-covers do not have spines and are covered with small scales. The two <!--del_lnk--> dorsal fins are widely separated, with the first having five spines and the second having one spine and nine soft rays. The second dorsal fin equals the anal fin in size and is situated more or less above it. The <!--del_lnk--> lateral line is prominent and extends straight from head to tail. The spinous dorsal fin is placed above the pelvics. The hind end of the <!--del_lnk--> caudal fin is forked or <!--del_lnk--> concave. It is set at the end of a <!--del_lnk--> stout <!--del_lnk--> peduncle. The <!--del_lnk--> pectoral fins are placed low down on the sides. The barracuda <!--del_lnk--> swim bladder is large.<p>In general, the barracuda's coloration is dark green or grey above chalky-white below. This varies somewhat. Sometimes there is a row of darker cross-bars or black spots on each side. The fins may be yellowish or dusky.<p><a id="Order_and_suborder" name="Order_and_suborder"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Order and suborder</span></h2>
<p>Barracudas belong to the great order of <!--del_lnk--> Perch-like fish, <!--del_lnk--> Perciformes. Along with the smaller grey mullets and sand smelts or atherines, barracudas form the suborder known as mugiloids. Members of this group are distinguished from the Percoids by the backward position of the pelvic fins, which are located well behind the <!--del_lnk--> pectorals.<p><a id="Behavior" name="Behavior"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Behaviour</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1174.jpg.htm" title="Scuba diver inside a school of sawtooth barracudas in Koh Tao, Thailand."><img alt="Scuba diver inside a school of sawtooth barracudas in Koh Tao, Thailand." height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Diver_in_school_of_barracudas.jpg" src="../../images/11/1174.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1174.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Scuba diver inside a school of <!--del_lnk--> sawtooth barracudas in <!--del_lnk--> Koh Tao, <a href="../../wp/t/Thailand.htm" title="Thailand">Thailand</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Barracudas occur both singly and in <!--del_lnk--> schools around reefs, but also appear in open seas. They are voracious <!--del_lnk--> predators and hunt using a classic example of lie-in-wait or ambush. They rely on surprise and short bursts of speed (up to 27mph) to overrun their prey, sacrificing maneuverability.<p>The larger barracuda are more or less solitary in their habits. Young and half-grown fish frequently congregate in shoals. Their food is composed almost totally of fishes of all kinds. Large barracudas, when gorged, may attempt to hoard a shoal of prey fish in shallow water, where they guard over them until they are ready for another meal.<p><a id="Barracudas_and_Humans" name="Barracudas_and_Humans"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Barracudas and Humans</span></h3>
<p>Like <a href="../../wp/s/Shark.htm" title="Shark">sharks</a>, barracudas have long had a bad reputation as being dangerous to humans. However, unprovoked attacks on humans are extremely rare and millions of <!--del_lnk--> scuba divers, <!--del_lnk--> snorkelers and swimmers spend time with them in the water without any incidents. Barracudas sometimes do follow snorkelers and scuba divers across a reef, which can make one feel uncomfortable, but they are harmless unless provoked. Because barracudas have a scavenger-like tendency, it has been theorized that barracudas tend to follow snorkelers because they believe that the snorkeler(s) might be a large predator(s) and if they were to capture prey it would be easy for the barracudas to scavenge whatever may be left behind.<p>Being formidable hunters, they should be respected, as barracudas are perfectly capable of defending themselves against humans that harass them. Handfeeding or trying to touch them is strongly discouraged. <!--del_lnk--> Spearfishing around barracudas can also be quite dangerous, as they are strongly attracted by the wounded fish.<p>There have been isolated cases where barracudas did bite a human thinking that part of it was a fish, but these incidents are rare and are believed to be caused by bad visibility. Barracudas will stop after the first bite as humans are not their normal food source.<p><a id="As_food" name="As_food"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">As food</span></h2>
<p>They are caught as food and game fish. They are most often eaten as fillet or steak and have a strong taste like <a href="../../wp/t/Tuna.htm" title="Tuna">tuna</a> or <!--del_lnk--> salmon. Larger species, like the great barracuda, have in some areas been implicated in cases of <!--del_lnk--> ciguatera food poisoning.<p><a id="Fishing" name="Fishing"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Fishing</span></h2>
<p>Barracudas are caught using <a href="../../wp/f/Fishing.htm" title="Fishing">fishing</a> <!--del_lnk--> nets of various types along with <!--del_lnk--> trolling with lines baited with fish or other prey. The acute inquisitiveness of barracudas, together with their possessing hearty appetites, means that they will readily bite at <!--del_lnk--> artificial lures made up of <!--del_lnk--> feathers, pieces of colored <!--del_lnk--> rag, etc. Trolling for barracuda is a favorite sport on the coast of <a href="../../wp/f/Florida.htm" title="Florida">Florida</a>. Here they are also caught on <!--del_lnk--> rod and <!--del_lnk--> line from <!--del_lnk--> stationary <!--del_lnk--> boats. The record for a hook and line caught great barracuda is 1.7 meter (5.5 ft), weighing 44 kilogram (103 lbs).<p><a id="Species" name="Species"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Species</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1175.jpg.htm" title="A school of sawtooth barracudas, Sphyraena putnamae in Bora Bora."><img alt="A school of sawtooth barracudas, Sphyraena putnamae in Bora Bora." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:School_of_barracuda.JPG" src="../../images/11/1175.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1175.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A school of <!--del_lnk--> sawtooth barracudas, <i>Sphyraena putnamae</i> in <!--del_lnk--> Bora Bora.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1176.jpg.htm" title="Northern sennet, Sphyraena borealis"><img alt="Northern sennet, Sphyraena borealis" height="49" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sphyraena_borealis.jpg" src="../../images/11/1176.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1176.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Northern sennet, <i>Sphyraena borealis</i></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>There are 26 species:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Sharpfin barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena acutipinnis</i> <small>Day, 1876</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Guinean barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena afra</i> <small>Peters, 1844</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Pacific barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena argentea</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Girard, 1854</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Great barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena barracuda</i> <small>(<!--del_lnk--> Walbaum, 1792)</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Northern sennet, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena borealis</i> <small>DeKay, 1842</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Yellowstripe barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena chrysotaenia</i> <small>Klunzinger, 1884</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Mexican barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena ensis</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Jordan & Gilbert, 1882</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Yellowtail barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena flavicauda</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Rüppell, 1838</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Bigeye barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena forsteri</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Cuvier, 1829</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Guachanche barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena guachancho</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Cuvier, 1829</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Heller's barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena helleri</i> <small>Jenkins, 1901</small>.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena iburiensis</i> <small>Doiuchi & Nakabo, 2005</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Pelican barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena idiastes</i> <small>Heller & Snodgrass, 1903</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Japanese barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena japonica</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Cuvier, 1829</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Pickhandle barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena jello</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Cuvier, 1829</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Lucas barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena lucasana</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Gill, 1863</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Australian barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena novaehollandiae</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Günther, 1860</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Obtuse barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena obtusata</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Cuvier, 1829</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Southern sennet, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena picudilla</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Poey, 1860</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Red barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena pinguis</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Günther, 1874</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Sawtooth barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena putnamae</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Jordan & Seale, 1905</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Blackfin barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena qenie</i> <small>Klunzinger, 1870</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> European barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena sphyraena</i> <small>(<a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">Linnaeus</a>, 1758)</small>.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena tome</i> <small>Fowler, 1903</small>.<li><!--del_lnk--> Yellowmouth barracuda, <i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena viridensis</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Cuvier, 1829</small>.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Sphyraena waitii</i> <small><!--del_lnk--> Ogilby, 1908</small>.</ul>
<p>Only some species of barracuda grow to a large size. The species which do are the European barracuda, barracouta or spet (<i>S. sphyraena</i>), found in the Mediterranean and eastern <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic; the great barracuda, picuda or becuna (<i>S. picuda</i>), ranging on the Atlantic coast of tropical America from <a href="../../wp/f/Florida.htm" title="Florida">Florida</a> to <a href="../../wp/b/Brazil.htm" title="Brazil">Brazil</a> and reaching the <!--del_lnk--> Bermudas; the <a href="../../wp/c/California.htm" title="California">California</a> Barracuda (<i>S. argentea</i>), extending from <!--del_lnk--> Puget Sound southwards to <!--del_lnk--> Cape San Lucas; the Indian barracuda (<i>S. jello</i>) and the black-finned or Commerson's barracuda (<i>S. commersoni</i>), both from the seas of India and the <!--del_lnk--> Malay Peninsula and <!--del_lnk--> Archipelago.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barracuda"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Mexico', 'Fish', 'Thailand', 'Shark', 'Tuna', 'Fishing', 'Florida', 'Carolus Linnaeus', 'Florida', 'Brazil', 'California']
|
Baruch_Spinoza
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Baruch Spinoza,Enlightenment,Enlightenment,1498,1615,1627,1632,1656,1660s,1676,1677" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Baruch Spinoza</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgCanonicalSpecialPageName = false;
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Baruch_Spinoza";
var wgTitle = "Baruch Spinoza";
var wgArticleId = "3408";
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserGroups = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
var wgBreakFrames = false;
var wgCurRevisionId = "122289653";
/*]]>*/</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Baruch_Spinoza">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Baruch Spinoza</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.People.Philosophers.htm">Philosophers</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table cellpadding="2" class="infobox" style="border-color: #B0C4DE; width:26em; font-size: 85%">
<tr>
<th align="center" bgcolor="#B0C4DE" colspan="2" style="border-bottom:1px solid #B0C4DE; font-size: 125%;">Western Philosophy<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> 17th-century philosophy</small></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">
<div class="center">
<div class="floatnone"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/269/26993.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="254" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Spinoza.jpg" src="../../images/523/52317.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height:1.25em;">Benedictus de Spinoza</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">Name:</th>
<td>de Spinoza</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">Birth:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> November 24, <!--del_lnk--> 1632 (<a href="../../wp/a/Amsterdam.htm" title="Amsterdam">Amsterdam</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">Death:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> February 21, <!--del_lnk--> 1677 (<a href="../../wp/t/The_Hague.htm" title="The Hague">The Hague</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">School/tradition:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Rationalism, founder of <!--del_lnk--> Spinozism</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">Main interests:</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/e/Ethics.htm" title="Ethics">Ethics</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Epistemology, <!--del_lnk--> Metaphysics</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">Notable ideas:</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Pantheism, <!--del_lnk--> Neutral Monism, <!--del_lnk--> intellectual and <!--del_lnk--> religious freedom/ <!--del_lnk--> separation of Church and State, Criticism of <!--del_lnk--> Mosaic authorship of certain <!--del_lnk--> Old Testament books, <a href="../../wp/g/Government.htm" title="Government">Political society</a> derived from <!--del_lnk--> power, not <!--del_lnk--> contract</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">Influences:</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/t/Thomas_Hobbes.htm" title="Thomas Hobbes">Hobbes</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Ren%25C3%25A9_Descartes.htm" title="René Descartes">Descartes</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Stoics, <!--del_lnk--> Avicenna, <!--del_lnk--> Maimonides, <!--del_lnk--> Nicholas of Cusa, <a href="../../wp/a/Aristotle.htm" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/Francis_Bacon.htm" title="Francis Bacon">Bacon</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Plato.htm" title="Plato">Plato</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="text-align: right;">Influenced:</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/i/Immanuel_Kant.htm" title="Immanuel Kant">Kant</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Hegel, <!--del_lnk--> Davidson, <!--del_lnk--> Schopenhauer, <!--del_lnk--> Deleuze, <a href="../../wp/a/Albert_Einstein.htm" title="Albert Einstein">Einstein</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Goethe, <a href="../../wp/f/Friedrich_Nietzsche.htm" title="Friedrich Nietzsche">Nietzsche</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Althusser, <!--del_lnk--> Hardt, <!--del_lnk--> Negri, <!--del_lnk--> Fromm</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Benedictus de Spinoza</b> or <b>Baruch de Spinoza</b> (<a href="../../wp/h/Hebrew_language.htm" title="Hebrew language">Hebrew</a>: ברוך שפינוזה) (lived <!--del_lnk--> November 24, <!--del_lnk--> 1632 – <!--del_lnk--> February 21, <!--del_lnk--> 1677) was a <!--del_lnk--> Dutch <a href="../../wp/p/Philosophy.htm" title="Philosopher">philosopher</a> of <!--del_lnk--> Portuguese <a href="../../wp/j/Jew.htm" title="Jewish">Jewish</a> origin. He is considered one of the great <!--del_lnk--> rationalists of <!--del_lnk--> 17th-century philosophy and, by virtue of his <!--del_lnk--> magnum opus the posthumous <i><!--del_lnk--> Ethics</i>, one of <!--del_lnk--> Western philosophy's definitive ethicists. Spinoza was a lens crafter by trade, an exciting engineering field at the time because of great discoveries being made by telescopes. Like his fellow rationalists, his work reveals considerable scientific aptitude, including mathematical training and understanding. The full scope and importance of Spinoza's work was not realized until years after his death and the publication of <i>Opera Posthuma</i>. He is now recognized as having laid the groundwork for the 18th century <a href="../../wp/a/Age_of_Enlightenment.htm" title="Age of Enlightenment">Enlightenment</a>, and as a founder of modern <!--del_lnk--> biblical criticism.<p>Spinoza lived a quiet life as a lens grinder. He turned down rewards and honours throughout his life, including prestigious teaching positions, and gave his family inheritance to his sister. Spinoza's moral character and philosophical accomplishments prompted <a href="../../wp/2/20th_century.htm" title="20th century">twentieth century</a> philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Gilles Deleuze to name him "The absolute philosopher, whose Ethics is the foremost book on concepts" (Deleuze, 1990). Spinoza died in February 1677 of consumption, likely compounded by fine glass dust inhaled while tending to his trade. Variations to his surname are abundant: Despinoza, d'Espinoza, de Spinoza, Spinoza, etcetera.<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script>
<p><a id="Life" name="Life"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Life</span></h2>
<p>Following their <!--del_lnk--> expulsion from Spain around 1492, many Jews sought refuge in <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a>, only to be instructed to accept <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> or be <!--del_lnk--> expelled. Spinoza was born in <a href="../../wp/a/Amsterdam.htm" title="Amsterdam">Amsterdam</a>, in the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>, to parents Miguel de Espinosa and Ana Débora who were of <!--del_lnk--> Sephardic Jewish descent, among the <!--del_lnk--> Portuguese Jews in the city. Débora was Miguel's second wife and died when Spinoza was only six years old. Spinoza's parents were <!--del_lnk--> Marranos who fled from <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a> to escape the <!--del_lnk--> Portuguese Inquisition and return to <a href="../../wp/j/Judaism.htm" title="Judaism">Judaism</a>. Some historians argue the Spinoza family had its remote origins in <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>, others claim they were Portuguese Jews who had moved to Spain and then returned to their home country in 1492, only to be forcibly converted to <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Catholicism</a> in <!--del_lnk--> 1498. Spinoza's father was born roughly a century after this forced conversion in the small Portuguese city of <!--del_lnk--> Vidigueira, near <!--del_lnk--> Beja in <!--del_lnk--> Alentejo. When Spinoza's father was still a child, Spinoza's grandfather, Isaac de Spinoza (who was from <a href="../../wp/l/Lisbon.htm" title="Lisbon">Lisbon</a>), went with all his family to <!--del_lnk--> Nantes in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>. They were expelled in <!--del_lnk--> 1615 and moved to <a href="../../wp/r/Rotterdam.htm" title="Rotterdam">Rotterdam</a>, where Isaac died in <!--del_lnk--> 1627. Spinoza's father and his uncle, Miguel and Manuel respectively, then moved to Amsterdam where they assumed their Judaism (Manuel even changed his name to Abraão de Spinoza, though his "commercial" name was still the same). His father was a successful importer/merchant and Baruch had an <!--del_lnk--> orthodox Jewish upbringing; however, his critical, curious nature would soon come into conflict with the Jewish community. After wars with England and France decimated his family's fortune and the death of his father, he was eventually able to relinquish responsibility for the business and its debts to his brother, Gabriel, and devote himself to philosophy and optics.<p>He initially gained infamy for positions that defied the Jewish law, with highly critical positions towards the <!--del_lnk--> Talmud and other sacred texts. In general, Judaism is quite tolerant with atypical representations of God; nonetheless, Spinoza believed that God was Nature/Universe, a thought that was unacceptable to the Jewish community of the era. In the summer of <!--del_lnk--> 1656, he was issued the writ of <i><!--del_lnk--> cherem</i> (Hebrew: חרם, similar to <!--del_lnk--> excommunication) from the Jewish community, for the <!--del_lnk--> apostasy of how he conceived <a href="../../wp/g/God.htm" title="God">God</a>. The terms of his <i>cherem</i> were quite severe (see Kasher and Biderman): it was never revoked. Following his excommunication, he adopted the first name <i>Benedictus</i>, the <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a> equivalent of his given name, Baruch; they both mean "blessed". In his native <a href="../../wp/a/Amsterdam.htm" title="Amsterdam">Amsterdam</a> he was also known as <i>Bento de Spinoza</i>, which was the informal form of his name.<p>After his excommunication, it is purported that Spinoza lived and worked in the school of <!--del_lnk--> Franciscus van den Enden, who taught him Latin in his youth and may have introduced him to modern philosophy, although Spinoza never mentions Van den Enden anywhere in his books or letters. Van den Enden was a Cartesian and atheist who was forbidden by the city government to propagate his doctrines publicly. Spinoza, having dedicated himself completely to philosophy after 1656, fervently desired to change the world through establishing a clandestine philosophical sect. Because of public censure this was only eventually realized after his death through the dedicated intercession of his friends.<p>During this period Spinoza also became acquainted with several <!--del_lnk--> Collegiants, members of a non-dogmatic and interdenominational sect with tendencies towards <!--del_lnk--> rationalism and <!--del_lnk--> Arianism. Spinoza also corresponded with <!--del_lnk--> Peter Serrarius, a radical <!--del_lnk--> Protestant merchant. Serrarius is believed to have been a patron of Spinoza at some point. By the beginning of the <!--del_lnk--> 1660s, Spinoza's name became more widely known, and eventually <a href="../../wp/g/Gottfried_Leibniz.htm" title="Gottfried Leibniz">Gottfried Leibniz</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Henry Oldenburg paid him visits. He corresponded with the latter for the rest of his life. Spinoza's first publication was his <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tractatus de intellectus emendatione</i>. From December 1664 to June 1665, Spinoza engaged in correspondence with <!--del_lnk--> Blyenbergh, an amateur <!--del_lnk--> Calvinist theologian, who questioned Spinoza on the definition of <!--del_lnk--> evil. Later in 1665, he notified Oldenburg that he had started to work on a new book, the <i><!--del_lnk--> Theologico-Political Treatise</i>, published in 1670. It should be noted that Leibniz disagreed harshly with Spinoza in Leibniz's own published <!--del_lnk--> Refutation of Spinoza.<p>When the public reactions to the anonymously published <i>Theologico-Political Treatise</i> were extremely unfavourable to his brand of Cartesianism, Spinoza was compelled to abstain from publishing more of his works. Wary and independent, he wore a <!--del_lnk--> signet ring engraved with his <!--del_lnk--> initials, a rose and the word "caute" (Latin for caution). The <i>Ethics</i> and all other works, apart from the <i><!--del_lnk--> Principles of Cartesian Philosophy</i> and the <i>Theologico-Political Treatise</i>, were published after his death in the <i><!--del_lnk--> Opera Postuma</i> edited by his friends in secrecy to avoid confiscation and destruction of manuscripts.<p>Spinoza relocated from Amsterdam to Rijnsburg (near <!--del_lnk--> Leiden) around 1661 and later lived in <!--del_lnk--> Voorburg and <a href="../../wp/t/The_Hague.htm" title="The Hague">The Hague</a> respectively. He earned a comfortable living from lens-grinding. While the lens-grinding aspect of Spinoza's work is uncontested, the type of lenses he made is in question. Many have said he produced excellent magnifying glasses, and some historians credit him with being an <!--del_lnk--> optician (in the sense of making lenses for eyeglasses). He was also supported by small, but regular, donations from close friends. He died in <!--del_lnk--> 1677 while still working on a political thesis. His premature death was due to a lung illness, possibly <!--del_lnk--> silicosis, the result of breathing in glass dust from the lenses he ground. Only a year earlier, Spinoza had met with Leibniz at <a href="../../wp/t/The_Hague.htm" title="The Hague">The Hague</a> for a discussion of his principal philosophical work, <i><!--del_lnk--> Ethics</i>, which had been completed in <!--del_lnk--> 1676 (Lucas, 1960). Spinoza never married, nor did he father any children.<p><a id="Overview_of_his_philosophy" name="Overview_of_his_philosophy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Overview of his philosophy</span></h2>
<p>Spinoza's system imparted order and unity to the tradition of radical thought, offering powerful weapons for prevailing against "received authority." As a youth he first subscribed to <a href="../../wp/r/Ren%25C3%25A9_Descartes.htm" title="René Descartes">Descartes's</a> dualistic belief that body and mind are two separate substances, but later changed his view and asserted that they were not separate, being a single identity. He contended that everything that exists in Nature/Universe is one Reality (substance) and there is only one set of rules governing the whole of the reality which surrounds us and of which we are part. Spinoza argued that God and Nature were two names for the same reality, namely the single <!--del_lnk--> substance (meaning "to stand beneath" rather than "matter") that underlies the universe and of which all lesser "entities" are actually modes or modifications, that all things are determined by Nature to exist and cause effects, and that the complex chain of cause and effect are only understood in part. That humans presume themselves to have free will, he argues, is a result of their awareness of appetites while being unable to understand the reasons why they want and act as they do. The argument for the single substance runs as follows:<ol>
<li>Substance exists and cannot be dependent on anything else for its existence.<li>No two substances can share the same nature or attribute. <dl>
<dd>Proof: Two distinct substances can be differentiated either by some difference in their natures or by the some difference in one of their alterable states of being. If they have different natures, then the original proposition is granted and the proof is complete. If, however, they are distinguished only by their states of being, then, considering the substances in themselves, there is no difference between the substances and they are identical. "That is, there cannot be several such substances but only one." </dl>
<li>A substance can only be caused by something similar to itself (something that shares its attribute).<li>Substance cannot be caused. <dl>
<dd>Proof: Something can only be caused by something which is similar to itself, in other words something that shares its attribute. But according to premise 2, no two substances can share an attribute. Therefore substance cannot be caused.</dl>
<li>Substance is infinite. <dl>
<dd>Proof: If substance were not infinite, it would be finite and limited by something. But to be limited by something is to be dependent on it. However, substance cannot be dependent on anything else (premise 1), therefore substance is infinite.</dl>
</ol>
<dl>
<dd>Conclusion: There can only be one substance. <dl>
<dd>Proof: If there were two infinite substances, they would limit each other. But this would act as a restraint, and they would be dependent on each other. But they cannot be dependent on each other (premise 1), therefore there cannot be two substances.</dl>
</dl>
<p>Spinoza contended that "<i><!--del_lnk--> Deus sive Natura</i>" ("God or Nature") was a being of infinitely many attributes, of which extension and thought were two. His account of the nature of reality, then, seems to treat the physical and mental worlds as one in the same. The body and the mind are both comprised of the universal substance, and no difference exists between them. This formulation is a historically significant <!--del_lnk--> panpsychist solution to the <a href="../../wp/p/Philosophy_of_mind.htm" title="Mind-body problem">mind-body problem</a> known as <!--del_lnk--> neutral monism. The consequences of Spinoza's system also envisage a God that does not rule over the universe by providence, but a God which itself is part of the deterministic system of which everything in nature is a part. Thus, God is the natural world and has no personality.<p>Spinoza was a thoroughgoing <!--del_lnk--> determinist who held that absolutely everything that happens occurs through the operation of <!--del_lnk--> necessity. For him, even human behaviour is fully determined, with freedom being our capacity to know we are determined and to understand <i>why</i> we act as we do. So freedom is not the possibility to say "no" to what happens to us but the possibility to say "yes" and fully understand why things should necessarily happen that way. By forming more "adequate" ideas about what we do and our emotions or affections, we become the adequate cause of our effects (internal or external), which entails an increase in activity (versus passivity). This means that we become both more free and more like God, as Spinoza argues in the Scholium to Prop. 49, Part II. However, Spinoza also held that everything must necessarily happen the way that it does. Therefore, there is no free will.<p>Spinoza's philosophy has much in common with <a href="../../wp/s/Stoicism.htm" title="Stoicism">Stoicism</a> in as much as both philosophies sought to fulfil a therapeutic role by instructing people how to attain <!--del_lnk--> happiness (or <!--del_lnk--> eudaimonia, for the Stoics). However, Spinoza differed sharply from the Stoics in one important respect: he utterly rejected their contention that <!--del_lnk--> reason could defeat emotion. On the contrary, he contended, an emotion can be displaced or overcome only by a stronger emotion. For him, the crucial distinction was between active and passive emotions, the former being those that are rationally understood and the latter those that are not. He also held that knowledge of true causes of passive emotion can transform it to an active emotion, thus anticipating one of the key ideas of <a href="../../wp/s/Sigmund_Freud.htm" title="Sigmund Freud">Sigmund Freud</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> psychoanalysis.<p>Some of Spinoza's philosophical positions are:<ul>
<li>The natural world is infinite.<li>Good and evil are definitions of Humans not nature.<li>Everything done by humans and other animals is excellent and divine.<li>All rights are derived from the State.<li>Animals can be used in any way by people for the benefit of the human race, according to a rational consideration of the benefit as well as the animals' status in nature.</ul>
<p><a id="Ethical_philosophy" name="Ethical_philosophy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Ethical philosophy</span></h2>
<p>Encapsulated at the start in his <i>Treatise on the Improvement of the Understanding</i> (<i>Tractatus de intellectus emendatione</i>) is the core of Spinoza's ethical philosophy, what he held to be the true and final good. Spinoza held a <!--del_lnk--> relativist's position, that nothing is intrinsically good or bad, except to the extent that it is subjectively perceived to be by the individual. Things are only good or evil in respect that humanity sees it desirable to apply these conceptions to matters. Instead, Spinoza believes in his deterministic universe that, "All things in nature proceed from certain necessity and with the utmost perfection". Therefore, no things happen by chance in Spinoza's world, and reason does not work in terms of contingency. In the universe anything that happens comes from the essential nature of objects, or of God/Nature. Perfection therefore abounds according to Spinoza. If circumstances are seen as unfortunate it is only because of our inadequate conception of reality. While elements of the chain of cause and effect are not beyond the understanding of human reason, our grasp of the infinitely complex whole is limited because of the limits of science to empirically take account of the whole sequence. Spinoza also asserted that sense perception - while the basis of all ideas - leads only to what is false, because we are ignorant of the causes that determine our desires and actions. His concept of "<!--del_lnk--> conatus" - man's natural inclination to strive toward preserving essential being, and assertion that virtue/human power is defined by our success in this preservation of being by the guidance of reason is his central ethical doctrine; the highest virtue being the intellectual love or knowledge of God/Nature/Universe. In the final part of the "<!--del_lnk--> Ethics" his concern with the meaning of "true blessedness" and his unique approach and explanation of how emotions must be detached from external cause in order to master them is distinctive and presages 20th c. psychological techniques. His concept of three types of knowledge - opinion, reason, intuitive - and assertion that intuitive knowledge provides the greatest satisfaction of mind, leads to his proposition that the more we are conscious of ourselves and Nature/Universe, the more perfect and blessed we are (in reality) and that only intuitive knowledge is eternal. His unique contribution to understanding the workings of mind is extraordinary, even during this time of radical philosophical developments, in that his views provide a bridge between religions' mystical past and psychology of the present day.<p><a id="The_pantheism_controversy" name="The_pantheism_controversy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The pantheism controversy</span></h2>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1785, <!--del_lnk--> Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi published a condemnation of Spinoza's <!--del_lnk--> pantheism, after <!--del_lnk--> Lessing was thought to have confessed on his deathbed to being a "Spinozist", which was the equivalent in his time of being called an atheist. Jacobi claimed that Spinoza's doctrine was pure materialism, because all Nature and God are said to be nothing but extended <!--del_lnk--> substance. This, for Jacobi, was the result of Enlightenment rationalism and it would finally end in absolute <a href="../../wp/a/Atheism.htm" title="Atheism">atheism</a>. <!--del_lnk--> Moses Mendelssohn disagreed with Jacobi, saying that there is no actual difference between <!--del_lnk--> theism and pantheism. The entire issue became a major intellectual and religious concern for European civilization at the time, which <a href="../../wp/i/Immanuel_Kant.htm" title="Immanuel Kant">Immanuel Kant</a> rejected, as he thought that attempts to conceive of transcendent reality would lead to antinomies in thought.<p>The attraction of Spinoza's philosophy to late eighteenth-century Europeans was that it provided an alternative to Materialism, Atheism, and Deism. Three of Spinoza's ideas strongly appealed to them:<ul>
<li>the unity of all that exists;<li>the regularity of all that happens; and<li>the identity of spirit and nature.</ul>
<p>Spinoza's "God or Nature" provided a living, natural God, in contrast to the Newtonian mechanical First Cause or the dead mechanism of the French "Man Machine."<p><a id="Modern_relevance" name="Modern_relevance"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Modern relevance</span></h2>
<p>Late twentieth century <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a> has demonstrated a greater philosophical interest in Spinoza, often from a <!--del_lnk--> left-wing or <!--del_lnk--> Marxist perspective. Notable philosophers <!--del_lnk--> Gilles Deleuze, <!--del_lnk--> Antonio Negri, <!--del_lnk--> Étienne Balibar and the Brazilian philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Marilena Chauí have each written books on Spinoza. Deleuze's doctoral thesis, published in 1968, refers to him as "the prince of philosophers". (Deleuze, 1968). Other philosophers heavily influenced by Spinoza include <!--del_lnk--> Constantin Brunner and <!--del_lnk--> John David Garcia. <!--del_lnk--> Stuart Hampshire wrote a major English language study of Spinoza, though <!--del_lnk--> H. H. Joachim's work is equally valuable. Unlike most philosophers, Spinoza and his work were highly regarded by <!--del_lnk--> Nietzsche.<p>Prominent Cambridge philosopher <a href="../../wp/l/Ludwig_Wittgenstein.htm" title="Ludwig Wittgenstein">Ludwig Wittgenstein</a> evoked Spinoza with the title (suggested to him by <!--del_lnk--> G. E. Moore) of the English translation of his first definitive philosophical work, <i><!--del_lnk--> Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus</i>, an allusion to Spinoza's <!--del_lnk--> Tractatus Theologico-Politicus. Elsewhere, Wittgenstein deliberately borrowed the expression <i>sub specie aeternitatis</i> from Spinoza (<i>Notebooks, 1914-16</i>, p. 83). The structure of his <i>Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus</i> does have certain structural affinities with Spinoza's <i>Ethics</i> (though, admittedly, not with the latter's own <i>Tractatus</i>), in erecting complex philosophical arguments starting from basic logical assertions and principles. Furthermore, in propositions 6.4311 and 6.45 he alludes to a Spinozian understanding of eternity and interpretation of the religious concept of eternal life: stating that "If by eternity is understood not eternal temporal duration, but timelessness, then he lives eternally who lives in the present." (6.4311) "The contemplation of the world sub specie aeterni is its contemplation as a limited whole." (6.45) Wittgenstein's interpretation of religious language, in both his early and later career, may be said to bear a family resemblance to Spinoza's pantheism.<p>Spinoza has had influence beyond the confines of philosophy. The nineteenth century novellist, <a href="../../wp/g/George_Eliot.htm" title="George Eliot">George Eliot</a>, produced her own translation of the <i>Ethics</i>, the first known English translation thereof. The twentieth century novellist, <!--del_lnk--> W. Somerset Maugham, alluded to one of Spinoza's central concepts with the title of his novel, <i><!--del_lnk--> Of Human Bondage</i>. <a href="../../wp/a/Albert_Einstein.htm" title="Albert Einstein">Albert Einstein</a> named Spinoza as the philosopher who exerted the most influence on his world view (<!--del_lnk--> Weltanschauung). Spinoza equated God (infinite substance) with Nature, consistent with Einstein's belief in an impersonal deity. In 1929, Einstein was asked in a telegram by Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein whether he believed in God. Einstein responded by telegram "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings."<!--del_lnk--> Spinoza's pantheism has also influenced the environmental theory. <!--del_lnk--> Arne Næss, the father of the <!--del_lnk--> deep ecology movement, acknowledged Spinoza as an important inspiration. Moreover, Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, was greatly influenced by Spinoza's world view. In many poems and short stories, he makes constant allusion to the philosopher's work, not as a partisan of his doctrines, but merely in order to use these for aesthetical purposes. He has done it many times with all the philosophers whose work he admired.<p>Spinoza is an important historical figure in the <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a>, where his portrait was featured prominently on the Dutch 1000-<!--del_lnk--> guilder <a href="../../wp/b/Banknote.htm" title="Banknote">banknote</a>, <!--del_lnk--> legal tender until the <a href="../../wp/e/Euro.htm" title="Euro">euro</a> was introduced in <!--del_lnk--> 2002. The highest and most prestigious scientific award of the Netherlands is named the <i>Spinozapremie</i> (Spinoza grant).<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Amsterdam', 'Netherlands', 'The Hague', 'Netherlands', 'Ethics', 'Government', 'Thomas Hobbes', 'René Descartes', 'Aristotle', 'Francis Bacon', 'Plato', 'Immanuel Kant', 'Albert Einstein', 'Friedrich Nietzsche', 'Hebrew language', 'Philosopher', 'Jewish', 'Age of Enlightenment', '20th century', 'Portugal', 'Christianity', 'Amsterdam', 'Netherlands', 'Portugal', 'Judaism', 'Spain', 'Roman Catholic Church', 'Lisbon', 'France', 'Rotterdam', 'God', 'Latin', 'Amsterdam', 'Gottfried Leibniz', 'The Hague', 'The Hague', 'René Descartes', 'Mind-body problem', 'Stoicism', 'Sigmund Freud', 'Atheism', 'Immanuel Kant', 'Europe', 'Ludwig Wittgenstein', 'George Eliot', 'Albert Einstein', 'Netherlands', 'Banknote', 'Euro']
|
Baseball
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Baseball,Professional Baseball,117th IOC Session,1846,1919 World Series,1920,1936,1937,1947 in sports,1958,1972" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Baseball</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Baseball";
var wgTitle = "Baseball";
var wgArticleId = 3850;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Baseball">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Baseball</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Sports.htm">Sports</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1177.jpg.htm" title="A view of the playing field at Busch Stadium II St. Louis, Missouri."><img alt="A view of the playing field at Busch Stadium II St. Louis, Missouri." height="152" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Busch_Stadium.jpg" src="../../images/11/1177.jpg" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1177.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A view of the playing field at <!--del_lnk--> Busch Stadium II <!--del_lnk--> St. Louis, Missouri.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/20/2040.jpg.htm" title="Picture of Fenway Park. Part of the "Green Monster" can be seen on the right side of this picture."><img alt="Picture of Fenway Park. Part of the "Green Monster" can be seen on the right side of this picture." height="281" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Fenway_park.jpg" src="../../images/11/1178.jpg" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/20/2040.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Picture of <!--del_lnk--> Fenway Park. Part of the "<!--del_lnk--> Green Monster" can be seen on the right side of this picture.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Baseball</b> is a <a href="../../wp/s/Sport.htm" title="Sport">sport</a> played between two <!--del_lnk--> teams usually of nine players each. It is a <!--del_lnk--> bat-and-ball game in which a <!--del_lnk--> pitcher throws (<!--del_lnk--> pitches) a hard, fist-sized, leather-covered <!--del_lnk--> ball toward a <!--del_lnk--> batter on the opposing team. The batter attempts to hit the baseball with a tapered cylindrical <!--del_lnk--> bat, made of wood (as required in <!--del_lnk--> professional baseball) or a variety of other materials (as allowed in many nonprofessional games). A team scores <!--del_lnk--> runs only when batting, by advancing its players—primarily via <!--del_lnk--> hits—counterclockwise past a series of four markers called <!--del_lnk--> bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or "diamond." The game, played without time restriction, is structured around nine segments called <!--del_lnk--> innings. In each inning, both teams are given the opportunity to bat and score runs; a team's half-inning ends when <!--del_lnk--> outs are recorded against three of its players.<p>Baseball on both the professional and amateur levels is popular in <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North America</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Central America, parts of <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a>, parts of the <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean, and <!--del_lnk--> East Asia. The modern version of the game developed in North America beginning in the eighteenth century. The consensus of historians is that it evolved from bat-and-ball games, such as <!--del_lnk--> rounders, brought to the continent by British and Irish immigrants. By the late nineteenth century, baseball was widely recognized as the <!--del_lnk--> national sport of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>. The game is sometimes referred to as <i>hardball</i> to differentiate it from <!--del_lnk--> similar sports such as <!--del_lnk--> softball.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History_of_baseball" name="History_of_baseball"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">History of baseball</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><a id="Origins_of_baseball" name="Origins_of_baseball"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Origins of baseball</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The distinct evolution of baseball from among the various bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision. While there has been general agreement that modern baseball is a North American development from the older game <!--del_lnk--> rounders, the 2006 book <i>Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game</i>, by David Block, argues against that notion. The earliest known mention of the sport is in a 1744 British publication, <i>A Little Pretty Pocket-Book</i>, by John Newbery. It contains a wood-cut illustration of boys playing "base-ball," showing a set-up roughly similar to the modern game, and a rhymed description of the sport. The earliest known American reference to the game was published in a 1791 <!--del_lnk--> Pittsfield, Massachusetts, statute that prohibited the playing of baseball within 80 yards of the town's new meeting house. The English novelist <a href="../../wp/j/Jane_Austen.htm" title="Jane Austen">Jane Austen</a> made a reference to children playing "base-ball" on a village green in her book <i><!--del_lnk--> Northanger Abbey</i>, which was written between 1798 and 1803 (though not published until 1818).<p>The first full documentation of a baseball game in North America is Dr. Adam Ford's contemporary description of a game that took place in 1838 on <!--del_lnk--> June 4 (Militia Muster Day) in Beachville, Ontario; this report was related in a 1886 edition of <i>Sporting Life</i> magazine in a letter by former <!--del_lnk--> St. Marys, Ontario, resident Dr. Matthew Harris. Canada was a hotbed of early baseball development and the sport grew quickly on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border, with strong players and teams in both countries. In 1845, <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Cartwright of New York City led the codification of an early list of rules (the so-called <!--del_lnk--> Knickerbocker Rules), from which today's have evolved. While there are reports of Cartwright's club, the <!--del_lnk--> New York Knickerbockers, playing games in 1845, the game now recognized as the first in U.S. history to be officially recorded took place on <!--del_lnk--> June 19, <!--del_lnk--> 1846, in <!--del_lnk--> Hoboken, New Jersey, with the "New York Nine" defeating the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings.<p><a id="History_of_baseball_in_the_United_States" name="History_of_baseball_in_the_United_States"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">History of baseball in the United States</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Semiprofessional baseball started in the United States in the 1860s; in 1869, the first fully professional baseball club, the <!--del_lnk--> Cincinnati Red Stockings, was formed and went undefeated against a schedule of semipro and amateur teams. By the following decade, American newspapers were referring to baseball as the "National Pastime" or "National Game." The first <!--del_lnk--> "major league" was the <!--del_lnk--> National Association, which lasted from 1871 to 1875. The <!--del_lnk--> National League, which still exists today, was founded in 1876. Several other major leagues formed and failed, but the <!--del_lnk--> American League, established in 1901 as a major league and originating from the minor Western League (1893), succeeded. While the two leagues were rivals who actively fought for the best players, often disregarding one another's contracts and engaging in bitter legal disputes, a modicum of peace was established in 1903, and the <!--del_lnk--> World Series was inaugurated that fall. The next year, however, the National League champion <!--del_lnk--> New York Giants did not participate as their manager, <!--del_lnk--> John McGraw, refused to recognize the major league status of the American League and its champion, the <!--del_lnk--> Boston Americans. The following year, McGraw relented and the Giants played the <!--del_lnk--> Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series.<p>Compared with the present day, games in the early part of the 20th century were lower scoring and pitchers were more successful. The "inside game", whose nature was to "scratch for runs", was played rather more violently and aggressively than it is today. <!--del_lnk--> Ty Cobb said of his era especially, "Baseball is something like a war!" This period, which has since become known as the "<!--del_lnk--> dead-ball era", ended in the 1920s with several rule changes that gave advantages to hitters and the rise of the legendary baseball player <a href="../../wp/b/Babe_Ruth.htm" title="Babe Ruth">Babe Ruth</a>, who showed the world what power hitting could produce and thus changed the nature of the game.<p>In 1884, <!--del_lnk--> African American <!--del_lnk--> Moses Walker (and, briefly, his brother Welday) had played for the <!--del_lnk--> Toledo Blue Stockings of the major-league-level <!--del_lnk--> American Association. An injury ended Walker's major league career, and by the early 1890s, a "gentlemen's agreement" in the form of the <!--del_lnk--> baseball colour line effectively barred African-American players from the majors and their affiliated minor leagues, resulting in the formation of several <!--del_lnk--> Negro Leagues. The first crack in the agreement occurred in 1946, when <a href="../../wp/j/Jackie_Robinson.htm" title="Jackie Robinson">Jackie Robinson</a> was signed by the National League's <!--del_lnk--> Brooklyn Dodgers and began playing for their minor league team in Montreal. Finally, in <!--del_lnk--> 1947, the major leagues' colour barrier was broken when Robinson debuted with the Dodgers. Although the transformation was not instantaneous, baseball has since become fully <!--del_lnk--> integrated.<p>Major league baseball finally made it to the West Coast of the United States in 1958, when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants relocated to <!--del_lnk--> Los Angeles and <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco respectively. The first American League team on the West Coast was the <!--del_lnk--> Los Angeles Angels, who were founded as an expansion team in 1961.<p>Pitchers dominated the game in the 1960s and early 1970s. In the early 1970s the <!--del_lnk--> designated hitter (DH) rule was proposed. The American League adopted this rule in 1973, though pitchers still bat for themselves in the National League to this day. The DH rule now constitutes the primary difference between the two leagues.<p>Despite the popularity of baseball, and the attendant high salaries relative to those of average Americans, the players have become dissatisfied from time to time, as they believed the owners had too much control. Various job actions have occurred throughout the game's history. Players on specific teams occasionally attempted strikes, but usually came back when their jobs were sufficiently threatened. The throwing of the <!--del_lnk--> 1919 World Series, the "<!--del_lnk--> Black Sox scandal", was in some sense a "strike" or at least a rebellion by the ballplayers against a perceived stingy owner. But the strict rules of baseball contracts tended to keep the players "in line" in general.<p>This began to change in the 1960s when former <!--del_lnk--> United Steelworkers president <!--del_lnk--> Marvin Miller became the <!--del_lnk--> Baseball Players Union president. The union became much stronger than it had been previously, especially when the reserve clause was effectively nullified in the mid-1970s. Conflicts between owners and the players' union led to major work stoppages in 1972, 1981, and 1994. The so-called <!--del_lnk--> 1994 baseball strike (which was technically a a <!--del_lnk--> lockout) led to the cancellation of the World Series, and was not settled until the spring of 1995. During this paeriod, as well, many of the functions—such as player discipline and umpire supervision—and regulations that had been administered seperately by the two major leagues' administrations were united under the rubric of <!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball.<p>On a happier note, 1995 was the year <!--del_lnk--> Cal Ripken, Jr. played in his 2131st consecutive game, breaking <!--del_lnk--> Lou Gehrig's record. The number of home runs increased dramatically after the strike. <!--del_lnk--> Mark McGwire and <!--del_lnk--> Sammy Sosa both shattered <!--del_lnk--> Roger Maris's long-standing single season home run record in the late 1990s. In 2001, <!--del_lnk--> Barry Bonds established the current record of 73 home runs in a single season. Bonds has also gone on to hit more homers in his career than any player other than <!--del_lnk--> Henry Aaron. Even though all three sluggers were later implicated in the <!--del_lnk--> steroid-abuse scandal of the mid-2000s, their feats did do a lot at the time to bolster the game's renewed popularity.<p>Professional baseball leagues began to form in <!--del_lnk--> countries outside of America in the 1920s and 1930s, including the Netherlands (formed in 1922), Japan (1936), and Australia (1934). Today, Venezuela (1945), the whole of Europe (1953), Italy (1948), Korea (1982), Taiwan (1990), and mainland China (2003) all have professional leagues as well (however, the leagues in Australia, Italy and the United Kingdom have generally had a niche appeal compared to the leagues in Asia and Venezuela and only now is the sport beginning to broaden in scope in those nations, most notably in Australia, who won a surprise silver medal in the <!--del_lnk--> 2004 Olympic Games). <a href="../../wp/i/Israel.htm" title="Israel">Israel</a> will have a professional league beginning in June 2007. Canada has a franchise in Major League Baseball as well. Competition between national teams, such as in the <!--del_lnk--> World Cup of Baseball and the <!--del_lnk--> Olympic baseball tournament, has been administered by the <!--del_lnk--> International Baseball Federation since its formation in 1938. As of 2004, this organization has 112 member countries. The new <!--del_lnk--> World Baseball Classic, first held in March 2006, seems likely to have a much higher profile than previous tournaments, owing to the participation for the first time of a significant number of players from the United States Major Leagues.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> 117th meeting of the <!--del_lnk--> International Olympic Committee, held in Singapore in July 2005, voted not to hold baseball and <!--del_lnk--> softball tournaments at the <!--del_lnk--> 2012 Summer Olympic Games, but they will remain <!--del_lnk--> Olympic sports during the <!--del_lnk--> 2008 Summer Olympic Games and will be put to vote again for each succeeding Summer Olympics. The elimination of baseball and softball from the 2012 Olympic program enabled the IOC to consider adding two other sports to the program instead, but no other sport received a majority of votes favoring its inclusion. While baseball's lack of major appeal in a significant portion of the world was a factor, a more important factor was the unwillingness of Major League Baseball to have a break during the Games so that its players could participate, something that the <a href="../../wp/n/National_Hockey_League.htm" title="National Hockey League">National Hockey League</a> now does during the <!--del_lnk--> Winter Olympic Games. Because of the seasonal nature of baseball and the high priority baseball fans place on the integrity of major-league statistics from one season to the next, however, it would be more difficult to accommodate such a break in MLB.<p><a id="Gameplay" name="Gameplay"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Gameplay</span></h2>
<p>A simplified version of the rules of baseball is at <!--del_lnk--> simplified baseball rules. The complete Official Rules can be found at <!--del_lnk--> www.mlb.com, the official web site of Major League Baseball in the United States.<p><a id="General_structure" name="General_structure"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">General structure</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1180.png.htm" title="Diagram of a baseball diamond."><img alt="Diagram of a baseball diamond." height="279" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baseball_field_overview_thumbnail.png" src="../../images/11/1180.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1180.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Diagram of a <!--del_lnk--> baseball diamond.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Baseball is played between two teams of nine players each on a <!--del_lnk--> baseball field, under the authority of one or more officials, called <!--del_lnk--> umpires. There are usually four umpires in major league games; up to six (and as few as one) may officiate depending on the league and the importance of the game. There are four <i><!--del_lnk--> bases</i>. Numbered <!--del_lnk--> counter-clockwise, first, second and third bases are cushions (sometimes informally referred to as <i>bags</i>) shaped as 15 <!--del_lnk--> in (38 <!--del_lnk--> cm) squares which are raised a short distance above the ground; together with <!--del_lnk--> home plate, the fourth "base," they form a square with sides of 90 <!--del_lnk--> ft (27.4 <!--del_lnk--> m) called the <!--del_lnk--> diamond. Home base (plate) is a pentagonal rubber slab known as simply <i>home.</i> The field is divided into two main sections:<ul>
<li>The infield, containing the four bases, is for defensive and offensive purposes bounded by the foul lines and the grass line (see figure). However, the infield technically consists of only the area within the bases, including the foul lines.<li>The outfield is the grassed area beyond the infield grass line (for general purposes; see above under infield), between the foul lines, and bounded by a wall or fence. Again, there is a technical difference; properly speaking, the outfield consists of all fair ground beyond the square of the infield and its bases. The area between the foul lines, including the foul lines (the foul lines are in fair territory), is fair territory, and the area outside the foul lines is foul territory.</ul>
<p>The game is played in nine <!--del_lnk--> innings (although it can be played with fewer, such as it is in <!--del_lnk--> little league games) in which each team gets one turn to <a href="#Batting" title="">bat</a> and try to score <i><!--del_lnk--> runs</i> while the other pitches and defends in the field. An inning is broken up into two halves in which the away team bats in the top (first) half, and the home team bats in the bottom (second) half. In baseball, the defense always has the ball — a fact that differentiates it from most other team sports. The teams switch every time the defending team gets three players of the batting team <i><!--del_lnk--> out</i>. The winner is the team with the most runs after nine innings. If the home team is ahead after the top of the ninth, play does not continue into the bottom half. In the case of a tie, additional innings are played until one team comes out ahead at the end of an inning. If the home team takes the lead anytime during the bottom of the ninth or of any inning thereafter, play stops and the home team is declared the winner.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1181.jpg.htm" title="A batter follows through after swinging at a pitched ball."><img alt="A batter follows through after swinging at a pitched ball." height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baseball_swing.jpg" src="../../images/11/1181.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1181.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A batter follows through after swinging at a pitched ball.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The basic contest is always between the <i><!--del_lnk--> pitcher</i> for the fielding team, and a <i><!--del_lnk--> batter</i>. The pitcher throws—<i><!--del_lnk--> pitches</i>—the ball towards home plate, where the <i><!--del_lnk--> catcher</i> for the fielding team waits (in a crouched stance) to receive it. Behind the catcher stands the home plate umpire. The batter stands in one of the <!--del_lnk--> batter's boxes and tries to hit the ball with a bat. The pitcher must keep one foot in contact with the top or front of the pitcher's rubber—a 24" x 6" (~ 61 cm x 15 cm) plate located atop the pitcher's mound—during the entire pitch, so he can only take one step backward and one forward in delivering the ball. The catcher's job is to receive any pitches that the batter does not hit and to "call" the game by a series of hand movements that signal to the pitcher what pitch to throw and where. If the pitcher disagrees with the call, he will "shake off" the catcher by shaking his head; he accepts the sign by nodding. The catcher's role becomes more crucial depending on how the game is going, and how the pitcher responds to a given situation. Each pitch begins a new <i>play,</i> which might consist of nothing more than the pitch itself.<p>Each half-inning, the goal of the defending team is to get three members of the other team out. A player who is out must leave the field and wait for his next turn <!--del_lnk--> at bat. There are many ways to get batters and baserunners out; some of the most common are catching a batted ball <!--del_lnk--> in the air, <!--del_lnk--> tag outs, <!--del_lnk--> force outs, and <!--del_lnk--> strikeouts. After the fielding team has put out three players from the opposing team, that half of the inning is over and the team in the field and the team at bat switch places; there is no upper limit to the number that may bat in rotation before three outs are recorded. Going through the entire order in an inning is referred to as "batting around". It is indicative of a high scoring inning. A complete inning consists of each opposing side having a turn (three outs) on offense.<p>The goal of the team at bat is to score more runs than the opposition; a player may do so only by batting, then <!--del_lnk--> becoming a base runner, touching all the bases in order (via one or more plays), and finally touching home plate. To that end, the goal of each batter is to enable baserunners to score or to become a baserunner himself. The batter attempts to hit the ball into <!--del_lnk--> fair territory—between the baselines—in such a way that the defending players cannot get them or the baserunners out. In general, the pitcher attempts to prevent this by pitching the ball in such a way that the batter cannot hit it cleanly or, ideally, at all.<p>A baserunner who successfully touches home plate after touching all previous bases in order scores a <i><!--del_lnk--> run</i>. In an enclosed field, a <!--del_lnk--> fair ball hit over the fence on the fly is normally an automatic <i><!--del_lnk--> home run</i>, which entitles the batter and all runners to touch all the bases and score. A home run hit with all bases occupied ('bases loaded') is called a <i>grand slam</i>.<p><a id="Fielding_team" name="Fielding_team"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Fielding team</span></h3>
<p>The squad in the field is the defensive team; they attempt to prevent the baserunners from scoring. There are nine defensive positions, however, only two of the positions have a mandatory location (pitcher and catcher), the locations of the other seven fielders is not specified by the rules, except that at the moment the pitch is delivered they must be positioned in fair territory and not in the space between the pitcher and the catcher. These fielders often shift their <!--del_lnk--> positioning in response to specific batters or game situations, and they may exchange positions with one another at any time. The nine positions most commonly used are: pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. Note that, in rare cases, teams may use dramatically differing schemes, such as switching an outfielder for an infielder. Scorekeepers label each position with a number starting with the pitcher (1), catcher (2), first baseman (3), second baseman (4), third baseman (5), shortstop (6), left fielder (7), centre fielder (8), right fielder (9). This convention was established by <!--del_lnk--> Henry Chadwick. The reason the shortstop seems out of order has to do with the way fielders positioned themselves in the early years of the game.<p><a id="The_battery" name="The_battery"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">The battery</span></h4>
<p>The <i><!--del_lnk--> battery</i> is composed of the <i><!--del_lnk--> pitcher,</i> who stands on the rubber of the mound, and the <i><!--del_lnk--> catcher</i>, who squats behind home plate. These are the two fielders who always deal directly with the batter on every pitch, hence the term "battery", coined by <!--del_lnk--> Henry Chadwick and later reinforced by the implied comparison to <!--del_lnk--> artillery fire.<p>The pitcher's main role is to <!--del_lnk--> pitch the ball toward home plate with the goal of getting the batter <!--del_lnk--> out. Pitchers also play defense by fielding batted balls, <!--del_lnk--> covering bases (for a potential <!--del_lnk--> tag out or <!--del_lnk--> force out on an approaching runner), or backing up throws. The catcher's main role is to receive the pitch if the batter does not hit it. Together with the pitcher and coaches, the catcher plots game strategy by suggesting different pitches and by shifting the starting positions of the other fielders. Catchers are also responsible for defense in the area near home plate.<p><a id="The_infielders" name="The_infielders"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">The infielders</span></h4>
<p>The four infielders are the <i><!--del_lnk--> first baseman</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> second baseman</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> shortstop</i>, and <i><!--del_lnk--> third baseman</i>. Originally the first, second and third basemen played very near their respective bases, and the shortstop generally played "in" (hence the term), covering the area between second, third, and the pitchers box, or wherever the game situation required. As the game evolved, the fielding positions changed to the now-familiar "umbrella", with the first and third baseman generally positioned a short distance toward second base from their bases, the second baseman to the right side of second base standing farther away from the base than any other infielder, and the shortstop playing to the left of second base, as seen from the batter's perspective, filling in the gaps.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> first baseman's job consists largely of making <!--del_lnk--> force plays at first base on <!--del_lnk--> ground balls hit to the other <!--del_lnk--> infielders. When an infielder picks up a ball from the ground hit by the <!--del_lnk--> batter, he must throw it to the first baseman who must catch the ball and maintain contact with the base before the batter gets to it for the batter to be out. The need to do this quickly often requires the first baseman to stretch one of his legs to touch first base while catching the ball simultaneously. The first baseman must be able to catch the ball very well and usually wears a specially designed <!--del_lnk--> mitt. The first baseman also fields balls hit near first base. The first baseman also has to receive throws from the pitcher in order to tag runners out who have reached base safely. The position is less physically challenging than the other positions, but there is still a lot of skill involved. Infielders don't always make good throws to first base, so it is the first baseman's job to field any ball thrown toward him cleanly. Older players who can no longer fulfill the demands of their original positions also often become first basemen. The second baseman covers the area to the first-base side of second base and provides backup for the first baseman in <!--del_lnk--> bunt situations. He also is a cut-off for the <!--del_lnk--> outfield. This is when the outfielder doesn't have to throw the full distance from him/her to the base, but just to the cut-off. The shortstop fills the critical gap between second and third bases—where right-handed batters generally hit ground balls—and also covers second or third base and the near part of <!--del_lnk--> left field. This player is also a cut-off for the outfield. This position is the most demanding defensively, so a good shortstop doesn't need to necessarily be a good batter. The third baseman's primary requirement is a strong throwing arm, in order to make the long throw across the infield to the first baseman. Quick reaction time is also important for third basemen, as they tend to see more sharply hit balls than the other infielders, thus the nickname for third base as the "hot corner."<p><a id="The_outfielders" name="The_outfielders"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">The outfielders</span></h4>
<p>The three outfielders, <i><!--del_lnk--> left fielder</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> centre fielder</i>, and <i><!--del_lnk--> right fielder</i>, are so named from the <!--del_lnk--> catcher's perspective looking out onto the field. The <!--del_lnk--> right fielder generally has the strongest arm of all the <!--del_lnk--> outfielders due to the need to make throws on runners attempting to take <!--del_lnk--> third base. The <!--del_lnk--> centre fielder has more territory to cover than the corner <!--del_lnk--> outfielders, so this player must be quick and agile with a strong arm to throw balls in to the <!--del_lnk--> infield; as with the <!--del_lnk--> shortstop, teams tend to emphasize defense at this position. Also, the <!--del_lnk--> centre fielder is considered the <!--del_lnk--> outfield leader, and left- and right-fielders often cede to his direction when fielding <!--del_lnk--> fly balls. Of all outfielders, the <i><!--del_lnk--> left fielder</i> often has the weakest arm, as they generally do not need to throw the ball as far in order to prevent the advance of any baserunners. The left fielder still requires good fielding and catching skills, and tends to receive more balls than the right fielder due to the fact that <!--del_lnk--> right-handed hitters, who are much more common, tend to "pull" the ball into left field. Each outfielder runs to "back up" a nearby outfielder who attempts to field a ball hit near both their positions. Outfielders also run to back up infielders on batted balls and thrown balls, including pick-off attempts from the <!--del_lnk--> pitcher or from the <!--del_lnk--> catcher.<p><a id="Defensive_strategy" name="Defensive_strategy"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Defensive strategy</span></h4>
<p><a id="Pitching" name="Pitching"></a><h5><span class="mw-headline">Pitching</span></h5>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:422px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/88/8888.jpg.htm" title="The typical motion of a pitcher"><img alt="The typical motion of a pitcher" height="147" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baseball_pitching_motion_2004.jpg" src="../../images/11/1182.jpg" width="420" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/88/8888.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The typical motion of a pitcher</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Effective pitching is vitally important to a baseball team, as pitching is the key for the defensive team to retire batters and to preventing runners from getting on base. A full game usually involves over one hundred pitches thrown by each team. However, most pitchers begin to tire before they reach this point. In previous eras, pitchers would often throw up to four complete games (all nine innings) in a week. With new advances in medical research and thus a better understanding of how the human body functions and tires out, starting pitchers tend more often to throw fractions of a game (typically 6 or 7 innings depending on their performance) about every five days (though a few complete games do still occur each year).<p>Multiple pitchers are often needed in a single game, including the <!--del_lnk--> starting pitcher and <!--del_lnk--> relief pitcher(s). Pitchers are substituted for one another like any other player (see below), and the rules do not limit the number of pitchers that can be used in a game; the only limiting factor is the size of the squad, naturally. In general, starting pitchers are not used in relief situations except sometimes during the post-season when every game is vital. If a game runs into many extra innings, a team may well empty its <!--del_lnk--> bullpen. If it then becomes necessary to use a "position player" as a pitcher, major league teams generally have certain players pre-designated as emergency relief pitchers, to avoid the embarrassment of using a less skillful player. In baseball's early years, squads were smaller, and relief pitchers were relatively uncommon, with the starter normally remaining for the entire game unless he was either thoroughly ineffective or became injured; today, with a much greater emphasis on pitch count (100 being the "magic number" in general), over the course of a single game each team will frequently use from two to five pitchers. In the 2005 <!--del_lnk--> ALCS, all four of the <!--del_lnk--> Chicago White Sox victories were complete games by the starters, a highly noteworthy event in the modern game.<p>Although a pitcher can only take one step backward and one forward, he has to step off the mound to throw over to first base if he is a right handed pitcher. While delivering the ball, the pitcher has a great arsenal at his disposal in the variation of location, velocity, movement, and arm location (see <!--del_lnk--> types of pitches). Most pitchers attempt to master two or three types of pitches; some pitchers throw up to 6 types of pitches with varying degrees of control. Common pitches include a <!--del_lnk--> fastball, which is the ball thrown at high speed; a <!--del_lnk--> curveball, which is made to curve by rotation imparted by the pitcher; and a <!--del_lnk--> change-up, which seeks to mimic the delivery of a fastball but arrives at significantly lower velocity.<p>To illustrate pitching strategy, consider the "fastball/change-up" combination: The average major-league pitcher can throw a fastball around 90 <!--del_lnk--> miles per hour (145 km/h), and a few pitchers have even exceeded 100 miles per hour (161 km/h). The change-up is thrown somewhere between 75 to 85 miles per hour (121 to 137 km/h). Since the batter's timing is critical to hitting a pitch, a batter swinging to hit what looks like a fastball, would be terribly fooled (swing and miss, hopefully) when the pitch turns out to be a much slower change-up.<p>Some pitchers choose to throw using the '<!--del_lnk--> submarine style,' a very efficient sidearm or near-underhand motion. Pitchers with a submarine delivery are often very difficult to hit because of the angle and movement of the ball once released. <!--del_lnk--> Walter Johnson, who threw one of the fastest fastballs in the history of the game, threw sidearm (though not submarine) rather than a normal overhand. True underhanded pitching is permitted in Major League Baseball. However, it is difficult to generate enough velocity and movement with the underhand motion.<p><a id="Fielding_strategy" name="Fielding_strategy"></a><h5><span class="mw-headline">Fielding strategy</span></h5>
<p>Only the pitcher's and catcher's locations are fixed, and then only at the beginning of each pitch. Thus, the players on the field move around as needed to defend against scoring a run. Many variations of this are possible, as location depends upon the situation. Circumstances such as the number of outs, the count (balls and strikes) on the batter, the number and speed of runners, the ability of the fielders, the ability of the pitcher, the type of pitch thrown, and the inning cause the fielders move to more strategic locations on the field. Common defensive strategies include: playing for the bunt, trying to prevent a <!--del_lnk--> stolen base, moving to a shallow position to throw out a runner at home, playing at "<!--del_lnk--> double play depth", and moving fielders to locations where hitters are most likely to hit the ball.<p><a id="Team_at_bat" name="Team_at_bat"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Team at bat</span></h3>
<p><a id="Batters_and_runners" name="Batters_and_runners"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Batters and runners</span></h4>
<p>The ultimate goal of the team at bat is to score runs. To accomplish this feat, the team at bat successively (in a predetermined order called a <i>lineup</i> or <i>batting order</i>) sends its nine players to the batter's box (adjacent to home plate) where they become batters. (Each team sets its batting lineup at the beginning of the game. Changes to the lineup are tightly limited by the rules of baseball and must be communicated to the umpires, who have the substitutions announced for the opposing team and fans. See <a href="#Substitutions" title="">Substitutions</a> below.)<p>A batter's turn at the plate is called a <i><!--del_lnk--> plate appearance</i> or an "<!--del_lnk--> at-bat." Batters advance to the bases in a variety of ways: hits, walks, hit-by-pitch, and a few others. When the batter hits a fair ball, he must run to first base, and may continue or stop at any base unless he is put out. A successful hit occurs when the batter reaches a base: reaching only first base is a <i>single</i>; reaching second base, a <i>double</i>; third base, a <i>triple</i>; and a hit that allows the batter to touch all bases in order on the same play is a <!--del_lnk--> home run, whether the ball is hit over the fence. Once a runner is held to a base, he may attempt to advance at any time, but is not required to do so unless the batter or another runner displaces him (called a force play). A batter always drops his bat when running the bases— otherwise, the bat would slow him down and could give rise to a call of fielder to catch it on its descent. A <i><!--del_lnk--> line drive</i> is like a fly ball, but the ball is hit with such force that its trajectory seems level to the ground. A batted ball which is not hit into the air, and which touches the ground within the infield before it can be caught, is called a <i><!--del_lnk--> ground ball</i>. When a ball is hit outside the foul line, it is a <i>foul ball</i>, requiring the batter and all runners to return to their respective bases.<p>Once the batter and any existing runners have all stopped at a base or been put out, the ball is returned to the pitcher, and the next batter comes to the plate. After the opposing team bats in its own order and three more outs are recorded, the first team's batting order will continue again from where it left off.<p>When a runner reaches home plate, he scores a run and is no longer a base runner. He must leave the playing area until his spot in the order comes up again. A runner may only circle the bases once per plate appearance and thus can score no more than a single run.<p><a id="Batting" name="Batting"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Batting</span></h4>
<p>Each <!--del_lnk--> plate appearance consists of a series of pitches, in which the <!--del_lnk--> pitcher throws the ball towards home plate while a batter is standing in the <!--del_lnk--> batter's box. With each pitch, the batter must decide whether to swing the bat at the ball in an attempt to hit it. The pitches arrive quickly, so the decision to swing must be made in less than a tenth of a second, based on whether the ball is hittable and in the <i><!--del_lnk--> strike zone</i>, a region defined by the area directly above home plate and between the hollow beneath the batter's knee and the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants. In addition to swinging at the ball, a batter who wishes to put the ball in play may hold his bat over home plate and attempt to tap a pitch lightly; this is called a <!--del_lnk--> bunt. Good bunting technique has been described as "catching the ball with the bat."<p>On any pitch, if the batter swings at the ball and misses, he is charged with a <i><!--del_lnk--> strike</i>. If the batter does not swing, the home plate <!--del_lnk--> umpire judges whether the ball passed through the strike zone. If the ball, or any part of it, passed through the zone, it is ruled a strike; otherwise, it is called a <i><!--del_lnk--> ball</i>. The number of balls and strikes thrown to the current batter is known as the <!--del_lnk--> count; the count is always given balls first (except in Japan, where it is reversed), then strikes (such as 3-2 or "three and two", also known as a "full count," which would be 3 balls and 2 strikes).<p>If the batter swings and makes contact with the ball, but does not put it in play in fair territory—a <i><!--del_lnk--> foul ball</i>—he is charged with an additional strike, except when there are already two strikes. Thus, a foul ball with two strikes leaves the count unchanged. (However, a noted exception to this rule is that a ball bunted foul with two strikes always counts as a strike.) If a pitch is batted foul or fair and a member of the defensive team is able to catch it, before the ball strikes the ground, the batter is declared out. In the event that a bat contacts the ball, but the ball continues sharply and directly to the catcher's mitt and is caught by the catcher, it is a <i><!--del_lnk--> foul tip</i>, which is same as an ordinary strike.<p>When three strikes occur on a batter, it is a <i><!--del_lnk--> strikeout</i> and the batter is automatically out unless the pitch is not caught by the catcher or if the pitch bounces before it is caught. It is then ruled a <!--del_lnk--> dropped third strike. (This is a violation of the third strike rule.) If the catcher drops the third strike the batter is permitted to attempt to advance to first base. In this case, the batter is not out (although the pitcher is awarded a strikeout). The catcher can try to get the batter out by tagging him with the ball or throwing the ball to first base and forcing him out. (See <!--del_lnk--> Doug Eddings/2005 ALCS and <!--del_lnk--> Mickey Owen/1941 World Series for famous examples of dropped third strikes that dramatically altered the course of post-season series'.)<p>On the fourth <!--del_lnk--> ball the batter becomes a runner, and is entitled to advance to first base without risk of being put out, called a <i><!--del_lnk--> base on balls</i> or a <i>walk</i> (abbreviated BB). If a pitch touches the batter, the umpire declares a <i><!--del_lnk--> hit by pitch</i> (abbreviated HBP) and the batter is awarded first base, unless the umpire determines that the ball was in the strike zone when it hit the batter, or that the batter did not attempt to avoid being hit. In practice, neither exception is ever called unless the batter obviously tries to get hit by the pitch; even standing still in the box will virtually always be overlooked, and the batter awarded first. If the catcher's mitt, catcher's mask, or any part of the catcher comes in contact with the batter and/or the batter's bat as the batter is attempting to hit a pitch, the batter is awarded first base, ruled "catcher's interference."<p><a id="Baserunning" name="Baserunning"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Baserunning</span></h4>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Once a batter becomes a runner and reaches first base safely, he is said to be "on" that base until he attempts to advance to the next base, until he is put out, or until the half-inning ends. When comparing two or more runners on the basepaths, the runner farther along is called a <i>lead runner</i> or a <i>preceding runner</i>; the other runner is called a <i>trailing runner</i> or a <i>following runner</i> . Runners on second or third base are considered to be in <i>scoring position</i> since ordinary hits, even singles, will often allow them to score.<p>A runner legally touching a base is "safe"—he may not be put out. Runners may attempt to advance from base to base at any time (except when the <!--del_lnk--> ball is dead), but must attempt to advance when <!--del_lnk--> forced--when all previous bases are occupied and the batter becomes a runner. When a ball is hit in the air, a <i>fly ball</i>, and caught by the defending team, runners must return and touch the base they occupied at the <!--del_lnk--> time of the pitch—called <i><!--del_lnk--> tagging up</i>—after the ball is first touched. Once they do this, they may attempt to advance at their own risk.<p>Only one runner may occupy a base at a time; if two runners are touching a base at once, the trailing runner is <!--del_lnk--> in jeopardy and will be out if <!--del_lnk--> tagged, unless he was forced--in which case the lead runner is out when tagged for failing to reach his <!--del_lnk--> force base. Either such occurrence is very rare. Thus, after a play, at most three runners may be on the basepaths, one on each base--first, second, and third. When three runners are on base, this is called <i>bases loaded</i>.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1183.jpg.htm" title="Pick-off attempt on runner (in red) at first base"><img alt="Pick-off attempt on runner (in red) at first base" height="163" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Baseball_pick-off_attempt.jpg" src="../../images/11/1183.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1183.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Pick-off attempt on runner (in red) at first base</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Baserunners may attempt to advance, or <!--del_lnk--> steal a base, while the pitcher is throwing a pitch. The pitcher, in lieu of delivering the pitch, may try to prevent this by throwing the ball to one of the infielders in order to tag the runner; if successful, it is called a <i>pick-off</i>. If the runner attempts to steal the next base but is tagged out before reaching it safely, he is <i>caught stealing</i>. An illegal attempt by the pitcher to deceive a runner, among other pitching violations, is called a <!--del_lnk--> balk, allowing the runners to advance one base without risk of being put out.<p>Another fundamental tenet of the rules of baseball is that a runner originally ruled out can subsequently be ruled safe, but once a runner is ruled safe he cannot be called out on the same play. A runner initially called out can be subsequently ruled safe if the fielder putting the runner out drops the ball (on either a tag or force play), pulls his foot off the base (in the case of a force play), or otherwise illegally obstructs a runner from reaching a base that he otherwise would have reached safely.<p><a id="Batting_and_base_running_strategy" name="Batting_and_base_running_strategy"></a><h4><span class="mw-headline">Batting and base running strategy</span></h4>
<p>The goal of each batter is to become a base runner himself (by a <!--del_lnk--> base hit, a <!--del_lnk--> base on balls, being <!--del_lnk--> hit by the pitch, a <!--del_lnk--> fielding error, or <!--del_lnk--> fielder's choice) or to help move other base runners along (by <!--del_lnk--> sacrifice bunt, <!--del_lnk--> sacrifice fly, or <!--del_lnk--> hit and run).<p>Batters attempt to "read" pitchers through pre-game preparation by studying the tendencies of pitchers and by talking to other batters that previously faced the pitcher. While batting, batters attempt to "read" pitches by looking for clues that the pitcher or catcher reveal. These clues (also referred to as "tipping pitches") include movements of the pitchers arms, shoulders, body, etc, or the positioning of the catcher's feet and glove. Batters can attempt to "read" the spin of a ball early in the pitch to anticipate its trajectory. Batters also remain keenly aware of the count during their at bat. The count is considered to be in the batter's favor when there are more balls than strikes (e.g.two balls and no strikes). This puts pressure on the pitcher to throw a strike to avoid a walk so the batter is more likely to get an easier pitch to hit and can look for a particular pitch in a particular zone or take a riskier or bigger swing. The count is considered to be in the pitcher's favour when there are fewer balls than strikes (e.g. no balls and two strikes). This gives the pitcher more freedom to try enticing the batter to swing at a pitch outside the strike zone or throwing a pitch that is harder to control (e.g. a <!--del_lnk--> curve, <!--del_lnk--> slider or <!--del_lnk--> splitter), but that is also harder to hit. Thus the batter will take a more protective swing. A major strategy in batting at competitive levels of baseball is patient hitting. An example of patient hitting is when a batter has a zero strike count the batter will almost always look for his perfect pitch. One strike hitting is very similar to no strike hitting and the batter usually is still looking for a good pitch to hit. Two strike hitting, the strategy is changed where the batter will protect the plate by fouling off pitches until the batter is able to find a pitch to hit. This style of hitting is known as patience at the plate. This style of hitting allows the hitter to look for a good pitch to hit and make the pitcher throw more pitches so that the pitcher will tire out faster. This is critical if the batting team is facing a very skilled pitcher who if allowed to will take over the game with his ability to get batters to do what he wants them to do with the pitches that he makes.<p>In general, base running is a tactical part of the game requiring good judgment by runners (and their coaches) to assess the risk in attempting to advance. During <!--del_lnk--> tag plays, a good <!--del_lnk--> slide can affect the outcome of the play. Managers will sometimes simultaneously send a runner and require the batter to swing (a <!--del_lnk--> hit-and-run play) in an attempt to advance runners. Often, on a hit-and-run play the batter will try to "hit behind the runner" by hitting the ball to right field which makes it more likely that the runner will be able to make it to third base, thus taking an extra base.<p>A batter can also attempt to move a baserunner forward by "sacrificing" his <!--del_lnk--> at-bat. This can be done by <!--del_lnk--> bunting the ball, hitting a <!--del_lnk--> fly ball far enough in the air that a baserunner can advance after the catch, or simply making contact with the ball on a <!--del_lnk--> hit-and-run play.<p>During the course of play many offensive and defensive players run close to each other, and during tag plays, the defensive player must touch the offensive player. Although baseball is considered a <!--del_lnk--> non-contact sport, a runner may be allowed to make potentially dangerous contact with a fielder as part of an attempt to reach base, unless that fielder is fielding a batted ball. (Noted exceptions to the dangerous contact rule are found throughout amateur competitions, including youth leagues, high school, and college baseball.) A good slide is often more advantageous than such contact, and "malicious" contact by runners is typically prohibited as offensive <!--del_lnk--> interference. The most common occurrence of contact of this nature is at home plate between the runner and the catcher, as the catcher is well padded and locked into position that completely blocks home plate from the runner, and the runner will often try to knock the ball out of the catchers hand by running him over. Since the catcher is seen (symbolically and literally) as the last line of defense, it seems natural that the more physical play happens here.<p><a id="Innings_and_determining_a_winner" name="Innings_and_determining_a_winner"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Innings and determining a winner</span></h3>
<p>An <i><!--del_lnk--> inning</i> consists of each team having one turn in the field and one turn to hit, with the visiting team batting before the home team. A standard game lasts nine innings, although some leagues (such as high school baseball and <!--del_lnk--> Little League) play fewer. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins. If the home team is ahead after eight-and-a-half innings have been played, it is declared the winner, and the last half-inning is not played. If the home team is trailing or tied in the ninth inning or beyond and they score to take the lead, the game ends as soon as the winning run touches home plate; however, if the last batter hits a home run to win the game, he and any runners on base are all permitted to score.<p>If both teams have scored the same number of runs at the end of a regular-length game, a <!--del_lnk--> tie is avoided by the addition of <!--del_lnk--> extra innings. As many innings as necessary are played until one team has the lead at the end of an inning. Thus, the home team always has a chance to respond if the visiting team scores in the top half of the inning; this gives the home team a small tactical advantage. In theory, a baseball game could go on forever; in practice, however, they eventually end. In addition to that rule, a game might theoretically end if both the home and away team were to run out of players to substitute (See Substitutions). In <!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball the longest game played was a 26-inning affair between the <!--del_lnk--> Brooklyn Robins and <!--del_lnk--> Boston Braves on <!--del_lnk--> May 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1920. The game ended in a 1-1 tie called on account of darkness. Two <!--del_lnk--> minor-league teams, the <!--del_lnk--> Pawtucket Red Sox and <!--del_lnk--> Rochester Red Wings, played a <!--del_lnk--> 33-inning game in 1981.<p>In Major League Baseball, games end with tie scores only because conditions have made it impossible to continue play. A tie game does not count as an official game in the standings unless it is finished later or replayed; however, individual player statistics from tie games are counted. Inclement weather may also shorten games, but at least five innings must be played for the game to be considered official; four-and-a-half innings are enough if the home team is ahead. Previously, <!--del_lnk--> curfews and the absence of adequate lighting caused more ties and shortened games. Also, with more modern playing surfaces better able to handle light rains, the process for calling or shortening a game due to weather has changed; it is more common than in the past to delay a game as much as 2 hours before a cancellation; also, a delay usually does not occur anymore until the rain is moderate-heavy and/or there is standing water on some part of the playing field.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> Japanese baseball, if the score remains tied after nine innings, up to three extra innings may be played before the game is called a tie. Some youth or amateur leagues will end a game early if one team is ahead by ten or more runs, a practice known as the "mercy rule" or "<!--del_lnk--> slaughter rule". Rarely, a game can also be won or lost by <!--del_lnk--> forfeit.<p>There is a short break between each half-inning during which the new defensive team takes the field and the pitcher warms up. Traditionally, the break between the top half and the bottom half of the seventh inning is known as the <!--del_lnk--> seventh-inning stretch. During the "stretch," fans in the United States often sing the chorus of "<!--del_lnk--> Take Me Out to the Ball Game;" since the <a href="../../wp/s/September_11%252C_2001_attacks.htm" title="September 11, 2001 attacks">September 11, 2001 attacks</a>, "God Bless America" has often been added to it.<p><a id="Substitutions" name="Substitutions"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Substitutions</span></h3>
<p>Each team is allowed to substitute for any player at any time the ball is dead. A batter who replaces another batter is referred to as a <i><!--del_lnk--> pinch hitter</i>; similarly, a <i><!--del_lnk--> pinch runner</i> may be used as a replacement for a baserunner. Any player who replaces another player between innings is known as a "defensive replacement". Any replacement is a permanent substitution; the replaced player may not return to the game.<p>It is common for a pitcher to pitch for several innings and then be removed in favour of a <!--del_lnk--> relief pitcher. Because pitching is a specialized skill, most pitchers are relatively poor hitters; it is common to substitute for a pitcher when he is due to bat. This pinch hitter is typically then replaced by a relief pitcher when the team returns to the field on defense, but more complicated substitutions are possible, most notably the <i><!--del_lnk--> double switch</i>.<p>Many <!--del_lnk--> amateur leagues allow a starting player who was removed to return to the game in the same position in the batting order under a re-entry rule. Youth leagues often allow free and open substitution to encourage player participation.<p>A few leagues, notably Major League Baseball's <!--del_lnk--> American League, allow a <!--del_lnk--> designated hitter, a player whose sole purpose is to hit when it would normally be the pitcher's turn. This is not considered a substitution but rather a position, albeit a purely offensive one. A designated hitter does not play in the field on defense and may remain in the game regardless of changes in pitchers. The use of the designated hitter is opposed by many baseball traditionalists, but it is used today at most levels of baseball in the United States—high school, college, minor leagues—and internationally, including in the <!--del_lnk--> Olympics.<p><a id="Rosters" name="Rosters"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Rosters</span></h3>
<p>The number of players on a Major League roster is dictated by the labor agreements worked out between players and management. According to <!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball, a team may have a maximum of 25 men on a roster from Opening Day until August 31. After that, teams may call up additional personnel, up to a maximum of 40 players on the active roster, with the exception of the postseason, where rosters are fixed at 25 men.<p><a id="Other_personnel" name="Other_personnel"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Other personnel</span></h2>
<p>Any baseball game involves one or more <!--del_lnk--> umpires, who make rulings on the outcome of each play. At a minimum, one umpire will stand behind the catcher, to have a good view of the strike zone, and call each pitch a ball or a strike. Additional umpires may be stationed near the bases, thus making it easier to see plays in the field. In <!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball, four umpires are used for each game, one near each base. In the all-star game and playoffs, six umpires are used: one at each base and two in the outfield along either foul line.<p><a id="Baseball.27s_unique_style" name="Baseball.27s_unique_style"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Baseball's unique style</span></h2>
<p>Baseball is unique among American sports in several ways. This uniqueness is a large part of its longstanding appeal and strong association with the American psyche. The philosopher <!--del_lnk--> Morris Raphael Cohen described baseball as a national religion. Many people believe that baseball is the ultimate combination of skill, timing, athleticism, and strategy. <!--del_lnk--> Yogi Berra (a <!--del_lnk--> Hall of Fame baseball player) once said, "Baseball is 90% mental—the other half is physical." Although these elements all contribute to baseball's appeal in American culture, they are also shared by its cousin game <a href="../../wp/c/Cricket.htm" title="Cricket">cricket</a>. In many <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth nations, cricket and the culture surrounding it hold a similar place and affection to baseball's role in American culture.<p>The lure of baseball is in its subtleties: situational defense, pitch location, pitch sequence, statistics, ball parks, history, and player personalities. It's been noted that the game itself has no time limit, and its playing surface, rather than rigidly rectangular and standardized, extends theoretically to eternity from a single point (home plate) to beyond its own fences (if only a batter could hit a ball hard enough to break the escape velocity of <a href="../../wp/e/Earth.htm" title="Earth">Earth</a>). For the avid fan, the game—even during its slowest points—is never boring because of these nuances. Therefore, a full appreciation of baseball naturally requires some knowledge of the rules; it also requires deep observation of those endearing and enduring qualities that give baseball its unique style.<p><a id="Time_element" name="Time_element"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Time element</span></h3>
<p><a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">Basketball</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Ice_hockey.htm" title="Ice hockey">ice hockey</a>, <a href="../../wp/a/American_football.htm" title="American football">American football</a>, and <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Soccer">soccer</a> all use a clock, and games often end by a team <!--del_lnk--> killing the clock rather than competing directly against the opposing team. In contrast, baseball has no clock; a team cannot win without getting the last batter out and rallies are not constrained by time.<p>In recent decades, observers have criticized professional baseball for the length of its games, with some justification as the time required to play a baseball game has increased steadily through the years. One hundred years ago, games typically took an hour and a half to play; in 2004, the average major league baseball game lasted 2 hours and 47 minutes. This is due to longer breaks between half-innings for television commercials, increased offense, more pitching changes, and a slower pace of play.<p>In response, Major League Baseball has instructed umpires to be stricter in enforcing speed-up rules and the size of the <!--del_lnk--> strike zone. Although the official rules specify that when the bases are empty, the pitcher should deliver the ball within 12 seconds of receiving it (with the penalty of a ball called if he fails to do so), this rule is rarely, if ever, enforced. The umpire also has the option of calling a balk if there are runners on base, but is also rarely, if ever, enforced.<p><a id="Individual_and_team" name="Individual_and_team"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Individual and team</span></h3>
<p>Baseball is fundamentally a team sport—even two or three Hall of Fame-caliber players are no guarantee of a <!--del_lnk--> pennant—yet it places individual players under great pressure and scrutiny. The pitcher must make good pitches or risk losing the game; the hitter has a mere fraction of a second to decide what pitch has been thrown and whether to swing at it. While their respective managers and/or coaches can sometimes signal players regarding the strategies the manager wants to employ, no one can help the pitcher while he pitches or the hitter while he bats. If the batter hits a line drive, the outfielder, as the last line of defense, makes the lone decision to try to catch it or play it on the bounce. Baseball's history is full of heroes and goats—men who in the heat of the moment (the "clutch") distinguished themselves with a timely hit or catch, or an untimely strikeout or error.<p><a id="The_uniqueness_of_each_baseball_park" name="The_uniqueness_of_each_baseball_park"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">The uniqueness of each baseball park</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1184.jpg.htm" title="The main scoreboard at Wrigley Field. This photo was taken during the August 27, 2005 Cubs-Marlins game."><img alt="The main scoreboard at Wrigley Field. This photo was taken during the August 27, 2005 Cubs-Marlins game." height="333" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wrigleyboard_8_27_05.jpg" src="../../images/11/1184.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1184.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The main scoreboard at Wrigley Field. This photo was taken during the <!--del_lnk--> August 27, <!--del_lnk--> 2005 <!--del_lnk--> Cubs-<!--del_lnk--> Marlins game.</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Unlike the majority of sports, baseball parks do not have to follow a strict set of guidelines. With the exception of the strict rules on the dimensions of the infield, discussed above, the <!--del_lnk--> official rules simply state that fields built after <!--del_lnk--> June 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1958 must have a minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field and 400 (121 m) feet to centre. This rule (a footnote to official rule 1.04) was passed specifically in response to the fence at the <!--del_lnk--> Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was not originally designed for baseball, and thus was only 251 feet (77 m) to the left field pole (1 foot (0.3 m) over the bare minimum required by the rules). However, major league teams often skirt this rule. For example, <!--del_lnk--> Minute Maid Park's left field is only 315 feet (96 m), and with a fence much lower than the famous "Green Monster" at <!--del_lnk--> Fenway Park. And there are no rules at all regulating the height of "fences, stands or other obstructions", other than the assumption that they exist. Because of this flexibility, there are all sorts of variations in parks, from different lengths to the fences to uneven playing surfaces to massive or minimal amounts of foul territory. All of these factors, as well as local variations in altitude, climate and game scheduling, can affect the nature of the games played at those ballparks, and a park may be referred to as either a "pitcher's park" or a "hitter's park", depending on which side benefits more from the unique factors present. Chicago's <!--del_lnk--> Wrigley Field, strangely enough, can be <i>either</i>, depending on the wind direction at any given time. This is due to Chicago's direct relationship with <!--del_lnk--> Lake Michigan. Anytime the wind blows in, it causes drag on the baseball leading to more fly ball outs. In contrast, when the wind blows out, home runs are more likely to reach the streets.<p><a id="Statistics" name="Statistics"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Statistics</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>As with many sports, and perhaps even more so, <a href="../../wp/s/Statistics.htm" title="Statistics">statistics</a> are very important to baseball. Statistics have been kept for the Major Leagues since their creation, and presumably statistics were around even before that. General managers, <!--del_lnk--> baseball scouts, managers, and players alike study player statistics to help them choose various strategies to best help their team.<p>Traditionally, statistics like <!--del_lnk--> batting average for batters—the number of hits divided by the number of at bats—and <!--del_lnk--> earned run average—approximately the number of runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings—have governed the statistical world of baseball. However, the advent of <!--del_lnk--> sabermetrics has brought an onslaught of new statistics that perhaps better gauge a player's performance and contributions to his team from year to year.<p>Some <!--del_lnk--> sabermetrics have entered the mainstream baseball statistic world. <!--del_lnk--> On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a somewhat complicated formula that some say gauges a hitter's performance better than batting average. It combines the hitter's <!--del_lnk--> on base percentage—hits plus walks plus <!--del_lnk--> hit by pitches divided by <!--del_lnk--> at bats plus <!--del_lnk--> bases on balls plus <!--del_lnk--> hit by pitches plus <!--del_lnk--> sacrifice flies—with their <!--del_lnk--> slugging percentage—<!--del_lnk--> total bases divided by at bats. <!--del_lnk--> Walks plus hits per inning pitched (or <i>WHIP</i>) gives a good representation of a pitcher's abilities; it is calculated exactly as its name suggests.<p>Also important are more specific statistics for particular situations. For example, a certain hitter's ability to hit left-handed pitchers might cause his manager to give him more chances to face lefties. Some hitters hit better with runners in scoring position, so an opposing manager, knowing this statistic, might elect to <!--del_lnk--> intentionally walk him in order to face a poorer hitter.<p><a id="Popularity" name="Popularity"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Popularity</span></h2>
<p>Baseball is most popular in East Asia and the Americas, although in South America its popularity is mainly limited to the northern portion of the continent. In <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Puerto Rico, the <a href="../../wp/d/Dominican_Republic.htm" title="Dominican Republic">Dominican Republic</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Cuba.htm" title="Cuba">Cuba</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Panama.htm" title="Panama">Panama</a>, <a href="../../wp/v/Venezuela.htm" title="Venezuela">Venezuela</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Nicaragua.htm" title="Nicaragua">Nicaragua</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Korea.htm" title="South Korea">South Korea</a>, and <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_China.htm" title="Republic of China">Taiwan</a>, it is one of the most popular sports. The United States is the birthplace of baseball, where it has long been regarded as more than just a "<!--del_lnk--> major sport"; for many decades, it has been popularly referred to as the "<!--del_lnk--> national pastime" and <!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball has been given a unique monopoly status by the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_Congress.htm" title="United States Congress">United States Congress</a>. Although the three most popular professional team sports in the United States are ball games—baseball, <a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">basketball</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/American_football.htm" title="American football">American football</a>—baseball's historical popularity was so great that even today the word "ballgame" in the United States almost always refers to a game of baseball (except in the South, where the word is also used in association with football), and "ballpark" invariably refers to a <!--del_lnk--> baseball field.<p>Baseball has often been a barometer of the fabled American "melting pot", as immigrants from different regions have tried to "make good" in various areas including sports. In the 19th century, baseball was populated with many players of Irish or German extraction. A number of Native Americans had successful careers especially in the early 1900s. Italians and Poles appeared on many rosters during the 1920s and 1930s. Black Americans came on strong starting in the late 1940s after the barriers had been lifted, and continue to form a significant contingent. By the 1960s, Hispanics had started to make the scene, and had become a dominant force by the 1990s. In the 21st century, East Asians have been appearing in increasing numbers.<p>While baseball is perhaps the most popular sport in the United States and is certainly one of the two most popular along with football, it is difficult to determine which is more popular because of the wide discrepancy in number of games per season. For example, the total attendance for major league games is roughly equal to that of all other American professional team sports combined, but football gets higher television ratings, both a function in part of the long (162-game) baseball season and short (16-game) football season. According to <!--del_lnk--> Baseball Commissioner <!--del_lnk--> Bud Selig both revenue and attendance are currently higher than at any previous point in the history of the game. <!--del_lnk--> <p><a id="Organized_leagues" name="Organized_leagues"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Organized leagues</span></h2>
<p>Baseball is played at a number of levels, by amateur and professionals, and by the young and the old. Youth programs use modified versions of adult and professional <!--del_lnk--> baseball rules, which may include a smaller field, easier pitching (from a coach, a tee, or a machine), less contact, base running restrictions, limitations on innings a pitcher can throw, liberal balk rules, and run limitations, among others. Since rules vary from location-to-location and among the organizations, coverage of the nuances in those rules is beyond this article.<p>Following is a list of organized leagues:<ul>
<li>Youth Leagues <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Little League<li><!--del_lnk--> Pony Baseball, a youth program, headquartered in Washington, Pennsylvania (USA).<li><!--del_lnk--> Dizzy Dean Baseball a youth program in the USA.<li><!--del_lnk--> American Legion Baseball, a youth program, headquartered in Indianapolis, IN.<li><!--del_lnk--> USSSA Baseball a youth and adult program, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri (USA).<li><!--del_lnk--> Ripken Baseball, a youth program, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland (USA).<li><!--del_lnk--> Babe Ruth League, a youth program, headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey (USA).<li><!--del_lnk--> Khoury League, a youth program, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri (USA).</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>High School <ul>
<li>In the USA, the <!--del_lnk--> National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and each state association governs the play of baseball at the high school level.</ul>
<li>Collegiate Level <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> NCAA, including <!--del_lnk--> NCAA Division I and the <!--del_lnk--> College World Series<li><!--del_lnk--> NAIA, including the <!--del_lnk--> NAIA Baseball World Series<li><!--del_lnk--> List of Collegiate Summer Baseball Leagues<li>National Club Baseball Association (NCBA)</ul>
<li>International Competition <ul>
<li>Many international baseball events are coordinated by the <!--del_lnk--> International Baseball Federation, including <!--del_lnk--> The World Cup and The <!--del_lnk--> World Baseball Classic.<li>As an <!--del_lnk--> Olympic sport, see earlier section on the status of baseball in the Olympic games, and the article "<!--del_lnk--> Baseball at the Summer Olympics."</ul>
<li>Semi-professional baseball <ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> National Semi-Pro Baseball Association</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Professional baseball<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada;<li><!--del_lnk--> Minor League baseball in the United States and Canada;<li><!--del_lnk--> Independent Baseball<li><!--del_lnk--> Negro League baseball, defunct since 1958, in the United States.<li><!--del_lnk--> All-American Girls Professional Baseball League<li><!--del_lnk--> Greek Baseball<li><!--del_lnk--> British Baseball Federation<li><!--del_lnk--> Irish Baseball<li><!--del_lnk--> Mexican Baseball<li><!--del_lnk--> Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League<li><!--del_lnk--> Japanese Baseball<li><!--del_lnk--> China Baseball Association<li><!--del_lnk--> Taiwan professional baseball<li><!--del_lnk--> Korean Baseball Organization (KBO)<li><!--del_lnk--> Australian Baseball<li><!--del_lnk--> Israel Baseball League<li>There are also smaller professional leagues in <!--del_lnk--> Italy, <!--del_lnk--> Germany, the <!--del_lnk--> Netherlands, and many others.</ul>
</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Sport', 'North America', 'South America', 'United States', 'Jane Austen', 'Babe Ruth', 'Jackie Robinson', 'Israel', 'National Hockey League', 'September 11, 2001 attacks', 'Cricket', 'Earth', 'Basketball', 'Ice hockey', 'American football', 'Soccer', 'Statistics', 'Japan', 'Dominican Republic', 'Cuba', 'Panama', 'Venezuela', 'Nicaragua', 'South Korea', 'Republic of China', 'United States Congress', 'Basketball', 'American football']
|
Basel
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Basel,-minu,1019,1225,1226,12 BC,1356,1412,1431,1439,1449" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Basel</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Basel";
var wgTitle = "Basel";
var wgArticleId = 4911;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Basel">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Basel</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.European_Geography.htm">European Geography</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<p><span class="plainlinksneverexpand" id="coordinates"><!--del_lnk--> Coordinates: <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 47°34′N 7°36′E</span></span><table border="border" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="float:right; clear:right; margin-left:0.5em; border-collapse: collapse; background:white" width="265px">
<tr>
<th align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFAA" colspan="2">Basel</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2"><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23508.png.htm" title="Coat of Arms of Basel"><img alt="Coat of Arms of Basel" height="90" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Canton_of_Basel.svg" src="../../images/235/23508.png" width="90" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-size:90%"><!--del_lnk--> Canton</span></td>
<td><span style="font-size:90%"><!--del_lnk--> Basel-Stadt</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-size:90%;"><!--del_lnk--> District</span></td>
<td><span style="font-size:90%">n.a.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-size:90%"><!--del_lnk--> Coordinates</span> </td>
<td><span style="font-size:90%"><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> 47°34′N 7°36′E</span></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-size:90%"><!--del_lnk--> Population</span></td>
<td><span style="font-size:90%">166120 </span> <span style="font-size:80%">(<!--del_lnk--> December 2002)</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-size:90%"><!--del_lnk--> Area</span></td>
<td><span style="font-size:90%">22.75 <!--del_lnk--> km²</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-size:90%"><!--del_lnk--> Elevation</span></td>
<td><span style="font-size:90%">260 <!--del_lnk--> m</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-size:90%"><!--del_lnk--> Postal code</span></td>
<td><span style="font-size:90%">4000</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-size:90%"><!--del_lnk--> Mayor</span></td>
<td><span style="font-size:90%"><!--del_lnk--> Ralph Lewin (<small><!--del_lnk--> Pres. of Cantonal exec.</small>)</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-size:90%">Website</span></td>
<td><span style="font-size:90%"><!--del_lnk--> www.basel.ch</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="2">
<div style="float:left;clear:left;width:269px">
<div style="position:relative;border:solid silver 1px;padding:0px;width:265px"><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23509.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Karte_Schweiz.png" src="../../images/235/23509.png" width="265" /></a><br />
<div style="position:absolute;z-index:200; top:14.5%; left:37%;height:0;width:0;margin:0;padding:0;">
<div style="position:relative;top:-4px;left:-4px;width:8px;text-align:center;z-index:201"><a class="image" href="../../images/171/17100.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="8" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Locator_Dot.svg" src="../../images/38/3826.png" width="8" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size:90%;line-height:110%;position:relative;top:-1.5em;left:0.5em;text-align:left;width:6em;z-index:202;"><span style="padding:1px;background:none">Basel</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-size:90%">
</div>
</div>
</th>
</tr>
</table>
<div style="clear: right; float: right">
</div>
<p><b>Basel</b> (British <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a> traditionally: <i>Basle</i> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[bɑːl]</span> and more recently <b>Basel</b> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">['ba:zəl]</span>, <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a>: <i>Basel</i> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">['ba:zəl]</span>, <a href="../../wp/f/French_language.htm" title="French language">French</a>: <i>Bâle</i> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[bɑl]</span>, <!--del_lnk--> Italian: <i>Basilea</i> <span class="IPA" title="Pronunciation in IPA">[bazi'leːa]</span>) is <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a>'s third most populous city (166,563 inhabitants (<!--del_lnk--> 2004); 690,000 inhabitants in the conurbation stretching across the immediate cantonal and national boundaries made Basel Switzerland's second-largest urban area as of <!--del_lnk--> 2003).<p>Located in north-west Switzerland on the river <a href="../../wp/r/Rhine.htm" title="Rhine">Rhine</a>, Basel functions as a major industrial centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. The city borders both <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> and <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>. The Basel region, culturally extending into German <!--del_lnk--> Baden and French <!--del_lnk--> Alsace, reflects the heritage of its three <!--del_lnk--> states in the modern Latin name: "<!--del_lnk--> Regio TriRhena". It has the oldest <!--del_lnk--> university of the Swiss Confederation (<!--del_lnk--> 1460).<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Basel traces its history back at least as far as the days of the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a> settlement of <!--del_lnk--> Augusta Raurica though even older Celtic settlements (including a <!--del_lnk--> vitrified fort) have been discovered recently predating the Roman castle. The city's position on the <a href="../../wp/r/Rhine.htm" title="Rhine">Rhine</a> long emphasised its importance: Basel for many centuries possessed the only bridge over the river "between <!--del_lnk--> Lake Constance and the sea".<p>From <!--del_lnk--> 999, Basel was ruled by <!--del_lnk--> prince-bishops (see <!--del_lnk--> Bishop of Basel)<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1019 the construction of the cathedral of Basel (known locally as the <i>Munster</i>) began under German Emperor <!--del_lnk--> Heinrich II.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1225–<!--del_lnk--> 1226 the Bridge over the Rhine was constructed by <!--del_lnk--> Bishop Heinrich von Thun and lesser Basel (Kleinbasel) founded as a beachhead to protect the bridge.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1356 an earthquake caused extensive damage in the city destroying a vast number of castles in the vicinity, allowing the city to offer courts in the city to nobles as an alternative to rebuilding their castles in exchange for their protection of the city. The <!--del_lnk--> De Bâle family moves in and helps rebuild the city and surrounding country, but set up house in Basel-Land.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1412 (or earlier) the well-known guesthouse <!--del_lnk--> Zum Goldenen Sternen was established.<p>Basel became the focal point of western Christendom during the 15th-century <!--del_lnk--> Council of Basel (<!--del_lnk--> 1431 –<!--del_lnk--> 1449), including the <!--del_lnk--> 1439 election of antipope <!--del_lnk--> Felix V.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1459 Pope <!--del_lnk--> Pius II endowed the <!--del_lnk--> University of Basel where notables like <!--del_lnk--> Erasmus of Rotterdam, <!--del_lnk--> Paracelsus and <!--del_lnk--> Hans Holbein the Younger taught. At the same time printing was introduced in Basel by apprentices of <!--del_lnk--> Gutenberg. The <!--del_lnk--> Schwabe publishing house was founded 1488 by <!--del_lnk--> Johannes Petri and is the oldest publishing house still in business. <!--del_lnk--> Johann Froben also operated his printing house in Basel and was notable for publishing works by <!--del_lnk--> Erasmus.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1495, Basel was incorporated in the Upper Rhenish <!--del_lnk--> Imperial Circle, the bishop sitting on the Bench of the Ecclesiastical Princes.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1500 the construction of the <!--del_lnk--> cathedral of Basel (German: Münster) was finished.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1501 Basel de-facto separated from the Holy Roman Empire and joined the <a href="../../wp/o/Old_Swiss_Confederacy.htm" title="Old Swiss Confederacy">Swiss Confederation</a> as 11th state, and began of the construction of the city council building. The bishop continued to reside in Basel until the reformation of <!--del_lnk--> Oecolampadius in <!--del_lnk--> 1529. The bishop's <!--del_lnk--> crook was however retained as the city's <!--del_lnk--> coat of arms.<p>In March <!--del_lnk--> 1536 the first edition of <i>Christianae religionis institutio</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Institutes of the Christian Religion) was published in Latin by <a href="../../wp/j/John_Calvin.htm" title="John Calvin">John Calvin</a> at Basel. Intended as a defence of <!--del_lnk--> Huguenots then persecuted in France, Calvin's <!--del_lnk--> Institutes was an exposition of <!--del_lnk--> Protestant Christian doctrine which later became known as <!--del_lnk--> Calvinism.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1543 <!--del_lnk--> De humani corporis fabrica, the first anatomy book was published and printed in Basel by <!--del_lnk--> Andreas Vesalius (<!--del_lnk--> 1514–<!--del_lnk--> 1564).<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1662 the <!--del_lnk--> Amerbaschsches Kabinett formed the basis of a collection and exposition, forming the core of the <!--del_lnk--> museum of art of Basel.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1912, the extraordinary congress of the <!--del_lnk--> Second International was held in Basel, due to the outbreak of the <!--del_lnk--> Balkan Wars<p><a id="Transportation" name="Transportation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Transportation</span></h2>
<p>Basel has Switzerland's only cargo port, through which goods pass along the navigable stretches of the <a href="../../wp/r/Rhine.htm" title="Rhine">Rhine</a> and connect to ocean-going ships at the port of <a href="../../wp/r/Rotterdam.htm" title="Rotterdam">Rotterdam</a>.<p><!--del_lnk--> EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is the only airport in the world operated jointly by three countries, France and Switzerland and Germany. Contrary to popular belief, the airport is located completely on French soil. The airport itself is split into two architecturally independent sectors, one half serving the French side and the other half serving the Swiss side; there is a customs point at the middle of the airport so that people can "emigrate" to the other side of the airport.<p>Basel has long held an important place as a rail hub. Three railway stations — those of the German, French and Swiss networks — lie within the city (although the Swiss (Basel <!--del_lnk--> SBB) and French (Basel <!--del_lnk--> SNCF) stations are actually in the same complex, separated by Customs and Immigration facilities). The largest goods railway complex of country is located just outside the city, spanning the municipalities of Muttenz and Pratteln. The new highspeed ICE railway line from Karlsruhe to Basel will be completed in 2008 while phase I of the <!--del_lnk--> TGV-Est line will be reducing travel time from Basel to Paris by the year 2007.<p>Basel has an extensive public transportation network serving the city and connecting to surrounding suburbs. The green-colored local <!--del_lnk--> trams and buses are operated by the BVB (<!--del_lnk--> Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe). The yellow-colored buses and trams are operated by the BLT <!--del_lnk--> Baselland Transport, and connect areas in the nearby half-canton of Baselland to central Basel. The trams are powered by <!--del_lnk--> overhead lines, and the bus fleet is mix of electric and conventional fuel-powered vehicles. The BVB also shares commuter bus lines in cooperation with transit authorities in the neighboring Alsace region in France and Baden region in Germany. The Regio-S-Bahn Basel, the commuter rail network connecting to suburbs surrounding the city, is jointly operated by SBB, SNCF and DB.<p>Within city limits, five bridges connect greater and lesser Basel, from upstream to downstream:<ul>
<li>Schwarzwaldbrücke (built 1972)<li>Wettsteinbrücke (current structure built 1998, original bridge built 1879)<li>Mittlere Brücke (current structure built 1905, original bridge built 1225 as the first bridge to cross the Rhine River)<li>Johanniterbrücke (built 1967)<li>Dreirosenbrücke (built 2004, original bridge built 1935)</ul>
<p>A somewhat anachronistic yet still widely used system of ferry boats links the two shores. These four ferries are tied to a cable-pulley system that spans the river. To cross the river, the ferries face the opposite bank and utilize the current on their flank for lateral propulsion. This form of transportation is therefore completely hydraulically driven, requiring no outside energy source.<div class="thumb" style="margin: 5px; clear: both;">
<div style="overflow: auto; overflow-x: scroll; width: 100%;"><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23510.jpg.htm" title="A panoramic view of Basel, looking east over Kleinbasel (smaller Basel)."><img alt="A panoramic view of Basel, looking east over Kleinbasel (smaller Basel)." height="353" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basel_Panorama.jpg" src="../../images/235/23510.jpg" width="1200" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="thumbcaption" style="margin: 5px; font-size:90%">A panoramic view of Basel, looking east over Kleinbasel (smaller Basel).</div>
<p><a id="Industry_and_trade" name="Industry_and_trade"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Industry and trade</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23511.jpg.htm" title="Marktplatz, Basel's market square."><img alt="Marktplatz, Basel's market square." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:P4260257.JPG" src="../../images/235/23511.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23511.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Marktplatz, Basel's market square.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23512.jpg.htm" title="Rathaus, Basel's Town Hall."><img alt="Rathaus, Basel's Town Hall." height="485" longdesc="/wiki/Image:28014445.rathaus.jpg" src="../../images/235/23512.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23512.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Rathaus, Basel's Town Hall.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>An annual Federal Swiss trade fair (Mustermesse) takes place in Kleinbasel on the right bank of the Rhine. Other important trade shows include "Baselworld" (watches and jewelry), <!--del_lnk--> Art Basel, Orbit and Cultura.<p>The Swiss chemical industry operates largely from Basel, with <!--del_lnk--> Novartis, <!--del_lnk--> Ciba Specialty Chemicals, <!--del_lnk--> Clariant, and <!--del_lnk--> Hoffmann-La Roche headquartered there. Pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals have become the modern focus of the city's industrial production. Some of the chemical industry's most notable creations include <!--del_lnk--> DDT, <!--del_lnk--> Araldite, <!--del_lnk--> Valium, <!--del_lnk--> Rohypnol and <!--del_lnk--> LSD.<p><!--del_lnk--> UBS AG maintains central offices in Basel, giving finance a pivotal role in the local economy. The importance of banking began when the <!--del_lnk--> Bank for International Settlements located within the city in 1930. Basel's innovative financial industry includes institutions like the <!--del_lnk--> Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Responsible for the Basel Accords (<i><!--del_lnk--> Basel I</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Basel II</i>) , this organization fundamentally changed <!--del_lnk--> Risk Management within its industry.<p>Basel has Switzerland's tallest building, <!--del_lnk--> Basler Messeturm.<p><a id="Quarters" name="Quarters"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Quarters</span></h2>
<p>Basel is not subdivided into official counties, districts or boroughs, but into unofficial quarters. There are 19 quarters; the municipalities of <!--del_lnk--> Riehen and <!--del_lnk--> Bettingen are not included.<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Quartier</th>
<th>ha</th>
<th>Quartier</th>
<th>ha</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Central quarter of Grossbasel</td>
<td align="right">37.63</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Central quarter of Kleinbasel</td>
<td align="right">24.21</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Suburbs</td>
<td align="right">89.66</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Claire</td>
<td align="right">23.66</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Am Ring</td>
<td align="right">90.98</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Wettstein</td>
<td align="right">75.44</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Breite</td>
<td align="right">68.39</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Hirzbrunnen</td>
<td align="right">305.32</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Saint Alban</td>
<td align="right">294.46</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Rosental</td>
<td align="right">64.33</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Gundeldingen</td>
<td align="right">123.19</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Matthew</td>
<td align="right">59.14</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bruderholz</td>
<td align="right">259.61</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Klybeck</td>
<td align="right">91.19</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bachletten</td>
<td align="right">151.39</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kleinhüningen</td>
<td align="right">136.11</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Gotthelf</td>
<td align="right">46.62</td>
<td><b>City of Basel</b></td>
<td align="right"><b>2275.05</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Iselin</td>
<td align="right">109.82</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Riehen</td>
<td align="right">1086.10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Saint John</td>
<td align="right">223.90</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bettingen</td>
<td align="right">222.69</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
</td>
<td align="right">
</td>
<td><b>Canton of Basel-City</b></td>
<td align="right"><b>3583.84</b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Architecture" name="Architecture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Architecture</span></h2>
<p>The Romanesque <!--del_lnk--> Münster, with its two (uneven) towers forms an architectural monument which survived medieval earthquake. The tomb of <!--del_lnk--> Erasmus lies inside the Münster.<p>Basel is also host to an array of buildings by internationally renowned architects, such as the <!--del_lnk--> Beyeler Foundation by <!--del_lnk--> Renzo Piano, or the <!--del_lnk--> Vitra complex in nearby Weil am Rhein, comprised of buildings by architects such as <!--del_lnk--> Zaha Hadid (fire station), <!--del_lnk--> Frank Gehry (<!--del_lnk--> design museum) and <!--del_lnk--> Tadao Ando (conference centre). Basel also features buildings by <!--del_lnk--> Mario Botta (Jean Tinguely Museum and Bank of International settlements)and <!--del_lnk--> Herzog & de Meuron (originally from Basel, but otherwise known as the architects of the <!--del_lnk--> Tate Modern in London).<p>Basel received the <!--del_lnk--> Wakker Prize in <!--del_lnk--> 1996.<p><a id="Education" name="Education"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Education</span></h2>
<p>Basel hosts Switzerland's oldest university, the <!--del_lnk--> University of Basel, dating from <!--del_lnk--> 1459. Erasmus, <!--del_lnk--> Paracelsus, <!--del_lnk--> Daniel Bernoulli, <a href="../../wp/l/Leonhard_Euler.htm" title="Leonhard Euler">Leonhard Euler</a> and <a href="../../wp/f/Friedrich_Nietzsche.htm" title="Friedrich Nietzsche">Friedrich Nietzsche</a> worked here. More recently, its work in tropical medicine has gained prominence.<p>Basel is renowned for various scientific societies, as the Entomological Society of Basel (Entomologische Gesellschaft Basel, EGB), which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2005 .<p>Basel counts several International Schools, including the International School of Basel, the Minerva School and the Rhine Academy. Many expatriate workers and their children come to Basel due to the large presence of pharmaceutical companies, and the majority of those children come to study at the international schools of Basel.<p><a id="Politics" name="Politics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Politics</span></h2>
<p>Geo-politically, the city of Basel functions as the capital of the <!--del_lnk--> Swiss half-canton of <!--del_lnk--> Basel-Stadt, though several of its <!--del_lnk--> suburbs form part of the half-canton of <!--del_lnk--> Basel-Landschaft or of the canton of <!--del_lnk--> Aargau.<p>Throughout history, Basel has been the host to numerous accords. In 1499 <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Basel was signed to conclude the Swabian War, in effect allowing Basel to join the Swiss Confederation. In 1795, the <!--del_lnk--> Peace of Basel allowed the cessation of fighting in the <!--del_lnk--> French Revolutionary Wars against the <!--del_lnk--> First Coalition. In more recent times, on September 3, 1897, the <!--del_lnk--> World Zionist Organization held its first congress in Basel under the leadership of <!--del_lnk--> Theodor Herzl; this umbrella organization would later play an instrumental role in the creation of the Jewish state of Israel. In 1989, the <!--del_lnk--> Basel Convention was opened for signature with the aim of preventing the export of hazardous waste from wealthy to developing nations for disposal. To date, most developed states have ratified this accord.<p><a id="People_from_Basel" name="People_from_Basel"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">People from Basel</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Lucius Munatius Plancus (c.87 BC - c.15 BC), city founder<li><!--del_lnk--> Jacob Bernoulli (1654-1705), <!--del_lnk--> mathematician<li><!--del_lnk--> Johann Bernoulli (1667-1748), <!--del_lnk--> mathematician<li><!--del_lnk--> Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782) <!--del_lnk--> mathematician<li><a href="../../wp/l/Leonhard_Euler.htm" title="Leonhard Euler">Leonhard Euler</a> (1707-1783), <!--del_lnk--> mathematician<li><!--del_lnk--> Johann Bernoulli (1710–1790), <!--del_lnk--> mathematician<li><!--del_lnk--> Jakob Emanuel Handmann (1718-1781), painter<li><!--del_lnk--> Johann Peter Hebel (1760-1826), poet & author<li><!--del_lnk--> Jacob Burckhardt (1818-1897), professor in history, theology, philosophy<li><!--del_lnk--> Karl Barth (1886-1968), theologian<li><!--del_lnk--> Arthur Cohn (1927--), film producer (won 6 <!--del_lnk--> Oscars)<li><!--del_lnk--> Daniel Bernoulli (1936-?) <!--del_lnk--> Geologist<li><!--del_lnk--> Beat Raaflaub (1946--), conductor<li><!--del_lnk--> -minu (1947--), columnist<li><!--del_lnk--> Dani Levy (1957--), film maker<li><!--del_lnk--> Patty Schnyder (1978--), tennis player<li><!--del_lnk--> Roger Federer (1981--), tennis player<li><!--del_lnk--> Sarah Stocker, artist and writer</ul>
<p>
<br />
<p><a id="Sport" name="Sport"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Sport</span></h2>
<p>Basel has a reputation in Switzerland as a successful sporting city. The <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Soccer">soccer</a> club <!--del_lnk--> FC Basel continues to be successful and in recognition of this the city will be one of the venues for the <!--del_lnk--> 2008 European Championships, as well as <a href="../../wp/g/Geneva.htm" title="Geneva">Geneva</a>, <a href="../../wp/z/Z%25C3%25BCrich.htm" title="Zürich">Zürich</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Bern. The championships will be jointly hosted by <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a> and <a href="../../wp/a/Austria.htm" title="Austria">Austria</a>.<p>The largest indoor tennis event in Europe occurs in Basel every October. The best <!--del_lnk--> ATP-Professionals play every year at the "Davidoff Swiss Indoors".<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 2002, the World <!--del_lnk--> Judo Championships took place in Basel.<p>Basel features a large soccer <!--del_lnk--> stadium, a modern <a href="../../wp/i/Ice_hockey.htm" title="Ice hockey">ice hockey</a> hall and an admitted sports hall.<p>Basel hosts a yearly running championship for all ages, the Basler Stadtlauf, and a yearly marathon since 2005.<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
<p>Basel has a reputation as one of the most important cultural cities in Europe. In <!--del_lnk--> 1997, it contended to become the "<!--del_lnk--> European Capital of Culture". In May <!--del_lnk--> 2004, the fifth <!--del_lnk--> EJCF choir festival opened: this Basel tradition started in <!--del_lnk--> 1992. Host of this festival is the local <!--del_lnk--> Basel Boys Choir.<p>The city is also known for "The Basel Elite", the posh and old money social circle that the city can more than cater to. Although Switzerland can technically have no nobility since such a status would depend on the country being a monarchy, which it is not, the Basel Elite would be the closest thing, and are represented as such by their familiarities with present-day nobilities from bordering countries. One such example is the DeBâle family of Allschwil, who have lived in the area for centuries, but have not acknowledged the nobility that has been bestowed upon them from actual monarchies.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23513.jpg.htm" title="Marching band Schränz-Gritte at the Basler Fasnacht carnival 2006"><img alt="Marching band Schränz-Gritte at the Basler Fasnacht carnival 2006" height="139" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basler_Fasnacht_2006_Schr%C3%A4nz-Gritte_3.jpg" src="../../images/235/23513.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23513.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Marching band <i>Schränz-Gritte</i> at the Basler Fasnacht carnival 2006</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> carnival of the city of Basel (<i><!--del_lnk--> Basler Fasnacht</i>) is a major cultural event in the year. The carnival is one of the biggest in Switzerland and attracts large crowds every year, despite the fact that it starts at four in the morning (<i>Morgestraich</i>) and lasts for exactly 72 hours, taking in various parades.<p>For more information see also <!--del_lnk--> <p><i><!--del_lnk--> Basler Zeitung</i> is the local newspaper.<p><a id="Museums" name="Museums"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Museums</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Historical Museum Basel <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Kunstmuseum Basel Museum für Gegenwartskunst <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Tinguely museum <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Antikenmuseum Basel <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Architekturmuseum Basel <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Puppenhausmuseum <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Pharmazie-Historisches Museum Basel <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Naturhistorisches Museum Basel <!--del_lnk--> <li><!--del_lnk--> Fondation Beyeler <!--del_lnk--> Beyeler Museum (Fondation Beyeler)</ul>
<p><a id="Chronological_table" name="Chronological_table"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Chronological table</span></h2>
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Year</th>
<th>Event</th>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>< <!--del_lnk--> 58 BC</td>
<td>Rauracian (Celtic) agglomeration on the Rhine</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><!--del_lnk--> 58 BC</td>
<td>Exodus of the Helvetians and Rauracians (Battle of <!--del_lnk--> Bibracte)</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>44-<!--del_lnk--> 43 BC</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lucius Munatius Plancus founds the <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Roman</a> colony <i>Colonia Raurica</i>, that will later become <i>colonia <!--del_lnk--> Augusta Raurica</i></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><!--del_lnk--> 12 BC</td>
<td>The <!--del_lnk--> oppidum of Basel is one of the supporting points for the Roman troops during the campaigns of <!--del_lnk--> Tiberius against the <!--del_lnk--> Rhaetians</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><a href="../../wp/1/1st_century.htm" title="1st century">1st century</a></td>
<td>Occupation of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Agri Decumates</i> (southern Germany); the Roman fortified place of Basel becomes a <i><!--del_lnk--> vicus</i>.</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td><a href="../../wp/3/3rd_century.htm" title="3rd century">3rd century</a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Alemanni invasions. The Roman Vicus of Basel becomes again a fortified place</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>
</td>
<td><i>To be continued ..</i></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['English language', 'German language', 'French language', 'Switzerland', 'Rhine', 'Germany', 'France', 'Roman Empire', 'Rhine', 'Old Swiss Confederacy', 'John Calvin', 'Rhine', 'Rotterdam', 'Leonhard Euler', 'Friedrich Nietzsche', 'Leonhard Euler', 'Soccer', 'Geneva', 'Zürich', 'Switzerland', 'Austria', 'Ice hockey', 'Ancient Rome', '1st century', '3rd century']
|
Basil
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="noindex,nofollow" name="robots" />
<meta content="Basil,How to read a taxobox,Herbs & spices,Herbs & spices,2006,Achene,Ajwain,Allspice,Alpinia galanga,Anethole,Anise" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Basil</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgCanonicalSpecialPageName = false;
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Basil";
var wgTitle = "Basil";
var wgAction = "view";
var wgArticleId = "346865";
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserGroups = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
var wgBreakFrames = false;
var wgCurRevisionId = "126925750";
/*]]>*/</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Basil">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Basil</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Food_and_agriculture.htm">Food and agriculture</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Plants.htm">Plants</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: lightgreen;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><map id="ImageMap_1" name="ImageMap_1">
<!--del_lnk-->
</map></span><div style="position: relative;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><img alt="How to read a taxobox" height="16" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Information-silk.png" src="../../images/353/35309.png" usemap="#ImageMap_1" width="16" /></span></div><b>Basil</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1186.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="329" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basil_1511.jpg" src="../../images/11/1186.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center">
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: lightgreen;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/p/Plant.htm" title="Plant">Plantae</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Division:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Magnoliophyta<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Magnoliopsida<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lamiales<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lamiaceae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><!--del_lnk--> Ocimum</i><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>O. basilicum</b></i></span><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="lightgreen">
<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><b>Ocimum basilicum</b></i><br /><small><a href="../../wp/c/Carolus_Linnaeus.htm" title="Carolus Linnaeus">L.</a></small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Basil</b> (<i>Ocimum basilicum</i>) of the <!--del_lnk--> Family <!--del_lnk--> Lamiaceae is also known as <b>Sweet Basil</b>. It is a tender low-growing <!--del_lnk--> herb that is grown as a perennial in warm, tropical climates. Basil is originally native to <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a> and other tropical regions of <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a>, having been cultivated there for more than 5,000 years. It is prominently featured in varied cuisines throughout the world including Italian, Thai, Vietnamese and Laotian. It grows to between 20–60 cm tall, with opposite, light green, silky <!--del_lnk--> leaves 1.5–5 cm long and 1–3 cm broad. The flowers are quite big, white in colour and arranged in a terminal <!--del_lnk--> spike. Unusual among <!--del_lnk--> Lamiaceae, the four <!--del_lnk--> stamens and the <!--del_lnk--> pistil are not pushed under the upper lip of the <!--del_lnk--> corolla, but lay over the inferior. After <!--del_lnk--> entomophilous pollination, the corolla falls off and four round <!--del_lnk--> achenes develop inside the bilabiate <!--del_lnk--> calyx. The plant tastes somewhat like <!--del_lnk--> anise, with a strong, pungent, sweet smell. Basil is very sensitive to cold, with best growth in hot, dry conditions. While most common varieties are treated as <!--del_lnk--> annuals, some are <!--del_lnk--> perennial, including African Blue and Holy Thai basil.<p>The word <i>basil</i> comes from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek βασιλεύς (<i>basileus</i>), meaning "king", as it is believed to have grown above the spot where St. Constantine and Helen discovered the Holy Cross. The <i><!--del_lnk--> Oxford English Dictionary</i> quotes speculations that basil may have been used in "some royal unguent, bath, or medicine". Basil is still considered the "king of herbs" by many cookery authors. An alternative etymology has "basil" coming from the Latin word <i>basilicus</i>, meaning <!--del_lnk--> dragon and being the root for <!--del_lnk--> basilisk, but this likely was a linguistic reworking of the word as brought from Greece.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1187.jpg.htm" title="Fresh basil leaves."><img alt="Fresh basil leaves." class="thumbimage" height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basil_leaves.jpg" src="../../images/11/1187.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1187.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Fresh basil leaves.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/40/4045.jpg.htm" title="Basil sprouts. The gel is the dissolving seed coat."><img alt="Basil sprouts. The gel is the dissolving seed coat." class="thumbimage" height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basilsproutsclose.jpg" src="../../images/40/4045.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/40/4045.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Basil sprouts. The gel is the dissolving seed coat.</div>
</div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script>
<p><a id="Basil.2C_the_herb" name="Basil.2C_the_herb"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Basil, the herb</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1188.jpg.htm" title="Dried basil leaves."><img alt="Dried basil leaves." class="thumbimage" height="114" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basilic-spice.jpg" src="../../images/11/1188.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1188.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Dried basil leaves.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Basil is most commonly recommended to be used fresh, and in cooked recipes, is generally added at the last moment, as cooking destroys the flavour quickly. The fresh herb can be kept for a short time in plastic bags in the refrigerator, or for a longer period in the freezer, after being blanched quickly in boiling water. The dried herb also loses most of its flavour, and what little flavour remains tastes very different, with a weak <!--del_lnk--> coumarin flavour, like <!--del_lnk--> hay.<p>Mediterranean and Indochinese cuisines frequently use basil, the former frequently combining it with <!--del_lnk--> tomato. Basil is one of the main ingredients in <!--del_lnk--> pesto — a green Italian oil-and-herb sauce from the city of <a href="../../wp/g/Genoa.htm" title="Genoa">Genoa</a>, its other two main ingredients being olive oil and pine nuts. The most commonly used Mediterranean basil <a href="../../wp/c/Cultivar.htm" title="Cultivar">cultivars</a> are 'Genovese', 'Purple Ruffles', 'Mammoth', 'Cinnamon', 'Lemon', 'Globe', and 'African Blue'. <!--del_lnk--> Chinese also use fresh or dried basils in soups and other foods. In <a href="../../wp/t/Taiwan.htm" title="Taiwan">Taiwan</a>, people add fresh basil leaves into thick soups (羹湯; gēngtāng). They also eat <!--del_lnk--> fried chicken with deep-fried basil leaves.<p>Basil is sometimes used with fresh fruit and in fruit jams and sauces — in particular with strawberries, but also raspberries or dark-colored plums. Arguably the flat-leaf basil used in Vietnamese cooking, which has a slightly different flavour, is more suitable for use with fruit.<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1189.jpg.htm" title="A can of basil seed drink"><img alt="A can of basil seed drink" class="thumbimage" height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basil_seed_drink.jpg" src="../../images/11/1189.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1189.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A can of basil seed drink</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>When soaked in water the seeds of several basil varieties become gelatinous, and are used in Asian drinks and desserts such as <!--del_lnk--> falooda or <!--del_lnk--> sherbet. Such seeds are known variously as <i>sabja</i>, <i>subja</i>, <i>takmaria</i>, <i>tukmaria</i>, or <i>falooda</i> seeds. They are used for their medicinal properties in <!--del_lnk--> Ayurveda, the traditional medicinal system of <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>.<p><a id="Other_basils" name="Other_basils"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Other basils</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>See <!--del_lnk--> List of basil cultivars</dl>
<p>Several other basils, including some other <i>Ocimum</i> species, are grown in many regions of <a href="../../wp/a/Asia.htm" title="Asia">Asia</a>. Most of the Asian basils have a clove-like flavour that is generally stronger than the Mediterranean basils. In <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">China</a>, the local cultivar is called 九層塔 (<i>jiǔcéngtǎ</i>; literally "nine-level <!--del_lnk--> pagoda"), while the imported varieties are specifically called 羅勒 (<i>luólè</i>) or 巴西里 (<i>bāxīlǐ</i>).<p>'Lemon basil' has a strong lemony smell and flavour very different from those of other varieties, because it contains a chemical called <!--del_lnk--> citral. It is widely used in Indonesia, where it is called <i>kemangi</i> and served raw, together with raw cabbage, green beans, and cucumber, as an accompaniment to fried fish or duck. Its flowers, broken up, are a zesty salad condiment.<p><a id="Chemical_components" name="Chemical_components"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Chemical components</span></h2>
<p>The various basils have such different scents because the herb has a number of different <a href="../../wp/e/Essential_oil.htm" title="Essential oil">essential oils</a> which come together in different proportions for various breeds. The strong <!--del_lnk--> clove scent of sweet basil comes from <!--del_lnk--> eugenol, the same chemical as actual cloves. The citrus scent of lemon basil and lime basil is because they have a higher portion of <!--del_lnk--> citral which causes this effect in several plants, including <!--del_lnk--> lemon mint, and <!--del_lnk--> limonene, which gives actual lemon peel its scent. African blue basil has a strong <!--del_lnk--> camphor smell because it has camphor and <!--del_lnk--> camphene in higher proportions. Licorice Basil contains <!--del_lnk--> anethole, the same chemical that makes <!--del_lnk--> anise smell like <!--del_lnk--> licorice, and in fact is sometimes called Anise Basil.<p>Other chemicals helping produce the distinctive scents of many basils, depending on their proportion in each specific breed, including:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> cinnamate (same as in <!--del_lnk--> cinnamon)<li><!--del_lnk--> citronellol (<!--del_lnk--> geraniums, <!--del_lnk--> roses, and <!--del_lnk--> citronella)<li><!--del_lnk--> geraniol (as in <!--del_lnk--> geranium)<li><!--del_lnk--> linalool (a flowery scent also in <a href="../../wp/c/Coriander.htm" title="Coriander">coriander</a>)<li><!--del_lnk--> methyl chavicol (which gives <a href="../../wp/t/Tarragon.htm" title="Tarragon">tarragon</a> its scent)<li><!--del_lnk--> myrcene (<!--del_lnk--> bay, <!--del_lnk--> myrcia)<li><!--del_lnk--> pinene (which is, as the name implies, the chemical which gives pine oil its scent)<li><!--del_lnk--> ocimene<li><!--del_lnk--> terpineol</ul>
<p><a id="Cultivation" name="Cultivation"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Cultivation</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/40/4052.jpg.htm" title="Basil sprout at an early stage"><img alt="Basil sprout at an early stage" class="thumbimage" height="267" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basil_sprout.jpg" src="../../images/40/4052.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/40/4052.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Basil sprout at an early stage</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Basil thrives in hot weather, but behaves as an <!--del_lnk--> annual if there is any chance of a frost. In Northern Europe, the northern states of the U.S., and the South Island of New Zealand it will grow best if sown under glass in a peat pot, then planted out in late spring/early summer (when there is little chance of a frost). It fares best in a well-drained sunny spot.<p>Although basil will grow best outdoors, it can be grown indoors in a pot and, like most herbs, will do best on a south-facing windowsill (in the Northern Hemisphere). It should be kept away from extremely cold drafts, and grows best in strong sunlight, therefore a <!--del_lnk--> greenhouse or <!--del_lnk--> cloche is ideal if available. They can, however, be grown even in a basement, under fluorescent lights.<p>If its leaves have wilted from lack of water, it will recover if watered thoroughly and placed in a sunny location. Yellow leaves towards the bottom of the plant are an indication that the plant needs more sunlight or less fertilizer.<p>In sunnier climates such as Southern Europe, the southern states of the U.S., the North Island of New Zealand, and Australia, basil will thrive when planted outside. It also thrives over the summertime in the central and northern United States, but dies out when temperatures reach freezing point, to grow again the next year if it was allowed to go to seed. It will need regular watering, but not as much attention as is needed in other climates.<p>Basil can also be propagated very reliably from cuttings in exactly the same manner as "Busy Lizzie" (Impatiens), with the stems of short cuttings suspended for two weeks or so in water until roots develop.<p>If a stem successfully produces mature flowers, leaf production slows or stops on any stem which flowers, the stem becomes woody, and essential oil production declines.To prevent this, a basil-grower may pinch off any flower stems before they are fully mature. Because only the blooming stem is so affected, some can be pinched for leaf production, while others are left to bloom for decoration or seeds.<p>Once the plant is allowed to flower, it may produce seed pods containing small black seeds which can be saved and planted the following year. Picking the leaves off the plant helps "promote growth", largely because the plant responds by converting pairs of leaflets next to the topmost leaves into new stems.<p><a id="Diseases" name="Diseases"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Diseases</span></h3>
<p>Basil suffers from several plant pathogens that can ruin the crop and reduce <!--del_lnk--> yield. <!--del_lnk--> Fusarium wilt is a soilbourne fungal disease that will quickly kill younger basil plants. <!--del_lnk--> Seedlings may also be killed by <!--del_lnk--> Pythium <!--del_lnk--> damping off.<p>A common <!--del_lnk--> foliar disease of basil is <!--del_lnk--> gray mold caused by <i><!--del_lnk--> Botrytis cinerea</i>, can also cause infections post-harvest and is capable of killing the entire plant. <!--del_lnk--> Black spot can also be seen on basil foliage and is caused by the <!--del_lnk--> fungi <!--del_lnk--> genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Colletotrichum</i>.<p><a id="Health_issues" name="Health_issues"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Health issues</span></h2>
<p>Basil, like other aromatic plants such as <a href="../../wp/f/Fennel.htm" title="Fennel">fennel</a> and <a href="../../wp/t/Tarragon.htm" title="Tarragon">tarragon</a>, contains <!--del_lnk--> Estragole, a known <!--del_lnk--> carcinogen and <!--del_lnk--> teratogen in rats and mice. While human effects are currently unstudied, the rodent experiments indicate that it would take 100–1000 times the normal anticipated exposure to become a cancer risk. <p><a id="Cultural_aspects" name="Cultural_aspects"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Cultural aspects</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1190.jpg.htm" title="Flowering basil stalk"><img alt="Flowering basil stalk" class="thumbimage" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ChristianBauer_stalk_of_basil.jpg" src="../../images/11/1190.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1190.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Flowering basil stalk</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>There are many rituals and beliefs associated with basil. The French call basil "<i>herbe royale</i>". Jewish folklore suggests it adds strength while fasting. It is a symbol of love in present-day <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>, but represented hatred in ancient <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a>. African legend claims that basil protects against <!--del_lnk--> scorpions while European lore sometimes claims that basil is a symbol of <!--del_lnk--> Satan.<p><!--del_lnk--> Holy Basil, also called '<!--del_lnk--> Tulsi', is highly revered in <a href="../../wp/h/Hinduism.htm" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a> and also has religious significance in the Greek Orthodox Church, where it is used to prepare holy water. It is said to have been found around Christ's tomb after his resurrection. The <!--del_lnk--> Serbian Orthodox Church and the <!--del_lnk--> Macedonian Orthodox Church use basil (<!--del_lnk--> Macedonian: <i>босилек</i>; <!--del_lnk--> Serbian: <i>босиљак</i>) to prepare holy water and pots of basil are often placed below church altars.<p>In Europe, they place basil in the hands of the dead to ensure a safe journey. In India, they place it in the mouth of the dying to ensure they reach God. The ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks believed that it would open the gates of heaven for a person passing on.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> Boccaccio's <i><!--del_lnk--> Decameron</i> a memorably morbid tale (novella V) tells of Lisabetta, whose brothers slay her lover. He appears to her in a dream and shows her where he is buried. She secretly disinters the head, and sets it in a pot of basil, which she waters with her daily tears. The pot being taken from her by her brothers, she dies of her grief not long after. Boccaccio's tale is the source of <!--del_lnk--> John Keats' poem <i><!--del_lnk--> Isabella or The Pot of Basil</i>. A similar story is told of the <!--del_lnk--> Longobard queen <!--del_lnk--> Rosalind.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Plant', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Carolus Linnaeus', 'India', 'Asia', 'Genoa', 'Cultivar', 'Taiwan', 'India', 'Asia', 'China', 'Essential oil', 'Coriander', 'Tarragon', 'Fennel', 'Tarragon', 'Italy', 'Greece', 'Hinduism']
|
Basil_Brush
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="noindex,nofollow" name="robots" />
<meta content="Basil Brush,1960s,1963,1968,1969,1970,1970s,1973,1977,1979,1980" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Basil Brush</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgCanonicalSpecialPageName = false;
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Basil_Brush";
var wgTitle = "Basil Brush";
var wgAction = "view";
var wgArticleId = "323386";
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserGroups = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
var wgBreakFrames = false;
var wgCurRevisionId = "130505634";
/*]]>*/</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Basil_Brush">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Basil Brush</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Television.htm">Television</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
</div>
<p><b>Basil Brush</b> is a reddish-brown <a href="../../wp/f/Fox.htm" title="Fox">fox</a> <!--del_lnk--> glove puppet character who has appeared in <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British</a> children's (and later adult) television programmes from the <!--del_lnk--> 1960s to the present day. He was originally voiced by <!--del_lnk--> Ivan Owen, who died in <!--del_lnk--> 2000. He is noted for his <!--del_lnk--> catch phrase, "Boom! Boom!", and his '<!--del_lnk--> posh' <!--del_lnk--> accent. His most prized possession is his tail, which he insists is called a "<!--del_lnk--> brush".<p>Basil's persona (and gap-toothed look) was based on actor <!--del_lnk--> Terry-Thomas.<p>This character was created in <!--del_lnk--> 1963 by <!--del_lnk--> Peter Firmin for <i>The Three Scampies</i> children's show but his main popularity was achieved due to <i>The Basil Brush Show</i>, which premiered in <!--del_lnk--> 1968<p>
<br />
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script>
<p><a id="The_Basil_Brush_Show" name="The_Basil_Brush_Show"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Basil Brush Show</span></h2>
<p>Throughout the show's 12-year run Basil was always accompanied by a <!--del_lnk--> straight man, initially <!--del_lnk--> Rodney Bewes — aka Mr Rodney — better known as one half of <i><!--del_lnk--> The Likely Lads</i>.<p>Bewes was replaced by Mr Derek — <!--del_lnk--> Derek Fowlds of <i><a href="../../wp/y/Yes_Minister.htm" title="Yes Minister">Yes Minister</a></i> fame and the TV show <!--del_lnk--> Heartbeat — who was the stooge for Basil's quips between <!--del_lnk--> 1969 and <!--del_lnk--> 1973. The subsequent presenters were Mr Roy (Roy North, <!--del_lnk--> 1973-<!--del_lnk--> 1977), Mr Howard (Howard Williams), <!--del_lnk--> 1977-<!--del_lnk--> 1979), and Mr Billy (Billy Boyle, <!--del_lnk--> 1979-<!--del_lnk--> 1980).<p>Basil was in three more shows in the <!--del_lnk--> 1980s: the educational programme <i>Let's Read... With Basil Brush</i> (<!--del_lnk--> ITV, <!--del_lnk--> 1982-<!--del_lnk--> 1983), <i><!--del_lnk--> Crackerjack</i> (<a href="../../wp/b/BBC.htm" title="BBC">BBC</a>), and <i>Basil's Joke Machine</i> (<!--del_lnk--> ITV, <!--del_lnk--> 1986).<!--del_lnk--> <p>Basil recorded two albums (both with the same title), <i>Boom! Boom! It's Basil Brush</i> in <!--del_lnk--> 1970 and <!--del_lnk--> 1977. His adventures also appeared on the pages of <i><!--del_lnk--> TV Comic</i> during the peak of his popularity.<p><a id="Basil_Brush_Show_Comeback_.282002.29" name="Basil_Brush_Show_Comeback_.282002.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Basil Brush Show Comeback (2002)</span></h2>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 2002, Basil made a comeback in a new children's <a href="../../wp/b/BBC.htm" title="BBC">BBC</a> <!--del_lnk--> sitcom, again named <i>The Basil Brush Show</i>, in which his new comic foil, Mr Stephen, was played by <!--del_lnk--> Christopher Pizzey. <!--del_lnk--> Georgina Leonidas and Michael Hayes also appear on the show. Basil Brush is now shown to have a family, which includes his destructive, hyperactive but cute nephew Bingo, and his rather nasty Cousin Mortimer. Other friends have been introduced as well, such as moneymaking business child Dave and sensible Molly. No-one is directly credited as being Basil's puppeteer on this show, although it is possibly Michael Winsor, who is credited as either Basil's "fitness instructor" or his "personal assistant."<p><a id="Other_appearances" name="Other_appearances"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Other appearances</span></h2>
<p>Basil appeared with <!--del_lnk--> Frank Skinner and <!--del_lnk--> David Baddiel for several episodes of the BBC TV series <!--del_lnk--> Fantasy Football League in <!--del_lnk--> 1994.<div class="thumb tright">
</div>
<p>He also briefly appeared as a presenter for several Friday episodes of the popular British children's tv programme <i><a href="../../wp/b/Blue_Peter.htm" title="Blue Peter">Blue Peter</a></i> in <!--del_lnk--> 2003 in which he had his own joke segment.<p>Basil played <!--del_lnk--> Dobby the <!--del_lnk--> house-elf in the <i><!--del_lnk--> French & Saunders</i> sketch "<a href="../../wp/h/Harry_Potter.htm" title="Harry Potter">Harry Potter</a> And The Secret Chamberpot Of Azerbaijan" for <i><!--del_lnk--> Comic Relief</i> <!--del_lnk--> Red Nose Day 2003.<p>Basil appeared on <i><!--del_lnk--> French & Saunders</i> in <!--del_lnk--> 2004.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 10 December <!--del_lnk--> 2005, Basil appeared on <i><!--del_lnk--> The Weakest Link</i> and won the show, receiving £10,900 for his chosen charity, the <i><a href="../../wp/b/Blue_Peter.htm" title="Blue Peter">Blue Peter</a></i> 2005 charity appeal, "Treasure Trail" (in aid of <!--del_lnk--> Childline). This makes him the first (and at the time of writing, only) puppet to win <i>The Weakest link</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Roland Rat had previously appeared as a puppet contestant, but did not win). Basil returned to <i><a href="../../wp/w/Weakest_Link.htm" title="Weakest Link">Weakest Link</a></i> as one of the contestants on the show's 1000th UK edition, recorded on <!--del_lnk--> 1 November <!--del_lnk--> 2006. It was shown on <!--del_lnk--> BBC Two on <!--del_lnk--> 18 December <!--del_lnk--> 2006. Although he made it to the final round, this time he failed to win. However, the winner still decided to share half of her winnings with Basil's chosen charity.<p>Basil Brush was mentioned briefly in the <i><!--del_lnk--> Black Books</i> episode "Blood", wherein Manny (<!--del_lnk--> Bill Bailey) purchases a "large-print biography of Basil Brush", which he describes as "quite good."<p>The current puppet is clearly different in a number of respects from the original 1960s vintage.<p><a id="New_Series_.282006.29" name="New_Series_.282006.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">New Series (2006)</span></h2>
<p>The new series first aired in September 2006 on the <!--del_lnk--> CBBC Channel, and a week later on CBBC on <!--del_lnk--> BBC One. Stephen has so far only appeared in one scene (in the first episode while in a chip van). There are also 3 new characters (Liam, Lucy and Roxie).<p>Interspersed with the main programme, there are now various cartoon shorts in which Basil and/or another character is seen making jokes.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_Brush"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Fox', 'United Kingdom', 'Yes Minister', 'BBC', 'BBC', 'Blue Peter', 'Harry Potter', 'Blue Peter', 'Weakest Link']
|
Basilica_of_San_Francesco_d'Assisi
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi,1228,1253,1986,1997,2002,Ambrose,Apse,Artist,Assisi,Augustine of Hippo" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Basilica_of_San_Francesco_d\'Assisi";
var wgTitle = "Basilica of San Francesco d\'Assisi";
var wgArticleId = 1971828;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Basilica_of_San_Francesco_d_Assisi">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Architecture.htm">Architecture</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<p><a class="image" href="../../images/16/1615.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="20" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_UNESCO.svg" src="../../images/11/1191.png" width="30" /></a> The <b>Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi</b> (St Francis), the mother church of the Franciscan Order, is a <a href="../../wp/w/World_Heritage_Site.htm" title="World Heritage Site">World Heritage Site</a> in <!--del_lnk--> Assisi, Italy.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1192.jpg.htm" title="The Lower and Upper Basilica and the porticus, as seen from the Piazza delle Logge"><img alt="The Lower and Upper Basilica and the porticus, as seen from the Piazza delle Logge" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basilica.Francis04.jpg" src="../../images/11/1192.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1192.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Lower and Upper Basilica and the porticus, as seen from the Piazza delle Logge</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>The Franciscan <!--del_lnk--> monastery (<!--del_lnk--> Sacro Convento) and the lower and upper church (<i>Basilica inferiore e superiore</i>) of <a href="../../wp/f/Francis_of_Assisi.htm" title="Francis of Assisi">St Francis</a> were begun immediately after his <!--del_lnk--> canonization in <!--del_lnk--> 1228. Simone di Pucciarello donated the land for the church, a hill at the west side of Assisi, known as "Hill of Hell" (because here the criminals were put to death). Today, this hill is aptly called "Hill of Paradise".<p>The foundation stone was laid by <!--del_lnk--> Pope Gregory IX on 17 July 1228, although construction may already have been begun. This impressive church was designed and supervised by brother Elia Bombardone, one of the first followers of St. Francis and the former provincial minister of Syria. The lower basilica was finished in 1230. On <!--del_lnk--> Pentecost 25 May 1230 the uncorrupted body of St. Francis was brought in a solemn procession to the lower basilica from its temporary burial place in the church of St. George (now the basilica of St. Clare). The construction of the upper basilica was began after 1239. Construction was completed in <!--del_lnk--> 1253. Its architecture is a synthesis of <!--del_lnk--> Romanesque and French <!--del_lnk--> Gothic artwork, establishing many of the typical characteristics of Italian Gothic architecture.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1193.jpg.htm" title="Basilica and friary, as seen from the plain below"><img alt="Basilica and friary, as seen from the plain below" height="169" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basilica.Francis02.jpg" src="../../images/11/1193.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1193.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Basilica and friary, as seen from the plain below</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The churches have been decorated by the greatest late medieval Roman, Umbrian and Tuscan artists of their time, giving these churches an unequaled importance in the development of Italian art. The lower church has <!--del_lnk--> frescos by renowned late-medieval <!--del_lnk--> artists, such as <!--del_lnk--> Cimabue and <!--del_lnk--> Giotto; in the upper church are a series frescoes depicting scenes in the life of St Francis attributed to Giotto and his circle.<p><!--del_lnk--> Pope Nicholas IV, the former Master-General of the Order of Franciscans, raised the church to the status of papal church in 1288.<p>The Piazza del Loge, the square leading to the church, is surrounded by colonnades constructed in 1474. They housed the numerous pilgrims flocking to this church.<p>On 27 October <!--del_lnk--> 1986 and January <!--del_lnk--> 2002, Catholic pontiff <a href="../../wp/p/Pope_John_Paul_II.htm" title="Pope John Paul II">Pope John Paul II</a> gathered in Assisi with the leaders of the great world confessions to pray for peace.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> September 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1997 Assisi was struck by an <a href="../../wp/e/Earthquake.htm" title="Earthquake">earthquake</a> which caused four fatalities. The Basilica was badly damaged (part of the vault collapsed, carrying with it a fresco by Cimabue), and was closed for two years for restoration.<br clear="all" />
<p><a id="The_lower_basilica" name="The_lower_basilica"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The lower basilica</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1194.jpg.htm" title="Side entrance to the lower basilica"><img alt="Side entrance to the lower basilica" height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basilica.Francis08.jpg" src="../../images/11/1194.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1194.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Side entrance to the lower basilica</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Brother Elia had designed the lower basilica as an enormous <!--del_lnk--> crypt with ribbed vaults. He had acquired his experience by building huge sepulchres out of hard rock in Syria.<p>Entering the lower basilica via the side portal in Gothic style (second half of the 13th c.) with two wooden doors (Umbrian craftsmanship from the 16th c.), one sees at the other side of the vestibule the chapel of Cardinal Egidio Albornoz, papal legate in charge of the Papal States (from 1350 to 1367). It is dedicated to <!--del_lnk--> St. Catherine of Alexandria. The <!--del_lnk--> frescoes with the eight episodes from the life of St. Catherine were painted in 1368-1369 by ‘Andreas pictor de Bononia’. This painter, called Andrea, is most probably <!--del_lnk--> Andrea de’ Bartoli (c. 1349 - 1369), the court artist of Albornoz (and not <!--del_lnk--> Andrea da Bologna, as usually, but wrongly, attributed). The saints in this chapel were painted by Pace di Bartolo d'Assisi (1344-1368).<p>On the left side is the small Chapel of St. Sebastian with a canvas by <!--del_lnk--> Giorgetti and episodes of the life of the saint on the walls by G. Martelli. On the right side there are two monuments : the mausuleum of Giovanni de' Cerchi and the mausuleum of <!--del_lnk--> John of Brienne, king of Jerusalem and emperor-regent of Constantinople.<p>The lower basilica consists of a central <!--del_lnk--> nave with several side chapels with semi-circular arches. The nave is decorated with the oldest frescoes in the church by an unknown artist, called <!--del_lnk--> Maestro di San Francesco. They feature five scenes from the <i>Passion of Christ</i> on the right side, while on the left side equally five scenes from the <i>Life of St. Francis</i>. By this juxtaposition, the Franciscans wanted to contribute to the idea of their founder as a second Christ.<p>They are connected by a low blue-painted ceiling decorated with golden stars. Most images on the lower walls have decayed to leave almost no trace, except on the right wall fragments of <i>Virgin and Child with an Angel</i> by Cimabue.<p>These frescoes, executed in tempera on dry plaster, were completed about 1260-1263. They are considered by many as the best examples of Tuscan wall paintings prior to <!--del_lnk--> Cimabue. As the popularity of this church increased, side chapels for noble families were added between 1270 and 1350, destroying the frescoes on the opened walls.<p>The first chapel on the left is dedicated to Saint <!--del_lnk--> Martin of Tours. It was built by Cardinal da Montefiore, and was decorated between 1317 and 1319 with ten frescoes depicting his life by <!--del_lnk--> Simone Martini and with a polyptych with figures of saints. These are amongst the greatest works of <!--del_lnk--> Simone Martini and the finest examples of 14th century painting. The use of <!--del_lnk--> lead white has over the years darkened several passages in these works.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1195.jpg.htm" title="St Martin leaves the life of chivalry and renounces the army (fresco by Simone Martini)"><img alt="St Martin leaves the life of chivalry and renounces the army (fresco by Simone Martini)" height="270" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Simone_Martini_028.jpg" src="../../images/11/1195.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1195.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> St Martin leaves the life of chivalry and renounces the army (fresco by Simone Martini)</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1196.jpg.htm" title="Musician with two flutes (fresco by Simone Martini"><img alt="Musician with two flutes (fresco by Simone Martini" height="276" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Simone_Martini_037.jpg" src="../../images/11/1196.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1196.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Musician with two flutes (fresco by Simone Martini</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1197.jpg.htm" title="Polyptych with Louis of Toulouse, Elisabeth of Thuringia, Saint Clare and Louis IX, King of France (fresco by Simone Martini)"><img alt="Polyptych with Louis of Toulouse, Elisabeth of Thuringia, Saint Clare and Louis IX, King of France (fresco by Simone Martini)" height="82" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Simone_Martini_051.jpg" src="../../images/11/1197.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1197.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Polyptych with Louis of Toulouse, Elisabeth of Thuringia, Saint Clare and Louis IX, King of France (fresco by Simone Martini)</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>.<p>
<br clear="left" /> The other chapel on the left is dedicated to St. <!--del_lnk--> Peter of Alcantara.<p>The chapels on the right are dedicated to :<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Saint Louis of Toulouse and <!--del_lnk--> Saint Stephan with frescoes by <!--del_lnk--> Dono Doni (1575) and stained glass, attributed to Simone Martini.<li><!--del_lnk--> Saint Anthony of Padua with frescoes by <!--del_lnk--> Cesare Sermei (1610,)<li>St. <!--del_lnk--> Mary Magdalene. This chapel, built by Teobaldo Pontano (bishop of Assisi from 1296 to 1329), contains some of the best works of the workshop of Giotto and maybe by the master himself (about 1320) (wrongly attributed by Vasari to Puccio Capanna). On the lateral walls are scenes from the <i>Life of Mary Magdalene</i> (above the portrait of Teobaldo Pontano), while in the vault there are roundels with busts of <i>Christ</i>, the <i>Virgin</i>, <i>Mary Magdalene</i> and <i>Lazarus</i>.</ul>
<p>The nave ends in a richly decorated semicircular <!--del_lnk--> apse, preceded with a <!--del_lnk--> transept with barrel vaulting.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1198.jpg.htm" title="Maesta with St. Francis, (Cimabue)"><img alt="Maesta with St. Francis, (Cimabue)" height="151" longdesc="/wiki/Image:San_Francesco_Cimabue.jpg" src="../../images/11/1198.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1198.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Maesta with St. Francis, (<!--del_lnk--> Cimabue)</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1199.jpg.htm" title="Madonna dei Tramonti by Pietro Lorenzetti"><img alt="Madonna dei Tramonti by Pietro Lorenzetti" height="280" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pietro_Lorenzetti_002.jpg" src="../../images/11/1199.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/11/1199.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Madonna dei Tramonti by <!--del_lnk--> Pietro Lorenzetti</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1200.jpg.htm" title="Papal altar with frescoes"><img alt="Papal altar with frescoes" height="206" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Assisi_Altare_Basilica_inferiore.jpg" src="../../images/12/1200.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1200.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Papal altar with frescoes</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>
<br clear="all" />
<p>The frescoes in the right transept depict the childhood of Christ, partly by Giotto and his workshop and the <i>Nativity</i> by the anonymous Maestro di San Nicola. The lowest level shows three frescoes representing St. Francis posthumously intervening in favour of two children. These frescoes by Giotto were revolutionary in their time, showing real people with emotions, set in a realistic landscape.<p>On the transept wall <!--del_lnk--> Cimabue painted his most famous work "Our Lady enthroned and Saint Francis" (1280). This is probably the nearest likeness to St. Francis. This static painting in Gothic style is in stark contrast with the lively frescoes of Giotto.<p>This right transept also contains the Chapel of <!--del_lnk--> Saint Nicolas of Bari, probably commissioned by the papal legate Cardinal <!--del_lnk--> Napoleone Orsini. It is decorated with a cycle of 10 frescoes by the (anonymous) Master of the Chapel of St Nicholas (between 1295 and 1305), depicting the miracles and the charity of Saint Nicholas. This cycle has been influenced by the cycle of the <i>Legend of St. Francis</i> in the upper basilica. This confused <!--del_lnk--> Vasari into (wrongly) ascribing this frescoes to 'Giottino'. The same master then executed the <i>Annunciation</i> across the entrance of the chapel.<p>The left transept was decorated by the Sienese painter <!--del_lnk--> Pietro Lorenzetti and his workshop between 1315 and 1330 (attributed by Vasari Pietro Lorenzetti and also (wrongly) to Giotto and Puccio Capanna) . This cycle of tempera frescoes are his masterworks. They depict six scenes from the <i>Passion of Christ</i>. Especially the fresco of <i>Deposition of the Cross</i> is highly emotional. In this cycle one can see cast shadows, for the first time since antiquity. There were about 330 work-stages needed to complete this cycle. This means that these frescoes were executed over several years, even with the assistance of his workshop. He also decorated the adjoining chapel of St John the Baptist with the fresco "Madonna dei Tramonti “.<p>The juxtaposition of the <i>Childhood</i> and the <i>Passion</i> frescoes intend to stress the parallel between the <i>passion</i> of Christ and the <i>compassion</i> of St. Francis.<p>The papal altar in the apse was made out of one block of stone from <!--del_lnk--> Como in 1230. Around the altar are a series of ornamented Gothic arches, supported by columns in different styles. The 12 columns that surrounded the altar were removed in 1870. The fine Gothic walnut choir stalls were completed in 1471 by Apollonio Petrocchi da Ripatransone, with the help of Tommaso di Antonio Fiorentino and Andrea da Montefalco.<p>Once featuring frescoes depicting an allegory of the Crucifixion by <!--del_lnk--> Stefano Fiorentino (destroyed in 1622), the walls of the apse are now covered with a "Last Judgment" by <!--del_lnk--> Cesare Sermei di Orvieto (1609-1668).<p>The paintings in the lunettes of the vaults (1315-20) depict the "Triumph of St Francis“ and three allegories of <i>Obedience</i>, <i>Poverty</i> and <i>Chastity</i> by the so-called <!--del_lnk--> Maestro delle Vele (Master of the Assisi vaults), a pupil of Giotto (about 1330).<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1201.jpg.htm" title="Tomb of St. Francis in the crypt"><img alt="Tomb of St. Francis in the crypt" height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Assisi-Tomba_di_San_Francesco.JPG" src="../../images/12/1201.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1201.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Tomb of St. Francis in the crypt</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The stained glass windows in this lower basilica are attributed to <!--del_lnk--> Giovanni di Bonino and his workshop.<p><a id="Crypt" name="Crypt"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Crypt</span></h2>
<p>Halfway down the nave one can descend into the crypt via a double stairway. This burial place of St. Francis was found again in 1818. His remains had been hidden by brother Elia to prevent the spread of his relics in medieval Europe. By order of <!--del_lnk--> Pope Pius IX a crypt was built under the lower basilica. It was designed by Pasquale Belli with precious marble in neo-classical style. But it was redesigned in bare stone in neo-Romanesque style by Ugo Tarchi between 1925 and 1932.<p>The ancient stone coffin with iron ties is enshrined in an open space above the altar. In 1934 his most faithful brothers were entombed in the corners of the wall around the altar: brother Rufino, brother Angelo, brother Masseo and brother Leone.<p>At the entrance of the crypt, an urn with the remains of Jacopa dei Settesoli was added to the crypt. This woman of Roman nobility was the most faithful friend and benefactress of St. Francis. She was at his side in the Porziuncola at the hour of his death.<p><a id="Friary_of_St._Francis" name="Friary_of_St._Francis"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Friary of St. Francis</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1202.jpg.htm" title="Courtyard of the friary"><img alt="Courtyard of the friary" height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basilica.Francis18.jpg" src="../../images/12/1202.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1202.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Courtyard of the friary</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Next to the basilica stands the friary <!--del_lnk--> Sacro Convento with its imposing walls with 53 Romanesque arches and powerful buttresses supporting the whole complex. It towers over the valley below, giving the impression of a fortress. It was built with pink and white stone from Mount Subasio. It was already inhabited by the friars in 1230. But construction took a long time, with as result different styles intermingling : Romanesque with Gothic style. A major part was built under the reign of Pope <!--del_lnk--> Sixtus IV, a Franciscan, between 1474 and 1476.<p>The friary now houses a vast library (with medieval <!--del_lnk--> codices and <!--del_lnk--> incunables), a museum with works of art donated by pilgrims through the centuries and also the 57 works of art (mainly of Florentine and Sienese schools) of the Perkins collection.<p>The belfry, in Romanesque style, was finished in 1239.<p><a id="Upper_basilica" name="Upper_basilica"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Upper basilica</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1203.jpg.htm" title="Nave of the upper basilica with the Giotto frescoes"><img alt="Nave of the upper basilica with the Giotto frescoes" height="337" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Assisis_Basilica_superiore.jpg" src="../../images/12/1203.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1203.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Nave of the upper basilica with the Giotto frescoes</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>One enters the upper basilica from the loggia of the friary. The slender Gothic style of the upper basilica gives a completely different impression.<p>Large glass stained windows, placed halfway up the walls, shed their coloured light on the masterworks of Giotto and Cimabue. The windows in the choir were produced by German craftsmen, active around Assisi in the last part of the 13th century. The windows on the left hand side of the nave were made by a French workshop (1270), while those on the right hand side are attributed to the workshop of <!--del_lnk--> Maestro di San Francesco. These stained glass windows are among the best examples of 13th c. Italian glasswork.<p>This bright and spacious basilica consists of a single four-bay nave with cross-vaulted ceiling bordered with patterns of crosses and leaves, a transept and a polygonal apse. The four-ribbed vaults are decorated alternatively with golden stars on a blue background and paintings. The second vault is decorated with roundels with busts of <i>Christ</i> facing <i>St. Francis</i> and the <i>Virgin</i> facing <i>St. John the Baptist</i>. The entrance vault gives us the <i>Four Latin Doctors of the Church</i> : <!--del_lnk--> St Gregory facing St <!--del_lnk--> Jerome and St <!--del_lnk--> Ambrose facing <a href="../../wp/a/Augustine_of_Hippo.htm" title="Augustine of Hippo">St Augustine</a>. These are ascribed to the Isaac Master.<p>The choir has 102 wooden stalls with carvings and marquetry by <!--del_lnk--> Domenico Indovini (1501). In their centre, on a raised platform, stands the papal cathedra.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1204.jpg.htm" title="Crucifixion by Cimabue"><img alt="Crucifixion by Cimabue" height="157" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cimabue_016.jpg" src="../../images/12/1204.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1204.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Crucifixion</i> by Cimabue</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The west end of the transept and the apse have been decorated with many frescoes by <!--del_lnk--> Cimabue and his workshop (starting in c. 1280). The magnificent <i>Crucifixion</i>, with St. Francis on his knees at the foot of the Cross, stresses again the veneration of the Passion of Christ by St. Francis. Sadly, the frescoes of Cimabue soon suffered from damp and decay. Due to the use of lead oxide in his colours and to the fact that the colours were applied when the plaster was no longer fresh, they have deteriorated and have been reduced to photographic negatives.<p>Prior to him there had been some decorations in the upper right hand section of the transept by an (anonymous) Northern Master, probably an English artist (1267-1270). He realized the two <!--del_lnk--> lunettes and the <!--del_lnk--> roundels on the west wall with paintings of the <i>Angel</i> and the <i>Apostles</i>. Another (anonymous) master, the Roman Master, painted the <i>Isaiah</i> and the <i>David</i> and the remainder of the wall under the eastern lunette.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1205.jpg.htm" title="Isaac rejects Esau, ascribed to Giotto or to the Isaac Master"><img alt="Isaac rejects Esau, ascribed to Giotto or to the Isaac Master" height="175" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Giotto_di_Bondone_080.jpg" src="../../images/12/1205.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1205.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Isaac rejects Esau</i>, ascribed to Giotto or to the Isaac Master</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The upper part on both sides of the nave, badly damaged by the earthquake of 1997, was decorated in two rows with in total 32 scenes from the Old Testament (starting with <i>Creation of the World</i> and ending with <i>Joseph forgives his brothers</i>) and the New Testament (from the <i>Annunciation</i> to <i>The Women at the Tomb</i>), while the upper register of the entrance wall is covered with two frescoes <i>Pentecost</i> and <i>Ascension of Jesus</i>. Since it took about six months to paint one bay of the nave, different Roman and Tuscan masters, followers of Cimabue, have performed this series of scenes such as <!--del_lnk--> Giacomo, <!--del_lnk--> Jacopo Torriti and <!--del_lnk--> Pietro Cavallini.<p>The two frescoes of the life of Isaac (<i>Isaac blesses Jabob</i> and <i>Esau in front of Isaac</i>) in the middle register of the third bay, are traditionally ascribed to the young Giotto (1290-1295) (previously wrongly ascribed to Cimabue by <!--del_lnk--> Vasari). But even this has been controversial. Many critics esteem these the work of the anonymous Isaac Master and his workshop. Deducing from stylistic details, attesting to his Roman background, some think that the Isaac Master may have been <!--del_lnk--> Pietro Cavallini or a follower. Pietro Cavallini had painted around 1290 a similar fresco <i>Isaac blessing Jacob</i> in the convent of the church <!--del_lnk--> Santa Cecilia in Trastevere in Rome. The position of the resting Isaac looks like the same position of the Virgin in Cavallini's mosaic <i>Birth of the Virgin</i> in the apse of the church <!--del_lnk--> Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome. The Isaac Master is considered one of the first practitioners of the true fresco (<i>buon fresco</i>) technique.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1206.jpg.htm" title="St Francis preaches in the presence of pope Honorius III, ascribed to Giotto or to the Master of the Legend of St Francis"><img alt="St Francis preaches in the presence of pope Honorius III, ascribed to Giotto or to the Master of the Legend of St Francis" height="236" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Giotto_-_Legend_of_St_Francis_-_-17-_-_St_Francis_Preaching_before_Honorius_III.jpg" src="../../images/12/1206.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1206.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> St Francis preaches in the presence of pope Honorius III, ascribed to Giotto or to the Master of the Legend of St Francis</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>But the most important decorations are the series of 28 frescoes ascribed to the young <!--del_lnk--> Giotto along the lower part of the nave. Each bay contains three frescoes above the <!--del_lnk--> dado on each side of the nave, two frescoes in the east galleries beside the entrance, and two more on the entrance wall. Giotto used the <i>Legenda Maior</i>, the biography of St. Francis by St. <!--del_lnk--> Bonaventure (1266) to reconstruct the major events in the life of St. Francis. The prototype for this cycle may have been the (now lost) St Francis cycle by <!--del_lnk--> Pietro Cavallini in the church <!--del_lnk--> San Francesco a Ripa in Rome. The paintings are so vivid, as if Giotto had been a witness to these events. According to <!--del_lnk--> Vasari, they were executed in the period between 1296 and 1304.<p>However the authorship of Giotto is disputed, due to the ambiguous attributions given in early descriptions of this work. Many Italian critics continue to support the authorship of Giotto and his workshop. But because of small differences in style with the frescoes of Isaac, it is thought that several or even all of these frescoes were painted by at least three separate painters, using the original concept of Giotto : the Master of Legend of St. Francis (the principal painter and probable supervisor of the cycle), the Master of the Obsequies of St. Francis and the Cecilia Master.<p>The first span of the ceiling is decorated with frescoes of the "Four Doctors of the Church“ ( Jerome, Augustine, Gregory and Ambrose), attributed either to a young Giotto or to one of his followers. The third span presents four heart-shaped medallions of the Christ, Mary, John the Baptist and Francis, painted by <!--del_lnk--> Jacopo Torriti.<p>The cuspidate façade of the upper basilica has a portal in Gothic style with twin doors and a beautiful rose window.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_San_Francesco_d%27Assisi"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World Heritage Site', 'Francis of Assisi', 'Pope John Paul II', 'Earthquake', 'Augustine of Hippo']
|
Basilica_of_Santa_Maria_degli_Angeli
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli,Antonio Cavallucci,Apse,Assisi,Baroque,Basilica,Benedictine,Bernardino of Siena,Cathedra,Choir,Cimabue" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Basilica_of_Santa_Maria_degli_Angeli";
var wgTitle = "Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli";
var wgArticleId = 5117917;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Basilica_of_Santa_Maria_degli_Angeli">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Architecture.htm">Architecture</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1207.jpg.htm" title="Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi."><img alt="Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bazylika_Santa_Maria_degli_Angeli_Asy%C5%BC.jpg" src="../../images/12/1207.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1207.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <b>Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli</b> (Saint Mary of the Angels) is a church situated in the plain at the foot of the hill of <!--del_lnk--> Assisi, Italy.<p>The basilica was constructed between 1569 and 1679 enclosing the 9th century little church, the <!--del_lnk--> Porziuncola, the most sacred place for the Franciscans. It was here that the young <a href="../../wp/f/Francis_of_Assisi.htm" title="Francis of Assisi">Francis of Assisi</a> understood his vocation and renounced the world in order to become a poor among the poor and thus started the Franciscan movement.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>After the death of Saint Francis in 1226, the friars built several small huts around the Porziuncola. In 1230 a refectory and some adjacent buildings were added. In the course of time little porticoes and accommodations for the friars were added around the Porziuncola. (some foundations of these were discovered during excavations under the floor of the present basilica between 1967 and 1969).<p>As more and more vast numbers pilgrims came flocking to Assisi to receive the “Pardon of Assisi”, the small space of the Porziuncola became completely inadequate to house all these pilgrims. The necessity grew to build a church incorporating the Porziuncola. The buildings around the shrine were taken down by order of pope Pius V (1566-72), except the Chapel of the Transito, the cell in which St. Francis had died. Construction of the basilica started on 25 March 1569, This majestic church, the seventh largest Christian church, was designed in an Italian pre-<a href="../../wp/b/Baroque.htm" title="Baroque">Baroque</a> style by the famous architect <!--del_lnk--> Galeazzo Alessi (1512-1572), assisted by <!--del_lnk--> Jacob Barozzi, also called Vignola (1507-73). The work progressed slowly, due to continuous lack of money as the building was financed with donations. The dome was finished in 1667. This dome, resting on an octagonal drum with eight windows and cornices, is an architectural work of art. Construction of the church was finally finished in 1679. In 1684 a bell tower was added. It was originally intended to have a twin tower, but the second was never built.<p>On 15 March 1832 the central <!--del_lnk--> nave, a part of a lateral aisle and the choir collapsed during a violent earthquake. The dome, the only surviving work of Alessi, escaped destruction, but was left with a wide crack. The <!--del_lnk--> apse and the side chapels were left standing. Reconstruction of the basilica started in 1836 by the architect <!--del_lnk--> Luigi Poletti and it was finished in 1840. He had remodeled the façade in a <!--del_lnk--> neoclassical style. Between 1924 and 1930 this façade was given back its original pre-Baroque style by Cesare Bazzani. The gold-plated statue of the "Madonna degli Angeli" (Madonna of the Angels) by the sculptor <!--del_lnk--> Colasanti, was put on top of the façade in 1930.<p>On 11 April, 1909, the church was raised by pope <!--del_lnk--> Pius X to the status of "patriarchal basilica and papal chapel"<p><a id="Description" name="Description"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Description</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1208.jpg.htm" title="Nave with the Porziuncola"><img alt="Nave with the Porziuncola" height="333" longdesc="/wiki/Image:S.Maria.degli.Angeli11.jpg" src="../../images/12/1208.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1208.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Nave with the Porziuncola</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> basilica has a rectangular ground plan, divided into a central nave and two lateral aisles, flanked by ten side chapels, with at the far end a <!--del_lnk--> transept, and a long <!--del_lnk--> choir in a semi-circular apse, protruding from the ground plan. The Porziuncola is situated directly under the dome. The church is 126 meters long, 65 meters large and the dome is 75 meters high. The interior is simple and yet elegant with only a few decorations, in stark contrast with the decorations of the side chapels. The nave and the aisles were rebuilt in neoclassical Doric style by Luigi Poletti. The apse holds the precious wooden choir, carved by Franciscan brothers starting in 1689, the papal <!--del_lnk--> cathedra (with bas-reliefs by E. Manfrini) and the papal altar. The Chapel of the Transito, the cell in which St. Francis died, is still preserved. It is situated under the bay of the choir, against the right columns of the dome.<p>The side chapels were decorated by great artists from several periods<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Antonio Circignani “Pomarancio”'(c. 1570 – 1630) (all paintings in the Chapel of St Anne ) (1602-1603)<li><!--del_lnk--> Antonio Maria Garbi (Chapel of St Diego D’Alcalà) (1773)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baldassarre Croce (1563-1638) (all paintings in the Chapel of St Pius V) (1602-1603) (Chapel of the removal of the Lord) (1602)<li><!--del_lnk--> Baldassarre Orsini (Chapel of St Diego D’Alcalà) (1787), (Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary)<li>Brother <!--del_lnk--> Ippolito da Coceto (Chapel of St Diego D’Alcalà) (1710) and the ovals on the Altar of the Holy Cross<li><!--del_lnk--> Antonio Cavallucci (1752-1795) (Chapel of St Diego d’Alcalà)<li><!--del_lnk--> Cesare Sermei (c.1609 – 1668) (Chapel of the Stigmata) (1630)<li><!--del_lnk--> Crispolti (Chapel of the Removal of the Lord) (1602)<li><!--del_lnk--> Domenico Maria Muratori (1661-1774) (Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary)<li><!--del_lnk--> Francesco Appiani (1704-1793) (Chapel of St. Anthony -1756 and Chapel of St. Peter in Chains – 1760)<li><!--del_lnk--> Garbi (Chapel of St Anthony - 1773)<li><!--del_lnk--> Giacomo Giorgetti (all paintings in the Chapel of St John the Baptist) (Chapel of the Stigmata) (1630)<li><!--del_lnk--> Gian Domenico Mattei (Chapel of St Peter in Chains)<li><!--del_lnk--> Giorgetti di Assisi (the frescoes in the vault of the Chapel of St John the Baptist) (1700)<li><!--del_lnk--> Giovan Battista Lombardelli (Chapel of the Crib)<li><!--del_lnk--> Jean Regnaud (also called Giovanni de Champagne or Giovanni di Sciampagna) (Chapel of St Peter in Chains) (second part of the 17th c.)<li><!--del_lnk--> Morelli (Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary)<li><!--del_lnk--> Silla Piccinini (Chapel of the Crib)<li><!--del_lnk--> Simeone Ciburri (? – 1614) (Chapel of the Crowned Virgin) (1603)<li><!--del_lnk--> Ventura Salimbeni (c. 1567-1613) (Chapel of the Removal of the Lord) (1602),</ul>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="gallery">
<tr>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/12/1209.jpg.htm" title="Image:S.Maria.degli.Angeli07.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/12/1209.jpg" width="93" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>St. Francis receives men and women into the Third Order of Penance, at Cannara; painting by Baldassare Croci (1602-1603)</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/12/1210.jpg.htm" title="Image:S.Maria.degli.Angeli09.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/12/1210.jpg" width="105" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>Wedding of the Virgin, painting by Antonio Circignani (Pomarancio) (1602-1603)</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 30px 0;"><a href="../../images/12/1211.jpg.htm" title="Image:S.Maria.degli.Angeli10.jpg"><img alt="" height="86" src="../../images/12/1211.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p>St. John the Baptist baptizes Jesus in the Jordan; painting by Giorgetti di Assisi</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<br clear="all" />
<p><a id="The_Porziuncola" name="The_Porziuncola"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Porziuncola</span></h2>
<p><i>Main article : see</i> <!--del_lnk--> Porziuncola<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1212.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="317" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Porziuncola.jpg" src="../../images/12/1212.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1212.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <i>chiesetta</i> (little church) is the most sacred place for <!--del_lnk--> Franciscans. Francis was given this little church, dating from the 9th century, by the <!--del_lnk--> Benedictine monks.<p>The church is exquisitely decorated by artists from different periods. Above the entrance is the fresco by <!--del_lnk--> Johann Friedrich Overbeck (1829) depicting St. Francis receiving from the Christ and the Virgin the indulgence, known as the “Pardon of Assisi”. The side wall on the right side shows fragments of two frescoes by an unknown <!--del_lnk--> Umbrian artists.. The austere interior is decorated in a simple <!--del_lnk--> Gothic style with frescoes from the 14th and the 15th century. But the masterpiece is the six-part fresco in the apse of this little church, painted by <!--del_lnk--> Ilario da Viterbo (1393). At the back, above the entrance, is the fresco “Crucifixion” by <!--del_lnk--> Pietro Vannucci, called “the Perugino”.<p><a id="The_Transito" name="The_Transito"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Transito</span></h2>
<p>The Capella del Transito is the small room where St. Francis died on 3 October 1226. It was a little hut serving as a primitive infirmary for the sick. It is decorated at the outside by the fresco “The transito” by <!--del_lnk--> Domenico Bruschi (1886). On the inside, above the small altar, is the rope of St. Francis. Behind the altar, there is a glazed <!--del_lnk--> terracotta statue of St. Francis by <!--del_lnk--> Andrea della Robbia (c. 1490). On the walls there is a fresco by <!--del_lnk--> Giovanni Spagna (1520), depicting the earliest followers of St. Francis, with their names above each portrait (Ruffino, Leone, Masseo and Egidio)<p><a id="The_Crypt" name="The_Crypt"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Crypt</span></h2>
<p>A new crypt was constructed behind the altar between 1965 and 1970. During the excavations foundations of the original little huts, surrounding the Porziuncola, were exposed. The crypt’s altar rests on a massive, multiple-branched tree trunk, sculpted by <!--del_lnk--> Francesco Prosperi. Behind the altar stands an enameled, terracotta, bas-relief tabernacle by <!--del_lnk--> Andrea della Robbia, expressing with an extreme finesse the emotions of the figures : (on top) St Francis receiving the Stigmata, the Coronation of Mary (with the angel musicians), St Jerome the Penitent; (lower section) The Annunciation, the Nativity and the Adoration by the Magi.<p>
<br />
<p><a id="The_Rose_Garden_and_the_Rose_Chapel" name="The_Rose_Garden_and_the_Rose_Chapel"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Rose Garden and the Rose Chapel</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1213.jpg.htm" title="Rose garden - bronze statue by V. Rossignoli (1916)"><img alt="Rose garden - bronze statue by V. Rossignoli (1916)" height="256" longdesc="/wiki/Image:S.Maria.degli.Angeli18.jpg" src="../../images/12/1213.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1213.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Rose garden - bronze statue by V. Rossignoli (1916)</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>One enters the rose garden via the sacristy. It is the last remains of the ancient wood in which St Francis and his friars lived. Here he talked to the <!--del_lnk--> turtle doves, inviting them to praise the Lord. Doves have been nesting since times immemorial in the hands of the statue of St. Francis in this rose garden.<p>According to tradition (already attested at the end of the 13th c.), one night St. Francis, feeling the temptation to abandon his way of life, rolled naked in the bramble thorns in an attempt to overcome doubt and temptation. In contact with his body, the bramble bushes turned into <!--del_lnk--> dog roses without thorns. Since then, the dog rose cultivar <i>Rosa canina</i> 'Assisiensis' has been grown in the garden.<p>From the rose garden, one enters the Rose Chapel. This was the cell where St. Francis rested and spent the rest of the night in prayer and penance. Here St. Francis also met <!--del_lnk--> Saint Anthony of Padua. After his death a chapel was built in the 13th century, enlarged in the 15th c. by St. <!--del_lnk--> Bernardine of Siena. It was decorated between 1506 and 1516 with a series of frescoes by several painters, among which the Umbrian <!--del_lnk--> Tiberio d'Assisi, depicting the early Franciscan community and the first saints of the order, the miracle of the roses and the concession of the indulgence<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1214.jpg.htm" title="Concession of the Indulgence - fresco in the Rose Chapel by Tiberio d'Assisi"><img alt="Concession of the Indulgence - fresco in the Rose Chapel by Tiberio d'Assisi" height="148" longdesc="/wiki/Image:S.Maria.degli.Angeli20.jpg" src="../../images/12/1214.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1214.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Concession of the Indulgence - fresco in the Rose Chapel by Tiberio d'Assisi</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The little friary houses the museum of the Porziuncola with many religious objects, archaeological finds, and a noteworthy collection of paintings :<ul>
<li>the <i>Crucifix</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Giunta Pisano (1236)<li>a wooden painting <i>portrait of St. Francis</i> by the (anonymous) Maestro di San Francesco (13th c.); the body of the deceased saint was placed on this painting.<li><i>San Francesco</i> attributed to <!--del_lnk--> Cimabue<li>a <i>Madonna</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Sano di Pietro<li>the <i>Crowning of the Virgin</i>, a terracotta by <!--del_lnk--> Andrea della Robbia (c. 1490)<li><i>St. Francis and St. Clare</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Cesare Sermei and his workshop.<li>the <i>Madonna of the Milk</i>, a polychromed terracotta sculpture (end 14th, early 15th c.)<li>many frescoes of uncertain attribution.</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Santa_Maria_degli_Angeli"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Francis of Assisi', 'Baroque']
|
Basketball
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Basketball,Professional Basketball Leagues,1-3-1 offense,1892,1946,2002 FIBA World Championship,2004,2004 Summer Olympics,2006,2006 FIBA World Championship,A1 Liga" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Basketball</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Basketball";
var wgTitle = "Basketball";
var wgArticleId = 3921;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Basketball">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Basketball</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Sports.htm">Sports</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1216.jpg.htm" title="Sara Giauro shoots a three-point shot, FIBA Europe Cup for Women Finals 2005."><img alt="Sara Giauro shoots a three-point shot, FIBA Europe Cup for Women Finals 2005." height="251" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Three_point_shoot.JPG" src="../../images/12/1216.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1216.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Sara Giauro shoots a <!--del_lnk--> three-point shot, <!--del_lnk--> FIBA Europe Cup for Women Finals 2005.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Basketball</b> is a <a href="../../wp/s/Sport.htm" title="Sport">sport</a> in which two teams of five players each try to score points on one another by throwing a ball through a hoop (the <i>basket</i>) under organized rules.<p>Points are scored by passing the ball through the basket from above; the team with more points at the end of the game wins. A regular jump shot inside the arch is worth two points, beyond the arch is three points, and a free throw is one point. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it (<i><!--del_lnk--> dribbling</i>) or passing it between teammates. Disruptive physical contact (<i><!--del_lnk--> foul</i>) is not permitted and there are restrictions on how the ball can be handled (<i><!--del_lnk--> violations</i>).<p>Through time, basketball has developed to involve common techniques of shooting, passing and dribbling, as well as players' positions, and offensive and defensive structures. While competitive basketball is carefully regulated, numerous <!--del_lnk--> variations of basketball have developed for casual play. Basketball is also a popular spectator sport.<p>While competitive basketball is primarily an indoor sport, played on a <!--del_lnk--> basketball court, less regulated variations have become exceedingly popular as an outdoor sport among inner city groups.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1217.jpg.htm" title="Kids playing basketball"><img alt="Kids playing basketball" height="166" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kids_playing_basketball_92123.JPG" src="../../images/12/1217.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1217.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Kids playing basketball</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="History_of_basketball" name="History_of_basketball"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">History of basketball</span></h3>
<p>In early December 1891, Dr. <!--del_lnk--> James Naismith, a <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canadian</a> physician of <!--del_lnk--> McGill University and minister on the faculty of a college for <!--del_lnk--> YMCA professionals (today, <!--del_lnk--> Springfield College) in <!--del_lnk--> Springfield, Massachusetts, <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">USA</a>, sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at proper levels of fitness during the long <!--del_lnk--> New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in <!--del_lnk--> gymnasiums, he modified a a childhood game titled "Duck on a rock" and wrote the basic <!--del_lnk--> rules. He nailed a peach basket onto the 10-foot (3.05 m) elevated track. In contrast with modern basketball nets, this peach basket retained its bottom. Therefore balls scored into the basket had to be poked out with a long dowel each time. Women's basketball began in 1892 at <!--del_lnk--> Smith College when <!--del_lnk--> Senda Berenson, a physical education teacher, modified Naismith's rules for women. The first official basketball game was played in the YMCA gymnasium on <!--del_lnk--> January 20, <!--del_lnk--> 1892 with nine players, on a court just half the size of a present-day <!--del_lnk--> National Basketball Association (NBA) court. "Basket ball", the name suggested by one of Naismith's students, was popular from the beginning.<p>Basketball's early adherents were dispatched to YMCAs throughout the United States, and it quickly spread through the USA and Canada. By 1896, it was well established at several women's colleges. While the YMCA was responsible for initially developing and spreading the game, within a decade it discouraged the new sport, as rough play and rowdy crowds began to detract from the YMCA's primary mission. However, other amateur sports clubs, colleges, and professional clubs quickly filled the void. In the years before World War I, the <!--del_lnk--> Amateur Athletic Union and the <!--del_lnk--> Intercollegiate Athletic Association (forerunner of the <!--del_lnk--> NCAA) vied for control over the rules for the game.<p>Basketball was originally played with a <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Soccer">soccer</a> ball. The first balls made specifically for basketball were brown, and it was only in the late 1950s that <!--del_lnk--> Tony Hinkle, searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and spectators alike, introduced the orange ball that is now in common use.<p>Dribbling, the bouncing of the ball up and down while moving, was not part of the original game except for the "bounce pass" to teammates. Passing the ball was the primary means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the asymmetric shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a major part of the game around the 1950s as manufacturing improved the ball shape.<p>Basketball, <a href="../../wp/n/Netball.htm" title="Netball">netball</a>, <a href="../../wp/v/Volleyball.htm" title="Volleyball">volleyball</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> lacrosse are the only ball games which have been identified as being invented by North Americans. Other ball games, such as <a href="../../wp/b/Baseball.htm" title="Baseball">baseball</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Canadian_football.htm" title="Canadian football">Canadian football</a>, have <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Nations, European, Asian or African connections.<p><a id="College_basketball_and_early_leagues" name="College_basketball_and_early_leagues"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">College basketball and early leagues</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:212px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1218.jpg.htm" title="Kent Benson of Indiana University Bloomington takes a hook shot."><img alt="Kent Benson of Indiana University Bloomington takes a hook shot." height="256" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basketball.jpg" src="../../images/12/1218.jpg" width="210" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1218.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Kent Benson of <!--del_lnk--> Indiana University Bloomington takes a hook shot.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Naismith and Berenson were instrumental in establishing <!--del_lnk--> college basketball. Naismith coached at <!--del_lnk--> University of Kansas for six years before handing the reins to renowned coach <!--del_lnk--> Phog Allen. Naismith's disciple <!--del_lnk--> Amos Alonzo Stagg brought basketball to the <a href="../../wp/u/University_of_Chicago.htm" title="University of Chicago">University of Chicago</a>, while <!--del_lnk--> Adolph Rupp, a student of Naismith's at Kansas, enjoyed great success as coach at the <!--del_lnk--> University of Kentucky. In 1892, <!--del_lnk--> University of California and Miss Head's School, played the first women's inter-institutional game. Berenson's freshmen played the sophomore class in the first women's collegiate basketball game at <!--del_lnk--> Smith College, March 21, 1893. The same year, <!--del_lnk--> Mount Holyoke and <!--del_lnk--> Sophie Newcomb College (coached by <!--del_lnk--> Clara Gregory Baer) women began playing basketball. By 1895, the game had spread to colleges across the country, including <!--del_lnk--> Wellesley, <!--del_lnk--> Vassar and <!--del_lnk--> Bryn Mawr. The first intercollegiate women's game was on April 4, 1896. <!--del_lnk--> Stanford women played <!--del_lnk--> Berkeley, 9-on-9, ending in a 2-1 Stanford victory. In 1901, colleges, including the <a href="../../wp/u/University_of_Chicago.htm" title="University of Chicago">University of Chicago</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Columbia University, <!--del_lnk--> Dartmouth College, <!--del_lnk--> University of Minnesota, the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Naval Academy, the <!--del_lnk--> University of Utah and <!--del_lnk--> Yale University began sponsoring men's games. By 1910, frequent injuries on the men's courts prompted <a href="../../wp/t/Theodore_Roosevelt.htm" title="Theodore Roosevelt">President Roosevelt</a> to suggest that college basketball form a governing body. And the <!--del_lnk--> Intercollegiate Athletic Association (IAA) was created.<p>Teams abounded from through the 1920s. There were hundreds of men's <!--del_lnk--> professional basketball teams in towns and cities all over the United States and little organization of the professional game. Players jumped from team to team and teams played in armories and smoky dance halls. Leagues came and went. And barnstorming squads such as the <!--del_lnk--> Original Celtics and two all African American teams, the <!--del_lnk--> New York Renaissance Five ("Rens") and (still in existence <!--del_lnk--> as of 2006) the <a href="../../wp/h/Harlem_Globetrotters.htm" title="Harlem Globetrotters">Harlem Globetrotters</a> played up to two hundred games a year on their national tours. <!--del_lnk--> Women's basketball was more structured. In 1905, the National Women's Basketball Committee's <i>Executive Committee on Basket Ball Rules</i> was created by the <!--del_lnk--> American Physical Education Association. These rules called for six to nine players per team and 11 officials. The <!--del_lnk--> International Women's Sports Federation (1924) included a women's basketball competition. 37 women's high school varsity basketball or state tournaments were held by 1925. And in 1926, the Amateur Athletic Union backed the first <!--del_lnk--> national women's basketball championship, complete with men's rules. The first women's <!--del_lnk--> AAU All-America team was chosen in 1929. Women's industrial leagues sprang up throughout the nation, producing famous athletes like <!--del_lnk--> Babe Didrikson of the <!--del_lnk--> Golden Cyclones and the <!--del_lnk--> All American Red Heads Team who competed against men's teams, using men's rules. By 1938, the women's national championship changed from a three-court game to two-court game with six players per team. The first men's national championship tournament, the <!--del_lnk--> National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in New York, was organized in 1938.<p>College basketball was rocked by gambling scandals from 1948 to 1951, when dozens of players from top teams were implicated in <!--del_lnk--> match fixing and <!--del_lnk--> point shaving. Partially spurred by an association with cheating, the NIT lost support to the <!--del_lnk--> NCAA national tournament. Today, the NCAA men's and women's "<!--del_lnk--> March Madness" tournaments are rivaled only by the MLB <!--del_lnk--> World Series.<p><a id="U.S._high_school_basketball" name="U.S._high_school_basketball"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">U.S. high school basketball</span></h3>
<p>Before widespread school district consolidation, most <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> <!--del_lnk--> high schools were far smaller than their present day counterparts. During the first decades of the 20th century, basketball quickly became the ideal interscholastic sport due to its modest equipment and personnel requirements. In the days before widespread <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a> coverage of professional and college sports, the popularity of high school basketball was unrivaled in many parts of America.<p>Today virtually every high school in the United States fields a basketball team in <!--del_lnk--> varsity competition. Baseketball's popularity remains high, both in rural areas where they carry the identification of the entire community, as well as at some larger schools known for their basketball teams where many players go on to participate at higher levels of competition after graduation. In the 2003–04 season, 1,002,797 boys and girls represented their schools in interscholastic basketball competition, according to the <!--del_lnk--> National Federation of State High School Associations. The states of <!--del_lnk--> Illinois, <!--del_lnk--> Indiana and <!--del_lnk--> Kentucky are particularly well known for their residents' devotion to high school basketball; the critically acclaimed film <i><!--del_lnk--> Hoosiers</i> shows high school basketball's depth of meaning to these rural communities. In fact, the term "<!--del_lnk--> March Madness" was first used to describe the Illinois high school basketball tournament.<p><a id="National_Basketball_Association" name="National_Basketball_Association"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">National Basketball Association</span></h3>
<p>In 1946, the <!--del_lnk--> National Basketball Association was formed, organizing the top professional teams and leading to greater popularity of the professional game. The first game was played in Toronto, Canada between the <!--del_lnk--> Toronto Huskies and <!--del_lnk--> New York Knickerbockers on <!--del_lnk--> November 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1946. An upstart organization, the <!--del_lnk--> American Basketball Association, emerged in 1967 and briefly threatened the NBA's dominance until the rival leagues merged in 1976. Today the NBA is the top professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of competition.<p>The NBA has featured many famous players, including <!--del_lnk--> George Mikan, the first dominating "big man"; ball-handling wizard <!--del_lnk--> Bob Cousy and defensive genius <!--del_lnk--> Bill Russell of the <!--del_lnk--> Boston Celtics; <!--del_lnk--> Wilt Chamberlain, who originally played for the barnstorming <a href="../../wp/h/Harlem_Globetrotters.htm" title="Harlem Globetrotters">Harlem Globetrotters</a>; all-around stars <!--del_lnk--> Oscar Robertson and <!--del_lnk--> Jerry West; more recent big men <!--del_lnk--> Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and <!--del_lnk--> Karl Malone; playmaker <!--del_lnk--> John Stockton; <!--del_lnk--> Julius Erving, pioneer of the slam dunk; and the three players who many credit with ushering the professional game to its highest level of popularity: <!--del_lnk--> Larry Bird, <!--del_lnk--> Earvin "Magic" Johnson, and <a href="../../wp/m/Michael_Jordan.htm" title="Michael Jordan">Michael Jordan</a>.<p>The NBA-backed <!--del_lnk--> Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) began 1997. Though it had an insecure opening season, several marquee players (<!--del_lnk--> Sheryl Swoopes, <!--del_lnk--> Lisa Leslie and <!--del_lnk--> Sue Bird among others) helped the league's popularity and level of competition. Other <!--del_lnk--> professional women's basketball leagues in the United States, such as the <!--del_lnk--> American Basketball League (1996-1998), have folded in part because of the popularity of the <!--del_lnk--> WNBA.<p>In 2001, the NBA formed a developmental league, the <!--del_lnk--> NBDL. The league currently has 8 teams, but will add 7 more for the 2006-2007 season.<p><a id="International_basketball" name="International_basketball"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">International basketball</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:212px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1219.jpg.htm" title="XX. Olympic games Munich 1972 Kresimir Cosic of Yugoslavia vs. Petr Novicky of Czechoslovakia "><img alt="XX. Olympic games Munich 1972 Kresimir Cosic of Yugoslavia vs. Petr Novicky of Czechoslovakia " height="260" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Munich_1972.jpg" src="../../images/12/1219.jpg" width="210" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1219.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> XX. Olympic games Munich 1972 Kresimir Cosic of Yugoslavia vs. Petr Novicky of Czechoslovakia</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> International Basketball Federation was formed in 1932 by eight founding nations: <a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentina</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Czechoslovakia, <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>, <a href="../../wp/l/Latvia.htm" title="Latvia">Latvia</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Portugal.htm" title="Portugal">Portugal</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romania</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a>. At this time, the organization only oversaw amateur players. Its acronym, in French, was thus FIBA; the "A" standing for amateur.<p>Basketball was first included in the <a href="../../wp/o/Olympic_Games.htm" title="Olympic Games">Olympic Games</a> in 1936, although a demonstration tournament was held in 1904. This competition has usually been dominated by the United States, whose team has won all but three titles, the first loss in a controversial final game in <a href="../../wp/m/Munich.htm" title="Munich">Munich</a> in <!--del_lnk--> 1972 against the Soviet Union. In 1950 the first <!--del_lnk--> FIBA World Championship for men was held in <a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentina</a>. Three years later, the first <!--del_lnk--> FIBA World Championship for Women were held in <a href="../../wp/c/Chile.htm" title="Chile">Chile</a>. Women's basketball was added to the Olympics in 1976, with teams such as Brazil and Australia rivaling the American squads.<p>FIBA dropped the distinction between amateur and professional players in 1989, and in 1992, professional players played for the first time in the Olympic Games. The United States' dominance continued with the introduction of their <!--del_lnk--> Dream Team. However, with developing programs elsewhere, other national teams started to beat the United States. A team made entirely of NBA players finished sixth in the 2002 World Championships in <!--del_lnk--> Indianapolis, behind <!--del_lnk--> Yugoslavia, <!--del_lnk--> Argentina, <!--del_lnk--> Germany, <!--del_lnk--> New Zealand and <!--del_lnk--> Spain. In the <!--del_lnk--> 2004 Athens Olympics, the United States suffered its first Olympic loss while using professional players, falling to <!--del_lnk--> Puerto Rico and <!--del_lnk--> Lithuania in group games. It eventually won the bronze medal defeating Lithuania, finishing behind Argentina and <!--del_lnk--> Italy. (It should be noted, however, that of the twelve players originally selected by the NBA, only <!--del_lnk--> Tim Duncan and <!--del_lnk--> Allen Iverson chose to play; the rest of the team was put together from second and third choices.)<p>Worldwide, basketball tournaments are held for boys and girls of all age levels. The global popularity of the sport is reflected in the nationalities represented in the NBA. Players from all over the globe can be found in NBA teams. <!--del_lnk--> Steve Nash, who won the 2005 and 2006 <!--del_lnk--> NBA MVP award, is <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canadian</a>; <!--del_lnk--> Kobe Bryant is an <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> who spent much of his childhood in <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>; <!--del_lnk--> Dallas Mavericks superstar <!--del_lnk--> Dirk Nowitzki is <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">German</a>; All-Star <!--del_lnk--> Pau Gasol of the <!--del_lnk--> Memphis Grizzlies is from <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>; and the <!--del_lnk--> San Antonio Spurs feature <!--del_lnk--> Tim Duncan of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_Virgin_Islands.htm" title="United States Virgin Islands">U.S. Virgin Islands</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Manu Ginobili of <a href="../../wp/a/Argentina.htm" title="Argentina">Argentina</a> (like <!--del_lnk--> Chicago Bulls player <a href="../../wp/a/Andr%25C3%25A9s_Nocioni.htm" title="Andrés Nocioni">Andrés Nocioni</a>) and <!--del_lnk--> Tony Parker of <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>. (Duncan competes for the United States internationally, as the Virgin Islands do not field a basketball team for international competition.)<p>The all-tournament teams at the two most recent <!--del_lnk--> FIBA World Championships, held in <!--del_lnk--> 2002 in <!--del_lnk--> Indianapolis and <!--del_lnk--> 2006 in <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, demonstrate the globalization of the game equally dramatically. Only one member of either team was American, namely <!--del_lnk--> Carmelo Anthony in 2006. The 2002 team featured Nowitzki, Ginobili, <!--del_lnk--> Peja Stojakovic of Yugoslavia (now of <!--del_lnk--> Serbia), <!--del_lnk--> Yao Ming of <!--del_lnk--> China, and <!--del_lnk--> Pero Cameron of New Zealand. Ginobili also made the 2006 team; the other members were Anthony, Gasol, his <!--del_lnk--> Spanish teammate <!--del_lnk--> Jorge Garbajosa and <!--del_lnk--> Theodoros Papaloukas of <!--del_lnk--> Greece. The only players on either team to never have joined the NBA are Cameron and Papaloukas.<p><a id="Rules_and_regulations" name="Rules_and_regulations"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Rules and regulations</span></h2>
<p>Measurements and time limits discussed in this section often vary among tournaments and organizations; international and NBA rules are used in this section.<p>The object of the game is to outscore one's opponents by throwing the ball through the opponents' basket from above while preventing the opponents from doing so on their own. An attempt to score in this way is called a <!--del_lnk--> shot. A successful shot is worth two points, or <!--del_lnk--> three points if it is taken from beyond the three-point arc which is 6.25 meters (20 ft 6 in) from the basket in international games and 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) in NBA games.<p><a id="Playing_regulations" name="Playing_regulations"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Playing regulations</span></h3>
<p>Games are played in four quarters of 10 (international) or 12 minutes (NBA). Fifteen minutes are allowed for a half-time break, and two minutes are allowed at the other breaks. Overtime periods are five minutes long. Teams exchange baskets for the second half. The time allowed is actual playing time; the clock is stopped while the play is not active. Therefore, games generally take much longer to complete than the allotted game time, typically about two hours.<p>Five players from each team may be on the court at one time. Teams can have up to seven substitutes. Substitutions are unlimited but can only be done when play is stopped. Teams also have a <!--del_lnk--> coach, who oversees the development and strategies of the team, and other team personnel such as assistant coaches, managers, statisticians, doctors and trainers.<p>For both men's and women's teams, a standard uniform consists of a pair of shorts and a <!--del_lnk--> jersey with a clearly visible number, unique within the team, printed on both the front and back. Players wear <!--del_lnk--> high-top sneakers that provide extra ankle support. Typically, team names, players' names and sometimes sponsors are printed on the uniforms.<p>A limited number of time-outs, clock stoppages requested by a coach for a short meeting with the players, are allowed. They generally last no longer than one minute unless, for televised games, a commercial break is needed.<p>The game is controlled by the officials consisting of the referee, one or two umpires and the table officials. The table officials are responsible for keeping track of each teams scoring, timekeeping, individual and team <!--del_lnk--> fouls, player substitutions, team <!--del_lnk--> possession arrow, and the <!--del_lnk--> shot clock.<p><a id="Equipment" name="Equipment"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Equipment</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1221.jpg.htm" title="Traditional eight-panel basketball"><img alt="Traditional eight-panel basketball" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basketball.jpeg" src="../../images/12/1221.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1221.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Traditional eight-panel basketball</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1222.png.htm" title="A diagram of a FIBA basketball court."><img alt="A diagram of a FIBA basketball court." height="420" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basketball_court_dimensions.png" src="../../images/12/1222.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1222.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A diagram of a <!--del_lnk--> FIBA basketball court.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The only essential equipment in basketball is the <!--del_lnk--> ball and the court: a flat, rectangular surface with baskets at opposite ends. Competitive levels require the use of more equipment such as clocks, scoresheets, <!--del_lnk--> scoreboards, alternating possession arrows, and whistle-operated stop-clock systems.<p>A regulation <!--del_lnk--> basketball court in international games is 28 by 15 meters (approx. 92 by 49 ft) and in the NBA is 94 by 50 feet (29 by 15 m). Most courts are made of wood. A cast iron basket with net and backboard hang over each end of the court. At almost all levels of competition, the top of the rim is exactly 10 feet (3.05 m) above the court and 4 feet (1.2 m) inside the endline. While variation is possible in the dimensions of the court and backboard, it is considered important for the basket to be the correct height; a rim that is off by but a few inches can have an adverse effect on shooting.<p><a id="Violations" name="Violations"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Violations</span></h3>
<p>The ball may be advanced toward the basket by being shot, passed between players, thrown, tapped, rolled or dribbled (bouncing the ball while running).<p>The ball must stay within the court; the last team to touch the ball before it travels out of bounds forfeits possession. The ball-handler may not move both feet without dribbling, known as <!--del_lnk--> traveling, nor may he dribble with both hands or catch the ball in between dribbles, a violation called <!--del_lnk--> double dribbling. A player's hand cannot be under the ball while dribbling; doing so is known as <!--del_lnk--> carrying the ball. A team, once having established ball control in the front half of the court, may not return the ball to the backcourt. The ball may not be kicked nor struck with the fist. A violation of these rules results in loss of possession, or, if committed by the defense, a reset of the <!--del_lnk--> shot clock.<p>There are limits imposed on the time taken before progressing the ball past halfway (8 seconds in international and NBA), before attempting a shot (24 seconds), holding the ball while closely guarded (5 seconds), and remaining in the restricted area (the lane, or "key") (3 seconds). These rules are designed to promote more offense.<p>No player may interfere with the basket or ball on its downward flight to the basket, or while it is on the rim (or, in the NBA, while it is directly above the basket), a violation known as <i>goaltending.</i> If a defensive player goaltends, the attempted shot is considered to have been successful. If a teammate of the shooter goaltends, the basket is cancelled and play continues.<p><a id="Fouls" name="Fouls"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Fouls</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1223.jpg.htm" title="The referee signals that a foul has been committed."><img alt="The referee signals that a foul has been committed." height="210" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basketball_foul.jpg" src="../../images/12/1223.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1223.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The referee signals that a foul has been committed.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>An attempt to unfairly disadvantage an opponent through personal contact is illegal and is called a foul. These are most commonly committed by defensive players; however, they can be committed by offensive players as well. Players who are fouled either receive the ball to pass inbounds again, or receive one or more <!--del_lnk--> free throws if they are fouled in the act of shooting, depending on whether the shot was successful. One point is awarded for making a free throw, which is attempted from a line 4.5 metres (15 ft) from the basket.<p>The referee may use discretion in calling fouls (for example, by considering whether an unfair advantage was gained), sometimes making fouls controversial calls. The calling of fouls can vary between games, leagues and even between referees.<p>A player or coach who shows poor sportsmanship, for instance, by arguing with a referee or by fighting with another player, can be charged with a <!--del_lnk--> technical foul. The penalty involves free throws and varies between leagues. Repeated incidents can result in <!--del_lnk--> disqualification. Blatant fouls with excessive contact or that are not an attempt to play the ball are called unsportsmanlike fouls (or flagrant fouls in the NBA) and incur a harsher penalty; in some rare cases a disqualifying foul will require the player to leave the playing area.<p>If a team surpasses a preset limit of team fouls in a given period (quarter or half) – four for international and NBA games – the opposing team is awarded one or two free throws on all subsequent fouls for that period, the number depending on the league. A player who commits five fouls, including technical fouls, in one game (six in some professional leagues, including the NBA) is not allowed to participate for the rest of the game, and is described as having "fouled out".<p><a id="Common_techniques_and_practices" name="Common_techniques_and_practices"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Common techniques and practices</span></h2>
<p><a id="Positions_and_structures" name="Positions_and_structures"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Positions and structures</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1224.png.htm" title="Basketball positions in the offensive zone"><img alt="Basketball positions in the offensive zone" height="226" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basketball_positions.png" src="../../images/12/1224.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1224.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Basketball positions in the offensive zone</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Although the rules do not specify any <!--del_lnk--> positions whatsoever, they have evolved as part of basketball. During the first five decades of basketball's evolution, two guards, two forwards, and one centre were used. Since the 1980s, more specific positions have evolved, namely:<ol>
<li><!--del_lnk--> point guard: organizes the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right player at the right time<li><!--del_lnk--> shooting guard: creates a high volume of shots on offense; guards the opponent's best perimeter player on defense<li><!--del_lnk--> small forward: often primarily responsible for scoring points via cuts to the basket and dribble penetration; on defense seeks rebounds and steals, but sometimes plays more actively<li><!--del_lnk--> power forward: plays offensively often with his back to the basket; on defense, plays under the basket (in a zone defense) or against the opposing power forward (in man-to-man defense)<li><!--del_lnk--> centre: uses size, either to score (on offense) or to protect the basket closely (on defense)</ol>
<p>The above descriptions are flexible. On some occasions, teams will choose to use a <i>three guard offense</i>, replacing one of the forwards or the centre with a third guard. The most commonly interchanged positions are point guard and shooting guard, especially if both players have good leadership and ball handling skills.<p>There are two main defensive strategies: <i>zone defense</i> and <i>man-to-man defense</i>. <!--del_lnk--> Zone defense involves players in defensive positions guarding whichever opponent is in their zone. In <!--del_lnk--> man-to-man defense, each defensive player guards a specific opponent and tries to prevent him from taking action. Variations of these two main structures are also used.<p>Offensive plays are more varied, normally involving planned passes and movement by players without the ball. A quick movement by an offensive player without the ball to gain an advantageous position is a <i>cut</i>. A legal attempt by an offensive player to stop an opponent from guarding a teammate, by standing in the defender's way such that the teammate cuts next to him, is a <i>screen</i> or <i>pick</i>. The two plays are combined in the <i><!--del_lnk--> pick and roll</i>, in which a player sets a pick and then "rolls" away from the pick towards the basket. Screens and cuts are very important in offensive plays; these allow the quick passes and teamwork which can lead to a successful basket. Teams almost always have several offensive plays planned to ensure their movement is not predictable. On court, the point guard is usually responsible for indicating which play will occur.<p>Defensive and offensive structures, and positions, are more emphasized in higher levels in basketball; it is these that a coach normally requests a time-out to discuss.<p><a id="Shooting" name="Shooting"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Shooting</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1225.jpg.htm" title="Player releases a short jump shot, while her defender is either knocked down, or trying to "take a charge.""><img alt="Player releases a short jump shot, while her defender is either knocked down, or trying to "take a charge."" height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basketball_shot.jpg" src="../../images/12/1225.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1225.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Player releases a short jump shot, while her defender is either knocked down, or trying to "take a charge."</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Shooting is the act of attempting to score points throwing the ball through the basket. While methods can vary with players and situations, the most common technique can be outlined here.<p>The player should be positioned facing the basket with feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and back straight. The player holds the ball to rest in the dominant hand's fingertips (the shooting arm) slightly above the head, with the other hand on the side of the ball. To aim the ball, the player's elbow should be aligned vertically, with the forearm facing in the direction of the basket. The ball is shot by bending and extending the knees and extending the shooting arm to become straight; the ball rolls off the finger tips while the wrist completes a full downward flex motion. When the shooting arm is stationary for a moment after the ball released, it is known as a follow-through; it is incorporated to maintain accuracy. Generally, the non-shooting arm is used only to guide the shot, not to power it.<p>Players often try to put a steady backspin on the ball to deaden its impact with the rim. The ideal trajectory of the shot is somewhat arguable, but generally coaches will profess proper arch. Most players shoot directly into the basket, but shooters may use the backboard to redirect the ball into the basket.<p>The two most common shots that use the above described set up are the <i>set shot</i> and the <i><!--del_lnk--> jump shot</i>. The set shot is taken from a standing position, with neither foot leaving the floor, typically used for free throws. The jump shot is taken while in mid-air, near the top of the jump. This provides much greater power and range, and it also allows the player to elevate over the defender. Failure to release the ball before returning the feet to the ground is a traveling violation.<p>Another common shot is called the <i><!--del_lnk--> layup</i>. This shot requires the player to be in motion toward the basket, and to "lay" the ball "up" and into the basket, typically off the backboard (the backboard-free, underhand version is called a <i>finger roll</i>). The most crowd-pleasing, and typically highest-percentage accuracy shot is the <i><!--del_lnk--> slam dunk</i>, in which the player jumps very high, and throws the ball downward, straight through the hoop.<p>A missed shot that misses the basket completely is referred to as an <!--del_lnk--> air ball.<p>The best shooters combine great dedication, coordination, and confidence. Practice is essential to shoot at a high level. Getting open is also crucial; at the pro level, top shooters rarely miss when given an unguarded look at the basket.<p><a id="Passing" name="Passing"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Passing</span></h3>
<p>A pass is a method of moving the ball between players. Most passes are accompanied by a step forward to increase power and are followed through with the hands to ensure accuracy.<p>A staple pass is the <i>chest pass</i>. The ball is passed directly from the passer's chest to the receiver's chest. A proper chest pass involves an outward snap of the thumbs to add velocity and leaves the defense little time to react.<p>Another type of pass is the <i>bounce pass</i>. Here, the passer bounces the ball crisply about two-thirds of the way from his own chest to the receiver. The ball strikes the court and bounces up toward the receiver. The bounce pass takes longer to complete than the chest pass, but it is also harder for the opposing team to intercept (kicking the ball deliberately is a violation). Thus, players often use the bounce pass in crowded moments, or to pass around a defender.<p>The <i>overhead pass</i> is used to pass the ball over a defender. The ball is released while over the passer's head.<p>The <i>outlet pass</i> occurs after a team gets a defensive rebound. The next pass after the rebound is the <i>outlet pass</i>.<p>The crucial aspect of any good pass is being impossible to intercept. Good passers can pass the ball with great accuracy and touch and know exactly where each of their teammates like to receive the ball. A special way of doing this is passing the ball without looking at the receiving teammate. This is called a <i>no-look pass</i>.<p><a id="Dribbling" name="Dribbling"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Dribbling</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:212px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1226.jpg.htm" title="A U.S. Naval Academy ("Navy") player, left, posts up a U.S. Military Academy ("Army") defender"><img alt="A U.S. Naval Academy ("Navy") player, left, posts up a U.S. Military Academy ("Army") defender" height="287" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basketball_game.jpg" src="../../images/12/1226.jpg" width="210" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1226.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A U.S. Naval Academy ("Navy") player, left, posts up a U.S. Military Academy ("Army") defender</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Dribbling is the act of bouncing the ball continuously, and is a requirement for a player to take steps with the ball. To dribble, a player pushes the ball down towards the ground rather than patting it; this ensures greater control.<p>When dribbling past an opponent, the dribbler should dribble with the hand farthest from the opponent, making it more difficult for the defensive player to get to the ball. It is therefore important for a player to be able to dribble competently with both hands.<p>Good dribblers (or "ball handlers") tend to bounce the ball low to the ground, reducing the travel from the floor to the hand, making it more difficult for the defender to "steal" the ball. Additionally, good ball handlers frequently dribble behind their backs, between their legs, and change hands and directions of the dribble frequently, making a less predictable dribbling pattern that is more difficult to defend.<p>A skilled player can dribble without watching the ball, using the dribbling motion or <!--del_lnk--> peripheral vision to keep track of the ball's location. By not having to focus on the ball, a player can look for teammates or scoring opportunities, as well as avoid the danger of someone stealing the ball from them.<p><a id="Height" name="Height"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Height</span></h3>
<p>At the professional level, most male players are above 1.90 meters (6 ft 3 in) and most women above 1.70 meters (5 ft 7 in). Guards, for whom physical coordination and ball-handling skills are crucial, tend to be the smallest players. Almost all forwards in the men's pro leagues are 2 meters (6 ft 6 in) or taller. Most centers are over 2.1 meters (6 ft 10.5 in) tall. The tallest players ever in the NBA, <!--del_lnk--> Manute Bol and <!--del_lnk--> Gheorghe Mureşan, were 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in). The tallest current NBA player is <!--del_lnk--> Yao Ming, who stands at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in).<p>The shortest player ever to play in the NBA is <!--del_lnk--> Muggsy Bogues at 1.60 meters (5 ft 3 in). Other short players have thrived at the pro level. <!--del_lnk--> Anthony "Spud" Webb was just 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) tall, but had a 42-inch (1.07 m) vertical leap, giving him significant height when jumping. The shortest player in the NBA today is <!--del_lnk--> Earl Boykins at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m). While shorter players are often not very good at defending against shooting, their ability to navigate quickly through crowded areas of the court and steal the ball by reaching low are strengths.<p><a id="Variations_and_similar_games" name="Variations_and_similar_games"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Variations and similar games</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><b>Variations of basketball</b> are activities based on the game of basketball, using common basketball skills and equipment (primarily the ball and basket). Some variations are only superficial rules changes, while others are distinct games with varying degrees of basketball influences. Other variations include children's games, contests or activities meant to help players reinforce skills. Most of the variations are played in informal settings without referees or strict rules.<p>Perhaps the single most common variation is the <i>half court</i> game. Only one basket is used, and the ball must be "cleared" - passed or dribbled outside the half-court or three-point line - each time possession of the ball changes from one team to the other. Half-court games require less <!--del_lnk--> cardiovascular stamina, since players need not run back and forth a full court. Half-court games also raise the number of players that can use a court, an important benefit when many players want to play.<p>A popular version of the half-court game is 21. Two-point shots count as one point and shots from behind the three-point line count two. A player who makes a basket is awarded up to three extra free throws, worth the usual one point. When a shot is missed, if one of the other players tips the ball in while it is in the air, the score of the player who missed the shot goes back to zero, or if they have reached 15, their score goes back to 15. The first player to reach exactly 21 points wins. If they go over, their score goes back to 15.<p>Other variations include <!--del_lnk--> streetball and one-on-one; a variation in which two players will use only a small section of the court (often no more than a quarter of a court) and compete to play the ball into a single hoop. Such games tend to emphasize individual dribbling and ball stealing skills over shooting and team play.<p>Outdoor basketball courts are commonly referred to as "blacktop", a reference to the <!--del_lnk--> asphalt surface used on many outdoor recreation grounds. This term can apply regardless of the actual surface material used.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Sport', 'Canada', 'United States', 'Soccer', 'Netball', 'Volleyball', 'Baseball', 'Canadian football', 'University of Chicago', 'University of Chicago', 'Theodore Roosevelt', 'Harlem Globetrotters', 'United States', 'Television', 'Harlem Globetrotters', 'Michael Jordan', 'Argentina', 'Greece', 'Italy', 'Latvia', 'Portugal', 'Romania', 'Switzerland', 'Olympic Games', 'Munich', 'Argentina', 'Chile', 'Canada', 'United States', 'Italy', 'Germany', 'Spain', 'United States Virgin Islands', 'Argentina', 'Andrés Nocioni', 'France', 'Japan']
|
Basking_shark
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Basking shark,1765,2006,Animal,Aphrodisiac,Atlantic Ocean,August 24,August 3,Bay of Fundy,Binomial nomenclature,Buoyancy" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Basking shark</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Basking_shark";
var wgTitle = "Basking shark";
var wgArticleId = 898756;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Basking_shark">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Basking shark</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Insects_Reptiles_and_Fish.htm">Insects, Reptiles and Fish</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Basking shark</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1227.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="152" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basking_Shark.jpg" src="../../images/12/1227.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center">
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center; background:pink;">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1109.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn2.3_VU.svg" src="../../images/11/1109.png" width="200" /></a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Vulnerable (VU)<small></small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Chondrichthyes<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Subclass:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Elasmobranchii<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lamniformes<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><b>Cetorhinidae</b><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Gill, 1862</small></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><b>Cetorhinus</b></i><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Blainville, 1816</small></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>C. maximus</b></i></span><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><b>Cetorhinus maximus</b></i><br /><small>(<!--del_lnk--> Gunnerus, <!--del_lnk--> 1765)</small></td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1228.gif.htm" title="Range (in blue)"><img alt="Range (in blue)" height="93" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basking_shark_distribution.gif" src="../../images/12/1228.gif" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small>Range (in blue)</small></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>basking shark</b>, <i>Cetorhinus maximus</i>, is the second largest <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fish</a>, after the <a href="../../wp/w/Whale_shark.htm" title="Whale shark">whale shark</a>. The basking shark is a <!--del_lnk--> cosmopolitan species - it is found in all the world's temperate oceans, it is a slow moving and generally harmless <!--del_lnk--> filter feeder.<p>Like other large <a href="../../wp/s/Shark.htm" title="Shark">sharks</a>, basking sharks are at risk of <a href="../../wp/e/Extinction.htm" title="Extinction">extinction</a> due to a combination of low resilience and <!--del_lnk--> overfishing through increasing demands for the sharks' fins, flesh and organs.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Taxonomy" name="Taxonomy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Taxonomy</span></h2>
<p>This shark is called the <i>basking</i> shark because it is most often observed when feeding at the surface and looks like it is <!--del_lnk--> basking. It is also called bone shark, elephant shark, hoe mother, sun-fish and sailfish. It is the only member of the family Cetorhinidae. It was first described and named <i>Cetorhinus maximus</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Gunnerus in 1765 from a specimen found in <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a>. The genus name <i>Cetorhinus</i> comes from the greek, <i>ketos</i> which means marine monster or whale and <i>rhinos</i> meaning nose, the species name <i>maximus</i> is from Latin and means "great". It was later described as <i>Squalus isodus</i> by Macri in 1819, <i>Squalus elephas</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Lesueur in 1822 <i>Squalus rashleighanus</i> by Couch in 1838, <i>Squalus cetaceus</i> by Gronow in 1854, <i>Cetorhinus blainvillei</i> by Capello in 1869, <i>Selachus pennantii</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Cornish in 1885, <i>Cetorhinus maximus infanuncula</i> by Deinse & Adriani 1953 and finally as <i>Cetorhinus maximus normani</i> by Siccardi 1961. <p><a id="Distribution_and_habitat" name="Distribution_and_habitat"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Distribution and habitat</span></h2>
<p>The basking shark is a coastal-pelagic shark found worldwide in boreal to warm-temperate waters around the continental shelves. It prefers waters between 8 and 14° C (46 and 57° F). It is often seen close to land and will enter enclosed bays. The shark will follow concentrations of <!--del_lnk--> plankton in the water column and is therefore often visible on the surface. They are a highly migratory species leading to seasonal appearances in certain areas of the range.<p><a id="Anatomy_and_appearance" name="Anatomy_and_appearance"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Anatomy and appearance</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1229.jpg.htm" title="Head of a basking shark."><img alt="Head of a basking shark." height="172" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basking_head.jpg" src="../../images/12/1229.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1229.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Head of a basking shark.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The basking shark is one of the largest known sharks, second only to the <a href="../../wp/w/Whale_shark.htm" title="Whale shark">whale shark</a>. The largest specimen accurately measured was trapped in a herring net in the <!--del_lnk--> Bay of Fundy, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a> in 1851. Its total length was 12.27 metres (40 ft 3 in), and weighed an estimated 16 tons. There are reports from <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a> of three basking sharks over 12 m (the largest being 13.7 m), but those are considered dubious since few if any sharks anywhere near such size have been caught in the area since. Normally the basking shark reaches a length of between 6 metres (20 feet) and a little over 8 m (28 ft). Some specimens surpass 9 or even 10 m, but after years of hard fishing, specimens of this size have become exceedingly rare. These sharks possess the typical <!--del_lnk--> lamniform body plan and have been mistaken for <a href="../../wp/g/Great_white_shark.htm" title="Great white shark">great white sharks</a>. The two species can be easily distinguished, however, by the basking shark's cavernous jaw (up to 1 m in width, held wide open whilst feeding), longer and more obvious <!--del_lnk--> gill slits (which nearly encircle the head and are accompanied by well-developed <!--del_lnk--> gill raker), smaller eyes, and smaller average girth. Great whites possess large, dagger-like teeth, whilst those of the basking shark are much smaller (5–6 mm) and hooked; only the first 3–4 rows of the upper jaw and 6–7 rows of the lower jaw are functional. There are also several behavioural differences between the two (see <a href="#Behaviour" title="">Behaviour</a>).<p>Other distinctive characteristics of the basking shark include a strongly keeled caudal peduncle, highly textured skin covered in <!--del_lnk--> placoid scales and a layer of mucus, a pointed snout (which is distinctly hooked in younger specimens), and a lunate <!--del_lnk--> caudal fin. In large individuals the dorsal may flop over when above the surface. Coloration is highly variable (and likely dependent on observation conditions and the condition of the animal itself): commonly, the coloring is dark brown to black or blue dorsally fading to a dull white ventrally. The sharks are often noticeably scarred, possibly through encounters with <!--del_lnk--> lampreys or <a href="../../wp/c/Cookiecutter_shark.htm" title="Cookiecutter shark">cookiecutter sharks</a>. The basking shark's liver, which may account for 25% of the its body weight, runs the entire length of the abdominal cavity and is thought to play a role in <!--del_lnk--> buoyancy regulation and long-term energy storage.<p>In females, only the right <!--del_lnk--> ovary appears to be functional: if so, this is a unique characteristic among sharks.<p><a id="Diet" name="Diet"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Diet</span></h2>
<p>The basking shark is a passive <!--del_lnk--> filter feeder, eating <!--del_lnk--> zooplankton, small fish and invertebrates from the water at a rate of up to 2,000 tons of water per hour. Unlike the <!--del_lnk--> megamouth shark and <a href="../../wp/w/Whale_shark.htm" title="Whale shark">whale shark</a>, basking sharks do not appear to actively seek their quarry, but do possess large <!--del_lnk--> olfactory bulbs that may guide them in the right direction. Contrary to the other large filter feeders it relies only on the water that is pushed through the gills by swimming while the megamouth shark and whale shark can suck or pump water through its gills.<p><a id="Behaviour" name="Behaviour"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Behaviour</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1230.png.htm" title="Male basking shark"><img alt="Male basking shark" height="80" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basking_shark.png" src="../../images/12/1230.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1230.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Male basking shark</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Although basking sharks are often sighted close to land and in enclosed bays during warmer months, they are highly <!--del_lnk--> migratory and seem to disappear entirely during autumn and winter (when the plankton is scarce at the surface). During this time they remain at the bottom in deep water where it is hypothisized they may <!--del_lnk--> hibernate and lose their gill rakers.<p>They feed at or close to the surface with their mouths wide open and gill rakers erect. They are slow-moving sharks (feeding at about 2 <!--del_lnk--> knots) and do not attempt to evade approaching boats (unlike great whites). They are harmless to humans if left alone and will not be attracted to <!--del_lnk--> chum.<p>Basking sharks are social animals and form schools segregated by sex, usually in small numbers (3–4) but reportedly up to 100 individuals. Their social behaviour is thought to follow visual cues, as although the basking shark's eyes are small, they are fully developed; the sharks have been known to visually inspect boats, possibly mistaking them for conspecifics. Females are thought to seek out shallow water to give birth.<p>These sharks have few predators, but <a href="../../wp/o/Orca.htm" title="Orca">orcas</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/Tiger_shark.htm" title="Tiger shark">tiger sharks</a> are known to feed on them, and the aforementioned <!--del_lnk--> lampreys are often seen attached to them, although it is unlikely that they are able to cut through the shark's thick skin.<p>Even though the basking shark is large and slow it can <!--del_lnk--> breach the surface and has been reported jumping fully out of the water. This behaviour could be an attempt to dislodge parasites or comensals. There are doubts as to the accuracy of these observations - since the basking shark has a recorded top swimming speed of 4 mph and has not been observed to jump under the stress of harpooning.<p><a id="Reproduction" name="Reproduction"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Reproduction</span></h2>
<p>Basking sharks are <!--del_lnk--> ovoviviparous: the developing embryos first rely on a <!--del_lnk--> yolk sac, and as there is no <!--del_lnk--> placental connection, they later feed on unfertilized <!--del_lnk--> ova produced by the mother (a behaviour known as <!--del_lnk--> oophagy). <!--del_lnk--> Gestation is thought to span over a year (but perhaps 2 or 3 years), with a small though unknown number of young born fully developed at 1.5–2 m (5–6.5 ft). Only one pregnant female is known to have been caught; it was carrying 6 unborn young. Mating is thought to occur in early summer and birthing in late summer, following the female's movement into shallow coastal waters.<p>The onset of maturity in basking sharks is not known but is thought to be between the age of 6 and 13 and at a length of between 4.6 and 6 m. Breeding frequency is also unknown, but is thought to be 2 to 4 years.<p>The seemingly useless teeth of basking sharks may play a role in courtship behaviour, possibly as a means for the male to keep hold of the female during mating.<p><a id="Importance_to_humans" name="Importance_to_humans"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Importance to humans</span></h2>
<p>Historically, the basking shark has been a staple of fisheries because of its slow swimming speed, unaggressive nature and previously abundant numbers. Commercially it was put to many uses: the flesh for food and fishmeal, the hide for <!--del_lnk--> leather, and its large <!--del_lnk--> liver (which has a high squalene content) for <!--del_lnk--> oil. It is currently fished mainly for its fins (for <!--del_lnk--> shark fin soup). Parts (such as <!--del_lnk--> cartilage) are also used in <!--del_lnk--> traditional Chinese medicine and as an <!--del_lnk--> aphrodisiac in <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a>, further adding to demand.<p>As a result of rapidly declining numbers, the basking shark has been protected and trade in its products restricted in many countries. It is fully protected in the <!--del_lnk--> UK, <a href="../../wp/m/Malta.htm" title="Malta">Malta</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/Florida.htm" title="Florida">Florida</a> and <!--del_lnk--> US Gulf and <a href="../../wp/a/Atlantic_Ocean.htm" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic waters</a>. Targeted fishing for basking sharks is illegal in <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>.<p>It is tolerant of boats and divers approaching it and may even circle divers, making it an important draw for dive tourism in areas where it is common.<p><a id="Basking_sharks_and_cryptozoology" name="Basking_sharks_and_cryptozoology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Basking sharks and cryptozoology</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1231.jpg.htm" title="The "wonderful fish" described in Harper's Weekly on October 24, 1868. It is likely this was the remains of a basking shark."><img alt="The "wonderful fish" described in Harper's Weekly on October 24, 1868. It is likely this was the remains of a basking shark." height="129" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basking_shark_Harper%27s_Weekly_October_24%2C_1868.jpg" src="../../images/12/1231.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1231.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The "wonderful fish" described in <i>Harper's Weekly</i> on October 24, 1868. It is likely this was the remains of a basking shark.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On several occasions corpses initially thought to be <!--del_lnk--> sea serpents or <!--del_lnk--> plesiosaurs, have later been identified as mostly likely to be the decomposing carcasses of basking sharks, as for example in the <!--del_lnk--> Stronsay beast and the <i><!--del_lnk--> Zuiyo Maru</i> cases.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basking_shark"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Fish', 'Whale shark', 'Shark', 'Extinction', 'Norway', 'Whale shark', 'Canada', 'Norway', 'Great white shark', 'Cookiecutter shark', 'Whale shark', 'Orca', 'Tiger shark', 'Japan', 'Malta', 'Florida', 'Atlantic Ocean', 'New Zealand']
|
Bass_(fish)
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bass (fish),2006,Australian bass,Bass fishing,Black sea bass,Centrarchidae,European seabass,Fish,FishBase,Fishing reel,Fishing rod" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bass (fish)</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bass_(fish)";
var wgTitle = "Bass (fish)";
var wgArticleId = 47344;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bass_fish">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bass (fish)</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Insects_Reptiles_and_Fish.htm">Insects, Reptiles and Fish</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1232.jpg.htm" title="Striped bass (Morone saxatilis)"><img alt="Striped bass (Morone saxatilis)" height="111" longdesc="/wiki/Image:StripedBass.JPG" src="../../images/12/1232.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1232.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Striped bass (<i>Morone saxatilis</i>)</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1233.jpg.htm" title="Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)"><img alt="Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)" height="171" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Largemouth_bass.jpg" src="../../images/12/1233.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1233.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Largemouth bass (<i>Micropterus salmoides</i>)</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Bass</b> (<!--del_lnk--> IPA /bæs/) is a name shared by many different species of popular game <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fish</a>. The term encompasses both <a href="../../wp/f/Fresh_water.htm" title="Fresh water">freshwater</a> and <!--del_lnk--> marine species, many of which are native to <a href="../../wp/n/North_America.htm" title="North America">North America</a> and surrounding waters. All belong to the large order <!--del_lnk--> Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word <i>bass</i> comes from Middle English <i>bars</i>, meaning "perch."Bass can measure up to 80 cm (although expetional 100 cm long bass have been recorded)<p>These are some of the most well-known species of bass:<ul>
<li>The <b>temperate basses</b>, such as the <!--del_lnk--> striped bass (<i>Morone saxatilis</i>) and <!--del_lnk--> white bass (<i>M. chrysops</i>), belonging to the family <!--del_lnk--> Moronidae.<li>The <b>warm water basses</b>, such as the <!--del_lnk--> largemouth bass (<i>Micropterus salmoides</i>), <!--del_lnk--> smallmouth bass (<i>M. dolomieu</i>), <!--del_lnk--> spotted bass (<i>M. punctulatus</i>), <!--del_lnk--> Guadalupe bass (<i>M. treculii</i>) and <!--del_lnk--> rock bass (<i>Ambloplites rupestris</i>), belonging to the sunfish family, <!--del_lnk--> Centrarchidae. These basses are also referred to as black basses. .</ul>
<p>Large mouth bass can usually be found around structures. Such as logs submerged in the water, or rocks. The largemouth is known to be one of the best "fighters" and a ferocious predator attacking just about anything that moves. Largemouth have even been know to eat ducklings and baby alligators. The world record largemouth bass was caught near Jacksonville, Georgia on June 2, 1932 by George Perry. It weighed 22 pounds 4 ounces and was caught from an oxbow lake off the Ocmulgee River called Montgomery Lake. This is one of the most sough-after records in the fishing world.<p>Many other species are also known as basses, including:<ul>
<li>The <!--del_lnk--> Australian bass, <i>Macquaria novemaculeata</i>, a member of the perch family, <!--del_lnk--> Percichthyidae.<li>The <!--del_lnk--> black sea bass, <i>Centropristis striata</i>, a member of the family <!--del_lnk--> Serranidae.<li>The <!--del_lnk--> giant sea bass <i>Stereolepis gigas</i>, also known as the <i>black sea bass</i>, a member of the family <!--del_lnk--> Polyprionidae.<li>The Chilean sea bass, <i>Dissostichus eleginoides</i>, more commonly known as the <!--del_lnk--> Patagonian toothfish.<li>The <!--del_lnk--> European seabass, <i>Dicentrarchus labrax</i>.</ul>
<p>Bass is also known as:<p>Robalo (Portuguese) Lubina (Spanish) Bar, Loup (French) Zeebaars (Dutch) Seebarch (German) Havsaborre (Swedish)<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_%28fish%29"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Fish', 'Fresh water', 'North America']
|
Basse_Primary_School_Proposal
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
<head>
<title>Basse Primary School proposal</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" />
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-uk" />
<meta name="Copyright" content="Copyright SOS Children." />
<meta name="robots" content="all" />
<meta name="keywords" content="children charity" />
<meta name="description" content="SOS Children: the world's largest orphan charity." />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../wp/p/Print.css" media="print" />
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../wp/s/Sos.css" media="screen" />
</head>
<body>
<div id="container">
<div id="header">
<div id="logo"><h1><a href="../../wp/c/Children_Charity.htm" title="SOS Children's Villages">SOS Chidren's Villages<span></span></a></h1></div>
<div id="siteguide"><a href="../../wp/s/Site_Guide.htm" title="SOS Children Website Guide.">Site Guide</a></div>
<div id="sitesearch"><a href="../../wp/s/Search.htm" title="Search SOS Children Website.">Search</a></div>
</div>
<div id="page">
<div id="bread"><a href="../../wp/c/Children_Charity.htm">Charity Home</a> > <a href="../../wp/s/Sos_Childrens_Charity.htm">Charity Facts</a> > <a href="../../wp/p/Projects.htm">Projects</a> > <strong>Basse Primary School proposal</strong></div>
<div id="col">
<div id="nav">
<span class="boxtop"></span>
<ul><li><a href="../../wp/c/Children_Charity.htm">Charity Home</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/c/Charity_News.htm">Charity News</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/s/Sos_Childrens_Charity.htm">Charity Facts</a>
<ul id="subnav"><li><a href="../../wp/f/Facts_Figures.htm">Facts & Figures</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/o/Our_Friends.htm">Our Friends</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/o/Our_Partners.htm">Our Partners</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/e/Every_Penny_Counts.htm">Every Penny Counts</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/p/Projects.htm" id="selected">Projects</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/p/Privacy_Policy.htm">Privacy Policy</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="../../wp/s/Sponsor_A_Child.htm">Sponsor a Child</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/d/Donate_Help.htm">Donate & Help</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/a/Aids_Africa.htm">Aids in Africa</a></li><li><a href="../../wp/v/Video_Tour.htm">Video Tour</a></li></ul>
<span class="boxbot"></span>
</div>
<!-- NEWS --><!-- ENDNEWS -->
</div>
<div id="content">
<h2>Basse (Upper River Division)</h2>
<img src="../../wp/s/Sengal.jpg" width="600" height="311" alt="Map of Senegal" class="left" /><p>In comparison to Banjul and the Western Division (WD) area as a whole, the city of Basse, located at the far east of The Gambia, in the Upper River Division (URD), is facing a stronger socio-economic hardship. Basse’s economy relies on agriculture (the Gambia River is very narrow at this point and does not offer as much fishery resources as in other parts of the country). In addition to poor economic resources, Basse is also a place of high immigration (from Casamance, Gambia, Liberia and other close countries). Immigrants enter The Gambia without any resources, often leaving one part of the family in their home country and engaging themselves in any kind of subsistence activity (petty trading, paid domestic work and, unfortunately, prostitution).</p><p>Indicators show that the living conditions in this part of the country are highly concerning:<br /><ul><li><p>Only 11.2 per cent of children aged three to five are attending some form of organized early education programme</p></li><li><p>Only 20.3 per cent of the population aged 15 or above is literate</p></li><li><p>Only 3.4 per cent of women aged 15-49 have sufficient knowledge of how HIV/AIDS is transmitted</p></li><li><p>Only 29 per cent of children aged 6-12 attend primary school</p></li><li><p>Data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Report of 2000 on the Gambia (UNICEF-Government cooperation)</p></li></ul><p>This last statistic is particularly concerning, and shows just how vital the SOS Primary School is to the children in Basse.</p><h3>The Benefits of Education for Children and Society</h3>
<img src="../../wp/s/Sos_Children_Schools.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="School Children in Bakoteh" class="left" /><p>Education breaks the vicious cycle of poverty. If a parent is uneducated, for example, they will either be unemployed or have a very low-paid job. In many parts of Africa, parents must pay school fees, and buy uniforms, stationery etc. As a result, parents cannot afford to send their children to school, and the cycle continues. The children, like their parents, will be confined to a difficult life: they will have little money and food, no voice in society, and are likely to be unhealthy as they are unaware of hygiene issues and cannot afford medicines. For women, the lack of an education and job prospects may mean she is forced to marry just to stay alive </p><p>Educating a child means that child is more likely to:</p><ul><li><p>Have a better-paid job, and therefore a better standard of living</p></li><li><p>Be empowered and be able to demand their rights.</p></li><li><p>Be healthier as they will have been educated about sanitation and diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and they will be able to afford treatment</p></li><li><p>Be independent: they will not have to rely on others for money or food. This improves a person’s confidence and self-esteem.</p></li><li><p>Improve the health of their own families when the children become parents themselves. This is particularly true when educating girls. In developing countries, childcare falls much more to the mother. If a mother knows about hygiene, sanitation and the signs of illness, she can help prevent infant mortality. An educated woman is also more likely to be independent, be more equal in a relationship, and demand the use of contraception, which decreases the number of pregnancies she has and means she is less likely to die from pregnancy. </p></li><li><p>Help towards the economic growth of the country. </p></li></ul><p>Education is the most cost-effective and sustainable way of ensuring economic and social development today: according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), “Education … constitutes a vital tool for addressing virtually all global problems relevant for sustainable development, in particular poverty, HIV/AIDS, environmental degradation, knowledge formation and sharing, rural development and changes in production and consumption patterns.”</p><p>SOS Children is famous not only for its children’s Villages, but also for its commitment to education. We are known as a "gutter-to-school" charity in contrast to "gutter-to-pavement" charities which only help children's immediate problems. We have built and run 192 schools with which are attended by over 93,000 children. We also run 117 Vocational Training Centres for youths, which provide them with the skills needed by local labour markets. SOS Children does not want children to be dependent on hand-outs when they are older: we want our children to have the skills they need to shape their own futures. SOS Children’s schools offer scholarships to the poorest students, and we provide all uniforms, stationery etc. We believe in equality of opportunity. Our schools have given poorer communities, such as the one in Bakoteh, a lifeline.</p><h3>SOS Primary School, Basse</h3>
<p>The future SOS Primary School has the support of the Ministry of Social Welfare of in The Gambia.</p><p>420 children aged 6-12 will benefit from the new SOS Primary School each year. Children attending the school will come from both the SOS Children’s Village Basse and from the local community. SOS Children encourages the children at our villages to interact with local children, and we want our facilities to benefit those who live near them.</p><p>Nine personnel will be employed at the school: six teachers, the director and two administrators. </p><p>Construction work will be carried out using local resources<br />and labour. This means the construction will create<br />employment and boost the local economy. </p><p>The walls and foundations will be built of cement, the ceilings will be wooden. Roofs will be made of corrugated iron, and the floors will be tiled. Electricity, water and sewage facilities are also needed.</p><p>The SOS Primary School will be built in 2006.</p>
</div>
<table style="margin-left: 50px; clear:both;">
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align:middle">
<a href="../../index.htm"><image src="../../Wikipedia-logo-100-matte-ffcc66.gif" width="100px" height="100px" alt="Schools Wikipedia"></a>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align:middle">
<a href="../../index.htm">Return to Schools Wikipedia Home page</a>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="clearboth"></div>
</div>
<div id="footer">
<span id="botright"></span>
<p><a href="../../wp/c/Contact.htm">Contact us</a> | <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a> | 01223 365589 | <a href="../../wp/p/Privacy_Policy.htm">Privacy Policy</a></p>
<p>"SOS Children" refers to SOS Kinderdorf worldwide. SOS Children is a working name for SOS Children's Villages UK.</p>
<p>Charity Commission registered number 1069204</p>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
["SOS Children's Villages", 'SOS Children Website Guide.', 'Search SOS Children Website.']
|
Basset_Hound
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Basset Hound,Neck,Tail,Ears,Tricolor,Breed standard,Skin,Dewlap,Dwarfism,Achondroplasia,Tracking (dog)" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Basset Hound</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Basset_Hound";
var wgTitle = "Basset Hound";
var wgArticleId = 68453;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Basset_Hound">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Basset Hound</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table cellpadding="2" class="infobox" style="width: 20em; border-collapse: collapse;">
<tr>
<th colspan="3" style="background-color: pink;"><span style="font-size: larger;">Basset Hound</span></th>
</tr>
<tr style="image-align: center;">
<td colspan="3">
<div class="thumb tnone">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1234.jpg.htm" title="Red and white Basset"><img alt="Red and white Basset" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basset_Hound_600.jpg" src="../../images/12/1234.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1234.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Red and white Basset</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: pink;">
<th colspan="3">Country of origin</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<td colspan="3"><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: pink;">
<th colspan="3">Classification and breed standards</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> FCI:</th>
<td>Group 6 Section 1 #163</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> AKC:</th>
<td>Hound</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> ANKC:</th>
<td>Group 4 (Hounds)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> CKC:</th>
<td>Group 2 - Hounds</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> KC (UK):</th>
<td>Hound</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> NZKC:</th>
<td>Hounds</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: left;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> UKC:</th>
<td>Scenthound</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stds</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Basset Hound</b> is a short-legged <!--del_lnk--> breed of <a href="../../wp/d/Dog.htm" title="Dog">dog</a> of the <!--del_lnk--> hound family. They are <!--del_lnk--> scent hounds, bred to hunt by scent. Their sense of smell for tracking is second only to that of the <!--del_lnk--> Bloodhound. The name Basset derives from the French word "bas" meaning "low;" "basset" meaning, literally, "rather low."<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Appearance" name="Appearance"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Appearance</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1235.jpg.htm" title="Basset hounds commonly have large, outward-pointing feet, as seen in this typical specimen from Illinois"><img alt="Basset hounds commonly have large, outward-pointing feet, as seen in this typical specimen from Illinois" height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BuddyTheBassettHound.jpg" src="../../images/12/1235.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1235.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Basset hounds commonly have large, outward-pointing feet, as seen in this typical specimen from Illinois</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>These dogs are around 33 to 38 cm (13 to 15 inches) in height at the <!--del_lnk--> withers. They usually weigh between twenty and thirty kg (45 and 65 lb). They have smooth, short-haired coats. Although any hound colour is considered acceptable by <!--del_lnk--> breed standards, Bassets are generally <!--del_lnk--> tricolor (black, tan, and white), open red and white (red spots on white fur), closed red and white (a solid red color with white feet and tails), and lemon and white. Some Bassets are also classified as grey, or blue, however this colour is considered rare and undesirable.<p>They have long, low-set <!--del_lnk--> ears and powerful <!--del_lnk--> necks, with much loose skin around their heads that forms wrinkles. Their <!--del_lnk--> tails are long and tapering and stand upright with a curve. The tail should also be tipped in white. This is so they are easily seen when hunting/tracking through large brush or weeds. The breed is also known for its hanging <!--del_lnk--> skin structure, which causes the face to have a permanently sad look; this, for many people, adds to the breed's charm. The <!--del_lnk--> dewlap, seen as the loose, elastic skin around the neck and the trailing ears help trap the scent of what they are <!--del_lnk--> tracking.<p>The Basset Hound is a large dog on short legs. They were originally bred by the French to have <!--del_lnk--> achondroplasia, known as <!--del_lnk--> dwarfism. Their short stature can be deceiving: Bassets are surprisingly long and can reach things on table tops that dogs of similar heights cannot.<p><a id="Temperament" name="Temperament"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Temperament</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1236.jpg.htm" title="The basset hound is known for its comical mannerisms and gentle disposition."><img alt="The basset hound is known for its comical mannerisms and gentle disposition." height="242" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basset_hound_beau_2.jpg" src="../../images/12/1236.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1236.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The basset hound is known for its comical mannerisms and gentle disposition.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Basset Hound is a very calm and companionable breed. They are an especially loyal breed known for their pleasant disposition and emotional sensitivity. Around strangers, Bassets are friendly and welcome the opportunity to make new friends. For this reason they are an excellent pet for families with children and other pets. In fact, it is recommended that since Bassets are "pack" animals, if the Basset must be left alone on a daily basis during the daytime while the family is away, a second pet in the family will keep a Basset out of "trouble". Bassets hate to be alone.<p>While Bassets love food and may be less energetic than some breeds, they will exercise regularly if given the chance. Most Bassets enjoy activities that use their natural endurance, like long walks or hikes. They also enjoy tracking games that let them use their powerful nose.<p>Like other hounds, Basset Hounds are often difficult to <!--del_lnk--> obedience train. Many Basset Hounds will obey commands when offered a food reward, but will "forget" the training when a reward is not present. Bassets are notoriously difficult to <!--del_lnk--> housebreak. Training and housebreaking are not impossible, however, and can be accomplished with consistency and patience on the part of the owner.<p>The breed has a strong hunting instinct and will give chase or follow a scent if given the opportunity. They should be trained in <!--del_lnk--> recall; failing that, they should be kept on a <!--del_lnk--> leash when out on walks.<p>Bassets might howl or bay rather than bark when they want something or to suggest that they think something is wrong. They also use a low, murmuring whine to get attention, which sounds to many owners as though their Bassets are "talking."<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p>Basset Hounds are an aristocratic breed of <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a> lineage, a descendant of the <i>St. Hubert's Hound</i>, a dog similar to the present-day Bloodhound. Friars of St. Hubert's Abbey in <!--del_lnk--> medieval <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> desired a shorter-legged dog, capable of following a scent under brush in thick forests, as hunting was a classic sport of the time. Both Bassets and St. Hubert's Hounds were bred to trail, not kill, their game. Bassets were originally used to hunt <a href="../../wp/r/Rabbit.htm" title="Rabbit">rabbits</a> and <!--del_lnk--> hare. The first application of the word "Basset" to a breed of dog can be traced to an illustrated text on hunting written by <!--del_lnk--> Fouilloux in <!--del_lnk--> 1585.<p>Early French Bassets closely resembled the <!--del_lnk--> Basset Artésien Normand, which is still a breed today though it is not recognized outside of France. Because many short-legged dogs from this time were called <i>basset</i> and record-keeping from this time was sparse, it is difficult to speculate which of these breeds have bloodlines in common with today's Basset Hounds. It is commonly believed that <!--del_lnk--> Marquis de Lafayette brought Basset Hounds to the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> as a gift to <a href="../../wp/g/George_Washington.htm" title="George Washington">George Washington</a>.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1863 the Basset Hound reached international fame at the Paris Dog Show. At that time there were two common Bassets, those with a rough coat (<i>Basset Griffon</i>) and those with smooth (<i>Basset Français</i>). The dogs were further classified by the length of their legs. The two popular Basset breeders at this time were <i>M. Lane</i> and the <i>Count Le Couteulx.</i><p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1866, <!--del_lnk--> Lord Galway imported a pair of <i>Le Couteulx</i> Bassets to <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>, but it was not until <!--del_lnk--> 1874 that Basset Hounds were widely introduced there by <!--del_lnk--> Sir Everett Millais. <!--del_lnk--> The Kennel Club accepted the breed in <!--del_lnk--> 1882 and the English Basset Hound Club was formed in <!--del_lnk--> 1884. The <!--del_lnk--> American Kennel Club first recognized Basset Hounds as a breed in <!--del_lnk--> 1885. In <!--del_lnk--> 1935, the Basset Hound Club of America was organized in the United States. The current American <!--del_lnk--> breed standard was adopted in <!--del_lnk--> 1964.<p><a id="Health_and_care" name="Health_and_care"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Health and care</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1237.jpg.htm" title="Tricolour Basset"><img alt="Tricolour Basset" height="182" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Basset_hound.jpg" src="../../images/12/1237.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1237.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Tricolour Basset</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In comparison to other breeds, the Basset Hound is an especially healthy breed, but there are some illnesses to which they may fall prey.<p>They are a deep-chested breed, and are therefore prone to <!--del_lnk--> bloat. Many bloodlines are genetically prone to <!--del_lnk--> glaucoma, <!--del_lnk--> luxating patella, and <!--del_lnk--> ectropion ("<!--del_lnk--> cherry eye"). Young Bassets occasionally develop <!--del_lnk--> panosteitis. Older Bassets occasionally develop <!--del_lnk--> Von Willebrand disease. Long dogs on short legs can easily develop <!--del_lnk--> back pain, especially if excessive weight is already a concern. <!--del_lnk--> Hip dysplasia can be a problem in Bassets. Due to the breed's short legs and large mass, Bassets may be susceptible to <!--del_lnk--> arthritis as they grow older. Also, the <!--del_lnk--> life expectancy for an average Basset usually lies between 8 to 12 years of age, but there are extreme cases where they live beyond 14 years old.<p>As Basset Hounds often overeat, feedings should be regulated to prevent weight gain. Long ears are prone to infection if not cleaned regularly. The pronounced <!--del_lnk--> haw of the eyes can become dry and irritated.<p><a id="Training" name="Training"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Training</span></h2>
<p>Training is a touchy topic when dealing with the Basset Hound breed. Gentle and patient training is the most effective form of training. Trainers must be persistent with the breed in order to achieve a well mannered dog. The Basset has the tendency to become stubborn by listening to their nose, rather than their master. Owners need to make the training process lively and entertaining to allow the Basset to learn more pro-efficiently.<p><a id="Popular_culture" name="Popular_culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Popular culture</span></h2>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1928, <i><!--del_lnk--> Time</i> magazine featured a Basset Hound on the front cover. The accompanying story was about the 52nd annual <!--del_lnk--> Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at <!--del_lnk--> Madison Square Garden as if observed by the Basset Hound puppy. This prestige is often seen as the event which made the Basset Hound a popular part of American <a href="../../wp/p/Popular_culture.htm" title="Popular culture">pop culture</a>.<p>Basset Hounds have had prominent roles in <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">movies</a> and <a href="../../wp/t/Television.htm" title="Television">television</a>. Some bassets have been featured in <!--del_lnk--> comic strips and <!--del_lnk--> cartoons. Examples inlude cartoon character <!--del_lnk--> Droopy Dog, originally created in 1943 by Tex Avery and Fred Basset, the main character in the comic strip <i><!--del_lnk--> Fred Basset</i>, created by Alex Graham in 1963. Basset Hounds playing more minor roles include <!--del_lnk--> Rosebud the Basselope from <!--del_lnk--> Berke Breathed's comic strip <i><!--del_lnk--> Bloom County</i> and Lafayette, from the <!--del_lnk--> 1970 Disney film <i><!--del_lnk--> The Aristocats</i>.<p>Basset Hounds in films include Fred, the companion of Cledus in the 1977 movie <i><!--del_lnk--> Smokey and the Bandit</i> and Gabriel, <!--del_lnk--> Bateau's basset hound in <i><!--del_lnk--> Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence</i>; Gabriel is in fact director <!--del_lnk--> Mamoru Oshii's real life pet, and is included in many of his films. In a scene most likely referencing Smokey and the Bandit, a truck driver has a basset hound beside him in American Pie 2. Basset hounds are featured prominently in off-beat roles as well - one gets hit by a car and survives in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Rage: Carrie 2</i> and in the film <!--del_lnk--> Monkeybone a basset has its own nightmarish dream sequence. Finally, basset hounds appear in such other mainstream films as <i><!--del_lnk--> An American Werewolf in Paris</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Nanny McPhee</i>, and <i><!--del_lnk--> Spider-Man 2</i>.<p>Television programs have used basset hounds as characters as well. In the early days of television, Elvis Presley famously sang "<!--del_lnk--> Hound Dog" to a basset hound named Sherlock on <i><!--del_lnk--> The Steve Allen Show</i> on <!--del_lnk--> July 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1956. One the most famous bassets on television was Flash, the dog owned by <!--del_lnk--> Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the 1980s TV series <i><!--del_lnk--> The Dukes of Hazzard</i> . A life-sized replica named "Flush" was used in dangerous situations. Other bassets on television include Cleo from <i><!--del_lnk--> The People's Choice</i>, the Basset Hound named simply "Dog" from <i><!--del_lnk--> Columbo</i>, Quincey, from <i><!--del_lnk--> Coach</i>, Sam from <i><!--del_lnk--> That's So Raven</i> and Socrates in <i><!--del_lnk--> Judging Amy</i>.<p>Basset Hounds have also been featured in advertising. The <!--del_lnk--> logo for <!--del_lnk--> Hush Puppies brand shoes prominently features a Basset Hound. Basset Hounds are occasionally referred to as "Hush Puppies" for that reason. The dog used in the photos was named Jason. <!--del_lnk--> A Basset Hound also serves as the companion to the lonely Maytag Man in <!--del_lnk--> Maytag appliance <!--del_lnk--> advertisements. In the 1990's, a handsome red/white basset hound called SIGMUND featured in a several advertisements including one for Domestos bleach.<p>
<br clear="all" />
<p><a id="External_links" name="External_links"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basset_Hound"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['France', 'Dog', 'France', 'France', 'Rabbit', 'United States', 'George Washington', 'England', 'Popular culture', 'Film', 'Television']
|
Bassoon
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bassoon,Bassoon-technical-range.ogg,Bassoon-technical-reed.ogg,Bassoon-technical-bflatoctaves.ogg,Bassoon-technical-chromatic.ogg,Bassoon-technical-articulations.ogg,Bassoon-technical-dynamics.ogg,Bassoon-technical-trills.ogg,Bassoon-technical-mouthbend.ogg,Bassoon-technical-fluttertongue.ogg,Bassoon beethoven.ogg" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bassoon</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bassoon";
var wgTitle = "Bassoon";
var wgArticleId = 4207;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bassoon">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bassoon</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Music.Musical_Instruments.htm">Musical Instruments</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1239.jpg.htm" title="A Fox Products bassoon."><img alt="A Fox Products bassoon." height="412" longdesc="/wiki/Image:FoxBassoon.jpg" src="../../images/12/1239.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1239.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A Fox Products bassoon.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <b>bassoon</b> is a <!--del_lnk--> woodwind instrument in the <!--del_lnk--> double reed family that plays in the <!--del_lnk--> tenor range and below. It is also called <i>Fagott</i> in German, <i>fagotto</i> in Italian, and <i>basson</i> in French. Appearing in its modern form in the 1800s, the bassoon is a part of orchestral, concert band, and chamber music literature. It is known for its distinctive tone colour, wide range, variety of character, and agility. A bassoon player is called a "bassoonist."<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Development" name="Development"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Development</span></h2>
<p>
<br style="clear:both;" />
<p><a id="Early_history" name="Early_history"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early history</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1240.jpg.htm" title="Dulcians and racketts, from the Syntagma musicum by Michael Praetorius."><img alt="Dulcians and racketts, from the Syntagma musicum by Michael Praetorius." height="259" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Praetorius_bassoons.jpg" src="../../images/12/1240.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1240.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Dulcians and <!--del_lnk--> racketts, from the <i>Syntagma musicum</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Michael Praetorius.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The bassoon was developed from its precursor, most often referred to as the <!--del_lnk--> dulcian, a wooden instrument all in one piece. Used and developed greatly in the 16th century to add a stronger bass to the wind band then consisting largely of <!--del_lnk--> shawms and <a href="../../wp/r/Recorder.htm" title="Recorder">recorders</a>, the dulcian's origins are unknown. Scattered evidence exists for its creation at various places and times, and few early examples survive. There were eventually eight members of the dulcian family of varying size, from soprano down to bass ranges. The early dulcian had many similarities to the modern bassoon: though generally constructed of only a single piece of wood rather than sections, it too consisted of a <!--del_lnk--> conical bore that doubled back on itself at the bottom, with a curved metal crook leading from the instrument body to the reed. It was, like the modern instrument, frequently constructed of maple, with thick walls to allow finger-holes to be drilled obliquely, with its bell flared slightly at the end. However, there were only eight finger-holes and two keys. The dulcian later evolved into the <!--del_lnk--> curtal, which featured separate joints like a modern bassoon, and gained an extra key.<p>Some twentieth century musicologists believed that this instrument, resembling a bundle of sticks, was given the name meaning such, "fagotto", in 16th century Italy. However, this etymology is incorrect: The term "fagotto" was in use for the bassoon before the word was used for "bundle of sticks"; also, when the term first appeared, the resemblance did not exist, as the instrument at that time was carved out of one continuous block of wood (Jansen 1978). The origin of this name is therefore a mystery. (A dance also named "fagot" dates to a century earlier.) The instrument was constructed folded back on itself, as it is to this day (giving it the name in some regions "curtal", as it was shortened significantly). The English name of "bassoon" comes from a more general term referring to the bass register of any instrument, but after <a href="../../wp/h/Henry_Purcell.htm" title="Henry Purcell">Henry Purcell</a>'s call for a "bassoon" in <i><!--del_lnk--> Dioclesian</i> (1690) referring to the wooden double reed, the word began to be used to refer to this instrument in particular.<p>The evolution of the early dulcian into the modern bassoon is also without precise record; the dulcian continued to be used into the 18th century (and in Spain, into the early 20th). A German painting, "Der Fagottspieler", in the <!--del_lnk--> Suermondt Museum, which scholars date to the end of the 17th century, depicts the bassoon much as it appears in its current form, and a three-keyed bassoon has been dated to 1699. It was the Dutch maker Coenraad Rijkel whose addition of the G key for the little finger of the right hand, just after the turn of the 18th century, fixed the hand position to the current standard; previously, the instrument could be played with either hand on top. The early bassoon flourished in the Netherlands in the late 17th and early 18th century, with over half a dozen prominent woodwind makers developing the instrument. Today, only thirty-three bassoons from that era survive.<p><a id="Modern_history" name="Modern_history"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Modern history</span></h3>
<p>Increasing demands on the capabilities of instruments and players in the 1800s—particularly concert halls requiring louder tones and the rise of virtuoso composer-performers—spurred on the further refinement of the bassoon. Increased sophistication both in manufacturing techniques and acoustical knowledge made possible great improvements in the playability of the instrument.<p>The modern bassoon exists in two distinct primary forms, the Buffet system and the Heckel system. The Buffet system is played primarily in France but also in Belgium and parts of Latin America, while the Heckel system is played in the majority of the world.<p><a id="Heckel_system" name="Heckel_system"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Heckel system</span></h4>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1241.jpg.htm" title="Heckel system bassoon from 1870"><img alt="Heckel system bassoon from 1870" height="75" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bassoon_1870.jpg" src="../../images/12/1241.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1241.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Heckel system bassoon from 1870</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The design of the modern bassoon owes a great deal to the performer, teacher, and composer <!--del_lnk--> Carl Almenräder, who, assisted by the German acoustic researcher <!--del_lnk--> Gottfried Weber developed the 17-key bassoon whose range spanned four octaves. Almenräder's improvements to the bassoon began with an 1823 treatise in which he described ways of improving intonation, response, and technical ease of playing by means of augmenting and rearranging the keywork; subsequent articles further developed his ideas. Working at the Schott factory gave him the means to construct and test instruments according to these new designs, the results of which were published in <i>Caecilia</i>, Schott's house journal; Almenräder continued publishing and building instruments until his death in 1843, and <a href="../../wp/l/Ludwig_van_Beethoven.htm" title="Ludwig van Beethoven">Ludwig van Beethoven</a> himself requested one of the newly-made instruments after hearing of the papers. Almenräder left Schott to start his own factory along with partner <!--del_lnk--> J.A. Heckel in 1831.<p>Heckel and two generations of descendants continued to refine the bassoon, and it is their instrument that has become the standard for other instrument makers to follow. Because of their superior singing tone quality (an improvement upon one of the main drawbacks of the Almenräder instruments), the Heckel instruments competed for prominence with the reformed Wiener system, a <!--del_lnk--> Boehm-style bassoon, and a completely-keyed instrument devised by C. J. Sax, father of <!--del_lnk--> Adolphe Sax. One latecomer attempt, from 1893, with a logical reformed fingering system was implemented by F.W. Kruspe, but failed to catch on. Other attempts at improving the instrument included a 24-keyed model and a single-reeded mouthpiece, but both were found to have adverse effects on the bassoon's distinctive tone and were abandoned.<p>Coming into the 20th century the Heckel-style German model of bassoon dominated the field; Heckel himself had made over 4000 instruments by the turn of the century, and the English makers' instruments were no longer desirable for the changing pitch requirements of the symphony orchestra, remaining primarily in <!--del_lnk--> military band use.<p>Today the Heckel factory continues producing instruments (after a brief 1940s wartime conversion to ball-bearing manufacture) and Heckel bassoons are considered by many the best, although a range of different manufacturers exist, all with different modifications to their bassoons. Companies that manufacture bassoons are (among others): Heckel, Yamaha, Fox Products, Schreiber, Püchner, Signet, Moosmann, Kohlert, B.H. Bell. and Guntram Wolf. There are also several smaller bassoon manufacturers that make special instruments to fit special needs. In the 1960s the Englishman Giles Brindley began preliminary development of what he called the "logical" bassoon, which aimed to improve intonation and evenness of tone through use of electrically activated key combinations that were too complex for the human hand to manage.<p><a id="Buffet_system" name="Buffet_system"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Buffet system</span></h4>
<p>The Buffet system bassoon, which stabilized somewhat earlier than the Heckel, developed in a more conservative manner. While the development of the Heckel bassoon can be characterized as a complete overhaul of the instrument in both acoustics and keywork, the Buffet system focused primarily on incremental improvements to the keywork. This less radical approach deprives the Buffet system bassoon of the improved consistency, and thus ease of operation and increased power, found in the Heckel bassoons, but the Buffet is considered by some to have a more vocal and expressive quality. (Conductor John Foulds in 1934 lamented the dominance of the Heckel-style bassoon, considering them to be too homogeneous in sound with the <!--del_lnk--> horn.)<p>Compared to the Heckel bassoon, Buffet system bassoons have a narrower bore and differing keywork; the Buffet instruments are known for a reedier sound and greater facility in the upper registers, reaching e''' and f''' with far greater ease and less air pressure. While specifically desirable in some music (French woodwind players traditionally produce a lighter and more reedy tone than is usual elsewhere) the more reedy sound has sometimes drawn criticism for being too distinctive. As with all bassoons the tone varies substantially from instrument to instrument and performer to performer. The Heckel system can sound rather fixed and woody, but good players strive and usually succeed in producing a warm singing tone. The Buffet can sound reedy, but many good players strive and usually succeed in producing a warm, expressive sound which is not in the least reedy.<p>Though the French system was once widely favored in England, Buffet instruments are no longer made there, and the last prominent English player of the French system retired in the 1980s. However, with its continued use in some regions and its distinctive tone, the Buffet continues to have a place in modern bassoon playing, particularly in France. Buffet-model bassoons are currently made in Paris by Buffet-Crampon and Selmer, with various other makers producing replica instruments. Some players, e.g. Gerald Corey in Canada, have learned to play both types and will alternate between them depending on the repertoire being played.<p><a id="Construction_and_characteristics" name="Construction_and_characteristics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Construction and characteristics</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:162px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1242.png.htm" title="Parts of the bassoon"><img alt="Parts of the bassoon" height="500" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Fagott-Bassoon.svg" src="../../images/12/1242.png" width="160" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1242.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Parts of the bassoon</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1243.png.htm" title="Playing range of a bassoon (listen (help·info))"><img alt="Playing range of a bassoon (listen (help·info))" height="97" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Range_bassoon.png" src="../../images/12/1243.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1243.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Playing range of a bassoon<br /> (<span class="unicode audiolink"><!--del_lnk--> listen</span> )</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The bassoon disassembles into six main pieces, including the reed. The bell <font color="red">(6)</font>, extending upward; the long (or bass) joint <font color="red">(5)</font>, connecting the bell and the boot; the boot (or butt) <font color="red">(4)</font>, at the bottom of the instrument and folding over on itself; the wing (or tenor) joint <font color="red">(3)</font>, which extends from boot to bocal; and the <!--del_lnk--> bocal (or crook) <font color="red">(2)</font>, a crooked metal tube which attaches the wing joint to a reed <font color="red">(1)</font> (<span class="unicode audiolink"><!--del_lnk--> listen</span> ).<p>The modern bassoon is generally made of <!--del_lnk--> maple, with medium-hardness types such as <!--del_lnk--> sycamore maple and <!--del_lnk--> sugar maple being preferred. Less-expensive models are also made out of materials such as <!--del_lnk--> polypropylene and <!--del_lnk--> ebonite, primarily for student and outdoor use; metal bassoons were made in the past but have not been in production by any major manufacturer since 1889. The bore of the instrument is conical, like that of the oboe and the saxophone, and the bottom of the instrument connects the bore in the middle with a u-shaped metal connector. Both bore and holes are precision-machined, and each instrument is finished by hand for proper tuning. The walls of the instrument are sufficiently thick that the finger holes are drilled obliquely to aid in fingering, and wooden instruments are lined with a hard rubber lining along the interior of the wing and boot joints to prevent damage from moisture with extensive playing; wooden instruments are also <!--del_lnk--> stained and <!--del_lnk--> varnished. The top of the bell is frequently completed with a ring, often of plastic or <a href="../../wp/i/Ivory.htm" title="Ivory">ivory</a>. The separate joints, where they connect, are wrapped in either cork or string, to aid sealing against air leaks. The bocal, which is inserted into the top of the wing joint and has one end wrapped in cork for sealing, may come in many different lengths, depending on the desired tuning.<p>Folded upon itself, the bassoon stands 134 cm (4.4 feet) tall, but the total length is 254 cm (roughly 8.3 feet). Playing is facilitated by doubling the tube back on itself and by closing the distance between the widely-spaced holes with a complex system of keywork, which extends throughout nearly the entire length of the instrument. There are also short-reach bassoons made for the benefit of young or petite players.<p>Bassoon players must learn three different clefs: Bass (first and foremost), Tenor, and Treble. The range of the bassoon begins at B-flat<sub>1</sub> (the first one below the bass staff) and extends upward over three octaves (roughly to the G on the treble staff). Higher notes are possible but difficult to produce and rarely called for; orchestral parts rarely go higher than the C or D, with even <a href="../../wp/i/Igor_Stravinsky.htm" title="Igor Stravinsky">Stravinsky's</a> famously difficult opening solo in <a href="../../wp/t/The_Rite_of_Spring.htm" title="The Rite of Spring">The Rite of Spring</a> only ascending to the D. The low A at the bottom of the range is only possible with a special extension to the instrument; as its use makes the bottom B-flat impossible to play and affects the intonation of the lower notes, it is rarely called for. The last chord of the 1922 Quintet for Winds by <!--del_lnk--> Carl Nielsen includes an optional low A, and <!--del_lnk--> Gustav Mahler occasionally uses it in his symphonies. Frequently, a paper tube or <!--del_lnk--> English horn bell placed in the bassoon's bell is used instead of a specially made extension. Another frequent alternative is to use the bell of a <a href="../../wp/c/Clarinet.htm" title="Clarinet">clarinet</a>. A plastic tailpiece from a plumbing supply store has also been used.<p><a id="Usage_in_ensembles" name="Usage_in_ensembles"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Usage in ensembles</span></h2>
<p><a id="Modern_ensembles" name="Modern_ensembles"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Modern ensembles</span></h3>
<p>The modern symphony orchestra typically calls for two bassoons, often with a third playing the <!--del_lnk--> contrabassoon. (The first work written with an independent contrabassoon part was <!--del_lnk--> Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, although <a href="../../wp/j/Johann_Sebastian_Bach.htm" title="Johann Sebastian Bach">Bach</a>'s <i>St. John Passion</i> and a work by Mozart called for a "large bassoon" and were written below the range of the modern bassoon.) Some works call for four or more players. The first player is frequently called upon to perform solo passages. The bassoon's distinctive tone suits it for both plaintive, lyrical solos such as <!--del_lnk--> Ravel's <i><!--del_lnk--> Bolero</i> and more comical ones, such as the grandfather's theme in <i><!--del_lnk--> Peter and the Wolf</i>. Its agility suits it for passages such as the famous running line (doubled in the violas) in the overture to <i><a href="../../wp/t/The_Marriage_of_Figaro.htm" title="The Marriage of Figaro">The Marriage of Figaro</a></i>. In addition to its solo role, the bassoon is an effective bass to a woodwind choir, a bass line along with the cellos and double basses, and harmonic support along with the French horns.<p>A wind ensemble will usually also include two bassoons and sometimes contra, each with independent parts; other types of concert wind ensembles will often have larger sections, with many players on each of first or second parts; in simpler arrangements there will be only one bassoon part and no contra. The bassoon's role in the wind band is similar to its role in the orchestra, though when scoring is thick it often cannot be heard above the brass instruments also in its range. <i><!--del_lnk--> La Fiesta Mexicana</i>, by <!--del_lnk--> H. Owen Reed, features the instrument prominently, as does the transcription of <!--del_lnk--> Malcolm Arnold's <i>Four Scottish Dances</i> which has become a staple of the concert band repertoire.<p>The bassoon is also part of the standard <!--del_lnk--> wind quintet instrumentation, along with the flute, oboe, clarinet, and horn; it is also frequently combined in various ways with other woodwinds. <!--del_lnk--> Richard Strauss's "Duet-Concertino" pairs it with the clarinet as <i>concertante</i> instruments, with string orchestra in support.<p>The bassoon quartet has also gained favour in recent times, with the <!--del_lnk--> Bubonic Bassoon Quartet being one of the more notable groups. The bassoon's wide range and variety of tone colors make it ideally suited to grouping in like-instrument ensembles. <!--del_lnk--> Peter Schickele's "Last Tango in Bayreuth" (after themes from <i><!--del_lnk--> Tristan and Isolde</i>) is a popular work; Schickele's fictional alter ego <!--del_lnk--> P. D. Q. Bach exploits the more humorous aspects with his quartet "Lip My Reeds", which at one point calls for players to perform on the reed alone.<p><a id="Earlier_ensembles" name="Earlier_ensembles"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Earlier ensembles</span></h3>
<p>
<br style="clear:both;" /> The bassoon's use in the early symphony orchestra was solely as a <!--del_lnk--> continuo instrument. Baroque composer <!--del_lnk--> Jean-Baptiste Lully and his <i>Les Petits Violons</i> included oboes and bassoons along with the strings in the 16-piece (later 21-piece) ensemble, as one of the first orchestras to include winds. <!--del_lnk--> Antonio Cesti included a bassoon in his 1668 opera <i>Pomo d'oro</i>. However, the use of the bassoon in the concert orchestra was sporadic until the late 17th century when winds began to make their way into the standard instrumentation, largely due to improvements in the design of wind instruments that corrected tuning problems and gave them greater ability to play chromatically (as the fretless strings were easily able to do). The bassoon was introduced as a regular member of the symphony orchestra as part of the basso continuo along with the cellos and bass <!--del_lnk--> viols; they also filled out the choirs of wind instruments in opera orchestras, first in France and then in Italy. <!--del_lnk--> Johann Stamitz and his symphonies gave the winds slightly more independence by scoring them for orchestral colour rather than strict doubling, but still the bassoon was not used as an independent melodic instrument.<p><a href="../../wp/a/Antonio_Vivaldi.htm" title="Antonio Vivaldi">Antonio Vivaldi</a> brought the bassoon to prominence by featuring it in 37 concerti for the instrument. The early classical orchestra included the bassoon, it was again only filling out the continuo and often unmentioned in the score. Symphonic writing for bassoons as fully-independent parts rather than mere doubles would not come until later in the Classical era. Mozart's <i>Jupiter</i> symphony is a prime example, with its famous bassoon solo. The bassoons were generally paired, as in current practice, though the famed <!--del_lnk--> Mannheim Orchestra boasted four.<p><a id="Technique" name="Technique"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Technique</span></h2>
<p>The bassoon is held diagonally in front of the player and cannot easily be supported by the player's hands alone. The most common means of support are either a neck-strap or shoulder-harness attached to the top of the butt joint, or a strap attached to the base of the butt joint which harnesses to the chair or is supported by the player's weight. More unusually, a spike similar to those used for the cello or bass clarinet is attached to the bottom of the butt joint.<p>The Heckel-system bassoon is played with both hands in a stationary position, with six main finger holes on the front of the instrument (some of which are open, and some of which are aided by keywork). Also on the front of the instrument are several additional keys to be controlled by the pinky fingers of each hand. The back of the instrument has over a dozen keys to be controlled by the thumb (the exact number varies depending on model).<p>While instruments are constructed to have accurate pitch throughout the scale, the player has a great degree of flexibility of pitch control through the use of breath support and <!--del_lnk--> embouchure. Players are also able to use alternate fingerings to adjust the pitch of most often played notes.<p><a id="Extended_techniques" name="Extended_techniques"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Extended techniques</span></h3>
<p>Many extended techniques can be performed on the bassoon, such as <!--del_lnk--> multiphonics, <!--del_lnk--> flutter tonguing, <!--del_lnk--> circular breathing, and <!--del_lnk--> harmonics.<p><a id="Reeds_and_reed_construction" name="Reeds_and_reed_construction"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Reeds and reed construction</span></h2>
<p><a id="The_modern_reed" name="The_modern_reed"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The modern reed</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:102px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1244.jpg.htm" title="Bassoon reeds are only a few centimeters in length and are often wrapped in colorful string."><img alt="Bassoon reeds are only a few centimeters in length and are often wrapped in colorful string." height="171" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bassoon-reeds2.jpg" src="../../images/12/1244.jpg" width="100" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1244.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bassoon reeds are only a few centimeters in length and are often wrapped in colorful string.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bassoon reeds, made of <i><!--del_lnk--> Arundo donax</i> cane, are generally made by the players themselves. Reeds begin with a piece of cane that has been left to dry. The cane is then cut and <i>gouged</i> into smooth strips, leaving the bark attached. After soaking, the strip of cane is cut into the desired thickness, or <i>profiled</i>. This can be done by hand; it is more frequently done with a machine or tool designed for the purpose. It is then cut to the correct outline, or <i>shaped</i>. Making sure the cane is thoroughly soaked, to avoid cracking, the profiled and shaped strip of cane is folded over in the middle. The outer edges, where the bark remains after profiling, are secured by three coils of wire at 2 mm and 8 mm from the beginning of the blade, and 6 mm from the bottom. The flat piece of cane is placed on a long, thin mandrel and pressed fimrmly around it to form into the proper shape, until the bottom of the reed is rounded enough to fit securely on the end of the bocal.<p>After the reed has dried, the wires are tightened around the reed, which has shrunk after drying. The lower part is sealed (generally with <!--del_lnk--> rubber cement or <!--del_lnk--> epoxy) and then wrapped with string to ensure both that no air leaks out through the bottom of the reed and that the reed maintains its shape.<p>To finish the reed, first, the tip (previously the center of the strip of cane) is cut, so that the blades above the bark are roughly 27 mm long. The reed is then scraped with a knife until it has the proper profile, which has a thin tip leading to a thicker back section, and the "spine" going lengthwise down the centre also thick. Specific measurements differ from player to player and instrument to instrument. The very tip of a reed blade is frequently only 0.1 mm thick.<p>As the style of reed desired varies a great deal from player to player, most advanced players will make their own reeds in order to customize them to their own individual playing style, and almost all will be familiar with the process of making one. However, several companies offer premade reeds, and several individuals also produce reeds for sale, some specializing in this over playing.<p><a id="The_early_reed" name="The_early_reed"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The early reed</span></h3>
<p>Little is known about the early construction of the bassoon reed, as few examples survive, and much of what is known is only what can be gathered from artistic representations. The earliest known written instructions date from the middle of the 17th century, describing the reed as being held together by wire or resined thread; the earliest actual reeds that survive are more than a century younger, a collection of 21 reeds from the late 18th century Spanish <i>bajon</i>.<p><a id="The_bassoon_in_jazz" name="The_bassoon_in_jazz"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The bassoon in jazz</span></h2>
<p>The bassoon is infrequently used as a jazz instrument and rarely seen in a jazz ensemble. It first began appearing at all in the 1920s, including specific calls for its use in <!--del_lnk--> Paul Whiteman's group and a few other session appearances. The next few decades saw the instrument used only sporadically, as symphonic jazz fell out of favour, but the 1960s saw artists such as <!--del_lnk--> Yusef Lateef and <!--del_lnk--> Chick Corea incorporate bassoon into their recordings; Lateef's diverse and eclectic instrumentation saw the bassoon as a natural addition, while Corea employed the bassoon in combination with flautist <!--del_lnk--> Hubert Laws. More recently, <!--del_lnk--> Illinois Jacquet and <!--del_lnk--> Frank Tiberi have both doubled on bassoon in addition to their usual <a href="../../wp/s/Saxophone.htm" title="Saxophone">saxophone</a> performances. Bassoonist <!--del_lnk--> Karen Borca, a performer of <!--del_lnk--> free jazz, is one of the few jazz musicians to play only bassoon; <!--del_lnk--> Michael Rabinowitz, the Spanish bassoonist <!--del_lnk--> Javier Abad, and <!--del_lnk--> James Lassen, an American resident in Bergen, Norway, are others. <!--del_lnk--> Lindsay Cooper, <!--del_lnk--> Paul Hanson, and <!--del_lnk--> Daniel Smith are also currently using the bassoon in jazz. French bassoonists Jean-Jacques Decreux and Alexandre Ouzounoff have both recorded jazz, exploiting the flexibility of the Buffet system instrument to good effect.<p><a id="The_bassoon_in_art_and_literature" name="The_bassoon_in_art_and_literature"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The bassoon in art and literature</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1245.jpg.htm" title="L'orchestre de l'opéra, painting by Edgar Degas, 1870"><img alt="L'orchestre de l'opéra, painting by Edgar Degas, 1870" height="220" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Degas_l%27orchestre.jpg" src="../../images/12/1245.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1245.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> L'orchestre de l'opéra, painting by <!--del_lnk--> Edgar Degas, 1870</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Much of the early history of the bassoon is known through its representation in painting; the only source of description for the early bassoon reed, for example, is in paintings from late 16th century Spain.<p>There was also a painting made by <!--del_lnk--> Edgar Degas in <!--del_lnk--> 1870, called <i>"L'orcheste de l'opéra"</i> (<i>"The Orchestra of the Opera"</i>, also known as <i>"In the Orchestra Pit"</i>), features a bassoon player in the orchestra amongst several other orchestra members.<p>
<br style="clear:both;" />
<p><a id="Audio_examples" name="Audio_examples"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Concerti and other orchestral literature</span></h2>
<p><a id="Baroque" name="Baroque"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Baroque</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/a/Antonio_Vivaldi.htm" title="Antonio Vivaldi">Antonio Vivaldi</a> wrote 37 <!--del_lnk--> concerti for bassoon<li><!--del_lnk--> Georg Philipp Telemann Sonata in F minor</ul>
<p><a id="Classical" name="Classical"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Classical</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Johann Christian Bach, Bassoon Concerto in B flat, Bassoon Concerto in E-flat major<li><!--del_lnk--> Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Bassoon Concerto in F, W75<li><a href="../../wp/w/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart.htm" title="Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart">Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Bassoon Concerto in B flat, K191<li><!--del_lnk--> Carl Stamitz, Bassoon Concerto in F Major<li><!--del_lnk--> Johann Baptist Vanhal, Bassoon in C Major, Concerto in F Major for two bassoons and orchestra</ul>
<p><a id="Romantic" name="Romantic"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Romantic</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Carl Maria von Weber, Andante e rondo ungarese in C minor, op. 35; Bassoon Concerto in F, op. 75<li><!--del_lnk--> Camille Saint-Saëns, Sonata for bassoon and piano in G Major, op. 168</ul>
<p><a id="Contemporary" name="Contemporary"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Contemporary</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Luciano Berio, <!--del_lnk--> Sequenza XII for Bassoon (1995)<li><!--del_lnk--> Edward Elgar, Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra, op. 62<li><!--del_lnk--> Alvin Etler, Sonata for Bassoon and Piano<li><!--del_lnk--> Hindemith, Sonata for Bassoon and Piano (1938)<li><!--del_lnk--> Gordon Jacob, Concerto for Bassoon, Strings and Percussion, Four Sketches for Bassoon, Partita for Bassoon<li><!--del_lnk--> Francesco Mignone, Double Bassoon Sonata, 14 valses for Bassoon<li><!--del_lnk--> Willson Osborne, Rhapsody for Bassoon<li><!--del_lnk--> John Steinmetz, <!--del_lnk--> Sonata for Bassoon and Piano<li><!--del_lnk--> Richard Strauss, Duet Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon with strings and harp (1948)<li><!--del_lnk--> John Williams, <!--del_lnk--> The Five Sacred Trees: Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra (1997)<li><!--del_lnk--> Richard Wilson, <!--del_lnk--> Profound Utterances (1984) and <!--del_lnk--> Bassoon Concerto (1983)</ul>
<p><a id="Famous_orchestral_passages" name="Famous_orchestral_passages"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Famous orchestral passages</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Béla Bartók, <!--del_lnk--> Concerto for Orchestra; the second movement features woodwind instruments in pairs, beginning with the bassoons, and the recapitulation of their duet adds a third instrument playing a staccato counter-melody.<li><a href="../../wp/l/Ludwig_van_Beethoven.htm" title="Ludwig van Beethoven">Ludwig van Beethoven</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Symphony 4 in Bb major<li><a href="../../wp/l/Ludwig_van_Beethoven.htm" title="Ludwig van Beethoven">Ludwig van Beethoven</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Symphony 9 in D minor, last movement<li><!--del_lnk--> Hector Berlioz, <!--del_lnk--> Symphonie Fantastique (In the fourth movement, there are several solo and tutti bassoon-featuring passages. This piece calls for four bassoons.)<li><!--del_lnk--> Paul Dukas, <!--del_lnk--> The Sorcerer's Apprentice, widely recognized as used in the movie <!--del_lnk--> Fantasia<li><!--del_lnk--> Edvard Grieg, <!--del_lnk--> In the Hall of the Mountain King<li><!--del_lnk--> Carl Orff, <!--del_lnk--> Carmina Burana<li><!--del_lnk--> Sergei Prokofiev, <!--del_lnk--> Peter and the Wolf (possibly the most-recognized bassoon theme, the part of the grandfather)<li><!--del_lnk--> Maurice Ravel, <!--del_lnk--> Rapsodie Espagnole (features a fast, lengthy dual cadenza at the end of the first movement)<li><!--del_lnk--> Maurice Ravel, <!--del_lnk--> Boléro (the bassoon has a high descending solo passage near the beginning)<li><!--del_lnk--> Maurice Ravel, <!--del_lnk--> Piano Concerto in G Major<li><a href="../../wp/n/Nikolai_Rimsky-Korsakov.htm" title="Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov">Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Scheherazade, second movement<li><!--del_lnk--> Dmitri Shostakovich, several symphonies including <!--del_lnk--> #1, <!--del_lnk--> 4, <!--del_lnk--> 5, <!--del_lnk--> 8, & <!--del_lnk--> 9<li><!--del_lnk--> Jean Sibelius, <!--del_lnk--> Symphony 2 in D major<li><!--del_lnk--> Jean Sibelius, <!--del_lnk--> Symphony 5 in Eb major<li><a href="../../wp/i/Igor_Stravinsky.htm" title="Igor Stravinsky">Igor Stravinsky</a>, <a href="../../wp/t/The_Rite_of_Spring.htm" title="The Rite of Spring">The Rite of Spring</a> (opens with a famously unorthodox bassoon solo)<li><a href="../../wp/i/Igor_Stravinsky.htm" title="Igor Stravinsky">Igor Stravinsky</a>, lullaby from <!--del_lnk--> The Firebird<li><a href="../../wp/i/Igor_Stravinsky.htm" title="Igor Stravinsky">Igor Stravinsky</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Symphonies of Wind Instruments (less known but just as high and difficult as The Rite of Spring)<li><a href="../../wp/p/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky.htm" title="Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky">Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Symphony 4 in F minor<li><a href="../../wp/p/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky.htm" title="Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky">Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Symphony 5 in E minor<li><a href="../../wp/p/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky.htm" title="Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky">Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Symphony 6 in B minor</ul>
<p>
<br style="clear:both;" />
<p><a id="Notable_bassoonists" name="Notable_bassoonists"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Notable bassoonists</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Etienne Ozi (1754–1813): <!--del_lnk--> composer, <!--del_lnk--> pedagogue<li><!--del_lnk--> Carl Almenräder (1786–1843): instrument designer, composer<li><!--del_lnk--> Louis Marie Eugène Jancourt (1815–1900): composer, pedagogue, instrument designer<li><!--del_lnk--> Julius Weissenborn (1837-1888): composer, pedagogue<li><!--del_lnk--> Archie Camden (1888–1979): pedagogue<li><!--del_lnk--> Simon Kovar (1890–1970): arranger, pedagogue<li><!--del_lnk--> Sol Schoenbach (1915–1999): pedagogue, Philadelphia Orchestra principal preceding Bernard Garfield<li><!--del_lnk--> Leonard Sharrow (1915–2004): pedagogue, <!--del_lnk--> Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal, 1951-1964<li><!--del_lnk--> Maurice Allard (1923–): arranger<li><!--del_lnk--> Sherman Walt (1923-1989): pedagogue, <!--del_lnk--> Boston Symphony Orchestra principal 1951–1989.<li><!--del_lnk--> Mordechai Rechtman (1925–): pedagogue, arranger, conductor, <!--del_lnk--> Israel Philharmonic principal for 45 years<li><!--del_lnk--> Bernard Garfield (1928–): pedagogue, <!--del_lnk--> Philadelphia Orchestra principal 1957–2000.<li><!--del_lnk--> William Waterhouse (1931–): pedagogue, <!--del_lnk--> Royal Northern College of Music, and principal in various London orchestras in the period 1955-1975<li><!--del_lnk--> Walter Ritchie (1936–): pedagogue, <!--del_lnk--> Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra<li><!--del_lnk--> Judith LeClair (1958-): pedagogue, <!--del_lnk--> New York Philharmonic principal<li><!--del_lnk--> Benjamin Kamins: pedagogue, <!--del_lnk--> Houston Symphony principal 1981-2003<li><!--del_lnk--> David McGill: <!--del_lnk--> Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal, <!--del_lnk--> Cleveland Orchestra principal 1988-1997<li><!--del_lnk--> Frank Morelli: <!--del_lnk--> New York City Opera <!--del_lnk--> Orpheus Chamber Orchestra <!--del_lnk--> American Composer's Orchestra <!--del_lnk--> Brooklyn Philharmonic principal, plays in <!--del_lnk--> Windscape, teacher <!--del_lnk--> The Juilliard School <!--del_lnk--> SUNY Stonybrook <!--del_lnk--> Yale <!--del_lnk--> The Manhattan School of Music<li><!--del_lnk--> Christopher Millard: pedagogue, soloist, teacher <!--del_lnk--> Ottawa University, <!--del_lnk--> National Arts Centre Orchestra, formerly in <!--del_lnk--> CBC Vancouver Orchestra<li><!--del_lnk--> Klaus Thunemann pedagogue, soloist, <!--del_lnk--> North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, former principal<li><!--del_lnk--> Dag Jensen (1964-) pedagogue, soloist, <!--del_lnk--> WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, former principal<li><!--del_lnk--> Sergio Azzolini pedagogue, soloist, baroque bassoonist, conductor<li><!--del_lnk--> Christopher Weait pedagogue, teacher <!--del_lnk--> The Ohio State University (1984-2006), former principal <!--del_lnk--> Toronto Symphony Orchestra<li><!--del_lnk--> Arthur Weisberg pedagogue, teacher <!--del_lnk--> Jacobs School of Music<li><!--del_lnk--> Norman Harvey Herzberg (1916-) Noted pedagogue, developer of reed making equipment. Champion of compositions of Paul Hindemith<li><!--del_lnk--> Fernando Traba teacher, Principal of Florida West Coast Symphony</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassoon"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Recorder', 'Henry Purcell', 'Ludwig van Beethoven', 'Ivory', 'Igor Stravinsky', 'The Rite of Spring', 'Clarinet', 'Johann Sebastian Bach', 'The Marriage of Figaro', 'Antonio Vivaldi', 'Saxophone', 'Antonio Vivaldi', 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart', 'Ludwig van Beethoven', 'Ludwig van Beethoven', 'Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov', 'Igor Stravinsky', 'The Rite of Spring', 'Igor Stravinsky', 'Igor Stravinsky', 'Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky', 'Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky', 'Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky']
|
Bat-eared_Fox
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bat-eared Fox,1822,Africa,Animal,Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest,Antelope,Binomial nomenclature,Canidae,Carnivora,Chordate,Conservation status" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bat-eared Fox</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bat-eared_Fox";
var wgTitle = "Bat-eared Fox";
var wgArticleId = 400378;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bat-eared_Fox">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bat-eared Fox</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Bat-eared Fox</b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1255.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="267" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Otocyon_megalotis.jpg" src="../../images/12/1255.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center">
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center; background:pink;">
<th>
<center><!--del_lnk--> Conservation status</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="">
<div style="text-align:center"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="53" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Status_iucn3.1_LC.svg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="200" /><br /><!--del_lnk--> Least Concern (LC)</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">Mammalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Carnivora<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Canidae<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Genus:</td>
<td><i><b>Otocyon</b></i><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Müller, 1835</small></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Species:</td>
<td><span style="white-space: nowrap"><i><b>O. megalotis</b></i></span><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center><a href="../../wp/b/Binomial_nomenclature.htm" title="Binomial nomenclature">Binomial name</a></center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><i><b>Otocyon megalotis</b></i><br /><small>(<!--del_lnk--> Desmarest, <!--del_lnk--> 1822)</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Bat-eared Fox</b> is a <!--del_lnk--> canid of the <a href="../../wp/a/Africa.htm" title="Africa">African</a> <!--del_lnk--> savanna. It is named after its huge ears. Bat-eared Foxes have tawny fur, their ears, legs and parts of the face are black. They are 55 cm in length (head and body), their ears are 13 cm long. It is the only <!--del_lnk--> species in the <!--del_lnk--> genus <i><b>Otocyon</b></i>.<p>The teeth of the Bat-eared Fox are much smaller than teeth of other canid species. This is an adaptation to their <!--del_lnk--> insectivorous diet. 80% of the diet consist of <a href="../../wp/i/Insect.htm" title="Insect">insects</a>. Bat-eared Foxes visit <!--del_lnk--> termite hills, follow <!--del_lnk--> locust swarms or stay close to herds of <a href="../../wp/z/Zebra.htm" title="Zebra">zebras</a> or <a href="../../wp/a/Antelope.htm" title="Antelope">antelopes</a> in order to feed on the insects landing on their excrements. In addition to insects Bat-eared Foxes eat rodents, birds and eggs, and sometimes fruits.<p>Bat-eared Foxes are <!--del_lnk--> nocturnal animals, that live in small groups consisting of a couple and their young. The pairs live in dens and raise the pups (two to five) together.<p>Due to their unusual teeth, Bat-eared Foxes were once considered as a distinct subfamily of canids (Otocyoninae). However, according to more recent examinations they are closely related to the true <a href="../../wp/f/Fox.htm" title="Fox">foxes</a> of the genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Vulpes</i>. Other research places the genus as an outgroup which is not very closely related to foxes. The Bat-eared Fox is an old species, that was widely distributed in the <!--del_lnk--> Pleistocene era. In that time it even lived in parts of West and South Asia.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat-eared_Fox"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Mammal', 'Binomial nomenclature', 'Africa', 'Insect', 'Zebra', 'Antelope', 'Fox']
|
Bat
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bat,2005,2006,Aardvark,Afrosoricida,Animal,Animal echolocation,Antrozoidae,Apache Tribe,Aposematism,Arab" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bat</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bat";
var wgTitle = "Bat";
var wgArticleId = 4659;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bat">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bat</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Bats</b><br />
<center><small>Fossil range: Late <a href="../../wp/p/Paleocene.htm" title="Paleocene">Paleocene</a> - Recent</small></center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1247.jpg.htm" title=""Chiroptera" from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, 1904"><img alt=""Chiroptera" from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, 1904" height="334" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Haeckel_Chiroptera.jpg" src="../../images/12/1247.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small>"Chiroptera" from <!--del_lnk--> Ernst Haeckel's <i><!--del_lnk--> Kunstformen der Natur</i>, 1904</small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">Mammalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><b>Chiroptera</b><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Blumenbach, 1779</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center>Suborders</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Megachiroptera<br /><!--del_lnk--> Microchiroptera<br /> See text for families.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Bats</b> are <a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">mammals</a> in the <!--del_lnk--> order <b>Chiroptera</b>. Their most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as <!--del_lnk--> wings, making them the only mammal in the world naturally capable of <!--del_lnk--> flight; other mammals, such as <!--del_lnk--> flying squirrels and gliding <!--del_lnk--> phalangers, can <a href="../../wp/g/Gliding.htm" title="Gliding">glide</a> for limited distances but are not capable of true sustainable flight. The word <i>Chiroptera</i> can be translated from the <!--del_lnk--> Greek words for "hand wing," as the structure of the open wing is very similar to an outspread human hand, with a <!--del_lnk--> membrane (<!--del_lnk--> patagium) between the fingers that also stretches between hand and body.<p>There are estimated to be about 1,100 species of bats worldwide, accounting for about 20% of all mammal species.<p>About 70 percent of bats are <!--del_lnk--> insectivorous. Most of the remainder feed on <a href="../../wp/f/Fruit.htm" title="Fruit">fruits</a> and their juices; three bat species sustain themselves with <!--del_lnk--> blood and some prey on <a href="../../wp/v/Vertebrate.htm" title="Vertebrate">vertebrates</a>. These bats include the <!--del_lnk--> leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae) of <!--del_lnk--> central America and <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a>, and the related <!--del_lnk--> bulldog bats (<!--del_lnk--> Noctilionidae) that feed on <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fish</a>. There are at least two known species of bat that feed on other bats: the <!--del_lnk--> Spectral Bat or American False Vampire bat and the <!--del_lnk--> Ghost Bat of Australia.<p>Some of the smaller bat species are important <a href="../../wp/p/Pollinator.htm" title="Pollinator">pollinators</a> of some tropical <a href="../../wp/f/Flower.htm" title="Flower">flowers</a>. Indeed, many tropical plants are now found to be totally dependent on them, not just for pollination, but for spreading their <a href="../../wp/s/Seed.htm" title="Seed">seeds</a> by eating the resulting fruits. This role explains environmental concerns when a bat is <!--del_lnk--> introduced in a new setting. <!--del_lnk--> Tenerife provides a recent example with the introduction of the <!--del_lnk--> Egyptian fruit bat.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Classification" name="Classification"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Classification</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1248.jpg.htm" title="Townsends's Big-eared Bat, Corynorhinus townsendii"><img alt="Townsends's Big-eared Bat, Corynorhinus townsendii" height="146" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Big-eared-townsend-fledermaus.jpg" src="../../images/12/1248.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1248.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Townsends's Big-eared Bat, <i>Corynorhinus townsendii</i></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1249.jpg.htm" title="Giant golden-crowned flying fox, Acerodon jubatus"><img alt="Giant golden-crowned flying fox, Acerodon jubatus" height="287" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Golden_crowned_fruit_bat.jpg" src="../../images/12/1249.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1249.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Giant golden-crowned flying fox, <i>Acerodon jubatus</i></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1250.jpg.htm" title="Parti-coloured bat, Vespertilio murinus"><img alt="Parti-coloured bat, Vespertilio murinus" height="276" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Vespertilio_murinus.jpg" src="../../images/12/1250.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1250.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Parti-coloured bat, <i>Vespertilio murinus</i></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1251.jpg.htm" title="Common Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus"><img alt="Common Pipistrelle, Pipistrellus pipistrellus" height="211" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pipistrellus_pipistrellus01.jpg" src="../../images/12/1251.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1251.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Common Pipistrelle, <i>Pipistrellus pipistrellus</i></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bats are mammals. Though sometimes called "flying rodents", "flying mice," or even mistaken for <!--del_lnk--> bugs and <a href="../../wp/b/Bird.htm" title="Bird">birds</a>, bats are neither <!--del_lnk--> mice nor <!--del_lnk--> rodents, and certainly not <a href="../../wp/a/Arthropod.htm" title="Arthropod">arthropods</a>. There are two suborders of bats:<ol>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Megachiroptera (megabats)<li><!--del_lnk--> Microchiroptera (microbats/echolocating bats)</ol>
<p>Despite the name, not all megabats are larger than microbats. The major distinction between the two suborders is based on other factors:<ul>
<li>Microbats use <!--del_lnk--> echolocation, whereas megabats do not (except for <i><!--del_lnk--> Rousettus</i> and relatives, which do).<li>Microbats lack the <!--del_lnk--> claw at the second <!--del_lnk--> toe of the <!--del_lnk--> forelimb.<li>The <!--del_lnk--> ears of microbats don't form a closed ring, but the edges are separated from each other at the base of the ear.<li>Microbats lack <!--del_lnk--> underfur; they have only <!--del_lnk--> guard hairs or are naked.</ul>
<p>Megabats eat fruit, nectar or pollen while microbats eat <a href="../../wp/i/Insect.htm" title="Insect">insects</a>, <!--del_lnk--> blood (small quantities of blood of animals), small mammals, and <a href="../../wp/f/Fish.htm" title="Fish">fish</a>, relying on <!--del_lnk--> echolocation for navigation and finding prey.<p>Genetic evidence, however, indicates that some microbats ("Yinochiroptera") are more closely related to megabats than to the other microbats ("Yangochiroptera"). There is some morphological evidence that Megachiroptera evolved flight separately from Microchiroptera; if so, the Microchiroptera would have uncertain affinities. When adaptations to flight are discounted in a <!--del_lnk--> cladistic analysis, the Megachiroptera are allied to the primates by anatomical features that are not shared with Microchiroptera.<p>Little is known about the evolution of bats, since their small, delicate skeletons do not fossilize well. However a late Cretaceous tooth from South America resembles that of an early Microchiropteran bat. The oldest known definite bat fossils, such as <i>Icaronycteris</i>, <i>Archaeonycteris</i>, <i>Palaeochiropteryx</i> and <i>Hassianycteris</i>, are from the early <a href="../../wp/e/Eocene.htm" title="Eocene">Eocene</a> (about 50 million years ago), but they were already very similar to modern microbats. <i>Archaeopteropus</i>, formerly classified as the earliest known megachiropteran, is now classified as a microchiropteran.<p>Bats are traditionally grouped with the tree shrews (<!--del_lnk--> Scandentia), colugos (<!--del_lnk--> Dermoptera), and the <!--del_lnk--> primates in superorder <!--del_lnk--> Archonta because of the similarities between Megachiroptera and these mammals. However, molecular studies have placed them as sister group to <!--del_lnk--> Ferungulata, a large grouping including <!--del_lnk--> carnivorans, <!--del_lnk--> pangolins, <!--del_lnk--> odd-toed ungulates, <!--del_lnk--> even-toed ungulates, and <!--del_lnk--> whales.<ul>
<li><b>ORDER CHIROPTERA</b> (Ky-rop`ter-a) (Gr. <i>cheir</i>, hand, + <i>pteron</i>, wing) <ul>
<li><b>Suborder <!--del_lnk--> Megachiroptera (<!--del_lnk--> megabats)</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Pteropodidae</ul>
<li><b>Suborder <!--del_lnk--> Microchiroptera (<!--del_lnk--> microbats)</b><ul>
<li>Superfamily <i><!--del_lnk--> Emballonuroidea</i><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Emballonuridae (<!--del_lnk--> Sac-winged or <!--del_lnk--> Sheath-tailed bats)</ul>
<li>Superfamily <i><!--del_lnk--> Rhinopomatoidea</i><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Rhinopomatidae (<!--del_lnk--> Mouse-tailed bats)<li><!--del_lnk--> Craseonycteridae (<!--del_lnk--> Bumblebee Bat or <!--del_lnk--> Kitti's Hog-nosed Bat)</ul>
<li>Superfamily <i>Rhinolophoidea</i><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Rhinolophidae (<!--del_lnk--> Horseshoe bats)<li><!--del_lnk--> Nycteridae (<!--del_lnk--> Hollow-faced or <!--del_lnk--> Slit-faced bats)<li><!--del_lnk--> Megadermatidae (<!--del_lnk--> False vampires)</ul>
<li>Superfamily <i><!--del_lnk--> Vespertilionoidea</i><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Vespertilionidae (<!--del_lnk--> Vesper bats or <!--del_lnk--> Evening bats)</ul>
<li>Superfamily <i><!--del_lnk--> Molossoidea</i><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Molossidae (<!--del_lnk--> Free-tailed bats)<li><!--del_lnk--> Antrozoidae (<!--del_lnk--> Pallid bats)</ul>
<li>Superfamily <i><!--del_lnk--> Nataloidea</i><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Natalidae (<!--del_lnk--> Funnel-eared bats)<li><!--del_lnk--> Myzopodidae (<!--del_lnk--> Sucker-footed bats)<li><!--del_lnk--> Thyropteridae (<!--del_lnk--> Disk-winged bats)<li><!--del_lnk--> Furipteridae (<!--del_lnk--> Smoky bats)</ul>
<li>Superfamily <i><!--del_lnk--> Noctilionoidea</i><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Noctilionidae (<!--del_lnk--> Bulldog bats or <!--del_lnk--> Fisherman bats)<li><!--del_lnk--> Mystacinidae (<!--del_lnk--> New Zealand short-tailed bats)<li><!--del_lnk--> Mormoopidae (<!--del_lnk--> Ghost-faced or <!--del_lnk--> Moustached bats)<li><!--del_lnk--> Phyllostomidae (<!--del_lnk--> Leaf-nosed bats) <i>This family contains (among others) the <a href="../../wp/v/Vampire_bat.htm" title="Vampire bat">Vampire bats</a></i></ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<p>Most microbats are active at night or at twilight. By emitting high-pitched sounds and listening to the echoes, the <!--del_lnk--> microbats locate prey and other nearby objects. This is the process of <!--del_lnk--> echolocation, a skill they share with <a href="../../wp/d/Dolphin.htm" title="Dolphin">dolphins</a> and <a href="../../wp/w/Whale.htm" title="Whale">whales</a>. But although the eyes of most species of microbats are small and poorly developed, the sense of vision is typically very good, especially at long distances, beyond the range of echolocation. Their senses of smell and hearing, however, are excellent. A few moths have exploited the bat's senses; in one group (the <!--del_lnk--> tiger moths), the moths produce <!--del_lnk--> ultrasonic signals to warn the bats that the moths are chemically-protected (<!--del_lnk--> aposematism) (this was once thought to be a form of "<!--del_lnk--> radar jamming", but this theory has been disproved); in the other group (<!--del_lnk--> Noctuidae) the moths have a type of hearing organ called a <!--del_lnk--> tympanum which responds to an incoming bat signal by causing the moth's flight muscles to twitch erratically, sending the moth into random evasive maneuvers.<p>The teeth of microbats resemble those of the <!--del_lnk--> insectivorans. They are very sharp in order to bite through the <!--del_lnk--> hardened armour of insects or the skin of fruits.<p>Megabats are primarily fruit- or nectar-eating. They have, however, probably evolved for some time in New Guinea without microbat concurrention. This has resulted in some smaller megabats of the genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Nyctimene</i> becoming (partly) insectivorous to fill the vacant microbat ecological niche. Furthermore, there is some evidence that the fruit bat genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Pteralopex</i>, which occurs in the <a href="../../wp/s/Solomon_Islands.htm" title="Solomon Islands">Solomon Islands</a>, and its close relative <i><!--del_lnk--> Mirimiri</i> from <a href="../../wp/f/Fiji.htm" title="Fiji">Fiji</a>, have evolved to fill some niches that were open because there are no nonvolant mammals in those islands.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:332px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1252.jpg.htm" title="Thermographic image of a bat using trapped air as insulation."><img alt="Thermographic image of a bat using trapped air as insulation." height="196" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wiki_bat.jpg" src="../../images/12/1252.jpg" width="330" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1252.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Thermographic image of a bat using trapped air as insulation.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>While other mammals have one-way valves only in their <!--del_lnk--> veins to prevent the blood from flowing backwards, bats also have the same mechanism in their <!--del_lnk--> arteries.<p>The finger bones of a bat are much more flexible than those of other mammals. One reason is that the cartilage in their fingers lacks calcium and other minerals nearer the tips, increasing their ability to bend without splintering. The cross section of the finger bone is also flattened instead of circular as is the bone in a human finger, making it even more flexible. The skin on their wing membranes is a lot more elastic and can stretch much more than what is usually seen among mammals.<p>Because their wings are much thinner than those of birds, bats can maneuver more quickly and more precisely than birds. The surface of their wings are also equipped with touch-sensitive receptors on small bumps called <!--del_lnk--> Merkel cells, found in most mammals, including humans. But these sensitive areas are different in bats as each bump has a tiny hair in the centre, making it even more sensitive, and allowing the bat to detect and collect information about the air flowing over its wings. An additional kind of receptor cell is found in the wing membrane of species that use their wings to catch prey. This receptor cell is sensitive to the stretching of the membrane. The cells are concentrated in areas of the membrane where insects hit the wings when the bats capture them.<p><!--del_lnk--> More about microbat vision<p><a id="Reproduction" name="Reproduction"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Reproduction</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1253.jpg.htm" title="Colony of Mouse-eared Bats, Myotis myotis"><img alt="Colony of Mouse-eared Bats, Myotis myotis" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Myotis_myotis%2C_nursery_roost.jpg" src="../../images/12/1253.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1253.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Colony of <!--del_lnk--> Mouse-eared Bats, <i>Myotis myotis</i></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Mother bats usually have only one offspring per year. A baby bat is referred to as a pup. Pups are usually left in the roost when they are not nursing. However, a newborn bat can cling to the fur of the mother and be transported, although they soon grow too large for this. It would be difficult for an adult bat to carry more than one young, but normally only one young is born. Bats often form <!--del_lnk--> nursery roosts, with many females giving birth in the same area, be it a cave, a tree hole, or a cavity in a building. Mother bats are able to find their young in huge colonies of millions of other pups. Pups have even been seen to feed on other mothers' milk if their mother is dry. Only the mother cares for the young, and there is no continuous partnership with male bats.<p>The ability to fly is congenital, but after birth the wings are too small to fly. Young <!--del_lnk--> microbats become independent at the age of 6 to 8 weeks, <!--del_lnk--> megabats not until they are four months old. At the age of two years bats are sexually mature.<p>A single bat can live over 20 years, but the bat population growth is limited by the slow birth rate.<p><a id="Habits_and_behaviour" name="Habits_and_behaviour"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Habits and behaviour</span></h2>
<p>Bats vary in social structure, with some bats leading a solitary life and others living in caves colonized by more than a million bats.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> fission-fusion social structure is seen among several species of bats. The fusion part is all the individuals in a roosting area. The fission part is the breaking apart and mixing of subgroups by switching roosts with bats, ending up with bats in different trees and often with different roostmates.<p>Studies also show that bats make all kinds of sounds to communicate with others. Scientists in the field have listened to bats and have been able to identify some sounds with some behaviour bats will make right after the sounds are made.<p><a id="Vectors_for_pathogens" name="Vectors_for_pathogens"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Vectors for pathogens</span></h2>
<p>Bats are natural reservoirs or <!--del_lnk--> vectors for a large number of <!--del_lnk--> zoonotic <!--del_lnk--> pathogens including <a href="../../wp/r/Rabies.htm" title="Rabies">rabies</a>, <!--del_lnk--> SARS, <a href="../../wp/h/Henipavirus.htm" title="Henipavirus">Henipavirus</a> (ie. Nipah virus and Hendra virus), <!--del_lnk--> West Nile virus and possibly <!--del_lnk--> ebola virus. Their high mobility, broad distribution, social behaviour (communal roosting, fission-fusion social structure) and close evolutionary relationship to humans make bats favourable hosts and disseminators of disease. Many species also appear to have a high tolerance for harbouring pathogens and often do not develop disease while infected.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1254.jpg.htm" title="A big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) approaches a wax moth (Galleria mellonella), which serves as the control species for the studies of the tiger moths. The moth is only "semi-tethered," allowing it to fly evasively."><img alt="A big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) approaches a wax moth (Galleria mellonella), which serves as the control species for the studies of the tiger moths. The moth is only "semi-tethered," allowing it to fly evasively." height="330" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bat-capture-moth1nov2000_hi.jpg" src="../../images/12/1254.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1254.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> big brown bat (<i>Eptesicus fuscus</i>) approaches a <!--del_lnk--> wax moth (<i>Galleria mellonella</i>), which serves as the control species for the studies of the <!--del_lnk--> tiger moths. The moth is only "semi-tethered," allowing it to fly evasively.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><i>The following advice is only relevant to areas with endemic rabies.</i><p>Only 0.5% of bats carry rabies. However, of the very few cases of <a href="../../wp/r/Rabies.htm" title="Rabies">rabies</a> reported in the United States every year, most are caused by bat <!--del_lnk--> bites. Although most bats do not have rabies, those that do may be clumsy, disoriented, and unable to fly, which makes it more likely that they will come into contact with humans. Although one should not have an unreasonable fear of bats, one should avoid handling them or having them in one's living space, as with any wild animal. If a bat is found in living quarters near a child, mentally handicapped person, intoxicated person, sleeping person, or pet, the person or pet should receive immediate medical attention for rabies. Bats have very small teeth and can bite a sleeping person without necessarily being felt.<p>If a bat is found in a house and the possibility of exposure cannot be ruled out, the bat should be sequestered and an animal control officer called immediately, so that the bat can be analyzed. This also applies if the bat is found dead. If it is certain that nobody has been exposed to the bat, it should be removed from the house. The best way to do this is to close all the doors and windows to the room except one to the outside. The bat should soon leave.<p>Due to the risk of rabies and also due to health problems related to their <!--del_lnk--> guano, bats should be excluded from inhabited parts of houses. For full detailed information on all aspects of bat management, including how to capture a bat, what to do in case of exposure, and how to bat-proof a house humanely, see <!--del_lnk--> the Centers for Disease Control's website on bats and rabies. In certain countries, such as the UK, it is illegal to handle bats without a license.<p>Where rabies is not endemic, as throughout most of western Europe, small bats can be considered harmless. Larger bats can give a nasty bite. Treat them with the respect due to any wild animal.<p><a id="Cultural_aspects" name="Cultural_aspects"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cultural aspects</span></h2>
<p>The bat is sacred in <a href="../../wp/t/Tonga.htm" title="Tonga">Tonga</a> and <!--del_lnk--> West Africa and is often considered the physical manifestation of a separable <!--del_lnk--> soul. Bats are closely associated with <a href="../../wp/v/Vampire.htm" title="Vampire">vampires</a>, who are said to be able to <!--del_lnk--> shapeshift into bats, <!--del_lnk--> fog or <!--del_lnk--> wolves. Bats are also a symbol of <!--del_lnk--> ghosts, <!--del_lnk--> death and <!--del_lnk--> disease. Among some <!--del_lnk--> Native Americans, such as the <!--del_lnk--> Creek, <!--del_lnk--> Cherokee and <!--del_lnk--> Apache, the bat is a <!--del_lnk--> trickster spirit. <a href="../../wp/c/China.htm" title="China">Chinese</a> lore claims the bat is a symbol of longevity and happiness, and is similarly lucky in <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a> and geographical <!--del_lnk--> Macedonia and among the <!--del_lnk--> Kwakiutl and <!--del_lnk--> Arabs.<p>In Western Culture, the bat is often a symbol of the night and its foreboding nature. The bat is a primary animal associated with fictional characters of the night such as both <!--del_lnk--> villains like <!--del_lnk--> Dracula and <!--del_lnk--> heroes like <a href="../../wp/b/Batman.htm" title="Batman">Batman</a>. The association of the fear of the night with the animal was treated as a literary challenge by <!--del_lnk--> Kenneth Oppel, who created a best selling series of novels, beginning with <i><!--del_lnk--> Silverwing</i>, which feature bats as the central heroic figures much in a similar manner as the classic <a href="../../wp/n/Novel.htm" title="Novel">novel</a> <i><!--del_lnk--> Watership Down</i> did for <a href="../../wp/r/Rabbit.htm" title="Rabbit">rabbits</a>. An old wives' tale has it that bats will entangle themselves in people's hair. A likely root to this myth is that insect-eating bats seeking prey may dive erratically toward people, who attract mosquitoes and gnats, leading the squeamish to believe that the bats are trying to get in their hair.<p>In the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> all bats are protected under the <!--del_lnk--> Wildlife and Countryside Acts, and even disturbing a bat or its roost can be punished with a heavy fine.<p><!--del_lnk--> Austin, Texas is the summer home to North America's largest urban bat colony, an estimated 1,500,000 <!--del_lnk--> Mexican free-tailed bats, who eat an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects each night and attract 100,000 tourists each year.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> Sarawak, <a href="../../wp/m/Malaysia.htm" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a> bats are protected species under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998 (see <!--del_lnk--> Malaysian Wildlife Law). The large Naked bat (see <!--del_lnk--> Mammals of Borneo) and Greater Nectar bat are consumed by the local communities.<p>Some people enjoy <!--del_lnk--> bat bathing; standing at an opening to a cave they wait until the bats leave, surrounding them in a 'sea' of bats.<p><a id="Bat_houses" name="Bat_houses"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Bat houses</span></h2>
<p>Many people put up bat houses to attract bats just as many people put up bird houses. Reasons for this vary, but mostly centre around the fact that bats are the primary nocturnal insectivores in most if not all ecologies.<p>Bat houses can be made from scratch, made from kits, or bought ready made. Plans for bat houses exist on many web sites, as well as guidelines for designing your own bat house.<p>A bat house constructed in 1991 at the University of Florida campus in <!--del_lnk--> Gainesville has a population of over 100,000 free-tailed bats.<p>Some conservation societies are giving away free bat houses to bat enthusiasts worldwide.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Paleocene', 'Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Mammal', 'Mammal', 'Gliding', 'Fruit', 'Vertebrate', 'South America', 'Fish', 'Pollinator', 'Flower', 'Seed', 'Bird', 'Arthropod', 'Insect', 'Fish', 'Eocene', 'Vampire bat', 'Dolphin', 'Whale', 'Solomon Islands', 'Fiji', 'Rabies', 'Henipavirus', 'Rabies', 'Tonga', 'Vampire', 'China', 'Poland', 'Batman', 'Novel', 'Rabbit', 'United Kingdom', 'Malaysia']
|
Bath,_Somerset
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="noindex,nofollow" name="robots" />
<meta content="Bath, Somerset,English Cities,Scottish Cities,Welsh Cities,Northern Ireland cities,World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom,Northern Ireland cities,World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom,Welsh Cities,English Cities,Scottish Cities" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bath, Somerset</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">/*<![CDATA[*/
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgCanonicalSpecialPageName = false;
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bath,_Somerset";
var wgTitle = "Bath, Somerset";
var wgAction = "view";
var wgArticleId = "41523";
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserGroups = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
var wgBreakFrames = false;
var wgCurRevisionId = "127100159";
/*]]>*/</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bath_Somerset">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bath, Somerset</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geography_of_Great_Britain.htm">Geography of Great Britain</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox geography vcard" style="width: 23em;">
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="width:100%; font-size: 1.25em; white-space: nowrap;"><b><span class="fn org">Bath</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td colspan="2">
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedbottomrow">
<td align="center" colspan="2">
<p><span class="plainlinksneverexpand" id="coordinates"><!--del_lnk--> Coordinates: <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> <span title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for 51.3794° N 2.367° W">51.3794° N 2.367° W</span></span></span><div style="width: 153px; float:none; clear:both;">
<div style="position: relative;border: 1px solid none; padding: 0px; width: 150px"><a class="image" href="../../images/228/22865.png.htm" title="Bath, Somerset (United Kingdom)"><img alt="Bath, Somerset (United Kingdom)" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Uk_outline_map.png" src="../../images/523/52318.png" width="150" /></a><br />
<div style="position: absolute; z-index: 2; top: 80.2%; left: 66.4%; height: 0; width: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">
<div style="position: relative; text-align: center; left: -4px; top: -4px; width: 8px; font-size: 8px;"><a class="image" href="../../images/238/23824.png.htm" title="Bath, Somerset"><img alt="Bath, Somerset" height="8" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Red_pog.svg" src="../../images/238/23824.png" width="8" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%; position: relative; top: -1.5em; width: 6em; left: 0.5em; text-align: left;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 90%">
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Population</th>
<td>84,000</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergetoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> OS grid reference</th>
<td><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> ST745645</span></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Unitary authority</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bath and North East Somerset</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Ceremonial county</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Somerset</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Region</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> South West</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow adr">
<th><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_countries.htm" title="List of countries">Constituent country</a></th>
<td class="country-name"><a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><a href="../../wp/l/List_of_sovereign_states.htm" title="List of sovereign states">Sovereign state</a></th>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Post town</th>
<td>BATH</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Postcode district</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> BA1, BA2</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Dial code</th>
<td>01225</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Police</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Avon and Somerset</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Fire</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Avon</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Ambulance</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Great Western</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> UK Parliament</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bath</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedrow">
<th><!--del_lnk--> European Parliament</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> South West England</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mergedtoprow">
<td align="center" colspan="2"><small>List of places: <!--del_lnk--> UK • <!--del_lnk--> England • <!--del_lnk--> Somerset</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 25em; font-size: 90%">
<caption align="center" style="font-size: 10pt;"><b>City of Bath</b><sup>a</sup><br /><b><!--del_lnk--> UNESCO <a href="../../wp/w/World_Heritage_Site.htm" title="World Heritage Site">World Heritage Site</a></b></caption>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px #aaa solid"><a class="image" href="../../images/41/4161.jpg.htm" title="Aerial view over northern Bath from a hot air balloon. The famous Royal Crescent is in the centre."><img alt="Aerial view over northern Bath from a hot air balloon. The famous Royal Crescent is in the centre." height="223" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Aerial.view.of.bath.arp.jpg" src="../../images/41/4161.jpg" width="300" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> State Party</b></td>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/7/789.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Type</b></td>
<td>Cultural</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Criteria</b></td>
<td>i, ii, iv</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Identification</b></td>
<td>#<!--del_lnk--> 428</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Region<sup>b</sup></b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Europe and North America</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="2" style="border-top: 1px #aaa solid">
<p><b>Inscription History</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b>Formal Inscription:</b></td>
<td>1987<br /><small>11th <!--del_lnk--> Session</small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size: 80%; font-weight: lighter; text-align: left;">
<p><span style="margin: 1em; color: #555;">a <!--del_lnk--> Name as officially inscribed on the WH List<br /><span style="margin: 1em; color: #555;">b <!--del_lnk--> As classified officially by UNESCO</span></span></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Bath</b> is a <a href="../../wp/c/City_status_in_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="City status in the United Kingdom">city</a> in <!--del_lnk--> South West England most famous for its <!--del_lnk--> baths fed by three <!--del_lnk--> hot springs. It is situated <span style="white-space:nowrap">99 <!--del_lnk--> miles (159 <!--del_lnk--> km)</span> west of <!--del_lnk--> Central London and <span style="white-space:nowrap">13 miles (21 km)</span> south east of <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>.<p>The city is founded around the <!--del_lnk--> only naturally occurring hot springs in the United Kingdom. It was first documented as a <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Britain.htm" title="Roman Britain">Roman</a> <!--del_lnk--> spa, although tradition suggests that it was founded earlier. The waters from its spring were believed to be a cure for many afflictions. From <!--del_lnk--> Elizabethan to <!--del_lnk--> Georgian times it was a resort city for the wealthy. As a result of its popularity during the latter period, the city contains many fine examples of <!--del_lnk--> Georgian architecture, most notably the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Crescent. The city has a population of over 80,000 and is a <a href="../../wp/w/World_Heritage_Site.htm" title="World Heritage Site">World Heritage Site</a>.<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script>
<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h2>
<p><a id="Situation_and_transport" name="Situation_and_transport"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Situation and transport</span></h3>
<p>Bath is located at <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><!--del_lnk--> <span title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for 51°23′N 2°22′W">51°23′N, 2°22′W</span></span>. It is approximately 15 miles (25 km) south-east of the larger city and port of <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>, to which it is linked by the <!--del_lnk--> A4 road, and is a similar distance south of the <!--del_lnk--> M4 motorway. Its main railway station, <!--del_lnk--> Bath Spa, lies on the <!--del_lnk--> Great Western Railway, the <!--del_lnk--> main line between <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a> and <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>, as well as on the <!--del_lnk--> line linking <a href="../../wp/c/Cardiff.htm" title="Cardiff">Cardiff</a> with <a href="../../wp/p/Portsmouth.htm" title="Portsmouth">Portsmouth</a>.<p>Bath is connected to Bristol and the sea by the <!--del_lnk--> River Avon, navigable via <!--del_lnk--> locks by small boats. The river was connected to the <a href="../../wp/r/River_Thames.htm" title="River Thames">River Thames</a> and London by the <!--del_lnk--> Kennet and Avon Canal in 1810 via <!--del_lnk--> Bath Locks; this waterway — closed for many years, but restored in the last years of the 20th century — is now popular among users of <!--del_lnk--> narrow boats, and was historically an important water route to London.<p><a id="Physical_geography" name="Physical_geography"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Physical geography</span></h3>
<p>Bath is at the bottom of the Avon Valley, and near the southern edge of the <a href="../../wp/c/Cotswolds.htm" title="Cotswolds">Cotswolds</a>, a range of <!--del_lnk--> limestone hills designated as an <!--del_lnk--> Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The hills that surround and make up the city have a maximum altitude of 238 m (780 ft) on the <!--del_lnk--> Lansdown plateau. It has an area of 11 mile² (29 km²).<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4164.jpg.htm" title="Cleveland House and the cast iron bridges of Sydney Gardens over the Kennet and Avon Canal"><img alt="Cleveland House and the cast iron bridges of Sydney Gardens over the Kennet and Avon Canal" class="thumbimage" height="189" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Clevelandhouse.JPG" src="../../images/41/4164.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4164.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Cleveland House and the cast iron bridges of Sydney Gardens over the <!--del_lnk--> Kennet and Avon Canal</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The surrounding hills give Bath its steep streets and make its buildings appear to climb the slopes. The <!--del_lnk--> flood plain of the River Avon, which runs through the centre of the city, here has an altitude of 17 metres (56 ft). The river, once an unnavigable series of <!--del_lnk--> braided streams broken up by <!--del_lnk--> swamps and <a href="../../wp/p/Pond.htm" title="Pond">ponds</a>, has been managed by <!--del_lnk--> weirs into a single channel. Nevertheless, periodic flooding, which shortened the life of many buildings in the lowest part of the city, was normal until major flood control works in the 1970s.<p>The city has the hottest <!--del_lnk--> geothermal springs in the UK. Three of these springs feed the <!--del_lnk--> thermal baths.<p><a id="Climate" name="Climate"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Climate</span></h3>
<p>In 2003 the annual mean temperature was 10.3 <!--del_lnk--> °C, with extremes at 14.2 °C and 6.5 °C (50.5 <!--del_lnk--> °F, 57.5 °F and 43.7 °F, respectively). There were 1645 hours of sunshine, and 957 <!--del_lnk--> millimetres of rainfall. The temperatures, sunshine duration and rainfall are higher than the United Kingdom averages (which are 9.5 °C, or 49 °F, 1587 hours and 901.5 millimetres, respectively).<p><a id="Politics" name="Politics"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Politics</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
</div>
<p>The <a href="../../wp/l/Liberal_Democrats.htm" title="Liberal Democrats">Liberal Democrat</a> <!--del_lnk--> Don Foster is the <!--del_lnk--> Member of Parliament for <!--del_lnk--> Bath. His election was perhaps the most notable result of the <!--del_lnk--> 1992 results, as <!--del_lnk--> Chris Patten, the previous Member (and a <!--del_lnk--> Cabinet Minister), played a major part, as <!--del_lnk--> Conservative Party Chairman, in getting the government of <!--del_lnk--> John Major re-elected, but failed to defend his marginal seat in Bath. Don Foster has been re-elected as the MP for Bath in every election since. His majority was significantly reduced from over 9000 in both the 1997 and 2001 general elections to 4638 in 2005.<p>Historically part of the county of <!--del_lnk--> Somerset, Bath was made a <!--del_lnk--> county borough in 1889, and has been independent of Somerset <!--del_lnk--> county council control ever since. Bath came into <!--del_lnk--> Avon when that <!--del_lnk--> non-metropolitan county was created in 1974. Since the abolition of Avon in 1996, Bath has been the main centre of the <!--del_lnk--> unitary authority of <!--del_lnk--> Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES). Bath remains, however, in the <!--del_lnk--> ceremonial county of Somerset.<p>The City of Bath's ceremonial functions, including the <!--del_lnk--> mayoralty – which can be traced back to 1230 – and control of the <!--del_lnk--> coat of arms, are now maintained by the <i><!--del_lnk--> Charter Trustees of the City of Bath</i>. The coat of arms includes two silver strips, which represent the <!--del_lnk--> River Avon and the hot springs. The sword of <a href="../../wp/p/Paul_of_Tarsus.htm" title="Paul of Tarsus">St. Paul</a> is a link to <!--del_lnk--> Bath Abbey. The supporters, a <a href="../../wp/l/Lion.htm" title="Lion">lion</a> and a <a href="../../wp/b/Bear.htm" title="Bear">bear</a>, stand on a bed of <!--del_lnk--> acorns, a link to <!--del_lnk--> Bladud, the subject of the Legend of Bath. The knight's helmet indicates a municipality and the <!--del_lnk--> crown is that of <!--del_lnk--> King Edgar, the first king of a united England, who was crowned in Bath in <!--del_lnk--> 973 on the site of the current abbey.<p><a id="Demographics" name="Demographics"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Demographics</span></h2>
<p>According to the <a href="../../wp/p/Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Politics of the United Kingdom">UK Government</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> 2001 census, Bath, together with North East Somerset (that is, more or less, the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), has a population of 169,040, with an average age of 39.9 (the national average being 38.6). According to the same statistics, the district is overwhelmingly populated by people of a white ethnic background at 97.2% — significantly higher than the national average of 90.9%. Other non-white ethnic groups in the district, in order of population size, are <!--del_lnk--> multiracial at 1%, Asian at 0.5% and black at 0.5% (the national averages are 1.3%, 4.6% and 2.1%, respectively).<p>The district is largely <!--del_lnk--> Christian at 71%, with no other religion reaching more than 0.5%. These figures generally compare with the national averages, though the <!--del_lnk--> non-religious, at 19.5%, are significantly more prevalent than the national 14.8%. Since Bath is known for the restorative powers of its waters, it is interesting to note that only 7.4% of the population describe themselves as "not healthy" in the last 12 months, compared to a national average of 9.2%; only 15.8% of the inhabitants say they have had a long-term illness, as against 18.2% nationally.<p><a id="History" name="History"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">History</span></h2>
<p><a id="Celtic_and_Roman" name="Celtic_and_Roman"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Celtic and Roman</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4168.jpg.htm" title="The Great Bath at the Roman Baths. The entire structure above the level of the pillar bases is a later reconstruction."><img alt="The Great Bath at the Roman Baths. The entire structure above the level of the pillar bases is a later reconstruction." class="thumbimage" height="168" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Roman_Baths_in_Bath_Spa%2C_England_-_July_2006_edit3.jpg" src="../../images/41/4168.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4168.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Great Bath at the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Baths. The entire structure above the level of the pillar bases is a later reconstruction.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4170.jpg.htm" title="Bath Abbey From The Roman Baths Gallery"><img alt="Bath Abbey From The Roman Baths Gallery" class="thumbimage" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bath_Abbey_From_Roman_Baths_Gallery.JPG" src="../../images/41/4170.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4170.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bath Abbey From The Roman Baths Gallery</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The archaeological evidence shows that the site of the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Baths' main spring was treated as a shrine by the <!--del_lnk--> Celts, and dedicated to the goddess <!--del_lnk--> Sulis. The Romans probably occupied Bath shortly after their invasion of Britain in 43 AD. They knew it as <i>Aquae Sulis</i> (literally "the waters of Sul"), identifying the goddess with <!--del_lnk--> Minerva. In Roman times the worship of Sulis Minerva continued and messages to her scratched onto metal have been recovered from the Sacred Spring by archaeologists. These are known as <!--del_lnk--> curse tablets. These curse tablets were written in Latin, and usually laid curses on other people, whom they feel had done them wrong. For example, if a citizen had his clothes stolen at the Baths, he would write a curse on a tablet, to be read by the Goddess Sulis Minerva, and also, the "suspected" names would be mentioned. The corpus from Bath is the most important found in Britain.<p>During the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Britain.htm" title="Roman Britain">Roman period</a>, increasingly grand temples and bathing complexes were built in the area, including the Great Bath. Rediscovered gradually from the 18th century onward, they have become one of the city's main attractions. The city was given defensive walls, probably in the 3rd century. From the later 4th century on, the <a href="../../wp/w/Western_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Western Roman Empire">Western Roman Empire</a> and its urban life declined. However, while the great <i><!--del_lnk--> suite of baths</i> at Bath fell into disrepair, some use of the hot springs continued.<p><a id="Post-Roman_and_Saxon" name="Post-Roman_and_Saxon"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Post-Roman and Saxon</span></h3>
<p>It has been suggested that Bath may have been the site of the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Mons Badonicus (circa 500 AD), where <a href="../../wp/k/King_Arthur.htm" title="King Arthur">King Arthur</a> is said to have defeated the <!--del_lnk--> Saxons, but this <!--del_lnk--> is disputed. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions Bath falling to the <a href="../../wp/w/Wessex.htm" title="Wessex">West Saxons</a> in 577 after the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Deorham. The <!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Saxons called the town <b>Baðum</b>, Baðan or Baðon, meaning "at the baths," and this was the source of the present name. In 675, <!--del_lnk--> Osric, King of the <!--del_lnk--> Hwicce, set up a monastic house at Bath, probably using the walled area as its precinct. <!--del_lnk--> King Offa of <a href="../../wp/m/Mercia.htm" title="Mercia">Mercia</a> gained control of this monastery in 781 and rebuilt the church, which was dedicated to <!--del_lnk--> St. Peter. Bath had become a royal possession. The old Roman street pattern was by now lost, and <a href="../../wp/a/Alfred_the_Great.htm" title="Alfred the Great">King Alfred</a> laid out the town afresh, leaving its south-eastern quadrant as the abbey precinct. <!--del_lnk--> Edgar of England was crowned king of England in Bath Abbey in 973.<p><a id="Norman.2C_Medieval_and_Tudor" name="Norman.2C_Medieval_and_Tudor"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Norman, Medieval and Tudor</span></h3>
<p>King <!--del_lnk--> William Rufus granted the city to a royal physician, <!--del_lnk--> John of Tours, who became Bishop of <!--del_lnk--> Wells and Abbot of Bath in 1088, with permission to move the seat of <!--del_lnk--> Somerset from Wells to Bath, in line with current papal policy of encouraging bishops to move to more urban seats. He planned and began a much larger church as his cathedral, to which was attached a priory, with the bishop's palace beside it. New baths were built around the three springs.<p>Later bishops preferred Wells, whither the episcopal seat accordingly moved. By the 15th century, Bath's abbey church was badly dilapidated and in need of repairs. <!--del_lnk--> Oliver King, <!--del_lnk--> Bishop of Bath and Wells, decided in 1500 to rebuild it on a smaller scale. The new church was completed just a few years before Bath Priory was dissolved in 1539 by <a href="../../wp/h/Henry_VIII_of_England.htm" title="Henry VIII of England">Henry VIII</a>. The abbey church was allowed to become derelict before being restored as the city's parish church in the <!--del_lnk--> Elizabethan period, when the city revived as a <!--del_lnk--> destination spa. The <!--del_lnk--> baths were improved and the city began to attract the aristocracy in the bathing seasons. Bath was granted <!--del_lnk--> city status by Royal Charter in <!--del_lnk--> 1590.<p><a name="17th_century"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">17th century</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4173.jpg.htm" title="The Circus"><img alt="The Circus" class="thumbimage" height="190" longdesc="/wiki/Image:The.circus.bath.arp.jpg" src="../../images/41/4173.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4173.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> The Circus</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>During the <!--del_lnk--> English Civil War the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Lansdowne was fought on <!--del_lnk--> July 5, <!--del_lnk--> 1643 on the outskirts of Bath.<p>Sally Lunn, (aka Solange Luyon) a Huguenot refugee, came to Bath and found work with a baker in Lilliput Alley (now North Parade Passage), creating the <!--del_lnk--> Sally Lunn bun.<p>In 1668 <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Guidott moved to Bath and set up his practice there. He was a student of chemistry and medicine at <!--del_lnk--> Wadham College <a href="../../wp/o/Oxford.htm" title="Oxford">Oxford</a>. He became interested in the curative properties of the waters and in 1676 he wrote <i>A discourse of Bathe, and the hot waters there. Also, Some Enquiries into the Nature of the water</i>.<p>This brought the health-giving properties of the hot mineral waters to the attention of the country and soon the aristocracy started to arrive to partake in them.<p><a name="18th_century"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">18th century</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4198.jpg.htm" title="The Royal Crescent from the air: Georgian taste favoured the civilised regularity of Bath's streets and squares and the delightful contrast with rural nature immediately at hand."><img alt="The Royal Crescent from the air: Georgian taste favoured the civilised regularity of Bath's streets and squares and the delightful contrast with rural nature immediately at hand." class="thumbimage" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BathRoyalCrescentAirial.morecontrast.jpg" src="../../images/41/4198.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/41/4198.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> Royal Crescent from the air: Georgian taste favoured the civilised regularity of Bath's streets and squares and the delightful contrast with rural nature immediately at hand.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>There had been much rebuilding in the <!--del_lnk--> Stuart period, but this was eclipsed by the massive expansion of the city in <!--del_lnk--> Georgian times. The old town within the walls was also largely rebuilt. This was a response to the continuing demand for elegant accommodation for the city's fashionable visitors, for whom Bath had become a pleasure resort as well as a spa. The architects <!--del_lnk--> John Wood the elder and his son <!--del_lnk--> John Wood the younger laid out the new quarters in streets and squares, the identical facades of which gave an impression of palatial scale and classical decorum. The creamy gold of <!--del_lnk--> Bath stone further unified the city, much of it obtained from the <!--del_lnk--> limestone <!--del_lnk--> Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under <!--del_lnk--> Combe Down, which were owned by <!--del_lnk--> Ralph Allen (1694–1764). The latter, in order to advertise the quality of his quarried limestone, commissioned the elder John Wood to build him a country house on his <!--del_lnk--> Prior Park estate. A shrewd politician, he dominated civic affairs and became mayor several times.<p>The early 18th century saw Bath acquire its first purpose-built theatre, pump room and assembly rooms. Master of Ceremonies <!--del_lnk--> Beau Nash, who presided over the city's social life from 1705 until his death in 1761, drew up a code of behaviour for public entertainments. However, the city declined as a fashionable resort in the 19th century.<p>Bath elected two members to the <!--del_lnk--> unreformed House of Commons.<p><a name="19th_century"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">19th century</span></h3>
<p>By the 1801 census the population of the city had reached 40,020 making it amongst the largest cities in Britain.<br /> Bath's most well known resident Jane Austen moved to the city with her father, mother and sister Cassandra in 1801. The family remained in the city until 1806 even though her father died there in 1805.<br /> The Austen family lived at 4 addresses in the city gradually sliding downmarket with each move. Whilst Jane Austen is reputed to have not liked Bath, it is probable that she was less happy about being uprooted from a comfortable country existence which she had enjoyed up to that date than she was with the city. She didn't write much whilst living in the city although Bath features centrally in two of her novels 'Northanger Abbey' and 'Persuasion'<br /> Jane Austen's time in Bath and the influence which the city had on her writing is celebrated in a permanent exhibition at <!--del_lnk--> The Jane Austen Centre.<p>In 1822 another of Bath's famous residents moved to the city. <!--del_lnk--> William Thomas Beckford bought a house in <!--del_lnk--> Lansdown Crescent, eventually buying a further two houses in the Crescent to form his residence. Having acquired all the land between his home and the top of <!--del_lnk--> Lansdown Hill, he created a garden over half a mile in length and built <!--del_lnk--> Beckford's Tower at the top.<p><a name="20th_century"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">20th century</span></h3>
<p>Between the evening of <!--del_lnk--> 25 April and the early morning of <!--del_lnk--> 27 April <!--del_lnk--> 1942 Bath was subjected to three air raids by the <a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a> in reprisal for <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Air_Force.htm" title="Royal Air Force">RAF</a> raids on the German cities of <!--del_lnk--> Lübeck and <!--del_lnk--> Rostock. The three raids formed part of the Luftwaffe campaign popularly known as the <!--del_lnk--> Baedeker Blitz and damaged or destroyed more than 19,000 buildings and killed more than 400 people. Considerable damage was done to noteworthy historical buildings. Houses in the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Crescent, <!--del_lnk--> Circus and <!--del_lnk--> Paragon were burnt out as were the Assembly Rooms while the south side of <!--del_lnk--> Queen Square was destroyed. All have since been reconstructed.<p>Emperor <!--del_lnk--> Haile Selassie I of <a href="../../wp/e/Ethiopia.htm" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> spent the five years of his exile mainly in Bath at <!--del_lnk--> Fairfield House. This period is described in the section headed 'Exile' within the Wikipedia account of the monarch's life (<!--del_lnk--> here).<p><a id="Culture" name="Culture"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Culture</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/42/4281.jpg.htm" title="The Palladian-style Pulteney Bridge and the weir at Bath"><img alt="The Palladian-style Pulteney Bridge and the weir at Bath" class="thumbimage" height="176" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bath_Pulteney_Bridge.JPG" src="../../images/42/4281.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/42/4281.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <a href="../../wp/p/Palladian_architecture.htm" title="Palladian architecture">Palladian</a>-style <!--del_lnk--> Pulteney Bridge and the <!--del_lnk--> weir at Bath</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>During the 18th century, Bath was an extremely fashionable cultural hub, attracting the aristocracy and gentry from far and wide. This gave the city the finance and incentive to undertake large cultural developments. It was during this time that Bath's <!--del_lnk--> Theatre Royal was first built, as well as <a href="../../wp/a/Architecture.htm" title="Architecture">architectural</a> triumphs such as <!--del_lnk--> Royal Crescent, <!--del_lnk--> Lansdown Crescent, the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Crescent, <!--del_lnk--> The Circus and <!--del_lnk--> Pulteney Bridge.<p>Today, Bath has five <a href="../../wp/t/Theatre.htm" title="Theatre">theatres</a> — <!--del_lnk--> Bath Theatre Royal, <!--del_lnk--> Ustinov Studio, The Egg, the <!--del_lnk--> Rondo Theatre, and the <!--del_lnk--> Mission Theatre — and attracts internationally renowned companies and directors, including <!--del_lnk--> Sir Peter Hall. The city also has a long-standing musical tradition; <!--del_lnk--> Bath Abbey is home to the <!--del_lnk--> Klais Organ and is the largest concert venue in the city, with about 20 concerts and 26 organ recitals each year. Another important concert venue is the <!--del_lnk--> Forum, a restored 1700-seat <!--del_lnk--> art deco cinema. The city holds the <!--del_lnk--> Bath International Music Festival and <!--del_lnk--> Mozartfest every year. Other festivals include the annual <!--del_lnk--> Bath Film Festival, <!--del_lnk--> Bath Literature Festival, the <!--del_lnk--> Bath Fringe Festival and the <!--del_lnk--> Bath Beer Festival.<p>The city is home to the <!--del_lnk--> Victoria Art Gallery, the <!--del_lnk--> Museum of East Asian Art, and <!--del_lnk--> The Holburne Museum of Art, as well as numerous museums, among them <!--del_lnk--> The Bath Postal Museum, <!--del_lnk--> The Museum of Costume, <!--del_lnk--> The Jane Austen Centre, the <!--del_lnk--> William Herschel Museum and the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Baths. The <!--del_lnk--> Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, now in Queen Square, and founded in 1824 on the base of a 1777 Society for the encouragement of Agriculture, Planting, Manufactures, Commerce and the Fine Arts, has an important collection and holds a rich and popular programme of talks and discussions. See 'Places of interest' below for details of many other places of artistic, cultural and historical interest.<p>There are numerous commercial art galleries and antique shops in Bath, which is one of the most important centres of the English antiques trade outside London.<p>For a list of churches in Bath, see <!--del_lnk--> here. In addition to the churches listed, <!--del_lnk--> Manvers Gospel Hall is located in the city centre.<p><a id="Bath_in_the_arts" name="Bath_in_the_arts"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Bath in the arts</span></h3>
<p>Perhaps the best known resident of Bath was <a href="../../wp/j/Jane_Austen.htm" title="Jane Austen">Jane Austen</a>, who lived in the city from 1801 until 1806. However, Jane Austen never liked the city, and wrote to her sister Cassandra, "It will be two years tomorrow since we left Bath for Clifton, with what happy feelings of escape." Despite her feelings regarding the city, Bath has honoured her name with the Jane Austen Centre and a city walk based on Austen. After leaving the city, Austen wrote two novels, <i><!--del_lnk--> Northanger Abbey</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Persuasion</i> (written 1816, published 1818), which are largely set in the city and feature descriptions of taking the waters, social life, and cultural resources such as music recitals.<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/t/Thomas_Gainsborough.htm" title="Thomas Gainsborough">Thomas Gainsborough</a> moved to Bath in 1759, where he first became fashionable amongst the aristocracy and rich, his studio was based in various houses in the city, he subsequently moved to London in 1774.</ul>
<ul>
<li>Sir <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Lawrence was based in the city from 1782 to 1787 where he first became famous.</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/c/Charles_Dickens.htm" title="Charles Dickens">Charles Dickens</a>' novel <i><!--del_lnk--> Pickwick Papers</i> also features Bath, and satirises its social life. Pickwick takes the waters and his servant, <!--del_lnk--> Sam Weller, comments that the water has "a very strong flavour o' warm flat irons", while the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Crescent is the venue for a chase between two of the characters, Dowler and Winkle.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> William Friese-Greene began experimenting with celluloid and motion pictures in his studio in Bath in the 1870s, developing some of the earliest movie camera technology there. He is credited as the inventor of cinematography.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Moyra Caldecott's novel <cite>The Waters of Sul</cite> is set in Roman Bath in 72 AD. <!--del_lnk--> Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play <i><!--del_lnk--> The Rivals</i> is also set in Bath.</ul>
<ul>
<li>In 2004, a <!--del_lnk--> movie of <!--del_lnk--> Thackeray's <i><!--del_lnk--> Vanity Fair</i> was largely filmed in Bath.</ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Roald Dahl's chilling <!--del_lnk--> short-story, "<!--del_lnk--> The Landlady" also takes place in the city of Bath.</ul>
<ul>
<li>In August 2003 the <!--del_lnk--> Three Tenors sang at a special concert to mark the opening of the <!--del_lnk--> Thermae Bath Spa, a new hot water <!--del_lnk--> spa in Bath City Centre; delays to the project meant the spa actually opened three years later on <!--del_lnk--> August 7, <!--del_lnk--> 2006.</ul>
<p><a id="Parks" name="Parks"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Parks</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/42/4286.jpg.htm" title="Parade Gardens in July after a rain shower"><img alt="Parade Gardens in July after a rain shower" class="thumbimage" height="139" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bath_-_Parade_Gardens_-_July_2006.jpg" src="../../images/42/4286.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/42/4286.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Parade Gardens in July after a rain shower</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The city has several <!--del_lnk--> public parks, the main one being <!--del_lnk--> Royal Victoria Park, a short walk from the centre of the city. It was opened in 1830 and has an area of 57 acres (231,000 m²). Several events are held in the park every year, including the <!--del_lnk--> Bath International Music Festival, and it is favoured as a take-off site by <a href="../../wp/h/Hot_air_balloon.htm" title="Hot air balloon">hot air balloon</a> companies. The park features a <!--del_lnk--> botanical garden, a large children's play park, and sports facilities, including <!--del_lnk--> crazy golf, <!--del_lnk--> bowls and <!--del_lnk--> lawn tennis. Much of its area is <a href="../../wp/l/Lawn.htm" title="Lawn">lawn</a>; a notable feature is the way in which a <!--del_lnk--> ha-ha segregates it from the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Crescent, while giving the impression to a viewer from the Crescent of a greensward uninterrupted across the Park down to Royal Avenue.<p>Other parks in Bath include: Alexandra Park, which crowns a hill and overlooks the city; Parade Gardens, along the river front near the Abbey in the centre of the city; Sydney Gardens, known as a pleasure-garden in the 18th century; Henrietta Park; Hedgemead Park; and Alice Park. Jane Austen wrote of Sydney Gardens that "It would be pleasant to be near the Sydney Gardens. We could go into the Labyrinth every day." Alexandra, Alice and Henrietta parks were built into the growing city among the housing developments. There is also a linear park following the old Somerset and Dorset railway line.<p><a id="Food" name="Food"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Food</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Sally Lunn's buns (a type of <!--del_lnk--> teacake) have long been baked in Bath. They were first mentioned by that name in verses printed in a local newspaper, the <i>Bath Chronicle</i>, in 1772. At that time they were eaten hot at public breakfasts in the city's Spring Gardens. They can be eaten with sweet or savoury toppings.<p>Visitors sometimes confuse <i>Sally Lunn'</i>s buns with <i><!--del_lnk--> Bath Buns</i> — smaller, round, very sweet, very rich buns that were associated with the city following <a href="../../wp/t/The_Great_Exhibition.htm" title="The Great Exhibition">The Great Exhibition</a>. Bath Buns were originally topped with crushed 'comfits' created by dipping caraway seeds repeatedly in boiling sugar; but today seeds are added to a 'London Bath Bun' (a reference to the bun's promotion and sale at the Great Exhibition). The seeds may be replaced by crushed sugar granules or 'nibs'.<p>Bath has also lent its name to one other distinctive recipe — <i>Bath Olivers</i> — the dry baked biscuits invented by Dr William Oliver, physician to the <!--del_lnk--> Mineral Water Hospital in 1740. Oliver was an early anti-obesity campaigner, writing a <i>"Practical Essay on the Use and Abuse of warm Bathing in Gluty Cases"</i>. Local legend has it that he bequeathed the recipe for his low calorie biscuits to his coachman, a Mr Atkins, along with £100 and a hundred sacks of flour. Atkins subsequently opened a shop in Green Street, Bath and became a rich man on the proceeds.<p><a id="Sport" name="Sport"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Sport</span></h2>
<p>The city's best known sporting team is <!--del_lnk--> Bath Rugby, a <!--del_lnk--> rugby union team which is currently in the <!--del_lnk--> Guinness Premiership league and coached by Steve Meeham. It plays in black, blue and white kit with its sponsors' logo, <!--del_lnk--> Helphire, on the front of the shirts. The team plays at the <!--del_lnk--> Recreation Ground in the city, where it has been since the late 19th century, following its establishment in 1865. The team rose to national prestige during the 1980s, and it has remained one of the best rugby teams in the country. Its first major honour was winning the John Player Cup four years consecutively from 1984 until 1987. The team then led the Courage league for six consecutive seasons, from 1988/1989 until 1995/1996, during which time it also won the Pilkington Cup in 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995 and 1996. It finally won the <!--del_lnk--> Heineken Cup in the 1997/1998 season, and topped the Zürich (now Guinness) Premiership in 2003/2004.<p>The team's current <!--del_lnk--> squad includes several members who also play in the <!--del_lnk--> English national elite team including: <!--del_lnk--> Steve Borthwick, <!--del_lnk--> Lee Mears, <!--del_lnk--> Matt Stevens, <!--del_lnk--> Olly Barkley, <!--del_lnk--> David Flatman and <!--del_lnk--> Danny Grewcock. <!--del_lnk--> Colston's Collegiate School, <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a> has had a large input in the team over the past decade, providing current 1st XV squad members Barkley, Bell, Brooker, Crockett, Davey, Davis, Delve, Hawkins, Mears and Smith. The former England Rugby Team Manager <!--del_lnk--> Andy Robinson used to play for Bath Rugby team and was Captain and later Coach. While in the Bath team, he was a Physical Education, Rugby and Mathematics teacher at <!--del_lnk--> King Edward's School, North Road, Bath. Both of Robinson's predecessors, <!--del_lnk--> Clive Woodward and <!--del_lnk--> Jack Rowell, were also former Bath coaches and managers.<p><!--del_lnk--> Bath City F.C. and <!--del_lnk--> Team Bath F.C. (affiliated with the <!--del_lnk--> University of Bath) are the major <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">football</a> teams, both of which are in the <!--del_lnk--> Southern Football League. In 2002, Team Bath became the first university team to enter the <!--del_lnk--> FA Cup in 120 years, and advanced through four qualifying rounds to the first round proper. Unlike the city's rugby team, Bath City have never attained an elite status in English football; its highest position has been seventh in the <!--del_lnk--> Football Conference in the 1992/1993 season. The University's team was established in 1999, while the city team has existed since before 1908 (when it entered the <!--del_lnk--> Western League). <!--del_lnk--> Bath City F.C. play their games at Twerton Park. Current players include Scott Partridge, Jim Rollo, Andy Sandell and former South African international goalkeeper Paul Evans.<p><a href="../../wp/c/Cricket.htm" title="Cricket">Cricket</a> is played at the <!--del_lnk--> Bath Cricket Club, located, like the rugby Recreation Ground, east of the river, near <!--del_lnk--> Pulteney Bridge. The cricket ground is the venue for the annual <!--del_lnk--> Bath Cricket Festival which sees <!--del_lnk--> Somerset County Cricket Club play several games.<p>Bath also has a thriving biking community, with places for biking including Royal Victoria Park, 'The Tumps' in Odd Down, the jumps on top of Lansdown, and Prior Park. Places for biking near Bath include Brown's Folly in Batheaston and Box Woods, in Box.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Recreation Ground is also home to <!--del_lnk--> Bath Croquet Club, which was re-formed in 1976 and is affiliated with the South West Federation of <!--del_lnk--> Croquet Clubs.<p><!--del_lnk--> TeamBath is the umbrella name for all of the <!--del_lnk--> University of Bath sports teams, including the aforementioned football club. Other sports for which TeamBath is noted are <a href="../../wp/a/Athletics_%2528track_and_field%2529.htm" title="Athletics (track and field)">athletics</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Badminton.htm" title="Badminton">badminton</a>, <a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">basketball</a>, <!--del_lnk--> bob skeleton, <!--del_lnk--> bobsleigh, <!--del_lnk--> hockey, <!--del_lnk--> judo, <!--del_lnk--> modern pentathlon, <a href="../../wp/n/Netball.htm" title="Netball">netball</a>, <!--del_lnk--> rugby, <!--del_lnk--> swimming, <a href="../../wp/t/Tennis.htm" title="Tennis">tennis</a> and <a href="../../wp/t/Triathlon.htm" title="Triathlon">triathlon</a>.<p>Bath is also the home of the <!--del_lnk--> Bath American Football Club, which has been playing <a href="../../wp/a/American_football.htm" title="American Football">American Football</a> in the city since 2001. It caters for Youth and Junior levels of play.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Bath Half Marathon is run annually through the city streets, with over 10,000 runners. The City of Bath Triathlon takes place annually at the <!--del_lnk--> University of Bath.<p><a id="Business" name="Business"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Business</span></h2>
<p>The city lies at the junction of the <!--del_lnk--> Kennet and Avon Canal and the navigable <!--del_lnk--> River Avon. It has a station on the main line from <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> to <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>, which was built by the <!--del_lnk--> Great Western Railway. At one time, it was also served by the <!--del_lnk--> Midland Railway, and by the <!--del_lnk--> Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.<p>Today, its once-important manufacturing sector is much diminished, but it has notable software, publishing and service-oriented industries, in addition to tourism. The magazine publisher <!--del_lnk--> Future Publishing is one of Bath's bigger employers. The firm publishes over 100 magazines, including many in the computer and video gaming sector. Other main employers are the <!--del_lnk--> Ministry of Defence, although a number of MOD offices have moved to <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>; the <!--del_lnk--> National Health Service, and <!--del_lnk--> Helphire Group plc an Accident Management Company specialising in non-fault motor accidents. Bath is also the home of <!--del_lnk--> Buro Happold and <!--del_lnk--> Future Publishing. The city contains many small single-shop or restaurant-based businesses which serve niche markets and are primarily supported by tourism.<p><a id="Tourism" name="Tourism"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Tourism</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/42/4293.jpg.htm" title="Bath swarms with tourists in the summer. This entertainer performs in front of Bath Abbey and to the right, the Roman Baths"><img alt="Bath swarms with tourists in the summer. This entertainer performs in front of Bath Abbey and to the right, the Roman Baths" class="thumbimage" height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bath_Abbey_and_Entertainer_-_July_2006.jpg" src="../../images/42/4293.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/42/4293.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bath swarms with tourists in the summer. This entertainer performs in front of <!--del_lnk--> Bath Abbey and to the right, the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Baths</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Bath's principal industry is <a href="../../wp/t/Tourism.htm" title="Tourism">tourism</a>. whose visits mainly fall into the categories of <!--del_lnk--> heritage tourism or <!--del_lnk--> cultural tourism. All significant stages of the <!--del_lnk--> history of England are represented within the city, from the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Baths (including their significant <!--del_lnk--> Celtic presence), to <!--del_lnk--> Bath Abbey and the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Crescent, to <!--del_lnk--> Thermae Bath Spa in the 2000s.<p>The size of the tourist industry is reflected in the almost 300 places of accommodation—including over 80 <!--del_lnk--> hotels, and over 180 <!--del_lnk--> Bed and Breakfasts—many of which are located in <!--del_lnk--> Georgian buildings and have five-star ratings - a good example being <!--del_lnk--> 3 Abbey Green. The city also contains approximately 100 restaurants, and a similar number of <!--del_lnk--> public houses and <!--del_lnk--> bars. Several companies offer <!--del_lnk--> open-top bus tours around the city, as well as tours on foot and on the river.<p>The tourist season is mainly the summer, though there is a year-round presence of tourists. While many come to Bath to see the city in general, some are attracted to particular aspects of the city, such as the <a href="../../wp/j/Jane_Austen.htm" title="Jane Austen">Jane Austen</a> landmarks or the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Baths.<p><a id="The_Spa" name="The_Spa"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">The Spa</span></h3>
<p>In 2006, with the opening of <!--del_lnk--> Thermae Bath Spa, the city has attempted to recapture its historical position as the only town in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> offering visitors the opportunity to bathe in naturally heated spring waters.<p><a id="Twinned_towns" name="Twinned_towns"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Twinned towns</span></h3>
<p>Bath has four twinned towns:<ul>
<li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="Flag of France"><img alt="Flag of France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Aix-en-Provence, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/545.png.htm" title="Flag of Netherlands"><img alt="Flag of Netherlands" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg" src="../../images/5/545.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Alkmaar, <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a><li><a class="image" href="../../images/5/538.png.htm" title="Flag of Germany"><img alt="Flag of Germany" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany.svg" src="../../images/5/538.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Braunschweig, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> <!--del_lnk--> 1947<li><a class="image" href="../../images/8/845.png.htm" title="Flag of Hungary"><img alt="Flag of Hungary" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Hungary.svg" src="../../images/8/845.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Kaposvár, <a href="../../wp/h/Hungary.htm" title="Hungary">Hungary</a></ul>
<p><a id="Transport" name="Transport"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Transport</span></h2>
<p>Bath is served by the <!--del_lnk--> Bath Spa railway station (designed by <a href="../../wp/i/Isambard_Kingdom_Brunel.htm" title="Isambard Kingdom Brunel">Isambard Kingdom Brunel</a>), which has regular connections to <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> <!--del_lnk--> Paddington, <a href="../../wp/b/Bristol.htm" title="Bristol">Bristol</a> <!--del_lnk--> Temple Meads, <!--del_lnk--> Cardiff Central, <!--del_lnk--> Swansea, <!--del_lnk--> Exeter, <a href="../../wp/p/Plymouth.htm" title="Plymouth">Plymouth</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Penzance (see <!--del_lnk--> Great Western Main Line), and also <!--del_lnk--> Westbury, <!--del_lnk--> Warminster, <!--del_lnk--> Salisbury, <a href="../../wp/s/Southampton.htm" title="Southampton">Southampton</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Portsmouth.htm" title="Portsmouth">Portsmouth</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Brighton.htm" title="Brighton">Brighton</a> (see <!--del_lnk--> Wessex Main Line). Services are provided by <!--del_lnk--> First Great Western. There is a suburban station on the main line, <!--del_lnk--> Oldfield Park, which has a limited commuter service to Bristol. The charming <!--del_lnk--> Green Park station, was once operated by the <!--del_lnk--> Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. The line (always steam driven) climbed over the Mendips and served many towns and villages on its 71 mile run to Bournemouth. Sadly this most splendid example of an English rural line was closed by <!--del_lnk--> Beeching in March 1966, with few remaining signs of its existence. However Bath Green Park station building survives and now houses a number of shops.<p>Though Bath does not have an airport, the city is not far from <!--del_lnk--> Bristol International Airport, which may be reached by <a href="../../wp/a/Automobile.htm" title="Automobile">car</a> and by <!--del_lnk--> bus or taxi, and by rail via Bristol Temple Meads or Nailsea and Backwell.<p><!--del_lnk--> National Express operates <!--del_lnk--> coach services from Bath to a number of cities. Internally, Bath has a large number of bus routes run by the <!--del_lnk--> First Group, with services to surrounding towns and cities. There are two other companies running open top double-decker bus tours around the city.<p><a id="Architecture" name="Architecture"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Architecture</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/42/4298.jpg.htm" title="Fan vaulting over the nave at Bath Abbey, Bath, England. Made from local Bath stone, this is a Victorian restoration (made in the 1860s) of the original roof from 1608"><img alt="Fan vaulting over the nave at Bath Abbey, Bath, England. Made from local Bath stone, this is a Victorian restoration (made in the 1860s) of the original roof from 1608" class="thumbimage" height="322" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bath_Abbey_Fan_Vaulting_-_July_2006.jpg" src="../../images/42/4298.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/42/4298.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Fan vaulting over the <!--del_lnk--> nave at <!--del_lnk--> Bath Abbey, Bath, England. Made from local Bath stone, this is a Victorian restoration (made in the 1860s) of the original roof from 1608</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/44/4431.jpg.htm" title="Bath Abbey at twilight"><img alt="Bath Abbey at twilight" class="thumbimage" height="273" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bath_Abbey_at_twilight_-_July_2006.jpg" src="../../images/44/4431.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/44/4431.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Bath Abbey at twilight</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Of Bath's notable buildings, <!--del_lnk--> Bath Abbey is one of the most striking. Whilst appearing very old, it is of more recent construction than most of Britain's many ancient Abbeys and <!--del_lnk--> cathedrals. Originally a <!--del_lnk--> Norman church on earlier foundations, it was rebuilt in the early 16th century and transformed into a <!--del_lnk--> gothic fantasy of <!--del_lnk--> flying buttresses with crocketed <!--del_lnk--> pinnacles decorating a crenelated and pierced <!--del_lnk--> parapet. The style of architecture employed is known as <!--del_lnk--> late Perpendicular. The choir and transepts have a fine <!--del_lnk--> fan vault by <!--del_lnk--> Robert and <!--del_lnk--> William Vertue, who worked on the fan vault at <!--del_lnk--> King's College Chapel, Cambridge and designed similar vaulting in the <!--del_lnk--> Henry VII chapel at <a href="../../wp/w/Westminster_Abbey.htm" title="Westminster Abbey">Westminster Abbey</a>. The nave was given a matching vault in the 19th century. The building is lit by 52 windows.<p>The dominant style of architecture in Bath is <!--del_lnk--> Georgian; this evolved from the <a href="../../wp/p/Palladian_architecture.htm" title="Palladian architecture">Palladian</a> revival style which became popular in the early 18th century. Many of the prominent architects of the day were employed in the development of the city, and as a result Bath has many fine terraces of what appear to be elegant <!--del_lnk--> townhouses. However, the original purpose of much of Bath's fine architecture is concealed by the honey-coloured classical facades; in an <!--del_lnk--> era before the advent of the luxury <!--del_lnk--> hotel, these apparently elegant residences were frequently purpose-built rooming or lodging houses, where visitors to the city could hire a room, a floor, or (according to their means) an entire house for the duration of their visit, and be waited on by the house's communal <!--del_lnk--> servants. One example of this kind of aspirational deception is found on the north side of Queen Square. This development was designed to appear from the front as a single residence of palatial proportions, but inside seven more modest residences were concealed.<p>"<!--del_lnk--> The Circus" is one of the most splendid examples of town planning in the city. Three long, curved terraces designed by the elder <!--del_lnk--> John Wood form a circular space or theatre intended for civic functions and games. The games give a clue to the design, the inspiration behind which was the <!--del_lnk--> Colosseum in <a href="../../wp/r/Rome.htm" title="Rome">Rome</a>. Like the Coliseum, the three facades have a different order of architecture on each floor: <!--del_lnk--> Doric on the ground level, then <!--del_lnk--> Ionic on the <!--del_lnk--> piano nobile and finishing with <!--del_lnk--> Corinthian on the upper floor, the style of the building thus becoming progressively more ornate as it rises. Wood never lived to see his unique example of town planning completed, as he died five days after personally laying the foundation stone on <!--del_lnk--> May 18, <!--del_lnk--> 1754.<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/44/4434.jpg.htm" title="Royal Crescent, seen from a hot air balloon. The contrast between the architectural style of the front and rear of this terrace is clear"><img alt="Royal Crescent, seen from a hot air balloon. The contrast between the architectural style of the front and rear of this terrace is clear" class="thumbimage" height="191" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Royal.crescent.aerial.bath.arp.jpg" src="../../images/44/4434.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/44/4434.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Royal Crescent, seen from a <a href="../../wp/h/Hot_air_balloon.htm" title="Hot air balloon">hot air balloon</a>. The contrast between the architectural style of the front and rear of this terrace is clear</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The best known of Bath's terraces is the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Crescent, built between 1767 and 1774 and designed by the younger <!--del_lnk--> John Wood. But all is not what it seems; while Wood designed the great curved facade of what appears to be about 30 houses with Ionic <!--del_lnk--> columns on a rusticated ground floor, that was the extent of his input. Each purchaser bought a certain length of the facade, and then employed their own architect to build a house to their own specifications behind it; hence what appears to be two houses is sometimes one. This system of elegant town planning is betrayed at the rear of the crescent: while the front is completely uniform and symmetrical, the rear is a mixture of differing roof heights, juxtapositions and fenestration. This "<i>all to the front and no rear</i>" architecture occurs repeatedly in Bath.<p>Around 1770 the eminent <a href="../../wp/n/Neoclassicism.htm" title="Neoclassicism">neoclassical</a> architect <!--del_lnk--> Robert Adam designed <!--del_lnk--> Pulteney Bridge, using as the prototype for the three-arched bridge spanning the Avon an original, but unused, design by <!--del_lnk--> Palladio for the <!--del_lnk--> Rialto Bridge in <!--del_lnk--> Venice. Thus, Pulteney Bridge became not just a means of crossing the river, but also a shopping arcade. Along with the Rialto Bridge, is one of the very few surviving bridges in Europe to serve this dual purpose. It has been substantially altered since it was built. The bridge was named after Frances and <!--del_lnk--> William Johnstone Pulteney, the owners of the Bathwick estate for which the bridge provided a link to the rest of Bath.<p>The heart of the Georgian city was the <!--del_lnk--> Pump Room, which, together with its associated Lower Assembly Rooms, was designed by <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Baldwin, a local builder who was responsible for many other buildings in the city, including the terraces in <!--del_lnk--> Argyle Street. Baldwin rose rapidly, becoming a leader in Bath's architectural history. In 1776 he was made the chief <!--del_lnk--> City Surveyor, and in 1780 became <!--del_lnk--> Bath City Architect. In <!--del_lnk--> 1776 he designed the Bath <!--del_lnk--> Guildhall, where his design of the interior produced what is considered one of the finest neo-classical interiors in the country. <!--del_lnk--> Great Pulteney Street, where he eventually lived, is another of his finest works: this wide <!--del_lnk--> boulevard, constructed circa 1789 and over 1000 ft (300m) long and 100 ft (30m) wide, is one of England's most attractive thoroughfares, and is lined on both sides by Georgian terraces.<p>Architecturally, Bath is one of the most balanced cities in England, and is an unusual example of coherent town planning combined with well-executed and diverse architectural styles. None the less, in the 1960s and early 1970s some parts of Bath were unsympathetically redeveloped, resulting in the loss of some 18th and 19th century buildings. This process was largely halted by a popular campaign which drew strength from the publication of Adam Fergusson's <i>The Sack of Bath</i>.<div class="thumb" style="margin: 5px; clear: both;">
<div style="overflow: auto; overflow-x: scroll; width: 98%;"><a class="image" href="../../images/44/4492.jpg.htm" title="A panoramic view of the Royal Crescent"><img alt="A panoramic view of the Royal Crescent" height="237" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Royal_Crescent_in_Bath%2C_England_-_July_2006.jpg" src="../../images/44/4492.jpg" width="1500" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="thumbcaption" style="margin: 5px; font-size:90%">A panoramic view of the Royal Crescent</div>
<p><a id="Education" name="Education"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Education</span></h2>
<p>Bath has two <a href="../../wp/u/University.htm" title="University">universities</a>, <!--del_lnk--> The University of Bath and <!--del_lnk--> Bath Spa University. The former was established in 1966 and has grown to become a leading university in the United Kingdom, present in many top 10 lists and rated as excellent, the highest rating on government scales, in 14 subjects. The university is known, academically, for the physical sciences, <a href="../../wp/m/Mathematics.htm" title="Mathematics">mathematics</a>, management and technology. It is also well known for its <a href="../../wp/s/Sport.htm" title="Sports">sports</a>, which it plays under the name <!--del_lnk--> Team Bath. In football, <!--del_lnk--> Team Bath F.C. was, in the 2002/2003 season, the first university team to reach the <!--del_lnk--> FA Cup first round since 1880.<p>Bath Spa University was first granted degree-awarding powers in 1992 as a <!--del_lnk--> university college (Bath Spa University College), before being granted <a href="../../wp/u/University.htm" title="University">university</a> status in August 2005. It has schools in the following subject areas: Art and Design, Education, English and Creative Studies, Historical and Cultural Studies, Music and the Performing Arts, and Social Sciences.<p>The city contains one <!--del_lnk--> A-Level <!--del_lnk--> college, <!--del_lnk--> City of Bath College, and several <!--del_lnk--> sixth forms (schools which contain A-Level awarding departments) as part of both <!--del_lnk--> state, <!--del_lnk--> private, and <!--del_lnk--> public schools.<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Secondary School</th>
<th>Type</th>
<th>Results</th>
<th>Website</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="4">State-funded Schools</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Beechen Cliff School</th>
<td>boys-only with co-educational sixth form</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Culverhay School</th>
<td>boys-only with sixth form</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Hayesfield School Technology College</th>
<td>girls-only with co-educational sixth form</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Oldfield School</th>
<td>girls-only with co-educational sixth form</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Ralph Allen School</th>
<td>co-educational with sixth form</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> St Gregory's Catholic College</th>
<td>co-educational with no sixth form</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> St Mark's CofE School</th>
<td>co-educational with no sixth form</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="4">Independent Schools</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> King Edward's School</th>
<td>co-educational with sixth form</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Kingswood School</th>
<td>co-educational with sixth form</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Prior Park College</th>
<td>co-educational with sixth form</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Royal High School</th>
<td>girls-only with sixth form</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Many notable people, such as <!--del_lnk--> Sir Roger Bannister, <!--del_lnk--> MP <!--del_lnk--> Ann Widdecombe, comedian <!--del_lnk--> Bill Bailey, <!--del_lnk--> theatrical producer <!--del_lnk--> Cameron Mackintosh, singer and musician <!--del_lnk--> Curt Smith, archaeologist <!--del_lnk--> Helen Geake and <!--del_lnk--> Cardinal <!--del_lnk--> Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, went to school in Bath.<h2><span class="mw-headline">Places of interest</span></h2>
<div style="float:right;">
<table cellpadding="4" class="toccolours">
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><b>Key</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="National Trust" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:NTE_icon.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="14" /></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> National Trust</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="English Heritage" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:EH_icon.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="14" /></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> English Heritage</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Forestry Commission" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:FC_icon.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="17" /></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Forestry Commission</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1275.png.htm" title="Country Park"><img alt="Country Park" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:CP_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1275.png" width="14" /></a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Country Park</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1276.png.htm" title="Accessible open space"><img alt="Accessible open space" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:UKAL_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1276.png" width="18" /></a></td>
<td>Accessible open space</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1277.png.htm" title="Museum (free)"><img alt="Museum (free)" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1277.png" width="13" /></a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Museum"><img alt="Museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Museums (free/not free)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1279.png.htm" title="Heritage railway"><img alt="Heritage railway" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HR_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1279.png" width="16" /></a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Heritage railway</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1280.png.htm" title="Historic house"><img alt="Historic house" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HH_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1280.png" width="15" /></a></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Historic House</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<table>
<tr>
<td>
<dl>
<dt>Central Bath</dl>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Assembly Rooms <!--del_lnk--> <img alt="National Trust" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:NTE_icon.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="14" /> <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1280.png.htm" title="Historic house"><img alt="Historic house" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HH_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1280.png" width="15" /></a><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Museum of Costume <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a></ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Bath Abbey<li><!--del_lnk--> Building of Bath Museum <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1280.png.htm" title="Historic house"><img alt="Historic house" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HH_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1280.png" width="15" /></a><li><!--del_lnk--> The Circus<li><!--del_lnk--> Great Pulteney Street<li><!--del_lnk--> Holburne Museum of Art <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1280.png.htm" title="Historic house"><img alt="Historic house" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HH_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1280.png" width="15" /></a><li><!--del_lnk--> The Jane Austen Centre <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a><li><!--del_lnk--> Museum of Bath at Work <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a><li><!--del_lnk--> Museum of East Asian Art <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a><li><!--del_lnk--> Bath Postal Museum <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a><li><!--del_lnk--> Pulteney Bridge<li><!--del_lnk--> River Avon<li><!--del_lnk--> Roman Baths <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a><li><!--del_lnk--> Royal Crescent<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> No.1 Royal Crescent <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1280.png.htm" title="Historic house"><img alt="Historic house" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HH_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1280.png" width="15" /></a></ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Royal Victoria Park and Botanical Gardens<li><!--del_lnk--> Sally Lunn's Refreshment House & Museum <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1280.png.htm" title="Historic house"><img alt="Historic house" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HH_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1280.png" width="15" /></a><li><!--del_lnk--> Thermae Bath Spa<li><!--del_lnk--> Victoria Art Gallery <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1277.png.htm" title="Free museum"><img alt="Free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1277.png" width="13" /></a><li><!--del_lnk--> William Herschel Museum <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a></ul>
</td>
<td valign="top">
<dl>
<dt>Greater Bath</dl>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Cleveland Bridge<li><!--del_lnk--> Kennet and Avon Canal<li><!--del_lnk--> Lansdown Crescent</ul>
<dl>
<dt>Outskirts of Bath</dl>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> American Museum <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1280.png.htm" title="Historic house"><img alt="Historic house" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HH_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1280.png" width="15" /></a><li><!--del_lnk--> Beckford's Tower <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1278.png.htm" title="Non-free museum"><img alt="Non-free museum" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Museum_icon_%28red%29.png" src="../../images/12/1278.png" width="13" /></a> <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1280.png.htm" title="Historic house"><img alt="Historic house" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HH_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1280.png" width="15" /></a><li><!--del_lnk--> Prior Park Landscape Garden <!--del_lnk--> <img alt="National Trust" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:NTE_icon.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="14" /></ul>
<dl>
<dt>Near to Bath</dl>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Lansdowne<li><!--del_lnk--> Claverton Pumping Station<li><!--del_lnk--> Dundas Aqueduct<li><!--del_lnk--> St Catherine's Court <a class="image" href="../../images/12/1280.png.htm" title="Historic house"><img alt="Historic house" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HH_icon.png" src="../../images/12/1280.png" width="15" /></a><li><!--del_lnk--> Solsbury Hill <!--del_lnk--> <img alt="National Trust" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:NTE_icon.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="14" /></ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Famous_Bathonians" name="Famous_Bathonians"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Famous Bathonians</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath%2C_Somerset"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['List of countries', 'England', 'List of sovereign states', 'United Kingdom', 'World Heritage Site', 'City status in the United Kingdom', 'Bristol', 'Roman Britain', 'World Heritage Site', 'Bristol', 'Bristol', 'London', 'Cardiff', 'Portsmouth', 'River Thames', 'Cotswolds', 'Pond', 'Liberal Democrats', 'Paul of Tarsus', 'Lion', 'Bear', 'Politics of the United Kingdom', 'Roman Britain', 'Western Roman Empire', 'King Arthur', 'Wessex', 'Mercia', 'Alfred the Great', 'Henry VIII of England', 'Oxford', 'Luftwaffe', 'Royal Air Force', 'Ethiopia', 'Palladian architecture', 'Architecture', 'Theatre', 'Jane Austen', 'Thomas Gainsborough', 'Charles Dickens', 'Hot air balloon', 'Lawn', 'The Great Exhibition', 'Bristol', 'Football (soccer)', 'Cricket', 'Athletics (track and field)', 'Badminton', 'Basketball', 'Netball', 'Tennis', 'Triathlon', 'American Football', 'London', 'Bristol', 'Bristol', 'Tourism', 'Jane Austen', 'United Kingdom', 'France', 'Netherlands', 'Germany', 'Hungary', 'Isambard Kingdom Brunel', 'London', 'Bristol', 'Plymouth', 'Southampton', 'Portsmouth', 'Brighton', 'Automobile', 'Westminster Abbey', 'Palladian architecture', 'Rome', 'Hot air balloon', 'Neoclassicism', 'University', 'Mathematics', 'Sports', 'University']
|
Bath_School_disaster
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bath School disaster,1872,1927,1928,ASIN,Acre,Agriculture,Alarm clock,Ambulance,American Red Cross,Associated Press" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bath School disaster</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bath_School_disaster";
var wgTitle = "Bath School disaster";
var wgArticleId = 4482038;
var wgCurRevisionId = 92228515;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bath_School_disaster">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bath School disaster</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Recent_History.htm">Recent History</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:277px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1001.jpg.htm" title="Bombing aftermath"><img alt="Bombing aftermath" height="164" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BathSchoolMuseumflag.jpg" src="../../images/10/1001.jpg" width="275" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1001.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bombing aftermath</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <b>Bath School disaster</b> was a series of <!--del_lnk--> bombings in <!--del_lnk--> Bath Township, <!--del_lnk--> Michigan, <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">USA</a>, on <!--del_lnk--> May 18, <!--del_lnk--> 1927, which killed 45 people and injured 58. Most of the victims were children in second to sixth <!--del_lnk--> grades attending the Bath Consolidated School. The bombings constituted the deadliest act of <!--del_lnk--> mass murder in a school in U.S. history, claiming more than three times as many victims as the <a href="../../wp/c/Columbine_High_School_massacre.htm" title="Columbine High School massacre">Columbine High School massacre</a>.<p>The perpetrator was <!--del_lnk--> school board member <b>Andrew Kehoe</b>, who was upset by a <!--del_lnk--> property tax that had been levied to fund the construction of the school building. He blamed the additional tax for financial hardships which led to <!--del_lnk--> foreclosure proceedings against his farm. These events apparently provoked Kehoe to plan his attack.<p>On the morning of <!--del_lnk--> May 18, Kehoe first killed his wife and then set his farm buildings on fire. As fire fighters arrived at the farm, an explosion devastated the north wing of the school building, killing many of the people inside. Kehoe used a detonator to ignite <!--del_lnk--> dynamite and hundreds of <!--del_lnk--> pounds of <!--del_lnk--> pyrotol which he had secretly planted inside the school over the course of many months. As rescuers started gathering at the school, Kehoe drove up, stopped, and detonated a bomb inside his <!--del_lnk--> shrapnel-filled vehicle, killing himself and the <!--del_lnk--> school superintendent and killing and injuring several others. During the rescue efforts, searchers discovered an additional 500 pounds (230 <!--del_lnk--> kg) of unexploded dynamite and pyrotol planted throughout the <!--del_lnk--> basement of the school's south wing.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p><a id="Bath_Township" name="Bath_Township"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Bath Township</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1003.png.htm" title="Location of Bath, Michigan"><img alt="Location of Bath, Michigan" height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:MIMap-doton-Bath.PNG" src="../../images/10/1003.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1003.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Location of Bath, Michigan</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><i>See related articles: <!--del_lnk--> Bath Township, Michigan, <!--del_lnk--> Bath, Michigan</i><p>Bath Township is a small community located ten miles northeast of <!--del_lnk--> Lansing, Michigan, and contains the <!--del_lnk--> unincorporated <!--del_lnk--> village of Bath. In the early 1920s, the area was primarily <a href="../../wp/a/Agriculture.htm" title="Agriculture">agricultural</a>. In 1922, Bath voters voted to form a district for the purpose of funding and constructing a consolidated school. There were 236 students enrolled when the school opened, ranging from the first to twelfth grades.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Ellsworth"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>The early part of the 20th century saw the disappearance of many small <!--del_lnk--> one-room schools, where different grades shared the same classroom and teacher. Educators of the era believed that children would receive a better and more <!--del_lnk--> complete education if students could attend a single school at one location.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Education"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> The grades could be age-divided into classes, and the facilities could be of a higher quality. After years of debate, when Bath Township created the district, it raised property taxes to pay for the project. As a result, new taxes were imposed on landowners, including Andrew Kehoe.<p><a id="Andrew_Kehoe" name="Andrew_Kehoe"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Andrew Kehoe</span></h3>
<p>Andrew Kehoe was born in <!--del_lnk--> Tecumseh, Michigan, on <!--del_lnk--> February 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1872, in a family of thirteen children. Kehoe's mother died when he was young, and his father remarried. Reportedly, Kehoe often fought with his stepmother. When Kehoe was fourteen, the family's stove exploded as she was attempting to light it. The <!--del_lnk--> oil fueling the stove soaked her, and the flames set her on fire. Andrew watched his stepmother burn for a few minutes before dumping a bucket of water on her. She later died from the injuries. The stove malfunction was left unresolved, and Kehoe was not charged.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Crime1"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1007.jpg.htm" title="Andrew Kehoe"><img alt="Andrew Kehoe" height="214" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tbsd-001.jpg" src="../../images/10/1007.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1007.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Andrew Kehoe</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Kehoe attended <!--del_lnk--> Tecumseh High School and Michigan State College (later <a href="../../wp/m/Michigan_State_University.htm" title="Michigan State University">Michigan State University</a>), where he met his wife, Ellen "Nellie" Price, daughter of a wealthy Lansing family. Married in 1912, they moved around until 1919, when the couple bought a 185-<!--del_lnk--> acre (75-<!--del_lnk--> hectare) farm outside the village of Bath from Nellie's aunt for <a href="../../wp/u/United_States_dollar.htm" title="United States dollar">$</a>12,000, paying $6,000 in cash and taking out a $6,000 <!--del_lnk--> mortgage.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Maydaya"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> Kehoe was regarded by his neighbors as an intelligent man who grew impatient with those who disagreed with him. Neighbors recalled that Kehoe was always neat, dressed meticulously, and was known to change his shirt at midday or whenever it became even slightly dirty. Neighbors also recounted how Kehoe was cruel to his farm animals, having once beaten a horse to death.<p>Kehoe's neighbors were not impressed by the level of his farming ability. As neighbour M.J. "Monty" Ellsworth wrote, "He never farmed it as other farmers do and he tried to do everything with his tractor. He was in the height of his glory when fixing machinery or tinkering. He was always trying new methods in his work, for instance, hitching two mowers behind his tractor. This method at different times did not work and he would just leave the hay standing. He also put four sections of drag and two rollers at once behind his tractor. He spent so much time tinkering that he didn't prosper."<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Ellsworth1"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>With a reputation for <!--del_lnk--> thriftiness, Kehoe was elected <!--del_lnk--> treasurer of the Bath Consolidated School board in 1924. While on the board, Kehoe fought endlessly for lower taxes. He blamed the previous property tax levy for his family's poor financial condition, and repeatedly accused superintendent Emory Huyck of financial mismanagement. While on the school board, Kehoe was appointed the Bath Township <!--del_lnk--> Clerk in 1925, but was unsuccessful at retaining this position in the <!--del_lnk--> election later that year. During this time, Nellie Kehoe was chronically ill with <a href="../../wp/t/Tuberculosis.htm" title="Tuberculosis">tuberculosis</a>, and her frequent hospital stays may have played a role in putting the family into debt. At the time of the bombing, Kehoe had ceased making mortgage and <!--del_lnk--> homeowner's insurance payments, and the mortgage lender had begun <!--del_lnk--> foreclosure proceedings against the farm.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Ellsworthz"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p><a id="Purchase_and_planting_of_explosives" name="Purchase_and_planting_of_explosives"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Purchase and planting of explosives</span></h3>
<p>There is no clear indication as to when Kehoe conceived and planned the steps leading to the ultimate events. A subsequent investigation concluded that, based upon the activity at the school and the purchases of explosives, his plan had likely been underway for at least a year.<p>In the winter of 1926, the board asked Kehoe to perform maintenance inside the school building. Regarded by most as a talented <!--del_lnk--> handyman, he was known to be familiar with electrical equipment. As a board member appointed to conduct repairs, he had free access to the building and his presence was never questioned.<p>Beginning in the summer of 1926, Kehoe purchased over a <!--del_lnk--> ton of pyrotol, an incendiary introduced in <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>. Farmers during the era used the substance for excavation. In November 1926, Kehoe drove to <!--del_lnk--> Lansing and purchased two boxes of <!--del_lnk--> dynamite at a <!--del_lnk--> sporting goods store. Dynamite was also commonly used on farms, and Kehoe's purchase of small amounts of dynamite and pyrotol at different stores and on different dates did not raise any suspicions. Neighbors reported hearing explosions set off on the farm, as well as recalling conversations where Kehoe explained he was using dynamite for tree stump removal.<br clear="all" />
<p><a id="The_day_of_the_disaster" name="The_day_of_the_disaster"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The day of the disaster</span></h2>
<table style="float:right; margin:1em 1em 1em 1em; width:25em; border: 1px solid #a0a0a0; padding: 7px; bg-color=yellow; text-align:left;">
<tr align="center" bgcolor="lightgreen">
<td><b>Chronology of deaths in the disaster</b><hr />
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;">
<td><b>died after the boming text-align:left; font-size:x-big;"</b></td>
<td>1. Nellie Kehoe, age 52, wife of Andrew Kehoe.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;">
<td><b>Killed in the monkey chesse bombing</b></td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>2. Arnold V. Bauerle, age 8, third grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>3. Henry Bergan, age 14, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>4. Herman Bergan age 11, fourth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>5. Emilie M. Bromundt, age 11, fifth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>6. Robert F. Bromundt, age 12, fifth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>7. Floyd E. Burnett, age 12, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>8. Russell J. Chapman, age 8, fourth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>9. F. Robert Cochran, age 8, third grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>10. Ralph A. Cushman, age 7, third grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>11. Earl E. Ewing, age 11, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>12. Katherine O. Foote, age 10, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>13. Margory Fritz, age 9, fourth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>14. Carlyle W. Geisenhaver, age 9, fourth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>15. George P. Hall Jr., age 8, third grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>16. Willa M. Hall, age 11, fifth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>17. Iola I. Hart, age 12, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>18. Percy E. Hart, age 11, third grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>19. Vivian O. Hart, age 8, third grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>20. Blanche E. Harte, age 30, fifth grade teacher.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>21. Gailand L. Harte, age 12, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>22. LaVere R. Harte, age 9, fourth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>23. Stanley H. Harte, age 12, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>24. Francis O. Hoeppner, age 13, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>25. Cecial L. Hunter, age 13, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>26. Doris E. Johns, age 8, third grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>27. Thelma I. MacDonald, age 8, third grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>28. Clarence W. McFarren, age 13, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>29. J. Emerson Medcoff, age 8, fourth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>30. Emma A. Nickols, age 13, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>31. Richard D. Richardson, age 12, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>32. Elsie M. Robb, age 12, sixth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>33. Pauline M. Shirts, age 10, fifth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>34. Hazel I. Weatherby, age 21, teacher.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>35. Elizabeth J. Witchell, age 10, fifth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>36. Lucile J. Witchell, age 9, fifth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>37. Harold L. Woodman, age 8, third grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>38. George O. Zimmerman, age 10, third grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>39. Lloyd Zimmerman, age 12, fifth grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;">
<td><b>Killed by explosion of Kehoe's car</b></td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>40. G. Cleo Claton, age 8, second grade student.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>41. Emory E. Huyck, age 33, superintendent.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>42. Andrew P. Kehoe, age 55, Bath School Board/perpetrator.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>43. Nelson McFarren, age 74, retired farmer.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>44. Glenn O. Smith, age 33, Postmaster.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:90%;">
<td><b>Died later due to injuries from bombing</b></td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:left; font-size:x-small;">
<td>45. Beatrice P. Gibbs, age 10, fourth grade student.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>There were a few warning signs prior to the events. Kehoe passed out employee <!--del_lnk--> paychecks the prior week and told bus driver Warden Keyes, "My boy, you want to take good care of that check as it is probably the last check you will ever get."<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Ellsworthbus"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> Teacher Bernice Sterling telephoned Kehoe two days before the blast and asked to use his grove for a class <!--del_lnk--> picnic. Kehoe told her that if she "wanted a picnic she would better have it at once."<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_NYT"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>Prior to <!--del_lnk--> May 18, Kehoe had loaded the back seat of his car with metal debris. He threw in old tools, nails, pieces of rusted <!--del_lnk--> farm machinery, digging <!--del_lnk--> shovels, and anything else capable of producing <!--del_lnk--> shrapnel during an explosion. After the back seat was filled, Kehoe placed a large cache of dynamite behind the front seat and a loaded rifle on the passenger's seat.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Crime4a"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>Records at Lansing's St. Lawrence Hospital reflected that Nellie Kehoe had been discharged on <!--del_lnk--> May 16.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Mayday"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> Between her release and the bombing two days later, Kehoe killed Nellie by what was later determined to be blunt force trauma to the head with some unknown heavy object. Her body was found in a <!--del_lnk--> wheelbarrow located in the rear of the farm's <!--del_lnk--> chicken coop. Piled around the cart were <!--del_lnk--> silverware, <!--del_lnk--> jewels and a metal cash box. Ashes of several <!--del_lnk--> bank notes could be seen through a slit in the cash box.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_NYT2"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> Kehoe had completely wired the farm, and inside every building he inserted homemade pyrotol <!--del_lnk--> firebombs. <!--del_lnk--> Farm animals were found tied up in their enclosures, apparently to ensure their deaths in the subsequent fire.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Crime4"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>At approximately 8:45 a.m., Kehoe detonated the firebombs. The neighbors noticed the fire, and volunteer <!--del_lnk--> fire departments from all over the area began rushing to the scene. At 9:45 a.m. an explosion was heard from the school building. Rescuers heading to the scene of the Kehoe fire turned back and headed toward the school. Parents within the rural community also began rushing to the school.<p>First-grade teacher Bernice Sterling recounted the explosion to an <!--del_lnk--> Associated Press reporter as being like a terrible <a href="../../wp/e/Earthquake.htm" title="Earthquake">earthquake</a>. "It seemed as though the floor went up several feet", she said. "After the first shock I thought for a moment I was blind. When it came the air seemed to be full of children and flying desks and books. Children were tossed high in the air; some were catapulted out of the building."<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_AP"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>The north wing of the school had collapsed. Parts of the walls had crumbled, and the edge of the roof had fallen to the ground. Monty Ellsworth, a neighbour of the Kehoes recounted, "There was a pile of children of about five or six under the roof and some of them had arms sticking out, some had legs, and some just their heads sticking out. They were unrecognizable because they were covered with dust, plaster, and blood. There were not enough of us to move the roof." Ellsworth volunteered to drive back to his farm and obtain the heavy rope from his <!--del_lnk--> slaughterhouse needed to pull the structure off the children's bodies.<p>On the way back to his farm, Ellsworth reported seeing Kehoe in his car heading in the opposite direction toward the school. "He grinned and waved his hand; when he grinned, I could see both rows of his teeth," said Ellsworth.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Ellsworth2"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>The scene at the school building was chaotic. One witness, Robert Gates, recounted how "mother after mother came running into the school yard, and demanded information about her child and, on seeing the lifeless form lying on the lawn, broke into sobs. In no time more than 100 men were at work tearing away the debris of the school, and nearly as many women were frantically pawing over the timber and broken bricks for traces of their children."<p>About a half hour after the explosion, Kehoe drove up to the school and saw Superintendent Huyck. Kehoe summoned the superintendent over to his vehicle. According to one eyewitness, when Huyck drew close, Kehoe pulled out his rifle and fired into the back seat. Whether by gunshot or otherwise, the dynamite in the vehicle ignited and the resulting explosion killed Kehoe, the superintendent, Postmaster Glenn O. Smith, and Smith's father-in-law Nelson McFarren, a retired farmer.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Mediadrome"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> Cleo Claton, an eight-year-old second grader, had wandered out of the collapsed school building and was killed by the shrapnel from the exploding vehicle. Several others were injured as the shrapnel flew through the crowd.<p>After Kehoe's car exploded, Ellsworth recounted that "I saw one mother, Mrs. Eugene Hart, sitting on the bank a short distance from the school with a little dead girl on each side of her and holding a little boy, Percy, who died a short time after they got him to the hospital. This was about the time Kehoe blew his car up in the street, severely wounding Perry, the oldest child of Mr. and Mrs. Hart."<p>O.H. Buck, foreman of the road crew, recalled the scene after the final explosion: "I began to feel as though the world was coming to an end. I guess I was a bit hazy. Anyway, the next thing I remember I was out on the street. One of our men was binding up the wounds of Glenn Smith, the postmaster. His leg had been blown off. I went back to the building and helped with the rescue work until we were ordered to stop while a search was made for dynamite."<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_NYT3"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p><!--del_lnk--> Telephone operators stayed at their stations for hours to summon doctors, <!--del_lnk--> undertakers, area hospitals and anyone else who might help. The Lansing Fire Department sent three men and the city's chemical truck.<p>The local physician was Dr. J.A. Crum. He and his wife, a nurse, had both served in <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, and they had returned to Bath to open a <!--del_lnk--> pharmacy. After the explosion the Crums turned their drugstore into a <!--del_lnk--> triage centre. The dead were removed to the <!--del_lnk--> town hall, now converted into a morgue. Private citizens were enlisted to use their automobiles as additional <!--del_lnk--> ambulances to take survivors and family members to area hospitals. By the afternoon some 13 ambulances were at the township hall to transport the dead to undertakers.<p>Hundreds of people worked in the wreckage all day in an effort to find and rescue the children pinned underneath. Area contractors had sent all their men to assist, and many ordinary people came to the scene in response to the pleas for help. Eventually, 34 firefighters and the Chief of the Lansing Fire Department arrived on the scene, as did several Michigan State Police officers, who managed traffic to and from the scene. The injured and dying were transported to Sparrow Hospital and St. Lawrence Hospital in Lansing. The construction of the latter facility had been financed in large part by Lawrence Price, Nellie Kehoe's uncle and formerly an executive in charge of <!--del_lnk--> Oldsmobile's <!--del_lnk--> Lansing Car Assembly.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Parker"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p><!--del_lnk--> Michigan Governor <!--del_lnk--> Fred Green arrived during the afternoon of the disaster and assisted in the relief work, carting bricks away from the scene. The <!--del_lnk--> Lawrence Baking Company of Lansing sent a truck filled with pies and sandwiches, which were served to rescuers in the township's community hall.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Ellsworth3"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>The bombing had destroyed the north wing of the school. During the search rescuers found an additional 500 pounds (230 kg) of dynamite Kehoe had placed in the south wing, which had failed to detonate. The search was halted to allow the <!--del_lnk--> Michigan State Police to disarm the devices. After this was completed and a sweep of the building made, the recovery efforts recommenced.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Mediadrome2"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>In the south wing, the State Police found unexploded materials along with an <!--del_lnk--> alarm clock timed to go off at 9:45 a.m., the same time as the explosion went off in the north wing. The reason why these explosives failed to detonate could never be conclusively determined. Investigators speculated that the initial explosion may have caused a short circuit in the second set of bombs.<p>Police and fire officials also gathered at the Kehoe farm to investigate the fires. It was not until the following day, <!--del_lnk--> May 19, that investigators identified Nellie Kehoe's charred body among the ruins of the farm. The body was so disfigured it went unnoticed by hundreds who walked past it the previous day.<p>All the Kehoe farm buildings were destroyed, and the animals trapped inside the barn had perished. Ironically, the amount of unused equipment and materials on the farm could have easily paid off the Kehoes' mortgage.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Ellsworth4"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> Investigators found a wooden sign wired to the farm's fence with Kehoe's last message, "<tt>CRIMINALS ARE MADE, NOT BORN</tt>," written on it.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Crime5"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1022.jpg.htm" title="Cupola from school building, now at memorial park"><img alt="Cupola from school building, now at memorial park" height="179" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cupola2.jpg" src="../../images/10/1022.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1022.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Cupola from school building, now at memorial park</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> American Red Cross, setting up operations at the Crum drugstore, took the lead in providing aid and comfort to the victims. The Lansing Red Cross headquarters were kept open until 11:30 that night to answer telephone calls, update the list of dead and injured and provide information and planning services for the following day.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_CCRN"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>The Red Cross also managed donations sent to pay for both the medical expenses of the survivors and the <!--del_lnk--> burial costs of the deceased. In a few short weeks, $5,284.15 was raised through donations, including $2,500 from the <!--del_lnk--> Clinton County <!--del_lnk--> board of supervisors and $2,000 from the Michigan legislature.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_CCRN2"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> Unlike the Columbine High School massacre, there was no legislative response, either by the state or <!--del_lnk--> federal governments, aimed at preventing a recurrence, although pyrotol was quietly taken off the market.<p>Over the next few days there were multiple funerals, with the most, eighteen, held on Saturday, <!--del_lnk--> May 22. The disaster had made the front pages of national newspapers until news of <!--del_lnk--> Charles Lindbergh's completion of the <!--del_lnk--> first solo transatlantic flight broke on <!--del_lnk--> May 23, <!--del_lnk--> 1927.<p>Vehicles from outlying areas and surrounding states descended upon Bath by the thousands. Over 100,000 vehicles passed through on Saturday alone, an enormous amount of traffic for the area. Some Bath citizens regarded this armada as an unwarranted intrusion into their time of grief, but most accepted it as a show of sympathy and support from surrounding communities.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_CCRN3"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> The <a href="../../wp/k/Ku_Klux_Klan.htm" title="Ku Klux Klan">Ku Klux Klan</a> interjected that the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholic</a> Kehoe's actions were the result of his adherence to the stance of the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Catholic_Church.htm" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholic Church</a> against "Protestant or godless schools".<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Klan"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p><a id="Coroner.27s_inquest" name="Coroner.27s_inquest"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Coroner's inquest</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:177px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1023.jpg.htm" title="The plaque at entrance to the memorial park"><img alt="The plaque at entrance to the memorial park" height="131" longdesc="/wiki/Image:20060207002907%21DCP_1455bsd.JPG" src="../../images/10/1023.jpg" width="175" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1023.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The plaque at entrance to the memorial park</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> coroner arrived at the scene on the day of disaster and swore in six community leaders to serve as an investigative jury. A <!--del_lnk--> coroner's inquest into the matter was held the following week. Dozens of Bath citizens and law enforcement personnel testified before the jury, and the Clinton County <!--del_lnk--> Prosecutor conducted the examination. Although there was never any doubt that Kehoe was the perpetrator, the jury was asked to determine if the school board or its employees were guilty of <!--del_lnk--> criminal negligence.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Maydayac"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>Kehoe's neighbour Sidney J. Howell testified that after the fire began, Kehoe warned him and three boys to leave the farm, telling them, "Boys, you're my friends. You'd better get out of here and go to the school house." Three telephone linemen working near Bath testified that after first going to the farm and then to the school, Kehoe passed them en route, and they saw him reach the school right before them. Kehoe's car swerved to the right and stopped in front of the building. In the next instant, according to the linemen, the car blew up, and one of them was struck by shrapnel. This testimony contradicted statements from others that Kehoe paused after stopping and called Superintendent Huyck over before blowing up the vehicle.<p>After more than a week of testimony, the jury exonerated the school board and its employees. In its verdict the jury concluded that Kehoe "conducted himself <!--del_lnk--> sanely and so concealed his operations that there was no cause to suspicion any of his actions; and we further find that the school board, and Frank Smith, <!--del_lnk--> janitor of the school building, were not negligent in and about their duties, and were not guilty of any negligence in not discovering Kehoe's plan."<p>The inquest determined that Kehoe murdered Superintendent Emory Huyck on the morning of <!--del_lnk--> May 18. It was also the jury's verdict that the school was blown up as part of a plan and that Kehoe alone, without the aid of <!--del_lnk--> conspirators, murdered 43 people in total, including his wife Nellie. <!--del_lnk--> Suicide was determined to be the manner of Andrew Kehoe's death.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_CCRN4"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>Kehoe's body was eventually claimed by his sister. Without ceremony, he was buried in an unmarked grave in an initially unnamed cemetery. Later, it was revealed that Kehoe was buried in the paupers' section of Mt. Rest Cemetery, <!--del_lnk--> St. Johns, in Clinton County.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Daggy"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span> Nellie Kehoe was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Lansing by her family under her <!--del_lnk--> maiden name of Price.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Daggy2"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>On <!--del_lnk--> August 22, some three months after the bombing, fourth-grader Beatrice Gibbs died following hip surgery. She was counted as the 45th and final death directly attributable to the Bath School disaster.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Daggy3"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p><a id="Rebuilding" name="Rebuilding"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Rebuilding</span></h3>
<p>Governor Fred Green created the Bath Relief Fund with the money supplied by donors and the state and local governments. Numerous people from around the country donated to the fund. The school board began a separate fund for the repair of the school building.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1025.jpg.htm" title="Flag atop the school on May 18, 1927, now at School Museum"><img alt="Flag atop the school on May 18, 1927, now at School Museum" height="226" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BathSchoolMuseumflag2.jpg" src="../../images/10/1025.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1025.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Flag atop the school on May 18, 1927, now at School Museum</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>School resumed on <!--del_lnk--> September 5, <!--del_lnk--> 1927, and, for the 1927–28 school year, was held in the community hall, township hall, and two retail buildings. Most of the students returned. The board appointed O. M. Brant of <!--del_lnk--> Luther, Michigan, to succeed Huyck as superintendent. Lansing architect Warren Holmes donated construction plans, and the school board approved the contracts for the new building on <!--del_lnk--> September 14. On <!--del_lnk--> September 15, Michigan's <!--del_lnk--> United States Senator <!--del_lnk--> James Couzens presented his personal check for $75,000 to the Bath construction fund to build the new school.<p>In 1928, artist <!--del_lnk--> Carlton W. Angell presented the board with a <!--del_lnk--> statue titled "Girl With a Kitten." The statue is presently in the Bath School Museum located within the school district's middle school, adjacent to the site of the destroyed building. Angell's inscription states that it is dedicated to the courage and determination of the people of Bath. The sculpture was financed by <!--del_lnk--> penny donations from young students from the state of Michigan. It was rumored that the donated pennies were melted down to make the <!--del_lnk--> cast of the statue.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Crime6"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><p>The board demolished the damaged portion of the school and constructed a new wing with the donated funds. The "James Couzens Agricultural School" was dedicated on <!--del_lnk--> August 18, <!--del_lnk--> 1928. In 1975 the Couzens building was demolished and a small park dedicated to the victims replaced it. At the centre of the park is the <!--del_lnk--> cupola of the building, the only part preserved. At the park entrance, a <!--del_lnk--> bronze <!--del_lnk--> plaque affixed to a white boulder bears the names of the adults and children killed.<span class="reference plainlinksneverexpand" id="ref_Daggy4"><sup><!--del_lnk--> </sup></span><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['United States', 'Columbine High School massacre', 'Agriculture', 'Michigan State University', 'United States dollar', 'Tuberculosis', 'World War I', 'Earthquake', 'World War I', 'Ku Klux Klan', 'Roman Catholic Church', 'Roman Catholic Church']
|
Batholith
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Batholith,Orogeny,Crystal structure,Mass wasting,Erosion,Alaska,California,Coast Mountains,Canada,Exfoliation (geology),Sill (geology)" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Batholith</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Batholith";
var wgTitle = "Batholith";
var wgArticleId = 49555;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Batholith">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Batholith</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geology_and_geophysics.htm">Geology and geophysics</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1283.jpg.htm" title="Half Dome, a granite monolith in Yosemite National Park and part of the Sierra Nevada batholith."><img alt="Half Dome, a granite monolith in Yosemite National Park and part of the Sierra Nevada batholith." height="214" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Half_Dome_from_above_Tioga_Road.jpg" src="../../images/12/1283.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1283.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Half Dome, a granite monolith in <!--del_lnk--> Yosemite National Park and part of the <!--del_lnk--> Sierra Nevada batholith.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>A <b>batholith</b> (from Greek <i>bathos</i>, depth + <i>lithos</i>, rock) is a large emplacement of <!--del_lnk--> igneous <!--del_lnk--> intrusive (also called plutonic) rock that forms from cooled <a href="../../wp/m/Magma.htm" title="Magma">magma</a> deep in the Earth's <a href="../../wp/c/Crust_%2528geology%2529.htm" title="Crust (geology)">crust</a>. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of <!--del_lnk--> felsic or intermediate rock-types, such as <a href="../../wp/g/Granite.htm" title="Granite">granite</a>, <!--del_lnk--> quartz monzonite, or <!--del_lnk--> diorite (see also <i><!--del_lnk--> granite dome</i>).<p>Although they may appear uniform, batholiths are in fact structures with complex histories and compositions. They are composed of multiple masses, or <i>plutons</i>, bodies of igneous rock of irregular dimensions (typically at least several kilometers) that can be distinguished from adjacent igneous rock by some combination of criteria including age, composition, texture, or mappable structures. Individual plutons are crystallized from magma that traveled toward the surface from a zone of partial melting near the base of the Earth's crust.<p>Traditionally, these plutons have been considered to form by ascent of relatively <!--del_lnk--> buoyant magma in large masses called <i>plutonic <!--del_lnk--> diapirs</i>. Because the diapirs are liquefied and very hot, they tend to rise through the surrounding <!--del_lnk--> country rock, pushing it aside and partially melting it. Most diapirs do not reach the surface to form <a href="../../wp/v/Volcano.htm" title="Volcano">volcanoes</a>, but instead slow down, cool and usually solidify 5 to 30 kilometers underground as plutons (hence the use of the word <i>pluton</i>; in reference to the <a href="../../wp/a/Ancient_Rome.htm" title="Ancient Rome">Roman</a> god of the underworld <!--del_lnk--> Pluto). It has also been proposed that plutons commonly are formed not by diapiric ascent of large magma diapirs, but rather by aggregation of smaller volumes of magma that ascended as dikes.<p>A batholith is formed when many plutons converge together to form a huge expanse of granitic rock. Some batholiths are mammoth, paralleling past and present <!--del_lnk--> subduction zones and other heat sources for hundreds of kilometers in <a href="../../wp/c/Continental_crust.htm" title="Continental crust">continental crust</a>. One such batholith is the <!--del_lnk--> Sierra Nevada Batholith, which is a continuous granitic formation that forms much of the <!--del_lnk--> Sierra Nevada in <a href="../../wp/c/California.htm" title="California">California</a>. An even larger batholith, found predominantly in the <!--del_lnk--> Coast Mountains of western <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, extends for 1,800 kilometers and reaches into southeastern <!--del_lnk--> Alaska.<p>There is also an important geographic usage of the term <i>batholith</i>. For a geographer, a batholith is an exposed area of mostly continuous plutonic rock that covers an area larger than 100 square kilometers. Areas smaller than 100 kilometers are called <b>stocks</b>. However, the majority of batholiths visible at the surface (via outcroppings) have areas far greater than 100 square kilometers. These areas are exposed to the surface through the process of <!--del_lnk--> erosion accelerated by <!--del_lnk--> continental uplift acting over many tens of millions to hundreds of millions of years. This process has removed several tens of kilometers of overlying rock in many areas, exposing the once deeply buried batholiths.<p>Batholiths exposed at the surface are also subjected to huge pressure differences between their former homes deep in the earth and their new homes at or near the surface. As a result, their <!--del_lnk--> crystal structure expands slightly and over time. This manifests itself by a form of <!--del_lnk--> mass wasting called <!--del_lnk--> exfoliation. This form of erosion causes convex and relatively thin sheets of rock to slough off the exposed surfaces of batholiths (a process accelerated by <!--del_lnk--> frost wedging). The result is fairly clean and rounded rock faces. A famous example of the result of this process is <!--del_lnk--> Half Dome, which located in the world-famous <!--del_lnk--> Yosemite Valley (see picture).<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batholith"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Magma', 'Crust (geology)', 'Granite', 'Volcano', 'Ancient Rome', 'Continental crust', 'California', 'Canada']
|
Batman
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Batman,2005,2006,AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains,Ace the Bat-Hound,Acrobatics,Action Comics,Adam West,Alan Grant,Alan Moore,Alexander Luthor, Jr." name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Batman</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Batman";
var wgTitle = "Batman";
var wgArticleId = 4335;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Batman">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Batman</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Cartoons.htm">Cartoons</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="float: right; clear: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 22em;">
<tr>
<th style="text-align:center; background:#69A0F3">Batman</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;">
<td>
<p><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="361" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Batmanlee.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="225" /><br /> Second printing cover to <i>Batman</i> #608 (Oct. 2002).<br /> Art by <!--del_lnk--> Jim Lee (pencils) and <!--del_lnk--> Scott Williams (inks).</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<table style="background: none; width: 22em; margin: 0 auto;">
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Publisher</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> DC Comics</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> First appearance</b></td>
<td><b>Historical</b>:<br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Detective Comics</i> # 27<br /> (May 1939)<br /><b>Modern</b>:<br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Batman</i> # 404 -<br /> "<!--del_lnk--> Batman: Year One", part 1<br /> (Feb. 1987)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td><b><!--del_lnk--> Created by</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bob Kane<br /><!--del_lnk--> Bill Finger</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<table style="background: none; width: 22em; margin: 0 auto;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background:#69A0F3">Characteristics</th>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td><b>Alter ego</b></td>
<td>Bruce Wayne</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td><b>Affiliations</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Batman Family<br /><!--del_lnk--> Justice League<br /><!--del_lnk--> Wayne Enterprises<br /><!--del_lnk--> Outsiders</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td><b>Notable aliases</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Matches Malone</td>
</tr>
<tr style="vertical-align: top;">
<td><b>Abilities</b></td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Genius-level intelligence, master <!--del_lnk--> detective, peak human physical condition, <!--del_lnk--> martial arts master, <!--del_lnk--> escapologist, access to <!--del_lnk--> high tech equipment.</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><b>Batman</b> (originally referred to as <b>the Bat-Man</b> and still sometimes as <b>the Batman</b>) is a <!--del_lnk--> DC Comics <!--del_lnk--> fictional <!--del_lnk--> superhero who first appeared in <i><!--del_lnk--> Detective Comics</i> #27 in May 1939. He has since become, along with <a href="../../wp/s/Superman.htm" title="Superman">Superman</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Spider-Man, one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Batman was co-created by artist <!--del_lnk--> Bob Kane and writer <!--del_lnk--> Bill Finger, although only Kane receives official credit for the character. Batman's <!--del_lnk--> secret identity is <b>Bruce Wayne</b>, a <!--del_lnk--> billionaire <!--del_lnk--> industrialist, playboy, and <!--del_lnk--> philanthropist. Witnessing the murder of his parents as a child leads him to train himself to the peak of physical and intellectual perfection, don a costume, and fight crime. Unlike most superheroes, he does not possess any superhuman powers or abilities; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, science and technology, wealth, physical prowess, and intimidation in his war on crime.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Publication_history" name="Publication_history"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Publication history</span></h2>
<p><a id="Creation" name="Creation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Creation</span></h3>
<p>In early 1939, the success of <a href="../../wp/s/Superman.htm" title="Superman">Superman</a> in <i><!--del_lnk--> Action Comics</i> prompted editors at the comic book division of <!--del_lnk--> National Publications (later <!--del_lnk--> DC Comics; D.C. is short for <i>Detective Comics</i>, now a subsidiary of <!--del_lnk--> Time Warner) to request more superheroes for their titles. In response, <!--del_lnk--> Bob Kane created a character called "the Bat-Man". His collaborator <!--del_lnk--> Bill Finger offered such suggestions as giving the character a cowl instead of a simple domino mask, wearing a cape instead of wings, wearing gloves, and removing the red sections from the original costume. Finger came up with the name "Bruce Wayne" for the character's secret identity. In <!--del_lnk--> Jim Steranko's <i>History of the Comics, vol. 1</i>, Bill Finger reveals, "Bruce Wayne's first name came from <!--del_lnk--> Robert Bruce, the <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scottish</a> patriot. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of gentry. I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism. I tried Adams, Hancock...then I thought of <!--del_lnk--> Mad Anthony Wayne." Inspirations for Batman's personality, character history, visual design and equipment include movies such as <!--del_lnk--> Douglas Fairbanks' <i><!--del_lnk--> The Mark of Zorro</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> The Bat</i>, and <i><!--del_lnk--> Dracula</i>; characters such as <!--del_lnk--> The Shadow, <!--del_lnk--> The Phantom, <!--del_lnk--> Sherlock Holmes, <!--del_lnk--> Dick Tracy, <!--del_lnk--> Jimmie Dale, <!--del_lnk--> The Green Hornet, <a href="../../wp/s/Spring_Heeled_Jack.htm" title="Spring Heeled Jack">Spring Heeled Jack</a>; and <!--del_lnk--> Leonardo Da Vinci's drawings of a flying machine.<p>Kane signed away any ownership that he might have in the character in exchange for, among other compensation, a mandatory byline on all <i>Batman</i> comics. This by-line did not, originally, say "Batman created by Bob Kane"; his name was simply written on the title page of each story. The name disappeared from the comic book in the mid-1960s, replaced by credits for the artists and writers who actually worked on the stories. In the late 1970s, at the same time as Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster began receiving a "created by" credit on the Superman titles, Batman stories began saying "created by Bob Kane" in addition to the other credits. Finger did not receive the same recognition. Although Finger did receive credit for other work done for the same publisher in the 1940s, he began to receive limited acknowledgement for his work on Batman in the pages of the comic book only in the 1960s, as a script-writer (for example, "Letters to the Batcave", Batman no. 169, Feb. 1965, where editor Julius Schwartz names him as the creator of The Riddler, one of Batman's recurring villains). However, his contract, in contrast to Kane's, left him only with his page rate for the stories he wrote and no by-line even on most of the Batman stories he had written. Finger, like <!--del_lnk--> Joe Shuster, <!--del_lnk--> Jerry Siegel, and some other creators during and after the <!--del_lnk--> Golden Age of Comic Books, would resent National's denying him the money and credit that, he felt, he was owed for his creations. At the time of Finger's death, in 1974, he had not been officially credited as a co-creator of the character. Kane himself, however, in later years willingly acknowledged Finger's contributions to the character while also insisting on his own role. <p><a id="Early_years_.281939-1949.29" name="Early_years_.281939-1949.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Early years (1939-1949)</span></h3>
<p>The first Batman story, "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate," appeared in <i>Detective Comics</i> #27, cover-dated May 1939. Finger wrote the first Batman strip and Kane provided the art. Finger said, "Batman was originally written in the style of the pulps" and this influence was evident with Batman showing little remorse over killing or maiming criminals. The Bat-Man was a breakout hit, with sales on <i>Detective Comics</i> soaring to the point that the character was given his own title in 1940. By that time National was the top-selling and most influential publisher in the industry, and Batman and National's other major hero Superman were the cornerstones of the company's success. The two characters were featured side-by-side as the stars of <i>World's Finest Comics</i>, which was originally titled <i>World's Best Comics</i> when it debuted in fall 1940. Creators including <!--del_lnk--> Jerry Robinson and <!--del_lnk--> Dick Sprang also worked on the strips during this period.<p>Over the course of the first few Batman strips elements were added to the character and Kane's artistic depiction of Batman evolved. Kane noted within six issues he drew the character's jaw more pronounced and lengthened the ears on the costume; "About a year later he was almost the full figure, my mature Batman," Kane said. Batman's characteristic utility belt was introduced in <i>Detective Comics</i> #29, followed by the batarang and the first bat-themed vehicle in issue 31, and the character's origin was revealed in issue 33. The early pulp-influenced portrayal of Batman started to soften in <i>Detective Comics</i> #38 in 1940 with the introduction of <!--del_lnk--> Robin, Batman's kid <!--del_lnk--> sidekick. Robin, based on <!--del_lnk--> Robin Hood, was introduced based on Finger's suggestion to Kane that Batman needed a "<!--del_lnk--> Watson" that would give Batman someone to talk to. The first issue of <i><!--del_lnk--> Batman</i> was notable not only for introducing two of Batman's most persistent antagonists, the <!--del_lnk--> Joker and <!--del_lnk--> Catwoman, but for one of the stories in the issue where Batman shoots some monstrous giants to death, which prompted editor <!--del_lnk--> Whitney Ellsworth's decree that the character could no longer kill or use a gun. Batman's tone continued to stay light for the next several decades.<p><a id="The_fifties_and_early_sixties_.281950-1963.29" name="The_fifties_and_early_sixties_.281950-1963.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The fifties and early sixties (1950-1963)</span></h3>
<p>In <i><!--del_lnk--> Superman</i> #76 (1952), Batman first teams up with Superman and learns his secret identity; following the success of this story, the separate Batman and Superman features that had been running in <i><!--del_lnk--> World's Finest Comics</i> instead featured both together; this series of stories ran until the book's cancellation in 1986. The stories feature the two as close friends and allies, tackling threats that require both of their talents.<p>Batman was one of the few superhero characters to be continuously published as interest in the genre waned during the 1950s. Starting in the mid-1950s, Batman's stories gradually become more <!--del_lnk--> science fiction-oriented, an attempt at mimicking the success of the top-selling <i>Superman</i> comics of the time. New characters such as <!--del_lnk--> Batwoman, <!--del_lnk--> Ace the Bat-Hound, and <!--del_lnk--> Bat-Mite (the latter two paralleling <!--del_lnk--> Krypto the Superdog and <!--del_lnk--> Mr. Mxyzptlk of the Superman titles) were introduced. Batman has adventures involving either odd transformations or dealing with bizarre space aliens. Batman is a highly public figure during the stories of the 1950s, regularly appearing at events such as charity functions and frequently appearing in broad daylight. In 1960, Batman becomes a member of the <!--del_lnk--> Justice League of America, which debuts in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Brave and the Bold</i> #28.<p><a name=".22New_Look.22_Batman_and_camp_.281964-1969.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">"New Look" Batman and camp (1964-1969)</span></h3>
<p>By 1964 sales on Batman titles had fallen drastically; Bob Kane noted that as a result "[DC] were planning to kill Batman off altogether." Editor <!--del_lnk--> Julius Schwartz was soon assigned to the Batman titles and presided over drastic changes. Beginning with 1964's <i>Detective Comics</i> #327 (billed on its cover as the "New Look"), Schwartz introduced changes designed to make Batman more contemporary and return him to more detective stories, including a redesign of Batman's equipment, the Batmobile, and his costume (introducing the yellow ellipse behind the costume's bat-insignia), and brought in artist <!--del_lnk--> Carmine Infantino to help in this makeover. The space aliens and characters of the 1950s such as Batwoman, Ace, and Bat-Mite were retired. Batman's erstwhile butler <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Pennyworth was even killed off and replaced with Aunt Harriet, who came to live with Bruce and Dick.<p>The debut of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Batman</i> TV series in 1966 had a profound influence on the character. In addition to initiating the return of Alfred and the introduction of <!--del_lnk--> Batgirl, the show's <!--del_lnk--> campy nature found its way into the comics. Although both the comics and TV show were successful for a time, the camp approach eventually wore thin and the show was cancelled in 1968. In the aftermath the Batman comics themselves lost popularity once again. As Julius Schwartz noted, "When the television show was a success, I was asked to be campy, and of course when the show faded, so did the comic books."<p><a id="O.27Neil_and_Adams_.281970-1985.29" name="O.27Neil_and_Adams_.281970-1985.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">O'Neil and Adams (1970-1985)</span></h3>
<p>Writer <!--del_lnk--> Dennis O'Neil and artist <!--del_lnk--> Neal Adams made a deliberate effort to distance Batman from the campy portrayal of the 1960s TV series and to return the character to his roots as a "grim avenger of the night." The O'Neil/Adams era began in earnest starting with <i>Detective Comics</i> #395's "The Secret of the Waiting Graves" (1970). Dick Grayson had been sent off to college in a story written by Frank Robbins, making Batman a loner once again. O'Neil's tone influenced Batman comics through the rest of the 1970s and into the 1980s; 1977 and 1978's stories in <i>Detective Comics</i> written by <!--del_lnk--> Steve Englehart (with art by <!--del_lnk--> Marshall Rogers) are held by many as a high point of this era. <p><a id="The_Dark_Knight_Returns_and_modern_Batman_.281986-present.29" name="The_Dark_Knight_Returns_and_modern_Batman_.281986-present.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline"><i>The Dark Knight Returns</i> and modern Batman (1986-present)</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Frank Miller's 1986 <!--del_lnk--> limited series <i><!--del_lnk--> Batman: The Dark Knight Returns</i>, which tells the story of a 50-year-old Batman coming out of retirement in a possible future, returned the character to his dark roots. <i>The Dark Knight Returns</i> was a financial success and has since become one of the seminal works in comic book history. The series also sparked a major resurgence in the character's popularity. That year Dennis O'Neil took over as editor of the Batman titles and set the template for the portrayal of Batman following DC's status quo-altering miniseries <i><!--del_lnk--> Crisis on Infinite Earths</i>. O'Neil operated under the assumption that he was hired to revamp the character and as a result tried to instill a different tone in the books than had gone before. One outcome of this new approach was the "<!--del_lnk--> Year One" storyline in <i>Batman</i> #404-407, where Frank Miller and artist <!--del_lnk--> David Mazzucchelli redefined the character's origins. <!--del_lnk--> Alan Moore and Brian Bolland continued this dark trend with 1988's <i><!--del_lnk--> Batman: The Killing Joke</i>, in which the <!--del_lnk--> Joker, attempting to drive <!--del_lnk--> Commissioner Gordon insane, cripples his daughter <!--del_lnk--> Barbara Gordon, kidnaps him, and tortures him physically and mentally. These stories and others like them helped to raise the image of comic books beyond mere children's entertainment. <i><!--del_lnk--> Batman: The Dark Knight Returns</i> and stories following it (such as <!--del_lnk--> John Byrne's <i>Superman</i> revamp) also severed the close friendship of Batman and Superman, replacing it with a more antagonistic relationship.<p>Since the publication of "Year One," many creators have set their stories in Batman's formative years, and the Batman title <i><!--del_lnk--> Legends of the Dark Knight</i> in particular often features stories that take place in Batman's early days. Many of the stylistic notes of <i>Year One</i>, specifically text captions designed to look handwritten on note paper, have also been used quite successfully by other authors. In addition, the general concept of a <i>Year One</i> book, taking a fresh look at the origins of an older character, as well as showing their learning process, has been embraced by the comics industry as a whole. Other comics which have since gotten a "Year One" treatment include <!--del_lnk--> Spider-Man and the <!--del_lnk--> Justice League.<p>The Batman comics garnered major attention in 1988 when DC Comics created a <!--del_lnk--> 900 number for readers to call to vote on whether <!--del_lnk--> Jason Todd, the second Robin, lived or died. Voters decided in favour of Jason's death by a narrow margin of 28 votes. 1993's "<!--del_lnk--> Knightfall" series introduces a new villain named Bane, who critically injures Batman. Jean-Paul Valley, known as <!--del_lnk--> Azrael, is called upon to wear the Batsuit during Bruce's convalescence. Writers <!--del_lnk--> Doug Moench, <!--del_lnk--> Chuck Dixon, and <!--del_lnk--> Alan Grant worked on the Batman titles during "Knightfall" and would also contribute to other Batman crossovers throughout the 1990s. 1998's "<!--del_lnk--> Cataclysm" storyline served as the precursor to 1999's "No Man's Land," a year-long storyline that ran through all the Batman-related titles dealing with the effects of an <a href="../../wp/e/Earthquake.htm" title="Earthquake">earthquake</a>-ravaged Gotham City. At the conclusion of "No Man's Land" O'Neil stepped down as editor and was replaced by <!--del_lnk--> Bob Schreck. In 2003, writer <!--del_lnk--> Jeph Loeb and artist <!--del_lnk--> Jim Lee began a 12-issue run on <i>Batman</i>. Lee's first regular comic book work in nearly a decade, the series became #1 on the <!--del_lnk--> Diamond Comic Distributors sales chart for the first time since <i>Batman</i> #500 (1993). Lee is currently teamed with Frank Miller on <i><!--del_lnk--> All-Star Batman and Robin</i>, which debuted with the best-selling issue in 2005, as well as the highest sales in the industry since 2003. After featuring Batman in major roles in DC's 2005 crossover event <i><!--del_lnk--> Identity Crisis</i> and 2006's <i><!--del_lnk--> Infinite Crisis</i>, DC has used the "<!--del_lnk--> One Year Later" event to reinvigorate the main Batman titles by assigning top comics talent to them. As of 2006 the regular writers on <i>Batman</i> and <i>Detective Comics</i> are <!--del_lnk--> Grant Morrison and <!--del_lnk--> Paul Dini, respectively, the former trying to restore Batman to his less rough 1970s character.<p><a id="Fictional_character_history" name="Fictional_character_history"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Fictional character history</span></h2>
<p>Over the years, Batman's origin story, history and tone have undergone various revisions, both minor and major. Some elements have changed drastically; others, like the death of his parents and his pursuit of justice, have remained constant.<p>Consistent across all versions of the Batman <!--del_lnk--> mythos, Batman is the alter-ego of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy <!--del_lnk--> playboy, <!--del_lnk--> industrialist and <!--del_lnk--> philanthropist who is driven to fight <a href="../../wp/c/Crime.htm" title="Crime">crime</a> in <!--del_lnk--> Gotham City after his parents, the <!--del_lnk--> physician <!--del_lnk--> Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife <!--del_lnk--> Martha Wayne, are murdered by a <!--del_lnk--> mugger. Bob Kane said he and Bill Finger has discussed the character's background and decided that "there's nothing more traumatic than having your parents murdered before your eyes."<p><a id="Golden_Age" name="Golden_Age"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Golden Age</span></h3>
<p>In Batman's first appearance in <i>Detective Comics</i> #27, he is already operating as a crime fighter. Batman's origin is first presented in <i>Detective Comics</i> #33 in November 1939, and is later fleshed out in <i>Batman</i> #47. As these comics state, Bruce Wayne is born to Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, two very wealthy and charitable <!--del_lnk--> Gotham City socialites. Bruce is brought up in Wayne Manor and its wealthy splendor and leads a happy and privileged existence until the age of eight, when his parents are killed by a small-time criminal named <!--del_lnk--> Joe Chill on their way home from the movie theatre.<p>Bruce Wayne swears an oath to rid the city of the evil that had taken his parents' lives. He engages in intense intellectual and physical training and studies a variety of areas which would aid him in his endeavors, including <a href="../../wp/c/Chemistry.htm" title="Chemistry">chemistry</a>, <!--del_lnk--> criminology, <!--del_lnk--> forensics, <!--del_lnk--> martial arts, and <!--del_lnk--> gymnastics, as well as theatrical skills like <!--del_lnk--> disguise, <!--del_lnk--> escapology, and <!--del_lnk--> ventriloquism. He realizes, however, that these skills alone would not be enough.<p>"Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot", Bruce Wayne remarks in <i>Detective Comics</i> #33, "so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible..." As if responding to his desires, a bat suddenly flies through the window, inspiring Bruce to assume the persona of Batman. His career as a vigilante in early Batman strips initially earns him the ire of the police. During this period Bruce Wayne has a fiancee named <!--del_lnk--> Julie Madison, who first appears in <i>Detective Comics</i> #31.<p>In <i>Detective Comics</i> #38 (1940), Bruce takes in the orphaned circus acrobat <!--del_lnk--> Dick Grayson, who becomes his sidekick, <!--del_lnk--> Robin. Batman also becomes a founding member of the <!--del_lnk--> Justice Society of America (<i>DC Special</i> #29), although according to the team's first appearance in <i><!--del_lnk--> All Star Comics</i> #3 he, like Superman, is an honorary member and thus only participates in a few Justice Society stories during the Golden Age. Batman's relations with the law thaw in stories in the early 1940s, notably in <i>Batman</i> #7 (1941) where he is made an honorary member of <!--del_lnk--> Gotham City's police department. Other elements of Batman's milieu are introduced during this era: in addition to Batman's first encounters with some of his most enduring adversaries, butler Alfred arrives at Wayne Manor in <i>Batman</i> #16 (1943) and after deducing the Dynamic Duo's secret identities joins their service. By the 1950s, many of the familiar elements of the Batman mythos had been introduced.<p><a id="Silver_Age" name="Silver_Age"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Silver Age</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Silver Age of comic books in DC Comics is sometimes held to have begun in 1956 when the publisher introduced <!--del_lnk--> Barry Allen as a new, updated version of The <!--del_lnk--> Flash. Batman is not significantly changed by the late 1950s for the continuity which would be later referred to as <!--del_lnk--> Earth-One. The lighter tone Batman had taken in the period between the Golden and Silver Ages led to the stories of the late 1950s and early 1960s that often feature a large number of science-fiction elements, and Batman is not significantly updated in the manner of other characters until 1964's <i>Detective Comics</i> #327, in which Batman reverts to his detective roots, with all science-fiction elements jettisoned from the series.<p>After the introduction of DC Comics' <!--del_lnk--> multiverse in the 1960s, it is retroactively established that stories from the Golden Age star the <!--del_lnk--> Batman of Earth-Two, a character from a parallel world. This version of Batman partners with and marries the reformed Earth-Two <!--del_lnk--> Catwoman, Selina Kyle (as shown in <i><!--del_lnk--> Superman Family</i> #211) and fathers <!--del_lnk--> Helena Wayne, who, as the Huntress, becomes (along with the <!--del_lnk--> Earth-Two Robin) Gotham's protector once Wayne retires from the position to become police commissioner, a position he occupies until he is killed during one final adventure as Batman. Batman titles however often ignored that a distinction had been made between the pre-revamp and post-revamp Batmen (since unlike Flash or Green Lantern, Batman comics had been published without interruption through the 1950s) and would on occasion make reference to stories from the Golden Age (such as the Englehart/Rogers run of the late 1970s, which has editorial notes directing readers to issues such as <i>Batman</i> #1). Nevertheless, details of Batman's history were altered or expanded upon through the decades. Additions include meetings with a future Superman during his youth, his upbringing by his uncle Philip Wayne (introduced in <i>Batman</i> #208, Jan./Feb. 1969) after his parents death, and appearances of his father and himself as prototypical versions of Batman and Robin, respectively. In 1980 then-editor <!--del_lnk--> Paul Levitz commissioned the <i>Untold Legend of the Batman</i> <!--del_lnk--> limited series to thoroughly chronicle Batman's origin and history.<p>Batman meets and regularly works with other heroes during the Silver Age, most notably Superman, whom he began regularly working alongside in a series of team-ups in <i><!--del_lnk--> World's Finest Comics</i>, starting in 1954 and continuing through the series' cancellation in 1986. Batman and Superman are usually depicted as close friends. Batman becomes a founding member of the <!--del_lnk--> Justice League of America, appearing in its first story in 1960's <i><!--del_lnk--> Brave and the Bold</i> #28. In the 1970s and 1980s, <i>Brave and the Bold</i> became a Batman title, in which Batman teams up with a different <!--del_lnk--> DC Universe superhero each month.<p>In 1969, <!--del_lnk--> Robin attends college as part of DC Comics' effort to revise the Batman comics. Additionally, Batman also moves from Wayne Manor into a penthouse apartment atop the Wayne Foundation building in downtown Gotham City, in order to be closer to Gotham City's crime. Batman spends the 1970s and early 1980s mainly working solo, with occasional team-ups with Robin and/or <!--del_lnk--> Batgirl. Batman's adventures also become somewhat darker and more grim during this period, depicting increasingly violent crimes, including the first appearance (since the early Golden Age) of an insane, murderous Joker, and the arrival of <!--del_lnk--> Ra's Al Ghul. In the 80s, Dick Grayson becomes <!--del_lnk--> Nightwing.<p>In the final issue of <i>Brave and the Bold</i> in 1983, Batman quits the Justice League and forms a new group called the <!--del_lnk--> Outsiders. He serves as the team's leader until <i>Batman and the Outsiders</i> #32 (1986) and the comic subsequenlty changed its title.<p><a id="Modern_Batman" name="Modern_Batman"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Modern Batman</span></h3>
<p>After the 12-issue <!--del_lnk--> limited series <i>Crisis on Infinite Earths</i>, DC Comics <!--del_lnk--> rebooted the histories of some major characters in an attempt at updating them for contemporary audiences. Frank Miller retold Batman's origin in the storyline "Year One" from <i>Batman</i> #404-407, which emphasizes a grittier tone in the character. Though the Earth-Two Batman is erased from history, many stories of Batman's Silver Age/Earth-One career (along with an amount of Golden Age ones) remain canonical in the post-Crisis universe, with his origins remaining the same in essence, despite alteration. For example, Gotham's police are mostly corrupt, setting up further need for Batman's existence. While <!--del_lnk--> Dick Grayson's past remains much the same, the history of <!--del_lnk--> Jason Todd, the second Robin, is altered, turning the boy into the orphan son of a petty crook, who tries to boost the tires from the Batmobile. Also removed is the guardian Phillip Wayne, leaving young Bruce to be raised by Alfred. Additionally, Batman is no longer a founding member of the Justice League of America, although he becomes leader for a short time of a new incarnation of the team launched in 1987. To help fill in the revised backstory for Batman following <i>Crisis</i>, DC launched a new Batman title called <i><!--del_lnk--> Legends of the Dark Knight</i> in 1989 and has published various miniseries and one-shot stories since then that largely take place during the "Year One" period.<p>In 1988's "<!--del_lnk--> Batman: A Death in the Family" storyline from <i>Batman</i> #426-429 Jason Todd, the second Robin, is killed by the Joker. Subsequently Batman takes an even darker, often excessive approach to his crimefighting. Batman works solo until 1989's "<!--del_lnk--> A Lonely Place of Dying", in which <!--del_lnk--> Tim Drake becomes the new Robin. In the tale <i><!--del_lnk--> Batman: Son of the Demon</i>, Batman marries <!--del_lnk--> Talia Al Ghul. This story was deemed non-<!--del_lnk--> canonical shortly after its publication, though its concept would be revisited in a 2006 storyline.<p>Many of the major Batman storylines since the 1990s have been inter-title crossovers that run for a number of issues. In 1993, the same year that DC published the "<!--del_lnk--> Death of Superman" storyline, the publisher released the "<!--del_lnk--> Knightfall" storyline. In the storyline's first phase, new villain <!--del_lnk--> Bane paralyzes Batman, leading Wayne to ask <!--del_lnk--> Azrael to take on the role. After the end of "Knightfall", the storylines split in two directions, following both the Azrael-Batman's adventures, and Bruce Wayne's quest to become Batman once more. The story arcs realign in "KnightsEnd", as Azrael becomes increasingly violent and is defeated by a healed Bruce Wayne, who reclaims the mantle of Batman. Wayne has Nightwing stand in as Batman for a brief time before returning to the role once more.<p>1994's company-wide crossover <i><!--del_lnk--> Zero Hour</i> changes aspects of DC continuity again, including those of Batman. Noteworthy among these changes is that the general populace and the criminal element now considers Batman an <!--del_lnk--> urban legend rather than a known force. Similarly, the Waynes' killer is never caught or identified, effectively removing <!--del_lnk--> Joe Chill from the new continuity, rendering stories such as "Year Two" non-canon.<p>Batman once again becomes a member of the Justice League during Grant Morrison's 1996 relaunch of the series, titled <i>JLA</i>. While Batman during Morrison's <i>JLA</i> run is depicted as "the most dangerous man alive" and contributes greatly to many of the team's successes, the Justice League is largely uninvolved as Batman and Gotham City face catastrophe in the decade's closing crossover arc. In 1998's "<!--del_lnk--> Cataclysm" storyline, Gotham City is devastated by an earthquake. Deprived of many of his technological resources, Batman fights to reclaim the city from legions of gangs during 1999's "<!--del_lnk--> No Man's Land." While <!--del_lnk--> Lex Luthor rebuilds Gotham at the end of the "No Man's Land" storyline, Bruce Wayne is later framed by Luthor for murder in the "<!--del_lnk--> Bruce Wayne: Murderer?" and "<!--del_lnk--> Bruce Wayne: Fugitive" story arcs; Wayne is eventually acquitted.<p>The "<!--del_lnk--> Batman: Hush" storyline introduces Tommy Elliot, a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne's, who had significant influence on him during his youth. As <!--del_lnk--> Hush, Elliot attacks Batman by coordinating many of the hero's enemies. During the story, Catwoman and Batman become romantically involved for a brief time, but Batman's growing sense of distrust in her ends their relationship. One of Hush's tactics is to trick Batman into believing that Jason has returned from the dead. Although the Jason Todd whom Batman fights in the "Hush" storyline is revealed to be <!--del_lnk--> Clayface, Todd does turn up alive later in the guise of the <!--del_lnk--> Red Hood.<p>DC's 2005 <!--del_lnk--> limited series <i><!--del_lnk--> Identity Crisis</i>, reveals that JLA member <!--del_lnk--> Zatanna had edited Batman's memories, leading to his deep loss of trust in the rest of the superhero community. Batman later creates the <!--del_lnk--> Brother I satellite surveillance system to watch over the other heroes. Its eventual co-opting by <!--del_lnk--> Maxwell Lord, Black King of the government organization known as <!--del_lnk--> Checkmate, is one of the main events that leads to the <i><!--del_lnk--> Infinite Crisis</i> miniseries, which again restructures DC continuity. In <i>Infinite Crisis</i> #7, <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Luthor, Jr. mentions that in the newly-rewritten history of the "New Earth", created in the previous issue, the murderer of Martha and Thomas Wayne is captured, thus undoing the <!--del_lnk--> retcon created after <i>Zero Hour</i>. Batman and a team of superheroes, including the new <!--del_lnk--> Blue Beetle, destroy Brother Eye and the OMACs.<p>Following <i>Infinite Crisis</i>, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Tim Drake retrace the steps Bruce had taken when he originally left Gotham City, to "rebuild Batman". In the "<!--del_lnk--> Face the Face" storyline, Batman and Robin return to Gotham City after their year-long absence. Additionally, Bruce adopts Tim as his son. The follow-up story arc in <i>Batman</i>, "<!--del_lnk--> Batman & Son", features Talia al Ghul and a <!--del_lnk--> boy who believes Batman to be his father and brings elements of <i>Son of the Demon</i> into continuity. Batman also helps create <!--del_lnk--> Wonder Woman's new identity, Diana Prince, and has begun screening other heroes for candidacy in the new <!--del_lnk--> Justice League of America.<p><a id="Personas" name="Personas"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Personas</span></h2>
<p>Like his close friend Superman, the prominent persona of Bruce Wayne's dual identities varies with time. Modern-age comics have tended to portray "Bruce Wayne" as the facade, with "Batman" as the truer representation of his personality (in counterpoint to the post-Crisis Superman, whose "Clark Kent" persona is the 'real' personality, and "Superman" is the act). Since <i>Infinite Crisis</i> and the portrayal in <i><!--del_lnk--> Batman Begins</i>, Bruce Wayne has been shown as somewhat of an amalgam between the two.<p>Wayne guards his secret identity well, as only a handful of individuals know of his superhero alter-ego. Several villains have also discovered his true identity over the years, most notably eco-terrorist <!--del_lnk--> Ra's al Ghul, as well as <!--del_lnk--> Catwoman, <!--del_lnk--> Hugo Strange, the <!--del_lnk--> Riddler, <!--del_lnk--> Bane, and <!--del_lnk--> Hush.<p><a id="Bruce_Wayne" name="Bruce_Wayne"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Bruce Wayne</span></h3>
<p>To the world at large, Bruce Wayne is seen as an irresponsible, superficial playboy who lives off his family's personal fortune (amassed when Bruce's family invested in Gotham real estate before the city was a bustling metropolis) and the profits of <!--del_lnk--> Wayne Enterprises, a major private technology firm that he inherits. <i><!--del_lnk--> Forbes Magazine</i> estimated Bruce Wayne to be the 7th-richest fictional character with his $6.8 billion fortune. However, Wayne is also known for his contributions to charity, notably through the <!--del_lnk--> Wayne Foundation, a <!--del_lnk--> charity devoted to helping the victims of crime and preventing people from becoming criminals. Bruce creates the playboy public persona to aid in throwing off suspicion of his secret identity, often acting dim-witted and self-absorbed to further the act. Batman makes it clear that he considers keeping his secret identity a top priority; on various occasions, he often risks death rather than exposing his skills in public as Bruce Wayne.<p><a id="The_Dark_Knight" name="The_Dark_Knight"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Dark Knight</span></h3>
<p>Bruce Wayne creates Batman to strike fear into the hearts of Gotham's underworld. The costume — and the way he acts while wearing it — are meant to be as imposing and intimidating as possible. While Bruce Wayne is lighthearted and irresponsible, Batman is stoic and driven. In addition to the change in costume and personality, Bruce Wayne also changes his voice significantly to become Batman. The Dark Knight's voice is low and raspy, for both disguise and intimidation.<p>In keeping with the "dark" theme of the comics and the nature of bats, Batman is usually presented as operating primarily at night. After <i><!--del_lnk--> Zero Hour</i>, DC Comics introduced the idea of Batman as an <!--del_lnk--> urban legend; however, Batman is "outed" in the "<!--del_lnk--> War Games" crossover, when his live image is broadcast over the news during a brief daytime appearance in front of a high school under siege in Gotham. In <i><!--del_lnk--> The Long Halloween</i>, Batman himself regards "his appearance to be more effective during the night".<p><a id="Matches_Malone" name="Matches_Malone"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Matches Malone</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Batman also occasionally goes undercover to infiltrate Gotham's criminal element. Matches Malone is a small-time thug who serves as Batman's snitch; when Matches is killed, Batman assumes his identity.<p><a id="Skills.2C_resources.2C_and_abilities" name="Skills.2C_resources.2C_and_abilities"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Supporting characters</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Despite his reputation as a loner, Batman works with many people in his fight against crime. For much of Batman's history, a teenager serves as the youthful <!--del_lnk--> sidekick Robin. The first Robin, <!--del_lnk--> Dick Grayson, eventually leaves his mentor and becomes the hero <!--del_lnk--> Nightwing. The second Robin, <!--del_lnk--> Jason Todd, is beaten to death by the Joker but later returns as an adversary. <!--del_lnk--> Tim Drake, the third Robin, first appears in 1989 and aspires to be as good a detective as Batman. Alfred Pennyworth is Bruce Wayne's loyal <!--del_lnk--> butler and father figure, and also aids Batman by maintaining the Batcave while <!--del_lnk--> Lucius Fox sees to his business and charitable interests. <!--del_lnk--> Police Commissioner <!--del_lnk--> James "Jim" Gordon works closely with Batman despite their differences on how to best enforce the law.<p>While primarily operating either alone or with Robin, Batman is at times a member of superhero teams such as the Justice League of America and the Outsiders. Batman has often been paired in adventure with his Justice League teammate Superman, notably as the co-stars of <i>World's Finest</i> and the current <i><!--del_lnk--> Superman/Batman</i> series. In pre-Crisis continuity, the two are depicted as close friends; however, in current continuity, they have a mutually respectful but uneasy relationship, with an emphasis on their differing views on crimefighting and justice. In recent years, Batman's relationship with Superman warms, making Superman his closest ally in the Justice League. Batman keeps a <!--del_lnk--> Kryptonite ring, given to him by Superman, in case the world's most powerful being is ever manipulated or goes rogue.<p>Batman is involved romantically with many women throughout his various incarnations. These include villainesses such as <!--del_lnk--> Catwoman and <!--del_lnk--> Talia al Ghul; reporters <!--del_lnk--> Vicki Vale and <!--del_lnk--> Vesper Fairchild; superheroines <!--del_lnk--> Wonder Woman and <!--del_lnk--> Zatanna; former sidekick <!--del_lnk--> Sasha Bordeaux; and others, including <!--del_lnk--> Silver St. Cloud, Julie Madison, physician <!--del_lnk--> Shondra Kinsolving, nurse Linda Page and even <!--del_lnk--> Lois Lane. While these relationships tend to be short, Batman's attraction to Catwoman is present in nearly every version and medium in which the characters appear. Authors have gone back and forth over the years as to how Batman manages the 'playboy' aspect of Bruce Wayne's personality; at different times he embraces or flees from the women interested in attracting "Gotham's most eligible bachelor".<p>Other characters in Batman's world include former Batgirl <!--del_lnk--> Barbara Gordon, Commissioner Gordon's daughter who, now confined to a wheelchair due to a gunshot wound inflicted by the Joker, serves the superhero community at large as the <!--del_lnk--> computer hacker Oracle; Azrael, a would-be assassin who replace Bruce Wayne as Batman for a time; <!--del_lnk--> Batwoman, a young socialite who operates in Gotham City during Batman's absence following <i>Infinite Crisis</i>; <!--del_lnk--> Ace the Bat-Hound, Batman's pet dog; and <!--del_lnk--> Batmite, an extra-dimensional imp who adores Batman.<p><a id="Batman_villains" name="Batman_villains"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Batman villains</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Batman's foes form one of the most distinctive <!--del_lnk--> rogues galleries in comics. The most familiar Batman villains were created in the 1930s and 1940s: the <!--del_lnk--> Joker, <!--del_lnk--> Catwoman, the <!--del_lnk--> Penguin, <!--del_lnk--> Two-Face, the <!--del_lnk--> Riddler, <!--del_lnk--> Mad Hatter, <!--del_lnk--> Scarecrow, and <!--del_lnk--> Clayface. Other well known villains emerge in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s including <!--del_lnk--> Mister Freeze, <!--del_lnk--> Killer Moth, <!--del_lnk--> Poison Ivy, and <!--del_lnk--> Ra's Al Ghul. <!--del_lnk--> Killer Croc, <!--del_lnk--> Man-Bat, <!--del_lnk--> Black Mask, and the <!--del_lnk--> Ventriloquist first appear in the 1980s, and <!--del_lnk--> Bane and <!--del_lnk--> Harley Quinn in the 1990s. Enemies introduced since 2000 include <!--del_lnk--> Hush, <!--del_lnk--> David Cain, and <!--del_lnk--> Jason Todd.<br clear="all" />
<p><a id="Homosexual_interpretations" name="Homosexual_interpretations"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Superman', 'Superman', 'Scotland', 'Spring Heeled Jack', 'Earthquake', 'Crime', 'Chemistry']
|
Battle_of_Alesia
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Alesia,Adrian Goldsworthy,Adriatic,Aedile,Aedui,Alise-Sainte-Reine,Alps,Ambiorix,Apennines,Archaeology,Asterix" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Alesia</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Alesia";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Alesia";
var wgArticleId = 391164;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Alesia">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Alesia</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Pre_1900_Military.htm">Pre 1900 Military</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Alesia</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of <!--del_lnk--> Gallic Wars</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23531.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="237" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AlesiaFortifications.JPG" src="../../images/235/23531.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /> A reconstructed section of the Alesia fortifications</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td>September 52 BC</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td>Alesia, Chaux-des-Crotenay in French <!--del_lnk--> Jura or near modern Alise-Sainte-Reine (<a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Roman victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Roman Republic</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Gallic Tribes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/j/Julius_Caesar.htm" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Vercingetorix<br /><!--del_lnk--> Commius</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">~30,000-60,000,<br /> 12 Roman legions and auxiliaries</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">~330,000<br /> some 80,000 besieged<br /> ~250,000 relief forces</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">12,800</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">40,000-250,000</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Gallic Wars</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Arar - <!--del_lnk--> Bibracte - <!--del_lnk--> Vosges - <!--del_lnk--> Axona – <!--del_lnk--> Sabis – <!--del_lnk--> Gergovia – <strong class="selflink">Alesia</strong></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<br /> The <b>Battle of Alesia</b> or <b>Siege of Alesia</b> took place in September 52 BC around the <!--del_lnk--> Gallic <i><!--del_lnk--> oppidum</i> of Alesia, a major town centre and <!--del_lnk--> hill fort of the <!--del_lnk--> Mandubii tribe, situated probably at <!--del_lnk--> Chaux-des-Crotenay (in <!--del_lnk--> Jura in modern <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>). Earlier research located Alesia atop Mont Auxois, above modern <!--del_lnk--> Alise-Sainte-Reine in <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>, but this location—it is said—does not fit Caesar's description of the battle. Alise-Sainte-Reine is still the official location of Alesia. This battle was fought by the army of the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Republic commanded by <a href="../../wp/j/Julius_Caesar.htm" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a>, aided by cavalry commanders <a href="../../wp/m/Mark_Antony.htm" title="Mark Antony">Mark Antony</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Titus Labienus and <!--del_lnk--> Gaius Trebonius, against a confederation of <!--del_lnk--> Gallic tribes united under the leadership of <!--del_lnk--> Vercingetorix of the <!--del_lnk--> Averni. Alesia was the last major engagement between Gauls and Romans and marked the turning point of the <!--del_lnk--> Gallic Wars in favour of Rome. The siege of Alesia is considered one of Caesar's greatest military achievements and is still one of the classic examples of <!--del_lnk--> siege warfare and <!--del_lnk--> circumvallation. The event is described by several contemporary authors, including Caesar himself in his <i><!--del_lnk--> Commentarii de Bello Gallico</i>. After the Roman victory, <!--del_lnk--> Gaul (very roughly modern France) was subdued and became a <!--del_lnk--> Roman province. The refusal of the <!--del_lnk--> Roman senate to allow Caesar the honour of a <!--del_lnk--> triumph for his victory in the Gallic Wars eventually led, in part, to the <!--del_lnk--> Roman civil war of 50–45 BC.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Prelude" name="Prelude"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude</span></h2>
<p>Julius Caesar had been in Gaul since 58 BC. It was customary for <!--del_lnk--> consuls, Rome's highest elected officials, at the end of their consular year, to be appointed governor of one of <!--del_lnk--> Rome's provinces by the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Senate, and following his first consulship in 59 BC, Caesar was appointed governor of <!--del_lnk--> Cisalpine Gaul (the region between the <!--del_lnk--> Alps, the <!--del_lnk--> Apennines and the <!--del_lnk--> Adriatic), and <!--del_lnk--> Transalpine Gaul ("Gaul beyond the Alps"). With a <!--del_lnk--> proconsular <i><!--del_lnk--> imperium</i>, he had absolute authority within these provinces.<p>One by one Caesar defeated the Gallic tribes such as the <!--del_lnk--> Helvetii, the <!--del_lnk--> Belgae, and the <!--del_lnk--> Nervii, and secured a pledge of alliance of many others. The ongoing success of the Gallic Wars brought an enormous amount of wealth to the Republic in spoils of war and in new lands to tax. Caesar himself became very rich since, as general, he benefited from the sale of war prisoners. But success and fame also brought enemies. The <!--del_lnk--> First Triumvirate, a political (although informal) alliance with <!--del_lnk--> Pompey and <!--del_lnk--> Crassus, came to an end in 54 BC, with the deaths of <!--del_lnk--> Julia (Caesar's daughter and Pompey's wife) and Crassus in the <!--del_lnk--> battle of Carrhae. Without this political connection with Pompey, men like <!--del_lnk--> Marcus Porcius Cato the Younger started to campaign against Caesar, arousing suspicion and accusing him of wanting to overthrow the Republic and become King of Rome.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/76/7620.jpg.htm" title="Julius Caesar"><img alt="Julius Caesar" height="278" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Julius_caesar.jpg" src="../../images/235/23532.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/76/7620.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Julius Caesar</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In the winter of 54–53 BC, the previously pacified <!--del_lnk--> Eburones, commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Ambiorix, rebelled against the Roman invasion and destroyed the <!--del_lnk--> Fourteenth legion in a carefully planned ambush. This was a major blow to Caesar's strategy for Gaul, since he had now lost about a quarter of his troops, and the evolution of the political situation in Rome deprived him from receiving reinforcements. The Eburones rebellion was the first clear Roman defeat in Gaul and inspired widespread national sentiments and revolution. It took almost a year, but Caesar managed to regain control of Gaul and pacify the tribes. However, the unrest in Gaul was not over. The Gallic tribes were now realising that only united could they achieve independence from Rome. A general council was summoned at <!--del_lnk--> Bibracte by initiative of the <!--del_lnk--> Aedui, once Caesar's loyal supporters. Only the <!--del_lnk--> Remi and the <!--del_lnk--> Lingones preferred to keep their alliance with Rome. The council declared Vercingetorix, of the <!--del_lnk--> Averni, commander of the united Gallic armies.<p>Caesar was then camped for the winter in <!--del_lnk--> Cisalpine Gaul, unaware of the alliance made against him. The first sign of trouble came from the <!--del_lnk--> Carnutes who killed all Roman settlers in the city of Cenabum (modern <!--del_lnk--> Orléans). This outbreak of violence was followed by the slaughtering of all Roman citizens, merchants and settlers in the major Gallic cities. On hearing this news, Caesar rallied his men in haste and crossed the <!--del_lnk--> Alps, still buried in snow, into central Gaul. This was accomplished in record time and Caesar was able to surprise the Gallic tribes. He split his forces, sending four <!--del_lnk--> legions with <!--del_lnk--> Titus Labienus to fight the <!--del_lnk--> Senones and the <!--del_lnk--> Parisii in the North. Caesar himself set on the pursuit of Vercingetorix with six legions and his allied Germanic cavalry. The two armies met at the hill fort of <!--del_lnk--> Gergovia, where Vercingetorix held a strongly defensive position. Caesar was forced to retreat to avoid utter defeat, after suffering heavy losses. In the summer of 52 BC, several engagements were fought between cavalries, with Caesar succeeding in scattering the Gallic army. Vercingetorix decided that the timing was not right to engage in a major pitched battle and regrouped in the Mandubii fort of Alesia.<p><a id="Siege_and_battle" name="Siege_and_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Siege and battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23533.png.htm" title="The Fortifications built by Caesar in Alesia according to the hypothesis of the location in Alise-sainte-Reine Inbox: cross shows location of Alesia in Gaul (modern France). The open circle shows the weakness in the contravallation line"><img alt="The Fortifications built by Caesar in Alesia according to the hypothesis of the location in Alise-sainte-Reine Inbox: cross shows location of Alesia in Gaul (modern France). The open circle shows the weakness in the contravallation line" height="346" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SiegeAlesia.png" src="../../images/235/23533.png" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23533.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>The Fortifications built by Caesar in Alesia according to the hypothesis of the location in Alise-sainte-Reine</i><br /><small>Inbox: cross shows location of Alesia in Gaul (modern France). The open circle shows the weakness in the contravallation line</small></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Alesia was a hill-top fort surrounded by river valleys, with strong defensive features. As a frontal assault would have been suicidal, Caesar decided upon a <a href="../../wp/s/Siege.htm" title="Siege">siege</a>, hoping to force surrender by starvation. Considering that about 80,000 men were garrisoned in Alesia, together with the local civilian population, this would not take long. To guarantee a perfect blockade, Caesar ordered the construction of an encircling set of fortifications, called a circumvallation, around Alesia. The details of this engineering work are known from Caesar's <i>Commentaries</i> and archaeological excavations on the site. About 18 kilometres of 4 metre high fortifications were constructed in a record time of about three weeks. This line was followed inwards by two four-and-a-half metres wide ditches, about one and a half metres deep. The one nearest to the fortification was filled with water from the surrounding rivers. This was a considerable engineering feat, but nothing new to the man who, as <!--del_lnk--> curule aedile, an elected official of the city of Rome, had once diverted the <!--del_lnk--> Tiber into the <!--del_lnk--> Circus Maximus for a mock sea battle, as a form of public entertainment. These fortifications were supplemented with mantraps and deep holes in front of the ditches, and regularly spaced watch towers equipped with Roman artillery.<p>Vercingetorix's cavalry often raided the construction works attempting to prevent full enclosure. The Germanic auxiliary cavalry proved once more its value and kept the raiders at bay. After about two weeks of work, a detachment of Gallic cavalry managed to escape through an unfinished section. Anticipating that a relief force would now be sent, Caesar ordered the construction of a second line of fortifications, the <!--del_lnk--> contravallation, facing outward and encircling his army between it and the first set of walls. The second line was identical to the first in design and extended for 21 kilometres, including four cavalry camps. This set of fortifications would protect the Roman army when the relief Gallic forces arrived: they were now besiegers and preparing to be besieged.<p>At this time, the living conditions in Alesia were becoming increasingly worse. With 80,000 soldiers and the local population, too many people were crowded inside the plateau competing for too little food. The Mandubii decided to expel the women and children from the citadel, hoping to save food for the fighters and hoping that Caesar would open a breach to let them go. This would also be an opportunity for breaching the Roman lines. But Caesar issued orders that nothing should be done for these civilians and the women and children were left to starve in the no man's land between the city walls and the circumvallation. The cruel fate of their kin added to the general loss of morale inside the walls. Vercingetorix was fighting to keep spirits high, but faced the threat of surrender by some of his men. However, the relief force arrived in this desperate hour, strengthening the resolve of the besieged to resist and fight another day.<p>At the end of September the Gauls, commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Commius, attacked Caesar's contravallation wall. Vercingetorix ordered a simultaneous attack from the inside. None of the attempts were successful and by sunset the fighting had ended. On the next day, the Gallic attack was under the cover of night. This time they met more success and Caesar was forced to abandon some sections of his fortification lines. Only the swift response of the cavalry commanded by Antony and <!--del_lnk--> Gaius Trebonius saved the situation. The inner wall was also attacked, but the presence of trenches, which Vercingetorix's men had to fill, delayed them enough to prevent surprise. By this time, the condition of the Roman army was also poor. Themselves besieged, food had started to be rationed and men were near physical exhaustion.<p>On the next day, <!--del_lnk--> October 2, Vercassivellaunus, a cousin of Vercingetorix, launched a massive attack with 60,000 men, focussing on a weakness in the Roman fortifications (the open circle in the figure) which Caesar had tried to hide, but had been discovered by the Gauls. The area in question was a zone with natural obstructions where a continuous wall could not be constructed. The attack was made in combination with Vercingetorix's forces who pressed from every angle of the inner fortification. Caesar trusted the discipline and courage of his men and sent out orders to simply hold the lines. He personally rode throughout the perimeter cheering his legionaries. Labienus' cavalry was sent to support the defense of the area where the fortification breach was located. With pressure increasing, Caesar was forced to counter-attack the inner offensive and managed to push back Vercingetorix's men. By this time the section held by Labienus was on the verge of collapse. Caesar decided on a desperate measure and took 13 cavalry cohorts (about 6,000 men) to attack the relief army of 60,000 from the rear. This action surprised both attackers and defenders. Seeing their leader undergoing such risk, Labienus' men redoubled their efforts and the Gauls soon panicked and tried to retreat. As in other examples of ancient warfare, the disarrayed retreating army was easy prey for the disciplined Roman pursuit. The retreating Gauls were slaughtered, and Caesar in his <i>Commentaries</i> remarks that only the pure exhaustion of his men saved the Gauls from complete annihilation.<p>In Alesia, Vercingetorix witnessed the defeat of his relief force. Facing both starvation and low morale, he was forced to surrender without a final fight. On the next day, the Gallic leader presented his arms to Julius Caesar, putting an end to the siege of Alesia.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<p>Alesia proved to be the end of generalized and organized resistance to the Roman invasion of Gaul. The country was then subdued, becoming a <!--del_lnk--> Roman province and was eventually subdivided into several smaller administrative divisions. Not until the <!--del_lnk--> third century would another independence movement occur (see <!--del_lnk--> Gallic Empire). The garrison of Alesia was taken prisoner as well as the survivors of the relief army. They were either sold into slavery or given as booty to Caesar's legionaries, except for the members of the Aedui and Averni tribes, which were released and pardoned to secure the alliance of these important tribes to Rome.<p>For Caesar, Alesia was an enormous personal success, both militarily and politically. The senate, manipulated by Cato and Pompey, declared 20 days of thanksgiving for this victory, but refused Caesar the honour of celebrating a triumphal parade, the peak of any general's career. Political tension increased, and two years later, in 50 BC, Caesar crossed the <!--del_lnk--> Rubicon, which precipitated the Roman civil war of 49–45 BC, which he won. After having been elected consul, for each of the years of the war, and appointed to several temporary <!--del_lnk--> dictatorships, he was finally made <i>dictator perpetuus</i> (dictator for life), by the Roman Senate in 44 BC. His ever increasing personal power and honours undermined the tradition bound republican foundations of Rome, and led to the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>.<p>Caesar's cavalry commanders followed different paths. Labienus sided with the <!--del_lnk--> Optimates ("the good men"), the conservative aristocratic faction in the civil war, and was killed at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Munda in 45 BC. Trebonius, one of Caesar's most trusted lieutenants, was appointed consul, by Caesar, in 45 BC, and was one of the senators involved in Caesar's assassination on the <!--del_lnk--> Ides of March (<!--del_lnk--> March 15) 44 BC. He was himself murdered a year later. Antony continued to be a faithful supporter of Caesar. He was made Caesar's second in command, as <!--del_lnk--> Master of the Horse, and was left in charge in Italy during much of the civil war. In 44 BC he was elected as Caesar's consular colleague. After Caesar's murder, Antony pursued Caesar's assassins and vied for supreme power with <a href="../../wp/a/Augustus.htm" title="Octavian">Octavian</a> (later to become <!--del_lnk--> Caesar Augustus), first forming an alliance with Octavian (and <!--del_lnk--> Marcus Aemilius Lepidus) in the <!--del_lnk--> Second Triumvirate, then being defeated by him at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Along with his ally and lover queen <a href="../../wp/c/Cleopatra_VII.htm" title="Cleopatra VII of Egypt">Cleopatra</a>, he fled to <a href="../../wp/e/Egypt.htm" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>, where they committed suicide, the following year.<p>Vercingetorix was taken prisoner and treated with royal honours for the next five years, while awaiting to be exhibited at Caesar's triumph. As was traditional for such captured and paraded enemy leaders, at the end of the triumphal procession, he was taken to the <!--del_lnk--> Tullianum (also known as the Mamertine Prison) and strangled.<p><a id="Issues_in_historical_reconstruction_of_the_events" name="Issues_in_historical_reconstruction_of_the_events"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Issues in historical reconstruction of the events</span></h2>
<p>For many years, the actual location of the battle was unknown. Competing theories focused first on two towns, Alaise in the <!--del_lnk--> Franche-Comté and Alise-Sainte-Reine in the <!--del_lnk--> Côte-d'Or. Emperor <!--del_lnk--> Napoleon III of France supported the latter candidate and during the 1860s funded <a href="../../wp/a/Archaeology.htm" title="Archaeology">archaeological research</a> that uncovered the evidence to support the existence of Roman camps in the area. He then dedicated a statue to Vercingetorix in the recently discovered ruins.<p>Uncertainty has nevertheless persisted, with questions being raised about the validity of Alise-Sainte-Reine's claim. For example, the topography of the area—it is allegedly said—does not fit with Caesar's description. The site is also too small to accommodate even revised estimates of 80,000 men with the Gallic infantry, along with cavalry and additional personnel.<p>Another theory supports the location of the battle at Chaux-des-Crotenay at the gate of the <!--del_lnk--> Jura mountains. Preliminary researches in Chaux-de-Crotenay unveiled a complete system of Roman fortifications in good fit with Caesar's description of the site. However, further archaeological research is needed to definitively confirm the location of Alesia.<p>In the <!--del_lnk--> Asterix comics (<i><!--del_lnk--> Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield</i>), this uncertainty about Alesia's location is humorously characterized as a reflection of Gallic pride. The album portrays Asterix and Obelix encountering other Gauls familiar with the campaign, who readily recall Vercingetorix's victory at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Gergovia, but refuse to talk about Alesia and insist that nobody knows where it is.<p>Precise figures for the size of the armies involved, and the number of casualties suffered, are difficult to know. Such figures have always been a powerful <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> weapon, and are thus suspect. Caesar, in his <i>De Bello Gallico</i>, refers to a Gallic relief force of a quarter of a million, probably an exaggeration to enhance his victory. Unfortunately, the only records of the events are Roman and therefore presumably biased. Modern historians usually believe that a number between 80,000–100,000 men is more credible. The only known fact is that each man in Caesar's legions received a Gaul as a slave, which means at least 40,000 prisoners, mostly from the besieged garrison. The relief force probably suffered heavy losses, like many other armies who lost battle order and retreated under the weapons of the Roman cavalry.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alesia"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['France', 'Julius Caesar', 'France', 'France', 'Julius Caesar', 'Mark Antony', 'Siege', 'Roman Empire', 'Octavian', 'Cleopatra VII of Egypt', 'Egypt', 'Archaeology', 'Propaganda']
|
Battle_of_Amiens
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Amiens,1918,1st Canadian Division,2nd Canadian Division,3rd Canadian Division,4th Canadian Division,Allies of World War I,Amiens,Armistice with Germany (Compiègne),Armored car,Armoured warfare" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Amiens</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Amiens";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Amiens";
var wgArticleId = 891547;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Amiens">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Amiens</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Military_History_and_War.htm">Military History and War</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Amiens</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16814.jpg.htm" title=""Amiens, the key to the west" by Arthur Streeton, 1918."><img alt=""Amiens, the key to the west" by Arthur Streeton, 1918." height="194" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Amiens_the_key_of_the_west.jpg" src="../../images/168/16814.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><i>Amiens, the key to the west</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Arthur Streeton, 1918.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 8th-<!--del_lnk--> 11th, <!--del_lnk--> 1918 (major combat)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td>East of <!--del_lnk--> Amiens, <!--del_lnk--> Picardy, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Allied victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a><br /><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a><br /><a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a><br /><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> German Empire</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Ferdinand Foch</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Georg von der Marwitz</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> 5 Aus. divisions,<br /> 4 Can. divisions,<br /> 8 British divisions,<br /> 1 American division,<br /> 12 French divisions,<br /> 1900 aircraft,<br /> 532 tanks</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> 25 active divisions,<br /> 4 reserve divisions,<br /> 365 aircraft</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">22,200</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">74,000</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Hundred Days Offensive</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong class="selflink">Amiens</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Somme – <!--del_lnk--> Arras – <!--del_lnk--> Havrincourt – <!--del_lnk--> St.-Mihiel – <!--del_lnk--> Epéhy – <!--del_lnk--> Hindenburg Line – <!--del_lnk--> Meuse-Argonne – <!--del_lnk--> Courtai – <!--del_lnk--> Selle – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Sambre</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Amiens</b>, which began on <!--del_lnk--> August 8th <!--del_lnk--> 1918, was the opening phase of the <!--del_lnk--> Allied offensive later known as the <!--del_lnk--> Hundred Days Offensive that ultimately led to the end of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>. Allied forces advanced over seven <!--del_lnk--> miles on the first day, one of the greatest advances of the war. The battle is also notable for its effects on both sides' <!--del_lnk--> morale and the large amount of <!--del_lnk--> surrendering <!--del_lnk--> German forces. This led <!--del_lnk--> Erich Ludendorff to famously describe the first day of the battle as "the black day of the German Army." Amiens was one of the first major battles involving <!--del_lnk--> armoured warfare and marked the end of <a href="../../wp/t/Trench_warfare.htm" title="Trench warfare">trench warfare</a> on the <!--del_lnk--> Western Front, fighting becoming mobile once again until <!--del_lnk--> the armistice was signed on <!--del_lnk--> November 11th, <!--del_lnk--> 1918.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Prelude" name="Prelude"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude</span></h2>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> March 21, <!--del_lnk--> 1918, the <!--del_lnk--> German Empire had launched <!--del_lnk--> Operation Michael, the first in a series of attacks planned to drive the Allies back along the length of the Western Front. Michael was intended to defeat the right wing of the <!--del_lnk--> British Expeditionary Force (BEF), but lack of success before <!--del_lnk--> Arras ensured the ultimate failure of the offensive. A final effort was aimed at the town of <!--del_lnk--> Amiens, a vital <!--del_lnk--> railway junction, but the advance had been halted at <!--del_lnk--> Villers-Bretonneux by the Australians on April 4. Subsequent German offensives — <!--del_lnk--> Operation Georgette (April 9th–11th), <!--del_lnk--> Operation Blücher-Yorck (May 27), <!--del_lnk--> Operation Gneisenau (June 9) and <!--del_lnk--> Operation Marne-Rheims (July 15th—17th) — had made advances but failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough.<p>At the end of the Marne-Rheims offensive Allied commander <!--del_lnk--> Ferdinand Foch ordered a counter-offensive which led to the <!--del_lnk--> Second Battle of the Marne. The Germans, recognising their untenable position, withdrew from the <!--del_lnk--> Marne to the north. Foch now tried to move the Allies back onto offense and he agreed on a proposal by the commander of the BEF, Field Marshal <!--del_lnk--> Sir Douglas Haig, to strike on the <!--del_lnk--> Somme, east of Amiens and southwest of the 1916 battlefield of the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Somme_%25281916%2529.htm" title="Battle of the Somme (1916)">Battle of the Somme</a>.<p><a id="Plan" name="Plan"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Plan</span></h3>
<p>Foch had defeated a large amount of German forces at the <!--del_lnk--> Second Battle of the Marne and believed he could begin an offensive in the north of France. Foch disclosed his plan on <!--del_lnk--> July 23, <!--del_lnk--> 1918 following the German retreat that had begun July 20th. The plan called for reducing the <!--del_lnk--> Saint-Mihiel <!--del_lnk--> salient (which would later see combat in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Saint-Mihiel) and liberating the <!--del_lnk--> railroad lines that ran through Amiens. Foch planned the operations to start on August 8th with a combination of British, French, Australian, and Canadian divisions along with a single American division and around 580 tanks (150 in reserves as supply and repair vehicles). 1,386 <!--del_lnk--> guns and <!--del_lnk--> howitzers, making up 27 medium artillery brigades and 13 heavy batteries, were responsible for artillery cover. A key factor in Foch's plan was secrecy, there was to be no pre-battle bombardment, only the artillery fire immediately prior to the advance of Australian, Canadian, and British forces. Although the French had 72 Whippets to follow up their advance they had no heavy tanks with which to lead the main assault and so had a 45 minute preliminary barrage starting at zero hour.<p>Although the Germans were still on the offensive in late July 1918 the Allies were strengthening their positions. German commanders realized in early August that their forces might be forced to defend, though Amiens was not considered to be a likely front. Germans believed Foch would likely attack the aforementioned Saint-Mihiel front, either east of <!--del_lnk--> Reims or near <!--del_lnk--> Mount Kemmel; while they believed British would attack along either the <!--del_lnk--> Lys or <!--del_lnk--> Somme Rivers. German forces began to withdraw from the Lys and other fronts in response to these theories. The Allies maintained equal artillery and air fire along their various fronts, only moving troops at night, and making fake movements during the day to mask their actual intent. The <!--del_lnk--> German 27th Division actually attacked the Amiens front planned for the August 8th Allied offensive on August 6th, penetrating roughly 800 <!--del_lnk--> yards into the one-and-a-half mile front. The division moved somewhat back to its original location on the morning of the 7th, but the movement still required changes to the Allied plan. The Allies did various things to maintain the secrecy of the attack including not bringing the <!--del_lnk--> Canadian Corps into position from the north until August 7th, pasting the notice "Keep Your Mouth Shut" into orders issued to the men, and never using the actual word "offensive".<p><a id="Battle" name="Battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16815.jpg.htm" title="Map depicting the advance of the Allied line"><img alt="Map depicting the advance of the Allied line" height="310" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Amiens_Hundred_Days_Offensive.jpg" src="../../images/168/16815.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16815.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map depicting the advance of the Allied line</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The battle began in dense <!--del_lnk--> fog at 4:20 AM on <!--del_lnk--> August 8th, <!--del_lnk--> 1918. British forces under Rawlinson were the farthest north in the battle, with Canadian and Australian forces at the centre of the field, and the French forces under Debeny in the south. Although German forces were alert on August 8th this was largely to stop potential retaliation for their August 6th incursion and not because they had learned of the pre-planned Allied attack. Although the two forces were within 500 yards of one another <!--del_lnk--> gas bombardment was very low as a bulk of the Allied presence was unknown to the Germans. The attack was so unexpected that German forces only began to return fire on Allied positions after five minutes, and even then at the positions forces had assembled at for the start of the battle and had long since abandoned.<p>In the first phase seven divisions attacked, the British <!--del_lnk--> 18th (Eastern) and <!--del_lnk--> 58th (2/1st London) divisions, the Australian <!--del_lnk--> 2nd and <!--del_lnk--> 3rd divisions, and the <!--del_lnk--> 1st, <!--del_lnk--> 2nd and <!--del_lnk--> 3rd Canadian divisions. These troops were to capture the first German position, advancing about 4000 <!--del_lnk--> yards, an objective they had reached by about 7:30 AM.<p>In the centre, the leading divisions had been followed up by supporting units who would move through to attack the second objective a further two miles distant. Australian units had reached their first objectives by 7:10 AM, and by 8:20 AM the Australian <!--del_lnk--> 4th and <!--del_lnk--> 5th and the Canadian <!--del_lnk--> 4th divisions moved off, passing through the initial hole torn in the German line. The third phase of the attack was to have been performed by infantry-carrying <!--del_lnk--> Mark V* tanks however the infantry were able to carry out this final step unaided. The Allies had penetrated well to the rear of the German defences and cavalry now continued the advance, one <!--del_lnk--> brigade in the Australian sector and two cavalry divisions in the Canadian sector. Allied forces harassed German positions throughout the advance, <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Air_Force.htm" title="Royal Air Force">RAF</a> and <!--del_lnk--> armored car fire kept retreating Germans from rallying.<p>Canadian and Australian forces in the centre, aided heavily by tanks, had quickly advanced, pushing the line 3 miles forward from its starting point by 11 AM. The speed of their advance aided in their activities, capturing a party of officers, and some divisional staff, eating breakfast. A gap 15 miles long was punched in the German line south of the Somme by the end of the day's advance. The British Fourth Army had taken 13,000 prisoners while the French had taken a further 3,000. Total German losses were estimated to be 30,000 on 8 August. The Fourth Army's casualties, British, Australian and Canadian infantry were approximately 8800, exclusive of tank and air losses and their French Allies.<p>
<br />
<p>German Army <!--del_lnk--> Chief of Staff <!--del_lnk--> Paul von Hindenburg noted the Allies use of surprise and that Allied destruction of German lines of communication had hampered potential German counter-attacks by isolating command positions. The German general <!--del_lnk--> Erich Ludendorff described the first day of Amiens as "the black day of the German Army", not because of the ground lost to the advancing Allies but because the <!--del_lnk--> morale of the German troops had sunk to the point where large numbers of troops began to <!--del_lnk--> capitulate. Allied forces had pushed, on average, seven miles into enemy territory by the end of the day. The Canadians gained 8 miles, Australians 7, British 2 and the French 5 miles.<p><a id="Later_fighting" name="Later_fighting"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Later fighting</span></h3>
<p>The advance would continue, but without the spectacular results of August 8th. This is possibly because the rapid gains of the infantry had outrun the supporting artillery and the initial force of more than 500 tanks that played a large role in the initial Allied success On August 10th there were signs that the Germans were pulling out of the <!--del_lnk--> salient from Operation Michael. According to official reports the Allies had captured nearly 50,000 prisoners and 500 guns by August 27th. Even with the lessened armor the British had driven 12 miles into German positions by August 13th.<p><a id="Aftermath_of_the_Battle" name="Aftermath_of_the_Battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath of the Battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16817.jpg.htm" title="8th August, 1918 by Will Longstaff, showing German prisoners of war being led towards Amiens."><img alt="8th August, 1918 by Will Longstaff, showing German prisoners of war being led towards Amiens." height="128" longdesc="/wiki/Image:8th_August_1918_%28Will_Longstaff%29.jpg" src="../../images/168/16817.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16817.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>8th August, 1918</i> by Will Longstaff, showing German <!--del_lnk--> prisoners of war being led towards <!--del_lnk--> Amiens.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Battle of Amiens was a major turning point in the tempo of the war. The Germans had started the offensive before the war devolved into trench warfare with the <!--del_lnk--> Schlieffen Plan, the <!--del_lnk--> Race to the Sea slowed movement on the Western Front, and the German <!--del_lnk--> Spring Offensive earlier that year had once again given Germany the offensive edge on the Western Front. Armored support helped the Allies tear a hole through trench lines, weakening once impregnable trench positions. The British Third army with no armored support had almost no effect on the line while the Fourth with less than a thousand tanks broke deep into German territory, for example. Australian commander <!--del_lnk--> John Monash was <!--del_lnk--> knighted by <a href="../../wp/g/George_V_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="George V of the United Kingdom">King George V</a> in the days following the battle.<p>British <!--del_lnk--> war correspondent <!--del_lnk--> Philip Gibbs noted Amiens' effect on the war's tempo, saying on August 27th that "the enemy...is on the defensive" and "the initiative of attack is so completely in our hands that we are able to strike him at many different places." Gibbs also credits Amiens with a shift in troop <!--del_lnk--> morale, saying "the change has been greater in the minds of men than in the taking of territory. On our side the army seems to be buoyed up with the enormous hope of getting on with this business quickly" and that "there is a change also in the enemy's mind. They no longer have even a dim hope of victory on this western front. All they hope for now is to defend themselves long enough to gain peace by negotiation."<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Amiens"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War I', 'France', 'United Kingdom', 'France', 'Canada', 'Australia', 'United States', 'World War I', 'Trench warfare', 'Battle of the Somme (1916)', 'Royal Air Force', 'George V of the United Kingdom']
|
Battle_of_Austerlitz
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Austerlitz,Boulogne,British Isles,William Pitt the Younger,La Grande Armée,English language,Cannon,Corps,Haitian Revolution,Malta,First Coalition" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Austerlitz</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Austerlitz";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Austerlitz";
var wgArticleId = 118372;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Austerlitz">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Austerlitz</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Pre_1900_Military.htm">Pre 1900 Military</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Austerlitz</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> War of the Third Coalition</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/203/20369.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="134" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Austerlitz-baron-Pascal.jpg" src="../../images/203/20369.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><i>Napoléon at the Battle of Austerlitz</i>, by <!--del_lnk--> François Pascal Simon, Baron Gérard.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> December 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1805</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Austerlitz, <a href="../../wp/c/Czech_Republic.htm" title="Czech Republic">Czech Republic</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive French victory<br /> effective end of <!--del_lnk--> Third Coalition</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> First French Empire</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Russian Empire<br /><!--del_lnk--> Austrian Empire</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/n/Napoleon_I_of_France.htm" title="Napoleon I of France">Napoleon I</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Alexander I</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">67,000</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">73,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">1,305 dead<br /> 6,940 wounded<br /> 573 captured<br /> about 9,000 total<br /> 1 standard lost</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">15,000 dead or wounded<br /> 12,000 captured<br /> about 27,000 total<br /> 180 guns and 50 standards lost</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> War of the Third Coalition</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Cape Finisterre – <!--del_lnk--> Wertingen – <!--del_lnk--> Haslach-Jungingen – <!--del_lnk--> Elchingen – <!--del_lnk--> Ulm – <!--del_lnk--> Trafalgar – <!--del_lnk--> Caldiero – <!--del_lnk--> Amstetten – <!--del_lnk--> Cape Ortegal – <!--del_lnk--> Dürenstein – <!--del_lnk--> Schöngrabern – <strong class="selflink">Austerlitz</strong></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Austerlitz</b> (also known as the <b>Battle of the Three Emperors</b>) was a major engagement in the <a href="../../wp/n/Napoleonic_Wars.htm" title="Napoleonic Wars">Napoleonic Wars</a> during the <!--del_lnk--> War of the Third Coalition. It was fought on <!--del_lnk--> December 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1805 about four <!--del_lnk--> miles (6.4 <!--del_lnk--> km) east of the modern <a href="../../wp/c/Czech_Republic.htm" title="Czech Republic">Czech</a> town of <!--del_lnk--> Brno, then part of the <!--del_lnk--> Austrian Empire. The conflict involved forces of the recently formed <!--del_lnk--> First French Empire against the armies of the <!--del_lnk--> Russian Empire and the Austrian Empire. After nearly nine hours of fighting, the French troops, commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Emperor Napoleon I, managed to score a decisive victory over the Russo-Austrian army, commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Czar Alexander I. Despite difficult fighting in many sectors, the battle is often regarded as a tactical masterpiece.<p>Austerlitz effectively brought the Third Coalition to an end. On <!--del_lnk--> December 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1805, Austria and France signed the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Pressburg, which took the former out of the war, reinforced the earlier treaties of <!--del_lnk--> Campo Formio and <!--del_lnk--> Lunéville, made Austria cede land to Napoleon's German allies, and imposed an <!--del_lnk--> indemnity of 40 million <!--del_lnk--> francs on the defeated <!--del_lnk--> Habsburgs. Russian troops were allowed to head back to home soil. Victory at Austerlitz also permitted the creation of the <!--del_lnk--> Confederation of the Rhine, a collection of German states intended as a buffer zone between France and the rest of <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>. In 1806, the <a href="../../wp/h/Holy_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a> ceased to exist when <!--del_lnk--> Holy Roman Emperor <!--del_lnk--> Francis II kept <!--del_lnk--> Francis I of Austria as his only official title. These achievements, however, did not establish a lasting peace on the continent. After Austerlitz, <!--del_lnk--> Prussian worries about growing French influence in <!--del_lnk--> Central Europe sparked the <!--del_lnk--> War of the Fourth Coalition in 1806.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Prelude" name="Prelude"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude</span></h2>
<p>Before Austerlitz, Europe had been embroiled in the <!--del_lnk--> French Revolutionary Wars since 1792. After five years of war, the <!--del_lnk--> French Republic subdued the <!--del_lnk--> First Coalition in 1797. A <!--del_lnk--> Second Coalition was formed in 1798, but this too was defeated by 1801. <!--del_lnk--> Britain remained the only opponent for the new <!--del_lnk--> French Consulate.<p><a id="From_Amiens_to_the_Third_Coalition" name="From_Amiens_to_the_Third_Coalition"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">From Amiens to the Third Coalition</span></h3>
<p>In March 1802, France and Britain agreed to end hostilities under the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Amiens. For the first time in ten years, all of Europe was at peace. However, there were many problems between the two sides, and implementing the agreements they had reached at Amiens seemed to be a growing challenge. Britain resented having to turn over all colonial conquests since 1793 and France was angry that British troops had not evacuated the island of <a href="../../wp/m/Malta.htm" title="Malta">Malta</a>. The tense situation only worsened when Napoleon sent an expeditionary force to crush the <!--del_lnk--> Haitian Revolution. In May 1803, Britain declared war on France.<p>In December 1804, an Anglo-Swedish agreement led to the creation of the Third Coalition. British Prime Minister <a href="../../wp/w/William_Pitt_the_Younger.htm" title="William Pitt the Younger">William Pitt</a> spent 1804 and 1805 in a flurry of diplomatic activity geared towards forming a new coalition against France. Mutual suspicion between the British and the Russians eased in the face of several French political mistakes, and by April of 1805 the two had signed a treaty of alliance. Having been defeated twice in recent memory by France and keen on revenge, Austria also joined the coalition a few months later.<p><a id="The_camps_of_Boulogne_and_La_Grande_Arm.C3.A9e" name="The_camps_of_Boulogne_and_La_Grande_Arm.C3.A9e"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The camps of Boulogne and La Grande Armée</span></h3>
<p>Prior to the formation of the Third Coalition, Napoleon had assembled the "Army of England", an invasion force meant to strike at the <a href="../../wp/b/British_Isles.htm" title="British Isles">British Isles</a>, around six camps at <!--del_lnk--> Boulogne in Northern France. Although they never set foot on British soil, Napoleon's troops received careful and invaluable training for any possible military operation. Boredom among the troops occasionally set in, but Napoleon paid many visits and conducted lavish parades in order to boost morale.<p>The men at Boulogne formed the core for what Napoleon would later call "<a href="../../wp/l/La_Grande_Arm%25C3%25A9e.htm" title="La Grande Armée">La Grande Armée</a>" (<a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>: The Great Army). At the start, this French army had about 200,000 men organized into seven <!--del_lnk--> corps, which were large field units containing about 36 to 40 <!--del_lnk--> cannon each and capable of independent action until other corps could arrive to the rescue. On top of these forces, Napoleon created a <!--del_lnk--> cavalry reserve of 22,000 organized into two <!--del_lnk--> cuirassier <!--del_lnk--> divisions, four mounted <!--del_lnk--> dragoon divisions, and two divisions of dismounted dragoons and light cavalry, all supported by 24 <!--del_lnk--> artillery pieces. By 1805, La Grande Armée had grown to a force of 350,000, was well equipped, well trained, and possessed a competent officer class.<p><a id="Russian_and_Austrian_armies" name="Russian_and_Austrian_armies"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Russian and Austrian armies</span></h3>
<p>The Russian army in 1805 had many characteristics of <!--del_lnk--> ancien régime organization: there was no permanent formation above the <!--del_lnk--> regimental level, senior officers were largely recruited from aristocratic circles, and the Russian soldier, in line with 18th century practice, was regularly beaten and punished to instill discipline. Furthermore, many lower-level officers were poorly trained and had difficulty getting their men to perform the necessary, and sometimes complex, maneuvers required in a battle. Nevertheless, the Russians did have a fine artillery arm manned by brave soldiers who regularly fought hard to prevent their pieces from falling into enemy hands.<p><!--del_lnk--> Archduke Charles, brother of the Austrian Emperor, had started to reform the Austrian army in 1801 by taking away power from the Hofkriegsrat, the military-political council responsible for decision-making in the Austrian armed forces. Charles was Austria's best field commander, but he was unpopular with the royal court and lost much influence when, against his advice, Austria decided to go to war with France. <!--del_lnk--> Karl Mack became the new main commander in Austria's army, instituting reforms on the infantry on the eve of war that called for a regiment to be composed of four <!--del_lnk--> battalions of four <!--del_lnk--> companies rather than the older three battalions of six companies. The sudden change came with no corresponding officer training, and as a result these new units were not led as well as they could have been. Austrian cavalry forces were regarded as the best in Europe, but the detachment of many cavalry units to various infantry formations precluded the hitting power of their massed French counterparts.<p><a id="Preliminary_moves" name="Preliminary_moves"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Preliminary moves</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23534.jpg.htm" title="Napoleon takes the surrender of the unfortunate General Mack and the Austrian army at Ulm. Painting by Charles Thevenin."><img alt="Napoleon takes the surrender of the unfortunate General Mack and the Austrian army at Ulm. Painting by Charles Thevenin." height="218" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Napoleon_ulm.jpg" src="../../images/235/23534.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23534.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/n/Napoleon_I_of_France.htm" title="Napoleon">Napoleon</a> takes the surrender of the unfortunate <!--del_lnk--> General Mack and the Austrian army at <!--del_lnk--> Ulm. Painting by <!--del_lnk--> Charles Thevenin.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In August 1805, Napoleon, <a href="../../wp/l/List_of_French_monarchs.htm" title="List of French monarchs">Emperor of the French</a> since May of the previous year, turned his army's sights from the <a href="../../wp/e/English_Channel.htm" title="English Channel">English Channel</a> to the <!--del_lnk--> Rhine in order to deal with the new Austrian and Russian threats. On <!--del_lnk--> September 25, after great secrecy and feverish marching, 200,000 French troops began to cross the Rhine on a front of 160 miles (260 km). Mack had gathered the greater part of the Austrian army at the fortress of <!--del_lnk--> Ulm in <!--del_lnk--> Bavaria. Napoleon hoped to swing his forces northward and perform a wheeling movement that would find the French at the Austrian rear. The <!--del_lnk--> Ulm Maneuver was well-executed and on <!--del_lnk--> October 20 Mack and 23,000 Austrian troops surrendered at Ulm, bringing the total number of Austrian prisoners in the campaign to 60,000. Although the spectacular victory was soured by the defeat of the Franco-Spanish fleet at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Trafalgar the following day, French success on land continued as <a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a> fell in November, replete with 100,000 muskets, 500 cannon, and the intact bridges across the <!--del_lnk--> Danube.<p>Meanwhile, the late arrival of Russian troops under <!--del_lnk--> Kutuzov prevented them from saving the Austrian field armies, so the Russians withdrew to the northeast to await reinforcements and to link up with surviving Austrian units. The French followed but soon found themselves in an unenviable strategic position: Prussian intentions were unknown and could be hostile, the Russian and Austrian armies now converged together, and to add to the frustration, Napoleon's lines of communication were extremely long and required strong garrisons to keep them open. Napoleon realized that the only meaningful way to capitalize on the success at Ulm was to force the Allies to battle and defeat them. Fortunately for him, the Russian Tsar was eager to fight.<p><a id="The_battle" name="The_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23535.jpg.htm" title="Napoleon with his troops on the eve of battle. Painting by Lejeune."><img alt="Napoleon with his troops on the eve of battle. Painting by Lejeune." height="164" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Austerlitz-lejeune.jpg" src="../../images/235/23535.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23535.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Napoleon with his troops on the eve of battle. Painting by <!--del_lnk--> Lejeune.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Napoleon could muster some 75,000 men and 157 guns for the impending battle, but about 7,000 troops under <!--del_lnk--> Davout were still far to the south in the direction of Vienna. The Allies had about 73,000 soldiers, seventy percent of them Russian, and 318 guns. On <!--del_lnk--> December 1, both sides occupied the main positions.<p><a id="The_battlefield" name="The_battlefield"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The battlefield</span></h3>
<p>The northern part of the battlefield was dominated by the 700-<!--del_lnk--> foot (210-<!--del_lnk--> meter) Santon hill and the 850-foot (260-meter) Zuran hill, both overlooking the vital <!--del_lnk--> Olmutz-Brno road that ran across a west-east axis. To the west of these two hills was the village of Bellowitz, and between them the Bosenitz Stream went south to link up with the Goldbach Stream, the latter flowing astride the villages of Kobelnitz, Sokolnitz, and Telnitz. The centerpiece of the entire area were the Pratzen Heights, a gently sloped hill about 35 to 40 feet (11-12 m) in height. An aide noted that the Emperor repeatedly told his Marshals, "Gentlemen, examine this ground carefully, it is going to be a battlefield; you will have a part to play upon it".<p><a id="Allied_plans_and_dispositions" name="Allied_plans_and_dispositions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Allied plans and dispositions</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23536.gif.htm" title="Allied (red) and French (blue) deployments at 1800 hours on December 1, 1805. Courtesy of the Department of History, United States Military Academy."><img alt="Allied (red) and French (blue) deployments at 1800 hours on December 1, 1805. Courtesy of the Department of History, United States Military Academy." height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Austerlitz%2C_Situation_at_1800%2C_1_December_1805.gif" src="../../images/235/23536.gif" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23536.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Allied (red) and French (blue) deployments at 1800 hours on <!--del_lnk--> December 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1805. Courtesy of the Department of History, <!--del_lnk--> United States Military Academy.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>An Allied council met on <!--del_lnk--> December 1 to discuss proposals for the battle. Most of the Allied strategists had two fundamental ideas in mind: making contact with the enemy and securing the southern flank that led to Vienna. Although the Czar and his immediate entourage pushed hard for a battle, Emperor Francis of Austria was in a more cautious mood, and he was seconded by Kutuzov, the main Russian commander. The pressure to fight from the Russian nobles and the Austrian commanders, however, was too strong, and the Allies adopted Austrian Chief of Staff Weyrother's plan. This called for a main drive against the French right flank, which the Allies noticed was lightly guarded, and diversionary attacks against the French left. The Allies deployed most of their troops into four columns that would attack the French right. The <!--del_lnk--> Russian Imperial Guard was held in reserve while Russian troops under <!--del_lnk--> Bagration guarded the Allied right.<p><a id="French_plans_and_dispositions" name="French_plans_and_dispositions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">French plans and dispositions</span></h3>
<p>Days before any actual fighting, Napoleon had given an impression to the Allies that his army was in a weak state and that he desired peace. In reality, he was hoping that they would attack, and to encourage them on this mission he deliberately weakened his right flank. On <!--del_lnk--> November 28, Napoleon met with his marshals at Imperial Headquarters and they informed him of their qualms and fears about the upcoming battle, even suggesting a retreat, but he shrugged off their complaints and went to work. Napoleon's plan envisioned that the Allies would throw so many troops to envelop his right flank that their centre would be severely weakened. He then counted on a massive French thrust, to be conducted by 16,000 troops of <!--del_lnk--> Soult's IV Corps, through the centre to cripple the Allied army. Meanwhile, to support his weak right flank, Napoleon ordered Davout's <!--del_lnk--> III Corps to force march all the way from Vienna and join General Legrand's men, who held the extreme southern flank that would bear the heavy part of the Allied attack. Davout's soldiers had 48 hours to march 70 miles (110 km). Their arrival would be extremely crucial in determining the success or failure of the French plan. The <!--del_lnk--> Imperial Guard and <!--del_lnk--> Bernadotte's I Corps were held in reserve while the V Corps under <!--del_lnk--> Lannes guarded the northern sector of the battle.<p><a id="Battle_is_joined" name="Battle_is_joined"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Battle is joined</span></h3>
<p>The battle began around 8 AM with the first allied column attacking the village of Telnitz, which was defended by the 3rd Line Regiment. This sector of the battlefield witnessed heavy action in the following moments as several ferocious Allied charges evicted the French from the town and forced them on the other side of the Goldbach. The first men of Davout’s corps arrived at this time and threw the Allies out of Telnitz before they too were attacked by <!--del_lnk--> hussars and re-abandoned the town. Additional Allied attacks out of Telnitz were checked by French artillery.<p>Allied columns started pouring against the French right, but not at the desired speed, so the French were mostly successful in curbing the attacks. In actuality, the Allied deployments were mistaken and poorly timed: cavalry detachments under <!--del_lnk--> Liechtenstein on the Allied left flank had to be placed in the right flank and in the process they ran into and slowed down part of the second column of infantry that was advancing towards the French right. At the time, the planners thought this was a disaster, but later on it helped the Allies. Meanwhile, the lead elements of the second column were attacking the village of Sokolnitz, which was defended by the 26th Light Regiment and the <i>Tirailleurs</i>, French skirmishers. Initial Allied assaults proved unsuccessful and <!--del_lnk--> General Langeron ordered the bombardment of the village. This deadly barrage forced the French out, and around the same time, the third column attacked the castle of Sokolnitz. The French, however, counterattacked and regained the village, only to be thrown out again, the conflict in this area momentarily ending when <!--del_lnk--> Friant's division (part of III Corps) retook the village. Sokolnitz was perhaps the most fought over area in the battlefield and would change hands several times as the day progressed.<p><a name=".22One_sharp_blow_and_the_war_is_over.22"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">"One sharp blow and the war is over"</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23537.gif.htm" title="The decisive attacks on the Allied center by St. Hilaire and Vandamme split the Allied army in two and left the French in a golden strategic position to win the battle. Courtesy of the Department of History, United States Military Academy."><img alt="The decisive attacks on the Allied center by St. Hilaire and Vandamme split the Allied army in two and left the French in a golden strategic position to win the battle. Courtesy of the Department of History, United States Military Academy." height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Austerlitz_-_Situation_at_0900%2C_2_December_1805.gif" src="../../images/235/23537.gif" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23537.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The decisive attacks on the Allied centre by <!--del_lnk--> St. Hilaire and <!--del_lnk--> Vandamme split the Allied army in two and left the French in a golden strategic position to win the battle. Courtesy of the Department of History, United States Military Academy.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Around 8:45 AM, finally satisfied at the weakness in the enemy centre, Napoleon asked Soult how long it would take for his men to reach the Pratzen Heights, to which the Marshal replied, “Less than twenty minutes sire.” About 15 minutes later, Napoleon ordered the attack, adding, “One sharp blow and the war is over.”<p>A dense fog helped to cloud the advance of St. Hilaire’s division, but as they went up the slope the legendary ‘Sun of Austerlitz’ ripped the mist apart and encouraged them forward. Russian soldiers and commanders on top of the heights were stunned to see so many French troops coming towards them. Allied commanders were now able to feed some of the delayed detachments of the fourth column into this bitter struggle. Over an hour of horrendous fighting left much of this unit decimated beyond recognition. The other men from the second column, mostly inexperienced Austrians, also participated in the struggle and swung the numbers game against one of the best fighting forces in the French army, finally forcing them to withdraw down the slopes. However, gripped by desperation, St. Hilaire's men struck hard once more and bayoneted the Allies out of the heights. To the north, <!--del_lnk--> General Vandamme’s division attacked an area called Staré Vinohrady and through talented skirmishing and deadly volleys broke several Allied battalions.<p>The battle had firmly turned to France’s favor, but there was still much fighting ahead. Napoleon ordered Bernadotte’s I Corps to support Vandamme’s left and moved his own command centre from Zuran Hill to St. Anthony’s Chapel on the Pratzen Heights. The difficult position of the Allies was confirmed by the decision to send in the <!--del_lnk--> Russian Imperial Guard; <!--del_lnk--> Grand Duke Constantine, Czar Alexander’s brother, commanded the Guard and counterattacked in Vandamme’s section of the field, forcing a bloody effort and the loss of the only French standard in the battle (the unfortunate victim was a battalion of the 4th Line Regiment). Sensing trouble, Napoleon ordered his own heavy Guard cavalry forward. These men pulverized their Russian counterparts, but with both sides pouring in large masses of cavalry no victor was clear yet. The Russians had a numerical advantage here but fairly soon the tide swung as Drouet’s Division, the 2nd of Bernadotte’s I Corps, deployed on the flank of the action and allowed French cavalry to seek refuge behind their lines. The <!--del_lnk--> horse artillery of the Guard also unlimbered a deadly toll on the Russian cavalry and fusiliers. The Russians broke and many died as they were pursued by the reinvigorated French cavalry for about a quarter of a mile.<p><a id="Endgame" name="Endgame"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Endgame</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23538.gif.htm" title="By 1400 hours, the Allied army had been dangerously separated. Napoleon now had the option to strike at one of the wings, and he chose the Allied left since other enemy sectors had already been cleared or were conducting fighting retreats. Courtesy of the Department of History, United States Military Academy."><img alt="By 1400 hours, the Allied army had been dangerously separated. Napoleon now had the option to strike at one of the wings, and he chose the Allied left since other enemy sectors had already been cleared or were conducting fighting retreats. Courtesy of the Department of History, United States Military Academy." height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Austerlitz_-_Situation_at_1400%2C_2_December_1805.gif" src="../../images/235/23538.gif" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23538.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> By 1400 hours, the Allied army had been dangerously separated. <a href="../../wp/n/Napoleon_I_of_France.htm" title="Napoleon">Napoleon</a> now had the option to strike at one of the wings, and he chose the Allied left since other enemy sectors had already been cleared or were conducting fighting retreats. Courtesy of the Department of History, United States Military Academy.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Meanwhile, the northernmost part of the battlefield was also witnessing heavy fighting. Prince Liechtenstein’s heavy cavalry began to assault <!--del_lnk--> Kellerman’s lighter cavalry forces after finally arriving at the correct position in the field. The fighting originally went well for the French, but Kellerman’s forces took cover behind General Caffarelli’s infantry division once it became clear Russian numbers were too great. Caffarelli’s men halted the Russian assaults and permitted <!--del_lnk--> Murat to send two cuirassier divisions into the fray to finish off the Russian cavalry for good. The ensuing melee was bitter and long, but the French ultimately prevailed. Lannes then lead his V Corps against Bagration’s men and after hard fighting managed to drive the skilled Russian commander off the field. He wanted to pursue, but Murat, who was in control of this sector in the battlefield, was against the idea.<p>Napoleon’s focus now shifted towards the southern end of the battlefield where the French and the Allies were still fighting over Sokolnitz and Telnitz. In an effective double-pronged assault, St. Hilaire’s division and part of Davout’s III Corps smashed through the enemy at Sokolnitz and persuaded the commanders of the first two columns, generals <!--del_lnk--> Kienmayer and Langeron, to flee as fast as they could. <!--del_lnk--> Buxhowden, the commander of the Allied left and the man responsible for leading the attack, was completely drunk and fled as well. Kienmayer covered his withdrawal with the O’Reilly light cavalry, who gallantly managed to defeat five of six French cavalry regiments before they too had to retreat.<p>General panic now seized the Allied army and it abandoned the field in any and all possible directions. A famous yet frightful episode transpired during this retreat: Russian forces that had been defeated by the French right withdrew south towards Vienna via the Satschan frozen ponds. French artillery pounded towards the men, but Napoleon redirected his engineers to fire at the ice. The men drowned in the viciously cold ponds, dozens of artillery pieces going down along with them. Estimates on how many guns were captured differ; there may have been as low 38 and as high as over 100. Sources also differ on casualties, with figures ranging from as low as 200 to as high as 2,000 dead. Because Napoleon exaggerated this incident in his report of the battle, the low numbers may be more accurate, although doubt remains as to whether they are fully correct. Many regard this incident as one of Napoleon's cruelest acts in war.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<p>Austerlitz and the preceding campaign profoundly altered the nature of European politics. In three months, the French had occupied Vienna, decimated two armies, and humbled the Austrian Empire. These events sharply contrast with the rigid power structures of the 18th century, when no major European capital was ever held by an enemy army. Austerlitz set the stage for a near-decade of French domination on the European continent, but one of its more immediate impacts was to goad Prussia into war in 1806.<p><a id="Military_and_political_results" name="Military_and_political_results"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Military and political results</span></h3>
<p>Overall, Allied casualties stood at about 27,000 out of an army of 73,000, which was 37% of their effectives. The French expended around 9,000 out of a force of 67,000, or about 13% of effectives. The Allies also lost 180 guns and 50 standards. The victory was met by sheer amazement and delirium in Paris, where just days earlier the nation was teetering on financial collapse. Napoleon wrote to Josephine, "I have beaten the Austro-Russian army commanded by the two emperors. I am a little weary....I embrace you." Tsar Alexander perhaps best summed up the harsh times for the Allies by stating, “We are babies in the hands of a giant.”<p>France and Austria signed a truce on <!--del_lnk--> December 4 and the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Pressburg 22 days later took the latter out of the war. Austria agreed to recognize French territory captured by the treaties of Campo Formio (1797) and Lunéville (1801), cede land to Bavaria, <!--del_lnk--> Wurttemberg, and <!--del_lnk--> Baden, which were Napoleon's German allies, and pay 40 million francs in war indemnities. <!--del_lnk--> Venice was also given to the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Italy. It was a harsh end for Austria, but certainly not a catastrophic peace. The Russian army was allowed to withdraw to home territory and the French encamped themselves in Southern Germany. The Holy Roman Empire was also effectively wiped out, 1806 being seen as its final year. Napoleon created the <!--del_lnk--> Confederation of the Rhine, a string of German states meant to serve as a buffer between France and Prussia. Prussia saw these and other moves as an affront to its status as the main power of Central Europe and it went to war with France in 1806.<p><a id="Rewards" name="Rewards"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Rewards</span></h3>
<p>Napoleon's words to his troops after the battle were full of praise: <i>Soldats! Je suis content de vous</i> (<a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>: Soldiers, I am happy with you). The Emperor provided two million golden francs to the higher officers, 200 francs to each soldier, and gave large pensions to the widows of the fallen. Orphaned children were adopted by Napoleon personally and they were allowed to add "Napoleon" to their baptismal and family names. Interestingly, Napoleon never gave a title of nobility to one of his commanders, as was customary following a great victory. It is probable that he considered Austerlitz too much of a personal triumph to elevate anyone else significantly. To this day, Austerlitz is often called "Napoleon's Greatest Victory."<p><a id="Popular_conceptions" name="Popular_conceptions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Popular conceptions</span></h2>
<p><a id="Mythology" name="Mythology"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Mythology</span></h3>
<p>There are many stories and legends regarding events before or during the battle. In the night before the day of battle, Napoleon set out with his entourage to review the forward positions. During this tour, he was recognized by the soldiers of Vandamme's division, and fairly soon the entire army lit candles to celebrate the anniversary of his coronation. Allied soldiers and commanders looking at this believed that the French were preparing to retreat. Another story features an unfortunate French soldier running from <!--del_lnk--> Cossacks; apparently, the soldier climbed through a chimney trying to hide, but the Cossacks found and killed him anyway. A more humorous episode transpired between some French troopers looking for horse fodder from a local peasant woman. The soldiers kept yelling, "Babo, ovsa" (English: "Lady, give us oats") but the woman, who was old and probably had difficult hearing, thought they were saying "Hopsa" (English: jump), so she repeatedly jumped, at the very great frustration of the French soldiers. Eventually, the soldiers realized she did not understand them, pointed to the horses outside, and even started chewing to give her a clue, which she finally got, giving the soldiers the oats they wanted. Yet another story tells of French artillerists throwing a wooden statue of the <!--del_lnk--> Virgin Mary into a fire for warmth and discovering that it would not burn. Some of these stories, like the first, are known to be true, and others represent mere rumors or allegations, but nevertheless they all form part of an enticing spectrum of oral tradition and human imagination.<p><a id="War_and_Peace" name="War_and_Peace"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline"><i>War and Peace</i></span></h3>
<p>The Battle of Austerlitz is a major event in <a href="../../wp/l/Leo_Tolstoy.htm" title="Leo Tolstoy">Leo Tolstoy</a>'s novel <i><a href="../../wp/w/War_and_Peace.htm" title="War and Peace">War and Peace</a></i>. The battle serves as an episode to exalt Russian values and traditions of spirituality and modesty above the alleged crude logic and arrogance of the French. As the battle is about to start, Prince Andrei, one of the main characters, thinks that the approaching "day [will] be his <!--del_lnk--> Toulon, or his bridge of <!--del_lnk--> Arcola," references to Napoleon's early victories. Andrei hopes for glory, even thinking to himself, "I shall march forward and sweep everything before me." Later in the battle, however, Andrei falls into enemy hands and even meets his hero, Napoleon. But the previous enthusiasm has been shattered; he no longer thinks much of Napoleon, "so petty did his hero with his paltry vanity and delight in victory appear, compared to that lofty, righteous and kindly sky which he had seen and comprehended." Tolstoy portrays Austerlitz as an early test for Russia, one which ended badly because the soldiers fought for irrelevant things like glory or renown rather than the higher virtues which would produce, according to Tolstoy, a victory at <!--del_lnk--> Borodino during the <!--del_lnk--> 1812 invasion.<p><a id="Historical_views" name="Historical_views"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Historical views</span></h3>
<p>Napoleon did not succeed in defeating the Allied army as thoroughly as he wanted, but historians and enthusiasts alike recognize that the original plan provided a significant victory. For that reason, Austerlitz is sometimes compared to other great tactical battles like <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Cannae.htm" title="Battle of Cannae">Cannae</a> or <!--del_lnk--> Blenheim. Some historians suggest that Napoleon was so successful at Austerlitz that he lost touch with reality, and what used to be French foreign policy became a "personal Napoleonic one" after the battle. In <!--del_lnk--> French history, Austerlitz is acknowledged as an impressive military victory, and in the 19th century, when fascination with the First Empire was at its height, the battle was reverred by the likes of Victor Hugo, who "in the depth of [his] thoughts" was hearing the "noise of the heavy cannons rolling towards Austerlitz". In the recent bicentennial, however, controversy erupted when French President <!--del_lnk--> Jacques Chirac or Prime Minister <!--del_lnk--> Dominique de Villepin did not attend any functions commemorating the battle. On the other hand, people from French overseas departments protested what they viewed as the "official commemoration of Napoleon", arguing that Austerlitz should not be celebrated since they believed Napoleon committed genocide against colonial peoples.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Austerlitz"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Czech Republic', 'Napoleon I of France', 'Napoleonic Wars', 'Czech Republic', 'Europe', 'Holy Roman Empire', 'Malta', 'William Pitt the Younger', 'British Isles', 'La Grande Armée', 'English language', 'Napoleon', 'List of French monarchs', 'English Channel', 'Vienna', 'Napoleon', 'English language', 'Leo Tolstoy', 'War and Peace', 'Battle of Cannae']
|
Battle_of_Badr
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Badr,Hijra (Islam),Medina,Abu Talib,Tribe,Ghazw,Banditry,Truce,Rajab,Blood feud,Quraish" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Badr</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Badr";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Badr";
var wgArticleId = 423951;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Badr">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Badr</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Pre_1900_Military.htm">Pre 1900 Military</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Badr</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Muslim-<!--del_lnk--> Quraish Wars</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="128" longdesc="/wiki/Image:The_Message_-_Badr.jpg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="300" /><br /> Scene from the film <i><!--del_lnk--> The Message</i> depicting the Muslim army at the Battle of Badr.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td>March 17, 624 CE/17 Ramadan, <!--del_lnk--> 2 AH</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Badr, just outside <!--del_lnk--> Medina</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Muslim victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Muslims of <!--del_lnk--> Medina</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Quraish of <a href="../../wp/m/Mecca.htm" title="Mecca">Mecca</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/m/Muhammad.htm" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib<br /><!--del_lnk--> Ali</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> 'Amr ibn Hishām (aka "Abū Jahl")<br /><!--del_lnk--> Abu Sufyan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">305-350</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><900-1000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">14 killed</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">50-70 killed<br /> 43-70 captured</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th>Campaigns of <!--del_lnk--> Muhammad</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong class="selflink">Badr</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Banu Qaynuqa – <!--del_lnk--> Uhud – <!--del_lnk--> Banu Nadir – <!--del_lnk--> The Trench – <!--del_lnk--> Banu Qurayza – <!--del_lnk--> Hudaybiyyah – <!--del_lnk--> Khaybar – <!--del_lnk--> Mu'tah – <!--del_lnk--> Mecca – <!--del_lnk--> Hunayn – <!--del_lnk--> Autas – <!--del_lnk--> Ta'if – <!--del_lnk--> Tabouk</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Badr</b> (<a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>: <span dir="rtl" lang="ar" style="white-space: nowrap;" xml:lang="ar">غزوة بدر</span>‎), fought <!--del_lnk--> March 17, <!--del_lnk--> 624 <!--del_lnk--> CE (17 <!--del_lnk--> Ramadan <!--del_lnk--> 2 AH in the <!--del_lnk--> Islamic calendar) in the <!--del_lnk--> Hejaz of western <!--del_lnk--> Arabia (present-day <a href="../../wp/s/Saudi_Arabia.htm" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a>), was a key battle in the early days of <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a> and a turning point in <a href="../../wp/m/Muhammad.htm" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a>'s struggle with the <a href="../../wp/m/Mecca.htm" title="Mecca">Meccan</a> <!--del_lnk--> Quraish. The battle has been passed down in <!--del_lnk--> Islamic history as a decisive victory attributable to <!--del_lnk--> divine intervention or the genius of Muhammad. Although it is one of the few battles specifically mentioned in the Muslim holy book, the <a href="../../wp/q/Qur%2527an.htm" title="Qur'an">Qur'ān</a>, virtually all contemporary knowledge of the battle at <!--del_lnk--> Badr comes from traditional Islamic accounts, both <!--del_lnk--> hadiths and biographies of Muhammad, written decades after the battle.<p>Prior to the battle, the Muslims and Meccans had been engaging in several smaller <!--del_lnk--> skirmishes and by late 623 and early 624 the Muslim <i><!--del_lnk--> ghazawāt</i> had become more frequent. Badr, however was the first large-scale engagement between the two forces. Muhammad was leading a raiding party against a Quraish <!--del_lnk--> caravan when he was surprised by a much larger Quraishi army, however some <!--del_lnk--> Islamic scholars have questioned raiding the caravan, both opinions are discussed in the article. Advancing to a strong <!--del_lnk--> defensive position, Muhammad's well-disciplined men managed to shatter the Meccan lines, killing several important Quraishi leaders including Muhammad's chief antagonist, <!--del_lnk--> 'Amr ibn Hishām. For the early Muslims the battle was extremely significant because it was the first sign that they might eventually overcome their persecutors in Mecca. Mecca at this time was one of the richest and most powerful <!--del_lnk--> pagan cities in Arabia, fielding an army three times larger than that of the Muslims.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<table class="toccolours" style="float:right; clear:right; font-size: 90%; width: 15em; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; text-align: center;">
<tr>
<td><small>Part of a <!--del_lnk--> series of articles on</small><br />
<p><span style="font-size: 200%"><b><a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a></b></span><br />
<center>
<div style="position: relative; width: 100px; height: 45px; overflow: hidden">
<div style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; font-size: 200px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 200px; z-index: 3"><a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam"> </a></div>
<div style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 2"><a class="image" href="../../images/110/11036.png.htm" title="Islam"><img alt="Islam" height="45" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Mosque02.svg" src="../../images/110/11036.png" width="100" /></a></div>
</div>
</center>
<p><big><b><!--del_lnk--> History of Islam</b></big></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="color:#ffffff; background-color:#007f00;"><b><!--del_lnk--> <span style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;">Beliefs and practices</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Oneness of <!--del_lnk--> God<br /><!--del_lnk--> Profession of Faith<br /><!--del_lnk--> Prayer • <!--del_lnk--> Fasting<br /><!--del_lnk--> Charity • <!--del_lnk--> Pilgrimage</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="color:#ffffff; background-color:#007f00;"><b><!--del_lnk--> <span style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;">Major figures</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><a href="../../wp/m/Muhammad.htm" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Household of Muhammad<br /><!--del_lnk--> Prophets of Islam<br /><!--del_lnk--> Companions of Muhammad<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="color:#ffffff; background-color:#007f00;"><b><!--del_lnk--> <span style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;">Texts & Laws</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><a href="../../wp/q/Qur%2527an.htm" title="Qur'an">Qur'an</a> • <!--del_lnk--> Sunnah • <!--del_lnk--> Hadith<br /><!--del_lnk--> Fiqh • <!--del_lnk--> Sharia • <!--del_lnk--> Theology<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color:#007f00;"><b><!--del_lnk--> <span style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;">Major branches</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Sunni • <!--del_lnk--> Shi'a</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="color: white; background-color:#007f00;"><b><!--del_lnk--> <span style="color: white; text-decoration: underline;">Societal aspects</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Academics • <!--del_lnk--> History<br /><!--del_lnk--> Philosophy • <!--del_lnk--> Science<br /><!--del_lnk--> Art • <!--del_lnk--> Architecture • <!--del_lnk--> Cities<br /><!--del_lnk--> Calendar • <!--del_lnk--> Holidays • <!--del_lnk--> Women<br /><!--del_lnk--> Leaders • <!--del_lnk--> Politics • <!--del_lnk--> Islamism</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="color: white; background-color:#007f00;"><b>See also</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Vocabulary of Islam<br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<br />
<p><a id="Muhammad" name="Muhammad"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Muhammad</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>At the time of the battle, Arabia was sparsely populated by a number of Arabic-speaking peoples. Some were <!--del_lnk--> Bedouin; pastoral <!--del_lnk--> nomads organized in tribes; some were agriculturalists living either in oases in the north or in the more fertile and thickly settled areas to the south (now <a href="../../wp/y/Yemen.htm" title="Yemen">Yemen</a> and <a href="../../wp/o/Oman.htm" title="Oman">Oman</a>). The majority of Arabs were adherents of numerous <!--del_lnk--> polytheistic <a href="../../wp/r/Religion.htm" title="Religion">religions</a>. There were also tribes that followed <a href="../../wp/j/Judaism.htm" title="Judaism">Judaism</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> (including <!--del_lnk--> Nestorianism), and <!--del_lnk--> Zoroastrianism.<p>Muhammad was born in Mecca around 570 CE into the <!--del_lnk--> Banū Hāshim clan of the <!--del_lnk--> Quraish <a href="../../wp/t/Tribe.htm" title="Tribe">tribe</a>. When he was about forty years old, he is said to have experienced a divine revelation while he was meditating in a cave outside Mecca. He began to preach to his kinfolk first privately and then publicly. Response to his preaching both attracted followers and antagonized others. During this period Muhammad was protected by his uncle <!--del_lnk--> Abū Tālib. When he died in 619 and the leadership of the Banū Hāshim passed to one of Muhammad's enemies, 'Amr ibn Hishām, who withdrew the protection and stepped up persecution of the Muslim community.<p>In 622, with open acts of violence being committed against the Muslims by their fellow Quraishi tribesmen, Muhammad and many of his followers fled to the neighboring city of <!--del_lnk--> Medina. This migration is called the <i><!--del_lnk--> Hijra</i> and marked the beginning of Muhammad's reign as both a temporal as well as a religious leader.<p><a id="The_Ghazaw.C4.81t" name="The_Ghazaw.C4.81t"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Ghazawāt</span></h3>
<p>Following the hijra, tensions between Mecca and Medina escalated and hostilities broke out in 623 when the Muslims began a series of raids (called <i><!--del_lnk--> ghazawāt</i> in Arabic) on Quraishi caravans. <i>Ghazawāt</i> (s. <i>ghazw</i>) were plundering raids organized by nomadic Bedouin warriors against either rival tribes or wealthier, sedentary neighbors. In late 623 and early 624, the Muslim <i>ghazawāt</i> grew increasingly brazen and commonplace. In September 623, Muhammad himself led a force of 200 in an unsuccessful raid against a large caravan. Shortly thereafter, the Meccans launched their own "raid" against Medina, although its purpose was just to steal some Muslim livestock.<p>Since Medina was located just off Mecca's main trade route, the Muslims were in an ideal position to do this. Even though many Muslims were Quraish themselves, they believed that they were entitled to steal from them because the Meccans had expelled them from their homes and tribes, a serious offense in hospitality-oriented Arabia. Also, there was a tradition in Arabia of poor tribes raiding richer tribes. It also provided a means for the Muslim community to carve out an independent economic position at Medina, where their political position was far from secure. The Meccans obviously took a different view, seeing the Muslim raids as <!--del_lnk--> banditry at best, as well as a potential threat to their livelihood and prestige.<p>In January 624, the Muslims ambushed a Meccan caravan near Nakhlah, only forty kilometers outside of Mecca, killing one of the guards and formally inaugurating a <!--del_lnk--> blood feud with the Meccans. Worse, from a Meccan standpoint, the raid occurred in the month of <!--del_lnk--> Rajab, a <!--del_lnk--> truce month sacred to the Meccans in which fighting was prohibited and a clear affront to their pagan traditions. It was in this context that the Battle of Badr took place.<p>However, some <!--del_lnk--> Islamic scholars question narratives regarding raid against the caravan as they argue that these narratives contradict the <a href="../../wp/q/Qur%2527an.htm" title="Qur'an">Qur'anic</a> version of the account. They argue that the caravan was one of the two targets which weak believers wanted to attack (<!--del_lnk--> 8:5-8), but then eventually Muslims fought against Meccan army, as looting a defenceless caravan wouldn't require preparations which Qur'an talks about(<!--del_lnk--> 8:43).<p><a id="The_battle" name="The_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The battle</span></h2>
<p><a id="The_march_to_Badr" name="The_march_to_Badr"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The march to Badr</span></h3>
<p>Muhammad commanded the army himself and brought many of his top lieutenants, including <!--del_lnk--> Hamzah and future <!--del_lnk--> Caliphs <!--del_lnk--> Abu Bakr, <!--del_lnk--> Umar, and <!--del_lnk--> Ali. The Muslims also brought seventy camels and three horses, meaning that they either had to walk or fit three to four men per camel. However, many early Muslim sources, including the Qur'an, indicate that no serious fighting was expected, and the future Caliph <!--del_lnk--> Uthman stayed behind to care for his sick wife. <p>The Quraish assembled an army of 900-1000 men to rescue the caravan. Many of the Quraishi nobles, including Amr ibn Hishām, <!--del_lnk--> Walid ibn Utba, Shaiba, and <!--del_lnk--> Umayah ibn Khalaf, joined the army. Their reasons varied: some were out to protect their financial interests in the caravan; others wanted to avenge Ibn al-Hadrami, the guard killed at Nakhlah; finally, a few must have wanted to take part in what was expected to be an easy victory against the Muslims. Amr ibn Hishām is described as shaming at least one noble, Umayah ibn Khalaf, into joining the expedition. <p>By this time Muhammad's army was approaching the wells where he planned to waylay the caravan, at Badr, along the Syrian trade route where the caravan would be expected to stop. However, several Muslim scouts were discovered by scouts from the caravan and Abu Sufyan made a hasty turn towards <!--del_lnk--> Yanbu.<p>Around this time word reached the Muslims about the departure of the Meccan army. Muhammad immediately called a council, "If you [Muhammad] order us to plunge our horses into the sea, we would do so." However, the Muslims still hoped to avoid a pitched battle and continued to march towards Badr.<p>After few days, both armies were about a day's march from Badr. Several Muslim warriors who had ridden ahead of the main column captured two Meccan water carriers at the Badr wells. Expecting them to say they were with the caravan, the Muslims were horrified to hear them say they were with the main Quraishi army. The next day Muhammad ordered a forced march to Badr and arrived before the Meccans.<p>The Badr wells were located on the gentle slope on the eastern side of a valley called "Yalyal". The western side of the valley was hemmed in by a large hill called 'Aqanqal. When the Muslim army arrived from the east, Muhammad initially chose to form his army at the first well he encountered, but he was apparently persuaded by one of his soldiers to move his army westwards and occupy the well closest to the Quraishi army. Muhammad then gave the order to fill in the remaining wells, so that the Meccans would have to fight the Muslims for the sole remaining water source.<p><a id="The_Meccan_plan" name="The_Meccan_plan"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Meccan plan</span></h3>
<blockquote>
<p><i>"[The] Arabs will hear how we marched forth and of our mighty gathering, and they will stand in awe of us forever."</i> <b>- Amr ibn Hishām</b></blockquote>
<p>By contrast, while little is known about the progress of the Quraishi army from the time it left Mecca until its arrival just outside Badr, several things are worth noting: although many Arab armies brought their women and children along on campaigns both to motivate and care for the men, the Meccan army did not. Also, the Quraish apparently made little or no effort to contact the many <!--del_lnk--> Bedouin allies they had scattered throughout the Hijaz. Both facts suggest the Quraish lacked the time to prepare for a proper campaign in their haste to protect the caravan.<p>When the Quraishi reached Juhfah, just south of Badr, they received a message from Abu Sufyan telling them the caravan was safely behind them, and that they could therefore return to Mecca. At this point, according to Karen Armstrong, a power struggle broke out in the Meccan army. Amr ibn Hishām wanted to continue, but several of the clans present, including <!--del_lnk--> Banu Zuhrah and <!--del_lnk--> Banu Adi, promptly went home. Armstrong suggests they may have been concerned about the power that Hishām would gain from crushing the Muslims. A contingent of Banu Hashim, hesitant to fight their own clansmen, also left with them. Despite these losses, Hishām was still determined to fight, boasting "We will not go back until we have been to Badr." During this period, Abu Sufyan and several other men from the caravan joined the main army.<p><a id="The_day_of_battle" name="The_day_of_battle"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The day of battle</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23543.gif.htm" title="Different map of the battle"><img alt="Different map of the battle" height="290" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Badr.gif" src="../../images/235/23543.gif" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23543.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Different map of the battle</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>At dawn on March 17, the Quraish broke camp and marched into the valley of Badr. It had rained the previous day and they struggled to move their horses and camels up the hill of 'Aqanqal (sources say the sun was already up by the time they reached the summit). After they descended from 'Aqanqal, the Meccans set up another camp inside the valley. While they rested, they sent out a scout, <!--del_lnk--> Umayr ibn Wahb to reconnoiter the Muslim lines. Umayr reported that Muhammad's army was small, and that there were no other Muslim reinforcements which might join the battle. However, he also predicted extremely heavy Quraishi casualties in the event of an attack (One hadith refers to him seeing "the camels of [Medina] laden with certain death"). This further demoralized the Quraish, as Arab battles were traditionally low-casualty affairs, and set off another round of bickering among the Quraishi leadership. However, according to Muslim traditions Amr ibn Hishām quashed the remaining dissent by appealing to the Quraishi's sense of honour and demanding that they fulfill their blood vengeance.<p>The battle started with champions from both armies emerging to engage in combat. Three of the Ansar emerged from the Muslim ranks, only to be shouted back by the Meccans, who were nervous about starting any unnecessary feuds and only wanted to fight the Quraishi Muslims. So the Muslims sent out <!--del_lnk--> Hamzah, <!--del_lnk--> Ubaydah, and <!--del_lnk--> Ali. The Muslims dispatched the Meccan champions in a three-on-three melee, although Ubaydah was mortally wounded.<p>Now both armies began firing arrows at each other. Two Muslims and an unknown number of Quraish were killed. Before the battle started, Muhammad had given orders for the Muslims to attack with their ranged weapons, and only engage the Quraish with <!--del_lnk--> melee weapons when they advanced. Now he gave the order to charge, throwing a handful of pebbles at the Meccans in what was probably a traditional Arabian gesture while yelling "Defaced be those faces!" The Muslim army yelled <i>"Yā manṣūr amit!"</i> and rushed the Quraishi lines. The sheer force of the Muslim attack can be seen in several Qur'anic verses, which refer to thousands of angels descending from Heaven at Badr to slaughter the Quraish. It should be noted that early Muslim sources take this account literally, and there are several hadith where Muhammad discusses the Angel <!--del_lnk--> Jibreel and the role he played in the battle. In any case the Meccans, understrength and unenthusiastic about fighting, promptly broke and ran. The battle itself only lasted a few hours and was over by the early afternoon.<p><a id="Important_participants" name="Important_participants"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Important participants</span></h3>
<p><a id="Meccans" name="Meccans"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Meccans</span></h4>
<ul>
<li>Amr ibn Hishām (Meccan commander, killed)<li><!--del_lnk--> Abu Sufyan ibn Harb<li><!--del_lnk--> As ibn Sa'id (killed)<li><!--del_lnk--> Safwan ibn Umayah<li><!--del_lnk--> Umayah ibn Khalaf (killed)<li><!--del_lnk--> Umayr ibn Wahb<li><!--del_lnk--> Uqbah ibn Abu Mu'ayt (killed)<li><!--del_lnk--> Utba ibn Rabi'ah (killed)<li><!--del_lnk--> Walid ibn Mughira (killed)<li><!--del_lnk--> Walid ibn Utba (killed)<li><!--del_lnk--> Nawfal ibn Khuwaylid<li><!--del_lnk--> Wahb ibn Umayr (prisoner)</ul>
<p><a id="Muslims" name="Muslims"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Muslims</span></h4>
<p><b>+</b> Indicates <!--del_lnk--> Ansar<ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/m/Muhammad.htm" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a> (Muslim commander, Islamic prophet)</ul>
<p>Names in alphabetic order<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf<li><!--del_lnk--> Abu Bakr (future caliph)<li><!--del_lnk--> Abu Hudaifah ibn Utbah<li><!--del_lnk--> Ammar ibn Yasir<li><!--del_lnk--> Ali ibn Abu Talib (future caliph)<li><!--del_lnk--> Bashir ibn Sa'ad<b>+</b><li><!--del_lnk--> Bilal ibn Ribah<li><!--del_lnk--> Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib<li><!--del_lnk--> Khabbab ibn al-Aratt<li><!--del_lnk--> Khunais ibn Hudhaifa<li><!--del_lnk--> Muaaz ibn Amr<b>+</b> (killed)<li><!--del_lnk--> Muawwaz ibn Amr<b>+</b> (killed)<li><!--del_lnk--> Mu‘awwadh bin Al-‘Afrâ (died)<li><!--del_lnk--> Obaidah ibn al-Harith (killed)<li><!--del_lnk--> Umar (future caliph)</ul>
<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23546.jpg.htm" title="An Iranian depiction from 1314 of the Muslim pursuit following the battle."><img alt="An Iranian depiction from 1314 of the Muslim pursuit following the battle." height="169" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Badr_pursuit_%28Persia%29.jpg" src="../../images/235/23546.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23546.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An Iranian depiction from 1314 of the Muslim pursuit following the battle.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Casualties_and_prisoners" name="Casualties_and_prisoners"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Casualties and prisoners</span></h3>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Al-Bukhari lists Meccan losses as seventy dead and seventy captured, which would be 15%-16% of the Quraishi army, unless the actual number of Meccan troops present at Badr was significantly lower, in which case the perecentage of troops lost would have been higher. Muslim losses are commonly listed at fourteen killed, about 4% of their engaged forces. Sources do not indicate the number of wounded on either side, and the major discrepancies between the casualty totals on each side suggests that the fighting was extremely brief and that most of the Meccans were killed during the retreat.<p>During the course of the fighting, the Muslims took a number of Meccan Quraish prisoner. Their fate sparked an immediate controversy in the Muslim army. The initial fear was that the Meccan army might rally and that the Muslims couldn't spare any men to guard the prisoners. Sad and Umar were in favour of killing the prisoners, but Abu Bakr argued for clemency. Muhammad eventually sided with Abu Bakr, and most prisoners were spared, either because of clan relations (One was Muhammad's son-in-law), desire for ransom, or the hope that they would later convert to Islam (in fact, several later would). At least two high-ranking Meccans, Amr ibn Hishām and Umayyah, were executed after the battle, and two other Quraish who had dumped a bucket of sheep excrement over Muhammad during his days at Mecca were also killed during the return to Medina. In the case of Umayyah, his former slave <!--del_lnk--> Bilal was so intent on killing him that his companions even stabbed one of the Muslims guarding Umayyah.<p>Shortly before he departed Badr, Muhammad also gave the order for over twenty of the dead Quraishis to be thrown into the well at Badr. Multiple hadiths refer to this incident, which was apparently a major cause for outrage among the Quraish of Mecca. Shortly thereafter, several Muslims who had been recently captured by allies of the Meccans were brought into the city of Mecca and executed in revenge for the defeat.<p>According to the traditional <!--del_lnk--> blood feud (similar to <!--del_lnk--> Blood Law) any Meccans related to those killed at Badr would feel compelled to take vengeance against members of the tribe who had killed their relatives. On the Muslim side, there was also a heavy desire for vengeance, as they had been persecuted and tortured by the Quraishi Meccans for years. However, as a general rule, the Muslims took better care of their prisoners, even going so far as to house them with Muslim families in Medina.<p><a id="Implications" name="Implications"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Implications</span></h3>
<p>The Battle of Badr was extremely influential in the rise of two men who would determine the course of history on the Arabian peninsula for the next century. The first was Muhammad, who was transformed overnight from a Meccan outcast into a major leader. According to Karen Armstrong, "for years Muhammad had been the butt of scorn and insults, but after this spectacular and unsought success everybody in Arabia would have to take him seriously." Marshall Hodgson adds that Badr forced the other Arabs to "regard the Muslims as challengers and potential inheritors to the prestige and the political role of the [Quraish]." The victory at Badr also allowed Muhammad to consolidate his own position at Medina. Shortly thereafter he expelled the <!--del_lnk--> Banu Qaynuqa, one of the Jewish tribes at Medina that had been threatening his political position. At the same time <!--del_lnk--> Ibn Ubayy, Muhammad's chief Muslim opponent in Medina, found his own position seriously weakened. Henceforth, he would only be able to mount limited challenges to Muhammad.<p>The other major beneficiary of the Battle of Badr was <!--del_lnk--> Abu Sufyan. The death of Amr ibn Hashim, as well as many other Quraishi nobles gave Abu Sufyan the opportunity, almost by default, to become chief of the <!--del_lnk--> Quraish. As a result, when Muhammad marched into Mecca six years later, it was Abu Sufyan who helped negotiate its peaceful surrender. Abu Sufyan subsequently became a high-ranking official in the Muslim Empire, and his son <!--del_lnk--> Muawiya would later defeat Muhammad's son-in-law <!--del_lnk--> Ali and go on to found the <!--del_lnk--> Umayyad Caliphate.<p>In later days having fought Badr became so significant that <!--del_lnk--> Ibn Ishaq included a complete name-by-name roster of the Muslim army in his biography of Muhammad. In many hadiths, individuals who fought at Badr are identified as such as a formality, and they may have even received a stipend in later years. The death of the last of the Badr veterans occurred during the <!--del_lnk--> First Islamic civil war. According to Karen Armstrong, one of the most lasting impacts of Badr may be the fasting during <!--del_lnk--> Ramadan, which she argues the Muslims initially began as a way of commemorating the victory at Badr. This view is disputed, however, due to traditional claims that the Muslim army was fasting while it marched out to the battle.<p><a id="Historical_sources" name="Historical_sources"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Badr"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Mecca', 'Muhammad', 'Arabic language', 'Saudi Arabia', 'Islam', 'Muhammad', 'Mecca', "Qur'an", 'Islam', 'Islam', 'Muhammad', "Qur'an", 'Yemen', 'Oman', 'Religion', 'Judaism', 'Christianity', 'Tribe', "Qur'an", 'Muhammad']
|
Battle_of_Bicocca
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Bicocca,1522,Adda River,Albert von Stein,Alessandria,Alps,Andrea Gritti,Anne de Montmorency,Antonio de Leyva,April 26,April 27" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Bicocca</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Bicocca";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Bicocca";
var wgArticleId = 2223484;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Bicocca">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Bicocca</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Pre_1900_Military.htm">Pre 1900 Military</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Bicocca</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <a href="../../wp/i/Italian_War_of_1521.htm" title="Italian War of 1521">Italian War of 1521</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23550.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="190" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Bicocca_%28location%29.png" src="../../images/235/23550.png" width="300" /></a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Lombardy in 1522. The location of the battle is indicated.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> April 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1522</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td>Bicocca, north of <a href="../../wp/m/Milan.htm" title="Milan">Milan</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Imperial and Papal victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Republic of Venice</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/h/Holy_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a>,<br /><a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spain</a>,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Papal States,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Duchy of Milan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Vicomte de Lautrec</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Prospero Colonna</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">19,000–31,000+</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">7,000+</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">3,000+ killed</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">Light</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><a href="../../wp/i/Italian_War_of_1521.htm" title="Italian War of 1521">Italian War of 1521</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Pampeluna – <!--del_lnk--> Esquiroz – <!--del_lnk--> Mézières – <!--del_lnk--> Tournai – <strong class="selflink">Bicocca</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Genoa – <!--del_lnk--> Sesia – <!--del_lnk--> Marseille – <!--del_lnk--> Pavia</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Italian Wars</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> First – <!--del_lnk--> Second – <a href="../../wp/w/War_of_the_League_of_Cambrai.htm" title="War of the League of Cambrai">League of Cambrai</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Urbino – <a href="../../wp/i/Italian_War_of_1521.htm" title="Italian War of 1521">1521</a> – <!--del_lnk--> League of Cognac – <!--del_lnk--> 1535 – <!--del_lnk--> 1542 – <!--del_lnk--> 1551</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Bicocca</b>, sometimes known as the <b>Battle of La Bicocca</b>, was fought on <!--del_lnk--> April 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1522, during the <a href="../../wp/i/Italian_War_of_1521.htm" title="Italian War of 1521">Italian War of 1521</a>. A combined <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Venetian force under <!--del_lnk--> Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, was decisively defeated by an <a href="../../wp/h/Holy_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Holy Roman Empire">Imperial</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spanish</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Papal army under the overall command of <!--del_lnk--> Prospero Colonna. Lautrec then withdrew from <!--del_lnk--> Lombardy, leaving the <!--del_lnk--> Duchy of Milan in Imperial hands.<p>Having been driven from <a href="../../wp/m/Milan.htm" title="Milan">Milan</a> by an Imperial advance in late 1521, Lautrec had regrouped, attempting to strike at Colonna's lines of communication. When the <!--del_lnk--> Swiss mercenaries in French service did not receive their pay, however, they demanded an immediate battle, and Lautrec was forced to attack Colonna's fortified position in the park of Bicocca, north of Milan. The Swiss pikemen advanced over open fields under heavy artillery fire to assault the Imperial positions, but were halted at a sunken road backed by earthworks. Having suffered massive casualties from the fire of Spanish <!--del_lnk--> arquebusiers, the Swiss retreated. Meanwhile, an attempt by French cavalry to flank Colonna's position proved equally ineffective. The Swiss, unwilling to fight further, marched off to their <!--del_lnk--> cantons a few days later, and Lautrec retreated into Venetian territory with the remnants of his army.<p>The battle is noted chiefly for marking the end of the Swiss dominance among the infantry of the <!--del_lnk--> Italian Wars, and of the Swiss method of assaults by massed columns of pikemen without support from other troops. It was simultaneously the first of a series of engagements which established the decisive role of <!--del_lnk--> firearms on the battlefield.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Prelude" name="Prelude"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude</span></h2>
<p>At the start of the war in 1521, <a href="../../wp/h/Holy_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Emperor</a> <a href="../../wp/c/Charles_V%252C_Holy_Roman_Emperor.htm" title="Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor">Charles V</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Pope Leo X moved jointly against the <!--del_lnk--> Duchy of Milan, the principal French possession in Lombardy. A large Papal force under the <!--del_lnk--> Marquis of Mantua, together with Spanish troops from <!--del_lnk--> Naples and some smaller <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italian</a> contingents, concentrated near <!--del_lnk--> Mantua. The <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">German</a> forces which Charles sent south to aid this venture passed through Venetian territory near <!--del_lnk--> Vallegio unmolested; the combined Papal, Spanish, and Imperial army then proceeded into French territory under the command of <!--del_lnk--> Prospero Colonna. For the next several months, Colonna fought an evasive war of <!--del_lnk--> maneuver against <!--del_lnk--> Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, the French commander, besieging cities but refusing to give battle.<p>By the autumn of 1521, Lautrec, who was holding a line along the <!--del_lnk--> Adda River to <!--del_lnk--> Cremona, began to suffer massive losses from desertion, particularly among his <!--del_lnk--> Swiss mercenaries. Colonna took the opportunity this offered and, advancing close to the <!--del_lnk--> Alps, crossed the Adda at <!--del_lnk--> Vaprio; Lautrec, lacking <!--del_lnk--> infantry and assuming the year's campaign to be over, withdrew to <a href="../../wp/m/Milan.htm" title="Milan">Milan</a>. Colonna had no intention of stopping his advance, however. On the night of <!--del_lnk--> November 23, he launched a surprise attack on the city, overwhelming the Venetian troops defending one of the walls. Following some abortive <!--del_lnk--> street-fighting, Lautrec withdrew to Cremona with about 12,000 men.<p>By January, the French had lost <!--del_lnk--> Alessandria, <!--del_lnk--> Pavia, and <!--del_lnk--> Como; and <!--del_lnk--> Francesco II Sforza, bringing further German reinforcements, had slipped past a Venetian force at <!--del_lnk--> Bergamo to join Colonna in Milan. Lautrec had meanwhile been reinforced by the arrival of 16,000 fresh Swiss <!--del_lnk--> pikemen and some further Venetian forces, as well as additional companies of French troops under the command of <!--del_lnk--> Thomas de Foix-Lescun and <!--del_lnk--> Pedro Navarro; he had also secured the services of the <!--del_lnk--> condottiere <!--del_lnk--> Giovanni de' Medici, who brought his <!--del_lnk--> Black Bands into the French service. The French proceeded to attack <!--del_lnk--> Novara and <!--del_lnk--> Pavia, hoping to draw Colonna into a decisive battle. Colonna, leaving Milan, fortified himself in the <!--del_lnk--> monastery of <!--del_lnk--> Certosa south of the city. Considering this position to be too strong to be easily assaulted, Lautrec attempted instead to threaten Colonna's lines of communication by sweeping around Milan to <!--del_lnk--> Monza, cutting the roads from the city into the <!--del_lnk--> Alps.<p>Lautrec was suddenly confronted, however, with the intransigence of the Swiss, who formed the largest contingent of the French army. They complained that they had not received any of the pay promised them since their arrival in Lombardy. The Swiss captains, led by <!--del_lnk--> Albert von Stein, demanded that Lautrec attack the Imperial army immediately—else the mercenaries would abandon the French and return to their <!--del_lnk--> cantons. Lautrec reluctantly acquiesced and marched south towards Milan.<p><a id="Battle" name="Battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23551.png.htm" title="A diagram of the battle. Lautrec's movements are indicated in blue; Colonna's, in red."><img alt="A diagram of the battle. Lautrec's movements are indicated in blue; Colonna's, in red." height="375" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Bicocca_%28diagram%29.png" src="../../images/235/23551.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23551.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A diagram of the battle. Lautrec's movements are indicated in blue; Colonna's, in red.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Dispositions" name="Dispositions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Dispositions</span></h3>
<p>Colonna had meanwhile relocated to a formidable new position: the <!--del_lnk--> manor park of Bicocca, about four miles north of Milan. The park was situated between a large expanse of marshy ground to the west and the main road into Milan to the east; along this road ran a deep wet ditch, which was crossed by a narrow stone bridge some distance south of the park. The north side of the park was bordered by a sunken road; Colonna deepened this and constructed an earthen rampart on the southern bank. The Imperial <!--del_lnk--> artillery, placed on several platforms jutting forward from the earthworks, was able to sweep the fields north of the park as well as parts of the sunken road itself. The entire length of the north side of the park was less than 600 yards, which permitted Colonna to place his troops quite densely. Immediately behind the rampart were four ranks of Spanish <!--del_lnk--> arquebusiers, commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Fernando d'Avalos, Marquess of Pescara; they were backed by Spanish <!--del_lnk--> pikemen and German <!--del_lnk--> landsknechts under <!--del_lnk--> Georg Frundsberg. Most of the Imperial cavalry was placed at the south end of the park, far behind the infantry; a separate force of cavalry was positioned to the south, guarding the bridge.<p>On the evening of <!--del_lnk--> April 26, Lautrec sent a force of about 400 cavalry under the Sieur de Pontdormy to reconnoiter the Imperial positions. The patrol reported that the ground was cut by irrigation ditches and ill-suited for maneuvering, but this failed to dissuade the Swiss. Colonna, having observed the French presence, sent messengers to Milan to request reinforcements; Francesco Sforza arrived the next morning with 6,400 additional troops, joining the cavalry near the bridge to the south of Colonna's camp.<p>At dawn on <!--del_lnk--> April 27, Lautrec began his attack. The <!--del_lnk--> Black Bands brushed aside the Spanish <!--del_lnk--> pickets, clearing the ground before the Imperial positions. The French advance was headed by two columns of Swiss, each comprised of about 4,000 to 7,000 men, accompanied by some artillery; this party was to assault the entrenched front of the Imperial camp directly. Lescun, meanwhile, led a body of cavalry south along the Milan road, intending to flank the camp and strike at the bridge to the rear. The remainder of the French army, including the French infantry, the bulk of the heavy cavalry, and the remnants of the Swiss, formed up in a broad line some distance behind the two Swiss columns; behind this was a third line, composed of the Venetian forces under <!--del_lnk--> Francesco Maria della Rovere, the Duke of Urbino.<p><a id="The_Swiss_attack" name="The_Swiss_attack"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Swiss attack</span></h3>
<p>The overall command of the Swiss assault was given to <!--del_lnk--> Anne de Montmorency. As the Swiss columns advanced towards the park, he ordered them to pause and wait for the French artillery to bombard the Imperial defences, but the Swiss refused to obey. Perhaps the Swiss captains doubted that the artillery would have any effect on the earthworks; historian <!--del_lnk--> Charles Oman suggests that it is more likely they were "inspired by blind pugnacity and self-confidence". In any case, the Swiss moved rapidly towards Colonna's position, leaving the artillery behind. There was apparently some rivalry between the two columns, as one, commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Arnold Winkelried of Unterwalden, was composed of men from the rural cantons, while the other, under Albert von Stein, consisted of the contingents from <!--del_lnk--> Bern and the urban cantons. The advancing Swiss quickly came into range of the Imperial artillery. Unable to take cover on the level fields, they began to take substantial casualties; as many as a thousand Swiss may have been killed by the time the columns reached the Imperial lines.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23552.jpg.htm" title="Anne de Montmorency, painted by Jean Clouet (c. 1530). Montmorency commanded the Swiss assault, and was the only survivor among the French nobles who accompanied it."><img alt="Anne de Montmorency, painted by Jean Clouet (c. 1530). Montmorency commanded the Swiss assault, and was the only survivor among the French nobles who accompanied it." height="260" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Anne_de_Montmorency_%281530%29.jpg" src="../../images/235/23552.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23552.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Anne de Montmorency, painted by <!--del_lnk--> Jean Clouet (c. 1530). Montmorency commanded the Swiss assault, and was the only survivor among the French nobles who accompanied it.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Swiss came to a sudden halt as the columns reached the sunken road in front of the park; the depth of the road and the height of the rampart behind it—together higher than the length of the Swiss pikes—effectively blocked their advance. Moving down into the road, the Swiss suffered massive casualties from the fire of d'Avalos's arquebusiers. Nevertheless, the Swiss made a series of desperate attempts to breach the Imperial line. Some parties managed to reach the top of the rampart, only to be met by the landsknechts, who had come up from behind the arquebusiers. One of the Swiss captains was apparently killed by Frundsberg in single combat; and the Swiss, unable to form up atop the earthworks, were pushed back down into the sunken road. After attempting to move forward for about half an hour, the remnants of the Swiss columns retreated back towards the main French line. In the fields which they had crossed and before the rampart, they left more than 3,000 dead; among these were twenty-two captains, including both Winkelried and Albert von Stein. Of the French nobles who had accompanied the Swiss assault, only Montmorency survived.<p><a id="Denouement" name="Denouement"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Denouement</span></h3>
<p>Lescun, with about 400 heavy cavalry under his command, had meanwhile reached the bridge south of the park and fought his way across it and into the Imperial camp beyond. Colonna responded by detaching some cavalry under <!--del_lnk--> Antonio de Leyva to halt the French advance, while Francesco Sforza came up the road towards the bridge, aiming to surround Lescun. Pontdormy held off the Milanese, allowing Lescun to extricate himself from the camp; the French cavalry then retraced its path and rejoined the main body of the army.<p>Despite the urging of d'Avalos and several other Imperial commanders, Colonna refused to order a general attack on the French, pointing out that much of Lautrec's army—including the bulk of his cavalry—was still intact. Colonna suggested that the French were already beaten, and would soon withdraw; this assessment was shared by Frundsberg. Nevertheless, some small groups of Spanish arquebusiers and light cavalry attempted to pursue the withdrawing Swiss, only to be beaten back by the Black Bands, which were covering the removal of the French artillery from the field.<p>Colonna's judgement proved to be accurate. The Swiss were unwilling to make another assault, and marched for home on <!--del_lnk--> April 30. Lautrec, believing that his resulting weakness in infantry made a further campaign impossible, retreated to the east, crossing the Adda into Venetian territory at <!--del_lnk--> Trezzo. Having reached Cremona, Lautrec left Lescun in command of the remnants of the French army and rode unescorted to <a href="../../wp/l/Lyon.htm" title="Lyon">Lyon</a>, to make his report to <!--del_lnk--> Francis I.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<p>Lautrec's departure heralded a complete collapse of the French position in <!--del_lnk--> northern Italy. No longer menaced by the French army, Colonna and d'Avalos marched on <a href="../../wp/g/Genoa.htm" title="Genoa">Genoa</a>, capturing it after a <!--del_lnk--> brief siege. Lescun, learning of the loss of Genoa, arranged an agreement with Francesco Sforza by which the <!--del_lnk--> Castello Sforzesco in Milan, which still remained in French hands, surrendered, and the remainder of the French forces withdrew over the <!--del_lnk--> Alps. The Venetians, under the newly elected <!--del_lnk--> Doge <!--del_lnk--> Andrea Gritti, were no longer interested in continuing the war; in July 1523, Gritti concluded the Treaty of Worms with <!--del_lnk--> Charles V, removing the Republic from the fighting. The French would make two further attempts to regain Lombardy before the end of the war, but neither would be successful; the terms of the Treaty of Madrid, which <!--del_lnk--> Francis was forced to sign after his defeat at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Pavia, would leave Italy in Imperial hands.<p>Another effect of the battle was the changed attitude of the Swiss. <!--del_lnk--> Francesco Guicciardini wrote of the aftermath of Bicocca:<blockquote>
<p>They went back to their mountains diminished in numbers, but much more diminished in audacity; for it is certain that the losses which they suffered at Bicocca so affected them that in the coming years they no longer displayed their wonted vigour.</blockquote>
<p>While Swiss mercenaries would continue to take part in the <!--del_lnk--> Italian Wars, they no longer possessed the willingness to make headlong attacks that they had at <!--del_lnk--> Novara in 1513 or <!--del_lnk--> Marignano in 1515; their performance at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Pavia in 1525 would surprise observers by its lack of initiative.<p>More generally, the battle made apparent the decisive role of <!--del_lnk--> small arms on the battlefield. Although the full capabilites of the arquebus would not be demonstrated until the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Sesia (where arquebusiers would prevail against heavy cavalry on open ground) two years later, the weapon nevertheless became a <i><!--del_lnk--> sine qua non</i> for any army which did not wish to grant a massive advantage to its opponents. While the pikeman would continue to play a vital role in warfare, it would be equal to that of the arquebusier; together, the two types of infantry would be combined into the so-called "<!--del_lnk--> pike and shot" units that would endure until the development of the <!--del_lnk--> bayonet at the end of the seventeenth century. The offensive doctrine of the Swiss—a "push of pike" unsupported by firearms—had become obsolete. Indeed, offensive doctrines in general were increasingly replaced with defensive ones; the combination of the arquebus and effective <!--del_lnk--> field fortification had made frontal assaults on entrenched positions too costly to be practical, and they were not attempted again for the duration of the Italian Wars.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bicocca"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Italian War of 1521', 'Milan', 'Italy', 'France', 'Holy Roman Empire', 'Spain', 'Italian War of 1521', 'War of the League of Cambrai', 'Italian War of 1521', 'Italian War of 1521', 'France', 'Holy Roman Empire', 'Spain', 'Milan', 'Holy Roman Empire', 'Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor', 'Italy', 'Germany', 'Milan', 'Lyon', 'Genoa']
|
Battle_of_Britain
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Britain,World War II,World War II,1940,1941,25 August,Admiral Raeder,Admiralty,Adolf Hitler,Aerodrome,Air Chief Marshal" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Britain</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Britain";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Britain";
var wgArticleId = 57974;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Britain">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Britain</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.British_History.British_History_Post_1900.htm">British History Post 1900</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Britain</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/148/14832.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="290" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Heinkel_He_III_over_London_7_Sep_1940.jpg" src="../../images/12/1284.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><i>Heinkel He 111 over London, <!--del_lnk--> 7 September <!--del_lnk--> 1940</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td>July, <!--del_lnk--> 1940 – May, <!--del_lnk--> 1941</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> airspace, mostly over southern <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>British victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">
<center><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="22" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/12/1285.png" width="44" /></a><br /><a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a><br />
</center>
</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">
<center><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1309.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="24" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany_1933.svg" src="../../images/12/1286.png" width="40" /></a><br /><a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Germany</a></center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Hugh Dowding</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Hermann Göring<br /><!--del_lnk--> Albert Kesselring</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">700+ Grew to nearly 1000 during end of the Battle.</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">1,260 bombers, 316 dive-bombers, 1,089 fighters</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">1,547 aircraft, 27,450 civilian dead, 32,138 wounded</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">2,698 aircraft</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Western Front (World War II)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_France.htm" title="Battle of France">France</a> - <!--del_lnk--> The Netherlands - <!--del_lnk--> Dunkirk - <strong class="selflink">Britain</strong> - <!--del_lnk--> Dieppe - <!--del_lnk--> Villefranche-de-Rouergue - <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Normandy.htm" title="Battle of Normandy">Normandy</a> - <!--del_lnk--> Dragoon - <!--del_lnk--> Arnhem - <!--del_lnk--> Scheldt - <!--del_lnk--> Hurtgen Forest - <!--del_lnk--> Aachen - <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Bulge.htm" title="Battle of the Bulge">Bulge</a> - <!--del_lnk--> Plunder - <!--del_lnk--> Varsity - <!--del_lnk--> Aintree</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>One of the major campaigns of the early part of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, the <b>Battle of Britain</b> is the name commonly given to the attempt by the <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">German</a> <i><a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a></i> to gain <!--del_lnk--> air superiority over the <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Air_Force.htm" title="Royal Air Force">Royal Air Force</a> (RAF), before a planned sea and <!--del_lnk--> airborne invasion of <!--del_lnk--> Britain (<!--del_lnk--> Operation Sealion). Neither <a href="../../wp/a/Adolf_Hitler.htm" title="Adolf Hitler">Hitler</a> nor the German <i><!--del_lnk--> Wehrmacht</i> believed it possible to carry out a successful <!--del_lnk--> amphibious assault on the <a href="../../wp/b/British_Isles.htm" title="British Isles">British Isles</a> until the Royal Air Force had been neutralised. Secondary objectives were to destroy <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft.htm" title="Aircraft">aircraft</a> production and ground <a href="../../wp/i/Infrastructure.htm" title="Infrastructure">infrastructure</a>, as well as terrorising the British people with the intent of intimidating them into seeking an <!--del_lnk--> armistice or surrender and attacking areas of political interest.<p>British historians regard the battle as running from <!--del_lnk--> 9 July to <!--del_lnk--> 31 October <!--del_lnk--> 1940, which represented the most intense period of daylight <!--del_lnk--> air raiding. German historians begin the battle in mid-August 1940 and end it in May 1941, on the withdrawal of the <!--del_lnk--> bomber units in preparation for the <!--del_lnk--> attack on the USSR. The failure of Nazi Germany to destroy Britain's air forces to allow for an invasion or to break the spirit of either the British government or people is widely considered the <!--del_lnk--> Third Reich's first major defeat.<p>Some historians have argued that no invasion could have succeeded given the massive superiority of the <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Navy.htm" title="Royal Navy">Royal Navy</a> over the <!--del_lnk--> Kriegsmarine; Sealion would have been a disaster. They argue that the <i>Luftwaffe</i> would have been unable to prevent decisive intervention by RN cruisers and destroyers, even with air superiority. <p>An <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italian</a> <!--del_lnk--> expeditionary force called <!--del_lnk--> Corpo Aereo Italiano also took part in the latter stages of battle on the German side. The Battle of Britain was the first major battle to be fought entirely in the air. It was the largest and most sustained bombing campaign yet attempted and the first real test of the <!--del_lnk--> strategic bombing theories that had emerged since the <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">previous World War</a>.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p>Following the British <!--del_lnk--> evacuation from Dunkirk and the French surrender in June 1940, the Germans were uncertain what to do next on the military front. Hitler believed the war was practically over and that the British, defeated on the continent and without European allies, would quickly be forced to come to terms with Germany. Although there was a strand of British public and political sentiment that favoured a negotiated peace with a clearly ascendant Germany, the recently-installed <!--del_lnk--> British Prime Minister <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> nonetheless refused to consider an armistice with the Nazis. Churchill's skilful use of <!--del_lnk--> rhetoric hardened <!--del_lnk--> public opinion against a peaceful resolution and prepared the British for a long war. Simultaneously coining the general term for the ensuing battle, Churchill stated in a speech to the <a href="../../wp/b/British_House_of_Commons.htm" title="British House of Commons">House of Commons</a> on <!--del_lnk--> 18 June <!--del_lnk--> 1940, that:<blockquote>
<p>What <!--del_lnk--> General Weygand called the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_France.htm" title="Battle of France">Battle of France</a> is over. I expect that the <b>Battle of Britain</b> is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "<!--del_lnk--> This was their finest hour."</blockquote>
<p>The British rejection of German terms was therefore emphatic. Recognising this - and in an effort to finish the war in the West - Hitler subsequently ordered the rapid preparation of an invasion plan against Britain on <!--del_lnk--> 16 July. Hitler hoped perhaps to frighten Britain into peace before an actual invasion was launched, and used the invasion preparations as a means to apply pressure. The plan was prepared by the <!--del_lnk--> OKW (Armed Forces High Command). The operation, code-named <i><!--del_lnk--> Seelöwe</i> (Sea Lion), was planned for mid-September 1940 and called for landings on the south coast of Great Britain, backed by an <!--del_lnk--> airborne assault. All preparations were to be made by mid-August.<p>The Kriegsmarine was reluctant to launch an invasion, and on 11 July, <!--del_lnk--> Admiral Raeder told Hitler that invasion could only be contemplated as a last resort, and only then with full air superiority. The Kriegsmarine had a limited number of ships, while the Royal Navy had over 50 destroyers and dozens of cruisers and battleships in home waters. Nevertheless, Hitler was determined that the invasion plan would go ahead, and ordered all services to make preparations for an amphibious assault once air superiority had been achieved. With control of the air, the <i>Luftwaffe</i> would have at least a chance of preventing Royal Navy interference.<p>Therefore, the first task was to win air superiority. A plan was hatched to attack RAF airfields and aircraft production centres. The <i>Luftwaffe</i> commander, <i><!--del_lnk--> Reichsmarschall</i> <!--del_lnk--> Hermann Göring called his plan <i>Adlerangriff</i> (Eagle Attack), which would begin on <!--del_lnk--> 11 August, or <i>Adlertag</i> (Eagle Day), with an all-out attack. The attack had been scheduled to begin 9 days earlier, on the 2nd, but bad weather meant that it had to be postponed.<p>Before the start of <i>Adlertag</i>, the <i>Luftwaffe</i> spent a month attacking <!--del_lnk--> convoys in the English Channel. This period of fighting was called <i><!--del_lnk--> Kanalkampf</i> (Channel Battle) by the Germans and was used to test the RAF's defences and to lure their <!--del_lnk--> fighter aircraft up for a battle of attrition. The RAF thus dates the beginning of the battle from the first convoy attacks on <!--del_lnk--> 10 July 1940.<p><a id="Luftwaffe_strategy" name="Luftwaffe_strategy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline"><i>Luftwaffe</i> strategy</span></h2>
<p>The German strategy was influenced by pre-war theories of strategic bombing that stressed the weakness of air defence and the effects of <!--del_lnk--> terror bombing on public morale. After the <!--del_lnk--> Spanish Civil War, the emphasis of German air operations had shifted toward a more tactical force. In <!--del_lnk--> Poland and <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_France.htm" title="Battle of France">France</a>, the <i>Luftwaffe</i> had operated jointly with the <i><!--del_lnk--> Wehrmacht</i> in its <i><a href="../../wp/b/Blitzkrieg.htm" title="Blitzkrieg">Blitzkrieg</a></i> or "lightning war". In the Battle of Britain, however, the <i>Luftwaffe</i> had to operate alone, not as support for an advancing army but as a decisive weapon in its own right. There remained a strong belief in the power of strategic bombing and the battle was seen by Göring as an opportunity to prove what his air force could do.<p>At the same time, the <i>Luftwaffe</i> was facing an opponent the likes of which it had not met before: a sizable, highly-coordinated, well-supplied air force, fielding aircraft every bit the match for the German <!--del_lnk--> Bf-109 and <!--del_lnk--> Bf-110. The majority of the RAF's fighting would rest upon the workhorse Hurricane Mk I. More shocking to the German pilots was the newer Spitfire Mk I, which was quickly recognised as a nimble, world-class fighter. The fighters they had encountered thus far in the war did not, despite strong showings by their pilots, measure up to the performance of the German <!--del_lnk--> Bf-109. Only the Spitfire was in a similar class.<p>The <i>Luftwaffe</i> regrouped after the Battle of France into three <i>Luftflotten</i> (Air Fleets) on the UK's southern and northern flanks. <i>Luftflotte 2</i>, commanded by <i><!--del_lnk--> Generalfeldmarschall</i> <!--del_lnk--> Albert Kesselring, was responsible for the bombing of southeast England and the <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> area. <i>Luftflotte 3</i>, under <i>Generalfeldmarschall</i> <!--del_lnk--> Hugo Sperrle, targeted the <!--del_lnk--> West Country, Midlands, and northwest England. <i>Luftflotte 5</i>, led by <i><!--del_lnk--> Generaloberst</i> <!--del_lnk--> Hans-Jürgen Stumpff from his headquarters in <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a>, was unleashed against the north of England and <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>. As the battle progressed, command responsibility shifted, with <i>Luftflotte 3</i> taking more responsibility for the night <a href="../../wp/t/The_Blitz.htm" title="The Blitz">Blitz</a> while the main attack fell upon <i>Luftflotte 2'</i>s shoulders. Late in the battle, an <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italian</a> <!--del_lnk--> expeditionary force, the <b>Corpo Aereo Italiano</b>, briefly joined the fighting.<p>Initial <i>Luftwaffe</i> estimates allotted four days to defeat the RAF's <!--del_lnk--> Fighter Command in southern England, followed by four weeks for the bombers and long-range fighters to mop up the rest of the country and destroy the UK's aircraft industry. The plan was to begin with attacks on airfields near the coast, gradually moving inland toward London and the ring of Sector airfields defending it.<p>The <i>Luftwaffe</i> kept broadly to this scheme, but its commanders had differences of opinion on strategy. The commander of <i>Luftflotte 3</i>, Hugo Sperrle, wanted to eradicate the air defence infrastructure by bombing. His counterpart in <i>Luftflotte 2</i>, Albert Kesselring, championed attacking <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> directly—either to bombard the British government into submission or to draw RAF fighters into a decisive battle. Göring did nothing to resolve this disagreement between his commanders, obsessed as he was with maintaining his own power base in the <i>Luftwaffe</i> and indulging his outdated beliefs on air fighting, which were later to lead to <!--del_lnk--> tactical and <!--del_lnk--> strategic errors.<p>The <i>Luftwaffe</i> was ill-served by its lack of <!--del_lnk--> intelligence on the British defences. The German intelligence services were fractured, driven by rivalries and their overall performance was amateurish. By 1940, there were few if any German agents operating in the UK and a handful of bungled attempts to insert spies into the country were foiled. This meant that the <i>Luftwaffe</i> had almost no recent knowledge of the workings of the RAF's air defences, in particular of the crucial command and control system that had been built before the war. Even when good information existed, such as 5th <i>Abteilung'</i>s November 1939 assessment of Fighter Command strengths and capabilities, it was ignored if it did not match conventional preconceptions.<p>Throughout the battle, the <i>Luftwaffe</i> was plagued by poor intelligence; as a result, the <i>Luftwaffe</i> had to launch numerous reconnaissance sorties. The <!--del_lnk--> Dornier 17s proved easy prey for British fighters, even though for the better part of the battle, they were escorted by a whole squadron of Messerschmitt Me 109s. As a result, for much of the battle, the <i>Luftwaffe</i> operated 'blind', unaware of their enemy's true strengths, capabilities and deployments. Many times the leadership believed that the Fighter Command's strength had collapsed, while raids against supposed fighter airfields fell instead on bomber or coastal defence installations. The results of bombing and air fighting were exaggerated, resulting in the <i>Luftwaffe</i> leadership becoming increasingly disconnected from reality. This lack of leadership and solid intelligence meant that the Germans did not adopt any consistent strategy, even when the RAF had its back to the wall.<p><a id="The_Dowding_System" name="The_Dowding_System"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Dowding System</span></h2>
<p>The Battle of Britain campaign made the eight-gun <!--del_lnk--> monoplane fighters of the RAF—the <a href="../../wp/s/Supermarine_Spitfire.htm" title="Supermarine Spitfire">Spitfire</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Hurricane—into legends. The keystone of the British defence, however, was the complex infrastructure of detection, command, and control that ran the battle. This was known as the 'Dowding System' after its chief architect, <!--del_lnk--> Air Chief Marshal Sir <!--del_lnk--> Hugh Dowding, the leader of RAF Fighter Command.<p><a id="Groups" name="Groups"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Groups</span></h3>
<p>The UK's airspace was divided up into four Groups.<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 10 Group defended <a href="../../wp/w/Wales.htm" title="Wales">Wales</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> West Country and was commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Air Vice-Marshal Sir <!--del_lnk--> Christopher Quintin-Brand.<li><!--del_lnk--> 11 Group covered the southeast of England and the critical approaches to <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> and was commanded by Air Vice-Marshal <!--del_lnk--> Keith Park.<li><!--del_lnk--> 12 Group defended the Midlands and <!--del_lnk--> East Anglia and was led by Air Vice-Marshal <!--del_lnk--> Trafford Leigh-Mallory.<li><!--del_lnk--> 13 Group covered the north of England, <a href="../../wp/s/Scotland.htm" title="Scotland">Scotland</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/Northern_Ireland.htm" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a> and was commanded by Air Vice-Marshal <!--del_lnk--> Richard Saul.</ul>
<p>At the HQ of each Group (e.g. for 11 Group <!--del_lnk--> RAF Uxbridge) information from Fighter Command headquarters would be noted on plotting tables, large maps on which counters marking the incoming raids would be moved, and RAF officers known as Fighter Controllers could then order a response.<p><a id="Sectors" name="Sectors"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sectors</span></h3>
<p>The Group areas were subdivided into Sectors; each commanding officer was assigned between two and four squadrons. Sector stations, comprising an <!--del_lnk--> aerodrome with a command post, were the heart of this organisation, though they also had satellite <!--del_lnk--> airfields to disperse squadrons to. When ordered by their Group HQ, the sector stations would 'scramble' their squadrons into the air. Once airborne, the squadrons would be commanded by radio-telephone (R/T) from their sector station. Squadrons could be ordered to patrol airfields or vital targets, or be 'vectored' to intercept incoming raids.<p><a id="Limitations" name="Limitations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Limitations</span></h3>
<p>Though it was the most sophisticated air defence system in the world at that time, the Dowding System had many limitations, including, but not often stressed, its emphatic need for qualified ground maintenance personnel, many of whom had received their training under the <!--del_lnk--> Aircraft Apprentice scheme instituted by <!--del_lnk--> Hugh Trenchard. The RDF radar was subject to significant errors and the <!--del_lnk--> Observer Corps had difficulties tracking raids at night and in bad weather. R/T communications with airborne fighters were restricted because of the RAF's use of High-Frequency (HF) radio sets. HF radio was limited in range and even with a network of relay stations, the squadrons could not roam more than one or two sectors from their airfields. It was also restricted to a single frequency per squadron, making inter-squadron communication impossible. Finally, the system for tracking RAF fighters, known as HF/DF or "<!--del_lnk--> Huff-Duff", restricted sectors to a maximum of four squadrons in the air.<p><a id="Efficiency" name="Efficiency"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Efficiency</span></h3>
<p>In spite of this, RAF Fighter Command was able to achieve high levels of efficiency, at times achieving interception rates greater than 80%. The R/T problems were solved late in the battle with the adoption of Very High-Frequency (VHF) radio sets, which gave clearer voice communications, had longer range, and provided multiple channels. For all of its faults, the RAF's system of ground control directed its fighters to be where they were needed. The <i>Luftwaffe</i>, with no such system, was always at a disadvantage.<p><a id="Effect_of_signals_intelligence" name="Effect_of_signals_intelligence"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Effect of signals intelligence</span></h3>
<p>It is unclear how much the British intercepts of the <!--del_lnk--> Enigma cipher, used for high-security German radio communications, affected the battle. <!--del_lnk--> Ultra, the information obtained from Enigma intercepts, gave the highest echelons of the UK's command a view of German intentions but it seems that little of this material filtered down to Hugh Dowding's desk. However, the 'Y' radio listening service, monitoring the patterns of <i>Luftwaffe</i> radio traffic, contributed considerably to the early warning of raids.<p><a id="Battle_of_the_beams" name="Battle_of_the_beams"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle of the beams</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd><i>See <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the beams</i></dl>
<p>While the British were using radar more effectively than the Germans realised for air defence, the <i>Luftwaffe</i> had their own electronic means to increase their air attacks' effectiveness. One of the systems was called <i><!--del_lnk--> Knickebein</i> ("crooked leg"), a system where carefully positioned radio transmitters in friendly territory broadcast specially targeted navigational beams that intersected over specific bombing targets in enemy territory. Bombers equipped with technology to detect these beams could be guided towards a target and receive a signal to drop their bombs when they were (roughly) overhead. This allowed for somewhat more accurate bombing at night when British air defence was at its weakest.<p>Although British intelligence had heard of proposals for this system they were not taken seriously until a British science advisor to <!--del_lnk--> MI6, <!--del_lnk--> Reginald Victor Jones, gathered evidence of its existence and its threat. He then convinced the high command of the menace and confirmed it with special reconnaissance flights. Jones was put in charge of developing countermeasures which often involved interfering with the beams to make attacking aircraft go widely off course. Although the Germans resorted to other navigational systems, Jones and the <!--del_lnk--> Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) were able to neutralise each in turn. The result was markedly reduced precision bombing effectiveness for the Germans. With the beams no longer accurate, however, many civilian areas that would not normally have been targeted were bombed.<p><a id="Luftwaffe_tactics" name="Luftwaffe_tactics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline"><i>Luftwaffe</i> tactics</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1287.jpg.htm" title="Bf 109E"><img alt="Bf 109E" height="138" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Messerschmitt_Bf_109E.jpg" src="../../images/12/1287.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1287.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Bf 109E</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <i>Luftwaffe</i> varied its tactics considerably to try to find a way through the RAF defences. It launched many free-roving fighter sweeps, known as <i>Freie Jagd</i> or "Free Hunts" to try to draw up RAF fighters. RAF fighter controllers, however, were often able to detect the free hunts and manoeuvre squadrons around them to avoid a direct encounter. The <i>Luftwaffe</i> also tried using small formations of bombers as bait, covering them with large numbers of escorts. This was more successful, but escort duty tied the fighters to the bombers' slow speed and made them more vulnerable. Casualties were greatest among the escort units.<p>Standard tactics for raids soon became an amalgam of techniques. A free hunt would precede a raid to try to sweep any defenders out of the raid's path. The bombers would then fly in at altitudes between 10,000 and 16,000 feet, sometimes closely escorted by fighters. A 'detached' escort, or 'top cover' would fly above the bombers and maintain a distant watch.<p><i>Luftwaffe</i> tactics were influenced by their fighters, which were divided into single-engined <!--del_lnk--> Me 109s and twin-engine <!--del_lnk--> Me 110s. The Me 110 <i>Zerstörer</i> (Destroyer fighters) proved to be too vulnerable to the nimble single-engined RAF fighters. Soon, they had to be given escorts of their own and were eventually restricted in their employment. This meant that the bulk of fighter duties fell on the Me 109. Fighter tactics were then complicated by the <i>Luftwaffe</i> bomber crews who demanded closer protection against the RAF. Because they had his ear after the hard-fought battles of <!--del_lnk--> 15 August and <!--del_lnk--> 18 August, Göring was only too pleased to order an increase in close escort duties. This shackled many Me 109s to the bombers and, though they were more successful at protecting the bombing forces, casualties amongst the fighters mounted.<p><a id="RAF_tactics" name="RAF_tactics"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">RAF tactics</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1288.jpg.htm" title="An RAF Spitfire shortly before World War II."><img alt="An RAF Spitfire shortly before World War II." height="164" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Supermarinespitfire.JPG" src="../../images/12/1288.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1288.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An <a href="../../wp/s/Supermarine_Spitfire.htm" title="Supermarine Spitfire">RAF Spitfire</a> shortly before <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The weight of the battle fell upon the RAF's 11 Group. Keith Park's tactics were to dispatch individual squadrons to intercept raids. The intention was to subject attackers to continual attacks by relatively small numbers of aircraft and try to break up the tight formations of bombers. Once formations had fallen apart straggling bombers could be picked off one by one. Where multiple squadrons reached a raid the procedure was for the slower Hurricanes to tackle the bombers while the more agile Spitfires held up the fighter escort. This ideal was not always achieved, however, and sometimes the Spitfires and Hurricanes reversed roles.<p>In the early phases of the battle the RAF was hamstrung by its reliance on obsolete fighting drills. These restricted their squadrons to tight 12 aircraft formations composed of three-aircraft "sections" in tight "V's" nicknamed 'vics'. With four sections flying together in tight formation only the squadron leader at the front was free to actually watch for the enemy, the other pilots had to concentrate on him and each other. RAF fighter training also emphasised by-the-book attacks by sections breaking away in sequence. The German pilots dubbed the RAF formations <i>"Idiotenreihen"</i> ("rows of idiots") because they left squadrons vulnerable to attack. They employed the looser and more flexible four-ship 'Schwarme' developed in the Spanish Civil War, using two pairs each consisting of leader and wingman. The frontline RAF pilots were acutely aware of the inherent deficiencies of their own tactics. However, they could not radically change them as arriving replacement pilots, often with only minimal actual flying time, could not be readily retrained in the midst of battle. A compromise was adopted whereby squadron formations used much looser formations with one or two aircraft flying independently above and behind ( dubbed 'weavers') to provide increased observation and rear protection. After the battle RAF pilots adopted a variant on the German formations with some success.<p>The fact that 'sweeps' by German fighters not escorting bombers were often ignored by fighter command seems to reinforce the idea that Dowding sought always to preserve his fighter force to fight another day.<p>During the battle, some commanders, notably Trafford Leigh-Mallory of 12 Group, proposed that squadrons should be formed into <!--del_lnk--> Big Wings, consisting of at least three squadrons, to attack the enemy <i>en masse</i>, a method pioneered by the legless pilot <!--del_lnk--> Douglas Bader. Proponents of this tactic claimed that interceptions in large numbers caused greater enemy losses while reducing their own casualties. Opponents pointed out that the big wings would take too long to form up, and that the strategy ran a greater risk of fighters being caught on the ground refuelling. The big wing idea also caused pilots to over-claim their kills, due to the confusion of a more intense battle-zone. This led to the media belief that the big wings were far more effective than they actually were.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1289.jpg.htm" title="A Hawker Hurricane at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum."><img alt="A Hawker Hurricane at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum." height="121" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SmithsonianHawkerHurricane.jpg" src="../../images/12/1289.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1289.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> Hawker Hurricane at the <!--del_lnk--> Smithsonian Institution's <!--del_lnk--> National Air and Space Museum.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The issue caused intense friction between Park and Leigh-Mallory, as Leigh-Mallory's 12 Group were tasked with protecting 11 Group's airfields whilst Park's squadrons intercepted incoming raids. However, the delay in forming up Big Wings meant that this air cover often did not arrive until after German bombers had hit 11 Group's airfields. Post-war analysis agrees that Dowding and Park's approach was best for 11 Group. However, the controversy affected Park's career after the battle and contributed to Dowding's dismissal from Fighter Command.<p><a id="Phases_of_the_Battle" name="Phases_of_the_Battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Phases of the Battle</span></h2>
<p>The Battle can be roughly divided into four phases:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 10 July – <!--del_lnk--> 11 August: <i>Kanalkampf</i>, the Channel battles.<li><!--del_lnk--> 12 August – <!--del_lnk--> 23 August: <i>Adlerangriff</i>, the early assault against the coastal airfields.<li><!--del_lnk--> 24 August – <!--del_lnk--> 6 September: the <i>Luftwaffe</i> targets the airfields. The critical phase of the battle.<li><!--del_lnk--> 7 September onwards: the day attacks switch to <i>British</i> towns and cities.</ul>
<p><a id="Kanalkampf" name="Kanalkampf"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Kanalkampf</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1290.jpg.htm" title="A pair of 264 Squadron Defiants. (PS-V was shot down on 28 August 1940 over Kent by Bf 109s.)"><img alt="A pair of 264 Squadron Defiants. (PS-V was shot down on 28 August 1940 over Kent by Bf 109s.)" height="124" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Boulton_Paul_Defiant.jpg" src="../../images/12/1290.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1290.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A pair of <!--del_lnk--> 264 Squadron Defiants. (PS-V was shot down on <!--del_lnk--> 28 August <!--del_lnk--> 1940 over <!--del_lnk--> Kent by <!--del_lnk--> Bf 109s.)</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <i>Kanalkampf</i> comprised a series of running fights above convoys of freighter vessels running through the English Channel. In general, these battles off the coast tended to favour the Germans whose bomber escorts massively outnumbered the convoy patrols. Eventually the number of ship-sinkings became so great that the British <!--del_lnk--> Admiralty cancelled all further convoys through the Channel. However, these early fights provided both sides with experience. They also gave the first indications that some of the aircraft, such as the RAF's <!--del_lnk--> Defiant turret-fighter and the <i>Luftwaffe'</i>s Me 110, were not up to the intense dog-fighting that would characterise the battle.<p><a id="Adlerangriff" name="Adlerangriff"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Adlerangriff</span></h3>
<p>The weather, which was to prove an important feature of the campaign, delayed <i>Adlertag</i>, or <i>Eagle Day</i> until <!--del_lnk--> 13 August. But on the 12th the first attempt was made to blind the Dowding system when aircraft from the specialist fighter-bomber unit <i>Erprobungsgruppe 210</i> attacked four radar stations. Three stations were briefly taken off the air but were back working within six hours. The raids appeared to show that the British radars were difficult to knock out for any length of time. The <i>Luftwaffe'</i>s failure to mount repeated attacks on them allowed the RAF to get the radar stations back on the air.<p><i>Adlertag</i> opened with a series of attacks on coastal airfields, used as forward landing grounds for the RAF fighters. As the week drew on, the airfield attacks moved further inland and repeated raids were made on the radar chain. <!--del_lnk--> 15 August saw "The Greatest Day" when the <i>Luftwaffe</i> mounted the largest number of sorties of the campaign. This day saw the one major intervention by <i>Luftflotte</i> 5 in the battle with an attack on the north of England. Believing the strength of Fighter Command to be concentrated away in the south, raiding forces from Denmark and Norway ran into strong resistance. Inadequately escorted by long-ranged Me 110 <i>Zerstörers</i>, the bombers were shot down in large numbers. As a result of the casualties <i>Luftflotte</i> 5 would not appear in strength again in the campaign.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1291.jpg.htm" title="Junkers Ju 87 Dive-Bombers"><img alt="Junkers Ju 87 Dive-Bombers" height="165" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Junkers_Ju87.jpg" src="../../images/12/1291.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/12/1291.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Junkers Ju 87 Dive-Bombers</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><!--del_lnk--> 18 August, which saw the greatest number of casualties to both sides, has been dubbed "The Hardest Day". Following the grinding battles of the 18th, exhaustion and the weather reduced operations for most of a week, allowing the <i>Luftwaffe</i> to review their performance. "The Hardest Day" had sounded the end for the <!--del_lnk--> Ju 87 Stuka dive-bomber in the campaign. This veteran of the <i><a href="../../wp/b/Blitzkrieg.htm" title="Blitzkrieg">Blitzkrieg</a></i> was simply too vulnerable to fighter attack over Britain and to preserve the Stuka force Göring withdrew it from the fighting. This removed the <i>Luftwaffe'</i>s main precision-bombing weapon and shifted the burden of pin-point attacks on the already-stretched <i>Erprobungsgruppe 210</i>. But Göring was not finished: the Me 110 <i>Zerstörer</i> had proven itself too fragile for dog-fighting with single-engined fighters and its participation would also be scaled back. It would only be used when range required it or when sufficient single-engined escort could be provided.<p>Göring made yet another fateful decision: to order more bomber escorts at the expense of free-hunting sweeps. To achieve this the weight of the attack now fell on <i>Luftflotte</i> 2 and most of the Me 109 forces in <i>Luftflotte</i> 3 were transferred to Kesselring's command, reinforcing the fighter bases in the Pas de Calais. Stripped of its fighters, <i>Luftflotte</i> 3 would concentrate on the night bombing campaign.<p>Finally, Göring ordered the attacks on the radar chain stopped. The attacks were seen as unsuccessful and neither the technically inept <i>Reichsmarschall</i> nor his subordinates realised how vital the Chain Home stations were to the defence. It was known that radar provided some early warning of raids, but the belief amongst fighter pilots was that anything that brought up the '<!--del_lnk--> Tommies' to fight was to be encouraged.<p><a id="Luftwaffe_targets_RAF_airfields" name="Luftwaffe_targets_RAF_airfields"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline"><i>Luftwaffe</i> targets RAF airfields</span></h3>
<p>From <!--del_lnk--> 24 August onwards, the battle was essentially a slugging match between Kesselring's <i>Luftflotte</i> 2 and Keith Park's 11 Group. The <i>Luftwaffe</i> concentrated all their strength on knocking out Fighter Command and made repeated attacks on the airfields. Of the 33 heavy attacks in the next two weeks, 24 were against airfields. The key sector stations were hit repeatedly: <!--del_lnk--> Biggin Hill and <!--del_lnk--> Hornchurch four times each, <!--del_lnk--> Debden and <!--del_lnk--> North Weald twice each. <!--del_lnk--> Croydon, <!--del_lnk--> Gravesend, <!--del_lnk--> Rochford, <!--del_lnk--> Hawkinge and <!--del_lnk--> Manston were also attacked in strength. No fewer than seven attempts were made against <!--del_lnk--> Eastchurch, which was not a Fighter Command aerodrome but was believed to be by the intelligence-starved Germans. At times these raids knocked out the sector stations, threatening the integrity of the Dowding system. Emergency measures had to be taken to keep the sectors operating.<p>These were desperate times for the RAF, which was also taking many casualties in the air. Aircraft production could replace aircraft but replacement pilots were barely keeping place with losses, and novice flyers were being shot down in droves. Most replacements had as little as nine hours flying time and no combat training. At this point the multinational nature of the RAF came to the fore. With many pilots from the Dominions already serving in Fighter Command — <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australians</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africans</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealanders</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canadians</a> — they were bolstered by the arrival of fresh <!--del_lnk--> Czechoslovak and <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Polish</a> squadrons. These squadrons had been held back by Dowding, who mistakenly thought the non-English speaking aircrew would have trouble working within his control system. In addition there were other nationals, including <!--del_lnk--> Free French, <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgian</a> and even a <!--del_lnk--> Palestinian Jewish pilot serving amongst the squadrons.<p>The RAF at least had the advantage of fighting over home territory. Pilots who bailed out of their shot-down aircraft could be back at their airfields within hours. For <i>Luftwaffe</i> aircrews, a bail out over England meant capture, while parachuting into the English Channel often meant drowning or death from exposure. Morale began to suffer and <i>Kanalkrankheit</i> or 'Channel Sickness' — a form of combat fatigue — began to appear amongst the German pilots. Their replacement problem was even worse than the British. Though the <i>Luftwaffe</i> always maintained its numerical superiority, the slow appearance of replacement aircraft and pilots put increasing strain on the resources of the remaining attackers.<p>And yet, the <i>Luftwaffe</i> was winning this battle of the airfields. Another fortnight of this pounding and the RAF might have been forced to withdraw their squadrons from the south of England. This was not clear to the <i>Luftwaffe</i> command, which had watched its bomber force start to waste away and had grown desperate to deliver on the original timetable. They could not understand why the RAF hadn't yet collapsed, or how they were always able to get fighters to the place they were needed, no matter how many raids were sent. Something needed to be done to force the RAF into a decisive battle.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 4 September, Hitler ordered the <i>Luftwaffe</i> to bomb London, following RAF raids on <a href="../../wp/b/Berlin.htm" title="Berlin">Berlin</a> on the night of <!--del_lnk--> 25–<!--del_lnk--> 26 August, itself a reprisal after London and its suburbs had been damaged by bombs on several occasions in late August. The Berlin raid had hurt Göring's pride, as he had previously claimed the British would never be allowed to bomb the city. Kesselring seized his chance and proposed a strategy change. In the face of Sperrle's arguments that attacks on the airfields should continue, Kesselring persuaded the <i>Reichsmarschall</i> to attack London. The raids would either panic the British population into submission, or force the "last fifty Spitfires" into the sky where they could be annihilated. This attack was no longer seen as a prerequisite for <i>Seelöwe</i>, but was meant to be decisive in itself.<p><a id="Raids_on_British_Cities" name="Raids_on_British_Cities"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Raids on British Cities</span></h3>
<p>For several months prior to <!--del_lnk--> 7 September, when the first major London raid was launched, the <i>Luftwaffe</i> had bombed a series of British cities, killing more than 1,250 civilians in July and August. The 7 September raid targeted docks in the <!--del_lnk--> East End of the city, and over the coming days massive raids were launched again and again: some targeting the docks but others bombing indiscriminately. The RAF did come up but in greater numbers than the <i>Luftwaffe</i> expected. The 12 Group <!--del_lnk--> Big Wing was deployed for the first time, giving the German pilots a fright. Over the coming days the attacks on London continued. The break from bombing the airfields gave the RAF critical breathing space. It was the turning point.<p>Without a doubt, the most damaging aspect of the switch to London was the longer range. The Me 109 escorts had a limited fuel capacity, and by the time they arrived over the city, they had only ten minutes of flying time before they had to turn for home. This left many raids completely undefended by fighter escorts. The Battle of Britain culminated on <!--del_lnk--> September 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1940 with two massive waves of German attacks that were decisively repulsed by the RAF. The total casualties on this critical day was 60 German aircraft shot down versus only 26 for the RAF or a ratio of roughly 2:1 in favour of the RAF. The German defeat caused Hitler to order, two days later, the postponement of preparations for the invasion of Britain. Henceforth, in the face of mounting losses in men, aircraft and the lack of adequate replacements, the <i>Luftwaffe</i> switched from daylight bombing raids to night-time attacks instead. The threat of invasion was essentially over although the German night blitz on London and other British cities continued into 1941.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<p>Overall, the Battle of Britain was a stalemate for both the Germans and the British, but it dramatically raised the morale of the Allied forces. The Battle of Britain marked the first time that the Nazis were stopped and that air superiority became clearly seen as the key to the war. Though the battle was small in the number of combatants and casualties, had the Germans triumphed the war would have taken a very different path. The British victory marked the first failure of Hitler's war machine. It also signaled a shift in U.S. opinion at a time when many people from the U.S. believed that the UK could not survive, a view promoted by <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador in London and father of <a href="../../wp/j/John_F._Kennedy.htm" title="John F. Kennedy">John F. Kennedy</a>, the future President of the United States.<p>Both sides in the battle made exaggerated claims of numbers of enemy aircraft shot down. In general, claims were two to three times the actual numbers, due to confusion in the whirling air battles. However, post-war analysis of records has shown that between July and September the RAF claimed over 2,698 kills for 1,023 fighter aircraft lost to all causes, while the <i>Luftwaffe</i> fighters claimed 3,198 RAF aircraft downed for losses of 1,887, of which 873 were fighters. The 147 Polish pilots scored 201 out of that number. To the RAF figure should be added an additional 376 Bomber Command and 148 Coastal Command aircraft that conducted vital bombing, mining and reconnaissance operations in defence of the country.<p>Modern military historians have suggested the battle was unwinnable for the <i>Luftwaffe</i>. Their numerical majority was not sufficient to achieve superiority. Dowding's and Park's strategy of choosing when to engage the enemy whilst maintaining a coherent force was totally vindicated.<p>The theories of strategic bombing, which hinged on the collapse of public morale, were undone by British defiance in the face of the day and night Blitzes. The switch to a terror bombing strategy allowed the RAF to recuperate and to defend against the attacks. Even if the attacks on the 11 Group airfields had continued, the British could have withdrawn to the Midlands, out of German fighter range, and continued the battle from there. Post-war records show that British aircraft were being replaced faster than those of the Germans; the RAF maintained its strength even as the <i>Luftwaffe'</i>s declined. In losses of aircraft and experienced aircrew the battle was a blow from which the <i>Luftwaffe</i> never fully recovered.<p>The terror strategy in itself could not force the British to surrender. Even though the Germans launched some spectacular attacks against important British industries, they could not destroy the British industrial potential. But hindsight does not disguise the fact that the threat to the RAF was very real and for the participants, it seemed as if there was a "Narrow Margin" between victory and defeat. The victory was as much psychological as physical. It turned a tide of defeats and heartened the enemies of Nazism.<p>The British triumph in the Battle of Britain was not without heavy cost. Total British civilian losses from July to December 1940 were 23,002 dead and 32,138 wounded, with one of the largest single raids occurring on <!--del_lnk--> December 29, <!--del_lnk--> 1940, in which almost 3,000 civilians died.<p>Winston Churchill summed up the effect of the battle and the contribution of the RAF in the immortal words: <i>"Never in the field of human conflict was <!--del_lnk--> so much owed by so many to so few"</i>. Pilots who fought in the battle have been known as <i><!--del_lnk--> The Few</i> ever since.<p><!--del_lnk--> September 15 is celebrated in the United Kingdom as "Battle of Britain Day", marking the climactic battles witnessed above London in daylight.<p>In British military tradition, the Battle of Britain is remembered with at least as much pride as the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Trafalgar or the Battle of <!--del_lnk--> Waterloo. In addition, the battle has entered popular legend around the world as an inspiring story of how a small island, standing alone against Nazi tyranny, managed to defeat a powerful enemy.<p>Most important, the end of the Battle of Britain allowed the UK to rebuild its military forces and establish itself as an Allied stronghold. Britain later served as a base from which <!--del_lnk--> Operation Overlord, aka the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Normandy.htm" title="Battle of Normandy">Battle of Normandy</a>, was launched against Nazi forces in Europe.<p><a id="Foreign_contribution" name="Foreign_contribution"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Foreign contribution</span></h2>
<p>The RAF roll of honour for the Battle of Britain recognises<!--del_lnk--> 510 overseas pilots as flying at least one authorised operational sortie with an eligible unit of the Royal Air Force or Fleet Air Arm between <!--del_lnk--> 10 July and <!--del_lnk--> 31 October <!--del_lnk--> 1940. This included pilots from Poland, New Zealand, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Belguim, Australia, South Africa, France, Ireland, United States of America, Jamaica, Palestine and Southern Rhodesia.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Britain"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War II', 'United Kingdom', 'England', 'United Kingdom', 'Nazi Germany', 'Battle of France', 'Battle of Normandy', 'Battle of the Bulge', 'World War II', 'Nazi Germany', 'Luftwaffe', 'Royal Air Force', 'Adolf Hitler', 'British Isles', 'Aircraft', 'Infrastructure', 'Royal Navy', 'Italy', 'World War I', 'Winston Churchill', 'British House of Commons', 'Battle of France', 'Battle of France', 'Blitzkrieg', 'London', 'Norway', 'Scotland', 'The Blitz', 'Italy', 'London', 'Supermarine Spitfire', 'Wales', 'London', 'Scotland', 'Northern Ireland', 'Supermarine Spitfire', 'World War II', 'Blitzkrieg', 'Australia', 'South Africa', 'New Zealand', 'Canada', 'Poland', 'Belgium', 'Berlin', 'John F. Kennedy', 'Battle of Normandy']
|
Battle_of_Cannae
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Cannae,2006,216 BC,217 BC,218 BC,3D computer graphics,Alfred Graf von Schlieffen,Alfred von Schlieffen,Alps,Apulia,Archetype" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Cannae</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Cannae";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Cannae";
var wgArticleId = 157814;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Cannae">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Cannae</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Pre_1900_Military.htm">Pre 1900 Military</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="metadata topicon" id="featured-star" style="right:10px; display:none;">
<div style="position: relative; width: 14px; height: 14px; overflow: hidden">
<div style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; font-size: 100px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 100px; z-index: 3"><!--del_lnk--> <span title="This is a featured article. Click here for more information."> </span></div>
<div style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 2"><a class="image" href="../../images/0/24.png.htm" title="This is a featured article. Click here for more information."><img alt="This is a featured article. Click here for more information." height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LinkFA-star.png" src="../../images/0/24.png" width="14" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Cannae</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Second Punic War</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23554.gif.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="227" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hannibal%27s_route_of_invasion%2C_3rd_century_BC.gif" src="../../images/235/23554.gif" width="300" /></a><br /> Hannibal's route of invasion.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 2, <!--del_lnk--> 216 BC</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Cannae, <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Carthaginian victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Carthage</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Roman Republic</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Hannibal</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Lucius Aemilius Paullus†,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Gaius Terentius Varro</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">40,000 heavy infantry,<br /> 6,000 light infantry,<br /> 8,000 cavalry</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">86,400–87,000 men (sixteen Roman and Allied legions)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">16,700 killed or wounded</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">50,000–60,000 killed,<br /> 10,000 captured</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Second Punic War</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Saguntum – <!--del_lnk--> Lilybaeum – <!--del_lnk--> Ticinus – <!--del_lnk--> Trebia – <!--del_lnk--> Cissa – <!--del_lnk--> Lake Trasimene – <!--del_lnk--> Ebro River – <strong class="selflink">Cannae</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> 1st Nola – <!--del_lnk--> Dertosa – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Nola – <!--del_lnk--> Cornus – <!--del_lnk--> 3rd Nola – <!--del_lnk--> 1st Capua – <!--del_lnk--> Silarus – <!--del_lnk--> 1st Herdonia – <!--del_lnk--> Syracuse – <!--del_lnk--> Upper Baetis – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Capua – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Herdonia – <!--del_lnk--> Numistro – <!--del_lnk--> Asculum – <!--del_lnk--> Tarentum – <!--del_lnk--> Baecula – <!--del_lnk--> Grumentum – <!--del_lnk--> Metaurus – <!--del_lnk--> Ilipa – <!--del_lnk--> Crotona – <!--del_lnk--> Utica – <!--del_lnk--> Bagbrades – <!--del_lnk--> Cirta – <!--del_lnk--> Po Valley – <!--del_lnk--> Great Plains – <!--del_lnk--> Zama</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Punic Wars</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> First – <!--del_lnk--> Mercenary – <!--del_lnk--> Second – <!--del_lnk--> Third</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Cannae</b> was a major battle of the <!--del_lnk--> Second Punic War, taking place on <!--del_lnk--> August 2, <!--del_lnk--> 216 BC near the town of <!--del_lnk--> Cannae in <!--del_lnk--> Apulia in southeast <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> Carthaginian army under <!--del_lnk--> Hannibal destroyed a numerically superior <!--del_lnk--> Roman army under command of the <!--del_lnk--> consuls <!--del_lnk--> Lucius Aemilius Paullus and <!--del_lnk--> Gaius Terentius Varro. Following the Battle of Cannae, <!--del_lnk--> Capua and several other Italian city-states defected from the Roman Republic. Although the battle failed to decide the outcome of the war in favour of Carthage, it is today regarded as one of the greatest <!--del_lnk--> tactical feats in <!--del_lnk--> military history.<p>Having recovered from their previous losses at <!--del_lnk--> Trebia (<!--del_lnk--> 218 BC) and <!--del_lnk--> Trasimene (<!--del_lnk--> 217 BC), the Romans decided to confront Hannibal at Cannae, with roughly 87,000 Roman and Allied troops. With their right wing positioned near the <!--del_lnk--> Aufidus river, the Romans placed their cavalry on their flanks and massed their heavy infantry in an exceptionally deep formation in the centre. To counter this, Hannibal utilized the <!--del_lnk--> double-envelopment tactic. He drew up his least reliable infantry in the centre, with the flanks composed of Carthaginian cavalry. Before engaging the Romans, however, his lines adopted a crescent shape — advancing his centre with his veteran troops placed at the wings in <!--del_lnk--> echelon formation. Upon the onset of the battle, the Carthaginian centre withdrew before the advance of the numerically superior Romans. While Hannibal's centre line yielded, the Romans had unknowingly driven themselves into a large arc — whereupon the Carthaginian infantry and cavalry (positioned on the flanks) <!--del_lnk--> encircled the main body of Roman infantry. Surrounded and attacked on all sides with no means of escape, the Roman army was subsequently cut to pieces. An estimated 60,000–70,000 Romans were killed or captured at Cannae (including the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus and eighty <!--del_lnk--> Roman senators). In terms of the number of lives lost within a single day, Cannae is among the <!--del_lnk--> costliest battles in all of recorded human history.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Strategic_background" name="Strategic_background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Strategic background</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23555.gif.htm" title="Battles of Trebia, Lake Trasimene and Cannae."><img alt="Battles of Trebia, Lake Trasimene and Cannae." height="369" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Second_Punic_War_Battles.gif" src="../../images/235/23555.gif" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23555.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Battles of <!--del_lnk--> Trebia, <!--del_lnk--> Lake Trasimene and Cannae.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Shortly after the start of the Second Punic War, the Carthaginian general Hannibal had boldly crossed into Italy by traversing the <!--del_lnk--> Alps during the winter, and had quickly won two major victories over the Romans at <!--del_lnk--> Trebbia and at <!--del_lnk--> Lake Trasimene. After suffering these losses, the Romans appointed <!--del_lnk--> Fabius Maximus as <!--del_lnk--> dictator to deal with the threat. Fabius set about fighting a <!--del_lnk--> war of attrition against Hannibal, cutting off his supply lines and refusing to engage in <!--del_lnk--> pitched battle. These tactics proved unpopular with the Romans. As the Roman people recovered from the shock of Hannibal’s initial victories, they began to question the wisdom of the <!--del_lnk--> Fabian strategy which had given the Carthaginian army the chance to regroup. Fabius’s strategy was especially frustrating to the majority of the people who were eager to see a quick conclusion to the war. It was also widely feared that if Hannibal continued plundering Italy unopposed, Rome's allies might believe Rome was incapable of protecting them, and defect to the Carthaginians.<p>Unimpressed with Fabian's strategy, the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Senate did not renew his dictatorial powers at the end of his term, and command was given back to the consuls <!--del_lnk--> Gnaeus Servilius Geminus and <!--del_lnk--> Gaius Flaminius. In 216 BC elections resumed with <!--del_lnk--> Caius Terentius Varro and <!--del_lnk--> Lucius Aemilius Paullus elected as <!--del_lnk--> consuls and given command of a newly raised army of unprecedented size in order to counter Hannibal. <!--del_lnk--> Polybius writes:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Cannae"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of Cannae"><img alt="Battle of Cannae" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td><i>The Senate determined to bring eight legions into the field, which had never been done at Rome before, each legion consisting of five thousand men besides allies. […] Most of their wars are decided by one Consul and two legions, with their quota of allies; and they rarely employ all four at one time and on one service. But on this occasion, so great was the alarm and terror of what would happen, they resolved to bring not only four but eight legions into the field</i></td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Cannae"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of Cannae"><img alt="Battle of Cannae" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dd>- <!--del_lnk--> Polybius, <i>The Histories of Polybius</i></dl>
</dl>
<p>These eight legions, along with an estimated 2,400 Roman cavalry, formed the nucleus of this massive new army. As each legion was accompanied by an equal number of allied troops and an additional 4,000 allied cavalry, the total strength of the army which faced Hannibal could not have been much less than 90,000. Some estimates place the Roman forces at about 100,000 men, although historical evidence for such a large force is questionable.<p><a id="Prelude" name="Prelude"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude</span></h2>
<p>In the spring of 216 BC, Hannibal took the initiative and seized the large supply depot at Cannae in the Apulian plain. He thus placed himself between the Romans and their crucial source of supply. As Polybius notes, the capture of Cannae "caused great commotion in the Roman army; for it was not only the loss of the place and the stores in it that distressed them, but the fact that it commanded the surrounding district". The consuls, resolving to confront Hannibal, marched southward in search of the Carthaginian general. After two days’ march, they found him on the left bank of the Aufidus River and encamped six miles away. Ordinarily each of the two Consuls would command their own portion of the army, but since the two armies were combined into one, the Roman law required them to alternate their command on a daily basis.<p>A Carthaginian officer named <!--del_lnk--> Gisgo commented on how much larger the <!--del_lnk--> Roman army was. <!--del_lnk--> Hannibal replied, "another thing that has escaped your notice, Gisgo, is even more amazing - that although there are so many of them, there is not one among them called Gisgo."<p>Consul Varro, who was in command on the first day, is presented in our sources as a man of reckless nature and hubris, and was determined to defeat Hannibal. While the Romans were approaching Cannae, a small portion of Hannibal's forces ambushed the Roman army. Varro successfully repelled the Carthaginian attack and continued on his way to Cannae. This victory, though essentially a mere skirmish with no lasting strategic value, greatly bolstered confidence in the Roman army, perhaps to overconfidence on Varro's part. Paullus, however, was opposed to the engagement as it was taking shape. Unlike Varro, he was prudent and cautious, and he believed it was foolish to fight on open ground, despite the Romans' numerical strength. This was especially true, since Hannibal held the advantage in cavalry (both in quality and numerical terms). Despite these misgivings, Paullus thought it unwise to withdraw the army after the initial success and camped two-thirds of the army east of the <!--del_lnk--> Aufidus river and sent the remainder of his men to fortify a position on the opposite side. The purpose of this second camp was to cover the foraging parties from the main camp and harass those of the enemy.<p>The two armies stayed in their respective locations for two days. During the second of these two days (<!--del_lnk--> August 1), Hannibal, well aware that Varro would be in command the following day, left his camp and offered battle. Paullus, however, refused. When his request was rejected, Hannibal, recognizing the importance of the Aufidus' water to the Roman troops, sent his cavalry to the smaller Roman camp to harass water-bearing soldiers that were found outside the camp fortifications. According to Polybius, Hannibal's cavalry boldly rode up to the edge of the Roman encampment, causing havoc and thoroughly disrupting the supply of water to the Roman camp. Enraged by this foray, Varro assumed command on <!--del_lnk--> August 2, marshaled his forces, and crossed back over the Aufidus to do battle.<p><a id="Battle" name="Battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle</span></h2>
<p><a id="Forces" name="Forces"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Forces</span></h3>
<p>The combined forces of the two consuls totaled 70,000 infantry, 2,400 Roman <!--del_lnk--> cavalry and 4,000 allied horse (involved in the actual battle) and, in the two fortified camps, 2,600 heavily-armed men, 7,400 lightly-armed men (a total of 10,000), so that the total strength the Romans brought to the field amounted to approximately 86,400 men. Opposing them was a Carthaginian army composed of roughly 40,000 heavy infantry, 6,000 <!--del_lnk--> light infantry, and 8,000 cavalry in the battle itself, irrespective of detachments. The Carthaginian army was built around a core of around 8,000 Carthaginian hoplites with Roman armor but fighting in the Macedonian phalanx. There were another 8,000 Iberian/Celt-Iberian heavy infantry in the main battle line. The rest of Hannibal's troops were superb Celtic warriors from the Po Valley. These soldiers used their superior size and strength to fight on even terms with the more disciplined Roman legions.<p><a id="Tactical_deployment" name="Tactical_deployment"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Tactical deployment</span></h3>
<p>The conventional deployment for armies of the time was to place infantry in the center and deploy the cavalry in two flanking "wings". The Romans followed this convention fairly closely, but chose extra depth rather than breadth for their infantry, hoping to use this concentration of forces to quickly break through the center of Hannibal's line. Varro knew how the Roman infantry had managed to penetrate Hannibal’s centre during the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Trebia, and he planned to recreate this on an even greater scale. The <i><!--del_lnk--> principes</i> were stationed immediately behind the <i><!--del_lnk--> hastati</i>, ready to push forward at first contact to ensure the Romans presented a unified front. As Polybius wrote, "the <!--del_lnk--> maniples were nearer each other, or the intervals were decreased… and the maniples showed more depth than front". Even though they outnumbered the Carthaginians, this depth-oriented deployment meant that the Roman lines had a front of roughly equal size to their numerically inferior opponents.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:332px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23556.gif.htm" title="Initial deployment and Roman attack."><img alt="Initial deployment and Roman attack." height="254" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Cannae%2C_215_BC_-_Initial_Roman_attack.gif" src="../../images/235/23556.gif" width="330" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23556.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Initial deployment and Roman attack.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>To Varro, <!--del_lnk--> Hannibal seemed to have little room to maneuver and no means of retreat as he was deployed with the Aufidus River to his rear. Varro believed that when pressed hard by the Romans’ superior numbers, the Carthaginians would fall back onto the river, and with no room to maneuver, would be cut down in panic. Bearing in mind the fact that Hannibal’s two previous victories had been largely decided by his trickery and ruse, Varro had sought an open battlefield. The field at Cannae was indeed clear, with no possibility of hidden troops being brought to bear as an ambush.<p>Hannibal, on the other hand, had deployed his forces based on the particular fighting qualities of each unit, taking into consideration both their strengths and weaknesses in devising his strategy. He placed his lowest quality infantry (<!--del_lnk--> Iberians, <!--del_lnk--> Gauls and <!--del_lnk--> Celtiberians) in the middle, alternating the two across the front line to strengthen it. Hannibal's better infantry (<a href="../../wp/l/Libya.htm" title="Libya">Libyan</a>-<!--del_lnk--> Phoenician mercenaries) were positioned just inside his cavalry on the wings at the very edge of his infantry line.<p>It is a common misconception that Hannibal's African troops carried pikes (a theory put forward by historian Peter Connolly). The Libyan troops in fact carried spears "shorter than the Roman Triarii". Their advantage was not that they had pikes, it was that these infantry were expertly battle hardened, remained cohesive, and attacked the Roman flanks.<p><!--del_lnk--> Hasdrubal led the Iberian and Celtiberian cavalry on the left (south near the <!--del_lnk--> Aufidus river) of the Carthaginian army. Hasdrubal was given about 6,500 cavalry as opposed to <!--del_lnk--> Hanno's 3,500 Numidians. Hasdrubal's force was able to quickly destroy the Roman cavalry (on the south), pass the Roman's infantry rear, and reach the Roman allied cavalry while they where engaged with Hanno's <!--del_lnk--> Numidians. Once the Roman's allied cavalry was destroyed Hanno and Hasdrubal were able to lead both cavalries into the Roman infantry's rear.<p>Hannibal intended that his cavalry, comprised mainly of medium Hispanic cavalry and Numidian light horse, and positioned on the flanks, defeat the weaker Roman cavalry and swing around to attack the Roman infantry from the rear as it pressed upon Hannibal’s weakened centre. His veteran African troops would then press in from the flanks at the crucial moment, and encircle the overextended Roman army.<p>Hannibal was unconcerned about his position against the Aufidus River; in fact, it played a major factor in his strategy. By anchoring his army on the river, Hannibal prevented one of his flanks from being overlapped by the larger, more numerous Romans. Furthermore, because the Romans were in front of the hill leading to Cannae and hemmed in on their right flank by the Aufidus River, their left flank was the only viable means of retreat. In addition, the Carthaginian forces had maneuvered so that the Romans would face east, while they would face west. Not only would the morning sunlight shine on the Romans, but the southeasterly winds would blow sand and dust into the faces of the Romans as they approached the battlefield. It was Hannibal’s unique deployment of his army, based on his perception and understanding of the capabilities of his troops, that would prove to be the defining factors in his victory at Cannae.<p><a id="Events" name="Events"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Events</span></h3>
<p>As the armies advanced on one another, Hannibal gradually extended the centre of his line, as Polybius describes: "After thus drawing up his whole army in a straight line, he took the central companies of Hispanics and Celts and advanced with them, keeping the rest of them in contact with these companies, but gradually falling off, so as to produce a crescent-shaped formation, the line of the flanking companies growing thinner as it was prolonged, his object being to employ the Africans as a reserve force and to begin the action with the Hispanics and Celts." <!--del_lnk--> Polybius describes the weak Carthaginian centre as deployed in a crescent, curving out toward the Romans in the middle with the African troops on their flanks in <!--del_lnk--> echelon formation. It is believed that the purpose of this formation was to break the forward momentum of the Roman infantry, and delay its advance before other developments allowed Hannibal to deploy his African infantry most effectively. However, some historians have called this account fanciful, and claim that it represents either the natural curvature that occurs when a broad front of infantry marches forward, or the bending back of the Carthaginian center from the shock action of meeting the heavily massed Roman centre.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:332px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23557.gif.htm" title="Destruction of the Roman army."><img alt="Destruction of the Roman army." height="254" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_cannae_destruction.gif" src="../../images/235/23557.gif" width="330" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23557.gif.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Destruction of the Roman army.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>When the battle was joined, the cavalry engaged in a fierce exchange on the flanks. Polybius describes the scene, writing that "When the Hispanic and Celtic horses on the left wing came into collision with the Roman cavalry, the struggle that ensued was truly barbaric.". Here, the Carthaginian cavalry quickly overpowered the inferior Romans on the right flank and <!--del_lnk--> routed them. A portion of the Carthaginian cavalry then detached itself from the Carthaginian left flank and made a wide circling pivot to the Roman right-flank, where it fell upon the rear of the Roman cavalry. The Roman cavalry was immediately dispersed as the Carthaginians fell upon them and began <i>"cutting them down mercilessly"</i>.<p>While the Carthaginians were in the process of defeating the Roman cavalry, the mass of infantry on both sides advanced towards each other in the centre of the field. As the Romans advanced, the wind from the East blew dust in their faces and obscured their vision. While the wind itself was not a major factor, the dust that both armies created would have been potentially debilitating to sight. This, combined with the lack of proper <!--del_lnk--> hydration due to Hannibal's attack on the Roman encampment during the previous day, would have affected the individual performance of the Roman troops.<p>Hannibal stood with his men in the weak centre and held them to a controlled retreat. The crescent of Hispanic and Gallic troops buckled inwards as they gradually withdrew. Knowing the superiority of the Roman infantry, Hannibal had instructed his infantry to withdraw deliberately, thus creating an even tighter semicircle around the attacking Roman forces. By doing so, he had turned the strength of the Roman infantry into a weakness. Furthermore, while the front ranks were gradually advancing forward, the bulk of the Roman troops began to lose their cohesion, as they began crowding themselves into the growing gap. Soon they were so compact together that they had little space to wield their weapons. In passing so far forward in their desire to destroy the retreating and collapsing line of Hispanic and Gallic troops, the Romans had ignored the African troops that stood uncommitted on the projecting ends of this now reversed-crescent. This also gave the Carthaginian cavalry time to drive the Roman cavalry off on both flanks and attack the Roman centre in the rear. The Roman infantry, now stripped of both its flanks, formed a wedge that drove deeper and deeper into the Carthaginian semicircle, driving itself into an alley that was formed by the African Infantry stationed at the echelons. At this decisive point, Hannibal ordered his African Infantry to turn inwards and advance against the Roman flanks, creating an <!--del_lnk--> encirclement of the Roman infantry in one of the earliest examples of the <!--del_lnk--> pincer movement.<p>When the Carthaginian cavalry attacked the Romans in the rear, and the African flanking echelons had assailed them on their right and left, the advance of the Roman infantry was brought to an abrupt halt. The trapped Romans were enclosed in a pocket with no means of escape. The Carthaginians created a wall and began destroying the entrapped Romans. <!--del_lnk--> Polybius claims that, "as their outer ranks were continually cut down, and the survivors forced to pull back and huddle together, they were finally all killed where they stood." As <!--del_lnk--> Livy describes, "So many thousands of Romans were lying […] Some, whom their wounds, pinched by the morning cold, had roused, as they were rising up, covered with blood, from the midst of the heaps of slain, were overpowered by the enemy. Some were found with their heads plunged into the earth, which they had excavated; having thus, as it appeared, made pits for themselves, and having suffocated themselves." Nearly six hundred legionaries were slaughtered each minute until darkness brought an end to the bloodletting. Only 14,000 Roman troops managed to escape (most of whom had cut their way through to the nearby town of <!--del_lnk--> Canusium). At the end of the day, out of the original force of 87,000 Roman troops, only about one out of every ten men was still alive.<p><a id="Casualties" name="Casualties"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Casualties</span></h3>
<p>Although the true figure will probably never be known, Livy and Polybius variously claim that 47,000–60,000 Romans died with about 3,000–4,500 taken prisoner. Among the dead were <!--del_lnk--> Lucius Aemilius Paullus himself, as well two consuls for the preceding year, two <!--del_lnk--> quaestors, twenty-nine out of the forty-eight <!--del_lnk--> military tribunes, and an additional eighty senators (at a time when the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Senate was comprised of no more than 300 men, this constituted 25–30% of the governing body). Another 10,000 from the two Roman camps and the neighboring villages surrendered on the following day (after further resistance cost even more fatalities). In all, perhaps more than 70,000 Romans of the original force of 87,000 were dead or captured — totaling more than 80% of the entire army. For their part, the Carthaginians suffered 16,700 casualties (with the <!--del_lnk--> Celtiberians and <!--del_lnk--> Iberians accounting for the majority). The fatalities for the Carthaginians amounted to 6,000 men, of whom 4,000 were Celtiberians, 1,500 Iberians and Africans, and the remainder cavalry. The total casualty figure of the battle, therefore, exceeds 80,000 men.<p>If true, this makes the Battle of Cannae one of the single bloodiest battles in all of recorded <!--del_lnk--> human history, in terms of the number of lives lost within a day. The total number of lives lost surpasses the number of servicemen killed in the <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Air_Force.htm" title="Royal Air Force">Royal Air Force</a> throughout <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> and <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>. More men were killed at Cannae than in all the four months of the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Passchendaele, which is considered one of the bloodiest battles of World War I. So devastating were these losses, that the total number of casualties represents just under one third of the total number of American soldiers, sailors, and airmen killed in four years of fighting during the World War II. In fact, the losses suffered within a single day on the battlefield of Cannae (no larger than a few square miles), would not be equaled until the <!--del_lnk--> first day of fighting on the <!--del_lnk--> Somme in 1916 — which took place on a 25-mile front over 2,000 years later.<p>More Romans were lost at Cannae then any other battle, and Cannae is second only to the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Teutoburg Forest when looking at the percentage of Romans killed.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/253/25323.jpg.htm" title="Hannibal counting the rings of the Roman knights killed during the battle, statue by Sébastien Slodzt, 1704, Louvre"><img alt="Hannibal counting the rings of the Roman knights killed during the battle, statue by Sébastien Slodzt, 1704, Louvre" height="418" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hannibal_Slodtz_Louvre_MR2093.jpg" src="../../images/235/23558.jpg" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/253/25323.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Hannibal counting the rings of the Roman knights killed during the battle, statue by Sébastien Slodzt, 1704, <!--del_lnk--> Louvre</div>
</div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Cannae"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of Cannae"><img alt="Battle of Cannae" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td><i>Never before, while the City itself was still safe, had there been such excitement and panic within its walls. I shall not attempt to describe it, nor will I weaken the reality by going into details… it was not wound upon wound but multiplied disaster that was now announced. For according to the reports two consular armies and two consuls were lost; there was no longer any Roman camp, any general, any single soldier in existence; Apulia, Samnium, almost the whole of Italy lay at Hannibal's feet. Certainly there is no other nation that would not have succumbed beneath such a weight of calamity</i>.</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Cannae"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of Cannae"><img alt="Battle of Cannae" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dd>― <!--del_lnk--> Livy, on the Roman Senate's reaction to the defeat</dl>
</dl>
<p>For a brief period of time, the Romans were in complete disarray. Their best armies in the peninsula were destroyed, the few remnants severely demoralized, and the only remaining consul (Varro) completely discredited. It was a complete <!--del_lnk--> catastrophe for the Romans. As the story goes, Rome declared a national day of mourning, as there was not a single person in Rome who was not either related to or knew a person who had died. The Romans became so desperate that they resorted to human sacrifice, killing a few slaves and burying them in the <!--del_lnk--> forum of Rome (perhaps one of the last recorded instances of <!--del_lnk--> human sacrifices the Romans would perform, unless you count the public executions of defeated enemies dedicated to Mars as human sacrifice).<p><!--del_lnk--> Lucius Caecilius Metellus, a <!--del_lnk--> military tribune, is known to have so much despaired in the Roman cause, in the aftermath of the battle, as to suggest that everything was lost and called the other tribunes to sail overseas and hire themselves up into the service to some foreign prince. Afterwards, he was forced by his own example to swear an oath of allegiance to Rome for all time. Furthermore, the Roman survivors of Cannae were later reconstituted as two legions and assigned to Sicily for the remainder of the war as punishment for their humiliating loss. In addition to the physical loss of her army, Rome would suffer a symbolic defeat, one that was severely humiliating to her prestige. Hannibal had his men collect more than 200 gold rings from the corpses on the battlefield, and sent this collection to Carthage as proof of his victory; this collection was poured on the floor in front of the Carthaginian Senate, and was judged to be <i>"three and a half measures".</i> A gold ring was a token of membership in the upper classes of Roman society.<p>Hannibal, having gained yet another victory (following the battles of <!--del_lnk--> Trebia and <!--del_lnk--> Lake Trasimene), had defeated the equivalent of eight consular armies. Within just three campaign seasons, Rome had lost a fifth of the entire population of citizens over seventeen years of age (nearly twelve percent of Rome’s available manpower). Furthermore, the morale effect of this victory was such that most of Southern Italy joined Hannibal's cause. After the Battle of Cannae, the <!--del_lnk--> Hellenistic <!--del_lnk--> southern provinces of Arpi, Salapia, Herdonia, Uzentum, including the cities of <!--del_lnk--> Capua and <!--del_lnk--> Tarentum (two of the largest city-states in Italy) all revoked their allegiance to Rome and pledged their loyalty to Hannibal. As Polybius notes, <i>"How much more serious was the defeat of Cannae, than those which preceded it can be seen by the behaviour of Rome’s allies; before that fateful day, their loyalty remained unshaken, now it began to waver for the simple reason that they despaired of Roman Power."</i> During that same year, the Greek cities in Sicily were induced to revolt against Roman political control, while the Macedonian king, <!--del_lnk--> Philip V, had pledged his support to Hannibal — thus initiating the <a href="../../wp/f/First_Macedonian_War.htm" title="First Macedonian War">First Macedonian War</a> against Rome. Hannibal also secured an alliance with the newly appointed King <!--del_lnk--> Hieronymus of <!--del_lnk--> Syracuse, the most significant city in Sicily.<p>Following the battle, Hannibal's officers wanted to march on Rome. Yet despite the tremendous material loss inflicted on the Romans, the defection of many allied cities, and the declaration of war by Philip and Hieronymus, Hannibal, lacking any siege equipment or the appropriate resources, refused to do so. This was much to the distress of <!--del_lnk--> Maharbal, one of his cavalry commanders, who is famously quoted as saying, <i>"Truly the Gods have not bestowed all things upon the same person. Thou knowest indeed, Hannibal, how to conquer, but thou knowest not how to make use of your victory."</i>. Instead, Hannibal sent a delegation led by <!--del_lnk--> Carthalo to negotiate a peace treaty with the Senate on moderate terms. Yet despite the multiple catastrophes Rome had suffered, the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Senate refused to <!--del_lnk--> parley. Instead, they simply re-doubled their efforts, declaring full mobilization of the male populations, while raising new legions recruited from landless peasants and even slaves. So firm were these measures, that the word “peace” was prohibited, mourning limited to only thirty days, and public tears restricted to women. The Romans, after experiencing this catastrophic defeat and losing other battles, had at this point learned their lesson. For the remainder of the war in Italy, they would no longer engage in pitched battles against Hannibal; instead they would utilize the strategies Fabius had taught them, which—as they had finally realized—were the only feasible means of driving Hannibal from Italy.<p><a id="Historical_significance" name="Historical_significance"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Historical significance</span></h2>
<p><a id="Effects_on_Roman_military_doctrine" name="Effects_on_Roman_military_doctrine"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Effects on Roman military doctrine</span></h3>
<p>The Battle of Cannae played a major role in shaping the <!--del_lnk--> military structure and <!--del_lnk--> tactical organization of the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Republican army. At Cannae, the Roman infantry was formed in a formation not dissimilar from the Greek <!--del_lnk--> phalanx. This delivered them into Hannibal’s trap, since their inability to maneuver independently from the mass of the army made it impossible for them to prevent the encircling tactics employed by the Carthaginian cavalry. Furthermore, the strict laws according to the Roman state required that the high command alternate between the two consuls —thus restricting strategic flexibility. However, in the years following Cannae, striking reforms were introduced to address these deficiencies. First, the Romans <i>"articulated the phalanx, then divided it into columns, and finally split it up into a great number of small tactical bodies that were capable, now of closing together in a compact impenetrable union, now of changing the pattern with consummate flexibility, of separating one from the other and turning in this or that direction."</i>. For instance, at <!--del_lnk--> Ilipa and <!--del_lnk--> Zama, the <i><!--del_lnk--> principes</i> were formed up well to the rear of the <i><!--del_lnk--> hastati</i> — a deployment that allowed a greater degree of mobility and maneuverability. The culminating result of this change marked the transition from the traditional <!--del_lnk--> manipular system to the <!--del_lnk--> cohort under <!--del_lnk--> Gaius Marius, as the basic infantry unit of the Roman army.<p>In addition, the necessity of a unified command was finally recognized. After various political experiments, <!--del_lnk--> Scipio Africanus was made general-in-chief of the Roman armies in Africa, and was assured the continued occupancy of this title for the duration of the war. This appointment may have violated the constitutional laws of the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Republic, but, as <!--del_lnk--> Hans Delbrück wrote, <i>"effected an internal transformation that increased her military potentiality enormously"</i> while foreshadowing the decline of the Republic's political institutions. Furthermore, the battle exposed the limits of a citizen-<!--del_lnk--> militia army. Following Cannae, the Roman army gradually developed into a professional force: the nucleus of Scipio's army at <!--del_lnk--> Zama was composed of veterans who had been fighting the Carthaginians in <!--del_lnk--> Hispania for nearly sixteen years, and had been molded into a superb fighting force.<p><a id="Status_in_military_history" name="Status_in_military_history"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Status in military history</span></h3>
<p>The Battle of Cannae is famous for Hannibal's <!--del_lnk--> tactics as much as it is for the role it played in <!--del_lnk--> Roman history. Not only did Hannibal inflict a defeat on the <!--del_lnk--> Roman Republic in a manner unrepeated for over a century until the lesser-known <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Arausio, but the battle itself has acquired a reputation within the field of <!--del_lnk--> military history. As the military historian, <!--del_lnk--> Theodore Ayrault Dodge, once wrote: <i>"Few battles of ancient times are more marked by ability… than the battle of Cannae. The position was such as to place every advantage on Hannibal's side. The manner in which the far from perfect Hispanic and Gallic foot was advanced in a wedge in <!--del_lnk--> échelon… was first held there and then withdrawn step by step, until it had the reached the converse position… is a simple masterpiece of battle tactics. The advance at the proper moment of the African infantry, and its wheel right and left upon the flanks of the disordered and crowded Roman legionaries, is far beyond praise. The whole battle, from the Carthaginian standpoint, is a consummate piece of art, having no superior, few equal, examples in the history of war"</i>. As Will Durant wrote, <i>"It was a supreme example of generalship, never bettered in history… and [it] set the lines of military tactics for 2,000 years"</i>.<p>Hannibal's <!--del_lnk--> double envelopement at the Battle of Cannae is often viewed as one of the greatest battlefield maneuvers in history, and is cited as the first successful use of the <!--del_lnk--> pincer movement within the <!--del_lnk--> Western world, to be recorded in detail.<p><a id="The_.22Cannae_Model.22" name="The_.22Cannae_Model.22"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The "Cannae Model"</span></h3>
<p>Apart from it being one of the greatest defeats ever inflicted on Roman arms, the Battle of Cannae represents the <!--del_lnk--> archetypal <!--del_lnk--> battle of annihilation, a strategy that has rarely been successfully implemented in modern history. As <a href="../../wp/d/Dwight_D._Eisenhower.htm" title="Dwight D. Eisenhower">Dwight D. Eisenhower</a>, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in World War II, once wrote, <i>"Every ground commander seeks the battle of annihilation; so far as conditions permit, he tries to duplicate in <!--del_lnk--> modern war the classic example of Cannae"</i>. Furthermore, the totality of Hannibal’s victory has made the name "<i>Cannae</i>" a byword for military success, and is today studied in detail in several military academies around the world. The notion that an entire army could be encircled and annihilated within a single stroke, led to a fascination among subsequent Western generals for centuries (including <!--del_lnk--> Frederick the Great and <!--del_lnk--> Helmuth von Moltke) who attempted to emulate its tactical paradigm of envelopment and re-create their own <i>"Cannae"</i>. For instance, <!--del_lnk--> Norman Schwarzkopf, the commander of the Coalition Forces in the <!--del_lnk--> Gulf War, studied Cannae and employed the principles Hannibal used, in his highly successful <!--del_lnk--> ground campaign against the Iraqi forces.<p>Hans Delbrück's <!--del_lnk--> seminal study of the battle had a profound influence on subsequent German military theorists, in particular, the Chief of the <!--del_lnk--> German General Staff, <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Graf von Schlieffen (whose eponymously-titled "<!--del_lnk--> Schlieffen Plan" was inspired by Hannibal's <!--del_lnk--> double envelopment maneuver). Through his writings, Schlieffen taught that the "Cannae model" would continue to be applicable in <!--del_lnk--> maneuver warfare throughout the twentieth century: <i>"A battle of annihilation can be carried out today according to the same plan devised by Hannibal in long forgotten times. The enemy front is not the goal of the principal attack. The mass of the troops and the reserves should not be concentrated against the enemy front; the essential is that the flanks be crushed. The wings should not be sought at the advanced points of the front but rather along the entire depth and extension of the enemy formation. The annihilation is completed through an attack against the enemy's rear… To bring about a decisive and annihilating victory requires an attack against the front and against one or both flanks…"</i> Schlieffen later developed his own <!--del_lnk--> operational doctrine in a series of articles, many of which were later translated and published in a work entitled <i>"Cannae"</i>.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cannae"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Italy', 'Italy', 'Libya', 'Royal Air Force', 'World War I', 'World War II', 'First Macedonian War', 'Dwight D. Eisenhower']
|
Battle_of_France
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of France,World War II,World War II,'s-Hertogenbosch,1918,1930s,1938,1940,1944,1st Canadian Infantry Division,Abbeville" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of France</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_France";
var wgTitle = "Battle of France";
var wgArticleId = 228080;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_France">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of France</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of France</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="213" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BattleofFrance.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="300" /><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 10 May <!--del_lnk--> 1940 – <!--del_lnk--> 22 June <!--del_lnk--> 1940</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Axis victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/7/789.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1299.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Canadian_Red_Ensign_1921.svg" src="../../images/168/16820.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1139.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Poland.svg" src="../../images/48/4874.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1141.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="19" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Belgium.svg" src="../../images/168/16821.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/5/545.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Netherlands.svg" src="../../images/5/545.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/Netherlands.htm" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/8/852.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Luxembourg.svg" src="../../images/8/852.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/l/Luxembourg.htm" title="Luxembourg">Luxembourg</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1309.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany_1933.svg" src="../../images/99/9933.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Germany</a><br />
<p><a class="image" href="../../images/530/53029.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Italy_%281861-1946%29_crowned.svg" src="../../images/168/16822.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Italy</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Maurice Gamelin, <!--del_lnk--> Maxime Weygand (French)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Lord Gort (<!--del_lnk--> British Expeditionary Force)<br /><!--del_lnk--> H.G. Winkelman (Dutch)</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Fedor von Bock (Army Group B)<br /><!--del_lnk--> Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C)<br /><!--del_lnk--> H.R.H. Umberto di Savoia (Army Group West)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">144 divisions<br /> 13,974 guns<br /> 3,384 tanks<br /> 3,099 aircraft<br /> Total: 2,862,000</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">141 German divisions<br /> 32 Italian divisions<br /> 7,378 guns<br /> 2,445 tanks<br /> 5,446 aircraft<br /> Total: 3,350,000 Germans<br /> 700,000 Italians</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">360,000 dead or wounded<br /> 1,900,000 captured</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">45,000 dead<br /> 110,000 wounded</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Western Front (World War II)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong class="selflink">France</strong> - <!--del_lnk--> The Netherlands - <!--del_lnk--> Dunkirk - <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Britain.htm" title="Battle of Britain">Britain</a> - <!--del_lnk--> Dieppe - <!--del_lnk--> Villefranche-de-Rouergue - <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Normandy.htm" title="Battle of Normandy">Normandy</a> - <!--del_lnk--> Dragoon - <!--del_lnk--> Arnhem - <!--del_lnk--> Scheldt - <!--del_lnk--> Hurtgen Forest - <!--del_lnk--> Aachen - <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Bulge.htm" title="Battle of the Bulge">Bulge</a> - <!--del_lnk--> Plunder - <!--del_lnk--> Varsity - <!--del_lnk--> Aintree</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>In <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, the <b>Battle of France</b>, also known as the <b>Fall of France</b>, was the <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">German</a> invasion of <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Low Countries, executed <!--del_lnk--> 10 May <!--del_lnk--> 1940, which ended the <!--del_lnk--> Phony War. German armored units pushed through the <!--del_lnk--> Ardennes, outflanking the <!--del_lnk--> Maginot Line and unhinging the <!--del_lnk--> Allied defenders. <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a> was occupied and the French government fled to <!--del_lnk--> Bordeaux on <!--del_lnk--> 14 June. France capitulated on <!--del_lnk--> 25 June after the French Second Army Group was forced to surrender on <!--del_lnk--> 22 June. For the Axis, the campaign was a spectacular victory.<p>France was divided into a German <!--del_lnk--> occupation zone in the north and west, a small Italian occupation zone in the southeast and a <!--del_lnk--> collaborationist government in the south, <!--del_lnk--> Vichy France. The <!--del_lnk--> British Expeditionary Force and many French soldiers were evacuated from <!--del_lnk--> Dunkirk in <!--del_lnk--> Operation Dynamo. France remained under German occupation until after the Allies defeated the German forces in France following the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Normandy.htm" title="Battle of Normandy">Allied landings</a> on <!--del_lnk--> D-Day in <!--del_lnk--> 1944.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Prelude" name="Prelude"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude</span></h2>
<p>Following the <!--del_lnk--> Invasion of Poland of the preceding year, a period of inaction called the <!--del_lnk--> Phony War occurred between the major powers. <a href="../../wp/a/Adolf_Hitler.htm" title="Adolf Hitler">Hitler</a> originally planned for an invasion as early as <!--del_lnk--> 12 November, 1939, however was convinced by his generals to postpone the invasion until the following year. The overall aim was the defeat of the Western European nations as a preliminary step to the conquest of territory in the East, thus avoiding a two-front war. In April 1940, the Germans launched an attack on the neutral countries of <!--del_lnk--> Denmark and Norway for strategic reasons. The British, French, and Free Poles responded by launching an <!--del_lnk--> Allied campaign in Norway in support of the Norwegians.<p>Neither the French nor the British anticipated such a rapid defeat in Poland, and the quick <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">German</a> victory, relying on a new form of <a href="../../wp/b/Blitzkrieg.htm" title="Blitzkrieg">mobile warfare</a>, disturbed generals in <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a>. However the Allies, still assuming they would be able to contain the enemy, anticipated a war similar to the <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">First World War</a>, and believed that even without an <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Front the Germans could be defeated by <!--del_lnk--> blockade, as they had previously. This sentiment was more widely shared in London than in Paris, which had suffered a greater loss of life and material devastation in the First World War. The French leadership, in particular <!--del_lnk--> Édouard Daladier (<!--del_lnk--> Prime Minister of France since <!--del_lnk--> 1938) held a larger respect for the gap between France's human and economic resources vis-a-vis those of Germany, than British counterparts.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16823.jpg.htm" title="French Supreme Commander Maurice Gamelin"><img alt="French Supreme Commander Maurice Gamelin" height="197" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Maurice_Gamelin.jpg" src="../../images/168/16823.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16823.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a> Supreme Commander <!--del_lnk--> Maurice Gamelin</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Supreme Commander of France's army, <!--del_lnk--> Maurice Gamelin, like the rest of the French government, was expecting a campaign from the Germans that in the strategic sense would mirror the First World War. The Von <!--del_lnk--> Schlieffen Plan, Gamelin believed, was to be repeated with a reasonably close degree of accuracy, and even though important parts of the French army in the <!--del_lnk--> 1930s had been designed to wage offensive warfare, it would be preferable to confront such a threat defensively, as the French military staff believed its country was not equipped militarily or economically to launch a decisive offensive initially. It would be better to wait until 1941 to fully exploit the combined allied economic superiority over Germany. To confront the expected German plan — which rested on a move into the <!--del_lnk--> Low Countries outflanking the fortified <!--del_lnk--> Maginot Line — Gamelin intended to send the best units of the French army along with the <!--del_lnk--> British Expeditionary Force north to halt the Germans at the <!--del_lnk--> KW-line, a defensive line that is following the river <!--del_lnk--> Dyle, east of Brussels until a decisive victory could be achieved with the support of the united British, Belgian, French and Dutch armies. The original German plan closely resembled Gamelin's expectations.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16824.jpg.htm" title="The evolution of German plans for the invasion of France."><img alt="The evolution of German plans for the invasion of France." height="266" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1939-1940-battle_of_france-plan-evolution.jpg" src="../../images/168/16824.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16824.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The evolution of German plans for the invasion of France.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The crash in <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> of a light plane, on 10 January 1940, carrying two German officers with a copy of the then-current invasion plan forced <a href="../../wp/a/Adolf_Hitler.htm" title="Hitler">Hitler</a> to scrap the plan and search for an original alternative. The final plan for <i>Fall Gelb</i> (Case Yellow) had been suggested by General <!--del_lnk--> Erich von Manstein, then serving as Chief of Staff to <!--del_lnk--> Gerd von Rundstedt, but had been initially rejected by the German General Staff. It proposed a deep penetration further south of the original route, which took advantage of the speed of the unified Panzer divisions to separate and encircle the opposing forces. It had the virtue of being unlikely (from a defensive point of view) as the <!--del_lnk--> Ardennes were heavily wooded and implausible as a route for a mechanized invasion. It had the considerable virtue of not having been intercepted by the Allies (for no copies were being carried about) and of being dramatic, which seems to have appealed to Hitler.<p>Von Manstein's aggressive plan was to break through the weak Allied centre with overwhelming force, trap the forces to the north in a pocket, and drive on to Paris. The plan benefitted from an Allied response close to how they would have responded in the original case; namely, that a large part of French and British strength was drawn north to defend <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Picardy. To help ensure this result, the German <!--del_lnk--> Army Group B was still expected to attack Belgium and <!--del_lnk--> the Netherlands in order to draw Allied forces eastward into the developing encirclement, as well as obtaining bases for a later attack on Britain.<p>The Allied General Staff and key statesmen, after capturing the original invasion plans, were initially jubilant that they had potentially won a key victory in the war before the campaign was even fought. Contrarily, General Gamelin and <!--del_lnk--> Lord Gort, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force, were shaken into realizing that whatever the Germans came up with instead would not be what they had initially expected. More and more Gamelin became convinced that the Germans would try to attempt a breakthrough by concentrating their mechanized forces. They could hardly hope to break the <!--del_lnk--> Maginot Line on his right flank or to overcome the allied concentration of forces on the left flank. That only left the centre. But most of the centre was covered by the river <!--del_lnk--> Meuse. Tanks were useless in defeating fortified river positions. However at <!--del_lnk--> Namur the river made a sharp turn to the east, creating a gap between itself and the river Dyle. This Gembloux Gap, ideal for mechanized warfare, was a very dangerous weak spot. Gamelin decided to concentrate half of his armoured reserves there. Of course the Germans might try to overcome the Meuse position by using <!--del_lnk--> infantry. But that could only be achieved by massive <!--del_lnk--> artillery support, the build-up of which would give Gamelin ample warning.<p><a id="Forces_and_dispositions" name="Forces_and_dispositions"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Forces and dispositions</span></h2>
<p>The German Army was divided into three army groups:<ul>
<li>Army Group A, composed of 45½ divisions including seven armored commanded by Gerd von Rundstedt, was to deliver the decisive blow, cutting a <i>"Sichelschnitt"</i> ('Sickle Cut'), as <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> later called it, through the Allied defenses in the <!--del_lnk--> Ardennes spearheaded by three <!--del_lnk--> Panzer corps trying to <i>create</i> the pocket.<li>Army Group B, composed of 29½ divisions including three armored under <!--del_lnk--> Fedor von Bock, was tasked with breaking through the Low Countries and pushing the northern units of the Allied armies into a pocket.<li>Army Group C, composed of 19 divisions under <!--del_lnk--> Wilhelm von Leeb, was charged with preventing a flanking movement from the east, and with launching holding attacks against the <!--del_lnk--> Maginot Line and the upper <a href="../../wp/r/Rhine.htm" title="Rhine">Rhine</a>.</ul>
<p><a id="May:_Low_Countries_and_Northern_France" name="May:_Low_Countries_and_Northern_France"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">May: Low Countries and Northern France</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16826.jpg.htm" title="The disposition of forces and the 1940 campaign in France and the Low countries."><img alt="The disposition of forces and the 1940 campaign in France and the Low countries." height="266" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1940-Fall_Gelb.jpg" src="../../images/168/16826.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16826.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The disposition of forces and the 1940 campaign in France and the Low countries.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> launched its offensive, <i>Fall Gelb</i>, on the night prior to and principally on the morning of <!--del_lnk--> 10 May. During the night German forces occupied <a href="../../wp/l/Luxembourg.htm" title="Luxembourg">Luxembourg</a>, and in the morning German <!--del_lnk--> Army Group B (<!--del_lnk--> Bock) launched a <!--del_lnk--> feint offensive into the Netherlands and Belgium. German <i>Fallschirmjäger</i> (paratroopers) from the <!--del_lnk--> 7th Flieger and <!--del_lnk--> 22. Luftlande Infanteriedivision under <!--del_lnk--> Kurt Student executed surprise landings at <a href="../../wp/t/The_Hague.htm" title="The Hague">The Hague</a>, on the road to <a href="../../wp/r/Rotterdam.htm" title="Rotterdam">Rotterdam</a> and against the Belgian <!--del_lnk--> Fort Eben-Emael on its opening day with the goal of facilitating AG B's advance.<p>The Allied command reacted immediately, sending forces north to combat a plan that, for all the Allies could expect, resembled the earlier Schlieffen plan. This move north committed their best forces, diminished their fighting power through loss of readiness and their mobility through loss of fuel. That evening French troops crossed the Dutch border.<p>The French and British air command was less effective than their generals had anticipated, and the <a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a> quickly obtained <!--del_lnk--> air superiority, depriving the Allies of key reconnaissance abilities and disrupting Allied communication and coordination.<p>While the German invaders secured all the strategically vital bridges in and toward Rotterdam, which penetrated "Fortress Holland" and bypassed the <!--del_lnk--> Water Line, an attempt to seize the Dutch seat of government, The Hague, ended in complete failure. The airfields surrounding the city (Ypenburg, <!--del_lnk--> Ockenburg, and Valkenburg) were taken with heavy casualties on <!--del_lnk--> 10 May, only to be lost on the very same day to furious counterattacks launched by the two Dutch reserve infantry divisions. The Dutch would capture or kill 1,745 <i>Fallschirmjäger</i>, transporting 1,200 prisoners to England.<p>The French marched north to establish a connection with the Dutch army, which came under attack from German Fallschirmjäger, but simply not understanding German intentions they failed to block German armored reinforcements of the <!--del_lnk--> 9th Panzer Division from reaching <a href="../../wp/r/Rotterdam.htm" title="Rotterdam">Rotterdam</a> on <!--del_lnk--> 13 May. The Dutch, their poorly equipped army largely intact, surrendered on <!--del_lnk--> 14 May after the Germans <!--del_lnk--> bombed Rotterdam. However the Dutch troops in <!--del_lnk--> Zeeland and the colonies continued the fight while <!--del_lnk--> Queen Wilhelmina established a government-in-exile in Britain.<p><!--del_lnk--> Fort Eben-Emael, the fortresses looking over the river <!--del_lnk--> Maas and the <!--del_lnk--> Albert Canal, the first Belgian defensive line, had been seized by German paratroopers using <!--del_lnk--> gliders on <!--del_lnk--> 10 May, allowing their forces to cross the bridges over the <!--del_lnk--> Albert Canal inwards the heartland of Belgium. The Belgian forces withdrew in an organized manner to the <!--del_lnk--> KW-line, their main line of defense and also known as the Dyle-line, where they installed themselves with the <!--del_lnk--> British Expeditionary Force and the French Army. This was according Gamelin's plan in the north. The expected major tank battle took place in the <!--del_lnk--> Gembloux Gap between the French 2nd DLM and 3rd DLMs (<i>Division Légère Mécanique</i>, "Mechanized Light Division") and the German <!--del_lnk--> 3rd and <!--del_lnk--> 4th <!--del_lnk--> Panzer Divisions of <!--del_lnk--> Erich Hoepner's XVI Panzer Corps, costing both sides about 100 vehicles; the German offensive in Belgium seemed stalled for a moment. But this was a <!--del_lnk--> feint.<p><a id="The_Centre" name="The_Centre"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Centre</span></h3>
<p>In the centre, German Army Group A smashed through the Belgian infantry regiments and French Light Divisions of the Cavalry (<i>Divisions Légères de Cavalerie</i>) advancing into the Ardennes, and arrived at the <!--del_lnk--> Meuse River near <!--del_lnk--> Sedan on the night of 12–13 May. On 13 May the Germans forced three crossings near Sedan. Instead of slowly massing artillery as the French expected, the Germans replaced the need for traditional artillery by using the full might of their bomber force to punch a hole in a narrow sector of the French lines by <!--del_lnk--> carpet bombing (punctuated by <!--del_lnk--> dive bombing). Sedan was held by the 55th French Infantry Division (55e DI), a grade “B” reserve division. The forward elements of the 55e DI held their positions through most of the 13th, initially repulsing three of the six German crossing attempts; however, the German air attacks had disrupted the French supporting artillery batteries and created an impression among the troops of the 55e DI that they were isolated and abandoned. The combination of the psychological impact of the bombing, the generally slowly expanding German lodgments, deep penetrations by some small German infantry units and the lack of air or artillery support eventually broke down the 55e DI’s resistance and much of the unit went into rout by the evening of 13–14 May. The German aerial attack of <!--del_lnk--> 13 May, with 1215 bomber sorties, the heaviest air bombardment the world had yet witnessed, is considered to have been very effective and key to the successful German river crossing. It was the most effective use of tactical air power yet demonstrated in warfare. The disorder begun at Sedan was spread down the French line by groups of haggard and retreating soldiers. During the night some units in the last prepared defence line at <!--del_lnk--> Bulson were panicked by the false rumour that German tanks were already behind their positions. On 14 May two French tank battalions and supporting infantry from the 71st North African Infantry Division (71e NADI) counter-attacked the German bridgehead without success. The attack was partially repulsed by the first German armor and anti-tank units which had been rushed across the river as quickly as possible at 7:20 A.M. on pontoon bridges. On <!--del_lnk--> 14 May every available Allied light bomber was employed in an attempt to destroy the German pontoon bridges; but, despite incurring the highest single-day action losses in the entire history of the British and French air forces, they failed to destroy these targets. Despite the failure of numerous quickly planned counterattacks to collapse the German bridgehead, the French Army was successful in re-establishing a continuous defensive position further south; on the west flank of the bridgehead however, French resistance began to crumble.<p>The commander of the French Second Army, General Huntzinger, immediately took effective measures to prevent a further weakening of his position. An armoured division (3rd <i>Division Cuirassée de Réserve</i>) and a motorized division blocked further German advances around his flank. However the commander of XIX Panzer Corps, <!--del_lnk--> Heinz Guderian, wasn't interested in Huntzinger's flank. Leaving for the moment <!--del_lnk--> 10th Panzer Division at the bridgehead to protect it from attacks by 3rd DCR, he moved his <!--del_lnk--> 1st and <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Panzer Divisions sharply to the west on 15 May, undercutting the flank of the French Ninth Army by 40 km and forcing the 102nd Fortress Division to leave its positions that had blocked XVI Panzer Corps at Monthermé. While the French Second Army had been seriously mauled and had rendered itself impotent, now Ninth Army began to disintegrate completely, for in Belgium also its divisions, not having had the time to fortify, had been pushed back from the river by the unrelenting pressure of German infantry, allowing the impetuous <a href="../../wp/e/Erwin_Rommel.htm" title="Erwin Rommel">Erwin Rommel</a> to break free with his <!--del_lnk--> 7th Panzer Division. A French armoured division (1st DCR) was sent to block him but, advancing unexpectedly fast, he surprised it while refueling on 15 May and dispersed it, despite some losses caused by the heavy French tanks.<p><a id="Blitzkrieg" name="Blitzkrieg"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Blitzkrieg</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16827.jpg.htm" title="The German Blitzkrieg offensive of mid-May, 1940."><img alt="The German Blitzkrieg offensive of mid-May, 1940." height="266" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1940FranceBlitz.jpg" src="../../images/168/16827.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16827.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The German Blitzkrieg offensive of mid-May, 1940.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Battle of France is often hailed as the first historical instance of the <i><a href="../../wp/b/Blitzkrieg.htm" title="Blitzkrieg">Blitzkrieg</a></i> tactic. <i>Blitzkrieg</i> can be defined as defeating the enemy by means of a strategic envelopment executed by mechanized forces leading to his operational collapse. Von Manstein certainly had had a strategic envelopment in mind. However the three dozen infantry divisions that followed the Panzer Corps were not there merely to consolidate their gains. It was to be the other way around. In the eyes of the German High Command the Panzer Corps now had fulfilled a precisely circumscribed task. Their motorized infantry component had secured the river crossings, their tank regiments had conquered a dominant position. Now <i>they</i> had to consolidate, allowing the infantry divisions to position themselves for the <i>real</i> battle: perhaps a classic <i>Kesselschlacht</i> when the enemy should stay in the north, perhaps an encounter fight when he should try to escape to the south. In both cases an enormous mass of German divisions, both armoured and infantry, would cooperate to annihilate the enemy, in accordance with established doctrine. The Panzer Corps were not to bring about the collapse of the enemy by themselves alone. They should halt.<p>On 16 May, however, both Guderian and Rommel disobeyed their explicit direct orders in an act of open insubordination against their superiors and moved their divisions many kilometers to the west, as fast as they could push them. Guderian reached <!--del_lnk--> Marle, 80 kilometers from Sedan; Rommel crossed the river <!--del_lnk--> Sambre at Le Cateau, a hundred kilometers from <i>his</i> bridgehead, <!--del_lnk--> Dinant. While nobody knew the whereabouts of Rommel (he had advanced so quickly that he was out of range for radio contact, earning his <!--del_lnk--> 7th Panzer Division the nickname <i>Gespenster-Division</i>, "Ghost Division"), an enraged <!--del_lnk--> von Kleist flew to Guderian on the morning of 17 May and after a heated argument relieved him of all duties. However, von Rundstedt would have none of it and refused to confirm the order.<p>It has proven difficult to explain the actions of both generals. Rommel was forced to commit suicide by Hitler before the end of the war and thus never could clarify his behaviour in full freedom. After the war, Guderian claimed to have acted on his own initiative, essentially inventing <i>Blitzkrieg</i> on the spot. Some historians have since considered this an empty boast, denying any fundamental divide within contemporaneous German operational doctrine, downplaying the conflict as a mere difference of opinion about timing and pointing out that Guderian's claim is inconsistent with his professed role as the prophet of <i>Blitzkrieg</i> even before the war. However his prewar writings in fact explicitly reject strategic envelopment by mechanized forces alone as a generally sufficient means to cause operational collapse. Also, there is no explicit reference to such tactics in the German battle plans.<p><a id="Allied_reaction" name="Allied_reaction"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Allied reaction</span></h3>
<p>The Panzer Corps now slowed their advance considerably but had put themselves in a very vulnerable position. They were stretched out, exhausted and low on fuel; many tanks had broken down. There now was a dangerous gap between them and the infantry. A determined attack by a fresh large mechanized force could have cut them off and wiped them out.<p>The French High Command, however, was reeling from the shock of the sudden offensive and was stung by a sense of defeatism. On the morning of <!--del_lnk--> 15 May <!--del_lnk--> French Prime Minister <!--del_lnk--> Paul Reynaud telephoned newly minted <a href="../../wp/p/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom.htm" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister of the United Kingdom</a> <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> and said "We have been defeated. We are beaten; we have lost the battle." Churchill, attempting to console Reynaud, reminded the Prime Minister of the times the Germans had broken through allied lines in <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> only to be stopped. However, Reynaud was inconsolable.<p>Churchill flew to Paris on <!--del_lnk--> 16 May. He immediately recognized the gravity of the situation when he observed that the French government was already burning its archives and preparing for an evacuation of the capital. In a sombre meeting with the French commanders, Churchill asked General Gamelin, "Where is the strategic reserve?" which had saved Paris in the <!--del_lnk--> First World War. "There is none," Gamelin replied. Later, Churchill described hearing this as the single most shocking moment in his life. Churchill asked Gamelin when and where the general proposed to launch a counterattack against the flanks of the German bulge. Gamelin simply replied "inferiority of numbers, inferiority of equipment, inferiority of methods". <p>Gamelin was right; most reserve divisions had by now been committed. The only armoured division still in reserve, 2nd DCR, attacked on 16 May. However the French armoured divisions of the Infantry, the <i>Divisions Cuirassées de Réserve</i>, were – despite their name – very specialized breakthrough units, optimized for attacking fortified positions. They could be quite useful for defense, if dug in, but had very limited utility for an encounter fight: they could not execute combined infantry–tank tactics as they simply had no important motorized infantry component; they had poor tactical mobility as the heavy <!--del_lnk--> Char B1 bis, their main tank in which half of the French tank budget had been invested, had to refuel twice a day. So 2nd DCR divided itself in a covering screen, the small subunits of which fought bravely – but without having any strategic effect.<p>Of course, some of the best units in the north had yet seen little fighting. Had they been kept in reserve they could have been used for a decisive counter strike. But now they had lost much fighting power simply by moving to the north; hurrying south again would cost them even more. The most powerful allied division, the 1st DLM (<i>Division Légère Mécanique</i>, "light" in this case meaning "mobile"), deployed near <!--del_lnk--> Dunkirk on 10 May, had moved its forward units 220 kilometers to the northeast, beyond the Dutch city of <!--del_lnk--> 's-Hertogenbosch, in 32 hours. Finding that the Dutch had already retreated to the north, it had withdrawn and was now moving to the south. When it would reach the Germans again, of its original 80 <!--del_lnk--> SOMUA S 35 tanks only three would be operational, mostly as a result of breakdown.<p>Nevertheless, a radical decision to retreat to the south, avoiding contact, could probably have saved most of the mechanized and motorized divisions, including the BEF. However, that would have meant leaving about thirty infantry divisions to their fate. The loss of Belgium alone would be an enormous political blow. Besides, the Allies were uncertain about German intentions. They threatened in four directions: to the north, to attack the allied main force directly; to the west, to cut it off; to the south, to occupy <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a> and even to the east, to move behind the Maginot Line. The French decided to create a new reserve, among which a reconstituted 7th Army, under General Touchon, using every unit they could safely pull out of the Maginot Line to block the way to Paris.<p>Colonel <!--del_lnk--> Charles de Gaulle, in command of France's hastily formed 4th Armored Division, attempted to launch an attack from the south and achieved a measure of success that would later accord him considerable fame and a promotion to Brigadier General. However, de Gaulle's attacks on 17 and 19 May did not significantly alter the overall situation.<p><a id="To_the_Channel" name="To_the_Channel"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">To the Channel</span></h3>
<p>While the Allies did little either to threaten them or escape from the danger they posed, the Panzer Corps used 17 and 18 May to refuel, eat, sleep, and get some more tanks in working order. On 18 May Rommel made the French give up <!--del_lnk--> Cambrai by merely feinting an armoured attack.<p>On 19 May German High Command grew very confident. The Allies seemed incapable of coping with events. There appeared to be no serious threat from the south – indeed General <!--del_lnk--> Franz Halder, Chief of <!--del_lnk--> Army General Staff, toyed with the idea of attacking Paris immediately to knock France out of the war in one blow. The Allied troops in the North were retreating to the river <!--del_lnk--> Escaut, their right flank giving way to the 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions. It would be foolish to remain inactive any longer, allowing them to reorganize their defense or escape. Now it was time to bring them into even more serious trouble by cutting them off. The next day the Panzer Corps started moving again, smashed through the weak British 18th and 23rd Territorial Divisions, occupied <!--del_lnk--> Amiens and secured the westernmost bridge over the river <!--del_lnk--> Somme at <!--del_lnk--> Abbeville, isolating the British, French, Dutch, and Belgian forces in the north. In the evening of 20 May a reconnaissance unit from 2nd Panzer Division reached <!--del_lnk--> Noyelles, a hundred kilometers to the west. There they could see the estuary of the Somme flowing into <a href="../../wp/e/English_Channel.htm" title="English Channel">The Channel</a>.<p><a id="Weygand_Plan" name="Weygand_Plan"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Weygand Plan</span></h3>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 20 May also, <!--del_lnk--> French Prime Minister <!--del_lnk--> Paul Reynaud dismissed <!--del_lnk--> Maurice Gamelin for his failure to contain the German offensive, and replaced him with <!--del_lnk--> Maxime Weygand, who immediately attempted to devise new tactics to contain the Germans. More pressing however was his strategic task: he formed the Weygand Plan, ordering to pinch off the German armoured spearhead by combined attacks from the north and the south. On the map this seemed a feasible mission: the corridor through which <!--del_lnk--> von Kleist's two Panzer Corps had moved to the coast was a mere 40 kilometers wide. On paper Weygand had sufficient forces to execute it: in the north the three DLM and the BEF, in the south de Gaulle's 4th DCR. These units had an organic strength of about 1,200 tanks and the Panzer divisions were very vulnerable again, the mechanical condition of their tanks rapidly deteriorating. But the condition of the Allied divisions was far worse. Both in the south and the north they could in reality muster but a handful of tanks. Nevertheless Weygand flew to <!--del_lnk--> Ypres on <!--del_lnk--> 21 May trying to convince the Belgians and the BEF of the soundness of his plan.<p>That same day, 21 May, a detachment of the British Expeditionary Force under Major-General <!--del_lnk--> Harold Edward Franklyn had already attempted to at least delay the German offensive and, perhaps, to cut the leading edge of the German army off. The resulting <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Arras demonstrated the ability of the heavily armoured British <!--del_lnk--> Matilda tanks (the German 37mm <!--del_lnk--> anti-tank guns proved ineffective against them) and the limited raid overran two German regiments. The panic that resulted (the German commander at Arras, <a href="../../wp/e/Erwin_Rommel.htm" title="Erwin Rommel">Erwin Rommel</a>, reported being attacked by 'hundreds' of tanks, though there were only 58 at the battle) temporarily delayed the German offensive. Rommel had to rely on 88mm anti-aircraft and 105mm field guns firing over open sights to halt these attacks. German reinforcements pressed the British back to <!--del_lnk--> Vimy Ridge the following day.<p>Although this attack wasn't part of any coordinated attempt to destroy the Panzer Corps, the German High Command panicked a lot more than Rommel. For a moment they feared to have been ambushed, that a thousand Allied tanks were about to smash their elite forces. But the next day they had regained confidence and ordered Guderian's XIX Panzer Corps to press north and push on to the Channel ports of <!--del_lnk--> Boulogne and <!--del_lnk--> Calais, in the back of the British and Allied forces to the north.<p>That same day, <!--del_lnk--> 22 May, the French tried to attack south to the east of Arras, with some infantry and tanks, but by now the German infantry had begun to catch up and the attack was, with some difficulty, stopped by the <!--del_lnk--> 32nd Infantry Division.<p>The first attack from the south could only be launched on 24 May when 7th DIC, supported by a handful of tanks, failed to retake Amiens. This was a rather weak effort; however on <!--del_lnk--> 27 May the British 1st Armoured Division, hastily brought over from England, attacked Abbeville in force but was beaten back with crippling losses. The next day <!--del_lnk--> de Gaulle tried again with the same result. But by now even complete success couldn't have saved the forces in the north.<p><a id="BEF_at_Dunkirk" name="BEF_at_Dunkirk"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">BEF at Dunkirk</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16828.png.htm" title="BEF retreat at Dunkirk"><img alt="BEF retreat at Dunkirk" height="133" longdesc="/wiki/Image:British_troops_retreat_dunkerque.png" src="../../images/168/16828.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16828.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> BEF retreat at Dunkirk</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In the early hours of 23 May Gort ordered a retreat from Arras. He had no faith in the Weygand plan nor in the proposal of the latter to at least try to hold a pocket on the Flemish coast, a <i>Réduit de Flandres</i>. The ports needed to supply such a foothold were already threatened. That day the 2nd Panzer Division assaulted Boulogne. The British garrison in Boulogne surrendered on the 25th, although 4,368 troops were evacuated.<p>The 10th Panzer Division attacked Calais, beginning on 24 May. Reinforcements (3rd Royal Tank Regiment, equipped with <!--del_lnk--> cruiser tanks, and the <!--del_lnk--> British 30th Motor Brigade) had been hastily landed before the Germans attacked. The <!--del_lnk--> Siege of Calais lasted four days, before the last French troops were evacuated on 27 May.<p>While the 1st Panzer Division was ready to attack <!--del_lnk--> Dunkirk on 25 May, Hitler ordered it to halt on 24 May. This remains one of the most controversial decisions of the entire war. <!--del_lnk--> Hermann Göring had convinced Hitler the <a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a> could prevent an evacuation; von Rundstedt had warned him that any further effort by the armoured divisions would lead to a much prolonged refitting period. Attacking cities wasn't part of the normal task for armoured units under any operational doctrine.<p>Encircled, the British, Belgian and French launched <!--del_lnk--> Operation Dynamo and <!--del_lnk--> Operation Ariel, evacuating Allied forces from the northern pocket in Belgium and <!--del_lnk--> Pas-de-Calais, beginning on <!--del_lnk--> 26 May (see <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Dunkirk). The Allied position was complicated by King <!--del_lnk--> Léopold III of Belgium's surrender the following day, which was postponed until 28 May.<p>Confusion still reigned however, as after the evacuation at Dunkirk and while Paris was enduring its short-lived siege, part of the <!--del_lnk--> 1st Canadian Infantry Division were sent to Normandy (Brest) and moved 200 miles inland toward Paris before they heard that Paris had fallen and France had capitulated. They retreated and re-embarked for England.<p><a id="June:_France" name="June:_France"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">June: France</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16829.jpg.htm" title="The German offensive in June sealed the defeat of the French."><img alt="The German offensive in June sealed the defeat of the French." height="266" longdesc="/wiki/Image:1940FranceJune.jpg" src="../../images/168/16829.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16829.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The German offensive in June sealed the defeat of the French.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The best and most modern French armies had been sent north and lost in the resulting encirclement; the French had lost much of their heavy weaponry and their best armored formations. Weygand was faced with the prospect of defending a long front (stretching from <!--del_lnk--> Sedan to the Channel), with a greatly depleted French Army now lacking significant Allied support. 60 divisions were required to man the 600 km long frontline, Weygand had only 64 French and one remaining British division available. Therefore, unlike the Germans, he had no significant reserves to counter a breakthrough or to replace frontline troops, should they become exhausted from a prolonged battle. Should the frontline be pushed further south, it would inevitably get too long for the French to man it. Some elements of the French leadership had openly lost heart, particularly as the British were evacuating the Continent. The Dunkirk evacuation was a blow to French morale as it was seen as an act of abandonment. Adding to this grave situation <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> declared war on France and Britain on <!--del_lnk--> 10 June.<p>The Germans renewed their offensive on <!--del_lnk--> 5 June on the Somme. An attack broke the scarce reserves that Weygand had put between the Germans and the capital, and on <!--del_lnk--> 10 June the French government fled to <!--del_lnk--> Bordeaux, declaring Paris an <!--del_lnk--> open city. Churchill returned to France on <!--del_lnk--> 11 June, meeting the French War Council in <!--del_lnk--> Briare. The French requested Britain supply all available fighter squadrons to aid in the battle. With only 25 squadrons remaining Churchill refused, believing at this point that the decisive battle would be fought over Britain (see <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Britain.htm" title="Battle of Britain">Battle of Britain</a>). Churchill, at the meeting, obtained assurances from French admiral <!--del_lnk--> François Darlan that the fleet would not fall into German hands. On <!--del_lnk--> 14 June Paris, the capture of which <!--del_lnk--> had so eluded the German Army in the <!--del_lnk--> First World War, after having been declared an <!--del_lnk--> open city, fell to the <!--del_lnk--> Wehrmacht, marking the <!--del_lnk--> second time in less then 100 years that Paris had been captured by German forces (the former occurring during the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War).<p>The evacuation of the second BEF took place during <!--del_lnk--> Operation Ariel during the 15th - 25th of June.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/148/14831.png.htm" title="German Nazi parading in the deserted Champs-Élysées avenue, Paris, June 1940."><img alt="German Nazi parading in the deserted Champs-Élysées avenue, Paris, June 1940." height="120" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Nazi-parading-in-elysian-fields-paris-desert-1940.png" src="../../images/148/14831.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/148/14831.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> German Nazi parading in the deserted <!--del_lnk--> Champs-Élysées avenue, <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a>, June 1940.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Fighting continued in the east until <!--del_lnk--> General Pretelat, commanding the French Second Army group, was forced to surrender on <!--del_lnk--> 22 June.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<p>France <!--del_lnk--> formally surrendered to the German armed forces on <!--del_lnk--> 25 June in the same railroad car at <!--del_lnk--> Compiègne that Germany in <!--del_lnk--> 1918 <!--del_lnk--> had been forced to surrender in. This railway car was lost in allied air raids on the German capital of Berlin later in the war. <!--del_lnk--> Paul Reynaud, France's Prime Minister, was forced to resign due to his refusal to agree to surrender. He was succeeded by <i>Maréchal</i> <!--del_lnk--> Philippe Pétain, who announced to the French people via radio his intention to surrender.<p>France was divided into a German occupation zone in the north and west and a nominally independent state in the south, to be based in the spa town of <!--del_lnk--> Vichy, dubbed <!--del_lnk--> Vichy France. The new French state, headed by <!--del_lnk--> Pétain, accepted its status as a defeated nation and attempted to buy favour with the Germans through accommodation and passivity. <!--del_lnk--> Charles de Gaulle, who had been made an Undersecretary of National Defense by <!--del_lnk--> Paul Reynaud, in London at the time of the surrender, made his <!--del_lnk--> Appeal of 18 June. In this broadcast he refused to recognize the Vichy government as legitimate and began the task of organizing the <!--del_lnk--> Free French forces. A number of French colonies abroad – (<a href="../../wp/f/French_Guiana.htm" title="French Guiana">French Guiana</a>, <!--del_lnk--> French Equatorial Africa) – joined de Gaulle rather than the Vichy government.<p>The British began to doubt Admiral Darlan's promise to Churchill not to allow the French fleet at Toulon to fall into German hands by the wording of the armistice conditions; they therefore attacked French naval forces in Africa and Europe (see <!--del_lnk--> Destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir) which led to feelings of animosity and mistrust between the former French and British allies.<p><a id="Casualties" name="Casualties"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Casualties</span></h2>
<p><a id="German" name="German"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">German</span></h3>
<p>Approximately 27,074 Germans were killed and 111,034 were wounded, with a further 18,384 missing for total German casualties of 156,000 men.<p><a id="Allied" name="Allied"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Allied</span></h3>
<p>In exchange, they had destroyed the French, Belgian, Dutch, Polish and British armies. Total allied losses including the capture of the French army amounted to 2,292,000. Casualties, killed or wounded, were as follows:<ul>
<li>France - 90,000 killed, 200,000 wounded and approximately 1,800,000 imprisoned. In August, 1940 1,575,000 prisoners were taken into Germany where roughly 940,000 remained until 1945 when they were liberated by advancing Allied forces. While in German captivity 24,600 French prisoners died, 71,000 escaped, 220,000 were released due to various agreements between the Vichy government and Germany, and several hundred thousand were paroled due to disability and/or sickness. Most prisoners spent their time in captivity as slave labourers.<li>Britain - 68,111<li>Belgium - 23,350<li>The Netherlands - 9,779<li>Poland - 6,092</ul>
<p><a id="Historiography" name="Historiography"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Historiography</span></h2>
<p>The great controversy of the Battle of the France focuses on causes for the catastrophic defeat suffered by the French army, and to a lesser extent, the Allies in general.<p>Some of the suggested causes of the Allied defeat were:<ul>
<li>Military factors: <ul>
<li>Treason. This theory was very popular at the time of events. A <!--del_lnk--> Fifth column was supposed to be cooperating with a host of disguised German agents. After the war this was conclusively shown to have been a case of <!--del_lnk--> mass hysteria, but such stories are still repeated in some popular accounts.<li>Equipment imbalances. In most ways the Allied and German armies were comparably equipped. Both had roughly the same number of tanks and motorized divisions. In armor protection and penetrating power of main armament many of the French and British tanks were actually superior to their German counterparts. While German small arms may have been somewhat superior to Allied equipment, the Allies had a significant advantage in artillery. The German advantages did not lie in having an overall better equipped army, but rather, in superior operational and tactical combat performances.<li>Defensive attitude: French overreliance on the <!--del_lnk--> Maginot Line, a chain of forts built along most of the Franco-German border. It is undisputed that the French left the strategic initiative to the Germans; however, the purpose of the <!--del_lnk--> Maginot Line was not to serve as a cover-all defense, but to force the Germans to engage French mechanized forces in the Low Countries. In this regard it was successful and served its purpose.<li>Poor strategy: General Gamelin's decision to send his best-trained and equipped forces north to defend against invasion through the <!--del_lnk--> Low Countries, combined with Hitler's decision, against the advice of the German General Staff, to adopt the Manstein plan after an aircraft that was carrying a copy of the original invasion plan crashed in Belgium due to a navigational error.<li>The totally mistaken belief by the French military that the Ardennes forest formed a barrier to a modern, mechanized army which would so slow its progress that an effective defense could be organized before a serious threat could develop (this was the case for example in the Soviet-Finnish <!--del_lnk--> Winter War). As a result the Maginot Line defenses were not extended to that region, and only second-line forces were put there.<li>Outdated tactics. It is often assumed that there was a neglect of tank warfare by the French, exemplified by the rejection of Colonel <!--del_lnk--> Charles de Gaulle's tank warfare tactics by the French high command. The French had built a larger number of modern tanks than the Germans and these were on average better armed and armoured. Also it is untrue that they were divided among the infantry in "penny-packets" or even individually assigned to infantry units as support vehicles; even the independent tank battalions were combined in <i>Groupements</i> and allocated at army level. However, the French suffered from an inflexible division in infantry tanks and cavalry tanks: ironically the former were insufficiently trained to cooperate with the infantry and so couldn't execute modern combined arms tactics. In theory the operational doctrine of both armies was based on partly mechanized maneuver warfare; in practice the French shied away from it, while the best German field commanders were so bold as to let it develop into pure Blitzkrieg if the situation allowed.<li>Communication difficulties. The French communication system relied almost entirely on the public telephone network rather than two-way mobile radio used by the Germans. The telephone lines were often cut by military action (at the time sabotage was assumed) and often the only way of sending messages to the front was by dispatch rider. Allied commanders complained that they often had no information for days and when it did arrive, it was hopelessly out of date. Gamelin was criticized for making <!--del_lnk--> Château de Vincennes his HQ, despite the fact it lacked either radio or telephone communications and relied upon motorcycle courier. However the German High Command had poor control of the battle also — although in their case it worked to their benefit.<li>Command. The German Army relied on <!--del_lnk--> mission-type tactics, which allowed small-unit commanders to exercise a great deal of initiative in accordance with the objectives of higher headquarters. In contrast, French officers were trained to await guidance from higher headquarters before acting. This explains why the communications difficulties experienced by both sides worked to the benefit of the German Army. The German command structure passed information in both directions much faster than the French system. Combined with the high degree of initiative expected of German commanders, the result was a much faster decision cycle on the German side. French commanders repeatedly issued out-of-date orders.<li>Quality and guidance of German troops in combat. The French population was much smaller and more aged: they were forced to draft a lot of elder men to form so-called "B" (reserve) divisions, which they then could not train or staff properly as most professional instructors and officers were needed to man the "A"-divisions. These divisions were placed at positions where enemy attacks appeared unlikely, such as the Ardennes (the 55th Infantry was a "B"-division).To compensate for the lack of capability, French infantry doctrine stressed the importance of methodical procedure, leading to inflexibility. The Germans too had many insufficiently trained reserve divisions; but those infantry units used for the breakthrough all consisted of young and well-trained men. Their officers on the tactical and operational level were considered the best in the world.</ul>
<li>WW1 and demographics <ul>
<li>Intense French losses during World War I caused an inability for the French to regenerate the resources necessary to defend France in 1940.<li><!--del_lnk--> Demographics. France has experienced highly atypical population growth relative to the rest of the Western world since the 19th century. During the early 20th century, France experienced almost no population growth, while Germany was growing rapidly. In conjunction with France's very high casualties in WWI, this caused crippling problems for the French military. The conscripts of the French army were ideally between 20 and 25, meaning that in 1940 they had to be drawn from the generation born between 1915 and 1920. In these years the birthrate was extremely low, because of millions of French men being away from home fighting WWI. Due to the comparatively rigid (at first non-existing) French home-leave regime France was affected far worse than other European countries. The French military referred to this population-gap and its effect on the number of available conscripts in the late thirties and early forties as <i>the empty years</i>.</ul>
<li>Social and political factors: <ul>
<li>More controversially, <!--del_lnk--> defeatism (or a lack of willingness to fight) among the French and particularly French leaders. This hypothesis was very popular in France itself with such books as <i>Strange Defeat</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Marc Bloch. American journalists, being neutrals at the time, observed much of this on both sides: the German populace was not enthusiastic about the war either. Most German generals were opposed to the campaign.<li>On a related issue, a number of French military and political leaders had been <!--del_lnk--> reactionaries hostile to the French Republic, and preferring a <a href="../../wp/m/Monarchy.htm" title="Monarchy">monarchy</a> or an authoritarian regime in the mould of that of <!--del_lnk--> Francisco Franco. Many were sympathetic to the anti-<a href="../../wp/c/Communism.htm" title="Communist">Communist</a> and <!--del_lnk--> antisemitic ideology of Nazi Germany. It would thus be no surprise if some chose not to fight the invasion, or even to collaborate with it. Many of such reactionaries in fact collaborated with the Vichy France regime, which was lauded by <!--del_lnk--> Charles Maurras as a "divine surprise". However it has never been shown this supposed treacherous attitude had any meaningful impact on the outcome of the campaign.<li>Similarly, the attitude of the French Communists under <!--del_lnk--> Maurice Thorez had been anti-war since the signing of the <!--del_lnk--> Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact the previous year, but it is difficult to prove that this had any significant effect on the French war effort. After the German invasion of Russia the following year, the Communists became prominent in the resistance to German occupation.</ul>
</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_France"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War II', 'France', 'France', 'United Kingdom', 'Canada', 'Poland', 'Belgium', 'Netherlands', 'Luxembourg', 'Nazi Germany', 'Battle of Britain', 'Battle of Normandy', 'Battle of the Bulge', 'World War II', 'Germany', 'France', 'Paris', 'Battle of Normandy', 'Adolf Hitler', 'Nazi Germany', 'Blitzkrieg', 'London', 'Paris', 'World War I', 'France', 'Belgium', 'Hitler', 'Belgium', 'Winston Churchill', 'Rhine', 'Germany', 'Luxembourg', 'The Hague', 'Rotterdam', 'Luftwaffe', 'Rotterdam', 'Erwin Rommel', 'Blitzkrieg', 'Prime Minister of the United Kingdom', 'Winston Churchill', 'World War I', 'Paris', 'English Channel', 'Erwin Rommel', 'Luftwaffe', 'Italy', 'Battle of Britain', 'Paris', 'French Guiana', 'Monarchy', 'Communist']
|
Battle_of_Gettysburg
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Gettysburg,1863,1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry,20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment,A.P. Hill,Abner Doubleday,Abraham Lincoln,Adams County, Pennsylvania,Adolph von Steinwehr,African Americans,Alexander Stephens" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Gettysburg</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Gettysburg";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Gettysburg";
var wgArticleId = 4849;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Gettysburg">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Gettysburg</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Pre_1900_Military.htm">Pre 1900 Military</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Gettysburg</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <a href="../../wp/a/American_Civil_War.htm" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/139/13992.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="190" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Gettysburg%2C_by_Currier_and_Ives.png" src="../../images/168/16831.png" width="300" /></a><br /><i>The battle of Gettysburg, Pa. July 3d. 1863</i>, by Currier and Ives</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> July 1 – <!--del_lnk--> July 3, <!--del_lnk--> 1863</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Adams County, Pennsylvania</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">Union</a> victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States of America</a> (<!--del_lnk--> Union)</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Confederate States of America</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> George G. Meade</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Robert E. Lee</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">93,921</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">71,699</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">23,055 (3,155 killed, 14,531 wounded, 5,369 captured/missing)</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">22,231 (4,708 killed, 12,693 wounded, 5,830 captured/missing)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Gettysburg Campaign</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Brandy Station – <!--del_lnk--> Winchester II – <!--del_lnk--> Aldie – <!--del_lnk--> Middleburg – <!--del_lnk--> Upperville – <!--del_lnk--> Hanover – <strong class="selflink">Gettysburg</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Carlisle – <!--del_lnk--> Hunterstown – <!--del_lnk--> Fairfield – <!--del_lnk--> Williamsport – <!--del_lnk--> Boonsboro – <!--del_lnk--> Manassas Gap</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Gettysburg</b> (<!--del_lnk--> July 1 – <!--del_lnk--> July 3, <!--del_lnk--> 1863), fought in and around the town of <!--del_lnk--> Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the <!--del_lnk--> Gettysburg Campaign, was the bloodiest battle of the <a href="../../wp/a/American_Civil_War.htm" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a> and is frequently cited as the war's <!--del_lnk--> turning point. <!--del_lnk--> Union <!--del_lnk--> Major General <!--del_lnk--> George G. Meade's <!--del_lnk--> Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by <!--del_lnk--> Confederate General <!--del_lnk--> Robert E. Lee's <!--del_lnk--> Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee's invasion of the <!--del_lnk--> North.<p>Following his brilliant success at <!--del_lnk--> Chancellorsville in May 1863, Lee led his army through the <!--del_lnk--> Shenandoah Valley for his second invasion of the North, hoping to reach as far as <!--del_lnk--> Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, or even <!--del_lnk--> Philadelphia, and to influence Northern politicians to give up their prosecution of the war. Prodded by <a href="../../wp/p/President_of_the_United_States.htm" title="President of the United States">President</a> <a href="../../wp/a/Abraham_Lincoln.htm" title="Abraham Lincoln">Abraham Lincoln</a>, Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Hooker moved his army in pursuit, but was relieved almost on the eve of battle and replaced by Meade.<p>The two armies began to collide at Gettysburg on <!--del_lnk--> July 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1863, as Lee urgently concentrated his forces there. Low ridges to the northwest of town were defended initially by a Union cavalry division, which was soon reinforced with two <!--del_lnk--> corps of Union infantry. However, two large Confederate corps assaulted them from the northwest and north, collapsing the hastily developed Union lines, sending the defenders retreating through the streets of town to the hills just to the south.<p>On the second day of battle, most of both armies had assembled. The Union line was laid out resembling a fishhook. Lee launched a heavy assault on the Union left flank and fierce fighting raged at <!--del_lnk--> Little Round Top, the <!--del_lnk--> Wheatfield, <!--del_lnk--> Devil's Den, and the <!--del_lnk--> Peach Orchard. On the Union right, demonstrations escalated into full-scale assaults on <!--del_lnk--> Culp's Hill and <!--del_lnk--> Cemetery Hill. Across the battlefield, despite significant losses, the Union defenders held their lines.<p>On the third day of battle, <!--del_lnk--> July 3, fighting resumed on Culp's Hill and cavalry battles raged to the east and south, but the main event was a dramatic infantry assault by 12,500 Confederates against the centre of the Union line on <!--del_lnk--> Cemetery Ridge. <!--del_lnk--> Pickett's Charge was repulsed by Union rifle and artillery fire at great losses to the Confederate army. Lee led his army on a torturous retreat back to Virginia. Between 46,000 and 51,000 Americans were casualties in the three-day battle. That November President Lincoln used the dedication ceremony for the <!--del_lnk--> Gettysburg National Cemetery to honour the Union dead and redefine the purpose of the war in his historic <a href="../../wp/g/Gettysburg_Address.htm" title="Gettysburg Address">Gettysburg Address</a>.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background_and_movement_to_battle" name="Background_and_movement_to_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background and movement to battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16832.png.htm" title="Gettysburg Campaign (through July 3); cavalry movements shown with dashed lines. ██ Confederate ██ Union "><img alt="Gettysburg Campaign (through July 3); cavalry movements shown with dashed lines. ██ Confederate ██ Union " height="508" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gettysburg_Campaign.png" src="../../images/168/16832.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16832.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Gettysburg Campaign (through <!--del_lnk--> July 3); cavalry movements shown with dashed lines. <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#ff0000; color:#ff0000;">██</span> Confederate</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#0000ff; color:#0000ff;">██</span> Union</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Shortly after Lee's army won a decisive victory over the Army of the Potomac at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Chancellorsville (<!--del_lnk--> April 30 – <!--del_lnk--> May 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1863), Robert E. Lee decided upon an invasion of the North, his second since the unsuccessful <!--del_lnk--> Maryland Campaign of September 1862. Such a move would upset <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">Federal</a> plans for the summer campaigning season and possibly relieve the besieged Confederate garrison at <!--del_lnk--> Vicksburg, and it would allow the Confederates to live off the bounty of the rich Northern farms while giving war-ravaged <!--del_lnk--> Virginia a much needed rest. In addition, Lee's 72,000-man army could threaten <!--del_lnk--> Philadelphia, <a href="../../wp/b/Baltimore%252C_Maryland.htm" title="Baltimore, Maryland">Baltimore</a>, and <a href="../../wp/w/Washington%252C_D.C..htm" title="Washington, D.C.">Washington</a> and strengthen the growing peace movement in the North.<p>Thus, on <!--del_lnk--> June 3 Lee's army began to shift northward from <!--del_lnk--> Fredericksburg, Virginia. In order to attain more efficiency in his commands, Lee had reorganized his two large corps into three new corps. <!--del_lnk--> Lt. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> James Longstreet retained command of his First Corps. The old corps of recently deceased <!--del_lnk--> Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was divided into two, with the Second Corps going to Lt. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Richard S. Ewell and the new Third Corps to Lt. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> A.P. Hill. The Cavalry Corps was commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> J.E.B. Stuart.<p>The Union Army of the Potomac, under Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Hooker, consisted of seven infantry corps, a cavalry corps, and an Artillery Reserve, for a combined strength of about 94,000 men. However, President Lincoln would soon replace Hooker with Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> George G. Meade, due to Hooker's defeat at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Chancellorsville and his timid response to Lee's second invasion north of the Potomac.<p>The first major action of the campaign took place on <!--del_lnk--> June 9 between the opposing cavalry forces at <!--del_lnk--> Brandy Station, near <!--del_lnk--> Culpeper, Virginia. The Confederate cavalry under Stuart was surprised and nearly routed by the Federal troopers, but Stuart eventually prevailed. This battle, the largest cavalry engagement of the war, proved that for the first time, the Union horse soldier was equal to his Southern counterpart.<p>By mid-June, the Army of Northern Virginia was poised to cross the <!--del_lnk--> Potomac River and enter <!--del_lnk--> Maryland. After defeating the Federal garrisons at <!--del_lnk--> Winchester and <!--del_lnk--> Martinsburg, Ewell's Second Corps began crossing the river on <!--del_lnk--> June 15. Hill's and Longstreet's corps followed on <!--del_lnk--> June 24 and <!--del_lnk--> June 25. Hooker's army pursued, keeping between the U.S. capital and Lee's army. The Federals crossed the Potomac from <!--del_lnk--> June 25 to <!--del_lnk--> June 27.<p>Lee gave strict orders to his army to minimize any negative impacts on the civilian population. Food, horses, and other supplies were generally not seized outright, although quartermasters reimbursing northern farmers and merchants using Confederate money were not well received. Various towns, most notably <!--del_lnk--> York, Pennsylvania, were required to pay indemnities in lieu of supplies, under threat of destruction. The most controversial of the Confederate actions during the invasion was the seizure of some forty northern <!--del_lnk--> African Americans, a few of whom were escaped slaves, but most of them freemen, sending them south into slavery under guard.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> June 26, elements of Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Jubal Early's division of Ewell's Corps occupied the town of Gettysburg, after chasing off newly raised Pennsylvania <!--del_lnk--> militia in a series of minor skirmishes. Early laid the borough under tribute, but did not collect any significant supplies. Soldiers burned several railroad cars and a <!--del_lnk--> covered bridge, and destroyed nearby rails and telegraph lines. The following morning, Early departed for adjacent <!--del_lnk--> York County.<p>Meanwhile, in a controversial move, Lee allowed J.E.B. Stuart to take a portion of the army's cavalry and ride around the east flank of the Union army. Lee's orders gave Stuart much latitude, and both generals share the blame for the long absence of Stuart's cavalry, as well as for the failure to assign a more active role to the cavalry left with the army. Stuart and his three best brigades were absent from the army during the crucial phase of the approach to Gettysburg and the first two days of battle. By <!--del_lnk--> June 29, Lee's army was strung out in an arc from <!--del_lnk--> Chambersburg, 28 miles (45 km) northwest of <!--del_lnk--> Gettysburg, to <!--del_lnk--> Carlisle, 30 miles (48 km) north of Gettysburg, to near <!--del_lnk--> Harrisburg and <!--del_lnk--> Wrightsville on the <!--del_lnk--> Susquehanna River.<p>In a dispute over the use of the forces defending the <!--del_lnk--> Harpers Ferry garrison, Hooker offered his resignation, and <a href="../../wp/a/Abraham_Lincoln.htm" title="Abraham Lincoln">Abraham Lincoln</a> and General-in-Chief <!--del_lnk--> Henry W. Halleck, who were looking for an excuse to get rid of him, immediately accepted. They replaced him early on the morning of <!--del_lnk--> June 28 with Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> George Gordon Meade, commander of the <!--del_lnk--> V Corps.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> June 29, when Lee learned that the Army of the Potomac had crossed its namesake river, he ordered a concentration of his forces around <!--del_lnk--> Cashtown, located at the eastern base of <!--del_lnk--> South Mountain and eight miles (13 km) west of Gettysburg. On <!--del_lnk--> June 30, while part of Hill's Corps was in Cashtown, one of Hill's brigades, North Carolinians under <!--del_lnk--> Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> J. Johnston Pettigrew, ventured toward Gettysburg. The memoirs of Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Henry Heth, Pettigrew's division commander, claimed that Pettigrew was in search of a large supply of shoes in town, but this explanation may have been devised in retrospect to justify an overly heavy reconnaissance force.<p>When Pettigrew's troops approached Gettysburg on <!--del_lnk--> June 30, they noticed Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> John Buford arriving south of town, and Pettigrew returned to Cashtown without engaging them. When Pettigrew told Hill and Heth about what he had seen, neither general believed that there was a substantial Federal force in or near the town, suspecting that it had been only Pennsylvania militia. Despite General Lee's order to avoid a general engagement until his entire army was concentrated, Hill decided to mount a significant <!--del_lnk--> reconnaissance in force the following morning to determine the size and strength of the enemy force in his front. Around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, <!--del_lnk--> July 1, two brigades of Heth's division advanced to Gettysburg.<p><a id="First_day_of_battle" name="First_day_of_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">First day of battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16833.png.htm" title="Map of battle, July 1."><img alt="Map of battle, July 1." height="535" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gettysburg_Battle_Map_Day1.png" src="../../images/168/16833.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16833.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of battle, <!--del_lnk--> July 1.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>General Buford realized the importance of the high ground directly to the south of Gettysburg, knowing that if the Confederates could gain control of the heights, Meade's army would have a hard time dislodging them. He decided to utilize three ridges west of Gettysburg: Herr Ridge, McPherson Ridge, and Seminary Ridge (proceeding west to east toward the town). These were appropriate terrain for a delaying action by his small division against superior Confederate infantry forces, meant to buy time awaiting the arrival of Union infantrymen who could occupy the strong defensive positions south of town, <!--del_lnk--> Cemetery Hill, <!--del_lnk--> Cemetery Ridge, and <!--del_lnk--> Culp's Hill.<p>Heth's division advanced with two brigades forward, commanded by Brig. Gens. <!--del_lnk--> James J. Archer and <!--del_lnk--> Joseph R. Davis. They proceeded easterly in columns along the Chambersburg Pike. Three miles (5 km) west of town, about 7:30 a.m. on <!--del_lnk--> July 1, Heth's two brigades met light resistance from cavalry <!--del_lnk--> vedettes and deployed into line. Eventually, they reached dismounted troopers from Col. <!--del_lnk--> William Gamble's cavalry brigade, who raised determined resistance and delaying tactics from behind fence posts with fire from their breechloading <!--del_lnk--> carbines. By 10:20 a.m., the Confederates had pushed the Union cavalrymen east to McPherson Ridge, when the vanguard of the <!--del_lnk--> I Corps (Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> John F. Reynolds) finally arrived.<p>North of the Pike, Davis gained a temporary success against Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Lysander Cutler's brigade, but was repulsed with heavy losses in an action around an unfinished railroad bed cut in the ridge. South of the Pike, Archer's brigade assaulted through Herbst (also know as McPherson's) Woods. The Federal <!--del_lnk--> Iron Brigade under Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Solomon Meredith enjoyed initial success against Archer, capturing several hundred men, including Archer himself.<p>Early in the fighting, while General Reynolds was directing troop and artillery placements just to the east of the woods, he fell from his horse, killed instantly by a bullet striking him behind the left ear. Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Abner Doubleday assumed command. Fighting in the Chambersburg Pike area lasted until about 12:30 p.m. It resumed around 2:30 p.m., when Heth's entire division engaged, adding the brigades of Pettigrew and Col. <!--del_lnk--> John M. Brockenbrough.<p>As Pettigrew's North Carolina Brigade came on line they flanked the 19th Indiana and drove the Iron Brigade back. The 26th North Carolina (the largest regiment in the army with 839 men) lost heavily, leaving the first day's fight with around 212 men. By the end of the three-day battle, they would have about 152 men standing, the highest casualty percentage for one battle of any other regiment, north or south. Slowly the Iron Brigade was pushed out of the woods toward Seminary Ridge. Hill added Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> William Dorsey Pender's division to the assault and the I Corps was driven back through the grounds of the <!--del_lnk--> Lutheran Seminary and Gettysburg streets.<p>As the fighting to the west proceeded, two divisions of Ewell's Second Corps, marching west toward Cashtown in accordance with Lee's order for the army to concentrate in that vicinity, turned south on the Carlisle and Harrisburg Roads toward Gettysburg, while the Union <!--del_lnk--> XI Corps (Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Oliver O. Howard) raced north on the Baltimore Pike and Taneytown Road. By early afternoon, the Federal line ran in a semi-circle west, north, and northeast of Gettysburg.<p>However, the Federals did not have enough troops; Cutler, who was deployed north of the Chambersburg Pike, had his right flank in the air. The leftmost division of the XI Corps was unable to deploy in time to strengthen the line, so Doubleday was forced to throw in reserve brigades to salvage his line.<p>Around 2:00 p.m., the Second Corps divisions of Maj. Gens. <!--del_lnk--> Robert E. Rodes and <!--del_lnk--> Jubal Early assaulted and out-flanked the Union I and XI Corps positions north and northwest of town. The brigades of Col. <!--del_lnk--> Edward A. O'Neal and Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Iverson suffered severe losses assaulting the I Corps division of Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> John C. Robinson south of Oak Hill. Early's division profited from a blunder made by Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Francis C. Barlow, when he advanced his XI Corps division to Blocher's Knoll (directly north of town and now known as Barlow's Knoll); this represented a salient in the corps line, susceptible to attack from multiple sides, and Early's troops overran his division, which constituted the right flank of the Union Army's position. Barlow was wounded and captured in the attack.<p>As Federal positions collapsed both north and west of town, Gen. Howard ordered a retreat to the high ground south of town, <!--del_lnk--> Cemetery Hill, where he had left the division of Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Adolph von Steinwehr as a reserve.<p>Gen. Lee understood the defensive potential to the Union if they held this high ground. He sent orders to Ewell that Cemetery Hill be taken "if practicable." Ewell chose not to attempt the assault, considered by historians to be a great missed opportunity.<p>The first day at Gettysburg, more significant than simply a prelude to the bloody second and third days, ranks as the 23rd biggest battle of the war by number of troops engaged. About one quarter of Meade's army (22,000 men) and one third of Lee's army (27,000) were engaged.<p><a id="Second_day_of_battle" name="Second_day_of_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Second day of battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16834.png.htm" title="Lee's Plan for July 2."><img alt="Lee's Plan for July 2." height="531" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gettysburg_Day2_Plan.png" src="../../images/168/16834.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16834.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Lee's Plan for <!--del_lnk--> July 2.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Plans_and_movement_to_battle" name="Plans_and_movement_to_battle"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Plans and movement to battle</span></h3>
<p>Throughout the evening of <!--del_lnk--> July 1 and morning of <!--del_lnk--> July 2, most of the remaining infantry of both armies arrived on the field, including the Union <!--del_lnk--> II, <!--del_lnk--> III, <!--del_lnk--> V, <!--del_lnk--> VI, and <!--del_lnk--> XII Corps. Longstreet's third division, commanded by <!--del_lnk--> George Pickett, had begun the march from <!--del_lnk--> Chambersburg early in the morning; it would not arrive until late on <!--del_lnk--> July 2.<p>The Union line ran from <!--del_lnk--> Culp's Hill southeast of the town, northwest to Cemetery Hill just south of town, then south for nearly two miles (3 km) along Cemetery Ridge, terminating just north of <!--del_lnk--> Little Round Top. Most of the XII Corps was on Culp's Hill, the remnants of I and XI Corps defended Cemetery Hill, II Corps covered most of the northern half of Cemetery Ridge, and III Corps was ordered to take up a position to its flank. The shape of the Union line is popularly described as a "fishhook" formation. The Confederate line paralleled the Union line about a mile (1600 m) to the west on <!--del_lnk--> Seminary Ridge, ran east through the town, then curved southeast to a point opposite Culp's Hill. Thus, the Federal army had interior lines, while the Confederate line was nearly five miles (8 km) in length.<p>Lee's battle plan for <!--del_lnk--> July 2 called for Longstreet's First Corps to position itself stealthily to attack the Union left flank, facing northeast astraddle the Emmitsburg Road, and to roll up the Federal line. The attack sequence was to begin with Maj. Gens. <!--del_lnk--> John Bell Hood's and <!--del_lnk--> Lafayette McLaws's divisions, followed by Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Richard H. Anderson's division of Hill's Third Corps. The progressive <!--del_lnk--> <i>en echelon</i> sequence of this attack would prevent Meade from shifting troops from his centre to bolster his left. At the same time, Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Edward "Allegheny" Johnson's and Jubal Early's Second Corps divisions were to make a "demonstration" against Culp's and Cemetery Hills (again, to prevent the shifting of Federal troops), and to turn the demonstration into a full-scale attack if a favorable opportunity presented itself.<p>Lee's plan, however, was based on faulty intelligence, exacerbated by Stuart's continued absence from the battlefield. Instead of moving beyond the Federals' left and attacking their flank, Longstreet's left division, under McLaws, would face Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Daniel Sickles's III Corps directly in their path. Sickles, dissatisfied with the position assigned him on the southern end of Cemetery Ridge, and seeing higher ground more favorable to artillery positions a half mile (800 m) to the west, had advanced his corps—without orders—to the slightly higher ground along the Emmitsburg Road. The new line ran from Devil's Den, northwest to the Sherfy farm's Peach Orchard, then northeast along the Emmitsburg Road to south of the Codori farm. This created an untenable salient at the Peach Orchard; Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Andrew A. Humphreys's division (in position along the Emmitsburg Road) and Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> David B. Birney's division (to the south) were subject to attacks from two sides and were spread out over a longer front than their small corps could defend effectively.<p>Longstreet's attack was to be made as early as practicable; however, Longstreet got permission from Lee to await the arrival of one of his brigades, and, while marching to the assigned position, his men came within sight of a Union signal station on Little Round Top. Countermarching to avoid detection wasted much time, and Hood's and McLaws's divisions did not launch their attacks until just after 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.<p><a id="Attacks_on_the_Union_left_flank" name="Attacks_on_the_Union_left_flank"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Attacks on the Union left flank</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16835.png.htm" title="Map of battle, July 2."><img alt="Map of battle, July 2." height="536" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gettysburg_Battle_Map_Day2.png" src="../../images/168/16835.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16835.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of battle, <!--del_lnk--> July 2.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>As Longstreet's divisions slammed into the Union III Corps, Meade had to send 20,000 reinforcements in the form of the entire V Corps, Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> John C. Caldwell's division of the II Corps, most of the XII Corps, and small portions of the newly arrived VI Corps. The Confederate assault deviated from Lee's plan as Hood's division moved more easterly than intended, losing its alignment with the Emmitsburg Road, attacking <!--del_lnk--> Devil's Den and <!--del_lnk--> Little Round Top. McLaws, coming in on Hood's left, drove multiple attacks into the thinly stretched III Corps in the <!--del_lnk--> Wheatfield and overwhelmed them in Sherfy's <!--del_lnk--> Peach Orchard. McLaws's attack eventually reached Plum Run Valley (the "Valley of Death") before being beaten back by the <!--del_lnk--> Pennsylvania Reserves division of the V Corps, moving down from Little Round Top. The III Corps was virtually destroyed as a combat unit in this battle and Sickles's leg was amputated after it was shattered by a cannonball. Caldwell's division was destroyed piecemeal in the Wheatfield. Anderson's division assault on McLaws's left, starting around 6 p.m., reached the crest of Cemetery Ridge, but they could not hold the position in the face of counterattacks from the II Corps.<p>As fighting raged in the Wheatfield and Devil's Den, Col. <!--del_lnk--> Strong Vincent of V Corps had a precarious hold on Little Round Top, an important hill at the extreme left of the Union line. His brigade of four relatively small regiments was able to resist repeated assaults by Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Evander Law's brigade of Hood's division. Meade's chief engineer, Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Governor K. Warren, had realized the importance of this position, and dispatched Vincent's brigade, an artillery battery, and the 140th New York to occupy Little Round Top mere minutes before Hood's troops arrived. The defense of Little Round Top with a bayonet charge by the <!--del_lnk--> 20th Maine was one of the most fabled episodes in the Civil War and propelled Col. <!--del_lnk--> Joshua L. Chamberlain into prominence after the war.<p><a id="Attacks_on_the_Union_right_flank" name="Attacks_on_the_Union_right_flank"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Attacks on the Union right flank</span></h3>
<p>About 7:00 p.m., the Second Corps' attack by Johnson's division on Culp's Hill got off to a late start. Most of the hill's defenders, the Union XII Corps, had been sent to the left to defend against Longstreet's attacks, and the only portion of the corps remaining on the hill was a brigade of New Yorkers under Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> George S. Greene. Due to Greene's insistence on constructing strong defensive works, and with reinforcements from the I and XI Corps, Greene's men held off the Confederate attackers, although the Southerners did capture a portion of the abandoned Federal works on the lower part of Culp's Hill.<p>Just at dark, two of Jubal Early's brigades attacked the Union XI Corps positions on East Cemetery Hill where Col. <!--del_lnk--> Andrew L. Harris of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, came under a withering attack, losing half his men; however, Early failed to support his brigades in their attack, and Ewell's remaining division, that of Maj. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Robert E. Rodes, failed to aid Early's attack by moving against Cemetery Hill from the west. The Union army's interior lines enabled its commanders to shift troops quickly to critical areas, and with reinforcements from II Corps, the Federal troops retained possession of East Cemetery Hill, and Early's brigades were forced to withdraw.<p>Jeb Stuart and his three cavalry brigades arrived in Gettysburg around noon, but had no role in the second day's battle. Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Wade Hampton's brigade fought a minor engagement with <!--del_lnk--> George Armstrong Custer's <!--del_lnk--> Michigan cavalry near <!--del_lnk--> Hunterstown to the northeast of Gettysburg.<p><a id="Third_day_of_battle" name="Third_day_of_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Third day of battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16836.png.htm" title="Map of battle, July 3."><img alt="Map of battle, July 3." height="536" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gettysburg_Battle_Map_Day3.png" src="../../images/168/16836.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16836.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of battle, <!--del_lnk--> July 3.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>General Lee wished to renew the attack on Friday, <!--del_lnk--> July 3, using the same basic plan as the previous day: Longstreet would attack the Federal left, while Ewell attacked Culp's Hill. However, before Longstreet was ready, Union XII Corps troops started a dawn artillery bombardment against the Confederates on Culp's Hill in an effort to regain a portion of their lost works. The Confederates attacked and the second fight for Culp's Hill ended around 11 a.m., after some seven hours of bitter combat.<p>Lee was forced to change his plans. Now Longstreet would command Pickett's Virginia division of his own First Corps, plus six brigades from Hill's Corps, in an attack on the Federal II Corps position at the right centre of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Prior to the attack, all the artillery the Confederacy could bring to bear on the Federal positions would bombard and weaken the enemy's line.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16837.jpg.htm" title="The "High Water Mark" on Cemetery Ridge as it appears today. The monument to the 72nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment ("Baxter's Philadelphia Fire Zouaves") appears at right, the Copse of Trees to the left."><img alt="The "High Water Mark" on Cemetery Ridge as it appears today. The monument to the 72nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment ("Baxter's Philadelphia Fire Zouaves") appears at right, the Copse of Trees to the left." height="125" longdesc="/wiki/Image:3698.jpg" src="../../images/168/16837.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16837.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The "High Water Mark" on Cemetery Ridge as it appears today. The monument to the 72nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment ("Baxter's Philadelphia Fire Zouaves") appears at right, the Copse of Trees to the left.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Around 1:00 p.m., from 150 to 170 Confederate guns began an artillery bombardment that was probably the largest of the war. In order to save valuable ammunition for the infantry attack that they knew must follow, the Army of the Potomac's artillery at first did not return the enemy's fire. After waiting about 15 minutes, 80 or so Federal cannon added to the din. The Army of Northern Virginia was critically low on artillery ammunition, and the cannonade did not significantly affect the Union position. Around 3:00 p.m, the cannon fire subsided, and 12,500 Southern soldiers stepped from the ridgeline and advanced the three-quarters of a mile (1200 m) to Cemetery Ridge in what is known to history as "<!--del_lnk--> Pickett's Charge". Due to fierce flanking artillery fire from Union positions on Cemetery Hill and north of Little Round Top, and musket and canister fire from the II Corps as the Confederates approached, nearly one half of the attackers would not return to their own lines. Although the Federal line wavered and broke temporarily at a jog in a low stone fence called the "Angle", just north of a patch of vegetation called the Copse of Trees, reinforcements rushed into the breach and the Confederate attack was repulsed.<p>There were two significant cavalry engagements on <!--del_lnk--> July 3. Stuart was sent to guard the Confederate left flank and was to be prepared to exploit any success the infantry might achieve on Cemetery Hill by flanking the Federal right and hitting their trains and lines of communications. Three miles (5 km) east of Gettysburg, in what is now called "East Cavalry Field" (not shown on the accompanying map, but between the York and Hanover Roads), Stuart's forces collided with Federal cavalry: Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> David McM. Gregg's division and <!--del_lnk--> George A. Custer's brigade. A lengthy mounted battle, including hand-to-hand sabre combat, ensued. Custer's charge, leading the 1st Michigan Cavalry, blunted the attack by <!--del_lnk--> Wade Hampton's brigade, blocking Stuart from achieving his objectives in the Federal rear. After Pickett's Charge, Meade ordered Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Judson Kilpatrick to launch a cavalry attack against the infantry positions of Longstreet's Corps southwest of Big Round Top. Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Elon J. Farnsworth protested against the futility of such a move, but obeyed orders; Farnsworth was killed in the attack and his brigade suffered significant losses.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16838.png.htm" title="Gettysburg Campaign (July 5 – July 14)."><img alt="Gettysburg Campaign (July 5 – July 14)." height="313" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gettysburg_Campaign_Retreat.png" src="../../images/168/16838.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16838.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Gettysburg Campaign (<!--del_lnk--> July 5 – <!--del_lnk--> July 14).</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The armies stared at one another across the bloody fields on <!--del_lnk--> July 4, the same day that the <!--del_lnk--> Vicksburg garrison surrendered to Maj. Gen. <a href="../../wp/u/Ulysses_S._Grant.htm" title="Ulysses S. Grant">Ulysses S. Grant</a>. Lee reformed his lines into a defensive position, hoping that Meade would attack. The cautious Union commander, however, decided against the risk, a decision for which he would later be criticized. He did order a series of small probing actions, including sending the U.S. Regulars over a mile towards the right of the Confederate lines, but they withdrew under artillery fire and Meade decided not to press an attack. A series of sharp exchanges between the opposing skirmish lines merely added more names to the casualty lists. By mid-afternoon, the firing at Gettysburg had essentially stopped and both armies began to collect their remaining wounded and bury some of the dead. A proposal by Lee for a prisoner exchange was rejected by Meade.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> July 5, in a driving rain, the bulk of the Army of Northern Virginia left Gettysburg on the Hagerstown Road; the Battle of Gettysburg was over, and the Confederates headed back to Virginia. Meade's army followed, although the pursuit was half-spirited at best. The recently rain-swollen Potomac trapped Lee's army on the north bank of the river, but by the time the Federals caught up, the Confederates were ready to cross back to Virginia. The rear-guard action at Falling Waters on <!--del_lnk--> July 14 ended the Gettysburg Campaign and added some more names to the long casualty lists, including General Pettigrew, mortally wounded.<p>Throughout the campaign, General Lee seemed to have entertained the belief that his men were invincible; most of Lee's experiences with the army had convinced him of this, including the great victory at Chancellorsville in early May and the rout of the Federals at Gettysburg on <!--del_lnk--> July 1. Although high morale plays an important role in military victory when other factors are equal, Lee could not refuse his army's desire to fight. To the detrimental effects of their collective blind faith was added the fact that the Army of Northern Virginia had many new and inexperienced commanders. (Neither Hill nor Ewell, for instance, though capable division commanders, had commanded a corps before.) It had lost its most competent offensive general, Stonewall Jackson. Also, Lee's habit of giving generalized orders and leaving it up to his lieutenants to work out the details contributed to his defeat. Although this method may have worked with Jackson, it proved inadequate when dealing with corps commanders unused to Lee's loose style of command. Lee faced dramatic differences in going from defender to invader—long supply lines, a hostile local population, and an imperative to force the enemy from its position. Lastly, after <!--del_lnk--> July 1, the Confederates were simply not able to coordinate their attacks. Lee faced a new and very dangerous opponent in George Meade, and the Army of the Potomac stood to the task and fought well on its home territory.<p>The news of the Union victory electrified the North. A headline in <i><!--del_lnk--> The Philadelphia Inquirer</i> was "VICTORY! WATERLOO ECLIPSED!" New York diarist George Templeton Strong wrote:<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px; display:table;">
<p>The results of this victory are priceless. ... The charm of Robert E. Lee's invincibility is broken. The Army of the Potomac has at last found a general that can handle it, and has stood nobly up to its terrible work in spite of its long disheartening list of hard-fought failures. ... Copperheads are palsied and dumb for the moment at least. ... Government is strengthened four-fold at home and abroad.<p style="text-align: right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;">—George Templeton Strong, <i>Diary, p. 330.</i></cite></blockquote>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/251/25187.jpg.htm" title=""The Harvest of Death": Union dead on the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, photographed July 5 or July 6, 1863, by Timothy H. O'Sullivan."><img alt=""The Harvest of Death": Union dead on the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, photographed July 5 or July 6, 1863, by Timothy H. O'Sullivan." height="231" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Gettysburg.jpg" src="../../images/168/16839.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/251/25187.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> "The Harvest of Death": Union dead on the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, photographed <!--del_lnk--> July 5 or <!--del_lnk--> July 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1863, by <!--del_lnk--> Timothy H. O'Sullivan.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Confederates had lost politically as well as militarily. During the final hours of the battle, Confederate vice president <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Stephens was approaching the Union lines at <!--del_lnk--> Norfolk, Virginia, under a flag of truce. Although his formal instructions from <!--del_lnk--> Confederate President <!--del_lnk--> Jefferson Davis had limited his powers to negotiations on prisoner exchanges and other procedural matters, historian <!--del_lnk--> James M. McPherson speculates that he had informal goals of presenting peace overtures. Davis had hoped that Stephens would reach Washington from the south while Lee's victorious army was marching toward it from the north. President Lincoln, upon hearing of the Gettysburg results, refused Stephens's request to pass through the lines. Furthermore, when the news reached London, any lingering hopes of European recognition of the Confederacy were finally abandoned. <!--del_lnk--> Henry Adams wrote, "The disasters of the rebels are unredeemed by even any hope of success. It is now conceded that all idea of intervention is at an end."<p>The armies would move on, but Gettysburg had much cleaning up to do. The two armies had suffered between 46,000 and 51,000 casualties. Union casualties were 23,055 (3,155 killed, 14,531 wounded, 5,369 captured or missing). Confederate casualties are difficult to estimate exactly. Many authors cite 28,000 overall casualties, but Busey and Martin's definitive 2005 work, <i>Regimental Strengths and Losses</i>, documents 22,231 (4,708 killed, 12,693 wounded, 5,830 captured or missing). The casualties for both sides during the entire campaign were 57,225. There was one documented civilian death during the battle: Ginnie Wade, 20 years old, shot by a stray bullet that passed through her kitchen in town while she was making bread.<p>More than 7,000 soldiers had been killed outright; these bodies, lying in the hot summer sun, needed to be buried quickly. Over 3,000 horse carcasses were burned in a series of piles south of town; townsfolk became violently ill from the stench. Pennsylvania and New York state militia patrolled the Gettysburg battlefield and secured as much of the remaining military property as possible, often arresting souvenir hunters and forcing them to assist in the disposal of the dead horses. The ravages of war would still be evident in Gettysburg more than four months later when, on <!--del_lnk--> November 19, the <!--del_lnk--> Soldiers' National Cemetery was dedicated. During this ceremony, President <a href="../../wp/a/Abraham_Lincoln.htm" title="Abraham Lincoln">Abraham Lincoln</a> with his <a href="../../wp/g/Gettysburg_Address.htm" title="Gettysburg Address">Gettysburg Address</a> would re-dedicate the nation to the war effort and to the ideal that no soldier at Gettysburg—North or South—had died in vain.<p>Today, the <!--del_lnk--> Gettysburg National Cemetery and <!--del_lnk--> Gettysburg National Military Park are maintained by the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. National Park Service as two of the nation's most revered historical landmarks.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gettysburg"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['American Civil War', 'United States', 'United States', 'American Civil War', 'President of the United States', 'Abraham Lincoln', 'Gettysburg Address', 'United States', 'Baltimore, Maryland', 'Washington, D.C.', 'Abraham Lincoln', 'Ulysses S. Grant', 'Abraham Lincoln', 'Gettysburg Address']
|
Battle_of_Grunwald
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Grunwald,1385,1398,13th century,1409,1410,1455,14th century,16th century,1878,1900" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Grunwald</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Grunwald";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Grunwald";
var wgArticleId = 4707;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Grunwald">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Grunwald</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Pre_1900_Military.htm">Pre 1900 Military</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<dl>
<dd><i>For the World War I battle in 1914 at the same location, refer to <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Tannenberg (1914)</i></dl>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Grunwald</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16844.jpg.htm" title="Battle of Grunwald"><img alt="Battle of Grunwald" height="128" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Grunwald_bitwa.jpg" src="../../images/168/16844.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><i>Battle of Grunwald</i>, by <!--del_lnk--> Jan Matejko, <!--del_lnk--> 1878. Oil on canvas.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> July 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1410</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Grunwald (<!--del_lnk--> Tannenberg), present-day <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Polish–Lithuanian victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Poland<br /><!--del_lnk--> Grand Duchy of Lithuania</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Teutonic Order and Mercenaries and Various Knights from the rest of Europe</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Władysław II Jagiełło, <!--del_lnk--> Vytautas the Great, <!--del_lnk--> Jan Sokol of Lamberk</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Ulrich von Jungingen†</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">39,000</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">27,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">Unknown</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">8,000 dead<br /> 2,000 captured</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Bydgoszcz • <!--del_lnk--> Dąbrówno • <!--del_lnk--> Kurzętnik • <strong class="selflink">Grunwald</strong> • <!--del_lnk--> Marienburg • <!--del_lnk--> Radzyń • <!--del_lnk--> Koronowo • <!--del_lnk--> Działdowo • <!--del_lnk--> Tuchola • <!--del_lnk--> Golub</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Grunwald</b> or <b>Battle of Tannenberg</b> took place on <!--del_lnk--> July 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1410 between the <!--del_lnk--> Kingdom of Poland, the <!--del_lnk--> Grand Duchy of Lithuania and their allies on one side, and the Knights of the <!--del_lnk--> Teutonic Order on the other. It was the decisive battle of the <!--del_lnk--> Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War (1409-1411) and one of the greatest battles of medieval Europe.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights was defeated in the battle and never recovered its former influence. The few eyewitness accounts of the battle are contradictory. It took place in the area of several smaller villages, and different names in various languages are attributed to it.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Names_and_Locations" name="Names_and_Locations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Names and Locations</span></h2>
<p>The battle was fought <!--del_lnk--> in the plains between the villages of<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Grunwald (<i>Žalgiris</i> in <!--del_lnk--> Lithuanian),<li><!--del_lnk--> Stębark (<i>Tannenberg</i> in <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a>) and<li><!--del_lnk--> Łodwigowo (<i>Ludwigsdorf</i> in German)</ul>
<p>in what was then territory of the Order, and is now part of <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a>. The nearest city of any size was <!--del_lnk--> Dąbrówno (<i>Gilgenburg</i> in German). The names Žalgiris (from the Lithuanian <i>žalia giria</i>) and Grunwald (from the German <i>grüner Wald</i>) both translate as "Green Forest." It was also called <i>Zielone Pole</i> ("Green Field") in Old Polish, and, in German, <i>Grunenfelde</i> or <i>Grunefeld</i> ("Green field") in the oldest texts.<p>The battle is called<ul>
<li><i>Schlacht bei Tannenberg</i> (<i>Battle of Tannenberg</i>) by <!--del_lnk--> Germans,<li><i>Žalgirio mūšis</i> (<i>Battle of Žalgiris</i>) by <!--del_lnk--> Lithuanians,<li><i>Bitwa pod Grunwaldem</i> (<i>Battle of Grunwald</i>) by <!--del_lnk--> Poles,<li><i>Гру́нвальдзкая бі́тва</i> (<i>Battle of Grunwald</i>) by <!--del_lnk--> Belarusians,<li><i>Ґрю́нвальдська би́тва</i> (<i>Battle of Grunwald</i>) by <!--del_lnk--> Ukrainians and<li><i>Grünwald suğışı</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Tatars.</ul>
<p><a id="Eve_of_the_battle" name="Eve_of_the_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Eve of the battle</span></h2>
<p>In the <a href="../../wp/1/13th_century.htm" title="13th century">13th century</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> Teutonic Knights had been invited to the lands surrounding <!--del_lnk--> Chełmno to assist in the expulsion of the (<!--del_lnk--> pagan) <!--del_lnk--> Prussians. They stayed on, and, under a <a href="../../wp/p/Pope.htm" title="Pope">papal</a> edict which gave them effective <i>carte blanche</i> to act as they wished, established a power base in the region, occupying the <!--del_lnk--> Baltic coastal regions of what are now <a href="../../wp/l/Latvia.htm" title="Latvia">Latvia</a>, <a href="../../wp/l/Lithuania.htm" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a> and <a href="../../wp/e/Estonia.htm" title="Estonia">Estonia</a>, and showed every sign of further expansion. Their incursions into Poland in the <a href="../../wp/1/14th_century.htm" title="14th century">14th century</a> gave them control of major towns such as <!--del_lnk--> Chełmno (Kulm) and <!--del_lnk--> Pomorze (Pommern) region. In order to further their war efforts against the (pagan) Lithuanian state, the Teutonic Knights instituted a series of <!--del_lnk--> crusades, enlisting support from other European countries.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1385 the <!--del_lnk--> Union of Kreva joined the crown of Poland and Lithuania, and the subsequent marriage of <!--del_lnk--> Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania and <!--del_lnk--> King Jadwiga of Poland (there was no title "Queen of Poland") was to shift the balance of power; both nations were more than aware that only by acting together could the expansion plans of the Teutonic Order be thwarted. Jogaila accepted Christianity and became the King of Poland as <!--del_lnk--> Władysław Jagiełło. Lithuania's conversion to Christianity removed much of the rationale of the Teutonic Knights' anti-pagan crusades. It can be said the <!--del_lnk--> Ordenstaat lost its <i>raison d'etre</i>.<p>The Knights, however, invaded again in <!--del_lnk--> 1398 what were now Christian states of Poland and Lithuania. At this time, the Poles and the Lithuanians had little option but to suffer in silence, for they were still not prepared militarily to confront the power of the Knights.<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1409, an uprising in Teutonic-held <!--del_lnk--> Samogitia started. The king of Poland and Lithuania announced that he would stand by his promises in case the Teutons invaded Lithuania. This was used as a pretext, and on <!--del_lnk--> August 14, <!--del_lnk--> 1409 the Teutonic Grand Master <!--del_lnk--> Ulrich von Jungingen declared war on the Polish-Lithuanian union. The forces of the Teutonic Order initially invaded <!--del_lnk--> Greater Poland and <!--del_lnk--> Kuyavia, but the Poles repelled the invasion and reconquered <!--del_lnk--> Bydgoszcz (Bromberg), which led to a subsequent <!--del_lnk--> armistice agreement that was to last until <!--del_lnk--> June 24, <!--del_lnk--> 1410. The Lithuanians and Poles used this time in preparations to remove the Teutonic threat <i>once and for all</i>.<p>The forces of the Teutonic Knights were aware of the Polish-Lithuanian build-up and expected a dual attack, by the Poles towards Danzig (<!--del_lnk--> Gdańsk) and by the Lithuanians towards <!--del_lnk--> Samogitia. To counter this threat, <!--del_lnk--> Ulrich von Jungingen concentrated part of his forces in Schwetz (<!--del_lnk--> Świecie) while leaving the large part of his army in the eastern castles of <!--del_lnk--> Ragneta/<!--del_lnk--> Ragainė, Rhein (<!--del_lnk--> Ryn) near Lötzen (<!--del_lnk--> Giżycko), and Memel (<!--del_lnk--> Klaipėda). Poles and Lithuanians continued to screen their intentions by organising several raids deep into enemy territory. Ulrich von Jungingen asked for the armistice to be extended to <!--del_lnk--> July 4 in order to let the <!--del_lnk--> mercenaries from western Europe arrive. Enough time had already been given for the Polish-Lithuanian forces to gather in strength.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> June 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1410, the forces of Greater Poland and <!--del_lnk--> Lesser Poland crossed the <!--del_lnk--> Vistula over a <!--del_lnk--> pontoon bridge and joined with the forces of <!--del_lnk--> Masovia and the <!--del_lnk--> Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Jagiełło's Polish forces and the Lithuanian soldiers of his cousin <!--del_lnk--> Vytautas the Great (to whom Jagiełło had ceded power in Lithuania in the wake of his marriage to the Polish queen) assembled on <!--del_lnk--> July 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1410. A week later they crossed into the territory of the Teutonic Knights, heading for the enemy headquarters at the castle of Marienburg (<!--del_lnk--> Malbork). The Teutonic Knights were caught by surprise.<p>Ulrich von Jungingen withdrew his forces from the area of Schwetz (<!--del_lnk--> Świecie) and decided to organise a line of defence on the river Drewenz (<!--del_lnk--> Drwęca). The river crossings were fortified with <!--del_lnk--> stockades and the castles nearby reinforced. After meeting with his War Council, Jagiełło decided to out<!--del_lnk--> flank the enemy forces from the East and continue the march towards Marienburg through Soldau (<!--del_lnk--> Działdowo) and Gilgenburg (<!--del_lnk--> Dąbrówno). On <!--del_lnk--> July 13, these two castles were captured and the way towards Marienburg was opened.<p><a id="Opposing_forces" name="Opposing_forces"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Opposing forces</span></h2>
<p>In the early morning of <!--del_lnk--> July 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1410, both armies met in the fields near the villages of <!--del_lnk--> Grunwald, <!--del_lnk--> Tannenberg and <!--del_lnk--> Łodwigowo (Ludwigsdorf). Both armies were dislocated in line formations. The Polish-Lithuanian army was set up in front of the villages of Łodwigowo/Ludwigsdorf and Stębark/Tannenberg. The left flank was guarded by the <!--del_lnk--> Polish forces of king <!--del_lnk--> Władysław Jagiełło and composed mostly of heavy cavalry. The right flank of the allied forces was guarded by the army of Grand Duke <!--del_lnk--> Vytautas, and composed mostly of light cavalry. Among the forces on the right flank were banners from all over the <!--del_lnk--> Grand Duchy, as well as <!--del_lnk--> Tatar skirmishers and (probably) <!--del_lnk--> Moldavian mercenaries. The opposing forces of the <!--del_lnk--> Teutonic Order were composed mostly of heavy cavalry and infantry. They were aided by mercenaries from Western Europe called "the guests of the Order," and some other Knights including those of the <!--del_lnk--> Knights Templar who had been summoned to participate by a <!--del_lnk--> Papal Bull.<p>The exact number of soldiers on both sides is hard to estimate. There are only two reliable sources describing the battle. The best-preserved and most complete was written by <!--del_lnk--> Ioannes Longinus but does not mention the exact numbers. The other is incomplete and preserved only in a brief <a href="../../wp/1/16th_century.htm" title="16th century">16th century</a> document. Months after the battle, in December <!--del_lnk--> 1410, the Order's new Grand Master <!--del_lnk--> Heinrich von Plauen the Elder sent letters to Western European monarchs in which he described the battle as a war against the forces of evil pagans. This view was shared by many chronicle writers. Since the outcome of the battle was subject to propaganda campaigns on both sides, many foreign authors frequently overestimated the Polish-Lithuanian forces in an attempt to explain the dramatic result.<p>In one of the Prussian chronicles it is mentioned that "<i>the forces of the Polish king were so numerous that there is no number high enough in the human language</i>". One of the anonymous chronicles from the German <!--del_lnk--> Hanseatic city of <!--del_lnk--> Lübeck mentions that the forces of Jagiello numbered some 1,700,000 soldiers, the forces of Vytautas with 2,700,000 (as well as <i>a great number of <!--del_lnk--> Ruthenians</i>), in addition to 1,500,000 Tatars. Among the forces supposedly aiding the Polish-Lithuanian army were "<i><!--del_lnk--> Saracens, <!--del_lnk--> Turks, pagans of <a href="../../wp/d/Damascus.htm" title="Damascus">Damascus</a>, <a href="../../wp/i/Iran.htm" title="Iran">Persia</a> and other lands</i>". According to <!--del_lnk--> Enguerrand de Monstrelet, the Teutons fielded some 300,000 men, while their enemies under the kings of "<i>Lithuania, Poland and <!--del_lnk--> Sarmatia</i>" fielded 600,000. <!--del_lnk--> Andrew of Regensburg estimated the Polish-Lithuanian forces at 1,200,000 men-at-arms.<p>More recent historians estimate the strength of the opposing forces at a much lower level. <!--del_lnk--> Ludwik Kolankowski estimated the Polish-Lithuanian forces at 16,000-18,000 Polish cavalry and 6,000-8,000 Lithuanian light cavalry, with the Teutonic Knights fielding 13,000-15,000 heavy cavalry. <!--del_lnk--> Jerzy Dąbrowski estimated the overall strength of the allied forces at 18,000 Polish cavalry and 11,000 Lithuanians and Ruthenians, with the opposing forces bringing 16,000 soldiers.<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Historian</th>
<th>Poland</th>
<th>Lithuania</th>
<th>Others</th>
<th>Teutonic Order</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lübeck Chronicle</td>
<td>1 700 000</td>
<td>2 700 000</td>
<td>1 500 000</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Enguerrand de Monstrelet</td>
<td>600 000</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>300 000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Andrew of Regensburg</td>
<td>1 200 000</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Ludwik Kolankowski</td>
<td>18 000 heavy cavalry</td>
<td>8 000 light cavalry</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>15 000 heavy cavalry</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Jerzy Dąbrowski</td>
<td>18 000</td>
<td>11 000</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>16 000 + 3 000 <i>guests</i></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Henryk Łowmiański</td>
<td>12 000 heavy cavalry</td>
<td>7 200 light cavalry</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>11 000 heavy cavalry</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Andrzej Nadolski</td>
<td>20 000</td>
<td>10 000</td>
<td>1000</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Regardless of such estimates, most of the modern historians count only the cavalry units. Apart from 16,000 cavalry, the Teutonic Order also fielded some 9,000 infantry, <!--del_lnk--> archers and <!--del_lnk--> crossbow troops. Both armies also had large <!--del_lnk--> military camps, <!--del_lnk--> tabors and other units, which made up some 10% of their total strength.<p>Both armies were organised in <i><!--del_lnk--> banners</i>. Each heavy cavalry banner was composed of approximately 240 mounted <!--del_lnk--> knights as well as their squires and armour-bearers. Each banner flew its own standard and fought independently. Lithuanian banners were usually weaker and composed of approximately 180 light cavalry soldiers. The structure of foot units (<!--del_lnk--> pikemen, <!--del_lnk--> archers, <!--del_lnk--> crossbowmen) and the artillery is unknown.<p>The forces on both sides were composed of troops coming from a variety of countries and lands. Apart from units fielded by lands of <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the <!--del_lnk--> Teutonic Order, there were also mercenaries from Western Europe (most notably <!--del_lnk--> Alsace, <!--del_lnk--> Lorraine, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">German Countries</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Moravia, <!--del_lnk--> Bohemia and probably <!--del_lnk--> Moldavia. Historians of the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> attempted to overemphasize the Russian role in the battle. For example, they included some Lithuanian banners, such as <!--del_lnk--> Smolensk, into the Russian list. They also phrased the desciption of the battle to make it appear that the support from Russian lands was decisive. In fact there was a joke that "the battle with the <a href="../../wp/f/Fascism.htm" title="Fascism">fascist</a> Teutons was won by joint Polish-Soviet forces" (most of the territory of the Grand Duchy was part of the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> in the <a href="../../wp/2/20th_century.htm" title="20th century">20th century</a>).<p>The overall commander of the joint Polish-Lithuanian forces was king <!--del_lnk--> Władysław Jagiełło, with the Polish units subordinated to Marshal of the Crown <!--del_lnk--> Zbigniew of Brzezie and Lithuanian units under the immediate command of Grand Duke of Lithuania <!--del_lnk--> Vytautas. Until recently it was believed that the Sword Bearer of the Crown <!--del_lnk--> Zyndram of Maszkowice was the commander in chief of the joint army, but this idea was based on a false translation of the description of the battle by <!--del_lnk--> Ioannes Longinus. The Teutonic Forces were commanded directly by the Grand Master of the Order <!--del_lnk--> Ulrich von Jungingen.<p><a id="Course_of_the_battle" name="Course_of_the_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Course of the battle</span></h2>
<table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 100%; border: gray solid 0px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: center;">
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16846.jpg.htm" title="Initial positions"><img alt="Initial positions" height="208" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Grunwald_1_ang.jpg" src="../../images/168/16846.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16846.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Initial positions</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16847.jpg.htm" title="Retreat of Lithuanian light cavalry"><img alt="Retreat of Lithuanian light cavalry" height="208" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Grunwald_2_ang.jpg" src="../../images/168/16847.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16847.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Retreat of Lithuanian light cavalry</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16848.jpg.htm" title="Right-flank Polish/Lithuanian assault"><img alt="Right-flank Polish/Lithuanian assault" height="208" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Grunwald_3_ang.jpg" src="../../images/168/16848.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16848.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Right-flank Polish/Lithuanian assault</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16849.jpg.htm" title="Polish heavy cavalry break-through"><img alt="Polish heavy cavalry break-through" height="208" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Grunwald_4_ang.jpg" src="../../images/168/16849.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16849.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Polish heavy cavalry break-through</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The opposing forces formed their lines at dawn. At noon the forces of Grand Duke of Lithuania <!--del_lnk--> Vytautas started an all-out assault on the left flank of the Teutonic forces, near the village of Tannenberg (<!--del_lnk--> Stębark). The Lithuanian cavalry was supported by a cavalry charge of several Polish banners on the right flank of the enemy forces. The enemy heavy cavalry counter-attacked on both flanks and fierce fighting occurred.<p>After more than an hour, the Lithuanian light cavalry started a planned retreat maneuver towards marshes and woods. This maneuver was often used in the east of <!--del_lnk--> Grand Duchy of Lithuania by Mongols. Vytautas, who had experience in battles against Mongols, used it in this battle. Only three banners of <!--del_lnk--> Smolensk commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Lengvenis (Simon Lingwen), son of <!--del_lnk--> Algirdas, brother of <!--del_lnk--> Jagiełło and a cousin of <!--del_lnk--> Vytautas, remained on the right flank after the retreat of <!--del_lnk--> Vytautas and his troops. One of the banners was totally destroyed, while the remaining two were backed up by the Polish cavalry held in reserve and broke through the enemy lines to the Polish positions.<p>Heavy cavalry of the Order started a disorganised pursuit after the retreating Lithuanians, which might have been a fatal mistake. The Knights entered the marshes, where <!--del_lnk--> Vytautas reorganized his forces to return to battle.<p>At the same time heavy fighting continued on the left flank of the Polish forces. After several hours of massed battle, the Teutonic cavalry started to gain the upper hand. According to <!--del_lnk--> Ioannes Longinus the Grand Master <!--del_lnk--> Ulrich von Jungingen personally led a cavalry charge on the strongest Polish unit — the Banner of the Land of <!--del_lnk--> Kraków. The Polish ranks started to waver and the flag of the banner was lost. However, it was soon recaptured by the Polish knights, and king <!--del_lnk--> Władysław Jagiełło ordered most of his reserves to enter combat.<p>The arrival of fresh troops allowed the Poles to repel the enemy assault and the forces of <!--del_lnk--> Ulrich von Jungingen were weakened. At the same time his reserves were still busy pursuing the evading Lithuanian cavalry. When they finally returned to the battlefield, it was already too late for the Teutonic charge to succeed and the forces of the Order started the withdrawal.<p>After several hours of fighting, <!--del_lnk--> Ulrich von Jungingen decided to join his embattled forces in the main line of engagement. <!--del_lnk--> Vytautas, however, also returned to the battlefield with the reorganized forces of the <!--del_lnk--> Grand Duchy of Lithuania and joined the fierce fighting. The Teutonic forces were by then becoming outnumbered by the mass of Polish knights and the advancing Lithuanian infantry, which all of a sudden had come pouring on the battlefield from the surrounding forests.<p><!--del_lnk--> Ulrich von Jungingen personally led the assault with 16 banners of heavy cavalry, which until then were held in reserve. Jagiełło, however, threw in all his remaining reserves, as well as several already tired units. Putting up heavy resistance, the 16 banners of the Great Master were surrounded and began to suffer high losses, including the Grand Master himself, who was probably killed by Polish peasantry. Seeing the fall of their Grand Master, the rest of the Teutonic forces started to withdraw towards their camp.<p>Part of the routed units retreated to the forests where they were pursued by the Lithuanian and Polish cavalry, while the rest retreated to the camp near the village of <!--del_lnk--> Grunwald, where they tried to organise the defence by using the <!--del_lnk--> tabor tactics: the camp was surrounded by wagons tied up with chains, serving as a mobile fortification. However, the defences were soon broken and the camp was looted. According to the anonymous author of the <i>Chronicle of the Conflict of Ladislaus King of Poland with the Teutons Anno Domini 1410</i>, there were more bodies in and around the camp than on the rest of the battlefield. The pursuit after the fleeing Teutonic cavalry lasted until the dusk.<p>Despite the technological superiority of the Teutonic Knights, to the point of this being believed to be the first battle in this part of Europe in which field-artillery was deployed, the numbers and tactical superiority of the Polish Lithuanian alliance were to prove overwhelming.<p><!--del_lnk--> Jan Žižka of Trocnov lost his first eye in the battle, fighting for the Lithuanians.<p><a id="After_the_Battle" name="After_the_Battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">After the Battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16850.jpg.htm" title="Painting by Alfons Mucha, detailing carnage after the Battle of Grunwald."><img alt="Painting by Alfons Mucha, detailing carnage after the Battle of Grunwald." height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Grunwald_%28After_the_Battle%29.jpg" src="../../images/168/16850.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16850.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Painting by <!--del_lnk--> Alfons Mucha, detailing carnage after the Battle of Grunwald.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The defeat of the <!--del_lnk--> Teutonic Order was resounding. According to <!--del_lnk--> Andrzej Nadolski about 8,000 Teuton soldiers were killed in the battle, and an additional 14,000 taken captive. Most of the approximately 250 members of the Order were also killed, including much of the Teutonic leadership. Apart from <!--del_lnk--> Ulrich von Jungingen himself, the Polish and Lithuanian forces killed also the Grand Marshal <!--del_lnk--> Friedrich von Wallenrode, Grand Komtur <!--del_lnk--> Kuno von Lichtenstein and <!--del_lnk--> Albrecht von Schwartzburg, the Grand Treasurer <!--del_lnk--> Thomas von Merheim.<p><!--del_lnk--> Markward von Salzbach, the Komtur of <!--del_lnk--> Brandenburg, and mayor Schaumburg of <!--del_lnk--> Sambia were executed by order of <!--del_lnk--> Vytautas after the battle. The only higher officials to escape from the battle were Grand Hospital Master and Komtur of <!--del_lnk--> Elbing <!--del_lnk--> Werner von Tettinger. Such a slaughter of noble knights and personalities was quite unusual in Mediæval Europe. This was possible mostly due to the participation of the peasantry who joined latter stages of the battle, and took part in destruction of the surrounded Teutonic troops. Unlike the noblemen, the peasants did not receive any ransom for taking captives; they thus had less of an incentive to keep them alive. Among those taken captive were <!--del_lnk--> Kasimir V, duke of Stettin (<!--del_lnk--> Szczecin), and <!--del_lnk--> Konrad the White, duke of Oels (<!--del_lnk--> Oleśnica).<p>After the battle Polish and Lithuanian forces stayed on the battlefield for three days. All notable officials were interred in separate graves, while the body of <!--del_lnk--> Ulrich von Jungingen was covered with royal coat and transported to <!--del_lnk--> Marienburg. The rest of the dead were gathered in several mass graves. There are different speculations as to why <!--del_lnk--> Jagiello decided to wait that long. After three days, the Polish-Lithuanian forces moved on to Marienburg and laid siege upon the castle, but the three days time was enough for the Teutons to organise the defence. After several weeks of siege, the Lithuanian Grand Duke withdrew from the war and it became clear that the siege would not be effective. The nobility from Lesser Poland also wanted to end the war before the harvest and the siege was lifted.<p>In the battle, both Polish and Lithuanian forces took several thousand captives. Most of the mercenaries were released shortly after the battle on the condition that they will return to Krakow on <!--del_lnk--> 29 September <!--del_lnk--> 1410. After that move, the king held most of the Teutonic officials, while the rest returned to Prussia to beg the Teutonic Order officials for their liberation and ransom payment. This proved to be a major drain of the Teutonic budget as an average rate for a knight was quite high. For instance, one of the mercenaries named <!--del_lnk--> Holbracht von Loym had to pay <i>sixty times the number of 150 Prague <!--del_lnk--> groszes</i>, that is almost 300 <!--del_lnk--> kilograms of pure silver, a value uncommon even in modern times. With his army defeated and the remnants of it composed mostly of ill-paid mercenaries, <!--del_lnk--> Heinrich von Plauen the Elder had little incentive to continue the fight, especially that most of the cities owned by the Teutons sworn their loyalty to the Polish king. Thus, after retaking <!--del_lnk--> Danzig from rebellious burghers, the peace negotiations were started.<p>The Peace of Thorn (<!--del_lnk--> Peace of Torun) was concluded as a result of the Battle of Grunwald, in which Poland annexed the <i>Dobriner Land</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Dobrzyń Land) and Lithuania recovered <!--del_lnk--> Samogitia. This is thought to be a diplomatic defeat for Poland and Lithuania as they pushed for attempts to dismantle the <!--del_lnk--> Teutonic Knights state altogether. However, while the Poles and Lithuanians were unable to translate their military victory to greater political gains, the indirect results of the battle were much worse for the Teutons. The massacre of Teutonic troops left them with few forces to defend their remaining territories. The Grand Masters from then on had to rely on mercenary troops, which proved too expensive for the Teutons' budget to sustain. Although <!--del_lnk--> Heinrich von Plauen the Elder, the successor to <!--del_lnk--> Ulrich von Jungingen, managed to save his state from complete breakdown, the opposition to his rule among the burghers, the knights and within the Order itself forced his ouster.<p>The Teutons' lost support due to their internal conflicts and constant tax increases, which decades later was manifested in the foundation of the <!--del_lnk--> Prussian Confederation, or <i>Alliance against Lordship</i>. This led to a series of conflicts that culminated in the <!--del_lnk--> Thirteen Years' War, ending with another defeat of the <i>victorious order</i>.<p><a id="Influences_of_the_Battle_of_Grunwald_on_modern_culture" name="Influences_of_the_Battle_of_Grunwald_on_modern_culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Influences of the Battle of Grunwald on modern culture</span></h2>
<p><a id="Poland" name="Poland"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Poland</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16851.jpg.htm" title="Jagiełło in a 2003 reconstruction of the battle."><img alt="Jagiełło in a 2003 reconstruction of the battle." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Grunwald_2003.jpg" src="../../images/168/16851.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16851.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Jagiełło in a <!--del_lnk--> 2003 reconstruction of the battle.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The battle of Grunwald is regarded as one of the most important battles in Polish history. It is often depicted by an <!--del_lnk--> ideogram of two swords, which were supposedly given to king Jagiello before the battle by the Teutonic envoys to "raise Polish desire for battle".<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16852.jpg.htm" title="Cross of Grunwald medal, with its double swords."><img alt="Cross of Grunwald medal, with its double swords." height="313" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Order_Krzy%C5%BCa_Grunwaldu_kl._I-awers.jpg" src="../../images/168/16852.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16852.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Cross of Grunwald medal, with its double swords.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 1914, on the eve of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, during the celebrations marking the 500-year anniversary of the battle a monument was erected in <!--del_lnk--> Kraków. The ceremony spawned demonstrations of outrage within Polish society against the aggressive politics of the <!--del_lnk--> German Empire, including the forcible <!--del_lnk--> Germanization of <!--del_lnk--> Poles after the <!--del_lnk--> partitions of Poland. Polish poet <!--del_lnk--> Maria Konopnicka wrote the fiercely Polish-patriotic and anti-German poem <!--del_lnk--> Rota. About the same time, <!--del_lnk--> Henryk Sienkiewicz wrote his novel <i><!--del_lnk--> The Teutonic Knights</i> (Polish: <i>Krzyżacy</i>) , one of his series of books designed to increase the patriotic spirit among the Poles. The book was eventually depicted in the film <i><!--del_lnk--> The Teutonic Knights</i> by <!--del_lnk--> Aleksander Ford. Today, a festival is held every year to commemorate this medieval battle. Thousands of <!--del_lnk--> medieval reenactors, many of them in knight's armor, from all across Europe gather every year in July at the Grunwald fields to reconstruct the battle again. Great care is put to the historical details of the armour, weapons and the conduct of the battle.<p><!--del_lnk--> Order Krzyża Grunwaldu (<i>The Cross of Grunwald</i> medal) was a Polish <!--del_lnk--> military decoration created in <!--del_lnk--> 1943 by the commander of the <!--del_lnk--> Gwardia Ludowa (confirmed in <!--del_lnk--> 1944 by the <!--del_lnk--> Krajowa Rada Narodowa) which was awarded for heroism in <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>.<p>In Poland there are <!--del_lnk--> sport teams named "Grunwald"' like <!--del_lnk--> Grunwald Poznań.<p><a id="Belarus" name="Belarus"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Belarus</span></h3>
<p>The victory in the Battle of Grunwald is widely respected and commemorated in Belarus. In 15th century the lands of modern-day <a href="../../wp/b/Belarus.htm" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> were a part of the <!--del_lnk--> Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Many of cities from what is today Belarus sent their troops to the battle to fight on the Grand Duchy's side.<p><a id="Lithuania" name="Lithuania"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Lithuania</span></h3>
<p>The victory at the Battle of Grunwald or <i>Žalgirio mūšis</i> in 1410 is synonymous to the peak of the political and military power of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The demise of the Teutonic order ended the period of German expansion and created preconditions for the political stability, economic growth and relative cultural prosperity that lasted until the rise of <!--del_lnk--> Muscovy in the late 16th century. In the Lithuanian historical discourse regarding the battle there is a lasting debate and controversy over the role played by the Lithuanian-born king of Poland <!--del_lnk--> Jogaila, and his cousin, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, <!--del_lnk--> Vytautas, the latter usually being favoured as a national hero.<p>Leading Lithuanian <a href="../../wp/b/Basketball.htm" title="Basketball">basketball</a> and <a href="../../wp/f/Football_%2528soccer%2529.htm" title="Football (soccer)">football</a> teams are both called "Žalgiris" to commemorate the victorious battle <!--del_lnk--> BC Žalgiris and <!--del_lnk--> FK Žalgiris.<p>The term <i>Žalgiris</i> became a symbol of the resistance to the foreign domination over Lithuania. The victories of the basketball club <!--del_lnk--> BC Žalgiris Kaunas against the Soviet Army sports club CSKA Moscow (in the late <!--del_lnk--> 1980s) served as a major emotional inspiration for the Lithuanian national revival, and the consequent emergence of the <!--del_lnk--> Sąjūdis movement that led to the collapse of the <!--del_lnk--> USSR.<p><a id="Germany" name="Germany"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Germany</span></h3>
<p>In Germany the battle was known as the Battle of Tannenberg. In <!--del_lnk--> 1914 yet another <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Tannenberg took place between Germany and Russia, ending with a Russian defeat. In German propaganda during the WWI / WWII period the 1914 battle was put forth as a revenge for the Polish - Lithuanian victory 504 years earlier, and the battle itself was purposefully named to suit this agenda.<p><a id="Russia_and_Soviet_Union" name="Russia_and_Soviet_Union"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Russia and Soviet Union</span></h3>
<p>Due to participation of <!--del_lnk--> Smolensk regiment in the battle, Soviet propaganda depicted the battle as <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Polish</a>-<a href="../../wp/l/Lithuania.htm" title="Lithuania">Lithuanian</a>-<a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russian</a> coalition against invading <!--del_lnk--> Germans.<p><a id="Banners" name="Banners"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Banners</span></h2>
<p><a id="Poland_2" name="Poland_2"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Poland</span></h3>
<p>The exact <!--del_lnk--> Order of Battle of the Polish forces is unknown. However, <!--del_lnk--> Ioannes Longinus in his <i>Historiæ Polonicæ</i> written after <!--del_lnk--> 1455 recorded 51 Polish <!--del_lnk--> banners, together with their descriptions, blazoning and commanders. It is not certain whether the list is complete.<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 85%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: center;">
<tr style="background: #ececec;">
<th>Banner of</th>
<th>Battle sign</th>
<th>Origin</th>
<th>Remarks</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="14" style="background: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;"> <i>Army of <!--del_lnk--> The Crown</i> - Court Banners</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Great Banner of <!--del_lnk--> Kraków and the Kingdom of Poland</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16853.png.htm" title="The Crown"><img alt="The Crown" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Choragiew_Krakowska.png" src="../../images/168/16853.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Arms of Poland</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Elite troops, under <!--del_lnk--> Zyndram of Maszkowice</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>"Gończa" Court Banner</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16854.jpg.htm" title="Goncza"><img alt="Goncza" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Goncza.jpg" src="../../images/168/16854.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Goncza Coat of Arms</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>under Andrzej of Ochocice of <!--del_lnk--> Osorya</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Pogoń Court Banner</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16855.png.htm" title="Pogoń"><img alt="Pogoń" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon.png" src="../../images/168/16855.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>under Andrzej <!--del_lnk--> Ciołek of <!--del_lnk--> Żelechów and Jan of Sprowa of <!--del_lnk--> Odrowąż</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Saint George</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16856.jpg.htm" title="Saint George"><img alt="Saint George" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Saint_George.jpg" src="../../images/168/16856.jpg" width="30" /></a></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Bohemian and Moravian mercenaries, under Sokol and Zbyslavek</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="14" style="background: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;"> <i>Army of <!--del_lnk--> The Crown</i> - Regional Banners</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Greater Poland</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16857.jpg.htm" title="Greater Poland"><img alt="Greater Poland" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Wielkopolska.jpg" src="../../images/168/16857.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Coat of Arms of Greater Poland</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Land of <!--del_lnk--> Sandomierz</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16858.jpg.htm" title="Sandomierz"><img alt="Sandomierz" height="30" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Sandomierz.jpg" src="../../images/168/16858.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Flag of Sandomierz</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Kalisz</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16859.jpg.htm" title="Kalisz"><img alt="Kalisz" height="30" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Kalisz.jpg" src="../../images/168/16859.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Flag of Kalisz</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Land of <!--del_lnk--> Sieradz</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16860.jpg.htm" title="Sieradz"><img alt="Sieradz" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Sieradz.jpg" src="../../images/168/16860.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Flag of Sieradz</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Land of <!--del_lnk--> Lublin</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16861.jpg.htm" title="Lublin"><img alt="Lublin" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Lublin.jpg" src="../../images/168/16861.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Jeleń</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Land of <!--del_lnk--> Łęczyca</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16862.jpg.htm" title="Leczyca"><img alt="Leczyca" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Leczyca.jpg" src="../../images/168/16862.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Flag of Łęczyca</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Land of <!--del_lnk--> Cuyavia</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16863.jpg.htm" title="Cuyavia"><img alt="Cuyavia" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Kujawy.jpg" src="../../images/168/16863.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Coat of Arms of Cuyavia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Land of <!--del_lnk--> Lwów</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16864.jpg.htm" title="Lwow"><img alt="Lwow" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Lwow.jpg" src="../../images/168/16864.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Banner of Lwów</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Land of <!--del_lnk--> Wieluń</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16865.jpg.htm" title="Wielun"><img alt="Wielun" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Wielun.jpg" src="../../images/168/16865.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Flag of Wieluń</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Reinforced with mercenaries from <!--del_lnk--> Silesia</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Land of <!--del_lnk--> Przemyśl</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16866.jpg.htm" title="Przemyśl"><img alt="Przemyśl" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Przemysl.jpg" src="../../images/168/16866.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Flag of Przemyśl</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Dobrzyń</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16867.jpg.htm" title="Dobrzyn"><img alt="Dobrzyn" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Dobrzyn1.jpg" src="../../images/168/16867.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Coat of Arms of Dobrzyń</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Land of <!--del_lnk--> Chełm</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16868.jpg.htm" title="Chelm"><img alt="Chelm" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Chelm1.jpg" src="../../images/168/16868.jpg" width="30" /></a><!--del_lnk--> Coat of Arms of Chełm</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Three banners of <!--del_lnk--> Podolia</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16869.png.htm" title="Podolia"><img alt="Podolia" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Podole.png" src="../../images/168/16869.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Coat of Arms of Podolia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Split up due to large number of knights</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Land of <!--del_lnk--> Halicz</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16870.jpg.htm" title="Halicz"><img alt="Halicz" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Halicz.jpg" src="../../images/168/16870.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Coat of Arms of Halicz</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="14" style="background: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;"> <i>Army of <!--del_lnk--> The Crown</i> - Masovian Banners</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Two banners of<br /> Duke <!--del_lnk--> Siemowit IV of Masovia</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16871.jpg.htm" title="Masovia"><img alt="Masovia" height="31" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Mazowsze.jpg" src="../../images/168/16871.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Coat of Arms of Masovia</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Masovia, mostly <!--del_lnk--> Płock area</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dukes of Masovia</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Duke <!--del_lnk--> Janusz I of Masovia</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16872.png.htm" title="Banner of Masovia as flown by the forces of Janusz I"><img alt="Banner of Masovia as flown by the forces of Janusz I" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Banner_Masovia.png" src="../../images/168/16872.png" width="40" /></a> own</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Masovia, mostly <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a> area</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Dukes of Masovia</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="14" style="background: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;"> <i>Army of <!--del_lnk--> The Crown</i> - Personal Banners</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Archbishop of <!--del_lnk--> Gniezno<br /><!--del_lnk--> Mikołaj Kurowski</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16873.png.htm" title="Sreniawa"><img alt="Sreniawa" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Szreniawa.png" src="../../images/168/16873.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Śreniawa</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Bishop of <!--del_lnk--> Poznań<br /> ;<!--del_lnk--> Wojciech Jastrzębiec</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16874.jpg.htm" title="Jastrzębiec"><img alt="Jastrzębiec" height="43" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herb_Jastrzebiec.jpg" src="../../images/168/16874.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Jastrzębiec</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>under <!--del_lnk--> Jarand of Brudzewo</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Castellan of <!--del_lnk--> Kraków<br /><!--del_lnk--> Krystyn of Ostrów</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16875.png.htm" title="Rawicz"><img alt="Rawicz" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Rawicz.png" src="../../images/168/16875.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Rawicz</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Voivod of <!--del_lnk--> Kraków<br /><!--del_lnk--> Jan of Tarnów</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16876.jpg.htm" title="Leliwa"><img alt="Leliwa" height="41" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herb_Leliwa.jpg" src="../../images/168/16876.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Leliwa</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voivod of <!--del_lnk--> Poznań<br /><!--del_lnk--> Sędziwój of Ostroróg</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16877.png.htm" title="Nałęcz"><img alt="Nałęcz" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Nalecz.png" src="../../images/168/16877.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Nałęcz</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voivod of <!--del_lnk--> Sandomierz<br /><!--del_lnk--> Mikołaj of Michałowo</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16878.png.htm" title="Poraj"><img alt="Poraj" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Poraj.png" src="../../images/168/16878.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Poraj</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voivod of <!--del_lnk--> Sieradz<br /><!--del_lnk--> Jakub of Koniecpol</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/113/11384.jpg.htm" title="Pobóg"><img alt="Pobóg" height="42" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herb_Pobog.jpg" src="../../images/168/16879.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pobóg</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Castellan of <!--del_lnk--> Śrem<br /><!--del_lnk--> Iwo of Obiechów</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16880.jpg.htm" title="Wieniawa"><img alt="Wieniawa" height="39" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herb_Wieniawa.jpg" src="../../images/168/16880.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Wieniawa</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Voivod of <!--del_lnk--> Łęczyca<br /><!--del_lnk--> Jan Ligęza</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16881.png.htm" title="Półkozic"><img alt="Półkozic" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Polkozic.png" src="../../images/168/16881.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Półkozic</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Castellan of <!--del_lnk--> Wojnice<br /><!--del_lnk--> Andrzej of Tęczyn</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16882.png.htm" title="Topór"><img alt="Topór" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Top%C3%B3r.png" src="../../images/168/16882.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Topór</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Marshal of The Crown<br /><!--del_lnk--> Zbigniew of Brzezie</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16883.jpg.htm" title="Zadora"><img alt="Zadora" height="39" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herb_Zadora.jpg" src="../../images/168/16883.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Zadora</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Chambelain of <!--del_lnk--> Kraków<br /><!--del_lnk--> Piotr Szafraniec</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16884.png.htm" title="Starykon"><img alt="Starykon" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Starykon.png" src="../../images/168/16884.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Starykoń</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Castellan of <!--del_lnk--> Wiślica<br /><!--del_lnk--> Klemens of Moskorzów</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16885.jpg.htm" title="Pilawa"><img alt="Pilawa" height="40" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herb_Pilawa.jpg" src="../../images/168/16885.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Piława</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Castellan of <!--del_lnk--> Śrem and mayor of Greater Poland<br /><!--del_lnk--> Wincenty of Granów</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16876.jpg.htm" title="Leliwa"><img alt="Leliwa" height="41" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herb_Leliwa.jpg" src="../../images/168/16876.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Leliwa</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Dobko of Oleśnica</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16886.png.htm" title="Dębno"><img alt="Dębno" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Debno.png" src="../../images/168/16886.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Dębno</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Spytko of Tarnów</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16876.jpg.htm" title="Leliwa"><img alt="Leliwa" height="41" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herb_Leliwa.jpg" src="../../images/168/16876.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Leliwa</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Lord High Steward of <!--del_lnk--> Kalisz<br /><!--del_lnk--> Marcin of Sławsko</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16887.jpg.htm" title="Zaremba"><img alt="Zaremba" height="39" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herb_Zaremba.jpg" src="../../images/168/16887.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Zaremba</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Dobrogost Świdwa of <!--del_lnk--> Szamotuły</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16877.png.htm" title="Nałęcz"><img alt="Nałęcz" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Nalecz.png" src="../../images/168/16877.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Nałęcz</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Krystyn of Koziegłowy</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16888.png.htm" title="Lis"><img alt="Lis" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Lis.png" src="../../images/168/16888.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Lis</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Master King's Cup-Bearer<br /><!--del_lnk--> Jan Mężyk</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16889.png.htm" title="Wadwicz"><img alt="Wadwicz" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Wadwicz.png" src="../../images/168/16889.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Wadwicz</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Deputy Chancellor of the Crown<br /><!--del_lnk--> Mikołaj Trąba</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16890.jpg.htm" title="Trąby"><img alt="Trąby" height="40" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Herb_Traby.jpg" src="../../images/168/16890.jpg" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Trąby</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Mikołaj Kmita of <!--del_lnk--> Wiśnicz</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16873.png.htm" title="Sreniawa"><img alt="Sreniawa" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Szreniawa.png" src="../../images/168/16873.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Śreniawa</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Gryf Clan</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16891.png.htm" title="Gryf"><img alt="Gryf" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Gryf.png" src="../../images/168/16891.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Gryf</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Family of Gryf, under <!--del_lnk--> Zygmunt of Bobowa</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Zaklika of Korzkiew</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16892.png.htm" title="Syrokomla"><img alt="Syrokomla" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Syrokomla.png" src="../../images/168/16892.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Syrokomla</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Clan of Koźlerogi</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16893.png.htm" title="Kozlerogi"><img alt="Kozlerogi" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Jelita.png" src="../../images/168/16893.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Koźlerogi</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>Family, under Castellan of <!--del_lnk--> Wiślica <!--del_lnk--> Florian of Korytnica</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Jan of Jičín</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16894.png.htm" title="Benesovec"><img alt="Benesovec" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Odrowaz.png" src="../../images/168/16894.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Benešovec</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Moravia</td>
<td>Volunteers from Moravia, commanded by certain Helm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Steward of the Crown and starost of <!--del_lnk--> Lwów<br /><!--del_lnk--> Gniewosz of Dalewice</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16895.png.htm" title="Strzegomia"><img alt="Strzegomia" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flaga_Kosciesza.png" src="../../images/168/16895.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Strzegomia</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Silesia, <!--del_lnk--> Bohemia and <!--del_lnk--> Moravia</td>
<td>Only foreign volunteers and mercenaries</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Duke of Lithuania <!--del_lnk--> Sigismund Korybut</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16855.png.htm" title="Pogoń"><img alt="Pogoń" height="36" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon.png" src="../../images/168/16855.png" width="40" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Vytis</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Lithuania_2" name="Lithuania_2"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Lithuania</span></h3>
<p>Due to different system of <!--del_lnk--> feudal overlordship, as well as lack of heraldic traditions, the units of <!--del_lnk--> Grand Duchy of Lithuania were all grouped under banners of two types: the <!--del_lnk--> Vytis and the <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas. The only difference between various lands using the same emblem was the <!--del_lnk--> blazon. The hareness and the colour of the horse on the <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia differed.<p>Note that the number of Lithuanian banners is uncertain. According to <!--del_lnk--> Ioannes Longinus there were 40 banners on the right flank of the Polish-Lithuanian forces, 10 flying the <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas and 30 flying the <!--del_lnk--> Vytis. However, he also mentions that there might have been 2 additional banners from <!--del_lnk--> Smolensk and up to six additional banners of <!--del_lnk--> Samogitia. German authors also mention that there were three auxiliary banners of <!--del_lnk--> Moldavia flying their own flags. In addition, it is probable that the units from <!--del_lnk--> Trakai, <!--del_lnk--> Volhynia, <!--del_lnk--> Smolensk, <a href="../../wp/k/Kiev.htm" title="Kiev">Kiev</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Nowogrodek used their own emblems.<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 85%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: center;">
<tr style="background: #ececec;">
<th>Banner of</th>
<th>Battle sign</th>
<th>Origin</th>
<th>Remarks</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="14" style="background: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;"> <i>Army of the <!--del_lnk--> Grand Duchy</i> - Flying the Vytis Banners</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Vytautas the Great</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Vytis</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Minsk</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Polock</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Hrodna</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Kreva</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Krichev</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Mahileu</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Niasvizh</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Novgorod</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Nowogrod Siewierski</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Orsha</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Slonim</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Slutsk</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Vitsebsk</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Vladzimir</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16896.png.htm" title="Pogon"><img alt="Pogon" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pogon_White_Ruthenia.png" src="../../images/168/16896.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Pahonia</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="14" style="background: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;"> <i>Army of the <!--del_lnk--> Grand Duchy</i> - Flying the Columns Banners</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Sigismund Kestutaitis</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Manvydas</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Yurij, son of <!--del_lnk--> Lengvenis</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Trakai</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Vilnius</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Hrodna</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Kaunas</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Lida</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Medininkai</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Three (?) Banners of <!--del_lnk--> Smolensk</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>under <!--del_lnk--> Lengvenis (Simon Lingwen)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Vitebsk</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><a href="../../wp/k/Kiev.htm" title="Kiev">Kiev</a></th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Pinsk</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Navahradak</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Brest</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Wolkowysk</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Drohiczyn</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Mielnik</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Krzemieniec</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Starodub</th>
<td align="left"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16897.png.htm" title="Slupy"><img alt="Slupy" height="27" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Slupy_Giedymina.png" src="../../images/168/16897.png" width="30" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Columns of Gediminas</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="14" style="background: #f9f9f9; text-align: left;"> <i>Auxiliary Units</i></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><!--del_lnk--> Lipka Tatars</th>
<td align="left">none</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>approximately 1000 skirmishers under <!--del_lnk--> Jalal ad-Din</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Three Banners of <!--del_lnk--> Moldavia</th>
<td align="left">
</td>
<td>
</td>
<td>approximately 900 foot soldiers and 25 knights under <!--del_lnk--> Logofat Mihaiu Alexandrel</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="Related_reading" name="Related_reading"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Related reading</span></h2>
<p><a id="Non-fiction" name="Non-fiction"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Non-fiction</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Stefan Kuczyński, <!--del_lnk--> Szymon Kobyliński, <i>Chorągwie grunwaldzkich zwycięzców</i> (<i>The Banners of the Victors of Grunwald</i>); WAiF, <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a>, <!--del_lnk--> 1989. <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 83-221-0467-7<li><!--del_lnk--> Ioannes Longinus, <i>Annales seu Cronicæ Incliti Regni Poloniæ</i>; PWN, <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a>, <!--del_lnk--> 2000. <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 83-01-13301-5<li><!--del_lnk--> Ioannes Longinus, <i>Bitwa grunwaldzka</i>; <!--del_lnk--> Ossolineum, <!--del_lnk--> Wrocław, <!--del_lnk--> 2003. <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 83-04-04632-6<li>Mečislovas Jučas, <i>Žalgirio mūšis</i> (<i>Battle of Grunwald</i>); Mokslas, <!--del_lnk--> Vilnius, <!--del_lnk--> 1990. <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 5-420-00242-6<li><!--del_lnk--> Sven Ekdahl, Die Schlacht bei Tannenberg 1410. Quellenkritische Untersuchungen. Bd. 1: Einführung und Quellenlage. <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 3-428-05243-9<li><!--del_lnk--> Sven Ekdahl Die "Banderia Prutenorum" des Jan Dlugosz: Eine Quelle zur Schlacht bei Tannenberg 1410 : Unters. zu Aufbau, Entstehung u. Quellenwert d. Hs. : mit e. ... Klasse ; Folge 3, Nr. 104). <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 3-525-82382-7</ul>
<p><a id="Fiction" name="Fiction"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Fiction</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Henryk Sienkiewicz, <i>Krzyżacy</i> (<i><!--del_lnk--> The Teutonic Knights</i>); Tygodnik Ilustrowany, <!--del_lnk--> Kraków, <!--del_lnk--> 1900. <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 0-7818-0433-7<li><!--del_lnk--> James A. Michener, <i>Poland</i>; Random House, <!--del_lnk--> 1984. <!--del_lnk--> ISBN 0-449-20587-8</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grunwald"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Poland', 'German language', 'Poland', '13th century', 'Pope', 'Latvia', 'Lithuania', 'Estonia', '14th century', '16th century', 'Damascus', 'Iran', 'Poland', 'Germany', 'Soviet Union', 'Fascism', 'Soviet Union', '20th century', 'World War I', 'World War II', 'Belarus', 'Basketball', 'Football (soccer)', 'Poland', 'Lithuania', 'Russia', 'Warsaw', 'Kiev', 'Kiev', 'Warsaw', 'Warsaw']
|
Battle_of_Hastings
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Hastings,1066,Alans,Anglo-Saxons,Aquitaine,Archery,Battle, East Sussex,Battle Abbey,Battle of Stamford Bridge,Bayeux Tapestry,Breton people" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Hastings</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Hastings";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Hastings";
var wgArticleId = 44667;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Hastings">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Hastings</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.British_History.British_History_1500_and_before_including_Roman_Britain.htm">British History 1500 and before (including Roman Britain)</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Hastings</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Norman Conquest</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/168/16898.jpg.htm" title="alt text"><img alt="alt text" height="233" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bayeuxtap1.jpg" src="../../images/168/16898.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /> A section of the <!--del_lnk--> Bayeux Tapestry, chronicling the English/Norman battle in 1066 which led to the Norman Conquest.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 14 October <!--del_lnk--> 1066</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle near <!--del_lnk--> Hastings, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Norman victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Normans, supported by <!--del_lnk--> Bretons, <!--del_lnk--> Aquitanians, <!--del_lnk--> Flemings & <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Anglo-Saxons</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/w/William_I_of_England.htm" title="William I of England">William of Normandy</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Odo of Bayeux</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Harold Godwinson†</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">7,000-8,000</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">7,000-8,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">Unknown, thought to be around 2,000 killed and wounded</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">Unknown, but significantly more than the Normans</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Hastings</b> was the most decisive <!--del_lnk--> Norman victory in the <a href="../../wp/n/Norman_conquest_of_England.htm" title="Norman conquest of England">Norman conquest of England</a>. On <!--del_lnk--> October 14, <!--del_lnk--> 1066, the Normans of <!--del_lnk--> Duke <a href="../../wp/w/William_I_of_England.htm" title="William I of England">William of Normandy</a> (aka "Guillaume Le Conquérant" in <!--del_lnk--> Norman, "William the Conqueror" in English) defeated the <!--del_lnk--> English army led by <!--del_lnk--> King <!--del_lnk--> Harold II.<p><!--del_lnk--> Harold had claimed the throne of <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a> for himself in January of that year soon after <a href="../../wp/e/Edward_the_Confessor.htm" title="Edward the Confessor">Edward the Confessor</a> died, ignoring William's earlier claims. The resulting <!--del_lnk--> Norman Invasion of England remains the last time <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a> has been conquered by a foreign power.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> September 28, <!--del_lnk--> 1066, William of Normandy, asserting by arms his claim to the English crown, landed unopposed at <!--del_lnk--> Pevensey after being delayed by a storm in the <a href="../../wp/e/English_Channel.htm" title="English Channel">English Channel</a>. Legend has it that upon setting foot on the beach, William tripped and fell on his face. Turning potential embarrassment in front of his troops into a <!--del_lnk--> face-saving exercise, he rose with his hands full of sand and shouted "I now take hold of the land of <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>!" This bears suspicious resemblance to the story of <a href="../../wp/j/Julius_Caesar.htm" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a>'s invasion of Britain; and was probably employed by William's biographer to enhance the similarities between Caesar and William.<p>On hearing the news of the landing of the Duke's forces, the English Harold II, who had just destroyed an invading <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norwegian</a> army under King <!--del_lnk--> Harald Hardråda and <!--del_lnk--> Tostig Godwinson (Harold's brother) at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Stamford Bridge, hurried southward from London the morning of the 12th, gathering what forces he could on the way. He arrived at the battlefield the night of <!--del_lnk--> 13 October <!--del_lnk--> 1066.<p>Harold deployed his force, astride the road from <!--del_lnk--> Hastings to <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>, on <!--del_lnk--> Senlac Hill some six miles inland from Hastings. To his back was the great forest of Anderida (<!--del_lnk--> the Weald) and in front the ground fell away in a long <!--del_lnk--> glacis-like slope, which at the bottom rose again as the opposing slope of <!--del_lnk--> Telham Hill. The later town called <!--del_lnk--> Battle in the modern county of <!--del_lnk--> East Sussex was named to commemorate this event.<p>The English force is usually estimated at seven to eight thousand strong, and consisted entirely of <!--del_lnk--> infantry (the English rode to their battles but did not fight from horseback). It comprised the English men-at-arms of the <!--del_lnk--> fyrd, mainly <!--del_lnk--> thegns (the English equivalent of a land-holding aristocracy), along with a substantial amount of local peasant levies, lesser thegns, and a core of professional warriors: <!--del_lnk--> Housecarls, the King's royal troops and bodyguards. The thegns and housecarls, probably veterans of the recent <!--del_lnk--> Stamford Bridge battle, were armed principally with swords, spears, and in some cases the formidable <!--del_lnk--> Danish axes, and were protected by coats of <!--del_lnk--> chainmail and their <!--del_lnk--> shields. They took the front ranks, forming a '<!--del_lnk--> shield wall' with interlocking shields side by side. Behind the thegns and housecarls, the lesser thegns and peasant levies were armed with whatever weapons they had at hand. The entire army took up position along the ridgeline; as casualties fell in the front lines the lesser thegns and peasants would move forward to fill the gaps. The English, however, were still exhausted from the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Stamford Bridge, where they had achieved an almost-<!--del_lnk--> Pyrrhic victory against the <a href="../../wp/v/Viking.htm" title="Vikings">Vikings</a>, and were in no shape to fight again.<p>On the morning of Saturday, <!--del_lnk--> 14 October <!--del_lnk--> 1066, Duke William of Normandy gathered his army below the English position. The Norman army was of comparable size to the English force, and composed of William's <!--del_lnk--> Norman, <!--del_lnk--> Breton and <!--del_lnk--> Flemish <!--del_lnk--> vassals along with their retainers, and freebooters from as far away as Norman Italy. The nobles had been promised English lands and titles in return for their material support: the common troopers were paid with the spoils and "cash", and hoped for land when English fiefs were handed out. Many had also come because they considered it a holy <!--del_lnk--> crusade, due to the Pope's decision to bless the invasion. The army was deployed in the classic medieval fashion of three divisions, or "battles" - the Normans taking the centre, the Bretons on the left wing and the Franco-Flemish on right wing. Each <!--del_lnk--> battle comprised infantry, cavalry and <!--del_lnk--> archers along with crossbowmen. The archers and crossbowmen stood to the front for the start of the battle.<p>Legend has it that William's minstrel and knight, <!--del_lnk--> Ivo Taillefer, begged his master for permission to strike the first blows of the battle. Permission was granted, and Taillefer rode before the English alone, tossing his sword and lance in the air and catching them while he sang an early version of <!--del_lnk--> The Song of Roland. The earliest account of this tale (in <!--del_lnk--> The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio) says that an English champion came from the ranks, and Taillefer quickly slew him, taking his head as a trophy to show that God favoured the invaders: later 12th century sources say that Taillefer charged into the English ranks and killed one to three Englishmen before suffering death himself. Regardless, fighting was now underway.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="The_battle" name="The_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16899.png.htm" title="Hastings battleplan"><img alt="Hastings battleplan" height="169" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Hastings-battleplan.png" src="../../images/168/16899.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/168/16899.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Hastings battleplan</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The battle commenced with an archery barrage from the Norman archers and crossbowmen. However, the Norman archers drew their bowstrings only to the chest and their <!--del_lnk--> crossbows were loaded by hand without assistance from a <!--del_lnk--> windlass, so most shots either failed to penetrate the housecarls' shields or sailed over their heads to fall harmlessly beyond. The Normans therefore had no other choice other than to charge the English time and time again, only to be repulsed. Another tactic used was to pretend to retreat and then when the English chased after them off the hill they were fighting on, without warning the Normans would turn round and attack with the English away from cover. In any event, the archery failed to make any impression on the English lines. Norman archery tactics in general relied on picking up enemy arrows shot back at them, and as the Saxons had left their bowmen in <a href="../../wp/y/York.htm" title="York">York</a> during the rush to meet William, the Norman arrowfire soon decreased.<p>The Norman infantry and cavalry then advanced, led by the Duke and his half-brothers: Bishop <!--del_lnk--> Odo and Count Robert of Mortain. All along the front, the men-at-arms and cavalry came to close quarters with the defenders, but the long and powerful Danish axes were formidable and after a prolonged melee the front of the English line was littered with cut down horses and the dead and dying. The shield wall remained intact, and the English shouted their defiance with "Olicrosse!" (holy cross) and "Ut, ut!" (out, out). The Normans responded with "Dex aїe!" (God's help).<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16900.jpg.htm" title="View from Battle Abbey to the field where the Battle of Hastings took place."><img alt="View from Battle Abbey to the field where the Battle of Hastings took place." height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Batlhast.JPG" src="../../images/169/16900.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16900.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> View from Battle Abbey to the field where the Battle of Hastings took place.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>However, the Bretons on the left wing (where the slope is gentlest), came into contact with the shield wall first. Seemingly unable to cope with the defence, the Bretons broke and fled. The Bretons, due to their <!--del_lnk--> Alannic influence, were experienced in cavalry tactics and may have set up a feigned retreat. Possibly led by one of Harold's brothers, elements of the English right wing broke ranks and pursued the Bretons down the hill in a wild unformed charge. On the flat, without a defensive shield wall formation, the English were charged by the Norman cavalry and slaughtered.<p>This eagerness of the English to switch to a premature offensive was noted by Norman lords and the tactic of the 'feigned' flight was used with success by the Norman horsemen throughout the day. With each subsequent assault later in the day, the Norman cavalry began a series of attacks each time, only to wheel away after a short time in contact with the English line. A group of English would rush out to pursue the apparently defeated enemy, only to be ridden-over and destroyed when the cavalry wheeled about again to force them away from the shield wall.<p>The Normans retired to rally and re-group, and to begin the assault again on the shield wall. The battle dragged on throughout the remainder of the day, each repeated Norman attack weakening the shield wall and leaving the ground in front littered with English and Norman dead.<p>Toward the end of the day, the English defensive line was depleted. The repeated Norman infantry assaults and cavalry charges had thinned out the armoured housecarls, the lines now filled by the lower-quality peasant levies. William was also worried, as nightfall would soon force his own depleted army to retire, perhaps even to the ships where they would be prey to the English fleet in the Channel. Preparing for the final assault, William ordered the archers and crossbowmen forward again. This time the archers fired high, the arrows raining upon the English rear ranks and causing heavy casualties. As the Norman infantry and cavalry closed yet again, Harold received a mortal wound. Traditionally he is believed to have been pierced through the right eye by an arrow (through interpretation of the <!--del_lnk--> Bayeux Tapestry). But <!--del_lnk--> The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio describes how Harold was cut to pieces by Norman knights led by William himself: and the Bayeux Tapestry shows him being cut down by a Norman knight, thus agreeing with The Carmen. It is possible that both versions of Harold's end are true: he was first wounded in the face by an arrow, then killed by hand weapons in the final Norman assault. <!--del_lnk--> Wace, in the <!--del_lnk--> Roman de Rou, notes that Harold was wounded in the eye, then tore out the shaft and continued to fight until cut down by a knight. Another theory was that Harold was struck in the right eye and tried to pull it out. He was later cut through the heart by a Norman knight, his head cut off, his guts strewn out, and his left leg cut off at the thigh.<div class="center">
<div class="thumb tnone">
<div style="width:752px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16901.jpg.htm" title="Hastings battlefield from a "Norman" point of view (2006)"><img alt="Hastings battlefield from a "Norman" point of view (2006)" height="156" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hastings_battlefield.JPG" src="../../images/169/16901.jpg" width="750" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16901.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Hastings battlefield from a "Norman" point of view (2006)</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The renewed Norman attack reached the top of the hill on the English extreme left and right wings. The Normans then began to roll up the English flanks along the ridgeline. The English line began to waver, and the Norman men-at-arms forced their way in, breaking the shield wall at several points. Fyrdmen and housecarls, learning that their king was dead, began streaming away from the battle; the Normans overran the hilltop in pursuit. Harold's personal guard died fighting to the last as a circle of housecarls around the king's body and his battle standards (the <i>Dragon standard</i> of Wessex and the <i>Fighting man</i>, his personal standard). Harold's corpse (through an interpretation of <!--del_lnk--> The Carmen) was probably emasculated by one of his attackers.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<p>Only a remnant of the defenders made their way back to the forest. Some of the Norman forces pursued the English, but were ambushed and destroyed in the semi-darkness when they ran afoul of steep ground, called, in later (12th century) sources, "the Malfosse", or "bad ditch". William, after resting for a night on the hard-won ground, began the work of the <!--del_lnk--> Norman Conquest. He recruited his army for two weeks near Hastings, waiting for the English lords to come and submit to him. Then, after he realized his hopes of submission at that point were in vain, he began his advance on <a href="../../wp/l/London.htm" title="London">London</a>. His army was seriously reduced for several weeks in November by dysentery, and William himself was gravely ill. Nevertheless, he directed his forces to continue their approach on the city: in three columns they made their way to <!--del_lnk--> Wallingford on the <a href="../../wp/r/River_Thames.htm" title="River Thames">Thames</a>. After crossing over, William threatened London with a siege.<p>After a few failed attempts at aggression near London, the fight had gone out of the remaining English nobility. The northern earls, <!--del_lnk--> Edwin and <!--del_lnk--> Morcar, Esegar the sheriff of London, and <!--del_lnk--> Edgar the Atheling (who had even been elected - but not crowned - "king" in a feeble attempt to continue the resistance) all came out and submitted to the Norman Duke. William was crowned as England's third king that year, on Christmas day at <!--del_lnk--> Westminster.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:322px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16902.jpg.htm" title="Harold's plaque (2006)"><img alt="Harold's plaque (2006)" height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Harold_stone.JPG" src="../../images/169/16902.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16902.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Harold's plaque (2006)</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Battle Abbey was built at the site of the battle of Hastings, and a plaque marks the place where Harold fell, and where the high altar of the church once stood. The settlement of <!--del_lnk--> Battle, East Sussex grew up around the abbey and is now a small market town.<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Bayeux Tapestry depicts the events before and at the Battle of Hastings.<p>The Battle of Hastings is also an excellent example of the application of the theory of <!--del_lnk--> combined arms. The Norman archers, cavalry and infantry co-operated together to deny the English the initiative, and gave the homogeneous English infantry force few tactical options except defence.<p>However, it is quite likely that this tactical sophistication was mostly in the minds of the Norman Chroniclers. The account of the battle given in the earliest source, <!--del_lnk--> The Carmen de Hastingae Proelio, is one where the Norman advance surprises the English, who manage to gain the top of Senlac Hill before the Normans. The Norman Light Infantry is sent in while the English are forming their Shield Wall (to no avail) and then the main force was sent in (no distinction being made between infantry and cavalry). Interestingly, it records the first retreat of William's forces as the result of a French (not Norman) feigned retreat that went wrong, the English counter-attack, William counter-counter-attacks, and it all develops into a huge melee during which Harold is slain by a group of four knights and therefore the bulk of the English army flee.<p>Succeeding sources include (in chronological order) William of Poitiers' Gesta Guillelmi (written between 1071 and 1077), The Bayeux Tapestry (created between 1070 and 1077), and the much later Chronicle of Battle Abbey, the Chronicles written by William of Malmesbury, Florence of Worcester, and Eadmer’s Historia Novorum in Anglia embellishes the story further, with the final result being a William whose tactical genius was at a high level - a level that he failed to display in any other battle. Most likely is the simplest explanation: that the English were exhausted and undermanned, having lost or left behind their bowmen and many of their best housecarls on the fields of Fulford Gate and Stamford Bridge, or on the road from York. This weakness, rather than any great military genius on the part of William, led to the defeat of the Anglo-Saxons at Hastings. Even with this weakness, it was still a hard-fought battle that could easily have gone the other way.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['England', 'France', 'William I of England', 'Norman conquest of England', 'William I of England', 'England', 'Edward the Confessor', 'England', 'English Channel', 'England', 'Julius Caesar', 'Norway', 'London', 'Vikings', 'York', 'London', 'River Thames']
|
Battle_of_Jutland
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Jutland,David Beatty,Franz von Hipper,John Jellicoe,Reinhard Scheer,1916,2004,2006,5th Battle Squadron,Admiralty,African theatre of World War I" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Jutland</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Jutland";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Jutland";
var wgArticleId = 4563;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Jutland">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Jutland</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Military_History_and_War.htm">Military History and War</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Jutland</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23559.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="232" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Jutland1916.jpg" src="../../images/235/23559.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /> The Battle of Jutland, 1916</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 31 May <!--del_lnk--> 1916–<!--del_lnk--> 1 June <!--del_lnk--> 1916</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td>Near <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a>, in the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Tactical German victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">
<center><a class="image" href="../../images/126/12613.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="33" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Naval_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/235/23560.png" width="65" /></a><br /><a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Navy.htm" title="Royal Navy">Royal Navy</a><br /> (<!--del_lnk--> Grand Fleet)</center>
</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">
<center><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23561.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="39" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Germany-Jack-1903.svg" src="../../images/235/23561.png" width="65" /></a><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Kaiserliche Marine</i><br /> (<!--del_lnk--> High Seas Fleet)</center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Sir John Jellicoe,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Sir David Beatty</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Reinhard Scheer,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Franz von Hipper</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">28 <!--del_lnk--> battleships,<br /> 9 <!--del_lnk--> battlecruisers,<br /> 8 <!--del_lnk--> heavy cruisers,<br /> 26 <!--del_lnk--> light cruisers,<br /> 78 <!--del_lnk--> destroyers,<br /> 1 <!--del_lnk--> minelayer,<br /> 1 <!--del_lnk--> seaplane carrier</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">16 <!--del_lnk--> battleships,<br /> 5 <!--del_lnk--> battlecruisers,<br /> 6 <!--del_lnk--> pre-dreadnoughts,<br /> 11 <!--del_lnk--> light cruisers,<br /> 61 <!--del_lnk--> torpedo-boats</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">6,094 killed<br /> 510 wounded<br /> 177 captured<br />
<br /> 3 battlecruisers<br /> 3 armoured cruisers<br /> 8 destroyers<br />
<br /> (115,025 tons sunk)</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">2,551 killed<br /> 507 wounded<br />
<br />
<br /> 1 battlecruiser<br /> 1 pre-dreadnought<br /> 4 light cruisers<br /> 5 torpedo-boats<br /> (61,180 tons sunk)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th>North Sea 1914-1918</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1st Heligoland Bight – <!--del_lnk--> Dogger Bank – <strong class="selflink">Jutland</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Heligoland Bight</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Jutland</b> (<a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a>: <i>Skagerrakschlacht</i> (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Battle of the Skagerrak</i>); <!--del_lnk--> Danish: <i>Søslaget ved Jylland</i> / <i>Søslaget om Skagerrak</i>), was the largest <!--del_lnk--> naval battle of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>, and the only full-scale clash of <!--del_lnk--> battleships in that war. It was fought on <!--del_lnk--> May 31–<!--del_lnk--> June 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1916, in the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a> near <!--del_lnk--> Jutland, the mainland of <a href="../../wp/d/Denmark.htm" title="Denmark">Denmark</a>. The combatants were the <!--del_lnk--> <i>Kaiserliche Marine</i>’s <!--del_lnk--> High Seas Fleet commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer and the <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Navy.htm" title="Royal Navy">Royal Navy</a>’s <!--del_lnk--> Grand Fleet commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Jellicoe. The intention of the German fleet was to break the British naval blockade of the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a> and allow German mercantile shipping to operate again.<p>The Germans plan was to use <!--del_lnk--> Vice Admiral Franz Hipper’s scouting group of five modern battlecruisers to lure <!--del_lnk--> Vice Admiral Sir David Beatty’s <!--del_lnk--> battlecruiser squadrons into the path of the main German battle <!--del_lnk--> fleet and so destroy them. But the British had learned from signal intercepts (the British had been given a German codebook from the light cruiser <!--del_lnk--> SMS Magdeburg, boarded by Russian naval officers after the ship ran aground in Russian territorial waters) that a major fleet operation was likely, and on <!--del_lnk--> 30 May Jellicoe sailed with the Grand Fleet to rendezvous with Beatty.<p>On the afternoon of <!--del_lnk--> 31 May, Beatty and Hipper encountered each other, and in a running battle to the south Hipper drew the British into the path of the High Seas Fleet. Beatty turned and fled towards the Grand Fleet and from 18:30 until nightfall at about 20:30 the two huge fleets — totaling 250 ships between them — were heavily engaged. Fourteen British and eleven German ships were sunk with great loss of life. Jellicoe tried to cut the Germans off from their base in the hope of continuing the battle in the morning, but under cover of darkness Scheer crossed the wake of the British fleet and returned to port.<p>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. The Germans continued to pose a threat that required the British to keep their battleships concentrated in the North Sea, but they never again contested control of the seas. Instead, the German Navy turned its efforts and resources to <!--del_lnk--> unrestricted submarine warfare.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p><a id="Naval_tactics_in_1916" name="Naval_tactics_in_1916"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Naval tactics in 1916</span></h3>
<p>Tactics called for a fleet approaching battle to be in parallel columns moving in-line ahead, allowing relatively easy maneuvering. Several short columns could change their heading faster than a single long column while maintaining formation. Also signals made with <!--del_lnk--> flags or <!--del_lnk--> searchlights from the flagship (usually placed at the head of the centre column) could be seen by many ships. In single-column formations a signal could take 10 minutes or more to be passed from the flagship at the front of the column to the last ship at the end, since smoke from the funnels often made it impossible to identify signals on ships beyond the one directly ahead or behind, so every ship had to repeat the signal for the following one to understand. The time required for this was often doubled as most signals had to be confirmed by every ship before they could be executed.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23562.jpg.htm" title="The British Grand Fleet in parallel columns steaming in line astern"><img alt="The British Grand Fleet in parallel columns steaming in line astern" height="161" longdesc="/wiki/Image:British_Grand_Fleet_2.jpg" src="../../images/235/23562.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23562.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> British Grand Fleet in parallel columns steaming in line astern</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>For the actual battle the fleet would deploy into a single column by the leading ships of the columns turning 90 degrees to port or starboard, the remaining ships following their leaders in succession, the column being formed at right angles to the original line of advance. To form the column into the right direction the fleet had to know from which direction the enemy was approaching before he could be seen by the <!--del_lnk--> battleships, as this maneuver took longer than two fleets heading towards each other at high speed needed to come within fighting range. It was the task of the scouting forces, consisting of <!--del_lnk--> battlecruisers and <!--del_lnk--> cruisers, to find the enemy and report from where he approached in time and if possible deny the enemy's scouting force to obtain the same information.<p>Ideally the line of battleships would cross the path of the enemy column so that the maximum number of <!--del_lnk--> guns could be brought to bear, while the enemy could only fire with the front <!--del_lnk--> turrets of the leading ships. Carrying out this classic manoeuvre of "<!--del_lnk--> crossing the T" was largely a matter of luck; more common were heavy exchanges between two fleets on roughly parallel courses.<p><a id="German_plan" name="German_plan"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">German plan</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23563.jpg.htm" title="The British Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland"><img alt="The British Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland" height="141" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Grand_fleet_jutland.jpg" src="../../images/235/23563.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23563.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The British Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The German <!--del_lnk--> naval strategy, according to Scheer, was:<dl>
<dd>to damage the English Fleet by offensive raids against the naval forces engaged in watching and blockading the <!--del_lnk--> German Bight, as well as by <!--del_lnk--> mine-laying on the British coast and <!--del_lnk--> submarine attack, whenever possible. After an equality of strength had been realised as a result of these operations, and all our forces had been got ready and concentrated, an attempt was to be made with our fleet to seek battle under circumstances unfavourable to the enemy.</dl>
<p>Since in 1916 the German High Seas Fleet had only 18 battleships to the British Grand Fleet's 33 and the Germans were falling increasingly further behind as the war progressed, there was no chance of defeating the British in a head-to-head clash of battleships. Instead, they planned to divide and conquer: by staging raids into the North Sea they would lure out small British squadrons which could then be attacked and destroyed. Since the British <!--del_lnk--> Admiralty, unknown to the Germans, had gained possession of the main German code books, German naval radio communications picked up could be deciphered, and the Admiralty was therefore usually quite well aware of German plans.<p>The plan for May 1916 was to station a large number of <!--del_lnk--> U-boats off the British naval bases and lure Beatty's battlecruiser squadrons out by sending a fleet under Hipper to raid the coast of <!--del_lnk--> Sunderland. After attrition from the submarines, the British would be drawn by Hipper towards the German dreadnoughts under Scheer and destroyed.<p><a id="British_response" name="British_response"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">British response</span></h3>
<div class="floatleft"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23564.png.htm" title="Fleet movements before and during the battle of Jutland, 30 May to 1 June 1916."><img alt="Fleet movements before and during the battle of Jutland, 30 May to 1 June 1916." height="418" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Jutland_campaign_map.png" src="../../images/235/23564.png" width="511" /></a></span></div>
<p>The British intercepted and decrypted a German signal on <!--del_lnk--> 28 May ordering all ships to be ready to put to sea on the 30th. Further signals were intercepted and although they were not decrypted it was clear that a major operation was likely. The Grand Fleet of twenty-four <!--del_lnk--> dreadnoughts and three <!--del_lnk--> battlecruisers left <!--del_lnk--> Scapa Flow under Jellicoe before Hipper left the <!--del_lnk--> Jade Estuary on <!--del_lnk--> 30 May. Beatty's force of four dreadnoughts and six battlecruisers left the <!--del_lnk--> Firth of Forth on the next day, and Jellicoe's intention was to rendezvous ninety miles (145 km) west of the <!--del_lnk--> Skagerrak off the coast of <!--del_lnk--> Jutland and wait for the Germans.<p><a id="Order_of_battle" name="Order_of_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Order of battle</span></h2>
<p>See <!--del_lnk--> Order of battle at Jutland.<p><a id="The_fleets" name="The_fleets"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The fleets</span></h3>
<p>Jellicoe's battle force was twenty-eight dreadnoughts and nine battlecruisers, while Scheer had sixteen dreadnoughts, five battlecruisers and six obsolete <!--del_lnk--> pre-dreadnoughts. The British were superior in light vessels as well. In terms of weight of broadside the British had an advantage of 332,400 lb (151 tonnes) against 134,000 lb (61 tonnes).<p>This British superiority was countered by certain technical factors: German ships had thicker <!--del_lnk--> armour against torpedo attack; German ships had better internal sub-division because they were only designed for short cruises in the North Sea and their crews lived in barracks ashore when in harbour; German <!--del_lnk--> armour-piercing shells were more effective than the British shells; and, vitally important, the British <!--del_lnk--> cordite <!--del_lnk--> propellant was oversensitive, and the British <!--del_lnk--> magazines were not well protected. Further, the German <!--del_lnk--> Zeiss <!--del_lnk--> optical equipment was superior.<p><a id="The_Admirals" name="The_Admirals"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Admirals</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd><i>See the respective article of each admiral:</i></dl>
<div align="center">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="gallery">
<tr>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/235/23565.jpg.htm" title="Image:David Beatty.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/235/23565.jpg" width="95" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><!--del_lnk--> David Beatty</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/235/23566.jpg.htm" title="Image:FranzVonHipper.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/235/23566.jpg" width="87" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Franz Hipper</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/235/23567.jpg.htm" title="Image:John Jellicoe - Project Gutenberg eText 16363.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/235/23567.jpg" width="71" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><!--del_lnk--> John Jellicoe</div>
</div>
</td>
<td>
<div class="gallerybox">
<div class="thumb" style="padding: 13px 0;"><a href="../../images/235/23568.jpg.htm" title="Image:Reinhard Scheer.jpg"><img alt="" height="120" src="../../images/235/23568.jpg" width="82" /></a></div>
<div class="gallerytext">
<p><!--del_lnk--> Reinhard Scheer</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p><a id="The_battlecruiser_action" name="The_battlecruiser_action"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The battlecruiser action</span></h2>
<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23569.png.htm" title=" "><img alt=" " height="530" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Jutland_battlecruiser_action.png" src="../../images/235/23569.png" width="416" /></a></span></div>
<p>The German <!--del_lnk--> U-boats were completely ineffective; they did not sink a single ship and provided no useful information as <!--del_lnk--> scouts. Jellicoe's ships proceeded to his rendezvous undamaged but misled by <!--del_lnk--> Admiralty <!--del_lnk--> intelligence that the Germans were nine hours later than they actually were.<p>At 14:20 on <!--del_lnk--> 31 May, scouts from Beatty's force reported enemy ships to the south-east: British light units, investigating a neutral Danish <!--del_lnk--> steamer which was sailing between the two fleets, found German scouts engaged in the same mission. Beatty moved to cut the German ships off from their base. The first shots of the battle were fired when <!--del_lnk--> <i>Galatea</i> of the British 1st Light <!--del_lnk--> Cruiser Squadron mistook two German <!--del_lnk--> destroyers for cruisers and engaged them. <i>Galatea</i> was subsequently hit at extreme range by her German counterpart, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Elbing</i>, of Rear Admiral Bodicker's Scouting Group II.<p>At 15:30, Beatty sighted Hipper's cruisers moving north-west (position 1 on map). Hipper promptly turned away to lead Beatty towards Scheer. Beatty, some three miles (5 km) from Rear-Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Sir Hugh Evan-Thomas's <!--del_lnk--> 5th Battle Squadron, turned to the enemy and signalled by flag for the 5th Battle Squadron to follow. Given the distance and visibility, the 5th could not read the flag signals; and as Beatty made no effort to communicate via <!--del_lnk--> light signal or <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a> <!--del_lnk--> telegraph, the 5th continued on its original course for several minutes. At 15:45, after having the German ships within range for over ten minutes, and with both fleets roughly parallel at 15,000 yards (14 km), Hipper opened fire followed by Beatty (position 2). Thus began the opening phase of the fleet action, known as the "Run to the South".<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23570.jpg.htm" title="Beatty's flagship Lion burning after being hit by a salvo from Lützow."><img alt="Beatty's flagship Lion burning after being hit by a salvo from Lützow." height="153" longdesc="/wiki/Image:HMS_Lion_%281910%29.jpg" src="../../images/235/23570.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23570.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Beatty's flagship <!--del_lnk--> <i>Lion</i> burning after being hit by a salvo from <!--del_lnk--> <i>Lützow</i>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Beatty ordered his ships to engage in a line, one British ship engaging with one German and his <!--del_lnk--> flagship <!--del_lnk--> <i>Lion</i> doubling on the German flagship <!--del_lnk--> <i>Lützow</i>. However, due to a mistake on the British part, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Derfflinger</i> was left unengaged and free to fire without disruption, while <!--del_lnk--> <i>Moltke</i> drew fire from two battlecruisers. The Germans drew first blood. Hipper's five battlecruisers promptly registered hits on three of the six British battlecruisers. Nearly 10 minutes passed before the British managed to score their first hit. The first near-disaster of the battle occurred when a 12 inch (305 mm) salvo from <!--del_lnk--> <i>Lützow</i> wrecked "Q" turret of Beatty's <!--del_lnk--> flagship <!--del_lnk--> <i>Lion</i>. Dozens of crewmen were instantly killed, but a far larger catastrophe was averted when Major <!--del_lnk--> Francis Harvey of the <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Marines.htm" title="Royal Marines">Royal Marines</a>, the mortally wounded turret commander, ordered the magazine doors shut and the magazine flooded, thereby preventing the fickle propellant from setting off a massive explosion. <i>Lion</i> was saved, but <!--del_lnk--> <i>Indefatigable</i> was not so lucky. At 16:00 she was smashed aft by three 11 inch (280 mm) shells from <!--del_lnk--> <i>Von der Tann</i>, causing damage sufficient to knock her out of line. <i>Von der Tann</i> landed another 11 inch (280 mm) salvo on one of her 12 inch (305 mm) turrets at near-maximum range. The plunging shells easily pierced the armour and, with no time for the heroics that saved <i>Lion</i>, <i>Indefatigable</i> was ripped apart by a magazine explosion, sinking in moments with all but two of her crew of 1,019 officers and men (position 3).<p>The odds had been evened to Hipper's benefit, but not for long. Evan-Thomas had finally brought up his squadron of four "super-dreadnoughts" — fast battleships of the <!--del_lnk--> <i>Queen Elizabeth</i> class armed with 15 inch (381 mm) guns. With 15 inch (381 mm) shells landing on his ships and unable to respond effectively at long range with his smaller guns, Hipper was in a tight spot, but he knew Scheer's main body was fast approaching and his baiting mission was close to completion. The battlecruiser action intensified again: at 16:25 <!--del_lnk--> <i>Queen Mary</i> was hit by what may have been a combined salvo from <!--del_lnk--> <i>Derfflinger</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Seydlitz</i>, and she disintegrated in a magazine explosion with all but nine of her 1,275 man crew lost.<p>Shortly after, a salvo struck on or about the <i>Princess Royal</i>, which disappeared in spray and smoke. A signalman leapt to the bridge of the <i>Lion</i>, "<i>Princess Royal</i> blown up, sir." Beatty famously turned to his <!--del_lnk--> flag captain, "Chatfield, there seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today. Turn two-points to port," i.e. two points nearer the enemy (position 4).<p>At about 16:30, the <!--del_lnk--> <i>Southampton</i> of Beatty's 2nd <!--del_lnk--> Light Cruiser Squadron led by Commodore <!--del_lnk--> William Goodenough sighted the main body of Scheer's High Seas Fleet, dodging numerous heavy-calibre salvos to report the detailed strength of the Germans: sixteen dreadnoughts with six older battleships. Simultaneously a destroyer action raged between the battlecruiser fleets, as British destroyers meleed with their German counterparts and managed to put a torpedo into <i>Seydlitz</i>. The destroyer <i>Nestor</i>, under the command of Captain Bingham, sank two German <!--del_lnk--> torpedo boats, the <i>V-27</i> and the <i>V-29</i>, before she and another destroyer, the <i>Nomad</i>, were immobilized by hits and later sunk by Scheer's dreadnoughts.<p>Beatty headed north to draw the Germans towards Jellicoe and broke contact with the Germans at about 16.45 (position 5). Beatty's move towards Jellicoe is called the "Run to the North". Because Beatty once again failed to signal his intentions adequately, the super-dreadnoughts of the <!--del_lnk--> 5th Battle Squadron found themselves lagging behind the battlecruisers and heading directly into the main body of the <!--del_lnk--> High Seas Fleet.Their difficulty was compounded by Evan-Thomas, who gave the order to "turn in succession" rather than "turn together". This resulted in all four ships turning, in succession, in the same patch of sea, for which the High Seas Fleet had ample time to find the range. For a period they had to fend off the lead German dreadnoughts and Hipper's battlecruisers on their own. <!--del_lnk--> <i>Malaya</i> sustained heavy casualties in the process, lessened by the initiative of the Captain in turning early; the 15 inch (381 mm) fire of the British ships remained effective, causing severe damage to the German battlecruisers (position 6).<p>Jellicoe was now aware that full fleet engagement was nearing, but had insufficient information on the position and course of the Germans. <!--del_lnk--> Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Horace Hood's 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron was ordered to speed ahead to assist Beatty, while <!--del_lnk--> Rear-Admiral Arbuthnot's 1st <!--del_lnk--> Cruiser Squadron patrolled the van of the main body for eventual deployment of Jellicoe's dreadnought columns. Around 17:30 the cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Black Prince</i> of Arbuthnot's squadron, bearing southeast, came within view of Beatty's leading 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron, establishing the first visual link between the converging bodies of the Grand Fleet. Simultaneously the signals cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Chester</i>, steaming behind Hood's battlecruisers, was intercepted by the van of the German scouting forces under Rear-Admiral Bodicker. Heavily outnumbered by Bodicker's four light cruisers, <i>Chester</i> was pounded before being relieved by Hood's heavy units which swung back westward for that purpose. Hood's flagship <!--del_lnk--> <i>Invincible</i> disabled the light cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Wiesbaden</i> as Bodicker's other ships fled toward Hipper and Scheer, in the mistaken belief that Hood was leading a larger force of British capital ships from the north and east. Another destroyer action ensued as German <!--del_lnk--> torpedo boats attempted to blunt the arrival of this new formation.<p><a id="The_fleet_action" name="The_fleet_action"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The fleet action</span></h2>
<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23571.png.htm" title=" "><img alt=" " height="574" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Jutland_fleet_action.png" src="../../images/235/23571.png" width="425" /></a></span></div>
<p>In the meantime Beatty and Evan-Thomas had resumed their engagement of Hipper's battlecruisers, this time with the visual conditions to their advantage. With several of his ships damaged, Hipper turned back to Scheer around 18.00, just as Beatty's flagship <i>Lion</i> was finally spotted by Jellicoe on the <!--del_lnk--> <i>Iron Duke</i>. Jellicoe promptly demanded the latest position of the German forces from Beatty, who failed to respond to the question for almost ten minutes.<p>Jellicoe, having overestimated the enemy forces, was in a worrying position, needing to know the position of the Germans in order to judge when and how to deploy his battleships from their cruising formation in column into a single battle line. The deployment could be onto either the western or the eastern column and had to be carried out before the Germans arrived; but early deployment could mean losing any chance of a decisive encounter. Deploying to the west would bring his fleet closer to Scheer, gaining valuable time as dusk approached, but the Germans might arrive before the manoeuvre was complete. Deploying to the east would take the force away from Scheer, but Jellicoe's ships might be able to <!--del_lnk--> cross the "T" and would have the advantage of silhouetting Scheer's forces against the setting sun to the west. Deployment would take twenty irreplaceable minutes, and the fleets were closing at speed. Jellicoe ordered deployment to the east at 18:10 ❷.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23572.jpg.htm" title="This photograph, taken from the deck of a British ship at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 gives some idea of the conditions in which the battle was fought."><img alt="This photograph, taken from the deck of a British ship at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 gives some idea of the conditions in which the battle was fought." height="115" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Jutland.jpg" src="../../images/235/23572.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23572.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> This photograph, taken from the deck of a British ship at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 gives some idea of the conditions in which the battle was fought.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Meanwhile Hipper had rejoined Scheer, and the combined High Seas Fleet was heading north, directly toward Jellicoe. Scheer had no indication that Jellicoe was at sea, let alone that he was bearing down from the northwest, and was distracted by the intervention of Hood's ships to his north and east. Beatty's four surviving battlecruisers were now crossing the van of the British dreadnoughts to join Hood's three battlecruisers; in doing so, Beatty nearly rammed Rear-Admiral Arbuthnot's flagship <!--del_lnk--> <i>Defence</i>.<p>Arbuthnot's obsolete <!--del_lnk--> armoured cruisers had no real place in the coming clash between modern dreadnoughts, but he was attracted by the drifting hull of the crippled <i>Wiesbaden</i>. With <!--del_lnk--> <i>Warrior</i>, <i>Defence</i> closed in for the kill, only to blunder right into the gunsights of Hipper's and Scheer's oncoming capital ships. <i>Defence</i> was destroyed in a spectacular explosion viewed by most of the deploying Grand Fleet, sinking with all hands (903 officers and men). <i>Warrior</i> was hit badly but spared immolation by the mishap of the nearby superdreadnought <!--del_lnk--> <i>Warspite</i>. <i>Warspite</i> had been steaming near 25 knots (46 km/h) to keep pace with the 5th Battle Squadron as it tailed Beatty's battlecruisers in the run north, creating enough strain to jam her rudder. Drifting in a wide circle, she appeared as a juicy target to the German dreadnoughts and took thirteen hits, inadvertently drawing fire from the hapless <i>Warrior</i>. This maneouvre from <i>Warspite</i> was known as "Windy Corner". Despite surviving the onslaught, <i>Warspite</i> was soon ordered back to port by Evan-Thomas.<p>As <i>Defence</i> sank, Hipper moved within range of Hood's 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron. <i>Invincible</i> inflicted two below-waterline hits on <!--del_lnk--> <i>Lützow</i> that would ultimately doom Hipper's flagship, but at about 18:30 abruptly appeared as a clear target before <i>Lützow</i> and <i>Derfflinger</i>. A series of 12 inch (305 mm) shells struck <i>Invincible</i>, which blew up and split in two, killing all but six of her crew of 1,032 officers and men, including Rear Admiral Hood.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23573.jpg.htm" title="Approximate positions of the British fleet at about 19:00 ❹, from The Fighting at Jutland, edited by H. W. Fawcett and G. W. W. Hooper, circa 1921."><img alt="Approximate positions of the British fleet at about 19:00 ❹, from The Fighting at Jutland, edited by H. W. Fawcett and G. W. W. Hooper, circa 1921." height="298" longdesc="/wiki/Image:British_positions_at_Jutland.jpg" src="../../images/235/23573.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23573.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Approximate positions of the British fleet at about 19:00 ❹, from <i>The Fighting at Jutland</i>, edited by H. W. Fawcett and G. W. W. Hooper, circa 1921.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>By 18:30 the main fleet action was joined for the first time, with Jellicoe effectively "crossing Scheer's T" ❸. Jellicoe's flagship <i>Iron Duke</i> quickly scored a series of hits on the lead German dreadnought, <!--del_lnk--> <i>König</i>, but in this brief exchange, which lasted only minutes, as few as ten of the Grand Fleet's twenty-four dreadnoughts actually opened fire. The Germans were hampered by poor visibility in addition to being in an unfavourable tactical position. Realizing he was heading into a trap, Scheer ordered his fleet to turn and flee at 18:33. Amid a pall of smoke and mist Scheer's forces succeeded in disengaging.<p>Conscious of the risks to his capital ships posed by torpedoes, Jellicoe did not chase directly but headed south, determined to keep the High Seas Fleet west of him. Scheer knew that it was not yet dark enough to escape and his fleet would suffer terribly in a stern chase, so at 18:55 he doubled back to the east ❹. In his memoirs he wrote, "the manoeuvre would be bound to surprise the enemy, to upset his plans for the rest of the day, and if the blow fell heavily it would facilitate the breaking loose at night." But the turn to the east took his ships towards Jellicoe's.<p>Commodore <!--del_lnk--> Goodenough's 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron dodged the fire of German battleships for a second time to reestablish contact with the High Seas Fleet shortly after 19:00. By 19:15, Jellicoe had crossed the "T" yet again ❺. This time his arc of fire was tighter and deadlier, causing severe damage to the Germans, particularly Rear-Admiral Behncke's leading 3rd Battle Squadron. At 19:17, for the second time in less than an hour, Scheer turned to the west, ordering a major torpedo attack by his destroyers and a "death ride" by Scouting Group I's four remaining battlecruisers — <i>Lützow</i> being out of action and abandoned by Hipper — to deter a British chase. In this portion of the engagement the Germans sustained thirty-seven heavy hits while inflicting only two, <i>Derfflinger</i> alone receiving fourteen. Nonetheless Scheer slipped away as sunset (at 20:24) approached. The last major engagement between capital ships took place as the surviving British battlecruisers caught up with their German counterparts, which were briefly relieved by Rear-Admiral Mauve's obsolete pre-dreadnoughts ❻. As <!--del_lnk--> <i>King George V</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Westfalen</i> exchanged a few final shots, neither side could have imagined that the only encounter between British and German dreadnoughts in the entire war was already concluded.<p>At 21:00, Jellicoe, knowing of the Grand Fleet's deficiencies in night-fighting, decided to try to avoid a major engagement until early dawn. He placed a screen of cruisers and destroyers behind his battle fleet to patrol the rear as he headed south to guard against Scheer's expected escape to Ems ❼. In reality Scheer opted to cross Jellicoe's wake and escape via <!--del_lnk--> Horns Reef. Luckily for Scheer, Jellicoe's scouts failed to report his true course while Jellicoe himself was too cautious to judge from extensive circumstantial evidence that the Germans were breaking through his rear.<p>While the nature of Scheer's escape and Jellicoe's inaction indicate the overall superiority of German night-fighting proficiency, the night's results were no more clear-cut than the battle as a whole. <i>Southampton</i>, Commodore Goodenough's flagship which had scouted so proficiently, was heavily damaged but managed to sink the German light cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Frauenlob</i> which went down at 22:23 with all hands (320 officers and men). But at 02:00 on <!--del_lnk--> 1 June, <i>Black Prince</i> of the ill-fated 1st Cruiser Squadron met a grim fate at the hands of the battleship <!--del_lnk--> <i>Thüringen</i>, blowing up with all hands (857 officers and men) as her squadron leader <!--del_lnk--> <i>Defence</i> had done hours earlier. At 02:10, several British destroyer <!--del_lnk--> flotillas launched a torpedo attack on the German battlefleet. At the cost of five destroyers sunk and some others damaged, they managed to sink the predreadnought <!--del_lnk--> <i>Pommern</i> with all hands (844 officers and men), as well as to torpedo the light cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Rostock</i> and causing another, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Elbing</i>, to be rammed by the dreadnought <!--del_lnk--> <i>Posen</i> and abandoned. The battlecruiser <i>Lützow</i> was torpedoed at 01:45 on orders of her captain (von Harder) by the destroyer G38 after the surviving crew of 1,150 transferred to destroyers that came alongside.<p>The Germans were helped in their escape by the failure of British naval intelligence in London to relay a critical radio intercept giving the true position of the High Seas Fleet. By the time Jellicoe finally learned of Scheer's whereabouts at 04:15 it was clear the battle could no longer be resumed. There would be no "<!--del_lnk--> Glorious First of June" in 1916.<p><a id="The_outcome" name="The_outcome"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The outcome</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23574.jpg.htm" title="SMS Seydlitz was heavily damaged in the battle, hit by twenty-one heavy shells and one torpedo. 98 men were killed and 55 injured."><img alt="SMS Seydlitz was heavily damaged in the battle, hit by twenty-one heavy shells and one torpedo. 98 men were killed and 55 injured." height="221" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SMS_Seydlitz_damage.jpg" src="../../images/235/23574.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23574.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> SMS <i>Seydlitz</i> was heavily damaged in the battle, hit by twenty-one heavy shells and one torpedo. 98 men were killed and 55 injured.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23575.jpg.htm" title="Member of crew of SMS Westfalen"><img alt="Member of crew of SMS Westfalen" height="377" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Marynarz_Wilhelmshaven_SMS_Westfalen.jpg" src="../../images/235/23575.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23575.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Member of crew of SMS <i>Westfalen</i></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>At Jutland, 99 German ships sank 115,000 tons of British metal, while 151 British ships sank 62,000 tons of German steel. The British lost 6,094 seamen, the Germans 2,551. Several other ships were badly damaged, such as HMS <i>Lion</i> and SMS <i>Seydlitz</i>. At the end of the battle the British had maintained their numerical superiority and had twenty-four dreadnoughts and battlecruisers still able and ready to fight while the Germans had ten.<p>For the British, the outcome was a marginal tactical gain. Although they had lost more ships and had not destroyed the German fleet as intended, the Germans had retreated to port and the British were in command of the area. At a strategic level the outcome was more clear cut. The damaged British ships were restored to operational use more quickly than the German ships. However, the High Seas Fleet remained active and its presence as a <!--del_lnk--> fleet in being prevented a complete <!--del_lnk--> blockade of Germany. Nevertheless the Germans showed superior fighting power when taking into consideration their much smaller force.<p>The British examination of their performance identified two main problems:<ul>
<li>Their armour-piercing shells exploded outside the German armour rather than penetrating and exploding within. As a result some German ships with only 8 inch (203 mm) armour survived hits from 15 inch (381 mm) shells. Had these shells performed to design, German losses would probably have been greater.<li>Communication between ships and the British commander-in-chief were poor. For most of the battle Jellicoe had no idea where the German ships were, even though British ships were in contact. They failed to report positions contrary to the Grand Fleet Battle Plan. Some of the signalling was carried out by flag instead of wireless — a questionable procedure given the mixture of haze and smoke that obscured the battlefield.</ul>
<p><a id="Battlecruiser_design_and_handling" name="Battlecruiser_design_and_handling"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Battlecruiser design and handling</span></h3>
<p>The weak design and faulty use of the battlecruisers were important in the serious losses of the British. The battle is often regarded as demonstrating that the Royal Navy was technologically and operationally inferior to the German Navy. Jellicoe wrote in his dispatch:<dl>
<dd>"The disturbing feature of the battle-cruiser action is the fact that five German battle-cruisers engaging six British vessels of this class, supported after the first twenty minutes, although at great range, by the fire of four battleships of the "Queen Elizabeth" class, were yet able to sink <i>Queen Mary</i> and <i>Indefatigable</i> … The facts which contributed to the British losses were, first, the indifferent armour protection of our battle-cruisers, particularly as regards turret armour and deck plating, and, second, the disadvantage under which our vessels laboured in regard to the light … The German organisation at night is very good. Their system of recognition signals is excellent. Ours is practically nil. Their <!--del_lnk--> searchlights are superior to ours and they use them with great effect. Finally, their method of firing at night gives excellent results. I am reluctantly compelled to the opinion that under night conditions we have a good deal to learn from them".</dl>
<p>During the summer of 2003, a diving expedition examined the wrecks of <i>Invincible</i>, <i>Queen Mary</i>, <i>Defence</i>, and <i>Lützow</i> to investigate the cause of the British ships' tendency to suffer from internal explosions. On this evidence, a major part of the blame may be laid on lax handling of the <!--del_lnk--> cordite propellant for the shells of the main guns. This, in turn, was a product of current British naval doctrine, which emphasised a rapid rate of fire in the direction of the enemy rather than slower, more accurate fire. In practice, the cordite could not be supplied to the guns rapidly enough through the hoists and hatches; in order to bring up the propellant for the next broadside before the time when it had to be loaded, many safety doors which should have been kept shut to safeguard against flash fires were open. Furthermore, whereas the German propellant <i>RP C/12</i> was supplied in brass cylinders, British cordite was supplied in silk bags, making it more susceptible to flash fires. The doctrine of a high rate of fire also led to the decision in 1913 to increase the supply of shells and cordite held on the British ships by 50 per cent, for fear of running out of ammunition; when this caused the capacity of the ships' magazines to be exceeded, cordite was stored in insecure places (Lambert, 36).<p>The memoirs of Alexander Grant, gunner on <i>Lion</i>, show that some British officers were well aware of the dangers of careless handling of cordite:<dl>
<dd>"With the introduction of cordite to replace powder for firing guns, regulations regarding the necessary precautions for handling explosives became unconsciously considerably relaxed, even I regret to say, to a dangerous degree throughout the Service. The gradual lapse in the regulations on board ship seemed to be due to two factors. First, cordite is a much safer explosive to handle than gun-powder. Second, but more important, the altered construction of the magazines on board led to a feeling of false security … The iron or steel deck, the disappearance of the wood lining, the electric lights fitted inside, the steel doors, open because there was now no chute for passing cartridges out; all this gave officers and men a comparative easiness of mind regarding the precautions necessary with explosive material".</dl>
<p>After the battle the <!--del_lnk--> Admiralty produced a report critical of the cordite handling practices. By this time, however, Jellicoe had been promoted to <!--del_lnk--> First Sea Lord and Beatty to command of the Grand Fleet; the report, which indirectly placed part of the blame for the disaster on the fleet's officers, was suppressed.<p>The battle showed that the British concept and use of the <!--del_lnk--> battlecruiser was wholly flawed. The battlecruiser had been designed according to <!--del_lnk--> Jackie Fisher's dictum that "speed is armour". They were intended to be faster than battleships, with superior <!--del_lnk--> fire control, and able to pound enemy cruisers at ranges at which the enemy could not reply. Indeed, the whole concept was negated when British battlecruisers were asked to fight German ships which were just as fast, and better armoured.<p><a id="The_Jellicoe_controversy" name="The_Jellicoe_controversy"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Jellicoe controversy</span></h3>
<p>At the time Jellicoe was criticised for his caution and for allowing Scheer to escape. Beatty in particular was convinced that Jellicoe had missed a tremendous opportunity to win another <!--del_lnk--> Trafalgar and annihilate the High Seas Fleet. Jellicoe's career stagnated; he was promoted away from active command to become <!--del_lnk--> First Sea Lord, while Beatty replaced him as commander of the <!--del_lnk--> British Grand Fleet.<p>The controversy raged within the navy for about a decade after the war. Criticism focused on Jellicoe's decision at 19:15. Scheer had ordered his cruisers and destroyers forward in a torpedo attack to cover the turning away of his battleships. Jellicoe chose to turn away to the southeast and so keep out of range of the torpedoes. If Jellicoe had instead turned to the west, could his ships have dodged the torpedoes and destroyed the German fleet? Supporters of Jellicoe, including the naval historian <!--del_lnk--> Julian Corbett, pointed out the folly of risking defeat in battle when you already have <!--del_lnk--> command of the sea. Jellicoe himself, in a letter to the Admiralty before the battle, had stated that in the event of a fleet engagement in which the enemy turned away he would assume that the intention was to draw him over mines or submarines and would decline to be so drawn. This appreciation was at the time accepted by the Admiralty. (Corbett's volume of the official history of the war, <i>Naval Operations</i>, contains the extraordinary disclaimer, "Their Lordships find that some of the principles advocated in the book, especially the tendency to minimise the importance of seeking battle and forcing it to a conclusion, are directly in conflict with their views.")<p>Whatever one thinks of the result, it is true that the stakes were very high, the pressure on Jellicoe was immense, and his caution is certainly understandable - his judgment might have been that even 90% odds in favour were not good enough on which to bet the British Empire. The former <!--del_lnk--> First Lord of the Admiralty <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a>, said of the battle that Jellicoe "was the only man on either side who could have lost the war in an afternoon." The criticism of Jellicoe also fails to give enough credit to Scheer, who was determined to preserve his fleet by avoiding a decisive engagement, and showed great skill in effecting his escape.<p><a id="Beatty.27s_actions" name="Beatty.27s_actions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Beatty's actions</span></h3>
<p>Another school of thought condemns the actions of Admiral Beatty for the failure of a complete British victory. Although Beatty was undeniably a brave man, his encounter with the High Seas Fleet almost cost the British the battle. Most of the British losses in tonnage occurred in Beatty's squadron. The three capital ships the British lost that day were all under the command of Beatty.<p>Beatty's lack of control over the battlecruiser action is often criticised. He failed to provide Jellicoe with precise information on the whereabouts of the High Seas Fleet. Beatty did not apparently appreciate the finer points of command and control over a naval engagement, or the potential weaknesses of his own ships. Beatty, aboard the battlecruiser <i>Lion</i>, repeatedly overlooked the four fast battleships of the 5th Battle Squadron under his command, engaging with six ships when better control could have given him 10 against Hipper’s five. Despite Beatty's 12" guns having greater range than Hipper's 11" guns, Beatty closed the gap between the opposing squadrons until the Germans' superior gunnery took its toll.<p>Even his famous remark "There's something wrong with our bloody ships today" could be construed as Beatty seeking to deflect blame away from himself. Despite his poor control of his battlecruisers, his neglect of the 5th Battle Squadron and inadequate battle preparedness, Beatty was fully prepared to lambast Admiral Jellicoe for not being aggressive enough; even though during the course of the battle Beatty, and Admiral Arbuthnot, had shown the folly of charging in for the attack. Jellicoe clearly understood the capabilities of his ships and the risks he faced; it is not clear that Beatty did.<p><a id="Losses" name="Losses"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Losses</span></h2>
<p><a id="British" name="British"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">British</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>Battlecruisers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Indefatigable</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Queen Mary</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Invincible</i><li>Armoured cruisers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Black Prince</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Warrior</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Defence</i><li>Flotilla Leaders <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tipperary</i><li>Destroyers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Shark</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Sparrowhawk</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Turbulent</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ardent</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Fortune</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Nomad</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Nestor</i></ul>
<p><a id="German" name="German"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">German</span></h3>
<ul>
<li>Battlecruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Lützow</i><li>Pre-Dreadnought <!--del_lnk--> <i>Pommern</i><li>Light cruisers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Frauenlob</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Elbing</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Rostock</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Wiesbaden</i><li>(Heavy Torpedo Boats) Destroyers <i>V48</i>, <i>S35</i>, <i>V27</i>, <i>V4</i>, <i>V29</i></ul>
<p><a id="Honors_Won_at_Jutland" name="Honors_Won_at_Jutland"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Honours Won at Jutland</span></h2>
<p><a id="Victoria_Cross" name="Victoria_Cross"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline"><a href="../../wp/v/Victoria_Cross.htm" title="Victoria Cross">Victoria Cross</a></span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> The Hon. Edward Barry Stewart Bingham (<!--del_lnk--> HMS Nestor)<li><!--del_lnk--> John Travers Cornwell (<!--del_lnk--> HMS Chester)<li><!--del_lnk--> Francis John William Harvey (<!--del_lnk--> HMS Lion)<li><!--del_lnk--> Loftus William Jones (<!--del_lnk--> HMS Shark)</ul>
<p><a id="Protection_of_the_British_wrecks" name="Protection_of_the_British_wrecks"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Protection of the British wrecks</span></h2>
<p>On the 90th anniversary of the battle, in <!--del_lnk--> 2006, the Ministry of Defence announced that the 14 British vessels lost in the battle were being designated as <i>protected places</i> under the <!--del_lnk--> Protection of Military Remains Act.<p><a id="Quotations" name="Quotations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Quotations</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>"Two short siren blasts rang out over the water as the main battle fleet, steaming in four groups, turned to port to form themselves in a single line of battle--the last line head battle formation in the history of the British navy. Not wooden walls this time, but walls of steel, with streamlined gray hulls instead of gilded stern galleries and figureheads, and funnels belching black smoke instead of sails close-hauled. But it was a formation Blake or Rooke or Rodney would have recognized, and approved. <!--del_lnk--> <i>King George V</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ajax</i> were first, followed by <!--del_lnk--> <i>Orion</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Royal Oak</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Iron Duke</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Superb</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Thunderer</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Benbow</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Bellerophon</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Temeraire</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Collingwood</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Colossus</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Marlborough</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>St. Vincent</i> -- twenty-seven in all, names redolent with the navy's past [...], names of admirals and generals, Greek heroes and Roman virtues. And all slowly bringing their guns to bear as they steamed into harm's way--just as their predecessors had for so many centuries in exactly the same sea. [...] <!--del_lnk--> Scheer's position was dangerous but hardly hopeless. [...] Scheer might have looked to his heavier armor to protect his ships from British shells (many of which were defective and failed to explode), while overpowering theirs with his own faster and more accurate fire. Certainly this was the moment of decisive battle he and <!--del_lnk--> Tirpitz had been yearning for. But as Scheer gazed out at the flashing fire along the horizon, he saw something else. He saw before him the entire history of the British navy, a fighting force with an unequalled reputation for invincibility in battle and bravery under fire. "The English fleet," he wrote later, "had the advantage of looking back on a hundred years of proud tradition which must have given every man a sense of superiority based on the great deeds of the past." His own navy's fighting tradition was less than two years old. At that fateful moment, Scheer was confronting not <!--del_lnk--> John Jellicoe but the ghosts of <!--del_lnk--> Nelson, <!--del_lnk--> Howe, <!--del_lnk--> Rodney, <a href="../../wp/f/Francis_Drake.htm" title="Francis Drake">Drake</a>, and the rest; and he backed down. <i><!--del_lnk--> Arthur Herman, <!--del_lnk--> To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World, <!--del_lnk--> 2004</i></ul>
<ul>
<li>“The High Seas Fleet [of Imperial Germany], developed in only sixteen years, had proved itself able to face the full might and tradition of British seapower and survive. [A variety of grave shortcomings] point to the underlying reason for the shock which Jutland administered to British pride. Already the balance of energy and vigour had begun to shift. Already the leadership in competitive endeavour had crossed the North Sea and was crossing the North Atlantic. In a sector crucial to national survival, the onset of British decline, hidden for a generation behind the splendors of the old order, was revealed. Few recognised the deeper perspectives at the time; most were concerned to argue and explain the foreground event. [. . .] Because it seemed so indecisive, Jutland was sometimes called ‘the battle that was never fought.’ It was in fact one of the more decisive battles of modern history. For it was one of the first clear indications to Britain that the creator had become the curator.” Stuart Legg. <i>Jutland.</i> 1966</ul>
<p><a id="Veterans" name="Veterans"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Veterans</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Henry Allingham, a British <a href="../../wp/r/Royal_Air_Force.htm" title="Royal Air Force">RAF</a> (originally <!--del_lnk--> RNAS) airman, is the last living veteran of the Battle of Jutland. He is still alive as of <!--del_lnk--> September 6, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, aged 110.</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jutland"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War I', 'Denmark', 'North Sea', 'Royal Navy', 'German language', 'World War I', 'North Sea', 'Denmark', 'Royal Navy', 'North Sea', 'Radio', 'Royal Marines', 'Winston Churchill', 'Victoria Cross', 'Francis Drake', 'Royal Air Force']
|
Battle_of_Lechaeum
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Lechaeum,391 BC,392 BC,Agesilaus,Amyclae,Argos,Athenian,Athens,Battle of Cnidus,Battle of Coronea (394 BC),Battle of Haliartus" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Lechaeum</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Lechaeum";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Lechaeum";
var wgArticleId = 4577840;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Lechaeum">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Lechaeum</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Ancient_History_Classical_History_and_Mythology.htm">Ancient History, Classical History and Mythology</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Lechaeum</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <a href="../../wp/c/Corinthian_War.htm" title="Corinthian War">Corinthian War</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/169/16903.png.htm" title="Image:GreeceCorinth.png"><img alt="Image:GreeceCorinth.png" height="204" longdesc="/wiki/Image:GreeceCorinth.png" src="../../images/169/16903.png" width="200" /></a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 391 BC</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Lechaeum, near <!--del_lnk--> Corinth</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athenian">Athenian</a> victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Sparta</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Iphicrates</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">Unknown</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">Unknown, but force composed almost entirely of <!--del_lnk--> peltasts.</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">600 <!--del_lnk--> hoplites</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">Minimal</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">250 killed</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size:90%; border-top:1px solid #aaa;">This battle marked the first occasion in Greek history on which a force composed primarily of light troops defeated a hoplite force.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Lechaeum</b> (<!--del_lnk--> 391 BC) was an Athenian victory in the <a href="../../wp/c/Corinthian_War.htm" title="Corinthian War">Corinthian War</a>. In the battle, the <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athenian</a> general <!--del_lnk--> Iphicrates took advantage of the fact that a <!--del_lnk--> Spartan <!--del_lnk--> hoplite regiment operating near <!--del_lnk--> Corinth was moving in the open without the protection of any missile throwing troops. He decided to ambush it with his force of spear throwers, or <!--del_lnk--> peltasts. By launching repeated hit-and-run attacks against the Spartan formation, Iphicrates and his men were able to wear the Spartans down, eventually routing them and killing just under half. This marked the first occasion in Greek military history on which a force entirely made up of peltasts had defeated a force of hoplites (heavy infantry).<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Prelude" name="Prelude"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude</span></h2>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th>Greek conflicts of the 4th century BC</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><b><a href="../../wp/c/Corinthian_War.htm" title="Corinthian War">Corinthian War</a></b><br /><!--del_lnk--> Haliartus – <!--del_lnk--> Nemea – <!--del_lnk--> Cnidus – <!--del_lnk--> Coronea – <strong class="selflink">Lechaeum</strong><br /><b>Other</b><br /><!--del_lnk--> Naxos – <!--del_lnk--> Tegyra – <!--del_lnk--> Leuctra – <!--del_lnk--> Mantinea</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 392 BC, a civil war had taken place at Corinth, in which a group of pro-Spartan <a href="../../wp/o/Oligarchy.htm" title="Oligarchy">oligarchs</a> was defeated and exiled by anti-Spartan democrats. Those exiles cooperated with Spartan forces in the region to gain control of Corinth's port on the <!--del_lnk--> Corinthian Gulf, <!--del_lnk--> Lechaeum. They then repulsed several attacks on the port by the democrats at Corinth and their <!--del_lnk--> Theban and <!--del_lnk--> Argive allies and secured their hold over the port.<p>The Athenians then sent out a force to assist in garrisoning Corinth, with Iphicrates commanding the peltasts. The Spartans and the exiles, meanwhile, raided Corinthian territory from Lechaeum, and in 391 BC King <!--del_lnk--> Agesilaus led a large Spartan army to the area and attacked a number of strong points, winning a number of successes. The Athenians and their allies were largely bottled up in Corinth, but eventually found an opportunity to take advantage of Spartan negligence.<p><a id="The_battle" name="The_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The battle</span></h2>
<p>While Agesilaus moved about Corinthian territory with the bulk of his army, he left a sizable force at Lechaeum to guard the port. Part of this force at Lechaeum was composed of men from the city of <!--del_lnk--> Amyclae, who traditionally returned home for a certain religious festival when on campaign. With this festival approaching, the Spartan commander at Lechaeum marched out with a force of hoplites and cavalry to escort the Amyclaeans past Corinth on their way home. After successfully leading his force well past the city, the commander ordered his hoplites to turn and return to Lechaeum, while the cavalry continued on with the Amyclaeans. Although he would be marching near the walls of the city with his force, he expected no trouble, believing that the men in the city were thoroughly cowed and unwilling to march out.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/244/24414.png.htm" title="Lechaeum (modern Lechaio) was ancient Corinth's seaport on the Corinthian Gulf."><img alt="Lechaeum (modern Lechaio) was ancient Corinth's seaport on the Corinthian Gulf." height="232" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lechaeum.png" src="../../images/169/16904.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/244/24414.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Lechaeum (modern <!--del_lnk--> Lechaio) was ancient Corinth's seaport on the <!--del_lnk--> Corinthian Gulf.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Athenian commanders in the city, Iphicrates, who commanded the peltasts, and Callias, who commanded the hoplites, saw that an entire Spartan <i>mora</i>, or regiment, of 600 men was marching past the city unprotected by either peltasts or cavalry, and decided to take advantage of this fact. Accordingly, the Athenian hoplites drew up a little outside Corinth, while the peltasts went after the Spartan force in pursuit, flinging spears at the Spartan hoplites.<p>To stop this, the Spartan commander ordered some of his men to charge the Athenians, but the peltasts fell back, easily outrunning the hoplites, and then, when the Spartans turned to return to the regiment, the peltasts fell upon them, flinging spears at them as they fled, and inflicted casualties. This process was repeated several times, with similar results. Even when a group of Spartan cavalrymen arrived, the Spartan commander made the curious decision that they should keep pace with the hoplites in pursuit, instead of racing ahead to ride down the fleeing peltasts. Unable to drive off the peltasts, and suffering losses all the while, the Spartans were driven back to a hilltop overlooking Lechaeum. The men in Lechaeum, seeing their predicament, sailed out in small boats to as close as to the hill as they could reach, about a half mile away. The Athenians, meanwhile, began to bring up their hoplites, and the Spartans, seeing these two developments, broke and ran for the boats, pursued by the peltasts all the way. All in all, in the fighting and pursuit, 250 of the 600 men in the regiment were killed.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<p>This battle marked the first occasion in Greek history on which a hoplite force had been defeated by a force of peltasts. News of the Spartan defeat, accordingly, was a profound shock to Agesilaus, who soon returned home to Sparta. In the months following his departure, Iphicrates reversed many of the gains that the Spartans had made near Corinth, recapturing forts and strong points that the Spartans had previously seized and garrisoned. He also launched several successful raids against Spartan allies in the region. Although the Spartans and their oligarchic allies continued to hold Lechaeum for the duration of the war, they curtailed their operations around Corinth, and no further major fighting occurred in the region.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lechaeum"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Corinthian War', 'Athenian', 'Athens', 'Corinthian War', 'Athens', 'Corinthian War', 'Oligarchy']
|
Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Leyte Gulf,October 25,October 24,San Bernardino Strait,Samar (island),Japanese battleship Musashi,Sibuyan Sea,Battleship,Surigao Strait,Japanese battleship Yamashiro,Japanese battleship Fusō" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Leyte Gulf</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Leyte Gulf";
var wgArticleId = 189095;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Leyte Gulf</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Leyte Gulf</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Pacific War</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23576.jpg.htm" title="USS Princeton on fire east of Luzon"><img alt="USS Princeton on fire east of Luzon" height="237" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Princeton_burning.jpg" src="../../images/235/23576.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Princeton</i> on fire, east of <!--del_lnk--> Luzon, <!--del_lnk--> 24 October <!--del_lnk--> 1944.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 23 October <!--del_lnk--> 1944 – <!--del_lnk--> 26 October <!--del_lnk--> 1944</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td>The <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive <!--del_lnk--> Allied victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1294.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:US_flag_48_stars.svg" src="../../images/235/23577.png" width="28" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23578.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg" src="../../images/235/23578.png" width="28" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">British Empire</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/7/785.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Australia.svg" src="../../images/235/23579.png" width="28" /></a> <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a><br /><!--del_lnk--> various others</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/256/25689.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Naval_Ensign_of_Japan.svg" src="../../images/235/23580.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Empire of Japan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1294.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:US_flag_48_stars.svg" src="../../images/235/23577.png" width="28" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> William Halsey, Jr</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/256/25689.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Naval_Ensign_of_Japan.svg" src="../../images/235/23580.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Jisaburo Ozawa</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">17 <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft_carrier.htm" title="Aircraft carrier">aircraft carriers</a><br /> 18 <!--del_lnk--> escort carriers<br /> 12 <!--del_lnk--> battleships<br /> 24 <!--del_lnk--> cruisers<br /> 141 <!--del_lnk--> destroyers and <!--del_lnk--> destroyer escorts<br /> Many <!--del_lnk--> PT boats, <!--del_lnk--> submarines and fleet auxiliaries<br /> About 1,500 <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft.htm" title="Aircraft">planes</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">4 aircraft carriers<br /> 9 battleships<br /> 19 cruisers<br /> 34 destroyers<br /> About 200 planes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">3,500 dead;<br /> 1 aircraft carrier,<br /> 2 escort carriers,<br /> 2 destroyers,<br /> 1 destroyer escort sunk</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">10,000 dead;<br /> 4 aircraft carriers,<br /> 3 battleships,<br /> 8 cruisers,<br /> 12 destroyers sunk</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Philippines campaign, 1944-45</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Leyte – <strong class="selflink">Leyte Gulf</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Ormoc Bay – <!--del_lnk--> Mindoro – <!--del_lnk--> Lingayen Gulf – <!--del_lnk--> Luzon – <!--del_lnk--> Cabanatuan – <!--del_lnk--> Bataan – <!--del_lnk--> Manila – <!--del_lnk--> Corregidor – <!--del_lnk--> Los Baños – <!--del_lnk--> Palawan – <!--del_lnk--> Visayas – <!--del_lnk--> Mindanao</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Leyte Gulf</b> the <!--del_lnk--> largest naval battle in recent history. It was fought during the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific War of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>, in the seas surrounding the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippine</a> <!--del_lnk--> island of <!--del_lnk--> Leyte from <!--del_lnk--> 23 October to <!--del_lnk--> 26 October <!--del_lnk--> 1944 between the <!--del_lnk--> Allies and the <!--del_lnk--> Empire of Japan. The Japanese attempted to repel or destroy the Allied forces stationed on Leyte after the preceding Allied invasion in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Leyte. Instead, the Allied navies inflicted a major defeat on the outnumbered <a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">Imperial Japanese Navy</a> which took away Japan's strategic force in the Pacific War. The battle was the last major naval engagement of World War II.<p>Leyte Gulf also saw the first use of <!--del_lnk--> kamikaze aircraft by the Japanese. The <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australian</a> <!--del_lnk--> heavy cruiser <!--del_lnk--> HMAS <i>Australia</i> was hit on <!--del_lnk--> 21 October, and organized suicide attacks by the "Special Attack Force" began on <!--del_lnk--> 25 October.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Strategic_background" name="Strategic_background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Strategic background</span></h2>
<p>The battles of 1943 had driven the <!--del_lnk--> Imperial Japanese Army from its bases in the <a href="../../wp/s/Solomon_Islands.htm" title="Solomon Islands">Solomon Islands</a>, and in 1944, a series of Allied amphibious landings supported by large carrier forces captured the <a href="../../wp/n/Northern_Mariana_Islands.htm" title="Northern Mariana Islands">Northern Mariana Islands</a>. The Allied victory in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Philippine Sea in June destroyed the Japanese carrier power and established Allied air and sea superiority over the Western Pacific. (Japanese airmen were not well trained due to Japan's loss of her expierienced pilots. American airmen found it so easy to shoot down the Japanese that they nicknamed the air battle "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot".)<p>This gave the Allies freedom to choose where to strike next. Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Chester Nimitz favored blockading Japanese forces in <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="The Philippines">the Philippines</a> and attacking <!--del_lnk--> Formosa (now <a href="../../wp/r/Republic_of_China.htm" title="Republic of China">Taiwan</a>). Possession of Formosa would give the Allies control of the sea routes to Japan from southern Asia, severing Japan's links with its garrisons, which would then perish from lack of supplies. <!--del_lnk--> General <!--del_lnk--> Douglas MacArthur favoured an invasion of the Philippines, which also lay across the supply lines to Japan. Leaving the Philippines in Japanese possession would be a blow to American prestige, and a personal affront to MacArthur, who in 1942 had famously vowed to return. <!--del_lnk--> President Franklin Roosevelt adjudicated the dispute; he chose the Philippines.<p>The Allied options were equally apparent to the <a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">Imperial Japanese Navy</a>. Combined Fleet Chief <!--del_lnk--> Toyoda Soemu prepared four "victory" plans: <i>Shō-Go 1</i> (捷１号作戦 <i>Shō ichigō sakusen</i>) was a major naval operation in the Philippines, while <i>Shō-Go 2</i>, <i>Sho-Go 3</i> and <i>Sho-Go 4</i> were responses to attacks on Formosa, the <!--del_lnk--> Ryūkyū Islands and the <!--del_lnk--> Kurile Islands respectively. The plans were uncompromising, complex, aggressive operations committing all available forces to a decisive battle.<p>Thus, when on <!--del_lnk--> 12 October 1944, Nimitz launched a carrier raid against Formosa to make sure that planes based there could not intervene in the <!--del_lnk--> Leyte landings, the Japanese put <i>Shō-Go 2</i> into action, launching wave after wave of attacks against the carriers, losing 600 planes in three days, almost their entire air force (or what was left of it), and leaving the Japanese navy without air cover.<p><i>Shō-Go 1</i> called for <!--del_lnk--> Vice-Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Jisaburo Ozawa's fleet, known as Northern Force, to lure the U.S. <!--del_lnk--> 3<sup>rd</sup> Fleet away from the landings using an apparently vulnerable force of carriers. The Allied <!--del_lnk--> landing forces, now lacking air cover, would then be attacked from the west by three Japanese forces: Vice-Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Takeo Kurita's command, Centre Force, based in <a href="../../wp/b/Brunei.htm" title="Brunei">Brunei</a>, would enter <!--del_lnk--> Leyte Gulf and destroy the Allied landing forces. <!--del_lnk--> Rear-Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Shoji Nishimura's and Vice-Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Kiyohide Shima's fleets, collectively called Southern Force, would act as mobile strike forces. All three forces would consist of surface ships.<p>The plan was likely to result in the destruction of one or more of the forces, but Toyoda later justified it to his American interrogators as follows:<dl>
<dd>Should we lose in the Philippines operations, even though the fleet should be left, the shipping lane to the south would be completely cut off so that the fleet, if it should come back to Japanese waters, could not obtain its fuel supply. If it should remain in southern waters, it could not receive supplies of ammunition and arms. There would be no sense in saving the fleet at the expense of the loss of the Philippines.</dl>
<p>
<br style="clear: both" />
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23581.jpg.htm" title="The four engagements in the battle of Leyte Gulf."><img alt="The four engagements in the battle of Leyte Gulf." height="436" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Leyte_map_annotated.jpg" src="../../images/235/23581.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23581.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The four engagements in the battle of Leyte Gulf.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Overview_of_the_battle" name="Overview_of_the_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Overview of the battle</span></h2>
<p>The battle consisted of four large, distinct engagements. Before these was a small strike by American submarines. See the map to the right.<ol>
<li>On the night of 23 October, two American submarines, <i>Italic text</i>Dace<i>Italic text</i> and <i>Italic text</i>Darter<i>Italic text</i> spotted Kurita's Center Force entering the Palawan Passage. The two subs submerged and fired torpedos, sinking two cruisers and crippling a third. One of the sinking cruisers was the flagship of Center Force. Admiral Kurita swam for his life. Centre Force was in chaos for hours, before Kurita was finally rescued. Kurita transferred his flag to the super-battleship <i>Italic text</i>Yamato<i>Italic text</i>. The order was then given to continue on to Leyte Gulf.<li>Kurita's force entered the <!--del_lnk--> Sibuyan Sea, northwest of Leyte, on <!--del_lnk--> 24 October. In the <b>Battle of the Sibuyan Sea</b> it was attacked by carrier aircraft and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Musashi</i> was sunk. When Kurita turned around, the American pilots thought he was retreating, but he turned again and made his way through the <!--del_lnk--> San Bernardino Strait in the night, to appear off <!--del_lnk--> Samar in the morning.<li>Nishimura's fleet headed for the <!--del_lnk--> Surigao Strait to the south, where at 03:00 on <!--del_lnk--> 25 October it ran into an American battlegroup. In the <b>Battle of Surigao Strait</b> the Japanese <!--del_lnk--> battleships <!--del_lnk--> <i>Fusō</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Yamashiro</i> were sunk, Nishimura was killed, and his surviving ships retreated west.<li>Halsey learned of the approach of Ozawa and took the bait, taking his carriers in pursuit on <!--del_lnk--> 25 October. In the <b>Battle off Cape Engaño</b> four Japanese carriers were sunk by air attacks. Ozawa's surviving ships fled for Japan.<li>Kurita arrived off Samar at about 06:00 on <!--del_lnk--> 25 October. With Halsey away in pursuit of Ozawa, the American vessels supporting the landing were vulnerable to daylight attack. But in the <b>Battle off Samar</b>, desperate American destroyer torpedo attacks, relentless air attacks and bad weather bluffed Kurita into turning back.</ol>
<p><a id="Battle_of_the_Sibuyan_Sea" name="Battle_of_the_Sibuyan_Sea"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle of the Sibuyan Sea</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23582.jpg.htm" title="Yamato under attack in the Sibuyan Sea."><img alt="Yamato under attack in the Sibuyan Sea." height="296" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Yamato_at_Sibuyan_Sea.jpg" src="../../images/235/23582.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23582.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> <i>Yamato</i> under attack in the Sibuyan Sea.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Kurita's powerful "Centre Force" consisted of five battleships (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Yamato</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Musashi</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Nagato</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Kongō</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Haruna</i>), and twelve cruisers (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Atago</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Maya</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Takao</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Chōkai</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Myōkō</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Haguro</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Noshiro</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Kumano</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Suzuya</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Chikuma</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tone</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Yahagi</i>), supported by thirteen destroyers.<p>As Kurita passed Palawan Island shortly after midnight on <!--del_lnk--> October 23, his force was spotted by the submarines <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Dace</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Darter</i>. Although the submarines' report of the sighting was picked up by the radio operator on <i>Yamato</i>, the Japanese failed to take anti-submarine precautions. Kurita's flagship <i>Atago</i> was sunk by <i>Darter</i> and <i>Maya</i> by <i>Dace</i>. Kurita transferred his flag to <i>Yamato</i>. <i>Takao</i> was damaged and turned back to Brunei with two destroyers, shadowed by the submarines. On <!--del_lnk--> October 24, <i>Darter</i> grounded on the Bombay Shoal. All efforts to get her off failed, and she was abandoned; her entire crew was rescued by <i>Dace</i>.<p>At about 08:00 on <!--del_lnk--> October 24, the force was spotted entering the narrow <!--del_lnk--> Sibuyan Sea by planes from <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Intrepid</i>. 260 planes from carriers <i>Intrepid</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Cabot</i> of Task Group 38.2 attacked at about 10:30, scoring hits on <i>Nagato</i>, <i>Yamato</i>, <i>Musashi</i> and severely damaging <i>Myōkō</i>. The second wave of planes concentrated on <i>Musashi</i>, scoring many direct hits with bombs and torpedoes. As she retreated, listing to port, a third wave from <!--del_lnk--> <i>Enterprise</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Franklin</i> hit her with eleven bombs and eight torpedoes. Kurita turned his fleet around to get out of range of the planes, passing the crippled <i>Musashi</i> as he retreated. He waited until 17:15 before turning around again to head for the San Bernardino Strait. <i>Musashi</i> finally rolled over and sank at about 19:30.<p>Meanwhile, Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Onishi Takijiro had directed his First Air Fleet of 80 planes based on <!--del_lnk--> Luzon against the carriers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Essex</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Lexington</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Princeton</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Langley</i> of Task Group 38.3 (whose planes were being used to attack airfields in Luzon to prevent Japanese land based aircraft attacks on the Allied ships in the Leyte Gulf). <i>Princeton</i> was hit by an armour-piercing bomb and burst into flames. At 15:30, the aft magazine exploded, killing 200 sailors on <i>Princeton</i> and 80 on the cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Birmingham</i> which was alongside assisting with the firefighting. <i>Birmingham</i> was so badly damaged that she was forced to retire, and other nearby vessels were damaged too. All efforts to save <i>Princeton</i> failed, and she sank at 17:50.<p>
<br style="clear: both" />
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23583.jpg.htm" title="The battle of Surigao Strait."><img alt="The battle of Surigao Strait." height="448" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Surigao_straight.jpg" src="../../images/235/23583.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23583.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The battle of Surigao Strait.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Battle_of_Surigao_Strait" name="Battle_of_Surigao_Strait"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle of Surigao Strait</span></h2>
<p>Nishimura's "Southern Force" consisted of the battleships <!--del_lnk--> <i>Yamashiro</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Fusō</i>, the cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Mogami</i>, and four destroyers. They were attacked by bombers on <!--del_lnk--> October 24 but sustained only minor damage.<p>Because of the strict radio silence imposed on the Central and Southern Forces, Nishimura was unable to synchronise his movements with Shima and Kurita. When he entered the narrow Surigao Strait at about 02:00 Shima was 40 km behind him, and Kurita was still in the Sibuyan Sea, several hours from the beaches at Leyte.<p>As they passed the cape of Panaon Island, they ran into a deadly trap set for them by the 7th Fleet Support Force. Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Jesse Oldendorf had six battleships (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Mississippi</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Maryland</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>West Virginia</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tennessee</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>California</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Pennsylvania</i>, all but the Mississippi having been resurrected from Pearl Harbour), eight cruisers (<!--del_lnk--> heavy cruisers <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Louisville</i> (Flagship), <!--del_lnk--> <i>Portland</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Minneapolis</i> and <!--del_lnk--> HMAS <i>Shropshire</i>, light cruisers <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Denver</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Columbia</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Phoenix</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Boise</i>), 29 destroyers and 39 <!--del_lnk--> PT boats. To pass the strait and reach the landings, Nishimura would have to run the gauntlet of torpedoes from the PT boats, evade two groups of destroyers, proceed up the strait under the concentrated fire of six battleships in line across the far mouth of the strait, and then break through the screen of cruisers and destroyers.<p>At about 03:00, <i>Fusō</i> and the destroyers <i>Asagumo</i>, <i>Yamagumo</i>, and <i>Mishishio</i> were hit by torpedoes launched by the destroyer groups. <i>Fusō</i> broke in two, but did not sink. Then at 03:50, the battleships opened fire. <!--del_lnk--> Radar fire control allowed American battleships to hit targets from a distance at which the Japanese could not reply. <i>Yamashiro</i> and <i>Mogami</i> were crippled by 16-inch (406 mm) armour-piercing shells. <i><!--del_lnk--> Shigure</i> turned and fled, but lost steering and stopped dead. <i>Yamashiro</i> sank at 04:19.<p>At 04:25, Shima's two cruisers (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Nachi</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ashigara</i>) and eight destroyers reached the battle. Seeing what they thought were the wrecks of both Nishimura's battleships (actually the two halves of <i>Fusō</i>), he ordered a retreat. His flagship, <i>Nachi</i>, collided with <i>Mogami</i>, flooding the latter's steering-room. <i>Mogami</i> fell behind in the retreat and was sunk by aircraft the next morning. The bow half of <i>Fusō</i> was destroyed by <i>Louisville</i> and the stern half sank off Kanihaan Island. Of Nishimura's seven ships, only <i>Shigure</i> survived.<p><i>Yamashiro</i> was the last battleship to engage another in combat, and one of very few to have been sunk by another battleship. The battle itself was the last in naval history to take place solely between all-gun warships. This was also the last battle in which one force (the Americans, in this case) was able to <!--del_lnk--> cross the T of its opponent, enabling the US ships to bring all their firepower to bear on the Japanese ships.<p><a id="Battle_off_Cape_Enga.C3.B1o" name="Battle_off_Cape_Enga.C3.B1o"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle off Cape Engaño</span></h2>
<table class="floatright" style="float:right">
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23584.jpg.htm" title="The Japanese aircraft carriers Zuikaku, left, and (probably) Zuihō come under attack by dive bombers early in the battle off Cape Engaño."><img alt="The Japanese aircraft carriers Zuikaku, left, and (probably) Zuihō come under attack by dive bombers early in the battle off Cape Engaño." height="243" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Zuikaku_at_Cape_Engano.jpg" src="../../images/235/23584.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23584.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Japanese aircraft carriers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuikaku</i>, left, and (probably) <!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuihō</i> come under attack by dive bombers early in the battle off Cape Engaño.</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23585.jpg.htm" title="The Japanese cruiser Oyodo comes alongside the damaged Zuikaku so that Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa can transfer his flag."><img alt="The Japanese cruiser Oyodo comes alongside the damaged Zuikaku so that Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa can transfer his flag." height="218" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Oyodo_alongside_Zuikaku.jpg" src="../../images/235/23585.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23585.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Japanese cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Oyodo</i> comes alongside the damaged <!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuikaku</i> so that Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Jisaburo Ozawa can transfer his flag.</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23586.jpg.htm" title="The crew of Zuikaku salute as the flag is lowered, and the Zuikaku ceases to be the flagship of the Japanese Navy."><img alt="The crew of Zuikaku salute as the flag is lowered, and the Zuikaku ceases to be the flagship of the Japanese Navy." height="214" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lowering_the_flag_on_Zuikaku.jpg" src="../../images/235/23586.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23586.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The crew of <!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuikaku</i> salute as the flag is lowered, and the <!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuikaku</i> ceases to be the flagship of the Japanese Navy.</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Ozawa's "Northern Force" had four aircraft carriers (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuikaku</i> — the last surviving carrier of the <a href="../../wp/a/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor.htm" title="Attack on Pearl Harbor">Attack on Pearl Harbour</a> — <!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuihō</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Chitose</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Chiyoda</i>), two <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> battleships partially converted to carriers (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Hyūga</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ise</i> — the aft turrets had been replaced by hangar, deck and catapult, but neither carried any planes in this battle), three cruisers (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Ōyodo</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tama</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Isuzu</i>), and nine destroyers. He had only 108 planes.<p>Ozawa's force was not spotted until 16:40 on <!--del_lnk--> October 24, because the Americans were too busy attacking Kurita and dealing with the air strikes from Luzon. On the evening of <!--del_lnk--> October 24, Ozawa intercepted a (mistaken) American communication of Kurita's withdrawal, and began to withdraw as well. But at 20:00, <!--del_lnk--> Toyoda Soemu ordered all forces to attack.<p>Halsey saw that he had an opportunity to destroy the last Japanese carrier forces in the Pacific, a blow that would completely destroy Japanese sea power and allow the U.S. Navy to attack the Japanese homelands. Believing that Kurita had been defeated by the airstrikes in the Sibuyan Sea, and was retiring to Brunei, Halsey set out in pursuit of Ozawa just after midnight with all three carrier groups and the battleships of Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Willis A. Lee's Task Force 34. In so doing, Halsey or members of his staff ignored reports from scout planes from the <i>USS Independence</i> that Kurita had turned back towards San Bernardo Strait and that the navigation lights in the strait had been turned on. When Admiral G.F. Bogan, commanding TF 38.2, radioed this information to Halsey's flagship, he was rebuffed by a staff officer, who replied "Yes, yes, we have that information." Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Willis A. Lee, who had correctly recognized that Ozawa's force was a decoy and indicated the same in a blinker message to Halsey's ship, was similarly rebuffed.<p>The U.S. Third Fleet was formidable and completely outgunned the Japanese Northern Force. Halsey had nine fleet carriers (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Intrepid</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hornet</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Franklin</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Lexington</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Bunker Hill</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Wasp</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hancock</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Enterprise</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Essex</i>), eight light carriers (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Independence</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Princeton</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Belleau Wood</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Cowpens</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Monterey</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Langley</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Cabot</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>San Jacinto</i>), six battleships (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Alabama</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Iowa</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Massachusetts</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>New Jersey</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>South Dakota</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Washington</i>), seventeen cruisers and sixty-three destroyers. He could put more than 1,000 planes in the air. But it left the landings on Leyte covered only by a handful of escort carriers and destroyers.<p>Halsey had taken the bait so temptingly dangled in front of him by Ozawa; fittingly, the engagement was to take place off a cape whose name means "deceit" in Spanish.<p>On the morning of <!--del_lnk--> October 25, Ozawa launched 75 planes to attack the Americans, doing little damage. Most of the planes were shot down by the American covering patrols. A handful of survivors made it to Luzon.<p>The American carriers launched their first attack group of 180 aircraft at dawn, before the Northern Force had been located. The search aircraft made contact at 7:10. At 8:00, the American fighters destroyed the defensive screen of 30 aircraft. Air strikes began and continued until the evening, by which time the American aircraft had flown 527 sorties against the Northern Force, sinking three of Ozawa's carriers (<i>Zuikaku</i>, <i>Zuihō</i> and <i>Chiyoda</i>) and the destroyer <i>Akitsuki</i>. The fourth carrier, <i>Chitose</i>, was disabled, as was the cruiser <i>Tama</i>. Ozawa transferred his flag to <i>Ōyodo</i>.<p>With all the Japanese carriers sunk or disabled, the main targets remaining were the converted battleships <i>Ise</i> and <i>Hyūga</i>. Their massive construction proved resistant to the air strikes, so Halsey sent Task Force 34 forward to engage them directly. But then news reached Halsey of the engagement off Samar and the disaster facing Sprague's Task Group 77.4. He abandoned the pursuit and turned south, detaching only a small force of cruisers and destroyers under Laurence T. DuBose to sink the disabled Japanese ships. <i>Ise</i> and <i>Hyūga</i> returned to Japan, where they were sunk at their moorings in 1945.<br style="clear: both" />
<p><a id="Battle_off_Samar" name="Battle_off_Samar"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle off Samar</span></h2>
<table class="floatright" style="float:right">
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23587.jpg.htm" title="The battle off Samar."><img alt="The battle off Samar." height="437" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Samar.jpg" src="../../images/235/23587.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23587.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The battle off Samar.</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23588.jpg.htm" title="The Yamato and a heavy cruiser, possibly Tone or Chikuma, in action off Samar."><img alt="The Yamato and a heavy cruiser, possibly Tone or Chikuma, in action off Samar." height="242" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Yamato_off_Samar.jpg" src="../../images/235/23588.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23588.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> <i>Yamato</i> and a heavy cruiser, possibly <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tone</i> or <!--del_lnk--> <i>Chikuma</i>, in action off Samar.</div>
</div>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Kurita passed through <!--del_lnk--> San Bernardino Strait at 03:00 on <!--del_lnk--> 25 October <!--del_lnk--> 1944 and steamed south along the coast of <!--del_lnk--> Samar.<p>To stop them, there were three groups of the Seventh Fleet commanded by Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Kinkaid, each with six <!--del_lnk--> escort carriers, and seven or eight destroyers and/or destroyer escorts. Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Sprague's Task Unit 77.4.1 ("Taffy 1") consisted of the escort carriers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Sangamon</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Suwannee</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Santee</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Petrof Bay</i>. (The remaining two escort carriers from Taffy 1, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Chenango</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Saginaw Bay</i>, had departed for <!--del_lnk--> Morotai, <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a> on October 24, carrying "dud" aircraft from other carriers for transfer ashore. They returned with replacement aircraft after the battle.) Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Felix Stump's Task Unit 77.4.2 ("Taffy 2") consisted of <!--del_lnk--> <i>Natoma Bay</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Manila Bay</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Marcus Island</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Kadashan Bay</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Savo Island</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ommaney Bay</i>. Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Clifton Sprague's Task Unit 77.4.3 ("Taffy 3") consisted of <!--del_lnk--> <i>Fanshaw Bay</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>St Lo</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>White Plains</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Kalinin Bay</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Kitkun Bay</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Gambier Bay</i>. Each escort carrier carried about 30 planes, making more than 500 planes in all. Escort carriers were slow and lightly armoured and stood little chance in an encounter with a battleship.<p>A mix-up in communications led Kinkaid to believe that Willis A. Lee's Task Force 34 of battleships was guarding the San Bernardino Strait to the north and that there would be no danger from that direction. But Lee had gone with Halsey in pursuit of Ozawa. The Japanese came upon Taffy 3 at 06:45, taking the Americans completely by surprise. Kurita mistook the escort carriers for fleet carriers and thought that he had the whole of the American Third Fleet under the 18 inch (457 mm) guns of his battleships.<p><!--del_lnk--> Clifton Sprague (no relation to Thomas Sprague) directed his Taffy 3 carriers to turn and flee towards a squall to the east, hoping that bad visibility would reduce the accuracy of Japanese gunfire, and sent his destroyers in to distract the Japanese battleships and buy time. The destroyers attacked the Japanese line with suicidal determination, drawing fire and scattering the Japanese formations as ships turned to avoid torpedoes. <i>Yamato</i> found herself between two torpedoes on parallel courses and for ten minutes, she headed away from the action, unable to turn back for fear of being hit. The American destroyers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hoel</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Johnston</i>, and destroyer escort <!--del_lnk--> <i>Samuel B. Roberts</i> were sunk and four others were damaged, but they had bought enough time for Sprague to launch planes from all three Taffy groups. There was no time to reload with armour-piercing bombs, so the planes attacked with whatever they happened to be carrying, (in some cases with depth charges). According to Morison, many aircraft, their ordnance expended, made dry runs against the Japanese warships.<p>Taffy 3 turned south and fled with shells falling around its carriers. <i>Gambier Bay</i>, bringing up the rear, was holed, slowed, then sunk, and most of the others were hit and damaged. The small carriers returned fire with the only guns they had, their single stern-mounted five-inch (127mm) anti-aircraft guns. These weapons, loaded solely with anti-aircraft shells, had little chance of inflicting significant damage on even unarmored surface ships. <i>St. Lo</i> scored a hit, to date the only known hit inflicted directly by an aircraft carrier (as opposed to by its aircraft) on an opposing surface vessel.<p>It seemed impossible for Taffy 3 to escape total destruction, and the Japanese force also began firing on the other two Taffy groups as they were able to close the range with their superior speed, but at 09:20, Kurita suddenly turned and retreated north. The air and destroyer attacks had broken up his formations, he had lost tactical control, and the heavy cruisers (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Chōkai</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Suzuya</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Chikuma</i>) had been sunk by concentrated sea and air attack. Signals from Ozawa had disabused him of the notion that he was attacking the whole of the 3rd Fleet, which meant that the longer he continued to engage, the more likely it was that he would suffer devastating air strikes from Halsey's carriers. He retreated north and then west through the San Bernardino Strait under continuous air attack. <i>Nagato</i>, <i>Haruna</i> and <i>Kongō</i> were severely damaged. He had begun the battle with five battleships; when he returned to Japan, only <i>Yamato</i> remained combat-worthy.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:362px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23589.jpg.htm" title="A 60th Anniversary ceremony in Tacloban, Philippines, on October 20, 2004"><img alt="A 60th Anniversary ceremony in Tacloban, Philippines, on October 20, 2004" height="253" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LeyteCeremony.jpg" src="../../images/235/23589.jpg" width="360" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">A 60th Anniversary ceremony in Tacloban, Philippines, on October 20, 2004</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The battle of Leyte Gulf secured the beachheads of the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Sixth Army on Leyte against attack from the sea. However, much hard fighting would be required before the island was completely in Allied hands at the end of December 1944: the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Leyte on land was fought in parallel with an air and sea campaign in which the Japanese reinforced and resupplied their troops on Leyte while the Allies attempted to interdict them and establish air-sea superiority for a series of amphibious landings in <!--del_lnk--> Ormoc Bay — engagements collectively referred to as the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Ormoc Bay.<p>The Battle of Leyte Gulf destroyed Japanese naval power and opened the way for the advance to the <!--del_lnk--> Ryūkyū Islands in 1945. The only significant Japanese naval operation for the rest of the war was the disastrous <!--del_lnk--> Operation Ten-Go in April 1945.<p>As the battle was coming to an end, Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Takijiro Onishi put his "Special Attack Force" into operation, launching kamikaze attacks against the Allied ships in Leyte Gulf. On <!--del_lnk--> 25 October, <i>Australia</i> was hit for a second time and forced to retire for repairs, while the escort carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>St. Lo</i> was sunk.<p><a id="Criticism_of_Halsey" name="Criticism_of_Halsey"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Criticism of Halsey</span></h3>
<p>Halsey was criticized for his decision to take Task Force 34 with him in pursuit of Ozawa, and for failing to dispatch it when Kinkaid first appealed for help. US Navy slang for Halsey's action has ever since been <i>Bull's Run</i>, a <!--del_lnk--> neologism combining Halsey's nickname "Bull" and the Battles of the <!--del_lnk--> Bull Run in the <a href="../../wp/a/American_Civil_War.htm" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a>. In his dispatch after the battle, he justified the decision as follows:<dl>
<dd>Searches by my carrier planes revealed the presence of the Northern carrier force on the afternoon of <!--del_lnk--> 24 October, which completed the picture of all enemy naval forces. As it seemed childish to me to guard statically San Bernardino Strait, I concentrated TF 38 during the night and steamed north to attack the Northern Force at dawn. I believed that the Centre Force had been so heavily damaged in the Sibuyan Sea that it could no longer be considered a serious menace to Seventh Fleet.</dl>
<p>Clifton Sprague, commander of Task Unit 77.4.3 in the battle off Samar, was later critical of Halsey's decision:<dl>
<dd>In the absence of any information that this exit [of the San Bernardino Strait] was no longer blocked, it was logical to assume that our northern flank could not be exposed without ample warning.</dl>
<p>Naval historian Samuel Morison wrote:<dl>
<dd>If TF 34 had been detached a few hours earlier, after Kinkaid's first urgent request for help, and had left the destroyers behind, since their fueling caused a delay of over two hours and a half, a powerful battle line of six modern battleships under the command of Admiral Lee, the most experienced battle squadron commander in the Navy, would have arrived off San Bernardino Strait in time to have clashed with Kurita's Centre Force… Apart from the accidents common in naval warfare, there is every reason to suppose that Lee would have <!--del_lnk--> crossed Kurita's T and completed the destruction of Centre Force.</dl>
<p>A message from Nimitz asking for the location of Task Force 34 led to ill-feeling between him and Halsey, owing to a misunderstood piece of <!--del_lnk--> security padding (see "<!--del_lnk--> the world wonders").<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War II', 'Philippines', 'United States', 'United Kingdom', 'Australia', 'Aircraft carrier', 'Aircraft', 'World War II', 'Philippines', 'Imperial Japanese Navy', 'Australia', 'Solomon Islands', 'Northern Mariana Islands', 'The Philippines', 'Republic of China', 'Imperial Japanese Navy', 'Brunei', 'Attack on Pearl Harbor', 'World War I', 'Indonesia', 'American Civil War']
|
Battle_of_Marathon
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Marathon,10th century AD,1896 Olympic Games,1896 Olympics,1908 Olympics,1930,440 BC,448 BC,449 BC,457 BC,460 BC" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Marathon</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Marathon";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Marathon";
var wgArticleId = 4806;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Marathon">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Marathon</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Ancient_History_Classical_History_and_Mythology.htm">Ancient History, Classical History and Mythology</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Marathon</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Greco-Persian Wars</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/169/16905.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="186" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Ac.marathon.jpg" src="../../images/169/16905.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /> The plain of Marathon today.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td>September, <!--del_lnk--> 490 BC</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Marathon, Greece</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Athenian victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Athens and <!--del_lnk--> Plataea</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persia</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Miltiades<br /><!--del_lnk--> Callimachus†</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Darius I of Persia<br /><!--del_lnk--> Datis†?<br /><!--del_lnk--> Artaphernes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">10,000 Athenians<br /> 1,000 Plataeans</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">20,000-60,000 by modern estimates <sup>1</sup></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">192 Athenians dead<br /> 11 Plateans dead</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">6,400 dead<br /> 7 ships captured</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="font-size:90%; border-top:1px solid #aaa;"><sup>1</sup> Ancient sources give numbers ranging from 200,000 to 600,000, however, these numbers cannot be taken as completely accurate as ancient historians are believed to exaggerate when giving Persian numbers.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Greco-Persian Wars</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1st Naxos – <!--del_lnk--> Ephesus – <!--del_lnk--> Sardis – <!--del_lnk--> Lade – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Naxos – <!--del_lnk--> Eretria – <strong class="selflink">Marathon</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Thermopylae – <!--del_lnk--> Artemisium – <!--del_lnk--> Salamis – <!--del_lnk--> Potidea – <!--del_lnk--> Olynthus – <!--del_lnk--> Plataea – <!--del_lnk--> Mycale – <!--del_lnk--> Sestus – <!--del_lnk--> Byzantium – <!--del_lnk--> Eion – <!--del_lnk--> Doriskos – <!--del_lnk--> Eurymedon – <!--del_lnk--> Pampremis – <!--del_lnk--> Prosoptis – <!--del_lnk--> Salamis in Cyprus</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of <!--del_lnk--> Marathon</b> (<!--del_lnk--> 490 BC) was the culmination of King <!--del_lnk--> Darius I of Persia's first major attempt to conquer the remainder of the <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greeks</a> and incorporate it into the <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian Empire</a>, to secure the weakest portion of his Western border. Most of what is known of this battle comes from <a href="../../wp/h/Herodotus.htm" title="Herodotus">Herodotus</a>.<p>Darius first sent <!--del_lnk--> Mardonius, in <!--del_lnk--> 492 BC, via a land route to Europe to strengthen Persia's hold of <!--del_lnk--> Thrace and <a href="../../wp/m/Macedon.htm" title="Macedon">Macedon</a>, which had been weakened by the <!--del_lnk--> Ionian Revolt. Although successful, most of this force perished in a storm off <!--del_lnk--> Mount Athos, and the remainder was forced to return to Asia, losing men along the way. In <!--del_lnk--> 490 BC, <!--del_lnk--> Datis and <!--del_lnk--> Artaphernes were sent in a maritime operation to subjugate the <!--del_lnk--> Cyclades islands in the central <!--del_lnk--> Aegean and punish <!--del_lnk--> Eretria and <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a> for their assistance in the Ionian revolt. Eretria was besieged and fell; then the fleet landed in Marathon bay. There they were defeated by a small force of Athenian and <!--del_lnk--> Plataean <!--del_lnk--> hoplites, despite their numerical advantage. The long run of the messenger who conveyed news of the victory to Athens became the inspiration for the <!--del_lnk--> marathon race, which was first staged at the <!--del_lnk--> 1896 Olympic Games.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Historical_sources" name="Historical_sources"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 510 BC, with the aid of <!--del_lnk--> Cleomenes I, King of Sparta, the Athenian people expelled Hippias, the <!--del_lnk--> tyrant ruler of <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a>. With Hippias' father <!--del_lnk--> Peisistratus, the family had ruled for 36 out of the previous 50 years and intended to continue Hippias' rule. Hippias fled to <!--del_lnk--> Sardis to the court of the nearest Persian <!--del_lnk--> satrap, <!--del_lnk--> Artaphernes, and promised control of Athens to the Persians if they were to restore him. When the Athenians demanded he be expelled, the satrap suggested that they ought to restore him to power. This answer moved Athens to consider herself at war with the Persians, and they gave assistance, in the form of 20 boats, to the Ionian cities embroiled in the <!--del_lnk--> Ionian Revolt (<!--del_lnk--> 499 BC–<!--del_lnk--> 494 BC). Hippias had probably fled to the court of king <!--del_lnk--> Darius during the revolt.<p>The city of Eretria had also given assistance to the Ionians. Though the assistance sent by the two cities was not very effective, it alarmed Darius and he wished to mete punishment on the two cities. In <!--del_lnk--> 492 BC, he dispatched an army under the command of his son-in-law, <!--del_lnk--> Mardonius, to Greece. Mardonius conquered <!--del_lnk--> Thrace and thus compelled <!--del_lnk--> Alexander I of Macedon to relinquish his kingdom again to Persia. However, while en route south to the Greek city-states, the Persian fleet was wrecked in a storm in <!--del_lnk--> Cape Athos, losing 300 ships and 20,000 men. Mardonius was forced to retreat to Asia. Attacks by Thracian tribes incurred losses to the retreating army.<p>Darius learned, perhaps through Hippias, the <!--del_lnk--> Alcmaeonidae, a powerful Athenian family, were opposed to <!--del_lnk--> Miltiades, who at the time was the most prominent politician of Athens. While they were not ready to help reinstate Hippias (they had helped overthrow him), they probably believed a Persian victory was inevitable and wanted to secure a better position in the new political regime that was to follow the Persian conquest of Athens. Darius wished to take advantage of this situation to conquer Athens, which would isolate Sparta and, by handing him the remainder of the Greeks in the Aegean, would to consolidate his control over Ionia. In order for the Athenians to revolt, two things would need to happen: the populace would need to be encouraged to revolt, and the Athenian army would have to leave Athens so that they could not crush it.<p>Darius decided to send a purely maritime expedition led by <!--del_lnk--> Artaphernes and <!--del_lnk--> Datis, a <!--del_lnk--> Median admiral—Mardonius had been injured in the prior campaign and had fallen out of favour—with the intention to punish <!--del_lnk--> Naxos (whose resistance to Persian attack in <!--del_lnk--> 499 BC led to the Ionian revolt) and force Eretria and Athens to submit to the Great King or be destroyed.<p><a id="Size_of_opposing_forces" name="Size_of_opposing_forces"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Size of opposing forces</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:332px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16906.jpg.htm" title="Modern drawing of a phalanx. The hoplites were not actually uniformly equipped because each soldier would buy his own arms and decorate them at his discretion."><img alt="Modern drawing of a phalanx. The hoplites were not actually uniformly equipped because each soldier would buy his own arms and decorate them at his discretion." height="234" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Greek_Phalanx.jpg" src="../../images/169/16906.jpg" width="330" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16906.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Modern drawing of a <!--del_lnk--> phalanx. The <!--del_lnk--> hoplites were not actually uniformly equipped because each <!--del_lnk--> soldier would buy his own <a href="../../wp/w/Weapon.htm" title="Weapon">arms</a> and decorate them at his discretion.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>According to Herodotus, the fleet sent by Darius consisted of 600 <!--del_lnk--> triremes, whereas, according to Cornelius Nepos, there were only 500.<p>The historical sources do not reveal how many transport ships accompanied them, if so. According to Herodotus, 3,000 transport ships accompanied 1,207 ships during Xerxes's invasion in <!--del_lnk--> 480 BC. <!--del_lnk--> Stecchini estimates the whole fleet comprised 600 ships altogether: 300 triremes and 300 transports; <!--del_lnk--> while Peter Green says there were 200 triremes and 400 transports. Ten years earlier, 200 triremes failed to subdue Naxos, so a 200 or 300 trireme fleet is perhaps inadequate for all three objectives.<p>Herodotus does not estimate the size of either army. Of the Persian army, he says they were a <i>large infantry that was well packed</i> . Among ancient sources, the poet <!--del_lnk--> Simonides, another near-contemporary, says the campaign force numbered 200,000; while a later writer, the Roman <!--del_lnk--> Cornelius Nepos estimates 200,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry, of which only 100,000 fought in the battle, while the rest were loaded into the fleet that was rounding Cape Sounion; <!--del_lnk--> Plutarch and <!--del_lnk--> Pausanias both independently give 300,000, as does the <!--del_lnk--> Suda dictionary; <a href="../../wp/p/Plato.htm" title="Plato">Plato</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Lysias assert 500,000; and <!--del_lnk--> Justinus 600,000.<p>Modern historians have also made various estimates. As Kampouris has noted, if the 600 ships were warships and not transport ships, with 30 <i>epibates</i> soldiers in each ship—the ships' foot soldiers that formed and defended from boarding parties during the sea battles—(typical for Persian ships after the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Lade; this was how many they had during <!--del_lnk--> Xerxes' invasion), the number 18,000 is attained for the troops. But since the fleet did have transport ships, it must have at least carried the Persian cavalry. Whereas Herodotus claims the cavalry was carried in the triremes, the Persian fleet had dedicated ships for this undertaking, and according to <!--del_lnk--> Ephorus, 800 transports accompanied Xerxes' invasion fleet 10 years later. Estimates for the cavalry are usually in the 1,000–3,000 range, though as noted earlier Cornelius Nepos gives 10,000.<p>Other modern historians have proposed other numbers for the infantry. Kleanthis Sandayiosis talks of 60,000 to 100,000 Persian soldiers; Christian Meier talks of over 90,000 battle troops, Peter Green of over 80,000 including the rowers; Stecchini believes there were 60,000 Persian soldiers in Marathon<!--del_lnk--> . Bussolt and <!--del_lnk--> Glotz) talk of 50,000 battle troops; general Dimitrios Gedeon <!--del_lnk--> believes there were 48,000 soldiers; while How & Wells estimate 40,000 Persians landed in Marathon; and Bengtson believes that there were no more than 20,000 Persians. Scholars claiming relatively small numbers for Persian troops argue that the army could not be very big in order to fit in the ships, which is rejected by scholars who claim large numbers, whose counterargument is as follows: if the Persian army was small, then the Eretrians combined with the Athenians and Plateans could match it, and possibly have sought battle outside Eretria. Naxos alone could field "8,000 shields" in <!--del_lnk--> 500 BC and with this force successfully defended against the 200-ship Persian invasion 10 years earlier.<p>The size of the Athenian army is another subject of debate. Some recent historians have given around 7,000–8,000, while others favour 10,000. Pausanias asserts it did not surpass 9,000, while Justinus and Cornelius Nepos both give 10,000 as the number of the Athenians. Herodotus tells us that at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Plataea eleven years later the Athenians sent 8,000 hoplites while others were at the same time engaged as <i>epibates</i> in the fleet that later fought at the <!--del_lnk--> battle of Mycale. Pausanias noticed in the trophy of the battle the names of former <a href="../../wp/s/Slavery.htm" title="Slavery">slaves</a> who were freed in exchange for military services. Also, it is possible that <i>metoikoi,</i> non-Athenian Greeks residing in Athens, were drafted since they had military obligations to Athens in times of great emergency (for example in <!--del_lnk--> 460 BC). However, for Marathon, this is not mentioned by any surviving source, and their number in Athens was not as significant in 490 BC as it became later in the century when Athens became head of the <!--del_lnk--> Delian League.<p>Athens at that time could have fielded at least four times the force it did had it chosen to also send light troops consisting of the lower classes, for ten years later at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Salamis it had a 180 trireme fleet that was manned by 32,000 rowers, and had lost some 60 ships earlier in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Artemisium. Why this did not happen has been subject to speculation. Kampouris, among others, notes that the political leanings of the lower classes were unreliable. After the Ionic revolt had shown the general unreliability of tyrants to the Persian empire, Artafernes, in <!--del_lnk--> 494 BC, had changed the regime of the Ionian city-states from tyranny to democracy, thus setting an example that was later copied, among others, by the <!--del_lnk--> Second Athenian Alliance and <a href="../../wp/a/Alexander_the_Great.htm" title="Alexander the Great">Alexander the Great</a>. There the power rested on the poor with the Persian army in place to rein in any move that threatened Persia's position. Some of the poor who remembered <!--del_lnk--> Pesistratus well, since he had given them jobs, probably hoped for a victory of the Persians and a change in regime to give them more power, which is one of the reasons Hippias ordered the landing in Marathon where the vast majority of local inhabitants were from these social classes. On the other hand, the Persian army hoped for an internal revolution in Athens so as to have an easy victory as in Eretria.<p><a id="Datis_and_Artaphernes.27_campaign_before_Marathon" name="Datis_and_Artaphernes.27_campaign_before_Marathon"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Datis and Artaphernes' campaign before Marathon</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16907.jpg.htm" title="German map of the Persian Wars. Datis and Artapherne's campaign is the green line"><img alt="German map of the Persian Wars. Datis and Artapherne's campaign is the green line" height="242" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Perserkriege.jpg" src="../../images/169/16907.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16907.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> German map of the Persian Wars. Datis and Artapherne's campaign is the green line</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>After one year of preparations, the expeditionary force first gathered on <!--del_lnk--> Cilicia in the spring of <!--del_lnk--> 490 BC. The army boarded the Persian transports, escorted by the fleet, sailed to <!--del_lnk--> Samos and from there to <!--del_lnk--> Naxos. After a fruitless campaign there (the Naxians fled to the mountains of their island and the Persians became masters of a deserted city), it sailed at first across the <!--del_lnk--> Cyclades islands and then for <!--del_lnk--> Carystus on the south coast of <!--del_lnk--> Euboea, which quickly surrendered. From there, they sailed up the Euboean channel to Eretria where their aims became clear to the Greeks.<p>The Eretrians sent an urgent message to Athens for help. The Athenians agreed, but realized they needed more help. They sent the courier <a href="../../wp/p/Pheidippides.htm" title="Pheidippides">Pheidippides</a> to the Spartans and probably messengers to other cities. Pheidippides arrived in Sparta on the next day, the ninth of the month. According to Herodotus, the Spartans agreed to help, but being superstitious, said that they could not march to war until the Carneian festival ended on the full moon (<!--del_lnk--> September 9). Some modern historians hold that the Spartans set out late because of a <!--del_lnk--> helot revolution, and claim this was the time of a revolution mentioned by Plato.<p>The only ones to stand by the Athenians in the battle were the <!--del_lnk--> Plataeans. The small <!--del_lnk--> Boeotian city of Plataea had allied itself with Athens in the <!--del_lnk--> sixth century BC against <!--del_lnk--> Thebes and decided to repay the help by coming to assist the Athenians in their time of need, just as the Athenians had come to their need earlier. Their forces numbered, according to Cornelius Nepos, 1000 hoplites. The Athenian-Plataean alliance was to continue until the end of Greek independence to the Romans, in the <!--del_lnk--> second century BC.<p>As to what was the course of the Persian fleet after Carystos, there is disagreement among modern historians. Some claim that Artaphernes took part of the Persian army and laid siege to Eretria, while the remainder of the army crossed with Datis and landed in the <!--del_lnk--> Bay of Marathon. Others claim that the events happened consecutively: at first Eretria was besieged and fell, and later the whole army landed at <!--del_lnk--> Schinias beach. Herodotus reports that there was a council of the 10 tribal <!--del_lnk--> Strategoi, with five voting for moving to confront the enemy and five voting against it. <!--del_lnk--> Callimachus was the <!--del_lnk--> polemarch in that year, one of the nine <!--del_lnk--> archons or leaders of Athens. Until a few years earlier, power in Athens resided in the nine archons who at the time were elected. There was a constitutional change though a few years earlier and the archons were chosen by lot, thus turning the polemarch's leadership into a symbolic power. Due to the deadlock, it was decided by the elected tribal generals to ask for his opinion. After a very dramatic appeal by <!--del_lnk--> Miltiades, he cast the deciding vote in favour of attack. Thus, an Athenian army made of <!--del_lnk--> hoplites (numbering probably 10,000) under the polemarch, marched to the north and east from Athens to meet the enemy near the landing site.<p>The army encamped near the shrine of Heracles, where they blocked the way to Athens in an easily defendable position. The position also permitted intervention in Athens, had any revolution taken place. The Plataeans joined them there. The army was composed of men from the aristocracy—the upper and upper-middle classes—since armament in ancient Greece was the responsibility of the individual and not of the state (even in Sparta), so men armed themselves for battle with whatever they could afford. Before <!--del_lnk--> Ephialte's constitutional reforms in <!--del_lnk--> 457 BC, most power rested on these social classes since many positions of significant political power in the regime were reserved for those who had significant property.<p><a id="Before_the_battle" name="Before_the_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Before the battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:333px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16908.png.htm" title="An ancient Greek hoplite. From a map created by the Department of History, United States Military Academy, West Point."><img alt="An ancient Greek hoplite. From a map created by the Department of History, United States Military Academy, West Point." height="267" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Greek_hoplite.png" src="../../images/169/16908.png" width="331" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16908.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An ancient Greek hoplite. From a map created by the Department of History, United States Military Academy, West Point.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>For five days, the armies peacefully confronted each other, hoping for developments, with the Athenian army slowly narrowing the distance between the two camps, with pikes cut from trees covering their sides against cavalry movements. Since time worked in favour of the Athenians, it probably was the Persian army that decided to move. On the sixth day, when <!--del_lnk--> Miltiades was the <i>prytanevon</i> general, a rather bureaucratic rank consistent with the duty officer of modern armies—either <!--del_lnk--> 12 September or possibly <!--del_lnk--> 12 August <!--del_lnk--> 490 BC reckoned in the <!--del_lnk--> proleptic Julian calendar—Artaphernes decided to move and attack Athens. The Athenians came to know from two Ionian defectors that the Persian cavalry was gone. Where and why, along with the Persian battle plan, has been a matter of debate. Several historians have supposed that this was either because the cavalry had boarded the ships, that it was inside the camp since it could not stay in the field during the night, or because it was moving along with the whole army among the northern route to reach the walls of Athens. It should be noted that Herodotus does not mention that the army was boarding the ships. Some light is given by the "χωρίς ἰππεῖς" (=without cavalry) entry of the Suda dictionary. It states: "The cavalry left. When Datis surrendered and was ready for retreat, the Ionians climbed the trees and gave the Athenians the signal that the cavalry had left. And when <!--del_lnk--> Miltiades realized that, he attacked and thus won. From there comes the above-mentioned quote, which is used when someone breaks ranks before battle".<p>According to Herodotus, by that point the generals had decided to give up their rotating leadership of the army in favour of <!--del_lnk--> Miltiades, who decided to move against the Persians very early in that morning. The distance between the two armies had narrowed to <i>a distance not less than 8 stadia</i> or about 1500 meters, which they covered running, much to the surprise on the Persians who <i>in their minds they charged the Athenians with madness which must be fatal, seeing that they were few and yet were pressing forwards at a run, having neither cavalry nor archers</i>. It is also a matter of debate whether the Greek army ran the whole distance or marched until they reached the limit of the archers' effectiveness, the "beaten zone", or roughly 200 yards, and then ran towards the ranks of their enemy. Proponents of the latter opinion note that it is very hard to run that large a distance carrying the heavy weight of the hoplitic armor. Proponents of the former opinion note the following arguments: the ancient Greeks—as indicated by the surviving statues—were in very good physical condition (the hoplite run had recently become an <!--del_lnk--> Olympic sport), and if they had run the entire distance, it would have been covered in about 5 minutes, whereas if they had marched, it would have probably taken 10—enough time for the Persians to react, which they did not.<p><a id="Composition_and_formation_of_Persian_forces" name="Composition_and_formation_of_Persian_forces"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Composition and formation of Persian forces</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16909.jpg.htm" title="Lancers, detail from the archers' frieze in Darius' palace, Susa. Silicious glazed bricks, c. 510 BC. Louvre"><img alt="Lancers, detail from the archers' frieze in Darius' palace, Susa. Silicious glazed bricks, c. 510 BC. Louvre" height="429" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Archers_frieze_Darius_palace_Louvre_AOD487.jpg" src="../../images/169/16909.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16909.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Lancers, detail from the archers' frieze in Darius' palace, Susa. Silicious glazed bricks, c. 510 BC. <!--del_lnk--> Louvre</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The bulk of Persian infantry were probably <!--del_lnk--> Takabara lightly armed <!--del_lnk--> archers. Several lines of evidence support this. First of all, Herodotus does not mention a shield wall in Marathon, that was typical of the heavier <!--del_lnk--> Sparabara formation, as he specifically mentions in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Plataea and the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Mycale. Also, in the depiction of the battle of Marathon in the <!--del_lnk--> Poikele Stoa that was dedicated a few years later in <!--del_lnk--> 460 BC when most veterans of the war were still alive, that is described by Pausanias, only Takabara infantry are depicted. Finally, it seems more likely that the Persians would have sent the more multipurpose Takabara soldiers for a maritime operation than the specialized Sparabara heavy (by Persian standards) infantry. The Takabara troops carried a small woven shield, probably incapable of withstanding heavy blows from the spears of the hoplites. The usual tactic of the Persian army was for the archers to shoot volleys of <!--del_lnk--> arrows to weaken and disorganise their enemy while their excellent cavalry destroyed the enemy. On the other hand, the <i>ὄπλον</i> (hoplon), the heavy shield of the hoplites (which gave them their name) was capable of protecting the man who was carrying it (or more usually the man on his left) from both the arrows and the spears of its enemies.<p>During the Ionian revolt, the phalanx was seriously weakened by the arrows of the Persian archers before it reached hand to hand combat with them—where it excelled—because it moved slowly in order to maintain formation. This is why Miltiades, who had great experience with the Persian army since he was forced to follow it during its campaign in <!--del_lnk--> Scythia in <!--del_lnk--> 513 BC, ordered his army to run. This could have meant that they could end up fighting in disordered ranks. Herodotus, however, mentions in the description of the battle that the retreat of the center happened in order, meaning that the formation was not broken during the initial rush. This is supported by the fact that there were few casualties in that phase of the battle. The Greek centre was reduced to four ranks, from the normal eight. The wings maintained their eight ranks. If Miltiades only wanted to extend the line and prevent the Persian line from overlapping the Greeks, he would have weakened, uniformly, the whole army so as not to leave weak points. But Herodotus categorically states that it was a conscious decision by Miltiades to strengthen the sides.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16910.png.htm" title="The initial positions of the troops before the clash. The Greeks (blue) have pulled up their wings to bolster the corners of their significantly smaller centre in a ]] shape. The Persian fleet (red) waits some way off to the east. This great distance to the ships played a crucial role in the later stages of the battle."><img alt="The initial positions of the troops before the clash. The Greeks (blue) have pulled up their wings to bolster the corners of their significantly smaller centre in a ]] shape. The Persian fleet (red) waits some way off to the east. This great distance to the ships played a crucial role in the later stages of the battle." height="227" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Marathon_Initial_Situation.png" src="../../images/169/16910.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16910.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The initial positions of the troops before the clash. The Greeks (blue) have pulled up their wings to bolster the corners of their significantly smaller centre in a ]] shape. The Persian fleet (red) waits some way off to the east. This great distance to the ships played a crucial role in the later stages of the battle.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The front of the Greek army numbered 250 × 2 (for the centre tribes) plus 125 × 9 (for the side tribes and the Plateans) = 1,625 men. If the Persians had the same density as the Greeks and were 10 ranks strong then the Persian army opposing the Greeks numbered 16,000. men But if the front had a density of 1 meter compared to 1.4 meters for every Greek and had a density of 40 to 50 ranks as seems to be the maximum possible for the plain—the Persian army had even fought in 110 ranks—then the Persian army numbered 44,000 to 55,000. If the Persian front numbered 2,000 men and they fought in 30 ranks (as <!--del_lnk--> Xenophon in <i><!--del_lnk--> Cyropaedia</i> claims) they numbered 60,000. Kampouris suggests it numbered 60,000 since that was the standard size of a major Persian formation equivalent to a modern day army corps.<p><a id="The_enemies_engage_in_hand_to_hand_combat" name="The_enemies_engage_in_hand_to_hand_combat"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The enemies engage in hand to hand combat</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16911.png.htm" title="The Greek wings (blue) envelop the Persian wings (red) while their strategically-thinned centre filled the gap made between them."><img alt="The Greek wings (blue) envelop the Persian wings (red) while their strategically-thinned centre filled the gap made between them." height="236" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Marathon_Greek_Double_Envelopment.png" src="../../images/169/16911.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16911.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Greek wings (blue) envelop the Persian wings (red) while their strategically-thinned centre filled the gap made between them.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>As the Greeks advanced, their strong wings drew ahead of the center, which retreated according to plan. The retreat must have been significant since Herodotus mentions that the centre retreated towards <!--del_lnk--> Mesogeia, not several steps. However, ranks did not break since the overall casualties were low, and most were sustained during the last phase of the battle. The Greek retreat in the centre, besides pulling the Persians in, also brought the Greek wings inwards, shortening the Greek line. The result was a <!--del_lnk--> double envelopment, and the battle ended when the whole Persian army, crowded into confusion, broke back in <!--del_lnk--> panic towards their ships and were pursued by the Greeks. The sides were left open so that the Persian ranks would break, since even a desperate army that maintained numerical advantage after a battle could still defeat its enemy. Some, unaware of the local terrain ran towards the swamps, where they drowned.<p>Herodotus records that 6,400 Persian bodies were counted on the battlefield, and it is unknown how many perished in the swamps. Also seven Persian ships are mentioned captured though none are mentioned sunk. The Athenians lost 192 men and the Plateans 11<!--del_lnk--> , most during the final chase when their heavy armor proved a disadvantage. Among the dead was Callimachus. A story is given to us about <!--del_lnk--> Kynaigeirus, brother of the playwright <!--del_lnk--> Aeschylus who was also among the fighters. He charged into the sea, grabbed one Persian trireme, and started pulling it towards shore. A member of the crew saw him, cut off his hand, and <!--del_lnk--> Kynaigeirus died.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<p>As soon as Datis had put to sea, the two centre tribes stayed to guard the battlefield and the rest of the Athenians marched to Athens. A shield had been raised over the mountain near the battle plain, which was either the signal of a successful Alcmaeonid revolution or (according to Herodotus) a signal that the Persian fleet was moving towards Phaliro. They arrived in time to prevent Artaphernes from securing a landing. Seeing his opportunity lost, Artaphernes turned about and returned to Asia. On the next day, the Spartan army arrived, having covered the 220 kilometers in only 3 days. Some modern historians doubt they traveled so fast. The Spartans toured the battlefield at Marathon, and agreed that the Athenians had won a great victory.<p>The Greek upset of the Persians, who had not been defeated on land for many decades (except by Samagaetes and Scythes, both nomad tribes), caused great problems for the Persians. The Persians were shown as vulnerable. Many subject peoples revolted following the defeat of their overlords at Marathon. Order was not restored for several years.<p>Simonides captured the feeling on his famous epigram<dl>
<dd>Ελλήνων προμαχούντες Αθηναίοι Μαραθώνι<dd>χρυσοφόρων Μήδων εστόρεσαν δύναμιν</dl>
<p>which means<dl>
<dd>Athenians fighting at the forefront of the Greeks in Marathon<dd>Humiliated the power of the gilded Medes</dl>
<p>For the Athenians, the victory gave confidence to the people. Two years later <!--del_lnk--> ostracism was exercised for the first time.<p><a id="Conclusion" name="Conclusion"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Conclusion</span></h2>
<p>Marathon was in no sense a decisive victory over the Persians. However, it was the first time the Greeks had bested the Persians on land, and "their victory endowed the Greeks with a faith in their destiny that was to endure for three centuries, during which western culture was born." (J.F.C. Fuller, <i>A Military History of the Western World</i>). <!--del_lnk--> John Stuart Mill's famous opinion is that the Battle of Marathon was more important an event for British history than the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Hastings.htm" title="Battle of Hastings">Battle of Hastings</a>. Kampouris sees the battle as a failure of purely maritime operations, due to their inherent weaknesses.<p>The longest-lasting legacy of Marathon was the <!--del_lnk--> double envelopment. Some historians have claimed it was random rather than a conscious decision by Miltiades. As they say, was it really <i><a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Cannae.htm" title="Battle of Cannae">Cannae</a> before Cannae</i>? In hoplitic battles, the two sides were usually stronger than the centre because either they were the weakest point (right side) or the strongest point (left side). However, before Miltiades (and after him until <a href="../../wp/e/Epaminondas.htm" title="Epaminondas">Epaminondas</a>), this was only a matter of quality, not quantity. Miltiades had personal experience from the Persian army and knew its weaknesses. As his course of action after the battle shows (invasions of the <!--del_lnk--> Cyclades islands), he had an integrated strategy upon defeating the Persians, hence there is no reason he could have not thought of a good tactic. The double envelopment has been used ever since, e.g. the <!--del_lnk--> German Army used a tactic at the <!--del_lnk--> battle of Tannenberg during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> similar to that used by the Greeks at Marathon.<p><a id="Date_of_the_battle" name="Date_of_the_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Date of the battle</span></h2>
<p>Herodotus mentions for several events a date in the <!--del_lnk--> lunisolar calendar, of which each Greek city-state used a variant. Astronomical computation allows us to derive an absolute date in the <!--del_lnk--> proleptic Julian calendar which is much used by historians as the chronological frame. August Böckh in 1855 concluded that the battle took place on <!--del_lnk--> 12 September <!--del_lnk--> 490 BC in the Julian calendar, and this is the conventionally accepted date. However, this depends on when the Spartans held their festival and it is possible that the Spartan calendar was one month ahead of that of Athens. In that case the battle took place on <!--del_lnk--> 12 August <!--del_lnk--> 490 BC. If the battle really occurred in August, temperatures in the area typically reach over 30 degrees <!--del_lnk--> Celsius and thus make the marathon run event less plausible. See D.W. Olson <i>et al.</i>, <!--del_lnk--> "The Moon and the Marathon", <i>Sky & Telescope</i> Sep. 2004, pp. 34—41.<p><a id="Religious_and_supernatural_events_associated_with_the_battle" name="Religious_and_supernatural_events_associated_with_the_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Religious and supernatural events associated with the battle</span></h2>
<p>A victory that important against a superior enemy was bound to have consequences on religious life. Herodotus mentions that Pheidippides was visited by the god Pan on his way to Sparta for help. He asked why the Athenians did not honour him and Pheidippides promised that they would to do so from now on. After the battle, a temple was built to him, and a sacrifice was annually offered. The festival of "Agroteras Thusia", (Thusia means sacrifice) was held at <!--del_lnk--> Agrae near <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a>, in honour of <!--del_lnk--> Artemis Agrotera, in fulfillment of a vow made by the city, before the battle, to offer in sacrifice a number of goats equal to that of the <!--del_lnk--> Persians slain in the conflict. The number being so great, it was decided to offer 500 goats yearly. Plutarch mentions that the Athenians saw <!--del_lnk--> Theseus, the mythical hero of Athens leading the army in full battle gear in the charge against the Persians and indeed he was depicted in the mural of the Poikele Stoa along with the gods fighting for the Athenians. Furthermore Pausanias mentions that at times ghosts were seen and heard to engage in battle in Marathon. This phenomenon appears to have also been reported in the modern era: according to newspapers of the time in the year <!--del_lnk--> 1930, visitors to the region claimed to have heard a sound of metal clashes and screams coming from the battlefield. This event is usually mentioned in books about <!--del_lnk--> paranormal events in Greece and is usually associated with the <!--del_lnk--> drosoulites phenomenon of Southern <!--del_lnk--> Crete, though the scientific explanation given for the latter (a <!--del_lnk--> mirage from <a href="../../wp/n/North_Africa.htm" title="North Africa">North Africa</a>) can not explain the former event.<p><a id="Marathon_run" name="Marathon_run"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Marathon run</span></h2>
<p>According to Herodotus, an Athenian runner named <a href="../../wp/p/Pheidippides.htm" title="Pheidippides">Pheidippides</a> ran from Athens to <!--del_lnk--> Sparta to ask for assistance before the battle. This event was later turned into the popular legend that Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens. The traditional story relates that Pheidippides, an Athenian herald, ran the distance between the battlefield by the town of <!--del_lnk--> Marathon to <a href="../../wp/a/Athens.htm" title="Athens">Athens</a> to announce the Greek victory over <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persia</a> in the Battle of Marathon (<!--del_lnk--> 490 BC) with the word "Νενικήκαμεν!" (Nenikékamen, We were victorious!) and died on the spot. Most accounts incorrectly attribute this story to the historian Herodotus, who wrote the history of the <!--del_lnk--> Persian Wars in his <i>Histories</i> (composed about <!--del_lnk--> 440 BC). The story first appears in <!--del_lnk--> Plutarch's <i>On the Glory of Athens</i> in the 1st century AD, who quotes from <!--del_lnk--> Heracleides of Pontus' lost work, giving the runner's name as either Thersipus of Erchius or Eucles. <!--del_lnk--> Lucian of Samosata (2nd century AD) also gives the story but names the runner Philippides (not Pheidippides). It should be noted that in some medieval codices of Herodotus the name of the runner between Athens and Sparta before the battle is given as Philippides and in a few modern editions this name is preferred.<p>Another point of debate is the path taken by the runner. There are two exits from the battlefields. One is towards the south that follows modern-day <!--del_lnk--> Marathonos avenue leading through <!--del_lnk--> Pikermi over the pass of Stavros Agias Paraskevis and down modern day <!--del_lnk--> Messogeion avenue to Athens, which is 40.8 kilometers (25.3 miles) long—following the ancient roads, the modern road has been lengthened somewhat to accommodate vehicular traffic to and from Mesogeia. The other is towards the north, over the modern village of Vranas, up the relatively high mountain pass towards modern day Dionyssos and the northern suburbs of Athens, which is 34.5 kilometers (21.4 Miles) long. It is more likely that the runner followed the safer, shorter but more tiring northern route than the longer but unsafe southern route. For the first modern <!--del_lnk--> marathon during the <!--del_lnk--> 1896 Olympics, the southern route was chosen probably because it was the main modern route between Marathon and Athens. That event was won by the Greek <!--del_lnk--> Spyros Loues who, being a local, knew that he had to conserve energy to pass the Stavros Agias Paraskevis pass, unlike his foreign competitors who were unaware of the terrain and were abandoned there. The race today is run over a distance of 42.195 km (26.2 miles). This length was set during the <!--del_lnk--> 1908 Olympics because the royal family wanted to see the runners starting from the balcony of the palace.<p>A popular legend about the battle and the run was recorded by <!--del_lnk--> Andreas Karkavitsas in the 19th century and also <!--del_lnk--> Linos Politis <i>On the plain of Marathon there was once a big battle. Many Turcs with many ships came to enslave the land and from there pass to Athens... The blood turned into a river, and reached from the roots of Vranas until Marathon on the other side. It reached the sea and painted the waves red. Lots of lamentation and evil took place. In the end the Greeks won... Then two run to bring the news to Athens. One of them went on horseback and the other on foot and in full gear. The rider went towards <!--del_lnk--> Halandri and the one on foot towards Stamata. Swift-footed he went up Aforesmos and down towards the village. As women saw him they run towards him:</i><p><i>Stamata</i>, <i>they shouted,</i> stamata <i>(=stop).</i> <i>They wanted to ask what happened in the battle. He stopped a moment to catch his breath and then took the road again. Finally he reaches <!--del_lnk--> Psychico. There he was almost near death</i> (pige na ksepscyhesei) <i>, his feet were shaking, he felt like falling down. But he composed himself, took a deep breath, continued and finally reached Athens.</i><p><i>We won</i> <i>he said, and immediately he fell down and died. The rider has yet to come. But there where the foot runner stopped and took a breath is named after his act. The first village is called Stamata and the second Psychico.</i><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marathon"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Persian Empire', 'Greece', 'Persian Empire', 'Herodotus', 'Macedon', 'Athens', 'Athens', 'Weapon', 'Plato', 'Slavery', 'Alexander the Great', 'Pheidippides', 'Battle of Hastings', 'Battle of Cannae', 'Epaminondas', 'World War I', 'Athens', 'North Africa', 'Pheidippides', 'Athens', 'Persian Empire']
|
Battle_of_Midway
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Midway,World War II,World War II,1942,1944,1976 in film,1985,1986,2005,Afrika Korps,Aircraft" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Midway</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Midway";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Midway";
var wgArticleId = 60112;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Midway">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Midway</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="metadata topicon" id="featured-star" style="right:10px; display:none;">
<div style="position: relative; width: 14px; height: 14px; overflow: hidden">
<div style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; font-size: 100px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 100px; z-index: 3"><!--del_lnk--> <span title="This is a featured article. Click here for more information."> </span></div>
<div style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 2"><a class="image" href="../../images/0/24.png.htm" title="This is a featured article. Click here for more information."><img alt="This is a featured article. Click here for more information." height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:LinkFA-star.png" src="../../images/0/24.png" width="14" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Midway</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Theatre of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/235/23590.jpg.htm" title="SBDs approach the burning Mikuma (Center)."><img alt="SBDs approach the burning Mikuma (Center)." height="239" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SBDs_and_Mikuma.jpg" src="../../images/235/23590.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /> U.S. <!--del_lnk--> Douglas <!--del_lnk--> SBD Dauntless <!--del_lnk--> dive bomber at Midway</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> June 4–<!--del_lnk--> June 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1942</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td>near <!--del_lnk--> Midway Island</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive American victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1294.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:US_flag_48_stars.svg" src="../../images/12/1294.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> United States</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">
<center><a class="image" href="../../images/256/25689.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Naval_Ensign_of_Japan.svg" src="../../images/235/23591.png" width="20" /></a> <a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">Empire of Japan</a></center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Chester W. Nimitz,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Frank J. Fletcher,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Raymond A. Spruance</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Isoroku Yamamoto,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Chuichi Nagumo,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Tamon Yamaguchi †</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">3 carriers,<br /> ~50 support ships,<br /> 233 carrier aircraft,<br /> 127 land-based aircraft</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">4 carriers,<br /> 7 battleships,<br /> ~150 support ships,<br /> 248 carrier aircraft,<br /> 16 floatplanes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">1 carrier sunk,<br /> 1 destroyer sunk,<br /> 307 killed</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">4 carriers sunk,<br /> 1 cruiser sunk,<br /> 3,057 killed</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th>Pacific campaigns 1941-42</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor.htm" title="Attack on Pearl Harbor">Pearl Harbour</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Thailand – <!--del_lnk--> Malaya – <!--del_lnk--> Wake – <!--del_lnk--> Hong Kong – <!--del_lnk--> Philippines – <!--del_lnk--> Dutch East Indies – <!--del_lnk--> New Guinea – <!--del_lnk--> Singapore – <!--del_lnk--> Australia – <!--del_lnk--> Indian Ocean – <!--del_lnk--> Doolittle Raid – <!--del_lnk--> Solomons – <!--del_lnk--> Coral Sea – <strong class="selflink">Midway</strong></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Pacific Ocean campaign</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor.htm" title="Attack on Pearl Harbor">Pearl Harbour</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Wake Island – <!--del_lnk--> Doolittle Raid – <strong class="selflink">Midway</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Aleutian Islands – <!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal – <!--del_lnk--> Solomon Islands – <!--del_lnk--> Gilbert and Marshall Islands – <!--del_lnk--> Marianas and Palau – <!--del_lnk--> Volcano and Ryūkyū Islands</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Midway</b> was a pivotal <!--del_lnk--> naval battle in the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Theatre of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>. It took place from <!--del_lnk--> June 4 to <!--del_lnk--> June 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1942, approximately one month after the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Coral Sea, and six months after the <!--del_lnk--> Empire of Japan's <a href="../../wp/a/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor.htm" title="Attack on Pearl Harbor">attack on Pearl Harbour</a> that had led to a state of war between the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> of America and Japan. During the battle, the <!--del_lnk--> United States Navy defeated a <a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">Japanese</a> attack against <a href="../../wp/m/Midway_Atoll.htm" title="Midway Atoll">Midway Atoll</a> (located northwest of <!--del_lnk--> Hawai’i) and destroyed four Japanese <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft_carrier.htm" title="Aircraft carrier">aircraft carriers</a> and a <!--del_lnk--> heavy cruiser while losing a <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft_carrier.htm" title="Aircraft carrier">carrier</a> and a <!--del_lnk--> destroyer.<p>The battle was a crushing defeat for the Japanese and is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>. The battle permanently weakened the Japanese Navy, particularly the loss of over 200 naval aviators. Strategically, the U.S. Navy was able to seize the initiative in the Pacific and go on the offensive.<p>The Japanese plan of attack, which included a secondary attack against the <!--del_lnk--> Aleutian Islands by a smaller fleet, was an attempt by the Japanese to lure America's few remaining carriers into a trap and sink them. The Japanese also intended to occupy Midway Atoll to extend Japan's defensive perimeter further from its home islands. This operation was considered preparatory for further attacks against <a href="../../wp/f/Fiji.htm" title="Fiji">Fiji</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Samoa.htm" title="Samoa">Samoa</a>, as well as the invasion of Hawai’i.<p>Had the Japanese captured Midway, the northeastern <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Rim would have been essentially defenseless. Success also would have removed the last capital ships in the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Pacific Fleet, ensuring Japanese naval supremacy in the Pacific until perhaps late 1943. Thus, the Midway operation, like the attack on Pearl Harbour that had plunged the United States into war, was not part of a campaign for the conquest of the United States itself, but was aimed at its elimination as a strategic Pacific power, thereby giving Japan a free hand in establishing its <!--del_lnk--> Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It was also hoped that another defeat would force the Americans to the negotiating table to terminate the Pacific War.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Strategic_context" name="Strategic_context"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Strategic context</span></h2>
<p>Japan had been highly successful in rapidly securing its initial war aims, including the reduction of the <a href="../../wp/p/Philippines.htm" title="Philippines">Philippines</a>, the capture of <!--del_lnk--> Malaya and <a href="../../wp/s/Singapore.htm" title="Singapore">Singapore</a>, and the securing of the vital resource areas in <!--del_lnk--> Java, <!--del_lnk--> Borneo, and <a href="../../wp/i/Indonesia.htm" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a>. As such, preliminary planning for a second phase of operations commenced as early as January 1942. However, due to strategic differences between the <!--del_lnk--> Imperial Army and <a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">Imperial Navy</a>, as well as infighting between the Navy's <!--del_lnk--> GHQ and Admiral Yamamoto's <!--del_lnk--> Combined Fleet, the formulation of effective strategy was hampered, and the follow-on strategy was not finalized until April 1942. At that time, Admiral Yamamoto succeeded in winning a bureaucratic struggle that placed his operational concept — that of further operations in the Central Pacific — ahead of the other contending plans. These included operations either directly or indirectly aimed at Australia, as well as into the Indian Ocean. In the end, Yamamoto's barely-veiled threat to resign unless he got his way succeeded in carrying his agenda forward.<p>Yamamoto's primary strategic concern was the elimination of America's remaining carrier forces. This concern was exacerbated by the "<!--del_lnk--> Doolittle Raid" on <a href="../../wp/t/Tokyo.htm" title="Tokyo">Tokyo</a> (<!--del_lnk--> April 18, <!--del_lnk--> 1942) by U.S. Army <!--del_lnk--> B-25's staging off the carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hornet</i>. The raid, while militarily negligible, was a severe <!--del_lnk--> psychological <!--del_lnk--> shock to the Japanese, and proved the existence of a gap in the defenses around the Japanese home islands. Sinking America's aircraft carriers and seizing Midway, the only other strategic island besides Hawaii in the East Pacific, was the only means of nullifying this threat. Yamamoto reasoned that an operation against the main carrier base at <!--del_lnk--> Pearl Harbour would induce them to fight. However, given the strength of American land-based airpower on Hawaii, he judged that the powerful American base could not be attacked directly. Instead, he selected the atoll of Midway, which lay at the extreme northwest end of the <!--del_lnk--> Hawai’ian Island chain, some 1300 miles (2100 km) from <!--del_lnk--> Oahu. Midway itself was not especially important in the larger scheme of Japan's intentions; however, the Japanese felt that the Americans would consider Midway a vital outpost of Pearl Harbour and would therefore strongly defend it.<p><a id="The_plan" name="The_plan"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The plan</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23592.jpg.htm" title="A picture of Midway Atoll, taken several months before the battle."><img alt="A picture of Midway Atoll, taken several months before the battle." height="282" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Midway_Atoll.jpg" src="../../images/235/23592.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23592.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A picture of Midway Atoll, taken several months before the battle.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>As was typical of many Japanese naval plans during the <!--del_lnk--> Second World War, Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Isoroku Yamamoto's battle plan was quite complex. Additionally, his designs were predicated on optimistic intelligence information suggesting that <!--del_lnk--> <i>Enterprise</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hornet</i>, forming Task Force 16, were the only carriers available to the U.S. Pacific forces at the time. <!--del_lnk--> <i>Lexington</i> had been sunk and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Yorktown</i> had been severely mauled (and was believed sunk) at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Coral Sea just a month earlier. Likewise, the Japanese believed that <!--del_lnk--> <i>Saratoga</i> was undergoing repairs on the West Coast after taking torpedo damage. As such, the Japanese believed that they would have at most two American fleet carriers to deal with at the point of attack.<p><a id="Yamamoto.27s_decisive_battle" name="Yamamoto.27s_decisive_battle"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Yamamoto's decisive battle</span></h3>
<p>More important, however, was Yamamoto's belief that the Americans had been demoralized by their frequent defeats during the preceding six months. Yamamoto felt that deception would be required to lure the U.S. Fleet into a fatally compromising situation. As such, he dispersed his forces such that their full extent (particularly his <!--del_lnk--> battleships) would be unlikely to be discovered by the Americans prior to the decisive battle. Unfortunately for the Japanese, their emphasis on stealth and dispersal meant that none of their formations was mutually supporting. Critically, Yamamoto's supporting Main Body of battleships and cruisers would trail Vice-Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Chuichi Nagumo's carrier Striking Force by several hundred miles. Japan's heavy surface forces were intended to destroy whatever part of the U.S. Fleet might come to Midway's relief, once Nagumo's carriers had weakened them sufficiently for a daylight gun duel to be fought. However, their distance from Nagumo's carriers would have grave implications during the battle, as most of the battleships could have provided valuable <!--del_lnk--> anti-aircraft coverage instead of being reserved for a surface duel that would never be fought.<p><a id="Aleutian_diversion" name="Aleutian_diversion"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Aleutian diversion</span></h3>
<p>Likewise, the <!--del_lnk--> Japanese operations aimed at the Aleutian Islands (Operation AL) removed yet more ships from the force that would strike at Midway. However, whereas prior histories of the battle have often characterized the Aleutians operation as a feint designed to draw American forces northwards, recent scholarship on the battle has shown that Operation AL was no such thing. In fact, according to the original Japanese battle plan, Operation AL was designed to be launched simultaneously with the initiation of operations against Midway itself. However, a 1-day delay in the sailing of Nagumo's task force had the effect of initiating Operation AL a day before its counterpart. In any event, Operation AL was a misguided expenditure of offensive assets that could have been better used in the south.<p><a id="The_military_forces" name="The_military_forces"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The military forces</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p><a id="U.S._intelligence" name="U.S._intelligence"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">U.S. intelligence</span></h2>
<p>U.S. naval intelligence (in cooperation with the British and Dutch) had been reading parts of the primary Imperial Japanese Navy communications system (<!--del_lnk--> JN-25, an enciphered code) for some time, and had made considerable progress on the latest version, which had been issued just before the attack on Pearl Harbour. The abundance of radio intelligence harvested from the Japanese Navy’s "wild-goose chase" of the Doolittle Raid task force further compromised JN-25.<p>Thus, by early May 1942, the Americans knew that the Japanese were preparing to launch a massive offensive against an objective (identified as "AF" in early June), and could hope to ambush them. Through analysis of other evidence, <!--del_lnk--> Station Hypo, Nimitz's <!--del_lnk--> cryptanalytic unit at Pearl Harbour, was convinced that "AF" was Midway. On the other hand, Nimitz's superior in Washington, Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Ernest King and the Navy's signals intelligence unit, <!--del_lnk--> OP-20-G, believed AF to be in the <!--del_lnk--> Aleutian Islands.<p>An ingenious suggestion by Hypo's commander, Commander <!--del_lnk--> Joseph J. Rochefort, gave Admiral Nimitz confirmation of AF's identity. By secure undersea cable, Rochefort asked the Midway base commander to radio a message back to Pearl Harbour stating that drinking water was running low due to a breakdown of the water plant — and to use a <!--del_lnk--> cipher known to have been compromised by the Japanese. Soon after, a deciphered intercept stated "AF" had fresh-water problems, and that the attack force should plan accordingly. "AF" was therefore confirmed to be Midway. Further information from JN-25 decrypts came in slowly, partly as a result of the hurried nature of Japanese preparations, and it was not until the very last minute that <!--del_lnk--> CINCPAC Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Chester Nimitz had enough information to put together an ambush for the Midway attack force. For his intelligence coup in confirming the true objective of the coming Japanese attack, Commander Rochefort was posthumously awarded the <!--del_lnk--> Distinguished Service Medal in <!--del_lnk--> 1985 (after being cheated of it at the time due to navy politics), and later the <!--del_lnk--> Presidential Medal of Freedom in <!--del_lnk--> 1986.<p><a id="Prelude_to_battle" name="Prelude_to_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude to battle</span></h2>
<p><a id="U.S._forces" name="U.S._forces"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">U.S. forces</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23593.jpg.htm" title="USS Yorktown at Pearl Harbor days before the battle."><img alt="USS Yorktown at Pearl Harbor days before the battle." height="242" longdesc="/wiki/Image:G13065_USS_Yorktown_Pearl_Harbor_May_1942.jpg" src="../../images/235/23593.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23593.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Yorktown</i> at Pearl Harbour days before the battle.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In order to do battle with an enemy force anticipated to be composed of 4-5 carriers, Nimitz needed every available U.S. flight deck. He already had Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> William Halsey's two-carrier <!--del_lnk--> task force at hand — but Halsey himself was stricken with <!--del_lnk--> psoriasis, and had to be replaced with Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Raymond A. Spruance (Halsey's escort commander). Nimitz also hurriedly called back Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Frank Jack Fletcher's task force from the <!--del_lnk--> South West Pacific Area. They reached Pearl Harbour just in time to provision and re-sortie. <!--del_lnk--> USS Saratoga was still under repair and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Yorktown</i> (CV-5) herself had been severely damaged at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Coral Sea, but <!--del_lnk--> Pearl Harbour Naval Shipyard worked around the clock to patch up the carrier. Though several months of repairs was estimated for the <i>Yorktown</i>, 72 hours at <!--del_lnk--> Puget Sound Naval Shipyard was enough to restore it to a battle-worthy (if still compromised) aircraft carrier. Her flight deck was patched, whole sections of internal beams were cut out and replaced, and several new squadrons (drawn from carrier <i>Saratoga</i>) were put aboard her. Admiral Nimitz showed total disregard for established procedure in getting his third and last available carrier ready for battle — repairs continued even as <i>Yorktown</i> sortied, work crews from the repair ship <!--del_lnk--> <i>Vestal</i>, herself still damaged from the raid on Pearl Harbor six months earlier, still aboard. Just three days after pulling into drydock at Pearl Harbour, the ship was again under steam, as its band played "<!--del_lnk--> California, Here I Come".<p><a id="Japanese_forces" name="Japanese_forces"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Japanese forces</span></h3>
<p>Meanwhile, as a result of their participation in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Coral Sea, the Japanese aircraft carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuikaku</i> was in port in <!--del_lnk--> Kure (near <!--del_lnk--> Hiroshima), waiting for an air group to be brought to her to replace her destroyed planes. The heavily damaged <!--del_lnk--> <i>Shōkaku</i> was awaiting further repairs; she had suffered three bomb hits at Coral Sea and required months in drydock. Despite the likely availability of sufficient aircraft between the two ships to re-equip <i>Zuikaku</i> with a composite air group, the Japanese made no serious attempt to get her into the forthcoming battle. Consequently, instead of bringing six heavy carriers into battle, Admiral Nagumo would now only have four.<p>Japanese strategic scouting arrangements prior to the battle also fell into disarray. A picket line of Japanese <!--del_lnk--> submarines was late getting into position (thanks in part to Yamamoto's haste), which let the American carriers proceed to their assembly point northeast of Midway (known as "Point Luck") without being detected. A second attempt to use 4-engine reconnaissance <!--del_lnk--> seaplanes to scout Pearl Harbour prior to the battle (and thereby detect the absence or presence of the American carriers), known as "Operation K" , was also thwarted when Japanese submarines assigned to refuel the search aircraft discovered that the refueling point — a hitherto deserted bay off of <!--del_lnk--> French Frigate Shoals — was occupied by American warships (because the Japanese had carried out an identical mission in March). Thus, Japan was deprived of any knowledge concerning the movements of the American carriers immediately before the battle. Japanese radio intercepts also noticed an increase in both American submarine activity and U.S. message traffic. This information was in the hands of both Nagumo and Yamamoto prior to the battle. However, Japanese operational plans were not changed in reaction to these disquieting omens. Nimitz, by contrast, had a very good idea of where Nagumo would appear, thanks to his superior signals intelligence.<p><a id="The_battle" name="The_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The battle</span></h2>
<p><a id="Initial_air_attacks" name="Initial_air_attacks"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Initial air attacks</span></h3>
<p>Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Chuichi Nagumo launched his initial attack wave of 108 aircraft at 04:30 on <!--del_lnk--> June 4. At the same time, the Japanese launched seven search aircraft (one of which was launched 30 minutes late), as well as <!--del_lnk--> combat air patrol (CAP) fighters. Japanese reconnaissance arrangements were flimsy, with too few aircraft to adequately cover the assigned search areas, and laboring under poor weather conditions to the northeast and east of the task force.<p>At 06:20, Japanese carrier <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft.htm" title="Aircraft">aircraft</a> bombed and heavily damaged the U.S. base on Midway. Midway-based Marine fighter pilots, flying <!--del_lnk--> Grumman F4F Wildcats and obsolete <!--del_lnk--> Brewster F2As, made a defense of Midway and suffered major losses. American anti-aircraft fire was accurate and intense, damaging many enemy aircraft. The Japanese strike leader, recognizing the island's strike aircraft had already departed, signaled Nagumo another mission would be necessary to neutralize the island's defenses before troops could be landed on the 7th.<p>Having taken off prior to the Japanese attack, American bombers based on Midway made several attacks on the Japanese carrier fleet. These included six <!--del_lnk--> TBF Avengers in their first combat operation, and four <!--del_lnk--> B-26 Marauders (armed with torpedoes). The Japanese shrugged off these attacks with almost no losses, while destroying all but three of the American bombers.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23594.jpg.htm" title="Hiryu under B-17 attack."><img alt="Hiryu under B-17 attack." height="273" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hiryu_f075712.jpg" src="../../images/235/23594.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23594.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Hiryu</i> under B-17 attack.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Admiral Nagumo, in accordance with Japanese carrier operational practices of the time, had kept half of his aircraft in reserve. These comprised two squadrons each of dive-bombers and torpedo bombers. The latter were armed with torpedoes for an antiship strike, should any American warships be located. The dive-bombers were, as yet, unarmed. As a result of the attacks from Midway, as well as the morning flight leader's recommendation regarding the need for a second strike, Admiral Nagumo at 07:15 ordered his reserve planes to be re-armed with general purpose contact bombs for use on land targets. Re-arming had been underway for about 30 minutes, when at 07:40 a scout plane from the <!--del_lnk--> cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tone</i> signaled the discovery of a sizable American naval force to the east. Nagumo quickly reversed his re-arming order, and asked the scout plane to ascertain the composition of the American force.<p>Nagumo was now in a quandary. Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Tamon Yamaguchi, leading Carrier Division 2 (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Hiryū</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Sōryū</i>), recommended Nagumo strike immediately with the forces at hand. Nagumo might have had an opportunity to immediately launch some or all of his reserve strike force to attack the American ships., but had to act quickly, as his Midway strike force would be returning shortly. They would be low on fuel, and carrying wounded crewmen, and would need to land promptly. Spotting his flight decks and launching aircraft would require at least 30–45 minutes to accomplish. Furthermore, by spotting and launching immediately, he would be committing some of his reserve strike aircraft to battle without proper antiship armament. Japanese carrier doctrine preferred fully constituted strikes, and in the absence of a confirmation of whether the American force contained carriers, Nagumo's reaction was cautious. In addition, the impending arrival of yet more American air strikes at 07:53 made Nagumo's window of decision quite short. In the end Nagumo made the fateful decision to wait for his first strike force to land, and then launch the reserve strike force (which would by then be properly armed).<p><a id="Attacks_on_the_Japanese_fleet" name="Attacks_on_the_Japanese_fleet"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Attacks on the Japanese fleet</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23595.jpg.htm" title="VT-6 TBDs on the USS Enterprise during the Battle of Midway."><img alt="VT-6 TBDs on the USS Enterprise during the Battle of Midway." height="236" longdesc="/wiki/Image:VT-6TBDs.jpg" src="../../images/235/23595.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23595.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> VT-6 TBDs on the USS <i>Enterprise</i> during the Battle of Midway.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Meanwhile, the Americans had already launched their carrier aircraft against the Japanese. Admiral Fletcher, in overall command on board <i>Yorktown</i>, and armed with PBY sighting reports from the early morning, ordered Spruance to launch against the Japanese as soon as was practical. At the urging of Halsey's Chief of Staff, Captain <!--del_lnk--> Miles Browning, Spruance commenced launching from his carriers <i>Enterprise</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hornet</i> at 07:00. Fletcher, upon completing his own scouting flights, followed suit at 08:00 from <i>Yorktown</i>. However, American flight deck operations were not nearly as proficient as their enemy's at this point in the war, and the American squadrons were launched in piecemeal fashion, proceeding to the target in several different groups. This diminished the overall impact of the American attacks, and greatly increased their casualties.<p>American carrier aircraft began attacking the Japanese carrier fleet at 09:20, with first Torpedo Squadron 8 (<!--del_lnk--> VT-8), followed by <!--del_lnk--> VT-6 (at 09:40) attacking without fighter support. VT-8 was completely annihilated, and VT-6 nearly so, with no hits against the enemy to show for their efforts. The Japanese CAP (<!--del_lnk--> Combat Air Patrol), flying the much faster <!--del_lnk--> Mitsubishi Zero fighter, made short work of the slow, under-armed American torpedo planes. However, despite their terrible sacrifices, the American torpedo planes indirectly achieved two important results. First, they kept the Japanese off balance, with no ability to prepare and launch their own counterstrike. Second, their attacks had pulled the Japanese combat air patrol out of position — not in terms of altitude (as has commonly been described), but by laterally distorting the CAP coverage over the Japanese fleet. The appearance of a third torpedo plane attack from the SE by <!--del_lnk--> VT-3 at 10:00 very quickly drew the majority of the Japanese CAP into the southeast quadrant of the fleet.<p>By chance, at the same time VT-3 was sighted by the Japanese, two separate formations (comprising three squadrons total) of American <!--del_lnk--> SBD Dauntless dive-bombers were approaching the Japanese fleet from the northeast and southwest. These formations, despite having had difficulty in locating the Japanese carriers had now — by sheer luck and some good decision-making on the part of their respective squadron commanders — arrived in a perfect position to attack the Japanese. Armed Japanese strike aircraft filled the hangar decks at the time of the fateful attack, fuel hoses snaking across the decks as refueling operations were hastily completed, and the constant change of ordnance meant that bombs and torpedoes were stacked around the hangars rather than being stowed safely in the magazines. The Japanese carriers were in an extraordinarily vulnerable position.<p>However, contrary to some accounts of the battle, recent research has demonstrated that the Japanese were not prepared to launch a counterstrike against the Americans at the time they were decisively attacked. Due to the constant flight deck activity associated with <!--del_lnk--> combat air patrol operations during the preceding hour, the Japanese had never had an opportunity to spot their reserve strike force for launch. The few aircraft on the Japanese flight decks at the time of the attack were either CAP fighters, or (in the case of <!--del_lnk--> <i>Sōryū</i>) strike fighters being spotted to augment the CAP. Regardless, the moment of opportunity was exploited for all it was worth by the American bomber pilots.<p>Beginning at 10:22, <i>Enterprise</i> aircraft attacked carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Kaga</i>, with <!--del_lnk--> <i>Akagi</i> being struck four minutes later. To the north, <i>Yorktown</i>’s aircraft attacked <!--del_lnk--> <i>Sōryū</i>. Simultaneously, VT-3 was targeting <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hiryū</i>, although the American torpedo aircraft again scored no hits. The dive-bombers, however, had better fortune. Within six minutes, the SBDs made their attack runs and left all three of their targets heavily ablaze. <i>Akagi</i> was hit by just one bomb, which was sufficient; it penetrated to the upper hangar deck and exploded among the armed and fueled aircraft there. One extremely near miss also slanted in and exploded underwater, bending the flight deck upward with the resulting geyser and causing crucial rudder damage. <i>Sōryū</i> took three bomb hits in the hangar decks; <i>Kaga</i> took at least four and likely more. All three carriers were out of action, and would eventually be abandoned and scuttled.<p>Subsequent to the air attacks, the American submarine <!--del_lnk--> <i>Nautilus</i> (SS-168) fired torpedoes at what her crew thought was the <i>Sōryū,</i> but which later research suggests was the <i>Kaga.</i> The <i>Nautilus</i> crew claimed that one torpedo hit the carrier, causing "flames". However, the surviving crew of the <i>Kaga</i> reported no torpedo hits after the air attack. Of the four fish fired, one failed to run, two ran erratically, and the fourth was a 'dud,' impacting amidships and breaking in half.<p><a id="Japanese_counterattacks" name="Japanese_counterattacks"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Japanese counterattacks</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23596.jpg.htm" title="USS Yorktown is hit by an aerial torpedo"><img alt="USS Yorktown is hit by an aerial torpedo" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:USS_Yorktown_hit-740px.jpg" src="../../images/235/23596.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23596.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> USS <i>Yorktown</i> is hit by an aerial torpedo</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><i>Hiryū</i>, now the sole surviving Japanese flight deck, wasted little time in counterattacking. The first strike of Japanese dive-bombers badly damaged the <i>Yorktown</i>, yet her engineers patched her up so quickly that the second strike of torpedo bombers mistook her for an intact carrier. Despite Japanese hopes to even the battle by eliminating two carriers with two strikes, <i>Yorktown</i> absorbed both Japanese attacks, the second attack believing mistakenly that <i>Yorktown</i> had already been sunk and that they were attacking <i>Enterprise.</i> She was now out of the battle, but Task Force 16's two carriers had escaped undamaged as a result. (<i>Yorktown</i> would later be sunk, during salvage efforts, by torpedoes from a Japanese submarine on <!--del_lnk--> June 7. The same torpedo salvo would also sink the destroyer <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hammann</i>.) When American scout aircraft subsequently located <i>Hiryū</i> later in the afternoon, <i>Enterprise</i> launched a final strike of dive bombers against the last Japanese carrier that left her ablaze. <i>Hornet's</i> strike, launching late due to a communications error, concentrated on the remaining surface ships but failed to score any hits.<p>As darkness fell, both sides took stock, and made tentative plans for continuing the action. Admiral Spruance was now in tactical command of the American forces as Admiral Fletcher had been obliged to abandon the derelict <i>Yorktown</i>. Spruance knew that he had won a great victory, but he was still unsure of what Japanese forces remained at hand, and was determined to safeguard both Midway and his carriers. Consequently, he decided to retire east during the evening, so as to not run into a night action with Japanese surface forces that might still be in the area. In the early morning hours, he returned to the west to be in a position to cover Midway should an invasion develop in the morning.<p>For his part, Yamamoto initially decided to continue the effort, and sent his remaining surface forces searching eastward for the American carriers. Simultaneously, a cruiser raiding force was detached to bombard the island that very night. Eventually, however, as the night waned without any sign of the Americans, the reality of the situation imposed its own logic, and at 02:55 Yamamoto ordered his various forces to retire to the west.<p>While beating its retreat in close column at night, the Japanese cruiser bombardment force suffered a further trial. A sighting of the American submarine <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tambor</i> forced the cruiser formation to initiate radical evasive maneuvers. <!--del_lnk--> <i>Mogami</i> failed to adjust its course correctly for a column turn, and rammed the port quarter of her sistership <!--del_lnk--> <i>Mikuma</i>. Over the following two days, first Midway and then Spruance's carriers launched several successive strikes against the stragglers. <i>Mikuma</i> was eventually sent to the bottom, while <!--del_lnk--> <i>Mogami</i> managed to successfully fend off the bombers, and lived to fight another day. US Marine Captain <!--del_lnk--> Richard E. Fleming was posthumously awarded the <a href="../../wp/m/Medal_of_Honor.htm" title="Medal of Honor">Medal of Honour</a> for his attack on the <i>Mikuma</i>, although contemporary research has revealed that neither Fleming's bomb nor his aircraft actually struck the ship itself.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/1/116.jpg.htm" title="A rare image of a heavily damaged Japanese carrier, in this case the Hiryu."><img alt="A rare image of a heavily damaged Japanese carrier, in this case the Hiryu." height="202" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hiryu_burning.jpg" src="../../images/1/116.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/1/116.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A rare image of a heavily damaged Japanese carrier, in this case the <i>Hiryu</i>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>After scoring a clear victory, American forces retired. Japan's loss of four fleet carriers (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Kaga</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Akagi</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Sōryū</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hiryū</i>) — leaving only <!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuikaku</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Shōkaku</i> — stopped the expansion of the Japanese Empire in the Pacific.<p>With the US Navy now having clawed its way back to a rough parity of fleet carriers, the Americans could contemplate taking to the offensive for the first time in the war. Shortly thereafter, the Americans would invade <!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal, initiating the attritional struggle in the <a href="../../wp/s/Solomon_Islands.htm" title="Solomon Islands">Solomon Islands</a> that would permanently wreck the Japanese Navy and its elite naval air groups.<p><a id="Impact" name="Impact"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Impact</span></h2>
<p>Although the battle has often been called "the turning point of the Pacific", it clearly did not win the Pacific War overnight for the Americans. The Japanese navy continued to fight ferociously, and it would be many more months before the U.S. would move from a state of naval parity to that of increasingly clear supremacy. Nor, given the vast disparity in economic strength between the two combatants, is it even remotely likely that the Americans would have lost the war against Japan had they lost the battle. Thus, Midway was not "decisive" in the same sense that <!--del_lnk--> Salamis or <!--del_lnk--> Trafalgar was decisive. However, victory at Midway gave the U.S. the opportunity to seize the strategic initiative, inflicted irreparable damage on the Japanese carrier force, and shortened the war in the Pacific.<p>Just two months later, the US took the offensive and attacked <!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal, catching the Japanese off-balance. Given a defeat instead of a major victory at Midway, the US may not have struck at such an early date, or had the same degree of success. Securing Allied supply lines to Australia and the Indian Ocean in this time frame, along with the heavy attrition inflicted on the Japanese at Guadalcanal, had far-reaching effects on the length of the war (see <!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal campaign, Aftermath and Historical Significance.) For example, the British defense of the <a href="../../wp/s/Suez_Canal.htm" title="Suez Canal">Suez Canal</a> against the <!--del_lnk--> Afrika Korps was resupplied and reinforced via Allied shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean. <p>While Midway did not see the destruction of Japanese naval aviation, it did deal it a heavy blow. The pre-war Japanese training program produced pilots of exceptional quality, but at a painfully slow rate. This small group of elite aviators were combat hardened veterans. At Midway, the Japanese lost as many of these pilots in a single day as their pre-war training program produced in a year. In the subsequent battles around Guadalcanal in late 1942, such as <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons.htm" title="Battle of the Eastern Solomons">Eastern Solomons</a> and <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Santa_Cruz_Islands.htm" title="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands">Santa Cruz</a>, Japanese naval aviation was ground down by attrition. Although war-time Japanese training programs produced pilots, they were insufficiently trained as the war continued, an imbalance that became worse as increasingly potent US fighters became available that clearly outmatched Japanese aircraft. By mid-1943, the combination of the Battle of Midway and the losses in the Solomons had decimated Japanese naval aviation. Worse for the Japanese, their habit of leaving expert pilots in combat was detrimental to the training of their forces. The US Navy by contrast rotated its best aviators home on a regular basis to teach their young pilot candidates the techniques they would use to defeat the Empire of Japan.<p>Even more important, though, was the irredeemable loss of four of Japan's fleet carriers. These ships would not be replaced, unit for unit, until early in 1945. In the same span of time, the U.S. Navy commissioned more than two dozen fleet and light fleet carriers, and numerous escort carriers. Thus, Midway permanently damaged the Japanese Navy's striking power, and measurably shortened the period during which the Japanese carrier force could fight on advantageous terms.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23598.jpg.htm" title="The Mikuma shortly before sinking."><img alt="The Mikuma shortly before sinking." height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sinking_of_japanese_cruiser_Mikuma_6_june_1942.jpg" src="../../images/235/23598.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23598.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> <i>Mikuma</i> shortly before sinking.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The importance of the Battle of Midway can also be assessed by considering the hypothetical scenario of an American defeat and the destruction of the US aircraft carrier fleet. By any analysis, a loss of that magnitude would have prolonged the war in the Pacific. With only two carriers (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Saratoga</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Wasp</i>) available, the U.S. would have been forced onto the defensive for at least the remainder of 1942. The Japanese could have continued their advance on the New Hebrides and cut off communication with Australia, and completed their conquest of New Guinea. Furthermore, a catastrophic failure at Midway might have resulted in the removal of key figures like Nimitz and Spruance from their positions. Offensive operations in the Pacific might have been delayed until as late as mid-1943, when <!--del_lnk--> <i>Essex</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Independence</i> class carriers became available in appreciable numbers. A hypothetically longer Pacific war does raise the question of the role the Soviet Union would have played in Japan's demise, and whether the USSR would have gained a postwar presence in a partitioned Japan, similar to that of Germany. The actual implications of an American defeat are unknowable, but there is little question that losing at Midway would have narrowed U.S. options dramatically, at least in the short term.<p><a id="Discovery" name="Discovery"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Discovery</span></h2>
<p><a id="U.S._vessels" name="U.S._vessels"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">U.S. vessels</span></h3>
<p>Due to the extreme depth of the ocean in the area of the battle (more than 17,000 feet/5200 m), researching the battlefield has presented extraordinary difficulties. However, on May 19, 1998, <!--del_lnk--> Robert Ballard and a team of scientists & Midway veterans (including Japanese participants) located and photographed <i>Yorktown</i>. The ship was remarkably intact for a vessel that sank in 1942; much of the original equipment, and even the original paint scheme were still visible.<p><a id="Japanese_vessels" name="Japanese_vessels"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Japanese vessels</span></h3>
<p>Ballard's subsequent search for the Japanese carriers was ultimately unsuccessful. In September 1999, a joint expedition between Nauticos Corp. and the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office searched for the Japanese aircraft carriers. Using advanced renavigation techniques in conjunction with the ship's log of the submarine <!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Nautilus</i>, the expedition located a large piece of wreckage, which was subsequently identified as having come from the upper hangar deck of carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Kaga</i>. The main wreck, however, has yet to be located.<p><a id="In_film" name="In_film"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">In film</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23599.jpg.htm" title="Struck by a torpedo from I-168, Hammann quickly sank."><img alt="Struck by a torpedo from I-168, Hammann quickly sank." height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:USS_Hammann_sinking_1942-06-06_seen_from_USS_Yorktown.jpg" src="../../images/235/23599.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/235/23599.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Struck by a torpedo from <i>I-168</i>, <i>Hammann</i> quickly sank.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Battle of Midway has been featured in several <!--del_lnk--> motion pictures. The first film about the battle was directed by <!--del_lnk--> John Ford, who used colour motion picture from U.S. Navy of the actual battle, releasing an award-winning documentary called <i><!--del_lnk--> The Battle of Midway</i> in 1942. Subsequently, the movie <i><!--del_lnk--> Midway</i>, directed by <!--del_lnk--> Jack Smight, was released in <!--del_lnk--> 1976. This film generally portrayed the events fairly accurately, although it was criticized for suffering from several flaws (including a preposterous romance, the presence of American <!--del_lnk--> F4U Corsair fighters, which were not even operational yet), inaccurate warship models, and the promotion of Hypo's Commander Rochefort to Fleet Intelligence Officer).<p>In addition, the 1976 movie vividly depicts Grumman F6F Hellcat carrier landings whereas the battle involved its predecessor, the Grumman F4F Wildcat, which strongly resembles the Hellcat but is distinguishable during landings due to the Wildcat's narrow-track landing gear. The Hellcat did not become operational until 1943.<p><a id="Trivia" name="Trivia"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Trivia</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>This major defeat for Japan came six months after the beginning of open warfare against the United States. That is almost exactly the maximum amount of time that Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Isoroku Yamamoto predicted he would have the advantage over the enemy before the tide would turn in its favour.</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Midway"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War II', 'Imperial Japanese Navy', 'Attack on Pearl Harbor', 'Attack on Pearl Harbor', 'World War II', 'Attack on Pearl Harbor', 'United States', 'Imperial Japanese Navy', 'Midway Atoll', 'Aircraft carrier', 'Aircraft carrier', 'World War II', 'Fiji', 'Samoa', 'Philippines', 'Singapore', 'Indonesia', 'Imperial Japanese Navy', 'Tokyo', 'Aircraft', 'Medal of Honor', 'Solomon Islands', 'Suez Canal', 'Battle of the Eastern Solomons', 'Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands']
|
Battle_of_Moscow
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Moscow,1941,1942,32nd Rifle Division,Adolf Hitler,Aleksandr Vasilevsky,Anti-aircraft warfare,Army (Soviet Army),Army Group Center,Army Group Centre,Army Group North" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Moscow</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Moscow";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Moscow";
var wgArticleId = 573888;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Moscow">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Moscow</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Moscow</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Front of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/148/14835.jpg.htm" title="The Battle of Moscow"><img alt="The Battle of Moscow" height="194" longdesc="/wiki/Image:WW2_MoscowBattle_russian_soldiers.jpg" src="../../images/236/23600.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /> Soviet troops in winter camouflage</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> October 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1941 - <!--del_lnk--> January 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1942</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Moscow.htm" title="Moscow">Moscow</a> region, <!--del_lnk--> USSR</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Strategic Soviet victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">
<center><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1309.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="26" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany_1933.svg" src="../../images/236/23601.png" width="44" /></a><br /><a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Germany</a></center>
</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">
<center><a class="image" href="../../images/187/18789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="24" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg" src="../../images/236/23602.png" width="48" /></a><br /><a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a></center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Fedor von Bock,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Heinz Guderian</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Georgy Zhukov,<br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aleksandr_Vasilevsky.htm" title="Aleksandr Vasilevsky">Aleksandr Vasilevsky</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><b>As of <!--del_lnk--> October 1:</b><br /> 1,000,000+ men,<br /> 1,700 tanks,<br /> 14,000 guns,<br /> 950 planes</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><b>As of <!--del_lnk--> October 1:</b><br /> 1,250,000 men,<br /> 1000 tanks,<br /> 7600 guns,<br /> 677 planes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">248,000 - 400,000<sup>(see <a href="#Casualties" title="">§7</a>)</sup></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">650,000 - 1,280,000<sup>(see <a href="#Casualties" title="">§7</a>)</sup></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Eastern Front</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Barbarossa – <!--del_lnk--> Finland – <!--del_lnk--> Leningrad and Baltics – <!--del_lnk--> Crimea and Caucasus – <strong class="selflink">Moscow</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> 1st Rzhev-Vyazma – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Kharkov – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Stalingrad.htm" title="Battle of Stalingrad">Stalingrad</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Velikiye Luki – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Rzhev-Sychevka – <!--del_lnk--> Kursk – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Smolensk_%25281943%2529.htm" title="Battle of Smolensk (1943)">2nd Smolensk</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Dnieper – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Kiev – <!--del_lnk--> Korsun – <!--del_lnk--> Hube's Pocket – <!--del_lnk--> Belorussia – <!--del_lnk--> Lvov-Sandomierz – <!--del_lnk--> Balkans – <!--del_lnk--> Hungary – <!--del_lnk--> Vistula-Oder – <!--del_lnk--> Königsberg – <!--del_lnk--> Berlin – <!--del_lnk--> Prague</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Moscow</b> (Russian: Битва за Москву, <i>Bitva za Moskvu</i>) refers to the <!--del_lnk--> Soviet defense of <a href="../../wp/m/Moscow.htm" title="Moscow">Moscow</a> and the subsequent Soviet <!--del_lnk--> counter-offensive that occurred between October 1941 and January 1942 on the <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Front of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> against <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">German</a> forces. <a href="../../wp/a/Adolf_Hitler.htm" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a> considered Moscow, which was the capital of the <!--del_lnk--> Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (<!--del_lnk--> USSR) and the largest Soviet city, to be the primary military and political objective for the Axis forces in their <!--del_lnk--> invasion of the Soviet Union. A separate German plan was codenamed <!--del_lnk--> Operation Wotan.<p>The original <a href="../../wp/b/Blitzkrieg.htm" title="Blitzkrieg">blitzkrieg</a> invasion plan, which the Axis called <i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Barbarossa</i>, had called for the capture of Moscow within three to four months. However, despite large initial advances, the <!--del_lnk--> Wehrmacht was soon slowed by Soviet resistance (in particular during the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Smolensk, which lasted from July through September 1941 and delayed the German offensive towards Moscow for two months). Having secured <!--del_lnk--> Smolensk, the Wehrmacht was forced to consolidate its lines around <a href="../../wp/s/Saint_Petersburg.htm" title="Leningrad">Leningrad</a> and <a href="../../wp/k/Kiev.htm" title="Kiev">Kiev</a>, further delaying the drive towards Moscow. The <!--del_lnk--> Axis advance was finally renewed on <!--del_lnk--> September 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, with an offensive codenamed <i>Operation Typhoon</i>, the goal of which was the capture of Moscow before the onset of winter.<p>After a successful initial advance leading to the encirclement and destruction of several <!--del_lnk--> Soviet armies, the German offensive was stopped by Soviet resistance at the <!--del_lnk--> Mozhaisk defensive line, just 120 km (75 mi) from the capital. Having penetrated the Soviet defenses, the Wehrmacht offensive was slowed by weather conditions, with autumn rains turning roads and fields into thick mud that significantly impeded Axis vehicles, horses, and soldiers. Although the onset of colder weather and the freezing of the ground allowed the Axis advance to continue, it continued to struggle in the face of the severe cold and stiffening Soviet resistance.<p>By early December, the lead German <!--del_lnk--> Panzer Groups stood less than 30 kilometers (19 mi) from the <!--del_lnk--> Kremlin, and Wehrmacht officers were able to see some of Moscow's buildings with <a href="../../wp/b/Binoculars.htm" title="Binoculars">binoculars</a>; but, handicapped by cold and exhausted troops, the Axis forces were unable to make further advances. On <!--del_lnk--> December 5, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, fresh Soviet <!--del_lnk--> Siberian troops, prepared for <!--del_lnk--> winter warfare, attacked the German forces in front of Moscow; by January 1942, the Wehrmacht had been driven back 100 to 250 km (60 to 150 mi), ending the immediate threat to Moscow and marking the closest that Axis forces ever got to capturing the Soviet capital.<p>The Battle of Moscow is usually considered one of the most important battles in the war between the Axis Powers and the USSR, primarily because the Soviets were able to successfully prevent the most serious attempt to capture their capital. The battle was also one of the largest during World War II, with more than a million total casualties. It marked a turning point as it was the first time since the <!--del_lnk--> Wehrmacht began its conquests in 1939 war that it had been forced into a major retreat. The Wehrmacht had been forced to retreat earlier during the <!--del_lnk--> Yelnya Offensive in September 1941 and at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Rostov (1941) (which led to von Rundstedt losing his job), but these retreats were minor compared to the one at Moscow.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23603.png.htm" title="The eastern front at the time of the Battle of Moscow: ██ Initial Wehrmacht advance - to 9 July 1941 ██ Subsequent advances - to 1 September 1941 ██ Encirclement and battle of Kiev - to 9 September 1941 ██ Final Wehrmacht advance - to 5 December 1941 "><img alt="The eastern front at the time of the Battle of Moscow: ██ Initial Wehrmacht advance - to 9 July 1941 ██ Subsequent advances - to 1 September 1941 ██ Encirclement and battle of Kiev - to 9 September 1941 ██ Final Wehrmacht advance - to 5 December 1941 " height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Eastern_Front_1941-06_to_1941-12.png" src="../../images/236/23603.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23603.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The eastern front at the time of the Battle of Moscow: <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#fff8d5; color:#fff8d5;">██</span> Initial Wehrmacht advance - to 9 July 1941</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#ffd2b9; color:#ffd2b9;">██</span> Subsequent advances - to 1 September 1941</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#ebd7ff; color:#ebd7ff;">██</span> Encirclement and battle of Kiev - to 9 September 1941</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#ccffcd; color:#ccffcd;">██</span> Final Wehrmacht advance - to 5 December 1941</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> June 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, German, Hungarian, and Romanian troops invaded the Soviet Union, effectively starting <i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Barbarossa</i>. Having destroyed most of the <!--del_lnk--> Soviet Air Force on the ground, German forces quickly advanced deep into Soviet territory using <a href="../../wp/b/Blitzkrieg.htm" title="Blitzkrieg">blitzkrieg</a> tactics. Armored units raced forward in <!--del_lnk--> pincer movements, <!--del_lnk--> pocketing and destroying entire Soviet armies. While the German <!--del_lnk--> Army Group North moved towards Leningrad, <!--del_lnk--> Army Group South was to take control of <a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a>, while <!--del_lnk--> Army Group Centre advanced towards Moscow. The Soviet defenses were overwhelmed and the casualties sustained by the <!--del_lnk--> Red Army were significant.<p>By July 1941, Army Group Centre had managed to encircle several Soviet armies near <!--del_lnk--> Minsk during the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Białystok-Minsk, creating a huge breach in Soviet lines — one that the Soviets couldn't immediately fill, as no reserves were available — and destroying the <!--del_lnk--> Soviet Western Front as an organized force. Thus, the Wehrmacht was able to cross the <!--del_lnk--> Dnieper river, which barred the path to Moscow, with only minimal casualties.<p>In August 1941, German forces captured the city of <!--del_lnk--> Smolensk, an important stronghold on the road to Moscow. Smolensk was historically considered as the "key" to Moscow because it controlled a landbridge located between the <!--del_lnk--> Dvina, Dnieper, and several other rivers, allowing for a fast advance by ground troops without the necessity of building major bridges across wide rivers. The desperate Soviet defense of the Smolensk region lasted for two months, from <!--del_lnk--> July 10, <!--del_lnk--> 1941 to <!--del_lnk--> September 10, <!--del_lnk--> 1941. This intense engagement, known as the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Smolensk, delayed the German advance until mid-September, effectively disrupting the <a href="../../wp/b/Blitzkrieg.htm" title="Blitzkrieg">blitzkrieg</a> and forcing Army Group Centre to use almost half of its strategic reserves (10 divisions out of 24) during the battle.<p>Elsewhere, the German advance was also bogged down. Near <a href="../../wp/s/Saint_Petersburg.htm" title="Leningrad">Leningrad</a>, Army Group North was held up by the <!--del_lnk--> Luga defense line for almost a month before eventually overrunning it. In the south, Army Group South, which included many Hungarian and Romanian units that were less well trained, equipped and experienced than the Wehrmacht, sustained several serious counterattacks and was stopped. The Wehrmacht now faced a dilemma, as Army Group Centre was still strong enough to reach Moscow — but such an advance would create a bulge in the German lines, leaving it vulnerable to <!--del_lnk--> Red Army flanking attacks. Moreover, according to Hitler, Germany needed the food and mineral resources located in the Ukraine. Thus, the Wehrmacht was ordered to first secure the <!--del_lnk--> Donbass region and to move towards Moscow afterwards. <!--del_lnk--> Heinz Guderian's Panzer Army was turned south to support <!--del_lnk--> Gerd von Rundstedt's attack on Kiev, which inflicted another significant defeat on the Red Army. On <!--del_lnk--> September 19, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, Soviet forces had to abandon Kiev after Stalin's persistent refusal to withdraw forces from the Kiev salient, as recorded by <a href="../../wp/a/Aleksandr_Vasilevsky.htm" title="Aleksandr Vasilevsky">Aleksandr Vasilevsky</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Georgy Zhukov in their respective memoirs. This refusal cost Zhukov his post of Chief of the General Staff, but his prediction of German encirclement was correct. Several Soviet armies were encircled and annihilated by the Wehrmacht in a double pincer movement, allowing the German forces to advance in the south.<p>Despite being a decisive Axis victory, the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Kiev set the German blitzkrieg even further behind schedule. As Guderian later wrote, "Kiev was certainly a brilliant tactical success, but the question of whether it had a significant strategic importance still remains open. Everything now depended on our ability to achieve expected results before the winter and even before autumn rains." Hitler still believed that the Wehrmacht had a chance to finish the war before winter by taking Moscow. On <!--del_lnk--> October 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, <!--del_lnk--> Army Group Centre, under <!--del_lnk--> Fedor von Bock, launched its final offensive towards Moscow, code-named <i>Operation Typhoon</i>. Hitler said soon after its start that "After three months of preparations, we finally have the possibility to crush our enemy before the winter comes. All possible preparations were done...; today starts the last battle of the year...."<p><a id="Initial_German_advance_.2830_September_-_10_October.29" name="Initial_German_advance_.2830_September_-_10_October.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Initial German advance (<!--del_lnk--> 30 September - <!--del_lnk--> 10 October)</span></h2>
<p><a id="Plans" name="Plans"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Plans</span></h3>
<p>For Hitler, Moscow was the most important military and political target, as he anticipated that the city's surrender would shortly afterwards lead to the general collapse of the Soviet Union. As <!--del_lnk--> Franz Halder, head of the <i><!--del_lnk--> Oberkommando des Heeres</i> (Army General Staff), wrote in 1940, "The best solution would be a direct offensive towards Moscow." Therefore, the city was a primary target for the large and well-equipped Army Group Centre. The forces committed to <i>Operation Typhoon</i> included three armies (the 2nd, 4th and 9th) supported by three Panzer Groups (the 2nd, 3rd and 4th) and by the <a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Second Air Fleet. Overall, more than one million men were committed to the operation, along with 1,700 tanks, 14,000 guns, and 950 planes. The attack relied on standard <a href="../../wp/b/Blitzkrieg.htm" title="Blitzkrieg">blitzkrieg</a> tactics, using Panzer groups rushing deep into Soviet formations and executing double-pincer movements, pocketing Red Army divisions and destroying them.<p>The initial Wehrmacht plan called for two initial movements. The first would be a double-pincer performed around the <!--del_lnk--> Soviet Western Front and <!--del_lnk--> Reserve Front forces located around <!--del_lnk--> Vyazma. The second would be a single-pincer around the <!--del_lnk--> Bryansk Front to capture the city of <!--del_lnk--> Bryansk. From that point, the plan called for another quick pincer north and south of Moscow to encircle the city. However, the German armies were already battered and experiencing some logistical issues. Guderian, for example, wrote that some of his destroyed tanks had not been replaced, and that his mechanized troops lacked fuel at the beginning of the operation.<p>Facing the Wehrmacht were three Soviet fronts formed from exhausted armies that had already been involved in heavy fighting for several months. The forces committed to the city's defense totaled 1,250,000 men, 1,000 tanks, 7,600 guns and 677 aircraft. However, these troops, while presenting a significant threat to the Wehrmacht based on their numbers alone, were poorly located, with most of the troops deployed in a single line, and had little or no reserves to the rear. In his memoirs, Vasilevsky pointed out that while immediate Soviet defenses were quite well prepared, these errors in troop placement were largely responsible for the Wehrmacht's initial success. Furthermore, many Soviet defenders were seriously lacking in combat experience and some critical equipment (such as anti-tank weapons), while their tanks were obsolete models.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23605.jpg.htm" title="Factory workers dig anti-tank trenches around Moscow in 1941."><img alt="Factory workers dig anti-tank trenches around Moscow in 1941." height="209" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Moscow.jpg" src="../../images/236/23605.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23605.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Factory workers dig anti-tank trenches around Moscow in 1941.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Soviet command began constructing extensive defenses around the city. The first part, the Rzhev-Vyazma defense setup, was built on the <!--del_lnk--> Rzhev-<!--del_lnk--> Vyazma-<!--del_lnk--> Bryansk line. The second, the Mozhaisk defense line, was a double defense stretching between <!--del_lnk--> Kalinin and <!--del_lnk--> Kaluga. Finally, a triple defense ring surrounded the city itself, forming the Moscow Defense Zone. However, these defenses were still largely unprepared by the beginning of the operation due to the speed of the German advance. Furthermore, the German attack plan had been discovered quite late, and Soviet troops were ordered to assume a total defensive stance only on <!--del_lnk--> September 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1941. However, new Soviet divisions were being formed on the Volga, in Asia and in the <!--del_lnk--> Urals, and it would only be a matter of a few months before these new troops could be committed, making the battle a race against time as well.<p><a id="Vyazma_and_Bryansk_pockets" name="Vyazma_and_Bryansk_pockets"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Vyazma and Bryansk pockets</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23606.jpg.htm" title="The German offensives during operation Typhoon."><img alt="The German offensives during operation Typhoon." height="228" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Map_Operation_Typhoon.jpg" src="../../images/236/23606.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23606.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The German offensives during operation Typhoon.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Near Vyazma, the Western and Reserve fronts were quickly defeated by the highly mobile forces of the 3rd and 4th Panzer groups that exploited weak areas in the defenses and then quickly moved behind the Red Army lines. The defense setup, still under construction, was overrun as both German armored spearheads met at Vyazma on <!--del_lnk--> October 10, <!--del_lnk--> 1941. Four Soviet armies (the 19th, 20th, 24th and 32nd) were trapped in a huge pocket just west of the city.<p>Contrary to German expectations, the encircled Soviet forces did not surrender easily. Instead, the fighting was fierce and desperate, and the Wehrmacht had to employ 28 divisions to eliminate the surrounded Soviet armies, using forces that were needed to support the offensive towards Moscow. The remnants of the Soviet Western and Reserve fronts were able to retreat and consolidate their lines around Mozhaisk. Moreover, the surrounded Soviet forces were not completely destroyed, as some of the encircled troops escaped in groups ranging in size from platoons to full rifle divisions. Soviet resistance near Vyazma also provided time for the Soviet high command to quickly bring some reinforcements to the four armies defending the Moscow direction (namely, the 5th, 16th, 43rd and 49th), and to transport three rifle and two tank divisions from the Far East.<p>In the south near Bryansk, initial Soviet performance was barely more effective than near Vyazma. The Second Panzer Group executed an enveloping movement around the whole front, linking with the advancing 2nd Army and capturing Orel by <!--del_lnk--> October 3 and Bryansk by <!--del_lnk--> October 6. The Soviet 3rd and 13th armies were encircled but, again, did not surrender, and troops were able to escape in small groups, retreating to intermediate defense lines around Poniry and <!--del_lnk--> Mtsensk. By <!--del_lnk--> October 23, the last remnants had escaped from the pocket.<p>By <!--del_lnk--> October 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, the German offensive in this area was bogged down. The first snow fell and quickly melted, turning roads into stretches of mud, a phenomenon known as <i><!--del_lnk--> rasputitsa</i> in Russia. German armored groups were greatly slowed and were unable to easily maneuver, wearing down men and tanks. The 4th Panzer division fell into an ambush set by <!--del_lnk--> Dmitri Leliushenko and <!--del_lnk--> Mikhail Katukov near the city of <!--del_lnk--> Mtsensk. Newly built <a href="../../wp/t/T-34.htm" title="T-34">T-34</a> tanks were concealed in the woods as German panzers rolled past them; as a scratch team of Soviet infantry contained their advance, Soviet armor attacked from both flanks and savaged the German <!--del_lnk--> Panzer IV formations. For the Wehrmacht, the shock of this defeat was so great that a special investigation was ordered. Guderian and his troops discovered, to their dismay, that new Soviet T-34s were almost impervious to German tank guns. As the general wrote, "Our T-IV tanks with their short 75 mm guns could only explode a T-34 by hitting the engine from behind." Guderian also noted in his memoirs that "the Russians already learned a few things." Elsewhere, massive Soviet counterattacks had further slowed the German offensive.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23607.jpg.htm" title="A German Panzer IV tank."><img alt="A German Panzer IV tank." height="154" longdesc="/wiki/Image:PzKpfw_IV_Ausf_A.jpg" src="../../images/236/23607.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23607.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A German <!--del_lnk--> Panzer IV tank.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The magnitude of the initial Soviet defeat was appalling. According to German estimates, 673,000 soldiers were captured by the Wehrmacht in both pockets, although recent research suggests a somewhat lower, but still enormous figure of 514,000 prisoners, reducing Soviet strength by 41 %. The desperate Red Army resistance however, had greatly slowed the Wehrmacht. When, on <!--del_lnk--> October 10, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, the Germans arrived within sight of the Mozhaisk line, they found a well-prepared defensive setup and new, fresh Soviet forces. That same day, <!--del_lnk--> Georgy Zhukov was recalled from Leningrad to take charge of the defense of Moscow. He immediately ordered the concentration of all available defenses on a strengthened Mozhaisk line, a move supported by Vasilevsky.<p>Reportedly, Stalin's first reaction to the German advance on Moscow was to deny the truth and to search for scapegoats for the Soviet defeats. However, once he realized the danger to the capital, the Soviet leader came close to hysteria. On <!--del_lnk--> October 13, he ordered the evacuation of the <!--del_lnk--> Communist Party, the General Staff and various civil government offices from Moscow to <!--del_lnk--> Kuibyshev (now <!--del_lnk--> Samara), leaving only a limited number of officials behind. The evacuation caused panic among Moscovites. From <!--del_lnk--> October 16 to <!--del_lnk--> October 17, much of the civilian population tried to flee, mobbing the available trains and jamming the roads from the city. Despite all this, Stalin publicly remained in the Soviet capital, somewhat calming the fear and pandemonium.<p><a id="Mozhaisk_defense_line_.2813_October_-_30_October.29" name="Mozhaisk_defense_line_.2813_October_-_30_October.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Mozhaisk defense line (<!--del_lnk--> 13 October - <!--del_lnk--> 30 October)</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23608.jpg.htm" title="Anti-tank fortifications on Moscow streets, 1941."><img alt="Anti-tank fortifications on Moscow streets, 1941." height="163" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_moscow03.jpg" src="../../images/236/23608.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23608.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Anti-tank fortifications on Moscow streets, 1941.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>By <!--del_lnk--> October 13, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, the Wehrmacht had arrived at the Mozhaisk defense line, a hastily constructed double set of fortifications protecting Moscow from the west and stretching from <!--del_lnk--> Kalinin towards <!--del_lnk--> Volokolamsk and Kaluga. However, despite recent reinforcements, the combined strength of the Soviet armies manning the line (the 5th, 16th, 43rd and 49th armies) barely reached 90,000 men, hardly sufficient to stem the German advance. In light of the situation, Zhukov decided to concentrate his forces at four critical points: <!--del_lnk--> Volokolamsk, <!--del_lnk--> Mozhaisk, <!--del_lnk--> Maloyaroslavets and <!--del_lnk--> Kaluga. The entire Soviet Western front, almost completely destroyed after its encirclement near Vyazma, was being recreated from scratch.<p>Moscow itself was transformed into a fortress. According to Zhukov, 250,000 women and teenagers worked, building trenches and anti-tank moats around Moscow, moving almost three million cubic meters of earth with no mechanical help. Moscow's factories were hastily transformed into military complexes: the automobile factory was turned into a <!--del_lnk--> submachine gun armory, a clock factory was manufacturing <!--del_lnk--> mine detonators, the chocolate factory was producing food for the front, and automobile repair stations were repairing damaged tanks and vehicles. However, the situation was very dangerous, as the Soviet capital was still within reach of German panzers. Additionally, Moscow was now a target of massive air raids, although these caused only limited damage because of extensive <!--del_lnk--> anti-aircraft defenses and effective civilian fire brigades.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23609.jpg.htm" title="Shells manufactured on one of the Moscow factories in October-November 1941."><img alt="Shells manufactured on one of the Moscow factories in October-November 1941." height="161" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_moscow07.jpg" src="../../images/236/23609.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23609.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Shells manufactured on one of the Moscow factories in October-November 1941.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> October 13, <!--del_lnk--> 1941 (<!--del_lnk--> October 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, according to other sources), the Wehrmacht resumed its offensive. At first, the Wehrmacht was unwilling to assault the Soviet defenses directly and attempted to bypass them by pushing northeast towards the weakly protected city of Kalinin, and south towards Kaluga and Tula, capturing all three by <!--del_lnk--> October 14. Encouraged by this initial success, the Germans conducted a frontal assault against the fortified line, taking Mozhaisk and <!--del_lnk--> Maloyaroslavets on <!--del_lnk--> October 18, <!--del_lnk--> Naro-Fominsk on <!--del_lnk--> October 21, and <!--del_lnk--> Volokolamsk on <!--del_lnk--> October 27, after intense fighting. Due to the increasing danger of flanking attacks, Zhukov was forced to fall back and withdraw his forces east of the <!--del_lnk--> Nara river.<p>In the south, the Second Panzer Army was moving towards Tula with relative ease, since the Mozhaisk defense line did not extend that far south, and because there were no significant concentrations of Soviet troops to slow down the advance. The bad weather, however, greatly slowed the Germans. Also, the German forces experienced fuel problems and had to deal with damaged and destroyed roads and bridges, so that Guderian reached the outskirts of Tula only by <!--del_lnk--> October 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1941. The German plan initially called for an instant capture of Tula and for a pincer move around Moscow. However, the first attempt to capture the city failed, as German panzers were stopped by the 50th Army and civilian volunteers in a desperate fight. Guderian's army had to stop within sight of the city on <!--del_lnk--> October 29, <!--del_lnk--> 1941.<p><a id="Wehrmacht_at_the_gates_.281_November_-_5_December.29" name="Wehrmacht_at_the_gates_.281_November_-_5_December.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Wehrmacht at the gates (<!--del_lnk--> 1 November - <!--del_lnk--> 5 December)</span></h2>
<p><a id="Wearing_down" name="Wearing_down"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Wearing down</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23610.jpg.htm" title="The October Revolution military parade on November 7, 1941, in Red Square was not cancelled despite German troops on the outskirts of Moscow."><img alt="The October Revolution military parade on November 7, 1941, in Red Square was not cancelled despite German troops on the outskirts of Moscow." height="168" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Moscowbattleparade.jpg" src="../../images/236/23610.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23610.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> October Revolution military parade on November 7, 1941, in Red Square was not cancelled despite German troops on the outskirts of Moscow.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>As <!--del_lnk--> David Glantz pointed out in his book <i>When Titans Clashed</i>, by late October the Wehrmacht and the Red Army could be compared to "punch-drunk boxers, staying precariously on their feet but rapidly losing the power to hurt each other." The German forces were worn out, with only a third of their motor vehicles still functioning, infantry divisions at one-third to one-half strength, and serious logistics issues preventing the delivery of warm clothing and other winter equipment to the front. Even Hitler seemed to surrender to the idea of a long struggle, since the prospect of sending tanks into such a large city without heavy infantry support seemed risky after the costly capture of Warsaw in 1939.<p>To stiffen the resolve of both the Red Army and increasingly demoralized civilians, Stalin ordered the traditional military parade on <!--del_lnk--> November 7 to be staged in <!--del_lnk--> Red Square. Soviet troops paraded past the Kremlin and then marched directly to the front. However, despite such a brave show, the Red Army was actually in a very precarious position. Although 100,000 additional Soviet troops had reinforced Klin and Tula, where new German offensives were expected, Soviet defenses were still relatively thin. Nevertheless, Stalin wanted several preemptive counteroffensives to be launched against the German lines, despite protests from Zhukov, who pointed out the complete lack of reserves. The Wehrmacht was able to repel most of these counteroffensives, depleting the Red Army of men and vehicles that could have been used for Moscow's defense. The offensive was only successful west of Moscow near <!--del_lnk--> Aleksino, where Soviet tanks inflicted heavy losses on the 4th Army because the Germans still lacked anti-tank weapons capable of damaging the new, well-armored T-34 tanks.<p>Despite the defeat near Aleksino, the Wehrmacht still possessed an overall superiority in men and equipment over the Red Army. The German divisions committed to the final assault on Moscow numbered 943,000 men, 1,500 tanks and 650 planes, while Soviet forces were reduced to a shadow of their former selves, with barely 500,000 men, 890 tanks and 1,000 planes. However, compared to October, Soviet rifle divisions occupied much better defensive positions, a triple defensive ring surrounding the city, and some remains of the Mozhaisk line still in Soviet hands near Klin. Most of the Soviet field armies now had a multilayered defense with at least two rifle divisions in second echelon positions. Artillery support and <!--del_lnk--> sapper teams were also concentrated along major roads that German troops were expected to use in their attacks. Finally, Soviet troops — and especially officers — were now more experienced and better prepared for the offensive.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23611.jpg.htm" title="Soviet poster proclaiming, "We shall keep Moscow!""><img alt="Soviet poster proclaiming, "We shall keep Moscow!"" height="358" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Poster_Defend_Moscow.jpg" src="../../images/236/23611.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23611.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Soviet poster proclaiming, "We shall keep Moscow!"</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>By <!--del_lnk--> November 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, the ground had finally frozen, solving the mud problem. The armored Wehrmacht spearheads were unleashed, with the goal of encircling Moscow and linking up near the city of <!--del_lnk--> Noginsk, east of the capital. In order to achieve this objective, the German Third and Fourth Panzer groups needed to concentrate their forces between the Moscow reservoir and Mozhaisk, then proceed to Klin and <!--del_lnk--> Solnechnogorsk to encircle the capital from the north. In the south, the Second Panzer Army intended to bypass Tula, still in Soviet hands, and advance to <!--del_lnk--> Kashira and <!--del_lnk--> Kolomna, linking up with the northern pincer at <!--del_lnk--> Noginsk.<p><a id="Final_pincer" name="Final_pincer"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Final pincer</span></h3>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> November 15, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, German tank armies began their offensive towards Klin, where no Soviet reserves were available due to Stalin's wish to attempt a counteroffensive at <!--del_lnk--> Volokolamsk, which had forced the relocation of all available reserves forces further south. Initial German attacks split the front in two, separating the 16th Army from the 30th. Several days of intense combat followed. As Zhukov recalls in his memoirs, "The enemy, ignoring the casualties, was making frontal assaults, willing to get to Moscow by any means necessary." Despite the Wehrmacht's efforts, the multilayered defense reduced Soviet casualties as the Soviet 16th Army slowly retreated and constantly harassed the German divisions trying to make their way through the fortifications.<p>The Third Panzer Army finally captured Klin after heavy fighting on <!--del_lnk--> November 24, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, and by <!--del_lnk--> November 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, Solnechnogorsk as well. Soviet resistance was still strong, and the outcome of the battle was by no means certain. Reportedly, Stalin asked Zhukov whether Moscow could be successfully defended and ordered him to "speak honestly, like a communist." Zhukov replied that it was possible, but that reserves were desperately needed. By <!--del_lnk--> November 28, the German 7th Panzer Division had seized a bridgehead across the <!--del_lnk--> Moscow-Volga Canal — the last major obstacle before Moscow — and stood less than 35 kilometers from the Kremlin; but a powerful counterattack by the Soviet 1st Shock Army drove them back across the canal. Just northwest of Moscow, the Wehrmacht reached <!--del_lnk--> Krasnaya Polyana, little more than 20 kilometers from Moscow; German officers were able to make out some of the major buildings of the Soviet capital through their field glasses. However, both Soviet and German forces were severely depleted, sometimes having only 150 to 200 riflemen (a company's full strength) left in a regiment.<p>In the south, near Tula, hostilities resumed on <!--del_lnk--> November 18, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, with the Second Panzer army trying to encircle the city. However, the German forces involved were extremely battered from previous fighting, and still had no winter clothing. As a result, initial German progress was only 5 to 10 km (3 to 6 mi) per day, making chances of success "less than certain" according to Guderian. Moreover, it exposed the German tank armies to flanking attacks from the Soviet 49th and 50th armies, located near Tula, further slowing the advance. However, Guderian was still able to pursue the offensive, spreading his forces in a star-like attack, taking <!--del_lnk--> Stalinogorsk on <!--del_lnk--> November 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1941 and surrounding a Soviet rifle division stationed there. On <!--del_lnk--> November 26, German panzers approached <!--del_lnk--> Kashira, a city controlling a major highway to Moscow. In response, a violent Soviet counterattack was launched the following day. General Belov's cavalry corps, supported by several rifle brigades and tank groups, halted the German advance near Kashira. The Germans were driven back in early December, securing the southern approach to the city. Tula itself held, protected by fortifications and determined defenders, both soldiers and civilians. In the south, the Wehrmacht never got close to the capital.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23612.jpg.htm" title="A Soviet soldier in his winter camouflage."><img alt="A Soviet soldier in his winter camouflage." height="215" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_moscow05.jpg" src="../../images/236/23612.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23612.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A Soviet soldier in his winter camouflage.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Due to the resistance on both the northern and southern sides of Moscow, the Wehrmacht attempted, on <!--del_lnk--> December 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, a direct offensive from the west, along the Minsk-Moscow highway near the city of <!--del_lnk--> Naro-Fominsk. However, this attack had only limited tank support and was forced to assault extensive Soviet defenses. After meeting determined resistance from the Soviet 1st Guards Motorized Rifle Division and flank counterattacks staged by the 33rd Army, the German offensive was driven back four days later, with the Germans losing 10,000 men and several dozen tanks.<p>By early December, the temperatures, so far relatively mild by Russian standards, dropped as low as twenty to fifty degrees Celsius below zero, freezing German troops, who still had no winter clothing, and German vehicles, which were not designed for such severe weather. More than 130,000 cases of frostbite were reported among German soldiers. Frozen grease had to be removed from every loaded shell and vehicles had to be heated for hours before use.<p>The Axis offensive on Moscow stopped. As Guderian wrote in his journal, "the offensive on Moscow failed.... We underestimated the enemy's strength, as well as his size and climate. Fortunately, I stopped my troops on December 5, otherwise the catastrophe would be unavoidable."<p><a id="Soviet_counteroffensive" name="Soviet_counteroffensive"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Soviet counteroffensive</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23613.jpg.htm" title="The Soviet winter counter-offensive, 5 December 1941 to 7 May 1942"><img alt="The Soviet winter counter-offensive, 5 December 1941 to 7 May 1942" height="266" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Map_Soviet_1941_Winter_counteroffensive.jpg" src="../../images/236/23613.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23613.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Soviet winter counter-offensive, <!--del_lnk--> 5 December <!--del_lnk--> 1941 to <!--del_lnk--> 7 May <!--del_lnk--> 1942</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Although the Wehrmacht's offensive had been stopped, German intelligence estimated that Soviet forces had no more reserves left and thus would be unable to stage a counteroffensive. This estimate proved wrong, as Stalin transferred fresh divisions from Siberia and Far East, relying on intelligence from his spy, <!--del_lnk--> Richard Sorge, which indicated that Japan would not attack the Soviet Union. The Red Army had accumulated a 58-division reserve by early December, when the offensive proposed by Zhukov and Vasilevsky was finally approved by Stalin. However, even with these new reserves, Soviet forces committed to the operation numbered only 1,100,000 men, only slightly outnumbering the Wehrmacht. Nevertheless, with careful troop deployment, a ratio of two-to-one was reached at some critical points. On <!--del_lnk--> December 5, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, the counteroffensive started on the Kalinin Front. After two days of little progress, Soviet armies retook Krasnaya Polyana and several other cities in the immediate vicinity of Moscow.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23614.jpg.htm" title="December, 1941. Soviet troops in winter gear supported by the tanks take on the Germans in the counter-attack."><img alt="December, 1941. Soviet troops in winter gear supported by the tanks take on the Germans in the counter-attack." height="261" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Soviet_Offensive_Moscow_December_1941.jpg" src="../../images/236/23614.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23614.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> December, 1941. Soviet troops in winter gear supported by the tanks take on the Germans in the counter-attack.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The same day, Hitler signed his directive number 39, ordering the Wehrmacht to assume a defensive stance on the whole front. However, German troops were unable to organize a solid defense at their present locations and were forced to pull back to consolidate their lines. Guderian wrote that discussions with <!--del_lnk--> Hans Schmidt and <!--del_lnk--> Wolfram von Richthofen took place the same day, and both commanders agreed that the current front line could not be held. On <!--del_lnk--> December 14, <!--del_lnk--> Franz Halder and <!--del_lnk--> Günther von Kluge finally gave permission for a limited withdrawal to the west of the <!--del_lnk--> Oka river, without Hitler's approval. On <!--del_lnk--> December 20, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, during a meeting with German senior officers, Hitler cancelled the withdrawal and ordered his soldiers to defend every patch of ground, "digging trenches with howitzer shells if needed." Guderian protested, pointing out that losses from cold were actually greater than combat losses and that winter equipment was held by traffic ties in Poland. Nevertheless, Hitler insisted on defending the existing lines, and Guderian was dismissed by <!--del_lnk--> Christmas, along with generals Hoepner and Strauss, commanders of the 4th Panzers and 9th Army, respectively. <!--del_lnk--> Fedor von Bock was also dismissed, officially for "medical reasons." <!--del_lnk--> Walther von Brauchitsch, Hitler's commander-in-chief, had been removed even earlier, on <!--del_lnk--> December 19, <!--del_lnk--> 1941.<p>Meanwhile, the Soviet offensive continued; in the north, Klin and Kalinin were liberated on <!--del_lnk--> December 15 and <!--del_lnk--> December 16, as the Kalinin Front drove west. The Soviet front commander, General <!--del_lnk--> Konev, attempted to envelop Army Group Centre, but met strong opposition near Rzhev and was forced to halt, forming a salient that would last until 1943. In the south, the offensive went equally well, with Southwestern Front forces relieving <!--del_lnk--> Tula on <!--del_lnk--> December 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1941. In the centre, however, progress was much slower, and Soviet troops liberated Naro-Fominsk only on <!--del_lnk--> December 26, Kaluga on <!--del_lnk--> December 28, and Maloyaroslavets on <!--del_lnk--> January 2, after ten days of violent action. Soviet reserves ran low, and the offensive halted on <!--del_lnk--> January 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1942, after having pushed the exhausted and freezing German armies back 100 to 250 km (60 to 150 mi) from Moscow. This victory provided an important boost for Soviet morale, with the Wehrmacht suffering its first defeat. Having failed to vanquish the Soviet Union in one quick strike, Germany now had to prepare for a prolonged struggle. The <a href="../../wp/b/Blitzkrieg.htm" title="Blitzkrieg">blitzkrieg</a> on Moscow had failed.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23615.jpg.htm" title="The "Defense of Moscow" medal, created in 1944 for soldiers who took part in the battle."><img alt="The "Defense of Moscow" medal, created in 1944 for soldiers who took part in the battle." height="285" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Medal_Defense_of_Moscow.jpg" src="../../images/236/23615.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23615.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The "Defense of Moscow" medal, created in 1944 for soldiers who took part in the battle.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Red Army's winter counteroffensive drove the Wehrmacht from Moscow, but the city was still considered to be threatened, with the front line still relatively close. Thus, the Moscow direction remained a priority for Stalin, who had been frightened by the initial German success. In particular, the initial Soviet advance was unable to level the <!--del_lnk--> Rzhev salient, held by several divisions of Army Group Centre. Immediately after the Moscow counteroffensive, a series of Soviet attacks (the <!--del_lnk--> Battles of Rzhev) were attempted against the salient, each time with heavy losses on both sides. Soviet losses are estimated to be between 500,000 and 1,000,000 men, and German losses between 300,000 and 450,000 men. By early 1943, however, the Wehrmacht had to disengage from the salient as the whole front was moving west. Nevertheless, the Moscow front was not finally secured until October 1943, when Army Group Centre was decisively repulsed from the Smolensk landbridge and from the left shore of the upper <!--del_lnk--> Dnieper at the end of the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Smolensk_%25281943%2529.htm" title="Battle of Smolensk (1943)">Second Battle of Smolensk</a>.<p>Furious that his army had been unable to take Moscow, Hitler dismissed his commander-in-chief, <!--del_lnk--> Walther von Brauchitsch, on <!--del_lnk--> December 19, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, and took personal charge of the Wehrmacht, effectively taking control of all military decisions and setting most experienced German officers against him. Additionally, Hitler surrounded himself with staff officers with little or no recent combat experience. As Guderian wrote in his memoirs, "This created a cold (chill) in our relations, a cold (chill) that could never be eliminated afterwards." This increased Hitler's distrust of his senior officers and ultimately proved fatal to the Wehrmacht. Germany now faced the prospect of a <!--del_lnk--> war of attrition, something it was not prepared for.<p>For the first time since June 1941, Soviet forces had stopped the enemy and driven him back. However, this resulted in Stalin becoming overconfident and deciding to further expand the offensive. On <!--del_lnk--> January 5, <!--del_lnk--> 1942, during a meeting in the Kremlin, Stalin announced that he was planning a general spring counteroffensive, which would be staged simultaneously near Moscow, Leningrad and in southern Russia. This plan was accepted over Zhukov's objections. However, low Red Army reserves and Wehrmacht tactical skill led to a bloody stalemate near Rhzev, known as "<!--del_lnk--> Rzhev meat grinder," and to a string of Red Army defeats, such as the <!--del_lnk--> Second Battle of Kharkov, the failed elimination of the <!--del_lnk--> Demyansk pocket, and the encirclement of General <!--del_lnk--> Vlasov's army near Leningrad in a failed attempt to lift the <!--del_lnk--> siege of the city. Ultimately, these failures would lead to a successful German offensive in the south and to the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Stalingrad.htm" title="Battle of Stalingrad">Battle of Stalingrad</a>.<p>Nevertheless, the defense of Moscow became a symbol of Soviet resistance against the invading Axis forces. To commemorate the battle, Moscow was awarded the title of "<!--del_lnk--> Hero City" in 1965, on the 20th anniversary of <!--del_lnk--> Victory Day. The "Defense of Moscow" medal was created in 1944, and was awarded to soldiers, civilians, and <!--del_lnk--> partisans who took part in the battle.<p><a id="Casualties" name="Casualties"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Casualties</span></h2>
<p>Both German and Soviet casualties during the battle of Moscow have been a subject of debate, as various sources provide somewhat different estimates. Not all historians agree on what should be considered the "Battle of Moscow" in the timeline of World War II. While the start of the battle is usually regarded as the beginning of Operation Typhoon on <!--del_lnk--> September 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1941 (or sometimes on <!--del_lnk--> October 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1941), there are two different dates for the end of the offensive. In particular, some sources (such as Erickson and Glantz) exclude the Rzhev offensive from the scope of the battle, considering it as a distinct operation and making the Moscow offensive "stop" on <!--del_lnk--> January 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1942 — thus lowering the number of casualties. Other historians, who include the Rzhev and Vyazma operations in the scope of the battle (thus making the battle end in May 1942), give higher casualty numbers. Since the Rzhev operation started on <!--del_lnk--> January 8, <!--del_lnk--> 1942, with no pause after the previous counteroffensive, such a stance is understandable.<p>There are also significant differences in figures from various sources. John Erickson, in his <i>Barbarossa: The Axis and the Allies</i>, gives a figure of 653,924 Soviet casualties between October 1941 and January 1942. Glantz, in his book <i>When Titans Clashed</i>, gives a figure of 658,279 for the defense phase alone, and of 370,955 for the winter counteroffensive until <!--del_lnk--> January 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1942. The <i>Great Soviet Encyclopedia</i> published in 1973-1978, estimates 400,000 German casualties by January, 1942. Another estimate available is provided in the <i>Moscow Encyclopedia</i>, published in 1997; its authors, based on various sources, give a figure of 145,000 German and 900,000 Soviet casualties for the defensive phase, along with 103,000 German and 380,000 Soviet casualties for the counteroffensive until <!--del_lnk--> January 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1942. Therefore, total casualties between <!--del_lnk--> September 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1941 and <!--del_lnk--> January 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1942 are estimated to be between 248,000 and 400,000 for the Wehrmacht (GSE / Moscow encyclopedia estimate) and between 650,000 and 1,280,000 for the Red Army (Erickson / Moscow encyclopedia estimate).<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Moscow"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War II', 'Moscow', 'Nazi Germany', 'Soviet Union', 'Aleksandr Vasilevsky', 'Battle of Stalingrad', 'Battle of Smolensk (1943)', 'Moscow', 'World War II', 'Nazi Germany', 'Adolf Hitler', 'Blitzkrieg', 'Leningrad', 'Kiev', 'Binoculars', 'Blitzkrieg', 'Ukraine', 'Blitzkrieg', 'Leningrad', 'Aleksandr Vasilevsky', 'Luftwaffe', 'Blitzkrieg', 'T-34', 'Blitzkrieg', 'Battle of Smolensk (1943)', 'Battle of Stalingrad']
|
Battle_of_Normandy
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Normandy,Operation Overlord,101st Airborne Division,12th SS (Hitler Youth) Panzer division,12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend,1942,1944,1944 D-Day Operation Overlord (videogame),21st Panzer division,3rd Canadian Infantry Division,502d Parachute Infantry Regiment" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Normandy</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Normandy";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Normandy";
var wgArticleId = 46128;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Normandy">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Normandy</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Normandy Campaign</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="227" longdesc="/wiki/Image:NormandyLST.jpeg" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="300" /><br /> Assault landing. One of the first waves at Omaha Beach. The <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Coast Guard caption identifies the unit as Company E, 16th Infantry, <!--del_lnk--> 1st Infantry Division.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> June 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1944 – <!--del_lnk--> August 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1944</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Normandy, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Allied victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1294.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:US_flag_48_stars.svg" src="../../images/236/23617.png" width="25" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/156/15611.png" width="25" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/236/23618.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Canadian_Red_Ensign.svg" src="../../images/236/23618.png" width="25" /></a> <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/74/7476.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="17" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Free_France_1940-1944.svg" src="../../images/236/23619.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Free France<br /><span style="display: inline;"><span style="display: table-cell; border-collapse: collapse; border: solid 1px #ddd;"><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1139.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="16" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Poland.svg" src="../../images/106/10671.png" width="25" /></a></span></span> <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1309.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany_1933.svg" src="../../images/201/20163.png" width="25" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Germany</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1294.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:US_flag_48_stars.svg" src="../../images/236/23617.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Dwight Eisenhower<br /> (<!--del_lnk--> Supreme Allied Commander)<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/156/15611.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Bernard Montgomery (land)<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/156/15611.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Bertram Ramsay (sea)<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/156/15611.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air)</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1309.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany_1933.svg" src="../../images/201/20163.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST)<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1309.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany_1933.svg" src="../../images/201/20163.png" width="25" /></a> <a href="../../wp/e/Erwin_Rommel.htm" title="Erwin Rommel">Erwin Rommel (absent)</a> (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Heeresgruppe</i> B)<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1309.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany_1933.svg" src="../../images/201/20163.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Friedrich Dollmann (<!--del_lnk--> <i>7.Armee</i>)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">326,000 (by <!--del_lnk--> June 11)</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">Unknown, probably some 1,000,000 in France by early June, but split up over the entire region</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><b>United States</b>: 29,000 dead, 106,000 wounded and missing;<br /><b>United Kingdom</b>: 11,000 dead, 54,000 wounded and missing;<br /><b>Canada</b>: 5,000 dead; 13,000 wounded and missing;<br /><b>France</b>: 12,200 civilian dead and missing</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">200,000 dead, wounded and missing; 200,000 captured</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><strong class="selflink">Battle of Normandy</strong></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Sword – <!--del_lnk--> Juno – <!--del_lnk--> Gold – <!--del_lnk--> Omaha – <!--del_lnk--> Utah – <!--del_lnk--> Pointe du Hoc – <!--del_lnk--> Brécourt Manor – <!--del_lnk--> Chicago – <!--del_lnk--> Villers-Bocage – <!--del_lnk--> Cherbourg – <!--del_lnk--> Epsom – <!--del_lnk--> Goodwood – <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic – <!--del_lnk--> Spring – <!--del_lnk--> Cobra – <!--del_lnk--> Bluecoat – <!--del_lnk--> <i>Lüttich</i> – <!--del_lnk--> Totalise – <!--del_lnk--> Tractable – <!--del_lnk--> Falaise – <!--del_lnk--> Brest – <!--del_lnk--> Paris</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Western European Campaign</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong class="selflink">Normandy</strong> - <!--del_lnk--> Dragoon - <!--del_lnk--> Siegfried Line - <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Bulge.htm" title="Battle of the Bulge">Ardennes Offensive</a> - <!--del_lnk--> Elbe</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Western Front (World War II)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_France.htm" title="Battle of France">France</a> - <!--del_lnk--> The Netherlands - <!--del_lnk--> Dunkirk - <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Britain.htm" title="Battle of Britain">Britain</a> - <!--del_lnk--> Dieppe - <!--del_lnk--> Villefranche-de-Rouergue - <strong class="selflink">Normandy</strong> - <!--del_lnk--> Dragoon - <!--del_lnk--> Arnhem - <!--del_lnk--> Scheldt - <!--del_lnk--> Hurtgen Forest - <!--del_lnk--> Aachen - <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Bulge.htm" title="Battle of the Bulge">Bulge</a> - <!--del_lnk--> Plunder - <!--del_lnk--> Varsity - <!--del_lnk--> Aintree</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Normandy</b> was fought in <!--del_lnk--> 1944 between <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> in <!--del_lnk--> Western Europe and the invading <!--del_lnk--> Allied forces as part of the larger conflict of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>. Over sixty years later, the <!--del_lnk--> Normandy <a href="../../wp/i/Invasion.htm" title="Invasion">invasion</a>, <!--del_lnk--> codenamed <b>Operation Overlord</b>, still remains the largest seaborne invasion in history, involving almost three million troops crossing the <a href="../../wp/e/English_Channel.htm" title="English Channel">English Channel</a> from <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a> to <!--del_lnk--> Normandy in then German-occupied <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a>.<p>The primary Allied formations that saw combat in Normandy came from the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States of America">United States of America</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> and <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>. Substantial <!--del_lnk--> Free French and <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Polish</a> forces also participated in the battle after the assault phase, and there were also contingents from <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Czechoslovakia, <a href="../../wp/g/Greece.htm" title="Greece">Greece</a>, <!--del_lnk--> the Netherlands, and <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a>.<p>The Normandy invasion began with overnight <!--del_lnk--> parachute and <!--del_lnk--> glider landings, massive <!--del_lnk--> air attacks and <!--del_lnk--> naval bombardments, and an early morning <!--del_lnk--> amphibious assault on <!--del_lnk--> June 6, “<!--del_lnk--> D-Day”. The battle for Normandy continued for more than two months, with campaigns to establish, expand, and eventually break out of the Allied beachheads, and concluded with the <!--del_lnk--> liberation of Paris and the fall of the <!--del_lnk--> Falaise pocket in late August 1944.<p>The battle of Normandy was described thus by <a href="../../wp/a/Adolf_Hitler.htm" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a> : “In the East, the vastness of space will… permit a loss of territory… without suffering a mortal blow to Germany’s chance for survival. Not so in the West! If the enemy here succeeds… consequences of staggering proportions will follow within a short time.”<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Prelude" name="Prelude"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude</span></h2>
<p><a id="Allied_preparations" name="Allied_preparations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Allied preparations</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23620.jpg.htm" title="Invasion training in England - Hitting the beach."><img alt="Invasion training in England - Hitting the beach." height="165" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Invasion_Training_in_England_03.jpg" src="../../images/236/23620.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23620.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Invasion training in England - Hitting the beach.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23621.jpg.htm" title="Training with live ammunition in England."><img alt="Training with live ammunition in England." height="206" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Invasion_Training_in_England_04.jpg" src="../../images/236/23621.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23621.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Training with live ammunition in England.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/42/4241.jpg.htm" title="Eisenhower speaks with U.S. paratroops of the 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on the evening of June 5, 1944."><img alt="Eisenhower speaks with U.S. paratroops of the 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on the evening of June 5, 1944." height="241" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Eisenhower_d-day.jpg" src="../../images/236/23622.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/42/4241.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Eisenhower speaks with U.S. paratroops of the <!--del_lnk--> 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment, <!--del_lnk--> 101st Airborne Division on the evening of June 5, 1944.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>After the 1941 German invasion of the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> (<!--del_lnk--> Operation Barbarossa), the <!--del_lnk--> Soviets had done the bulk of the fighting against Germany on the European mainland. President <a href="../../wp/f/Franklin_D._Roosevelt.htm" title="Franklin D. Roosevelt">Franklin D. Roosevelt</a> and Prime Minister <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> had committed the United States and the United Kingdom to opening up a “second front” in Europe to aid in the Soviet advance on Germany, initially in 1942, and again in spring 1943.<p>The British, under Churchill, wished to avoid the costly <!--del_lnk--> frontal assaults of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a>. Churchill and the British staff favoured a course of allowing the <!--del_lnk--> insurgency work of the <!--del_lnk--> SOE to come to widespread fruition, while themselves making a main Allied thrust from the <a href="../../wp/m/Mediterranean_Sea.htm" title="Mediterranean">Mediterranean</a> to <a href="../../wp/v/Vienna.htm" title="Vienna">Vienna</a> and into Germany from the south. Such an approach was also believed to offer the advantage of creating a barrier to limit the Soviet advance into Europe. However, the U.S. believed from the onset that the optimum approach was the shortest route to Germany emanating from the strongest Allied power base. They were adamant in their view and made it clear that it was the only option they would support in the long term. Two preliminary proposals were drawn up: <!--del_lnk--> Operation Sledgehammer, for an invasion in 1942, and Operation Roundup, for a larger attack in 1943, which was adopted and became Operation Overlord, although it was delayed until 1944.<p>The planning process was started in earnest in March 1943 by British <!--del_lnk--> Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Morgan, who was nominated Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (or <!--del_lnk--> COSSAC for short). His plan was later adopted and refined starting in January 1944 by <!--del_lnk--> SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force), led by <!--del_lnk--> General Dwight David Eisenhower.<p>The short operating range of Allied fighters, including the British <a href="../../wp/s/Supermarine_Spitfire.htm" title="Supermarine Spitfire">Spitfire</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Typhoon, from UK airfields greatly limited the choices of amphibious landing sites. Geography reduced the choices further to two sites: the <i><!--del_lnk--> Pas de Calais</i> and the <!--del_lnk--> Normandy coast. Because the <i>Pas de Calais</i> offered the shortest distance to the European mainland from the UK, the best landing beaches, and the most direct overland route to Germany, it was the most heavily fortified and defended landing site. Consequently, the Allies chose Normandy for the invasion.<p>In part because of lessons learned by Allied troops in the <!--del_lnk--> raid on Dieppe of <!--del_lnk--> 19 August <!--del_lnk--> 1942, the Allies decided not to assault a French <!--del_lnk--> seaport directly in their first landings. Landings in force on a broad front in Normandy would permit simultaneous threats against the port of <!--del_lnk--> Cherbourg, coastal ports further west in <!--del_lnk--> Bretagne, and an overland attack towards <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a> and towards the border with Germany. Normandy was a less-defended coast and an unexpected but strategic jumping-off point, with the potential to confuse and scatter the German defending forces.<p>It was not until November 1943 <!--del_lnk--> that <!--del_lnk--> General Dwight David Eisenhower was appointed <!--del_lnk--> Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, effectively giving him overall charge of the Allied forces in Western Europe. In January 1944, <!--del_lnk--> General Sir Bernard Montgomery was named as commander of the 21st Army Group, to which all of the invasion ground forces belonged, and also in charge of developing the invasion plan.<p>At that stage the <!--del_lnk--> COSSAC plan proposed a landing from the sea by three <!--del_lnk--> divisions, with two <!--del_lnk--> brigades landed by air. Montgomery quickly increased the scale of the initial attack to five divisions by sea and three by air, reflected in the plans for an additional assault at <!--del_lnk--> Utah Beach. In total, 47 divisions would be committed to the Battle of Normandy: 19 British, 5 Canadian and 1 Polish divisions under overall British command, and 21 American divisions with 1 Free French division, totaling 140,000 troops. On <!--del_lnk--> 7 April and <!--del_lnk--> 15 May Montgomery presented his strategy for the invasion at <!--del_lnk--> St Paul’s School. He envisaged a ninety day battle, ending when all the forces reached the <!--del_lnk--> Seine, pivoting on an Allied-held <!--del_lnk--> Caen, with British and Canadian armies forming a shoulder and the U.S. armies wheeling to the right.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23623.jpg.htm" title="U.S. soldiers march through Weymouth, a southern English coastal town, en route to board landing ships for the invasion of France."><img alt="U.S. soldiers march through Weymouth, a southern English coastal town, en route to board landing ships for the invasion of France." height="206" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Soldiers-english-coast.jpg" src="../../images/236/23623.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23623.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> U.S. soldiers march through <a href="../../wp/w/Weymouth.htm" title="Weymouth">Weymouth</a>, a southern English coastal town, en route to board landing ships for the invasion of France.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>About 6,900 vessels would be involved in the invasion under the command of <!--del_lnk--> Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay (who had been directly involved in the North African and Italian landings), including 4,100 <!--del_lnk--> landing craft. 12,000 aircraft under <!--del_lnk--> Air Marshal <!--del_lnk--> Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory were to support the landings, including 1,000 transports to fly in the parachute troops. 10,000 tons of bombs would be dropped against the German defenses, and 14,000 attack sorties would be flown.<p>The objective for the first 40 days was to create a <!--del_lnk--> lodgement that would include the cities of <!--del_lnk--> Caen and Cherbourg (especially Cherbourg, for its deep-water port). Subsequently, there would be a break out from the lodgement to liberate Brittany and its Atlantic ports, and to advance to a line roughly 125 miles (190 km) to the southwest of <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a>, from <!--del_lnk--> Le Havre through <!--del_lnk--> Le Mans to <!--del_lnk--> Tours, so that after ninety days the allies would control a zone bounded by the rivers <!--del_lnk--> Loire in the south and <!--del_lnk--> Seine in the northeast.<p><a id="Deception" name="Deception"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Deception</span></h4>
<p>In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a deception operation, <!--del_lnk--> Operation Bodyguard, designed to persuade the Germans that other points would be threatened as well as northern France (such as the Balkans and the south of France). Then, in the weeks leading up to the invasion, in order to persuade the Germans that the main invasion would really be coming to the Pas de Calais, as well as to lead them to expect an invasion of Norway, the Allies prepared a massive deception plan, called <i><b><!--del_lnk--> Operation Fortitude</b></i>. Operation Fortitude North would lead the Axis to expect an attack on Norway; the much more vital Operation Fortitude South was designed to lead the Germans to expect the main invasion at the Pas de Calais, and to hold back forces to guard against this threat rather than rushing them to Normandy. An entirely fictitious First U.S. Army Group (“FUSAG”), supposedly located in southeastern England under the command of <!--del_lnk--> General Lesley J. McNair and <!--del_lnk--> General George S. Patton, Jr., was created in German minds by the use of double agents and fake radio traffic. The Germans had an extensive network of agents operating in England. Unfortunately for them, every single one had been <!--del_lnk--> “turned” by the Allies as part of the <!--del_lnk--> Double Cross System, and appropriate agents were dutifully sending back messages “confirming” the existence and location of FUSAG and the <i>Pas de Calais</i> as the likely main attack point. Dummy landing craft, constructed from scaffolding and canvas, were placed in ports on the eastern and southeastern coasts of Britain, and the <i><a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a></i> was allowed to photograph them.<p>In aid of Operation Fortitude North, <i><b><!--del_lnk--> Operation Skye</b></i> was mounted from Scotland using radio traffic, designed to convince German traffic analysts that an invasion would be also mounted into <a href="../../wp/n/Norway.htm" title="Norway">Norway</a>. Against this phantom threat, German troops that otherwise could have been moved into France were instead kept in Norway.<p><a id="Special_equipment" name="Special_equipment"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Special equipment</span></h4>
<p>Some of the more unusual Allied preparations included armoured vehicles specially adapted for the assault. Developed under the leadership of <!--del_lnk--> Major-General Percy Hobart (Montgomery’s brother-in-law), these vehicles (called <i><!--del_lnk--> Hobart’s Funnies</i>) included “swimming” <!--del_lnk--> Duplex Drive Sherman tanks, mine-clearing tanks, bridge-laying tanks and road-laying tanks and the <i>Armoured Vehicle, <!--del_lnk--> Royal Engineers</i> (AVRE) - equipped with a large-caliber <!--del_lnk--> mortar for destroying concrete emplacements. Some prior testing of these vehicles had been undertaken at <!--del_lnk--> Kirkham Priory in <!--del_lnk--> Yorkshire, England. The majority would be operated by small teams of the British <!--del_lnk--> 79th Armoured Division attached to the various formations.<p>The invasion plan also called for the construction of two artificial <!--del_lnk--> Mulberry Harbours in order to get vital supplies to the invading forces in the first few weeks of the battle in the absence of deep-water ports, and <!--del_lnk--> Operation PLUTO (<b>P</b>ipe <b>L</b>ine <b>U</b>nder <b>T</b>he <b>O</b>cean), a series of submarine pipes that would deliver fuel from Britain to the invading forces.<p><a id="Rehearsals_and_security" name="Rehearsals_and_security"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Rehearsals and security</span></h4>
<p>Allied forces rehearsed their roles for D-Day months before the invasion. On <!--del_lnk--> April 28, 1944, in south <!--del_lnk--> Devon on the English coast, 749 U.S. soldiers and sailors were killed when <!--del_lnk--> German torpedo boats surprised one of these landing exercises, <!--del_lnk--> Exercise Tiger.<p>The effectiveness of the deception operations was increased by a news blackout from Britain. Travel to and from the <!--del_lnk--> Irish Free State was banned, and movements within several miles of the coasts restricted. The German embassies and consulates abroad were flooded with all sorts of misleading information, in the well-founded hope that any genuine information on the landings would be ignored with all the confusing chaff.<p>In the weeks before the invasion it was noticed that the crossword of the British <!--del_lnk--> <i>Daily Telegraph</i> newspaper contained a surprisingly large number of words which were codewords relating to the invasion. <!--del_lnk--> MI-5 (the Security Service) first thought this was a coincidence, but when the word <i>Mulberry</i> was one of the crossword answers, MI-5 then interviewed the compiler—a schoolmaster—and were convinced of his innocence. Decades later it was revealed that the words were suggested by his pupils, and that they had heard nearby soldiers using them, without knowing what they meant.<p>There were several leaks on or before D-Day, of which one is of major interest. It involved <!--del_lnk--> General de Gaulle’s radio message after D-Day. He, unlike all the other leaders, stated that this invasion was the real invasion. This had the potential to ruin the Allied deceptions Fortitude North and Fortitude South. For example, Eisenhower referred to the landings as the initial invasion. The Germans did not believe de Gaulle and waited too long to move in extra units against the Allies.<p><a id="German_preparations" name="German_preparations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">German preparations</span></h3>
<p>Through most of 1942 and 1943, the Germans had rightly regarded the possibility of a successful Allied invasion in the West as remote. Preparations to counter an invasion were limited to the construction by the <!--del_lnk--> Organisation Todt, of photographically impressive fortifications covering the major ports.<p>In late 1943, the obvious Allied buildup in Britain prompted the German Commander-in-Chief in the West, Field Marshal <!--del_lnk--> Gerd von Rundstedt, to request reinforcements. Most of his units were static garrison formations only, lacking transport and supporting services, and composed of men in low-grade physical categories (e.g. those who had lost fingers or toes to frostbite on the Eastern Front), or unwillingly conscripted Poles or other non-German nationalities.<p>In addition to fresh units, von Rundstedt also received a new subordinate, Field Marshal <a href="../../wp/e/Erwin_Rommel.htm" title="Erwin Rommel">Erwin Rommel</a>. Rommel was originally intended only to make a tour of inspection of the <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic Wall. After reporting to Hitler, Rommel requested command of the defenders of northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. These were organised as <!--del_lnk--> Army Group B in February 1944. (The German forces in southern France were designated as Army Group G, under General <!--del_lnk--> Johannes Blaskowitz).<p>Rommel had recognised that for all their propaganda value, the Atlantic Wall fortifications covered only the ports themselves. The beaches between were barely defended, and the Allies could land there and capture the ports from inland. He revitalised the defenders, who laboured to improve the defences of the entire coastline. Steel obstacles were laid at the high-water mark on the beaches, concrete bunkers and pillboxes constructed, low-lying areas flooded and booby-trapped stakes known as <i>Rommelspargel</i> (Rommel's asparagus) set up on likely landing grounds to deter airborne landings.<p>These works were not fully completed, especially in the vital Normandy sector, partly because Allied bombing of the French railway system interfered with the movement of the necessary materials, and also because the Germans were convinced by the Allied deception measures and their own preconceptions that the landings would take place in the Pas de Calais, and concentrated their efforts there.<p>Rommel's defensive measures were also frustrated by a dispute over armoured doctrine. In addition to his two army groups, von Rundstedt also commanded a headquarters known as <i>Panzer Group West</i> under General <!--del_lnk--> Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg (usually referred to as <i>von Geyr</i>). This formation was nominally an administrative HQ for von Rundstedt's armoured and mobile formations, but it was to be renamed <!--del_lnk--> Fifth Panzer Army and brought into the line in Normandy. Von Geyr and Rommel disagreed over the deployment and use of the vital Panzer divisions.<p>Rommel recognised that the Allies would possess air superiority, and would be able to harass his movements from the air. He therefore proposed that the armoured formations be deployed close to the invasion beaches. In his words, it was better to have one Panzer division facing the invaders on the first day, than three Panzer divisions three days later when the allies would already have established a firm beachhead. Von Geyr argued for the standard doctrine that the Panzer formations should be concentrated in a central position around Paris and Rouen, and deployed <i>en masse</i> against the main Allied beachhead when this had been identified.<p>The argument went all the way up to Hitler, who characteristically imposed an unworkable compromise solution. Three Panzer divisions were given to Rommel, too few to cover all the threatened sectors, and three to von Geyr, not enough for a decisive intervention. (Four others were dispersed in Southern France and the Netherlands, under the tactical control of neither commander). Also, Hitler reserved to himself the authority to move most of these divisions, or commit them to action. On June 6, many Panzer division commanders were unable to move, as Hitler had not given the necessary authorization.<p><a id="The_Allied_invasion_plan" name="The_Allied_invasion_plan"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Allied invasion plan</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23625.jpg.htm" title="D-day assault routes into Normandy."><img alt="D-day assault routes into Normandy." height="229" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Allied_Invasion_Force.jpg" src="../../images/236/23625.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23625.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> D-day assault routes into Normandy.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The order of battle was approximately as follows, east to west:<p><a id="British_sector_.28Second_Army.29" name="British_sector_.28Second_Army.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">British sector (Second Army)</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 6th Airborne Division was delivered by <!--del_lnk--> parachute and <!--del_lnk--> glider to the east of the <!--del_lnk--> River Orne to protect the left flank.<li>1st Special Service Brigade comprising No.3, No.4, No.6 and <!--del_lnk--> No.45(RM) <!--del_lnk--> Commandos landed at <!--del_lnk--> Ouistreham in <i>Queen Red</i> sector (leftmost). No.4 Commando were augmented by 1 and 8 Troop (both French) of No.10 (Inter Allied) Commando.<li><!--del_lnk--> I Corps, <!--del_lnk--> 3rd Infantry Division and the <!--del_lnk--> 27th Armoured Brigade on <b><!--del_lnk--> Sword Beach</b>, from <!--del_lnk--> Ouistreham to <!--del_lnk--> Lion-sur-Mer.<li>No.41(RM) Commando (part of 4th Special Service Brigade) landed on the far right of Sword Beach.<li><!--del_lnk--> Canadian 3rd Infantry Division, <!--del_lnk--> Canadian 2nd Armoured Brigade and No.48 (RM) Commando on <b><!--del_lnk--> Juno Beach</b>, from <!--del_lnk--> Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer to <!--del_lnk--> La Rivière-Saint-Sauveur.<li>No.46(RM) Commando (part of 4th Special Service Brigade) at <i>Juno</i> to scale the cliffs on the left side of the <!--del_lnk--> Orne River estuary and destroy a battery. (Battery fire proved negligible so No.46 were kept off-shore as a floating reserve and landed on D+1).<li><!--del_lnk--> XXX Corps, <!--del_lnk--> 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and <!--del_lnk--> 8th Armoured Brigade on <b><!--del_lnk--> Gold Beach</b>, from La Rivière to <!--del_lnk--> Arromanches.<li>No.47(RM) Commando (part of 4th Special Service Brigade) on the West flank of Gold beach.<li><!--del_lnk--> 79th Armoured Division operated specialist armour ("<!--del_lnk--> Hobart's Funnies") for mine-clearing, recovery and assault tasks. These were distributed around the Anglo-Canadian beaches.</ul>
<p><a id="U.S._Sector_.28First_Army.29" name="U.S._Sector_.28First_Army.29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">U.S. Sector (First Army)</span></h3>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> V Corps, <!--del_lnk--> 1st Infantry Division and <!--del_lnk--> 29th Infantry Division on <b><!--del_lnk--> Omaha Beach</b>, from <!--del_lnk--> Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes to <!--del_lnk--> Vierville-sur-Mer.<li>2nd and 5th <!--del_lnk--> Ranger Battalions at <!--del_lnk--> Pointe du Hoc (The 5th diverted to Omaha).<li><!--del_lnk--> VII Corps, <!--del_lnk--> 4th Infantry Division and the 359th <!--del_lnk--> RCT of the <!--del_lnk--> 90th Infantry Division on <b><!--del_lnk--> Utah Beach</b>, around Pouppeville and <!--del_lnk--> La Madeleine.<li><!--del_lnk--> 101st Airborne Division by parachute around <!--del_lnk--> Vierville to support Utah Beach landings.<li><!--del_lnk--> 82nd Airborne Division by parachute around <!--del_lnk--> Sainte-Mère-Église, protecting the right flank. They had originally been tasked with dropping further west, in the middle part of the <!--del_lnk--> Cotentin, allowing the sea-landing forces to their east easier access across the peninsula, and preventing the Germans from reinforcing the north part of the peninsula. The plans were later changed to move them much closer to the beachhead, as at the last minute the <!--del_lnk--> 91st Air Landing Division was found to be in the area.</ul>
<p><a id="Naval_participants" name="Naval_participants"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Naval participants</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/115/11522.jpg.htm" title="Large landing craft convoy crosses the English Channel on June 6, 1944."><img alt="Large landing craft convoy crosses the English Channel on June 6, 1944." height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lci-convoy.jpg" src="../../images/236/23626.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/115/11522.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Large landing craft convoy crosses the English Channel on <!--del_lnk--> June 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1944.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Invasion Fleet was drawn from 8 different navies, comprising 6,939 vessels: 1,213 warships, 4,125 transport vessels (landing ships and <!--del_lnk--> landing craft) and 1,600 support vessels which included a number of merchant vessels.<p>The overall commander of the Allied Naval Expeditionary Force, providing close protection and bombardment at the beaches, was Admiral Sir <!--del_lnk--> Bertram Ramsay. The Allied Naval Expeditionary Force was divided into two Naval Task Forces: Western (Rear-Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Alan G Kirk) and Eastern (Rear-Admiral Sir <!--del_lnk--> Philip Vian).<p>The warships provided cover for the transports against the enemy whether in the form of surface warships, submarines or as an aerial attack and give support to the landings through shore bombardment. These ships included the Allied Task Force "O".<dl>
<dd><i>Full details of the naval participants in the landings are given at <!--del_lnk--> Operation Neptune.</i></dl>
<p><a id="Codenames" name="Codenames"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Codenames</span></h3>
<p>The Allies assigned codenames to the various operations involved in the invasion. <i>Overlord</i> was the name assigned to the establishment of a large-scale lodgement on the Continent. The first phase, the establishment of a secure foothold, was codenamed <i>Neptune</i>. According to the D-day museum <!--del_lnk--> :<dl>
<dd><i>"The armed forces use codenames to refer to the planning and execution of specific military operations. Operation Overlord was the codename for the Allied invasion of northwest Europe. The assault phase of Operation Overlord was known as Operation Neptune. (...) Operation Neptune began on D-Day (6 June 1944) and ended on <!--del_lnk--> 30 June 1944. By this time, the Allies had established a firm foothold in Normandy. Operation Overlord also began on D-Day, and continued until Allied forces crossed the River Seine on <!--del_lnk--> 19 August 1944."</i></dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23627.jpg.htm" title="German coastal artillery in the Pas-de-Calais area, with laborers at work on casemate."><img alt="German coastal artillery in the Pas-de-Calais area, with laborers at work on casemate." height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:German_coast_artillery_in_the_Pas-de-Calais_area_02.jpg" src="../../images/236/23627.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23627.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> German <!--del_lnk--> coastal artillery in the <!--del_lnk--> Pas-de-Calais area, with laborers at work on <!--del_lnk--> casemate.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="German_defenses" name="German_defenses"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">German defenses</span></h2>
<p>The Germans had extensively fortified the foreshore area as part of their <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic Wall defences, with the thought that the forthcoming landings would be timed for high tide (this caused the landings to be timed for low tide). It was guarded by four divisions, of which only one (352nd) was of high quality (in fact, the only quality was from a cadre of the 321st Division—the core of 352nd). The 352nd had many troops who had seen action on the eastern front and on the 6th, had been carrying out anti-invasion exercises. The other defending troops included Germans who, usually for medical reasons, were not considered fit for active duty on the Eastern Front, and various other nationalities such as Soviet prisoners of war from the southern USSR who had agreed to fight for the Germans rather than endure the harsh conditions of German POW camps.<p>German defenses located in the Allies' planned landing areas consisted of four divisional areas or responsibility, with reserves also deployed in these areas.<p><a id="Divisional_Areas" name="Divisional_Areas"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Divisional Areas</span></h4>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 716th Infantry Division (Static) defended the Eastern end of the landing zones, including most of the British and Canadian beaches.<li><!--del_lnk--> 352nd Infantry Division defended the area between approximately Bayeux and Carentan, including Omaha beach. Unlike the other divisions this one was well-trained and contained many combat veterans.<li><!--del_lnk--> 6th Parachute Regiment (Oberstleutnant Dr. Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte) defended <!--del_lnk--> Carentan.<li><!--del_lnk--> 91st Air Landing Division (<i>Luftlande</i> – air transported) (Generalmajor Wilhelm Falley), comprising the <!--del_lnk--> 1057th Infantry Regiment and <!--del_lnk--> 1058th Infantry Regiment. This was a regular infantry division, trained, and equipped to be transported by air (i.e. transportable artillery, few heavy support weapons) located in the interior of the <!--del_lnk--> Cotentin Peninsula, including the landing zone of the American <!--del_lnk--> airdrops.<li><!--del_lnk--> 709th Infantry Division (Static) (Generalleutnant <!--del_lnk--> Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben), comprising the <!--del_lnk--> 729th Infantry Regiment, <!--del_lnk--> 739th Infantry Regiment (both with four battalions, but the 729th 4th and the 739th 1st and 4th being Ost, these two regiments had no regimental support companies either), and <!--del_lnk--> 919th Infantry Regiment. This coastal defense division protected the eastern, and northern (including Cherbourg) coast of the Cotentin Peninsula, including the Utah beach landing zone.</ul>
<p><a id="Adjacent_Divisional_Areas" name="Adjacent_Divisional_Areas"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Adjacent Divisional Areas</span></h4>
<p>Other divisions occupied the areas around the landing zones, including:<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> 243rd Infantry Division (Static) (Generalleutnant <!--del_lnk--> Heinz Hellmich), comprising the <!--del_lnk--> 920th Infantry Regiment (two battalions), <!--del_lnk--> 921st Infantry Regiment, and <!--del_lnk--> 922nd Infantry Regiment. This coastal defense division protected the western coast of the Cotentin Peninsula.<li><!--del_lnk--> 711th Infantry Division (Static), comprising the <!--del_lnk--> 731th Infantry Regiment, and <!--del_lnk--> 744th Infantry Regiment. This division defended the western part of the <!--del_lnk--> Pays de Caux.<li><!--del_lnk--> 30th Mobile Brigade (Oberstleutnant Freiherr von und zu Aufsess), comprising three <!--del_lnk--> bicycle battalions.</ul>
<p><a id="Mobile_Reserves" name="Mobile_Reserves"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Mobile Reserves</span></h4>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> 21st Panzer Division (Generalmajor Edgar Feuchtinger) was deployed near Caen as a mobile striking force, and the <!--del_lnk--> 12th SS Panzer Division <i>Hitlerjugend</i> (Brigadeführer Fritz de Witt) was stationed to the southeast. Its officers and <!--del_lnk--> NCOs were long-serving veterans, but the junior soldiers had all been recruited directly from the <!--del_lnk--> Hitler Youth movement at the age of seventeen in 1943, and it was to acquire a reputation for ferocity and war crimes in the coming battle.<p><a id="The_landings" name="The_landings"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The landings</span></h2>
<p><a id="Weather_Forecast" name="Weather_Forecast"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Weather Forecast</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23629.jpg.htm" title="British Pathfinders synchronizing their watches in front of an Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle."><img alt="British Pathfinders synchronizing their watches in front of an Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle." height="198" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Operation_Tonga.jpg" src="../../images/236/23629.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23629.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> British <!--del_lnk--> Pathfinders synchronizing their watches in front of an Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The final factor in determining the date of the landing was the anticipated weather. By this stage of the war, the German U-Boats had largely been driven from the Atlantic and their weather stations in <a href="../../wp/g/Greenland.htm" title="Greenland">Greenland</a> had been closed down. The Allies possessed an advantage in knowledge of conditions in the Atlantic which was to prove decisive.<p>A full moon was required both for light for the aircraft pilots and for the <a href="../../wp/t/Tide.htm" title="Tide">spring tide</a>. Most of May had seen fine weather, but this deteriorated in early June. Eisenhower had tentatively selected June 5 as the date for the assault, but on June 4, conditions were clearly unsuitable for a landing; wind and high seas made it impossible to launch landing craft and low cloud would prevent aircraft finding their targets. The Allied troop convoys already at sea were forced to take shelter in bays and inlets on the south coast of Britain.<p>It seemed possible that everything would have to be cancelled and the troops returned to their camps (a vast undertaking, as the enormous movement of follow-up formations was already proceeding). The next full moon period would be nearly a month away. At a vital meeting on June 5, Eisenhower's chief meteorologist (Group Captain <!--del_lnk--> J.M. Stagg) forecast a brief improvement for June 6. Montgomery and Eisenhower's Chief of Staff (General <!--del_lnk--> Walter Bedell Smith) were keen to proceed with the invasion. Leigh Mallory was doubtful, but Admiral Ramsay allowed that conditions would be marginally favourable. On the strength of the weather forecast, Eisenhower ordered the invasion to proceed.<p>The Germans meanwhile took comfort from the existing poor conditions, and believed no invasion would be possible for several days. Some troops stood down, and many senior officers were absent. (Rommel, for example, took a few days' leave with his wife and family).<p><a id="The_French_Resistance" name="The_French_Resistance"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The French Resistance</span></h3>
<p>The various factions and circuits of the <!--del_lnk--> French Resistance (also known as the <!--del_lnk--> <i>Maquis</i>) were included in the plan for <i>Overlord</i>. Groups were tasked with attacking <!--del_lnk--> railway lines, ambushing roads, or destroying telephone exchanges or <a href="../../wp/e/Electricity.htm" title="Electricity">electricity</a> sub-stations. They were to be alerted to carry out these tasks by means of the <i>messages personnels</i>, transmitted by the <a href="../../wp/b/BBC.htm" title="BBC">BBC</a> in its French service from London. Several hundreds of these were regularly transmitted, <!--del_lnk--> masking the few of them that were really significant.<p>One famous pair of these messages is often mistakenly stated to be a general call to arms by the Resistance. A few days before D-Day, the (slightly misquoted) first line of <!--del_lnk--> Verlaine's poem, "Chanson d'Automne", was transmitted. <i>"Les sanglots longs des violons de l'automne"</i> (<i>Long sobs of autumn violins</i>) alerted resistants of the <i>"Ventriloquist"</i> network in the Orléans region to attack rail targets within the next few days. The second line, <i>"Bercent mon coeur d'une langueur monotone"</i> (<i>wound my heart with a monotonous langour</i>), transmitted late on June 5, meant that the attack was to be mounted immediately.<p>Other famous words broadcast by the BBC at 21:00 CET on June 5, were the messages <i>Les carrotes sont cuites</i> (The carrots are cooked) and <i>Les dés sont jetés</i> (The dice have been thrown).<p>Josef Götz, the head of the signals section of the German intelligence service (the <!--del_lnk--> SD) in Paris, had discovered the meaning of the second line of Verlaine's poem, and no less than fourteen other executive orders they heard late on June 5. His section rightly interpreted them to mean that invasion was imminent or underway, and they alerted their superiors, and all Army commanders in France. Unfortunately for them, they had issued a similar warning a month before, when the Allies had begun invasion preparations and alerted the Resistance, but then stood down because of a forecast of bad weather. The SD having given this false alarm, their genuine alarm was ignored or treated as merely routine.<p>In addition to the tasks given to the Resistance as part of the invasion effort, the <!--del_lnk--> Special Operations Executive planned to reinforce the Resistance with three-man liaison parties, under <!--del_lnk--> Operation Jedburgh. The <i>Jedburgh</i> parties would coordinate and arrange supply drops to the <!--del_lnk--> Maquis groups in the German rear areas. Also operating far behind German lines and frequently working closely with the Resistance, although not under SOE, were larger parties from the British, French and Belgian units of the <!--del_lnk--> Special Air Service brigade.<p><a id="Airborne_landings" name="Airborne_landings"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Airborne landings</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> airborne landings were intended to secure the flanks of the assault area.<p><a id="British_landings" name="British_landings"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">British landings</span></h4>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> 6th Airborne Division was the first full unit to go into action, at sixteen minutes past midnight, in <i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Tonga</i>. One set of objectives was <!--del_lnk--> Pegasus Bridge and other bridges on the rivers at the east flank of the landing area. The bridges were very quickly captured by glider forces and held until relieved by the Commandos later on D-Day. Another objective was a large <!--del_lnk--> gun battery at Merville. Although this larger glider and paratroop force was widely scattered, the battery was destroyed. However, the diminished assault team suffered 50% casualties in the attack.<p><a id="American_landings" name="American_landings"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">American landings</span></h4>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> 82nd (<!--del_lnk--> Operation Detroit) and <!--del_lnk--> 101st Airborne Divisions (<!--del_lnk--> Operation Chicago) were less fortunate in quickly completing their main objectives. Partly owing to unmarked landing zones, radio silence, poor weather and difficult terrain, many units were widely scattered and unable to rally. Efforts of the early wave of <!--del_lnk--> pathfinder teams to mark the landing zones were largely ineffective. Some paratroopers drowned when they landed in the sea or in areas deliberately flooded by the Germans.<p>After 24 hours, only 2,500 of the 6,000 men in 101st had assembled. The dispersal of the American airborne troops, however, had the effect of confusing the Germans and fragmenting their response. In addition, the Germans' defensive flooding, in the early stages, also helped to protect the Americans' southern flank.<p>Many continued to roam and fight behind enemy lines for days. The 82nd occupied the town of <!--del_lnk--> Sainte-Mère-Église early in the morning of June 6, giving it the claim of the first town liberated in the invasion.<p><a id="Sword_Beach" name="Sword_Beach"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sword Beach</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/222/22232.jpg.htm" title="British troops take cover after landing on Sword Beach"><img alt="British troops take cover after landing on Sword Beach" height="232" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Infantry_waiting_to_move_off_%27Queen_White%27_Beach.jpg" src="../../images/236/23631.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/222/22232.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> British troops take cover after landing on <!--del_lnk--> Sword Beach</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On Sword Beach, the regular British infantry got ashore with light casualties. They had advanced about five miles (8 km) by the end of the day but failed to make some of the deliberately ambitious targets set by <!--del_lnk--> Montgomery. In particular, <!--del_lnk--> Caen, a major objective, was still in German hands by the end of D-Day.<p>1st Special Service Brigade, under the command of Brigadier The Lord Lovat DSO and MC, went ashore in the second wave led by No.4 Commando with the two French Troops first, as agreed amongst themselves. The 1st Special Service Brigade's landing is famous for having been led by Piper Bill Millin. The British and French of No.4 Commando had separate targets in Ouistreham: the French a blockhouse and the Casino, and the British two batteries which overlooked the beach. The blockhouse proved too strong for the Commandos' <!--del_lnk--> PIAT (<b>P</b>rojector <b>I</b>nfantry <b>A</b>nti <b>T</b>ank) weapons, but the Casino was taken with the aid of a <!--del_lnk--> Centaur tank. The British Commandos achieved both battery objectives only to find the gun mounts empty and the guns removed. Leaving the mopping-up procedure to the infantry, the Commandos withdrew from <!--del_lnk--> Ouistreham to join the other units of their brigade (Nos.3, 6 and <!--del_lnk--> 45), moving inland to join-up with the 6th Airborne Division.<p><a id="Juno_Beach" name="Juno_Beach"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Juno Beach</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach faced 11 heavy batteries of 155 mm guns and 9 medium batteries of 75 mm guns, as well as machine-gun nests, pillboxes, other concrete fortifications, and a seawall twice the height of the one at Omaha Beach. The first wave suffered 50% casualties, the second highest of the five D-Day beachheads. The use of armour was successful at Juno, in some instances actually landing ahead of the infantry as intended and helping clear a path inland.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23633.jpg.htm" title="Personnel of Royal Canadian Navy Beach Commando "W" landing on Mike Beach, Juno sector of the Normandy beachhead. June 6th, 1944."><img alt="Personnel of Royal Canadian Navy Beach Commando "W" landing on Mike Beach, Juno sector of the Normandy beachhead. June 6th, 1944." height="116" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Canada_JunoBeach_1_RCNCOMMANDO.jpg" src="../../images/236/23633.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23633.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Personnel of Royal Canadian Navy Beach Commando "W" landing on Mike Beach, Juno sector of the Normandy beachhead. June 6th, 1944.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Despite the obstacles, within hours the Canadians were off the beach and beginning their advance inland. The 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) and The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada achieved their <!--del_lnk--> June 6 objectives, when they crossed the <!--del_lnk--> Caen–<!--del_lnk--> Bayeux highway over nine <!--del_lnk--> miles (15 km) inland.<p>By the end of D-Day, 15,000 Canadians had been successfully landed, and the <!--del_lnk--> 3rd Canadian Infantry Division had penetrated further into France than any other Allied force, despite having faced strong resistance at the water's edge and later counter-attacks on the beachhead by elements of the German <!--del_lnk--> 21st and <!--del_lnk--> 12th SS <i>Hitlerjugend</i> Panzer divisions on <!--del_lnk--> June 7 and 8.<br />
<br />
<p><a id="Gold_Beach" name="Gold_Beach"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Gold Beach</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>At Gold Beach, the casualties were also quite heavy, partly because the swimming <!--del_lnk--> Sherman DD tanks were delayed, and the Germans had strongly fortified a village on the beach. However, the <!--del_lnk--> 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division overcame these difficulties and advanced almost to the outskirts of <!--del_lnk--> Bayeux by the end of the day. With the exception of the Canadians at Juno Beach, no division came closer to its objectives than the 50th.<p>No.47 (RM) Commando was the last British Commando unit to land and came ashore on <i>Gold</i> east of Le Hamel. Their task was to proceed inland then turn right (west) and make a ten-mile (16 km) march through enemy territory to attack the coastal harbour of <!--del_lnk--> Port en Bessin from the rear. This small port, on the British extreme right, was well sheltered in the chalk cliffs and significant in that it was to be a prime early harbour for supplies to be brought in including fuel by underwater pipe from tankers moored offshore.<p><a id="Omaha_Beach" name="Omaha_Beach"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Omaha Beach</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23634.jpg.htm" title="Troops in an LCVP landing craft approach Omaha Beach June 6, 1944."><img alt="Troops in an LCVP landing craft approach Omaha Beach June 6, 1944." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Approaching-omaha.jpg" src="../../images/236/23634.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23634.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Troops in an LCVP landing craft approach <!--del_lnk--> Omaha Beach <!--del_lnk--> June 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1944.</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23635.jpg.htm" title="Senior military officials aboard the USS Augusta during the Normandy Invasion, June 1944. General Omar N. Bradley is the second man from the left."><img alt="Senior military officials aboard the USS Augusta during the Normandy Invasion, June 1944. General Omar N. Bradley is the second man from the left." height="187" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Normandy_landing_SrOfficials_g252940.jpg" src="../../images/236/23635.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23635.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Senior military officials aboard the USS Augusta during the Normandy Invasion, June 1944. General <!--del_lnk--> Omar N. Bradley is the second man from the left.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:282px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23636.jpg.htm" title="Survivors of a sunken troop transport wade ashore on Omaha Beach"><img alt="Survivors of a sunken troop transport wade ashore on Omaha Beach" height="226" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Normandy5.jpg" src="../../images/236/23636.jpg" width="280" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23636.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Survivors of a sunken troop transport wade ashore on Omaha Beach</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Omaha Beach was the bloodiest landing beach on <!--del_lnk--> D-Day. Elements of the <!--del_lnk--> 1st Infantry Division and <!--del_lnk--> 29th Infantry Division faced the German 352nd Infantry Division, one of the best trained on the beaches. Allied intelligence failed to realize that the relatively low-quality 714th Infantry Division (static) had been replaced by the 352nd a few days before the invasion. Omaha was also the most heavily fortified beach, and the pre-landing aerial and naval bombardment of the bunkers proved to be ineffective. On the Eastern sector, 27 of the 32 <!--del_lnk--> DD tanks deployed never reached the beach. On the Western sector the DDs were landed directly on the beach, but suffered heavy losses due to German artillery defending the beach. The official record stated that "within 10 minutes of the ramps being lowered, [the leading] company had become inert, leaderless and almost incapable of action. Every officer and sergeant had been killed or wounded [...] It had become a struggle for survival and rescue". There were about 2,400 casualties on Omaha on D-day, most in the first few hours. Commanders considered abandoning the beachhead, but small units, often forming ad hoc groups, eventually took the beach and pressed inland.<p><a id="Pointe_du_Hoc" name="Pointe_du_Hoc"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Pointe du Hoc</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>The massive, concrete cliff-top gun emplacement at <!--del_lnk--> Pointe du Hoc was the target of the 2nd Ranger battalion, commanded by <!--del_lnk--> James Earl Rudder. The task was to scale the 100 <!--del_lnk--> foot (30 metre) cliffs under enemy fire with ropes and ladders, and then attack and destroy the guns, which were thought to command the Omaha and Utah landing areas. On capturing the emplacements the guns were found to have been moved. The Rangers did, however push further inland to find and destroy the guns.<p><a id="Utah_Beach" name="Utah_Beach"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Utah Beach</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>Casualties on <!--del_lnk--> Utah Beach, the westernmost landing zone, were 197 out of around 23,000 landed, the lightest of any beach. The <!--del_lnk--> 4th Infantry Division troops landing at Utah Beach found themselves in the wrong positions due to a current that pushed their landing craft to the southeast. Instead of landing at Tare Green and Uncle Red sectors, they came ashore at Victor sector, which was lightly defended. Relatively little German opposition was encountered. The 4th Infantry Division was able to press inland relatively easily over beach exits that had been seized from the inland side by the 502nd and 506th Parachute Infantry Regiments of the 101st Airborne Division. This was partially by accident, as their planned landing was further down the beach. By early afternoon the 4th Infantry Division had succeeded in linking up with elements of the 101st. American casualties were light, and the troops were able to press inward much faster than expected, making it an almost complete success.<p><a id="After_the_landings" name="After_the_landings"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">After the landings</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23637.jpg.htm" title="Landing supplies at Normandy."><img alt="Landing supplies at Normandy." height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:NormandySupply.jpeg" src="../../images/236/23637.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23637.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Landing supplies at Normandy.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23638.jpg.htm" title="How the beachheads were supplied on D-Day. Photo taken 6 June 1944 by Steck SC190631 public domain."><img alt="How the beachheads were supplied on D-Day. Photo taken 6 June 1944 by Steck SC190631 public domain." height="239" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Normandy6.jpg" src="../../images/236/23638.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23638.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> How the beachheads were supplied on D-Day. Photo taken 6 June 1944 by Steck SC190631 public domain.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23639.jpg.htm" title="The build-up of Omaha Beach: reinforcements of men and equipment moving inland."><img alt="The build-up of Omaha Beach: reinforcements of men and equipment moving inland." height="238" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Normandy7.jpg" src="../../images/236/23639.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23639.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The build-up of Omaha Beach: reinforcements of men and equipment moving inland.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Once the beachhead was established, two artificial <!--del_lnk--> Mulberry Harbours were towed across the <a href="../../wp/e/English_Channel.htm" title="English Channel">English Channel</a> in segments and made operational around D+3 (<!--del_lnk--> 9 June). One was constructed at <!--del_lnk--> Arromanches by British forces, the other at <!--del_lnk--> Omaha Beach by American forces. By the <!--del_lnk--> 19 June, when severe storms interrupted the landing of supplies for several days and destroyed the Omaha harbour, the British had landed 314,547 men, 54,000 vehicles, and 102,000 tons of supplies, while the Americans put ashore 314,504 men, 41,000 vehicles, and 116,000 tons of supplies.. Around 9,000 tons of <!--del_lnk--> materiel was landed daily at the Arromanches harbour until the end of August 1944, by which time the port of <!--del_lnk--> Cherbourg had been secured by the Allies, and had begun to return to service. The German defenders positioned on the beaches put up relatively light resistance, being ill-trained and short on transport and equipment, and having been subject to a week of intense bombardment. An exception was the 352nd Infantry division, moved earlier by Rommel from <!--del_lnk--> St. Lo, which defended Omaha beach. The tenacity of the 352nd's defence, and perhaps also the indication by Allied intelligence that there would be only two 2 battalions of the 716th Division there, was responsible for Omaha's high casualty rate. Other German commanders took several hours to be sure that the reports they were receiving indicated a landing in force, rather than a series of raids. Their communication difficulties were made worse by the absence of several key commanders. The scattering of the American parachutists also added to the confusion, as reports were coming in of Allied troops all over northern Normandy.<p>Despite this the German <!--del_lnk--> 21st Panzer division mounted a concerted counterattack, between Sword and Juno beaches, and succeeded in reaching the sea. Stiff resistance by anti-tank gunners and fear of being cut off caused them to withdraw before the end of <!--del_lnk--> 6 June. According to some reports the sighting of a wave of airborne troops flying over them was instrumental in the decision to retreat.<p>The Allied invasion plans had called for the capture of <!--del_lnk--> Carentan, St. Lô, <!--del_lnk--> Caen and Bayeux on the first day, with all the beaches linked except Utah, and Sword (the last linked with paratroopers) and a front line six to ten miles (10 to 16 km) from the beaches. In practice none of these had been achieved. However, overall the casualties had not been as heavy as some had feared (around 10,000 compared to the 20,000 Churchill feared), and the bridgeheads had withstood the expected counterattacks.<p>The German <!--del_lnk--> 12th SS (Hitler Youth) Panzer division assaulted the Canadians on <!--del_lnk--> June 7 and <!--del_lnk--> June 8, and inflicted heavy losses, but was unable to break through. Meanwhile, the beaches were being linked: Sword on <!--del_lnk--> June 7, Omaha <!--del_lnk--> June 10, Utah by <!--del_lnk--> June 13. The Allies were actually reinforcing the front faster than the Germans. Although the Allies had to land everything on the beaches, Allied air superiority and the destruction of the <!--del_lnk--> French rail system made every German troop movement slow and dangerous.<p>The resulting disposition of Allied forces within the bridgehead was then the U.S. First Army in the west and the British Second Army in the east.<p><a id="Cherbourg" name="Cherbourg"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Cherbourg</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>In the western part of the lodgement, U.S. troops were to occupy the <!--del_lnk--> Cotentin Peninsula, especially <!--del_lnk--> Cherbourg, which would provide the allies with a deep water harbour. The country behind Utah and Omaha beaches was characterised by <!--del_lnk--> bocage; ancient banks and hedgerows, up to three metres thick, spread one to two hundred metres apart, and so both being impervious to tanks, gunfire, and vision, and making ideal defensive positions. The U.S. infantry made slow progress, and suffered heavy casualties, as they pressed towards Cherbourg. The airborne troops were called on again and again to restart a stalled advance. The far side of the peninsula was reached on the 18th June. Hitler prevented German forces from retreating to the strong <!--del_lnk--> Atlantic Wall fortifications in Cherbourg, and after initially offering stiff resistance the Cherbourg commander, Lieutenant General von Schlieben, capitulated on <!--del_lnk--> June 26 after destroying most of the facilities, making the harbour inoperable until the middle of August.<p><a id="Caen" name="Caen"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Caen</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23640.png.htm" title="Map showing operations close to Caen."><img alt="Map showing operations close to Caen." height="198" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battleforcaenmap.png" src="../../images/236/23640.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23640.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map showing operations close to Caen.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Believing <!--del_lnk--> Caen to be the "crucible" of the battle, Montgomery made it the target of a series of attritional attacks. The first was Operation Perch, which attempted to turn the Germans' flank at <!--del_lnk--> Villers-Bocage, which was halted at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Villers-Bocage. After a delay owing to the difficulty of supply because of storms from the 17 until the <!--del_lnk--> 23 June, a German counterattack (which was known through <!--del_lnk--> Ultra intelligence) was pre-empted with <!--del_lnk--> Operation Epsom. Caen was severely bombed and then occupied north of the River Orne in <!--del_lnk--> Operation Charnwood from <!--del_lnk--> 7 July until the <!--del_lnk--> 9 July. A major offensive in the Caen area followed under General <!--del_lnk--> Dempsey with all three British armoured divisions, codenamed <i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Goodwood</i> from the <!--del_lnk--> 18 July until the <!--del_lnk--> 21 July that captured the remainder of Caen and the high ground to the south at a high cost. A further operation, Operation Spring, from the <!--del_lnk--> 25 July until <!--del_lnk--> 28 July by the Canadians secured limited gains at a high cost.<p><a id="The_breakout_from_the_beachhead" name="The_breakout_from_the_beachhead"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The breakout from the beachhead</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>An important element of Montgomery's strategy was to cause the Germans to commit their reserves to the eastern part of the theatre to allow an easier breakout from the west. By the end of Goodwood the Germans had committed the last of their reserve divisions there so now there were six and a half Panzer divisions facing the British and Canadian forces compared to one and a half facing the United States armies. <i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Cobra</i>, was launched on <!--del_lnk--> July 24 by the U.S. First Army, and was extremely successful with the advance guard of VIII Corps entering <!--del_lnk--> Coutances at the western end of the <!--del_lnk--> Cotentin Peninsula, on <!--del_lnk--> July 28, after a penetration through the German lines.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23641.jpg.htm" title="Map showing the breakout from the Normandy bridgehead."><img alt="Map showing the breakout from the Normandy bridgehead." height="229" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Normandybreakout.jpg" src="../../images/236/23641.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23641.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map showing the breakout from the Normandy bridgehead.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> August 1, VIII Corps became part of Lieutenant General <!--del_lnk--> George S. Patton's newly arrived <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Third Army. On <!--del_lnk--> August 4, Montgomery altered the invasion plan by detaching only a corps to occupy Brittany and hem the German troops there into enclaves around the ports while the rest of the Third Army continued south. The U.S. First Army turned the German front at its western end. Because of the concentration of German forces south of Caen, Montgomery moved the British armour west and launched <!--del_lnk--> Operation Bluecoat from <!--del_lnk--> 30 July until <!--del_lnk--> 7 August to add to the pressure from the United States armies. This drew the German forces to the west, allowing the launch of <!--del_lnk--> Operation Totalize south from Caen on the <!--del_lnk--> 7 August.<p><a id="The_Falaise_Pocket" name="The_Falaise_Pocket"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Falaise Pocket</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<p>At the beginning of August more German reserves became available with the realisation that no landings were going to take place near Calais. The German forces were being encircled, and the German High Command wanted these reserves to help an orderly retreat to the Seine. However, they were overruled by Hitler who demanded an <!--del_lnk--> attack at <!--del_lnk--> Mortain at the western end of the pocket on the <!--del_lnk--> August 7. The attack was repelled by the Allies, who again had advance warning from Ultra. The original Allied plan was for a wide encirclement as far as the <!--del_lnk--> Loire valley, but Bradley realised that many of the German forces in Normandy were not capable of manoeuvre by this stage, and obtained Montgomery's agreement by telephone on <!--del_lnk--> August 8 for a "short hook" further north to encircle German forces. This was left to Patton to effect, moving nearly unopposed through Normandy via <!--del_lnk--> Le Mans, and then back north again towards <!--del_lnk--> Alençon. The Germans were then left in a pocket with its jaws near <!--del_lnk--> Chambois. Fierce German defence and the diversion of some American troops for a thrust by Patton towards the Seine at <!--del_lnk--> Mantes prevented the jaws closing until <!--del_lnk--> August 21, trapping 50,000 German troops. Whether this could have been achieved earlier and more prisoners taken has been a matter of some controversy. Patton's thrust prevented the Germans from establishing the Seine as a defensive line, and the <!--del_lnk--> Canadian First and British Second Armies both advanced there, bringing the war in Normandy in their sector to a close, and meeting the projected schedule set by Montgomery with time to spare.<p>The liberation of Paris followed shortly afterwards. The <!--del_lnk--> French Resistance in Paris rose against the Germans on <!--del_lnk--> 19 August; and the <!--del_lnk--> French 2nd Armoured Division under <!--del_lnk--> General Jacques Leclerc, along with the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. 4th Infantry Division pressing forward from Normandy, received the surrender of the German forces there and <!--del_lnk--> liberated Paris on <!--del_lnk--> August 25.<p><a id="Chronology" name="Chronology"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Chronology</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> May 1944 was originally planned date as the time for the invasion. Difficulties assembling landing craft postponed invasion until June.<li><!--del_lnk--> June 5/<!--del_lnk--> June 6: <!--del_lnk--> British 6th Airborne Division (<i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Tonga</i>), U.S. <!--del_lnk--> 82nd Airborne Division (<i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Detroit</i>) and <!--del_lnk--> 101st Airborne Division (<i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Chicago</i>) were airlanded.<li><!--del_lnk--> June 6: Seaborne <i><!--del_lnk--> D-Day</i> landings (<i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Neptune</i>)<li>June 7-17: 3rd Parachute Brigade of the British <!--del_lnk--> 6th Airborne Division repulse several German Attacks at Le Mesnil Crossroads.<li><!--del_lnk--> June 12: U.S. <!--del_lnk--> 101st Airborne Division captures <!--del_lnk--> Carentan<li><!--del_lnk--> June 13: U.S. <!--del_lnk--> 101st Airborne Division repel a German Counter Attack west of the city at a place called <!--del_lnk--> Hill 30, Elements of the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. 2nd Armored Division are ordered to help relieve the paratroopers. British armor engaged in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Villers-Bocage.<li><!--del_lnk--> June 25–<!--del_lnk--> June 29: <i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Epsom</i>, an offensive to the west of <!--del_lnk--> Caen, was repulsed by the German defenders.<li><!--del_lnk--> July 7: <!--del_lnk--> Caen was liberated.<li><!--del_lnk--> July 17: <a href="../../wp/e/Erwin_Rommel.htm" title="Erwin Rommel">Erwin Rommel</a> was severely injured when his car was strafed by a <!--del_lnk--> Royal Canadian Air Force <a href="../../wp/s/Supermarine_Spitfire.htm" title="Supermarine Spitfire">Spitfire</a>.<li><!--del_lnk--> July 18–<!--del_lnk--> July 20: <i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Goodwood</i> initiated.<li><!--del_lnk--> July 24: <i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Cobra</i> begins a breakout near <!--del_lnk--> Saint-Lô.<li><!--del_lnk--> August 3–<!--del_lnk--> August 9: <i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Totalize</i>, a trap to capture retreating German armour in the <!--del_lnk--> Falaise pocket starts.<li><!--del_lnk--> August 25: Paris is <!--del_lnk--> liberated.</ul>
<p><a id="Political_considerations" name="Political_considerations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Political considerations</span></h2>
<p>The Normandy landings were long foreshadowed by a considerable amount of political maneuvering amongst the Allies. There was much disagreement about timing, appointments of command, and where exactly the landings were to take place. The opening of a second front had been long postponed and a particular source of strain between the Allies. <a href="../../wp/j/Joseph_Stalin.htm" title="Josef Stalin">Stalin</a> had been pressing the Western Allies to launch a "second front" since 1942, but <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Churchill</a> had argued for delay until victory could be assured, preferring to attack <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italy</a> and <a href="../../wp/n/North_Africa.htm" title="North Africa">North Africa</a> first. The appointment of <!--del_lnk--> Bernard Montgomery was questioned by some Americans, who would have preferred the urbane <!--del_lnk--> Harold Alexander to have commanded the land forces. Montgomery, in turn, had doubts about the appointment of <a href="../../wp/d/Dwight_D._Eisenhower.htm" title="Dwight D. Eisenhower">Dwight D. Eisenhower</a>. In the end, however, Montgomery and Eisenhower cooperated to excellent effect in Normandy: their well-known disagreements came much later.<p>Normandy presented serious logistical problems, not the least of which being that the only viable port in the area, <!--del_lnk--> Cherbourg, was heavily defended and many among the higher echelons of command argued that the <!--del_lnk--> Pas de Calais would make a more suitable landing area on these grounds alone.<p><a id="Campaign_Close" name="Campaign_Close"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Campaign Close</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23642.png.htm" title="Normandy Campaign Streamer"><img alt="Normandy Campaign Streamer" height="29" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Normandy_Streamer.png" src="../../images/236/23642.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23642.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Normandy Campaign Streamer</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The campaign in Normandy is considered by historians to end either at midnight on 24/25 July 1944 (the start of <i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Cobra</i> on the American front) or <!--del_lnk--> 25 August 1944 (the advance to the Seine). The original <i>Overlord</i> plan anticipated a ninety day campaign in Normandy with the ultimate goal of reaching the Seine; this goal was met with time to spare. The Americans were able to end the campaign on their front early with the massive breakout of <i>Operation Cobra</i>.<p>The US official history describes the fighting beginning on <!--del_lnk--> 25 July as the "Northern France" campaign, and includes the fighting to close the Falaise Gap, which the British/Canadians/Poles consider to be part of the Battle of Normandy.<p>SHAEF, back in England, and the governments were very nervous of stagnation, and there were reports of Eisenhower requesting Montgomery's replacement in July. Lack of forward progress is often attributed to the nature of the terrain in which much of the post-landing fighting in the US and parts of the British sectors took place, the <!--del_lnk--> bocage, as well as the usual difficulties of opposed landings. These were small farm fields separated by high earth banks covered in dense shrubbery, which were well suited for the defence. However, as at <!--del_lnk--> El Alamein, Montgomery kept to his original attritional strategy, reaching the objectives within his original ninety day target.<p>Victory in Normandy was followed by a pursuit to the French border in short order, and Germany was forced once again to reinforce the <!--del_lnk--> Western Front with manpower and resources from the <!--del_lnk--> Soviet and <!--del_lnk--> Italian fronts.<p><a id="Assessment_of_the_battle" name="Assessment_of_the_battle"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Assessment of the battle</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23643.jpg.htm" title="The German military cemetery in La Cambe"><img alt="The German military cemetery in La Cambe" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:German_military_cemetary_normandy_1.JPG" src="../../images/236/23643.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23643.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The German military cemetery in La Cambe</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Normandy landings were the first successful opposed landings across the English Channel for nine centuries. They were costly in terms of men, but the defeat inflicted on the Germans was one of the largest of the war. Strategically, the campaign led to the loss of the German position in most of France and the secure establishment of a major new front. By September, Allied forces of seven field armies (two of which came through southern France in <!--del_lnk--> Operation Dragoon) were approaching the German frontier.<p>The Allies were victorious in Normandy due to several factors. The Allies ensured material superiority at the critical point (concentration of force) and logistical innovations like the <!--del_lnk--> PLUTO pipelines and Mulberry harbors enhanced the flow of troops, equipment, and essentials such as fuel and ammunition. Movement of cargo over the open beaches exceeded Allied planners' expectations, even after the destruction of the US Mulberry in the channel storm in mid-June. By the end of July 1944, 1 million American, British, Canadian, French, and Polish troops, hundreds of thousands of vehicles, and adequate supplies in most categories were ashore in Normandy. Although there was a shortage of artillery ammunition, at no time were the Allies critically short of any necessity. This was a remarkable achievement considering they did not hold a port until <!--del_lnk--> Cherbourg fell. By the time of the breakout the Allies also enjoyed a considerable superiority in numbers of troops (approximately 3.5-1) and armored vehicles (approximately 4-1) which helped overcome the natural advantages the terrain gave to the German defenders.<p>Allied Intelligence and counterintelligence efforts were successful beyond expectations. The <!--del_lnk--> Operation Fortitude deception plan before the invasion kept German attention focused on the Pas-de-Calais, and indeed high-quality German forces were kept in this area, away from Normandy, until July. Prior to the invasion, few German reconnaissance flights took place over Britain, and those that did saw only the dummy staging areas. <!--del_lnk--> Ultra decrypts of German communications had been helpful as well, exposing German dispositions and revealing their plans such as the Mortain counterattack.<p>Allied air operations also contributed significantly to the invasion, via close tactical support, interdiction of German lines of communication (preventing movement of supplies and reinforcements- particularly the critical Panzer units), and rendering the Luftwaffe as practically useless in Normandy. German naval units were largely ineffective. "Carpet-bombing" raids by fleets of Allied heavy bombers on sections of the German lines helped ensure breakthroughs at critical points.<p>Despite initial heavy losses in the assault phase, Allied morale remained high. Casualty rates among all the armies were tremendous, and the Commonwealth forces had to create a new category - Double Intense - to be able to describe them. Manpower problems would plague the Allies for the remainder of the war. Britain disbanded an entire division (the 59th) in Normandy, and Canada would bring about conscription for overseas service in November 1944 due to the losses in Normandy and later operations in the Low Countries (like the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Scheldt).<p><a id="German_leadership" name="German_leadership"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">German leadership</span></h4>
<p>Faulty German dispositions and decisions also contributed to Allied victory. German commanders at all levels failed to react to the assault phase in a timely manner. Communications problems exacerbated the difficulties caused by Allied air and naval firepower; local commanders also seemed unequal to the task of fighting an aggressive defence on the beach, as Rommel envisioned. For example, the commander of the German 352nd Infantry Division failed to capitalize on American difficulty at Omaha, committing his reserves elsewhere when they might have been more profitably used against the American beachhead.<p>The German High Command remained fixed on the Calais area, and von Rundstedt was not permitted to commit the armored reserve. When it was finally released late in the day, success was immeasurably more difficult, and even the 21st Panzer Division, which was able to counterattack a bit earlier, was stymied by strong opposition that had been allowed to build at the beaches. The Germans generally fought with their customary energy and skill, despite uneven performance by some units. The Panzer units faced withering air interdiction that reduced their effectiveness, yet they offered glimpses of what might have been possible in way of counterattack, had additional mobile forces like the 12th SS Panzer Division and the Panzer Lehr Division been committed earlier into the battle. Despite considerable Allied material superiority, the Germans kept the Allies bottled up in a small bridgehead for nearly two months.<p>Although there were several well-known disputes among the Allied commanders, their tactics and strategy were essentially determined by agreement between the main commanders. By contrast, the German leaders were constantly bullied and their decisions interfered with by Hitler, controlling the battle from a distance with little knowledge of local conditions. Field Marshals von Rundstedt and Rommel repeatedly asked Hitler for more discretion, but were refused. Von Rundstedt was sacked on <!--del_lnk--> June 29 after he bluntly told the Chief of Staff at Hitler's Armed Forces HQ (Field Marshal <!--del_lnk--> Keitel) to "Make peace, you idiots!" Rommel was severely injured by Allied aircraft on <!--del_lnk--> July 16. Field Marshal <!--del_lnk--> von Kluge, who took over the posts held by both von Rundstedt and Rommel, was compromised by his association with some of the military plotters against Hitler, and refused to disobey or argue with Hitler for fear of arrest. As a result, the German armies in Normandy were placed in deadly peril by Hitler's insistence on counter-attack rather than retreat after the American breakthrough. Kluge was relieved on <!--del_lnk--> August 15, and took his own life shortly afterwards. The more independent Field Marshal <!--del_lnk--> Model took over when the Germans in Normandy were already in the midst of defeat.<p><a id="Allied_leadership" name="Allied_leadership"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Allied leadership</span></h4>
<p>Much has been written about the Allied delay at taking Caen as the battle developed. Pre-invasion schedules were rarely fulfilled as planned. The Land Forces Commander, British General Bernard Montgomery, maintained mastery of the developing battle. His concept that <!--del_lnk--> Caen would be a "pivot", upon which the front would turn, was accurate, and as the battle of Normandy developed, the British and Canadian armies faced the bulk of German armor in the theatre. While US forces faced fewer German armored divisions, their own armor was severely limited by both the close-in terrain of the bocage and the large number and variety of German anti-tank weapons deployed all along the front. The open terrain on the British front on the eastern flank left the Germans little choice but to concentrate their armor there. Eventually this played into Allied hands when the breakout took place, not in the east as the Germans feared, but in the west in <!--del_lnk--> Operation Cobra.<p><a id="Normandy_and_the_Eastern_front" name="Normandy_and_the_Eastern_front"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Normandy and the Eastern front</span></h3>
<p>The lodgement established at Normandy was vital for the Allies to bring pressure on German armies in western Europe. By this time the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet</a> forces had the capacity to crush Germany in Europe on their own, and therefore a western invasion was not strictly required to defeat the <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">German Reich</a>. The military forces at the disposal of <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a>, moreover, steadily declined from 1943 onwards. On <!--del_lnk--> D-Day, the <!--del_lnk--> Red Army was steadily advancing towards Germany and engaging four-fifths of all German land forces. In France, and Italy, the western Allies faced the remaining 20% of the German army.<p>The third front in France diverted German resources and attention from the Eastern Front and thereby aided the Soviets substantially. The Germans had long expected an Allied invasion of France and had been required to garrison the country as well as divert manpower and materials to coastal fortifications along many hundreds of miles of shore. Hitler's thinking is documented in his Führer Directive 51, of November 1943, which stressed that the Western approaches to the Reich were to be strengthened even at the expense of those in the East. In addition, Hitler was anxious to hold on to the Belgian and northern French coasts as bases for the <!--del_lnk--> "V" weapons to be launched against England.<p>Hitler maintained his "West first" focus after the landings in Normandy and all efforts were made to contain Allied forces within the lodgement area; in fact as the fighting in Normandy increased in tempo, Hitler accepted the annihilation of an entire German Army Group on the Russian front. Hitler would continue to redeploy desperately needed units from the East against the Western Allies, with this practice peaking in December 1944 in the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Bulge.htm" title="Battle of the Bulge">Ardennes Offensive</a>.<p>Given the Soviets' later domination of Eastern <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europe</a>, if the Normandy invasion had not occurred there might conceivably have been a complete occupation of northern and western Europe by communist forces. Alternately, Hitler might have deployed more forces to the Eastern Front, conceivably delaying or even preventing a Soviet advance beyond their prewar border. In practice though, German troops remained in the West even in the absence of an invasion.<p>After the war Hitler's foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop presented three main reasons for German's defeat:<dl>
<dd>Unexpectedly stubborn resistance from the Soviet Union<dd>The large-scale supply of arms and equipment from the US to the Soviet Union, under the lend-lease agreement<dd>The success of the Western Allies in the struggle for air supremacy.</dl>
<p>Many historians, such as Richard Overy, have also concluded that Normandy was not very important for the outcome of the war. Since the Germans suffered 93% of their casualties on the Eastern front, the battle of Normandy only shortened the war.<p><a id="War_memorials_and_tourism" name="War_memorials_and_tourism"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">War memorials and tourism</span></h2>
<p>The visitor will find many reminders of <!--del_lnk--> June 6, <!--del_lnk--> 1944. Most noticeable are the beaches, which are still referred to on maps and signposts by their invasion codenames. Then come the vast <!--del_lnk--> cemeteries. The American cemetery, in <!--del_lnk--> Colleville-sur-Mer, contains row upon row of identical white <!--del_lnk--> crosses and <!--del_lnk--> Stars of David, immaculately kept, commemorating the American dead. Commonwealth graves, in many locations, use white headstones engraved with the person's religious symbol and their unit insignia. The largest cemetery in Normandy is the German one at <!--del_lnk--> La Cambe, which features granite stones almost flush with the ground and groups of low-set crosses. There is also a Polish cemetery.<p>Streets near the beaches are still named after the units that fought there, and occasional markers commemorate notable incidents. At significant points, such as <!--del_lnk--> Pointe du Hoc and <!--del_lnk--> Pegasus Bridge, there are plaques, memorials or small museums. The <!--del_lnk--> Mulberry harbour still sits in the sea at <!--del_lnk--> Arromanches. In <!--del_lnk--> Sainte-Mère-Église, a dummy <!--del_lnk--> paratrooper hangs from the <!--del_lnk--> church <!--del_lnk--> spire. On <!--del_lnk--> Juno Beach, the Canadian government has built the <!--del_lnk--> Juno Beach Information Centre, commemorating one of the most significant events in Canadian military history. In Caen is a large <!--del_lnk--> Museum for Peace, which is dedicated to peace generally, rather than to the battle itself. The people of Normandy will continue to remember <i>Operation Overlord</i> long into the future.<p>Every year on June 6, <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> <!--del_lnk--> cartoonist and World War II veteran <!--del_lnk--> Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000) reserved his <i><!--del_lnk--> Peanuts</i> <!--del_lnk--> comic strip to memorialise his comrades who fell at Normandy.<p>In 1994, for the 50th anniversary, the French issued a commemorative medal which depicted General Charles de Gaulle leading a heroic charge of French troops on an un-named beach. The medal was hastily withdrawn after it was pointed out that de Gaulle did not set foot upon French soil until the 14th June.<p><a id="Documentaries" name="Documentaries"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Documentaries</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><i>Morning: Normandy Invasion (June–August 1944)</i>, episode 17 of the famous 1974 ITV series <!--del_lnk--> The World at War features an extensive coverage of the Allied preparations and the actual events.<li><i>D-Day: The Lost Evidence</i>, 100 minute 2004 "History Channel" documentary that relies on Allied reconnaissance photos, computer graphics, reenactments, and the firsthand eye witness accounts of combatants, (Allies and Germans), who were there.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Battlefield-The Battle for Normandy</i>, 100 minute 2001 documentary that compares Allied and German commanders, personnel, equipment, and tactics before, during, and after the June-August battle.</ul>
<p><a id="Dramatizations" name="Dramatizations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Dramatizations</span></h2>
<dl>
<dt>Films</dl>
<ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> The Longest Day</i>, a 1962 American <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">film</a> based on the book, starring <!--del_lnk--> Richard Burton, <a href="../../wp/s/Sean_Connery.htm" title="Sean Connery">Sean Connery</a>, <!--del_lnk--> John Wayne and a host of stars in small roles.<li><i>Testa di sbarco per otto implacabili</i> (<i>Hell in Normandy</i>), a 1967 <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italian</a> and <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a> film directed by Alfonso Brescia.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> The Big Red One</i>, a 1980 American <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">film</a> by <!--del_lnk--> Samuel Fuller, based on his own experiences in The First Infantry Division, or The Big Red One.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Saving Private Ryan</i>, a 1998 American film directed by <!--del_lnk--> Steven Spielberg and starring <!--del_lnk--> Tom Hanks and <!--del_lnk--> Matt Damon.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Zvezda</i> (<i>The Star</i>), a 2002 <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russian</a> film directed by Nikolai Lebedev.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Overlord</i>, a 1975 British movie directed by <!--del_lnk--> Stuart Cooper. The film uses documentary footage of the landing, rather than a recreation.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> The Blockhouse</i>, a 1973 movie starring <!--del_lnk--> Peter Sellers about French construction labourers trapped inside a German fortification on D-Day and for a further six years.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> D-Day, the Sixth of June</i>, a 1956 love triangle involving <!--del_lnk--> Robert Taylor, <!--del_lnk--> Dana Wynter, and <!--del_lnk--> Richard Todd that allocates 10 minutes, (more or less), of the 106 minute movie to reenacting the invasion. Richard Todd, (D-Day combat veteran), would later co-star in <i>The Longest Day</i>.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> The Americanization of Emily</i>, a 1964 anti-war satire/romance with <!--del_lnk--> Julie Andrews, <!--del_lnk--> James Garner, and <!--del_lnk--> James Coburn.</ul>
<dl>
<dt>Music Videos</dl>
<ul>
<li>"<!--del_lnk--> The Longest Day", by <a href="../../wp/i/Iron_Maiden.htm" title="Iron Maiden">Iron Maiden</a><li>"<!--del_lnk--> The Ghost of You", by <!--del_lnk--> My Chemical Romance</ul>
<dl>
<dt>Music</dl>
<ul>
<li>The British heavy metal band <a href="../../wp/i/Iron_Maiden.htm" title="Iron Maiden">Iron Maiden</a>, on the album entitled "A Matter of Life and Death", wrote the song "The Longest Day" about the Battle of Normandy.<li>The title track on Swedish power metal band <!--del_lnk--> Sabaton's third album, "Primo Victoria", is about the Normandy invasion. "Primo Victoria" means "Beginning of Victory".</ul>
<dl>
<dt>TV</dl>
<ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Band of Brothers</i>, a 2001 American <!--del_lnk--> miniseries produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks that was based on the book of the same name by Steven E. Ambrose.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Ike: Countdown to D-Day</i>, a 2004 American <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Movie">movie</a> aired on <!--del_lnk--> The History Channel starring <!--del_lnk--> Tom Selleck.</ul>
<dl>
<dt>Video games</dl>
<ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Battlefield 1942</i>, a 2002 Swedish video game.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Call of Duty</i>, a 2003 American computer and video game.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Brothers In Arms: Road to Hill 30</i>, a 2005 American computer and video game.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Brothers In Arms: Earned in Blood</i>, a 2005 American computer and video game.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Call of Duty 2</i>, a 2005 American computer and video game.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, a 2005 American video game for the <a href="../../wp/n/Nintendo.htm" title="Nintendo">Nintendo</a><!--del_lnk--> GameCube.</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Call of Duty 3</i>, a 2006 American video game. The game is based on the Normandy Breakout.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Commandos 3: Destination Berlin</i>,a 2003 American computer and video game. The Omaha Beach invasion is dramatised in the <!--del_lnk--> Normandy campaign.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Company of Heroes</i>, a 2006 real-time strategy game.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Medal of Honour</i>, a 1999 <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> <!--del_lnk--> computer and <!--del_lnk--> video game series.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Medal of Honour: Frontline</i>, a 2002 American computer and video game.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Unreal Tournament</i>, a 1999 American computer and video game. An assault campaign loosely depicted the invasion.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Soldiers: Heroes of WWII</i>, a 2004 European computer and video game. The German campaign of the game, titled "Hunter", takes place after the invasion of D-Day and has the player in control of the legendary German tank commander, Michael Wittmann.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Return To Castle Wolfenstein</i>, An Axis vs Allied Multiplayer game.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> 1944 D-Day Operation Overlord</i> , a complete simulation of the entire Battle of Normandy. Players have the option to be a pilot, a sailor, a tank commander, or any other person who was fighting for either army.</ul>
<dl>
<dt>Wargames</dl>
<ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> The Longest Day</i>, a 1980 American <a href="../../wp/b/Board_game.htm" title="Board game">board</a> <!--del_lnk--> wargame by <!--del_lnk--> Avalon Hill depicting the battle from the landings through to the breakout.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> D-Day: The Great Crusade</i>, 2004 wargame covering the first 30 days of the Normandy Campaign.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Memoir '44</i>, a 2004 American wargame.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Axis and Allies: D-Day</i>, the fifth installment in the popular Axis & Allies series. It specifically deals with the D-Day landings.<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Oklahoma D-Day</i>, a woodsball-style <!--del_lnk--> paintball game played in Wyandotte, Oklahoma that recreates the events of Normandy. Known as the World's Largest Paintball game.</ul>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Normandy"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War II', 'France', 'United States', 'United Kingdom', 'Canada', 'Poland', 'Nazi Germany', 'Erwin Rommel', 'Battle of the Bulge', 'Battle of France', 'Battle of Britain', 'Battle of the Bulge', 'Nazi Germany', 'World War II', 'Invasion', 'English Channel', 'England', 'France', 'United States of America', 'United Kingdom', 'Canada', 'Poland', 'Belgium', 'Greece', 'Norway', 'Adolf Hitler', 'Soviet Union', 'Franklin D. Roosevelt', 'Winston Churchill', 'World War I', 'Mediterranean', 'Vienna', 'Supermarine Spitfire', 'Paris', 'Weymouth', 'Paris', 'Luftwaffe', 'Norway', 'Erwin Rommel', 'Greenland', 'Tide', 'Electricity', 'BBC', 'English Channel', 'Erwin Rommel', 'Supermarine Spitfire', 'Josef Stalin', 'Winston Churchill', 'Italy', 'North Africa', 'Dwight D. Eisenhower', 'Soviet Union', 'Nazi Germany', 'Nazi Germany', 'Battle of the Bulge', 'Europe', 'United States', 'Film', 'Sean Connery', 'Italy', 'France', 'Film', 'Russia', 'Iron Maiden', 'Iron Maiden', 'Movie', 'Nintendo', 'United States', 'Board game']
|
Battle_of_Rennell_Island
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Rennell Island,1943,2006,24-hour clock,Air superiority,Aircraft carrier,Aircraft carriers,Allies of World War II,Anti-aircraft warfare,August 7,Australia" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Rennell Island</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Rennell_Island";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Rennell Island";
var wgArticleId = 383395;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Rennell_Island">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Rennell Island</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Rennell Island</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Theatre of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/236/23644.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="236" longdesc="/wiki/Image:USS_Chicago_after_Rennell_Island.jpg" src="../../images/236/23644.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Chicago</i> low in the water on the morning of <!--del_lnk--> January 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1943 due to torpedo damage inflicted the night before.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> January 29, <!--del_lnk--> 1943 – <!--del_lnk--> January 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1943</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Rennell Island, <a href="../../wp/s/Solomon_Islands.htm" title="Solomon Islands">Solomon Islands</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Japanese victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a><br /><a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japan</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> William Halsey, Jr.,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Robert C. Giffen</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Isoroku Yamamoto,<br /> Junichi Kusaka</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">1 fleet carrier,<br /> 2 escort carriers,<br /> 6 cruisers,<br /> 8 destroyers,<br /> 14 <!--del_lnk--> fighter aircraft</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">32 <!--del_lnk--> bomber aircraft</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">1 cruiser sunk,<br /> 1 destroyer heavily damaged,<br /> 85 killed</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">12 aircraft destroyed,<br /> 60–84 killed</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal campaign</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Tulagi – <!--del_lnk--> Savo I. – <!--del_lnk--> Tenaru – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons.htm" title="Battle of the Eastern Solomons">Eastern Solomons</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Edson's Ridge – <!--del_lnk--> Cape Esperance – <!--del_lnk--> Henderson Field – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Santa_Cruz_Islands.htm" title="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands">Santa Cruz Is.</a> – <a href="../../wp/n/Naval_Battle_of_Guadalcanal.htm" title="Naval Battle of Guadalcanal">Naval Guadalcanal</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Tassafaronga – <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ke</i> – <strong class="selflink">Rennell I.</strong></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Solomon Islands campaign</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1st Tulagi – <!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal – <!--del_lnk--> Blackett Strait – <!--del_lnk--> <i>Cartwheel</i> – <!--del_lnk--> Death of Yamamoto – <!--del_lnk--> New Georgia – <!--del_lnk--> Kula Gulf – <!--del_lnk--> Kolombangara – <!--del_lnk--> Vella Gulf – <!--del_lnk--> Horaniu – <!--del_lnk--> Vella Lavella – <!--del_lnk--> Naval Vella Lavella – <!--del_lnk--> Treasury Is. – <!--del_lnk--> Choiseul – <!--del_lnk--> Empress Augusta Bay – <!--del_lnk--> Cape St. George – <!--del_lnk--> Green Is. – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Rabaul – <!--del_lnk--> Bougainville</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Rennell Island</b> (Japanese: レンネル島沖海戦) took place on January 29–30, 1943, and was the last major <!--del_lnk--> naval engagement between the <!--del_lnk--> United States Navy and the <a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">Imperial Japanese Navy</a> during the lengthy <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Guadalcanal in the <!--del_lnk--> Solomon Islands campaign during <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a>. The battle took place in the <!--del_lnk--> South Pacific between <!--del_lnk--> Rennell Island and <!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal in the southern <a href="../../wp/s/Solomon_Islands.htm" title="Solomon Islands">Solomon Islands</a>.<p>In the battle, <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japanese</a> naval land-based <!--del_lnk--> torpedo <!--del_lnk--> bombers, seeking to provide protection for the impending evacuation of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal, made several attacks over two days on <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>' (U.S.) <!--del_lnk--> warships operating as a <!--del_lnk--> task force south of Guadalcanal. In addition to approaching Guadalcanal with the objective of engaging any Japanese ships that might come into range, the U.S. task force was protecting an <!--del_lnk--> Allied transport ship convoy that was carrying replacement <!--del_lnk--> troops to Guadalcanal. As a result of the Japanese air attacks on the task force, one U.S. <!--del_lnk--> heavy cruiser was sunk, a <!--del_lnk--> destroyer was heavily damaged, and the rest of the U.S. task force was forced to retreat from the southern Solomons area. Due, in part, to their success in turning back the U.S. task force in this battle, the Japanese were successful in evacuating their remaining troops from Guadalcanal by February 7, 1943, leaving Guadalcanal in Allied hands and ending the battle for the island.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> August 7, 1942, Allied forces (primarily U.S.) landed on Guadalcanal, <!--del_lnk--> Tulagi, and <!--del_lnk--> Florida Islands in the <a href="../../wp/s/Solomon_Islands.htm" title="Solomon Islands">Solomon Islands</a>. The landings on the islands were meant to deny their use by the Japanese as <!--del_lnk--> bases to <!--del_lnk--> threaten the <!--del_lnk--> supply routes between the U.S. and <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>, and to use them as starting points for a <!--del_lnk--> campaign with the eventual goal of isolating the major Japanese base at <!--del_lnk--> Rabaul while also supporting the Allied <!--del_lnk--> New Guinea and <!--del_lnk--> New Britain campaigns. The landings initiated the six-month-long <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Guadalcanal.<p>The last major attempt by the Japanese to drive Allied forces from Guadalcanal and Tulagi was defeated during the decisive <a href="../../wp/n/Naval_Battle_of_Guadalcanal.htm" title="Naval Battle of Guadalcanal">Naval Battle of Guadalcanal</a> in early November, 1942. Thereafter, the Japanese Navy was only able to deliver subsistence supplies and a few replacement troops to Japanese <!--del_lnk--> Army forces on Guadalcanal. Due to the threat from Allied aircraft based at <!--del_lnk--> Henderson Field on Guadalcanal, plus nearby U.S. <!--del_lnk--> aircraft carriers, the Japanese delivered these supplies at night, usually by <!--del_lnk--> destroyer or <!--del_lnk--> submarine, in operations the Allies called the "<!--del_lnk--> Tokyo Express." However, these supplies and replacements weren't enough to sustain Japanese troops on the island, who, by December 7, 1942, were losing about 50 men each day from malnutrition, disease, and Allied ground or air attacks. On December 12, the Japanese Navy proposed that Guadalcanal be abandoned. In spite of opposition from Japanese <!--del_lnk--> Army leaders, who still hoped that Guadalcanal could eventually be retaken from the Allies, Japan's <!--del_lnk--> Imperial General Headquarters, with approval from the Japanese <!--del_lnk--> Emperor, on December 31, 1942, agreed to the evacuation of all Japanese forces from the island and establishment of a new line of defense for the Solomons on <!--del_lnk--> New Georgia.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23645.jpg.htm" title="South Pacific area in 1942–1943. The U.S. troop convoy and warship task forces heading towards Guadalcanal (upper center) on January 29, 1943 originated at the major Allied bases at Espiritu Santo and Efate (center right) and Noumea (lower right). Headquarters for Japanese land-based aircraft in the Solomons area was at Rabaul (upper left)."><img alt="South Pacific area in 1942–1943. The U.S. troop convoy and warship task forces heading towards Guadalcanal (upper center) on January 29, 1943 originated at the major Allied bases at Espiritu Santo and Efate (center right) and Noumea (lower right). Headquarters for Japanese land-based aircraft in the Solomons area was at Rabaul (upper left)." height="370" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SoPac_fixtypo.jpg" src="../../images/236/23645.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23645.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> South Pacific area in 1942–1943. The U.S. troop convoy and warship task forces heading towards Guadalcanal (upper centre) on January 29, 1943 originated at the major Allied bases at <!--del_lnk--> Espiritu Santo and <!--del_lnk--> Efate (centre right) and <!--del_lnk--> Noumea (lower right). Headquarters for Japanese land-based aircraft in the Solomons area was at <!--del_lnk--> Rabaul (upper left).</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Japanese titled the evacuation effort of their forces from Guadalcanal <i>Operation Ke</i> (ケ号作戦) and planned to execute the operation beginning January 14, 1943. An important element in the operation's plan was an <!--del_lnk--> air superiority campaign set to begin on January 28, with the objective of inhibiting Allied aircraft or warships from disrupting the final stage of the <i>Ke</i> operation, which was the actual evacuation of all Japanese troops from Guadalcanal.<p>Allied forces misinterpreted the <i>Ke</i> preparations as the beginning of another Japanese offensive to try to retake Guadalcanal. At this same time, Admiral <!--del_lnk--> William Halsey, Jr., overall commander of Allied forces involved in the battle for Guadalcanal, was under pressure from his superiors to complete the replacement of the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. 2nd Marine Division on Guadalcanal, which had been involved in the fighting since the initial landings in August, with fresh <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Army troops. Halsey hoped to take advantage of what he believed was an impending Japanese offensive to draw Japanese naval forces into a battle, while at the same time delivering the replacement army troops to Guadalcanal. Therefore, Halsey prepared and sent, on January 29, 1943, towards the southern Solomons area five warship <!--del_lnk--> task forces to cover the relief convoy and to engage any Japanese naval forces that came into range. These five task forces included two fleet <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft_carrier.htm" title="Aircraft carrier">carriers</a>, two <!--del_lnk--> escort carriers, three <!--del_lnk--> battleships, 12 cruisers, and 25 destroyers.<p>In front of this array of task forces was the troop convoy (Task Group (TG) 62.8), consisting of four transports and four destroyers. Ahead of the troop convoy, between <!--del_lnk--> Rennell Island and Guadalcanal, was a close support group called <!--del_lnk--> Task Force 18 (TF 18), under Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Robert C. Giffen, which consisted of heavy cruisers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Wichita</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Chicago</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Louisville</i>, light cruisers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Montpelier</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Cleveland</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Columbia</i>, escort carriers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Chenango</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Suwanne</i>, and eight destroyers. Admiral Giffen commanded TF 18 from <i>Wichita</i>. A fleet carrier task force, centered on U.S. carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Enterprise</i>, steamed about 250 miles behind TG 62.8 and TF 18. The other fleet carrier and battleship task forces were about 150 miles further back. Admiral Griffen, along with cruiser <i>Wichita</i> and the two escort carriers, had just arrived in the Pacific after participating in <!--del_lnk--> Operation Torch in the <!--del_lnk--> North African Campaign. Also, <i>Chicago</i> had just arrived back in the South Pacific, after completing repairs from damage suffered during the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Savo Island, almost six-months before.<p><a id="Battle" name="Battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle</span></h2>
<p><a id="Prelude" name="Prelude"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:277px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23646.jpg.htm" title="U.S. cruisers of Task Force 18 at sea en route to Guadalcanal on January 29, 1943, just hours prior to the Japanese night air attack off Rennell Island. Photographed from USS Wichita. USS Chicago is in the right center, with USS Louisville in the distance."><img alt="U.S. cruisers of Task Force 18 at sea en route to Guadalcanal on January 29, 1943, just hours prior to the Japanese night air attack off Rennell Island. Photographed from USS Wichita. USS Chicago is in the right center, with USS Louisville in the distance." height="218" longdesc="/wiki/Image:RennellChicago.jpg" src="../../images/236/23646.jpg" width="275" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23646.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> U.S. cruisers of Task Force 18 at sea en route to Guadalcanal on January 29, 1943, just hours prior to the Japanese night air attack off Rennell Island. Photographed from USS <i>Wichita</i>. USS <i>Chicago</i> is in the right centre, with USS <i>Louisville</i> in the distance.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In addition to protecting the troop convoy, TF 18 was charged with rendezvousing with a force of four U.S. destroyers, stationed at Tulagi, at <!--del_lnk--> 21:00 on January 29 in order to conduct a sweep up "<!--del_lnk--> The Slot" north of Guadalcanal the next day to screen the unloading of the troop transports at Guadalcanal. However, the escort carriers were too slow (18 knots) to allow Giffen's force to make the scheduled rendezvous, so Giffen left the carriers behind with two destroyers at 14:00 and pushed on ahead at 24 knots (44 km/h). Wary of the threat from Japanese submarines, which Allied intelligence indicated were likely in the area, Giffen arranged his cruisers and destroyers for anti-submarine defense, not expecting an air attack. The cruisers were aligned in two columns, spaced 2,500 yards apart. <i>Wichita</i>, <i>Chicago</i>, and <i>Louisville</i>, in that order, to <!--del_lnk--> starboard and <i>Montpelier</i>, <i>Cleveland</i>, and <i>Columbia</i> to <!--del_lnk--> port. The six destroyers were spread along a semicircle 2 miles ahead of the cruiser columns.<p>Giffen's force was being tracked by Japanese submarines, who reported on Giffen's location and movement to their naval headquarter's units. Around mid-afternoon, based on the submarine's reports, 32 <!--del_lnk--> G4M "Betty" <!--del_lnk--> torpedo bombers stationed at <!--del_lnk--> Munda and <!--del_lnk--> Buka airfields in the Solomons, and probably, <!--del_lnk--> Rabaul, took-off carrying torpedoes to attack Giffen's force. One Betty turned-back with engine trouble, leaving 31 Betty's in the attack force.<p><a id="Action_on_January_29" name="Action_on_January_29"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Action on January 29</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23647.jpg.htm" title="Chart of Japanese air attack (dashed red line) on U.S. Task Force (TF) 18 (solid black line) between Rennell Island and Guadalcanal on the evening of January 29, 1943. (Click on map for larger image and full description.)"><img alt="Chart of Japanese air attack (dashed red line) on U.S. Task Force (TF) 18 (solid black line) between Rennell Island and Guadalcanal on the evening of January 29, 1943. (Click on map for larger image and full description.)" height="180" longdesc="/wiki/Image:RennellBattleMap.jpg" src="../../images/236/23647.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23647.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Chart of Japanese air attack (dashed red line) on U.S. Task Force (TF) 18 (solid black line) between Rennell Island and Guadalcanal on the evening of January 29, 1943. (Click on map for larger image and full description.)</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>At sunset, as TF 18 headed northwest 50 miles north of Rennell Island and 100 miles south of Guadalcanal, several of Giffen's ships detected unidentified aircraft on <a href="../../wp/r/Radar.htm" title="Radar">radar</a> 60 miles west of their formation. Having previously insisted on absolute radio silence, Giffen gave no orders about what to do about the unidentified contacts, or any orders at all, for that matter. With the setting of the sun, TF 18's combat air patrol (<!--del_lnk--> CAP) from the two escort carriers returned to their ships for the night, leaving Giffen's ships without air cover.<p>The radar contacts were, in fact, the approaching 31 Japanese Betty torpedo bombers, who circled around to the south of TF 18 so that they could attack from the east, with the black backdrop of the eastern sky behind them. The Bettys split into two groups, with the first group of 16 bombers commencing their attacks on TF 18 at 19:19. In this attack, all of the first group of Betty's torpedoes missed and one of the bombers was shot down by <!--del_lnk--> anti-aircraft fire from Giffen's ships.<p>Believing the attack was over, Giffen ordered his ships to cease zigzagging and to continue heading towards Guadalcanal on the same course and at the same speed. Meanwhile, other Japanese aircraft began dropping <!--del_lnk--> flares and floatlights to mark the course and speed of TF 18 in order to assist with the impending attack by the second group of Bettys.<p>At 19:38, the second group of Bettys attacked, planting two torpedoes in <i>Chicago</i>, causing heavy damage, and bringing the cruiser to a dead stop. One other torpedo hit <i>Wichita</i>, but didn't explode, and two of the Bettys were shot down by anti-aircraft fire. At 20:08, Giffen ordered his ships to reverse direction, to slow to 15 knots, and to cease firing their anti-aircraft guns, which succeeded in concealing his ships from the Japanese aircraft, who all departed the area by 23:35. In pitch darkness, <i>Louisville</i> managed to take the crippled <i>Chicago</i> under tow and slowly headed south, away from the battle area, escorted by the rest of TF 18.<p><a id="Action_on_January_30" name="Action_on_January_30"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Action on January 30</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23648.jpg.htm" title="USS Louisville (right) tows crippled USS Chicago on the morning of January 30, 1943."><img alt="USS Louisville (right) tows crippled USS Chicago on the morning of January 30, 1943." height="154" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ChicagoTow.jpg" src="../../images/236/23648.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23648.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> USS <i>Louisville</i> (right) tows crippled USS <i>Chicago</i> on the morning of January 30, 1943.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Halsey immediately took steps to try to protect the damaged <i>Chicago</i>, notifying the escort carriers to make sure they had a CAP in place at first light, ordering the <i>Enterprise</i> task force to approach and augment the escort carrier's CAP, and sending the fleet <!--del_lnk--> tug <i>Navajo</i> to take over the tow from <i>Louisville</i>, which was accomplished at 08:00. Between daybreak and 14:00, numerous Japanese scout aircraft approached TF 18. Although they were all chased away by the CAP, they were able to observe and report the position of <i>Chicago</i>. At 12:15, a force of 11 Bettys launched to attack the damaged U.S. cruiser. The U.S. ships knew the Bettys were coming, due to a warning report from an Australian <!--del_lnk--> coastwatcher in the Solomon Islands, with an estimated arrival time of 16:00. However, Halsey ordered the rest of the cruisers to leave <i>Chicago</i> behind and head for port at <!--del_lnk--> Efate, in the <a href="../../wp/v/Vanuatu.htm" title="Vanuatu">New Hebrides</a>, which they did at 15:00, leaving behind six destroyers to protect <i>Chicago</i> and <i>Navajo</i>.<p>At 15:40, <i>Enterprise</i> was 43 miles away from <i>Chicago</i>, with ten of her <!--del_lnk--> fighters forming a CAP over the damaged cruiser. At this time, four of the CAP fighters chased and shot-down a scout Betty bomber. At 15:54, radar on <i>Enterprise</i> detected the incoming flight of Bettys, and launched 10 more fighters to attack the Betty formation. The escort carriers, however, had difficulties in getting their aircraft launched, preventing them from joining in the attack on the Betty formation until the engagement was over.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:218px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23649.jpg.htm" title="Japanese aerial attack (dotted red line) on Chicago (yellow dot) on the morning of January 30, 1943. Black arrows are U.S. carrier fighter aircraft."><img alt="Japanese aerial attack (dotted red line) on Chicago (yellow dot) on the morning of January 30, 1943. Black arrows are U.S. carrier fighter aircraft." height="151" longdesc="/wiki/Image:RennellBattleMap2.jpg" src="../../images/236/23649.jpg" width="216" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23649.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Japanese aerial attack (dotted red line) on <i>Chicago</i> (yellow dot) on the morning of January 30, 1943. Black arrows are U.S. carrier fighter aircraft.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>At first the Bettys appeared to be trying to approach and attack <i>Enterprise</i>, but, turned towards <i>Chicago</i> after six <i>Enterprise</i> CAP fighters began to engage them. Four other CAP fighters chased the Bettys as they entered the anti-aircraft fire from <i>Chicago's</i> escorting destroyers. In all, eight of the attacking Bettys were shot down by the CAP fighters or by anti-aircraft fire, but most of the bombers were able to drop their torpedoes before crashing.<p>One torpedo hit U.S. destroyer <i>La Vallette</i> in her forward engine room, killing 22 of her crew and causing heavy damage. <i>Chicago</i> was hit by four torpedoes, one forward of the bridge and three others in her engineering spaces. <i>Chicago's</i> captain, Ralph O. Davis, ordered the ship to be abandoned, and the cruiser sank, stern first, 20 minutes later. <i>Navajo</i> and the escorting destroyers rescued 1,049 survivors from <i>Chicago's</i> crew, but 62 of her crew "joined <i>Chicago</i> in death." A final attack force of Japanese Betty torpedo bombers failed to find the remaining U.S. ships. <i>Navajo</i> took <i>La Vallette</i> under tow, and all of the remaining ships of TF 18 were able to make it to port at <!--del_lnk--> Espiritu Santo without further incident.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23650.jpg.htm" title="Japanese war art depicting the battle showing Betty bombers attacking burning U.S. warships."><img alt="Japanese war art depicting the battle showing Betty bombers attacking burning U.S. warships." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:RennellJapanesePainting.jpg" src="../../images/236/23650.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23650.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Japanese war art depicting the battle showing Betty bombers attacking burning U.S. warships.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Japanese widely publicized the results of the engagement, claiming to have sunk a "battleship" and "three cruisers." The U.S., on the other hand, tried to conceal the loss of <i>Chicago</i> from the public for some time, with Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Chester Nimitz, commander in chief of Allied Pacific forces, threatening to "shoot" any of his staff who leaked the loss of <i>Chicago</i> to the press. Halsey and Nimitz blamed Giffen for the defeat and stated so in Giffen's official performance report for the period. The defeat and resulting recriminations do not appear to have affected Giffen's career too adversely; he continued to lead Allied battleship and cruiser task forces in the Pacific until 1944, and was later promoted to <!--del_lnk--> vice admiral.<p>With Japanese air assets tied-up in the battle with TF 18, the Allied transports were able to complete their mission of replacing the 2nd Marine division on Guadalcanal over the last two days in January. During this time, the other Allied task forces, including the two fleet carrier task forces, took station in the <!--del_lnk--> Coral Sea, in anticipation of an expected Japanese offensive in the southern Solomons<p>In reality, however, the Japanese were completing the secret evacuation of their remaining forces from Guadalcanal over three nights between February 2nd and 7th, 1943. With TF 18 forced to retreat, very few Allied naval forces were left in the immediate Guadalcanal area, allowing the Japanese to successfully retrieve all of their ground forces from under the "noses" of Allied forces, who weren't aware that the Japanese evacuation was happening until it was over. These evacuated ground forces would play an important part in future battles between the Japanese and the Allies in the critical Solomon Islands campaign.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rennell_Island"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War II', 'Solomon Islands', 'United States', 'Australia', 'Japan', 'Battle of the Eastern Solomons', 'Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands', 'Naval Battle of Guadalcanal', 'Imperial Japanese Navy', 'World War II', 'Solomon Islands', 'Japan', 'United States', 'Solomon Islands', 'Australia', 'Naval Battle of Guadalcanal', 'Aircraft carrier', 'Radar', 'Vanuatu']
|
Battle_of_Sitka
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Sitka,1799,1972,1985,Alaska Natives,Alaska Panhandle,Aleut,Alexandr Baranov,Angoon, Alaska,Arkhangelsk,Australia" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Sitka</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Sitka";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Sitka";
var wgArticleId = 1559089;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Sitka">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Sitka</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Pre_1900_Military.htm">Pre 1900 Military</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Sitka</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Russian colonization of the Americas</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/169/16913.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Sitka_by_Louis_S_Glanzman.jpg" src="../../images/169/16913.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><i>Battle of Sitka</i> by Louis S. Glanzman, 1988</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td>October, 1804</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Sitka, Alaska</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Russian victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/22/2230.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Romanov_Flag.svg" src="../../images/22/2230.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Russian Empire</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Tlingit <!--del_lnk--> Kiks.ádi Clan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/22/2230.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="10" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Romanov_Flag.svg" src="../../images/22/2230.png" width="20" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Alexandr Baranov</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">Chief <!--del_lnk--> Katlian</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">150 Russians plus<br /> 400 Aleuts</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">750–800 (estimated)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">12 killed, many wounded</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">unknown</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Sitka</b> (1804) was the last major armed conflict between <a href="../../wp/e/Europe.htm" title="Europe">Europeans</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Alaska Natives, and was initiated in response to the destruction of a <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russian</a> trading post two years prior. The primary combatant groups were the native <!--del_lnk--> Tlingits of <i>Sheet’-ká X'áat'l</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Baranof Island) and agents of the <!--del_lnk--> Russian-American Company. Though the Russians' initial assault (in which <!--del_lnk--> Alexandr Baranov, head of the Russian expedition, sustained serious injuries) was repelled, their naval escorts bombarded the Tlingit fort <i>Shis'kí Noow</i> mercilessly, driving the natives into the surrounding forest after only a few days. The Russian victory was decisive, and resulted in the Tlingit being permanently displaced from their ancestral lands. The Tlingit fled north and established a new settlement on the neighboring <!--del_lnk--> Chichagof Island.<p>Animosity between the two cultures, though greatly diminished, continued in the form of sporadic attacks by the natives against the Russian settlement as late as 1858. The battlefield location has been preserved at <!--del_lnk--> Sitka National Historical Park. In September 2004, in recognition of the Battle's bicentennial, a direct descendant of Russian battle leader Baranov joined with descendants of the Kiks.ádi warriors for a traditional Tlingit "Cry Ceremony" to formally grieve for their lost ancestors.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p>Members of the <!--del_lnk--> Kiks.ádi (<a href="../../wp/f/Frog.htm" title="Frog">Frog</a>/<a href="../../wp/r/Raven.htm" title="Raven">Raven</a> Clan) of the indigenous Tlingit people had occupied portions of the <!--del_lnk--> Alaska Panhandle, including <i>Sheet’-ká X'áat'l</i> (present-day Baranof Island), for some 10,000 years. <!--del_lnk--> Alexandr Baranov (Chief Manager of the Shelikhov-Golikov Company, a forerunner of the Russian-American Company) first visited the island aboard the <i>Ekatarina</i> in 1795 while searching for new <!--del_lnk--> sea otter hunting grounds. Baranov paid the Tlingit a small sum for the rights to the land in order to prevent "interlopers" from conducting trade on the island.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> May 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1799 Baranov and 100 employees of the RAC (accompanied by their native wives) sailed into Sitka Sound aboard the <!--del_lnk--> cutter <i>Olga</i> and <!--del_lnk--> sloop-of-war <i>Konstantin</i> of the <!--del_lnk--> Imperial Russian Navy; accompanying the Russian settlers was a fleet of some 550 <i><!--del_lnk--> baidarkas</i>, carrying 600–1,000 <!--del_lnk--> Aleut escorts. Wishing to avoid a confrontation with the natives, the group passed by the strategic hilltop encampment where the Tlingit had established their <i>Noow Tlein</i> ("Big Fort") and made landfall at their second-choice building site, some 7 <!--del_lnk--> miles (11 <!--del_lnk--> kilometers) north of the colony. The location of the Russian settlement at <!--del_lnk--> Katlianski Bay, "<!--del_lnk--> Redoubt Saint Michael," is known today as "Starry Gavan" (<i>Starrigavan</i>) Bay, or "Old Harbour." The outpost consisted of a large warehouse, blacksmith shop, cattle sheds, <!--del_lnk--> barracks, <!--del_lnk--> stockade, <!--del_lnk--> block house, a bath house, quarters for the hunters, and a residence for Baranov.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16914.jpg.htm" title="The Tlingit K'alyaan Pole, erected at the site of Fort Shis'kí Noow in Sitka National Historical Park to commemorate the lives of those lost in the Battle of Sitka."><img alt="The Tlingit K'alyaan Pole, erected at the site of Fort Shis'kí Noow in Sitka National Historical Park to commemorate the lives of those lost in the Battle of Sitka." height="338" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tlingit_K%27alyaan_Totem_Pole_August_2005.jpg" src="../../images/169/16914.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16914.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Tlingit <i><u>K</u>'alyaan Pole</i>, erected at the site of Fort <i>Shis'kí Noow</i> in <!--del_lnk--> Sitka National Historical Park to commemorate the lives of those lost in the Battle of Sitka.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Though the <i>Koloshi</i> (the Russian name for the Tlingit) initially welcomed the newcomers, their animosity toward the Russians grew in relatively short order. The Kiks.ádi objected to the Russian traders' custom of taking native women as their wives, and were constantly taunted by other <!--del_lnk--> Tlingit clans who looked upon the "Sitkas" as the outsiders' <i>kalga</i>, or slaves. Perhaps the tribe was jealous of the Aleuts' superior skills at hunting sea otters as well. The Kiks.ádi came to realize that the Russians' continued presence demanded their allegiance to the <!--del_lnk--> Tsar, and that they therefore were expected to provide free labor to the Company Competition between the two groups for the island's resources would escalate as well.<p>Despite a number of unsuccessful Tlingit attacks against the post during the winter of 1799, business soon prospered. Urgent matters required that Baranov return to <!--del_lnk--> Kodiak (then capital of <!--del_lnk--> Russian America) in 1800. 25 Russians and 55 Aleuts, under the direction of <!--del_lnk--> Vasilii G. Medvednikov, were left to staff the post. In spring, 1802 the population of Redoubt Saint Michael had grown to include 29 Russians, 3 British deserters, 200 Aleuts, and a few Kodiak women. It was rumored that the British (under the auspices of the <!--del_lnk--> Hudson Bay Company) staged a meeting with the northern Tlingit clans in <!--del_lnk--> Angoon in 1801, wherein they offered muskets and gunpowder to the Tlingits in exchange for exclusive fur trading rights.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> June 20, 1802 a horde of Tlingit warriors from along <i><u>K</u>aasda Héen</i> (the <!--del_lnk--> Indian River) and nearby <!--del_lnk--> Crab Apple Island, "<i>painted like demons</i>" and wearing animal masks carved out of wood, attacked the Russian fort. The natives were well-armed with spears and modern firearms (the latter acquired through trade with the British, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">French</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/Spain.htm" title="Spain">Spanish</a>, and Americans, whose ships frequented the waters of the <!--del_lnk--> Inside Passage). Led by Chief <i>Shk'awulyéil</i>, the raiding party massacred all of the men (20 Russians and close to 130 Aleut workers), looted and burned the barracks and storehouses, destroyed a ship under construction, and enslaved the surviving women and children.<p>A few Russians and Aleuts who had been away from the post hunting, or who had fled into the forest, subsequently reached safety and relayed news of the attack to two foreign ships at anchor in the Sound. After brief negotiations, the Tlingit agreed to ransom a few of the survivors to the commander of the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">American</a> ship <i>Alert</i> out of <a href="../../wp/b/Boston%252C_Massachusetts.htm" title="Boston, Massachusetts">Boston</a>. Captain <!--del_lnk--> James Barber of the British ship <i>Unicorn</i>, also anchored nearby, lured <i>Shk'awulyéil</i> and several of his raiders aboard and placed them in the <!--del_lnk--> brig, subsequently exchanging them for the remaining lone Russian and 18 Aleut captives (along with some 4,000 sea otter pelts that had been plundered during the raid).<p>The <i>Unicorn</i> then set sail for Kodiak, where it delivered the survivors and the news of the attack to Baranov on <!--del_lnk--> June 24. Barber extracted a ransom of 10,000 <!--del_lnk--> rubles for the return of the colonists — a mere 20% of his initial demand.<p><a id="Russian_reprisal" name="Russian_reprisal"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Russian reprisal</span></h2>
<p>Following the Kiks.ádi victory, Tlingit <!--del_lnk--> Shaman <i>Stoonookw</i> (confident that the Russians would soon return, and in force) urged the Clan to construct a new fortification that was capable of withstanding cannon fire, and provided an ample water supply. Despite strong opposition, the Shaman's will prevailed, and the Kiks.ádi made preparations for war. The Sitkas sent messages to their allies requesting assistance, but none was forthcoming; they would face the Russian fleet on their own.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16915.jpg.htm" title="The Russian sloop-of-war Neva visits Australia in 1807."><img alt="The Russian sloop-of-war Neva visits Australia in 1807." height="164" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Russian_Sloop-of-War_Neva.jpg" src="../../images/169/16915.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16915.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Russian sloop-of-war <i>Neva</i> visits <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a> in 1807.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Tlingit chose to construct the roughly 240 feet by 165 feet (73 by 50 <!--del_lnk--> meters) <i>Shis'kí Noow</i> (the "<i>Fort of Young Saplings</i>") at the high water line near the mouth of the Indian River to take advantage of the long gravel beach flats that extend far out into the bay; it was hoped that the shallows would prevent the Russian ships from attacking the installation at close range. Some 1,000 native <!--del_lnk--> spruce logs were used in the construction of 14 buildings (<i>barabaras</i>) and the thick <!--del_lnk--> palisade wall that surrounded them. The Kiks.ádi battle plan was a simple one: they would gauge the Russians' strength and intentions at <i>Noow Tlein</i>, then strategically retreat to the perceived safety of the new fort.<p>Baranov returned to Sitka Sound in late September, 1804 aboard the sloop-of-war <i>Neva</i>, a 200-<!--del_lnk--> foot-long (61-meter), three-masted sailing ship weighing in around 350 <!--del_lnk--> tons (360 metric <!--del_lnk--> tonnes). The recently-launched, state-of-the-art <!--del_lnk--> warship was of English design and construction (it had been christened the HMS <i>Thames</i>), carried 14 cannon, and was manned by a crew of 50 professional sailors; it was also the first Russian ship to <!--del_lnk--> circumnavigate the globe. The <i>Neva</i> (under the command of <!--del_lnk--> Lieutenant Commander <!--del_lnk--> Yuri Feodorovich Lisyansky) was accompanied by the <i>Ermak</i> and two other smaller, armed <!--del_lnk--> sailing ships, manned by 150 <i>promyshlenniks</i> (fur traders), along with 400–500 Aleuts in 250 <i>baidarkas</i>.<p>In this engagement, fortune favored the Russians from the outset. On <!--del_lnk--> September 29, the Russians went ashore at the winter village. Lisyansky dubbed the site "Novo-<!--del_lnk--> Arkhangel'skaya Mikhailovskaya" (or "New Archangel Saint Michael"), a reference to the largest city in the region where <!--del_lnk--> Governor Baranov was born. Baranov immediately sent forth envoys to the Tlingit settlement with offers of negotiation for the <i>Noow Tlein</i> site, all of which were rebuffed. The Tlingit merely hoped to stall the Russians long enough to allow the natives to abandon their winter village and occupy the "sapling fort" without the enemy fleet taking notice.<p>However, when the Kiks.ádi sent a small, armed party to retrieve their gunpowder reserves from an island in nearby <i>Shaaseíyí Aan</i> (<!--del_lnk--> Jamestown Bay), the group (electing not to wait for the cover of darkness, instead returning in broad daylight) was spotted and engaged in brief a firefight with the Russians. An errant round struck the <!--del_lnk--> canoe in which the Tlingit were transporting the gunpowder, igniting the cargo and causing it to explode. When the smoke cleared, it was evident that none of the expedition, comprised of upper-<!--del_lnk--> caste young men from each house (all future Clan leaders) and a highly-respected elder, survived the encounter. Baranov's emmissaries notifed the Tlingit that the Russian ships would soon begin firing on the new fort.<p><a id="Day_One" name="Day_One"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Day One</span></h3>
<p>On or about <!--del_lnk--> October 1, the <i>Neva</i> was towed into the shoals near the mouth of the Indian River. A Russian landing party, led by Baranov and accompanied by 400 Aleuts acting as <!--del_lnk--> light infantry, assaulted the Tlingit compound, only to be met by continuous volleys of gunfire. The Aleuts panicked and broke ranks, retreating to the shore where their <i>baidarkas</i> waited.<p>The Kiks.ádi warriors, led by their new War Chief <i><u>K</u>'alyaan</i> (Katlian) — wearing a Raven mask and armed with a blacksmith's hammer, surged out of <i>Shis'kí Noow</i> and engaged the attacking force in hand-to-hand combat; a second wave of Tlingit emerged from the adjacent woods in a "<!--del_lnk--> pincer" maneuver. Baranov was seriously injured and the Russians fell back to the water's edge, just as the <i>Neva</i> opened fire to cover the retreat. Twelve of the attackers were killed and many others injured during the melee, and the Russians were forced to abandon several small artillery pieces on the beach.<p>That night, the Tlingit rejoiced at having repulsed the Russian onslaught.<p><a id="Day_Two" name="Day_Two"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Day Two</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16916.jpg.htm" title="A plan and elevation sketch of the Tlingit fort Shis'kí Noow drawn by Yuri Lisyansky after the Battle of Sitka in 1804. The Indian River flows through the upper right corner of Lisyansky's drawing."><img alt="A plan and elevation sketch of the Tlingit fort Shis'kí Noow drawn by Yuri Lisyansky after the Battle of Sitka in 1804. The Indian River flows through the upper right corner of Lisyansky's drawing." height="222" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Lisianski_Sapling_Fort_Sketch_1804.jpg" src="../../images/169/16916.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16916.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A plan and elevation sketch of the Tlingit fort <i>Shis'kí Noow</i> drawn by Yuri Lisyansky after the Battle of Sitka in 1804. The Indian River flows through the upper right corner of Lisyansky's drawing.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Inasmuch as Baranov’s battlefield wounds prevented him from continuing the battle, Lieutenant Commander Lisyansky assumed command, ordering his ships to begin shore <!--del_lnk--> bombardment of the Tlingit position. The initial <!--del_lnk--> barrage consisted mainly of "ranging shots" as the vessels attempted to determine the optimum firing range. Unable to breach the fort's walls, the Russians ceased fire in the early afternoon and sent a messenger ashore under a flag of <!--del_lnk--> truce.<dl>
<dd><i>It was constructed of wood, so thick and strong, that the shot from my guns could not penetrate it at the short distance of a <!--del_lnk--> cable's length</i> — from the log of Yuri Lisyansky, Captain of the <i>Neva</i>.</dl>
<p>Much to the Kiks.ádi's amusement, the message demanded their surrender, which they rejected out of hand. The Tlingit replied with their own demand that the Russians surrender, which was also rejected. The Russian cannon fire resumed until nightfall. After dark, the Kiks.ádi met to consider their situation. They all believed that the Russians suffered too many losses the day before to mount another ground attack. The Tlingit's goal had been to hold out long enough to allow the northern clans to arrive and reinforce their numbers, but the shortage of gunpowder limited their ability to remain under <a href="../../wp/s/Siege.htm" title="Siege">siege</a>, a factor that made ultimate victory seem less likely. The Tlingit concluded that a change in tactics was in order: rather than suffer the ignominy of defeat on the battlefield, they formulated a strategy wherein the Clan would disappear into the surrounding forest (where they felt that the Russians could not engage them) and establish a new settlement on the northern part of the island.<p><a id="Day_Three" name="Day_Three"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Day Three</span></h3>
<p>The <i>Neva</i> and her escorts resumed their day-long bombardment of the Tlingit fort at sunrise. The Kiks.ádi responded with offers of a truce, hostage exchanges, promises of more talks, and even the possibility of surrender. Unbeknownst to the Russians, the Clan's elderly and young children had already begun the trek to <i><u>G</u>ájaa Héen</i> (Old Sitka). At nightfall, the House Chiefs met again to discuss their planned march across the island. Mothers with infant children were to depart in the morning.<p><a id="Day_Four" name="Day_Four"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Day Four</span></h3>
<p>The naval cannon fire began at daybreak, halting periodically to allow the Russians to extend offers of peace to the Kiks.ádi, which were in turn rejected. That afternoon, the Tlingit's response was that they had tired of battle, and would accede to the Russian demands to evacuate <i>Shis'kí Noow</i> the following day. Once the sun had set, the natives held their last gathering in the sapling fort. The elders offered praise for their clansmen who had defended the Kiks.ádi homeland against a formidable enemy. The Clan gathered together for a last song, one that ended with a loud drum roll and a wail of anguish (which the Russians interpreted as a sign of their surrender).<p>The Tlingit then departed undetected under the cover of darkness.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<p>It wasn't until <!--del_lnk--> October 7, days after the Kiks.ádi put forth their tragic "<!--del_lnk--> swan song," that the Russians landed a large contingent of troops to secure the beachhead and to reconnoiter the area in and around <i>Shis'kí Noow</i>. To their great surprise, none of the natives were to be found (unbeknownst to the Russians, the Tlingit had embarked on what is now referred to as the "Sitka Kiks.ádi Survival March").<p>On <!--del_lnk--> October 8, Captain Lisianski visited the abandoned Tlingit fortification and recorded his impressions of what he saw as follows:<dl>
<dd><i>Having come ashore, I observed the most barbaric sight that could bring even the most hardened heart to tremble and recoil. Assuming that we could trace them in the woods by the voices of infants and dogs, the Sitkans put them all to death...the entire set of circumstances led us to conclude that the fortress had contained no less than 800 persons of male gender.</i></dl>
<p>The fort was <!--del_lnk--> razed to preclude the possibility of its being used as a stronghold against the Russians and their allies ever again. <i>Neva</i> sailed out of Sitka Sound on November 10.<p><a name=".22Sitka_Kiks..C3.A1di_Survival_March.22"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">"Sitka Kiks.ádi Survival March"</span></h3>
<p>The first leg of the Tlingit's sojourn entailed a hike west from <i><u>G</u>ajaa Héen</i> to <i>Daxéit</i> (the Clan's fishing camp at <!--del_lnk--> Nakwasina Sound, where each May the Kiks.ádi harvested <!--del_lnk--> herring eggs, a traditional native food). From there, the group's exact path across the mountains north to <i>Cháatl <u>K</u>áa Noow</i> (the Kiks.ádi "Halibut Fort" at <!--del_lnk--> Point Craven in the <!--del_lnk--> Peril Strait) is a matter of some conjecture. However, a coastal route around the bays of northwest Baranof Island appears to be the most likely course as it would have allowed the travelers to circumvent the Island's dense forests, based on significant firsthand research into the event conducted by Herb and Frank Hope of the Sheet'ká Kwáan — Sitka Tribe of Alaska. Canoes fashioned out of <!--del_lnk--> redcedar trunks facilitated the ocean crossing to <!--del_lnk--> Chichagof Island.<p>Several warriors remained in the vicinity of <i>Noow Tlein</i> after the Battle as a sort of rear guard, in order to both harass the Russian settlers and to prevent them from pursuing the Kiks.ádi during their flight north. Shortly thereafter, eight Aleut trappers were killed in Jamestown Bay and another was shot in the woods adjacent to New Archangel. From that point forward, Russian hunting parties went out in force, ever alert to the possibility of attack. The Kiks.ádi encouraged other Tlingit clans to avoid contact with the Russians by any means possible.<p><a id="Russian_Alaska" name="Russian_Alaska"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Russian Alaska</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16917.jpg.htm" title="The Russian palisade atop "Castle Hill" (Noow Tlein) in Gájaa Héen (Old Sitka), circa 1827."><img alt="The Russian palisade atop "Castle Hill" (Noow Tlein) in Gájaa Héen (Old Sitka), circa 1827." height="170" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Old_Sitka.jpg" src="../../images/169/16917.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16917.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Russian palisade atop "Castle Hill" (<i>Noow Tlein</i>) in <i><u>G</u>ájaa Héen</i> (Old Sitka), <i>circa</i> 1827.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Atop the <i>kekoor</i> (hill) at <i>Noow Tlein</i>, the Russians constructed a fortress (<i>krepost</i>') of their own, consisting of a high wooden palisade with three <!--del_lnk--> watchtowers (armed with 32 cannon) for defense against Tlingit attacks. By the summer of 1805, a total of 8 buildings had been erected inside the compound, including workshops, barracks, and the Governor's Residence. Aside from their annual expeditions to "Herring Rock" near the mouth of the Indian River, the Kiks.ádi by-and-large steered clear of the ever-expanding settlement until 1821, when the Russians (who intended to profit from the natives' hunting prowess, and to put an end to the sporadic attacks on the village) invited the Tlingit to return to Sitka, which was designated as the new capital of <!--del_lnk--> Russian America in 1808.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16918.jpg.htm" title="A replica of Russian Block House #1 (one of three watchtowers that guarded the stockade walls at Old Sitka) as constructed by the National Park Service in 1962."><img alt="A replica of Russian Block House #1 (one of three watchtowers that guarded the stockade walls at Old Sitka) as constructed by the National Park Service in 1962." height="300" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Trading_post_at_Old_Sitka.jpg" src="../../images/169/16918.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16918.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A replica of Russian Block House #1 (one of three <!--del_lnk--> watchtowers that guarded the <!--del_lnk--> stockade walls at Old Sitka) as constructed by the National Park Service in 1962.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Tlingit who chose to return were allowed to reside in a part of the village just below the heavily-guarded stockade on "Blockhouse Hill" (an area known as the <i>Ranche</i> until around 1965). Russian cannon were constantly trained on the natives as a reminder of their defeat at <i>Shis'kí Noow</i>. The Kiks.ádi supplied the Russians with food (including corn, or <a href="../../wp/m/Maize.htm" title="Maize">maize</a>, which the settlers taught them how to cultivate) and otter pelts, while the colonists introduced the Tlingit to the various aspects of Russian culture and the <!--del_lnk--> Russian Orthodox Church. Occasional acts of Tlingit aggression continued until 1858, with one significant uprising (though quickly quelled) occurring in 1855. After Russian America was sold to the U.S. in 1867, all of the holdings of the Russian–American Company were liquidated. Following the transfer, many elders of the local <!--del_lnk--> Tlingit tribe maintained that "Castle Hill" comprised the only land that Russia was entitled to sell. Native land claims were not addressed until the latter half of the 20th century, with the signing of the <!--del_lnk--> Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.<p>The 1880 <!--del_lnk--> census reported a population of 43 Tlingit living in and around the Indian River, the Kiks.ádi's traditional summer fishing camp.<p><a id="Tributes" name="Tributes"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Tributes</span></h3>
<p>U.S. President <a href="../../wp/b/Benjamin_Harrison.htm" title="Benjamin Harrison">Benjamin Harrison</a> set aside the <i>Shis'kí Noow</i> site for public use in 1890. <!--del_lnk--> Sitka National Historical Park was established on the battle site on <!--del_lnk--> October 18, <!--del_lnk--> 1972 "<i>...to commemorate the Tlingit and Russian experiences in Alaska</i>." Today, the <i>K'alyaan (</i>Totem<i>) Pole</i> stands guard over the <i>Shis'kí Noow</i> site to honour the Tlingit casualties. <i>Ta Éetl</i>, a memorial to the Russian sailors who died in the Battle, is located across the Indian River at site of the Russians' landing. In September of 2004, in observance of the Battle's bicentennial, descendants of the combatants from both sides joined in a traditional Tlingit "Cry Ceremony" to formally grieve their lost ancestors. The next day, the Kiks.ádi hosted a formal reconciliation ceremony to "put away" their two centuries of grief.<p><a id="Historic_designations" name="Historic_designations"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Historic designations</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> National Register of Historic Places <!--del_lnk--> #NPS–66000162 — "Baranof Castle Hill" site<li>National Register of Historic Places <!--del_lnk--> #NPS–66000164 — "Battle of Sitka" site<li>National Register of Historic Places <!--del_lnk--> #NPS–66000166 — Old Sitka ("Redoubt Saint Michael") site</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sitka"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Europe', 'Russia', 'Frog', 'Raven', 'France', 'Spain', 'United States', 'Boston, Massachusetts', 'Australia', 'Siege', 'Maize', 'Benjamin Harrison']
|
Battle_of_Smolensk_(1943)
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Smolensk (1943),1943,2nd Guards Tank Corps,Aleksandr Vasilevsky,Aleksei Antonov,Andrei Yeremenko,Anti-aircraft warfare,Army Group Center,Army Group South,Artillery,Assault guns" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Smolensk (1943)</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Smolensk_(1943)";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Smolensk (1943)";
var wgArticleId = 6164558;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Smolensk_1943">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Smolensk (1943)</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Second Battle of Smolensk</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Front of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/236/23651.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="213" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Soviet_civilians_in_a_ruined_Smolensk.jpg" src="../../images/236/23651.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /> Soviet <!--del_lnk--> civilians in their ruined house in <!--del_lnk--> Smolensk.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 7 August <!--del_lnk--> 1943 – <!--del_lnk--> 2 October 1943</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Smolensk region, <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">USSR</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Soviet victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Axis</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Günther von Kluge</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Andrei Yeremenko,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Vasily Sokolovsky</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">850,000 men,<br /> 8,800 guns,<br /> 500 tanks,<br /> 700 planes</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">1,253,000 men,<br /> 20,640 guns,<br /> 1,430 tanks,<br /> 1,100 planes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">(Soviet est.)<br /> ~200,000–250,000 killed, wounded or captured</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">450,000 killed, wounded or captured</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Eastern Front</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Barbarossa – <!--del_lnk--> Finland – <!--del_lnk--> Leningrad and Baltics – <!--del_lnk--> Crimea and Caucasus – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Moscow.htm" title="Battle of Moscow">Moscow</a> – <!--del_lnk--> 1st Rzhev-Vyazma – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Kharkov – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Stalingrad.htm" title="Battle of Stalingrad">Stalingrad</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Velikiye Luki – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Rzhev-Sychevka – <!--del_lnk--> Kursk – <strong class="selflink">2nd Smolensk</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Dnieper – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Kiev – <!--del_lnk--> Korsun – <!--del_lnk--> Hube's Pocket – <!--del_lnk--> Belorussia – <!--del_lnk--> Lvov-Sandomierz – <!--del_lnk--> Balkans – <!--del_lnk--> Hungary – <!--del_lnk--> Vistula-Oder – <!--del_lnk--> Königsberg – <!--del_lnk--> Berlin – <!--del_lnk--> Prague</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The second <b>Battle of Smolensk</b> (<!--del_lnk--> 7 August <!--del_lnk--> 1943 – <!--del_lnk--> 2 October <!--del_lnk--> 1943), also known as <b>Operation Suvorov</b>, was a major <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> offensive by the <!--del_lnk--> Red Army in western <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>. Staged almost simultaneously with the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Dnieper, the offensive lasted 2 months and was led by Generals <!--del_lnk--> Andrei Yeremenko and <!--del_lnk--> Vasily Sokolovsky. It was aimed at clearing the <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">German</a> presence from the <!--del_lnk--> Smolensk and <!--del_lnk--> Bryansk regions. Smolensk had been under German occupation since the first <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Smolensk in 1941.<p>Despite an impressive German defense, the Red Army was able to stage several breakthroughs, liberating several major cities including Smolensk and <!--del_lnk--> Roslavl. They moved into occupied <!--del_lnk--> Belorussia. However, the overall advance was quite modest and slow in the face of heavy German resistance, and the operation was therefore accomplished in three stages: August 7–20, August 21–September 6, and September 7–October 2.<p>Although playing a major military role in its own right, the Smolensk Operation was also important for its effect on the Battle of the Dnieper. It has been estimated that as many as fifty-five German divisions were committed to counter the Smolensk Operation — divisions which would have been critical to prevent Soviet troops from crossing the <!--del_lnk--> Dnieper in the south. In the course of the operation the Red Army also definitively drove back German forces from the Smolensk land bridge, historically the most important approach for a western attack on <a href="../../wp/m/Moscow.htm" title="Moscow">Moscow</a>.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Context_of_the_offensive" name="Context_of_the_offensive"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Context of the offensive</span></h2>
<p>By the end of the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Kursk in July 1943, the <!--del_lnk--> Wehrmacht had lost all hope of regaining the initiative on the <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Front. Losses were considerable and the whole army was less effective than before, as many of its experienced soldiers had fallen during the previous two years of fighting. This left the Wehrmacht capable of only reacting to Soviet moves.<p>On the Soviet side, <a href="../../wp/j/Joseph_Stalin.htm" title="Joseph Stalin">Stalin</a> was determined to pursue the liberation of occupied territories from German control, a course of action that had started at the end of 1942 with <!--del_lnk--> Operation Uranus, which led to the liberation of <!--del_lnk--> Stalingrad. The Battle of the Dnieper was to achieve the liberation of the <!--del_lnk--> Ukraine and push the southern part of the front towards the west. However, in order to weaken the German defenses even further, the Smolensk operation was staged simultaneously, in a move that would also draw German reserves north, thereby weakening the German defense on the southern part of the front. Both operations were a part of the same strategic offensive plan, aiming to recover as much Soviet territory from German control as possible<p>Thirty years later, Marshal <a href="../../wp/a/Aleksandr_Vasilevsky.htm" title="Aleksandr Vasilevsky">Vasilevsky</a> (Chief of the General Staff in 1943) wrote in his <!--del_lnk--> memoirs:<blockquote>
<p>This plan, enormous both in regard of its daring and of forces committed to it, was executed through several operations: the Smolensk operation, …the Donbass [Operation], the left-bank Ukraine operation…</blockquote>
<p><a id="Geography" name="Geography"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Geography</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23652.jpg.htm" title="Map of the Smolensk operation and related offensives"><img alt="Map of the Smolensk operation and related offensives" height="266" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Map_of_dnieper_battle_grand.jpg" src="../../images/236/23652.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23652.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of the Smolensk operation and related offensives</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The territory on which the offensive was to be staged was a slightly hilly plain covered with ravines and possessing significant areas of swamps and forests that restricted military movement. Its most important hills reached heights of 250 to 270 meters (750–800 ft), sometimes even more, allowing for improved <!--del_lnk--> artillery defense. In 1943, the area was for the most part covered with pine and mixed forests and thick bushes.<p>Numerous rivers also passed through the area, the most important of them being the <!--del_lnk--> Western Dvina, <!--del_lnk--> Dnieper, <!--del_lnk--> Desna, <!--del_lnk--> Volost' and <!--del_lnk--> Ugra rivers. None of these rivers were especially wide at 10 to 120 meters (30 to 260 ft) respectively, nor deep at 40 to 250 cm (1 to 8 ft) respectively; but the surrounding wide, swamp-like areas proved difficult to cross, especially for mechanized troops. Moreover, like many south-flowing rivers in Europe, the Dnieper's western bank, which was held by German troops, was higher and steeper than the eastern. There were very few available bridges or ferries.<p><a id="Transport_infrastructure" name="Transport_infrastructure"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Transport infrastructure</span></h3>
<p>For the Soviet troops, the offensive was further complicated by a lack of adequate transport infrastructure in the area in which the offensive was to be staged. The road network was not well developed, and paved roads were rare. After rainfall, which was quite common during the Russian summer, most of them were turned into mud (a phenomenon known as <!--del_lnk--> rasputitsa), greatly slowing down any advance of mechanized troops, and raising <a href="../../wp/l/Logistics.htm" title="Logistics">logistical</a> issues as well. As for railroads, the only major railroad axis available for Soviet troops was the <!--del_lnk--> Rzhev - <!--del_lnk--> Vyazma - <!--del_lnk--> Kirov line.<p>On the other hand, the <!--del_lnk--> Wehrmacht controlled a much wider network of roads and <!--del_lnk--> railroads, centered on Smolensk and <!--del_lnk--> Roslavl. These two cities were important logistical centers, allowing quick supply and <!--del_lnk--> reinforcements for German troops. By far the most important railroads for German troops were the Smolensk - <!--del_lnk--> Bryansk axis and the <!--del_lnk--> Nevel - <!--del_lnk--> Orsha - <!--del_lnk--> Mogilev axis, linking German western troops with troops concentrated around <!--del_lnk--> Oryol.<p><a id="German_defense_setup" name="German_defense_setup"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">German defense setup</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23653.jpg.htm" title="A set of German antitank devices set up in wooded hills, part of the extensive defences the Germans had created around Smolensk"><img alt="A set of German antitank devices set up in wooded hills, part of the extensive defences the Germans had created around Smolensk" height="189" longdesc="/wiki/Image:A_german_set_of_antitank_devices.jpg" src="../../images/236/23653.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23653.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A set of German antitank devices set up in wooded hills, part of the extensive defences the Germans had created around Smolensk</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The front had been more or less stable for four to five months (and up to 18 months in several places) before the battle, and possessed geographical features favorable for a strong defensive setup. Thus, German forces had time to build extensive defensive positions, numbering as much as five or six defensive lines in some places, for a total depth extending from 100 to 130 kilometers (60–80 mi).<p>The first (tactical or outer) defensive zone included the first (main) and the second defense lines, for a total depth varying between 12 and 15 kilometers (7–9 mi), and located, whenever possible, on elevated ground. The main defense line, 5 kilometers deep, possessed three sets of <a href="../../wp/t/Trench_warfare.htm" title="Trench warfare">trenches</a> and firing points, linked by an extensive communication network. The density of firing points reached 6 or 7 per kilometers (0.6 mi) of front line. In some places, where heavy <a href="../../wp/t/Tank.htm" title="Tank">tank</a> attacks were feared, the third set of trenches was in fact a solid antitank <!--del_lnk--> moat with a steep western side integrating artillery and <!--del_lnk--> machine guns emplacements. The forward edge of the battle area was protected by three lines of <!--del_lnk--> barbed wire and a solid wall of <!--del_lnk--> minefields.<p>The second defense zone, located about 10 kilometers (6 mi) behind the outer defense zone and covering the most important directions, was composed of a set of firing points connected with trenches. It was protected with barbed wire, and also with minefields in some places where heavy tank offensives were anticipated. Between the outer and the second defense zones, a set of small firing points and <!--del_lnk--> garrisons was also created in order to slow down a Soviet advance should the Red Army break through the outer defense zone. Behind the second zone, heavy guns were positioned.<p>Finally, deep behind the front line, three or four more defense lines were located, whenever possible, on the western shore of a river. For instance, important defense lines were set up on the western side of the Dnieper and <!--del_lnk--> Desna. Additionally, the main urban centers located on the defense line (such as <!--del_lnk--> Yelnya, <!--del_lnk--> Dukhovshchina and <!--del_lnk--> Spas-Demensk), were reinforced and fortified, preparing them for a potentially long fight. Roads were mined and covered with antitank devices and firing points were installed in the most important and tallest buildings.<p><a id="Front_line_shape_and_location" name="Front_line_shape_and_location"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Front line shape and location</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:402px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23654.jpg.htm" title="A detail of the Smolensk offensive, showing the concave shape of the Soviet front line"><img alt="A detail of the Smolensk offensive, showing the concave shape of the Soviet front line" height="210" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Map_detail_of_smolensk_operation.jpg" src="../../images/236/23654.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23654.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A detail of the Smolensk offensive, showing the concave shape of the Soviet front line</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>As of July 1943, the Soviet front line on the Eastern Front had a concave shape with a <!--del_lnk--> re-entrant centered around Oryol, creating for German troops the risk of being exposed to flank attacks from the north. As the result, a significant number of divisions of <!--del_lnk--> Army Group Centre were kept on this part of the front because of a (quite legitimate) fear of a major offensive in this sector.<p>For instance, at the end of July 1943, a German staff briefing stated:<blockquote>
<p>On the front… held by the Army Group Center many signs show a continuous preparation to a yet limited offensive (Roslavl, Smolensk, Vitebsk) and of a maneuver of immobilization of the Army Group Centre…</blockquote>
<p>Therefore, the offensive promised to be quite difficult for Soviet troops.<p><a id="First_stage_.287_August_.E2.80.93_20_August.29" name="First_stage_.287_August_.E2.80.93_20_August.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">First stage (7 August – 20 August)</span></h2>
<p><a id="Main_breakthrough" name="Main_breakthrough"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Main breakthrough</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23655.png.htm" title="General layout of Smolensk region during the battle"><img alt="General layout of Smolensk region during the battle" height="280" longdesc="/wiki/Image:General_map_of_smolensk_region.png" src="../../images/236/23655.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23655.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> General layout of Smolensk region during the battle</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>After a day of probing, the goal of which was to determine whether German troops would choose to withdraw or not from the first set of trenches, the offensive started on <!--del_lnk--> 7 August <!--del_lnk--> 1943 at 06:30 am (with a preliminary bombardment starting at 04:40 am) with a breakthrough towards <!--del_lnk--> Roslavl. Three armies were committed to this offensive: the 5th Army, the 10th Guards Army and the 33rd Army.<p>However, the attack quickly encountered heavy opposition and stalled. German troops attempted numerous counterattacks from their well-prepared defense positions, supported by tanks, assault guns, and the fire of heavy guns and mortars. As <!--del_lnk--> Konstantin Rokossovsky recalls, "we literally had to tear ourselves through German lines, one by one". On the first day, the Soviet troops advanced only 4 kilometers (2.5 mi), with all available troops (including artillery, communications men and engineers) committed to battle.<p>Despite violent Soviet attacks, it quickly became obvious that the three armies would not be able to get through the German lines. Therefore, it was decided to commit the 68th Army, kept in reserve, to battle. On the German side, three additionnal divisions (<!--del_lnk--> 2nd Panzer Division, 36th Infantry Division and 56th Infantry Division) were sent to the front from the Oryol sector to try and stop the Soviet advance.<p>The following day, the attack resumed, with another attempt at a simultaneous breakthrough taking place further north, towards Yartzevo. Both attacks were stopped in their tracks by heavy German resistance. In the following five days, Soviet troops slowly made their way through German defenses, repelling heavy <!--del_lnk--> counterattacks and sustaining heavy losses. By feeding reserve troops to battle, the Red Army managed to advance to a depth varying from 15 to 25 kilometers (10–15 mi) by <!--del_lnk--> 11 August.<p>Subsequent attacks by the armored and <!--del_lnk--> cavalry forces of the 6th Guards Cavalry Corps had no further effect and resulted in heavy casualties because of strong German defenses, leading to a <!--del_lnk--> stalemate.<p><a id="Spas-Demensk_offensive" name="Spas-Demensk_offensive"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Spas-Demensk offensive</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23656.jpg.htm" title="A destroyed German bunker, showing shell impacts in its steel plating"><img alt="A destroyed German bunker, showing shell impacts in its steel plating" height="189" longdesc="/wiki/Image:A_destroyed_german_bunker.jpg" src="../../images/236/23656.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23656.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A destroyed German bunker, showing shell impacts in its steel plating</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Near Spas-Demensk, things went a little better for the 10th Army. In this area, the Wehrmacht had fewer troops and only limited reserves, enabling the 10th Army to break through German lines and advance 10 kilometers in two days.<p>However, the 5th Mechanized Corps, relocated from <!--del_lnk--> Kirov and committed to battle in order to exploit the breakthrough, failed in its mission, mainly because a poorly organized <!--del_lnk--> anti-aircraft defense enabled German <!--del_lnk--> dive bombers to attack Soviet tank formations with a certain degree of impunity. The corps sustained heavy losses and had to pull away from combat. Eventually, Soviet troops advanced a further 25 kilometers (15 mi) as of <!--del_lnk--> 13 August, liberating Spas-Demensk.<p><a id="Dukhovshchina_offensive" name="Dukhovshchina_offensive"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Dukhovshchina offensive</span></h3>
<p>As ordered by the <!--del_lnk--> Stavka (the Soviet <!--del_lnk--> Armed Forces Command), the offensive near Dukhovshchina started almost a week later, on <!--del_lnk--> 13 August. However, as on other parts of the front, the 39th and 43rd armies encountered very serious opposition. During the first day alone, German troops attempted 24 <!--del_lnk--> regimental-sized <!--del_lnk--> counterattacks, supported by tanks, <!--del_lnk--> assault guns, and aviation.<p>During the next five days, Soviet troops managed to advance only 6 to 7 kilometers (3 to 4 mi), and although they inflicted heavy casualties on German troops, their own losses were also heavy.<p><a id="Causes_of_the_stalemate" name="Causes_of_the_stalemate"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Causes of the stalemate</span></h3>
<p>By mid-August, Soviet operations all along the Smolensk front stabilized. The resulting stalemate, while not a defeat <i>per se</i>, was stinging for Soviet commanders, who provided several explanations for their failure to press forward. Deputy Chief of General Staff General <!--del_lnk--> A. I. Antonov reported "We have to deal both with forests and swamps and with increasing resistance of enemy troops reinforced by divisions arriving from Bryansk region" while Marshal <!--del_lnk--> Nikolai Voronov, formerly a Stavka member, analysed the stalemate in his memoirs, publishing what he saw as the eight primary causes:<ol>
<li>The German command knew about the operation and was prepared for it.<li>German defense lines were exceptionally well prepared (firing points reinforced by trenches, barbed wire, minefields etc.)<li>Several Soviet rifle divisions were insufficiently prepared to perform an assault of a multi-lined defense setup. This was especially true for reserve divisions, whose training was not always properly supervised.<li>There were not enough tanks committed to battle, forcing Soviet commanders to rely on artillery, <!--del_lnk--> mortars and <!--del_lnk--> infantry to break through German lines. Moreover, numerous counterattacks and an abundance of minefields slowed down the infantry's progress.<li>The interaction between <!--del_lnk--> regiments and <!--del_lnk--> divisions was far from perfect. There were unexpected pauses during the attack and a strong will of some regiments to "hide" from the attack and expose another regiment.<li>Many Soviet commanders were too impressed by German counterattacks and failed to act properly, even if their own troops outnumbered those of the Wehrmacht.<li>The infantry were not using their own weapons (such as their own heavy guns and portable mortars) well enough. They relied too much on artillery.<li>The fact that the offensive was postponed from <!--del_lnk--> 3 August to <!--del_lnk--> 7 August gave German troops more time to increase their readiness.</ol>
<p>All these factors considered, Voronov demanded that the 4th Tank Army and the 8th Artillery Corps were transferred from the <!--del_lnk--> Bryansk Front and instead committed to support the attack near Smolensk.<p>The stalemate was far from what had been desired by the Stavka, but it had at least one merit: it tied down as much as 40% of all German divisions on the Eastern Front near Smolensk, making the task for troops fighting in the south and near <!--del_lnk--> Kursk much easier. The Stavka planned to resume the offensive on <!--del_lnk--> 21 August, but decided to postpone it slightly to give Soviet units time to resupply and reinforce.<p><a id="Second_stage_.2821_August_.E2.80.93_6_September.29" name="Second_stage_.2821_August_.E2.80.93_6_September.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Second stage (21 August – 6 September)</span></h2>
<p>By mid-August, the situation on the Eastern Front had changed as the Red Army started a general offensive, beginning with the <!--del_lnk--> Kursk counteroffensive <!--del_lnk--> Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev and continuing with the Battle of the Dnieper in the south. Nevertheless, the Wehrmacht command was still reinforcing its troops around Smolensk and Roslavl, withdrawing several divisions from the Oryol region. As the result, the Kursk counteroffensive proceeded relatively easily around Oryol, creating a large salient south of Smolensk and Bryansk.<p>In this situation, the former attack axis, directed southwest towards Roslavl and Bryansk, became useless. The Stavka decided instead to shift the attack axis west to Yelnya and Smolensk.<p><a id="Yelnya_offensive" name="Yelnya_offensive"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Yelnya offensive</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23657.jpg.htm" title="A camouflaged Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft sitting on its base."><img alt="A camouflaged Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft sitting on its base." height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:A_camouflaged_Il-2_ground_attack_aircraft.jpg" src="../../images/236/23657.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23657.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> camouflaged <!--del_lnk--> Ilyushin Il-2 <!--del_lnk--> ground attack aircraft sitting on its base.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Yelnya was considered a "key" to Smolensk, and therefore German troops created a massive defense setup around the city. Swampy areas on the <!--del_lnk--> Desna and <!--del_lnk--> Ugra rivers were mined and heavy guns set up on hills overlooking the city. During the week from <!--del_lnk--> 20 August to <!--del_lnk--> 27 August, the Soviet armies were reinforced with tanks and artillery.<p>The offensive finally commenced on <!--del_lnk--> 28 August by three armies (10th Guards, 21st and 33rd), supported by three <!--del_lnk--> Tank and <!--del_lnk--> Mechanized corps and the 1st Air Army. These three armies were covering a front of only 36 kilometers (22 mi), forming a very strong concentration of troops. However, the troops lacked fuel and supplies, with enough supplies for only one or two weeks.<p>After an intense shelling that lasted 90 minutes, Soviet troops moved forward. The artillery bombardment as well as <!--del_lnk--> ground attack aircraft softened German lines, allowing the Red Army to execute a breakthrough on a 25 kilometer (15 mi) front and advance 6 to 8 kilometers (4–5 mi) by the end of the day. The following day, <!--del_lnk--> 29 August, Soviet rifle divisions advanced further, creating a salient 30 kilometers (19 mi) wide and 12 to 15 kilometers (7–9 mi) deep.<p>In order to exploit the breakthrough, the <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Guards Tank Corps was thrown into battle. In one day, its troops advanced by 30 kilometers (19 mi) and reached the outskirts of Yelnya. Leaving the Germans no time to regroup their forces, Soviet troops attacked the city and started to surround it. On <!--del_lnk--> 30 August, German forces were forced to abandon Yelnya, sustaining heavy casualties. This started a full-scale German retreat from the area. By <!--del_lnk--> 3 September, Soviet forces reached the eastern shore of the Dnieper.<p><a id="Bryansk_maneuver" name="Bryansk_maneuver"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Bryansk maneuver</span></h3>
<p>Near <!--del_lnk--> Bryansk, things went equally well, despite heavy German resistance. However, an identified weakness changed all the previous plans. A surprisingly easy capture of several hills commanding the Dubrovka region north of Bryansk, with numerous German soldiers captured in total absence of battle readiness, came to the attention of General <!--del_lnk--> Markian Popov, commander of the Bryansk Front from June to October 1943. This meant that the Soviet offensive was probably not expected along that particular axis.<p>Therefore, the boundary between the <!--del_lnk--> Belorussian Front and the <!--del_lnk--> Western Front was shifted south, and two "new" armies executed a single-<!--del_lnk--> pincer movement to Dubrovka and around Bryansk, forcing German forces to withdraw.<p>By <!--del_lnk--> 6 September, the offensive slowed down almost to a halt on the entire front, with Soviet troops advancing only 2 kilometers (1 mi) each day. On the right flank, heavy fighting broke out in the woods near Yartzevo. On the centre, advancing Soviet troops hit the Dnieper defense line. On the left flank, Soviet rifle divisions were slowed as they entered forests southwest of <!--del_lnk--> Yelnya. Moreover, Soviet divisions were tired and depleted, at less than 60% nominal strength. On <!--del_lnk--> 7 September, the offensive was stopped, and the second stage of the Smolensk operation was over.<p><a id="Third_stage_.287_September_.E2.80.93_2_October.29" name="Third_stage_.287_September_.E2.80.93_2_October.29"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Third stage (7 September – 2 October)</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23658.jpg.htm" title="Soviet sappers erecting a bridge across northern Dnieper"><img alt="Soviet sappers erecting a bridge across northern Dnieper" height="297" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Russian_sappers_building_a_bridge_across_dnieper.jpg" src="../../images/236/23658.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23658.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Soviet <!--del_lnk--> sappers erecting a bridge across northern <!--del_lnk--> Dnieper</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In the week from 7 September to <!--del_lnk--> 14 September, Soviet troops were yet again reinforced and were preparing for another offensive. The next objectives set by the Stavka were the major cities of Smolensk, <!--del_lnk--> Vitebsk and <!--del_lnk--> Orsha. The operation resumed on <!--del_lnk--> 14 September, involving the left flank of the <!--del_lnk--> Kalinin Front and the <!--del_lnk--> Western Front. Once again, after a preliminary artillery bombardment, Soviet troops attempted to break through German lines.<p>On the Kalinin Front’s attack sector, the Red Army created a salient 30 kilometers (19 mi) wide and 3 to 13 kilometers (2–8 mi) deep by the end of the day. After four days of battle, Soviet rifle divisions captured Dukhovshchina, another "key" to Smolensk.<p>On the Western Front's attack sector, where the offensive started one day later, the breakthrough was also promising, with a salient 20 kilometers (12 mi) large and 10 kilometers (6 mi) deep. The same day, Yartzevo, an important railroad hub near Smolensk, was liberated by Soviet troops. On the Western Front's left flank, Soviet rifle divisions reached Desna and force-crossed it, creating several bridgeheads on its western shore.<p>As the result, the defense line protecting Smolensk was overrun, exposing the troops defending the city to enveloping maneuvers. General Kurt von Tippelskirch, Chief of Staff of the 4th Army during the Smolensk operation and later commander of the 4th Army, later wrote:<p>"The forces of the Soviet Western Front struck the left wing of Army Group Centre from the Dorogobuzh-Yelnya line with the aim of achieving a breakthrough in the direction of Smolensk. It became clear that the salient—projecting far to the east—in which the 9th Army was positioned could no longer be held."<p>By <!--del_lnk--> 19 September, Soviet troops had created a 250 kilometers (150 mi) large and 40 kilometers (25 mi) wide hole in German lines. The following day, the Stavka ordered Western Front troops to advance to Smolensk before <!--del_lnk--> 27 September, then to proceed towards Orsha and Mogilev. Kalinin front was ordered to capture Vitebsk before <!--del_lnk--> 10 October.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 25 September, after a force-crossing of the northern Dnieper and street fighting that lasted all night, Soviet troops liberated the city of Smolensk. The same day, Roslavl, another important city, was recaptured. By <!--del_lnk--> 30 September, the Soviet offensive force was tired and depleted, and became bogged down outside <!--del_lnk--> Vitebsk, <!--del_lnk--> Orsha, and <!--del_lnk--> Mogilev, which were still held by the Wehrmacht, and on <!--del_lnk--> 2 October the Smolensk operation was over. A limited follow-on was made to successfully capture <!--del_lnk--> Nevel after two days of street fighting. Overall, Soviet troops advanced 100 to 180 kilometers (60–110 mi) during the almost 20 days of this third part of the offensive.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23659.jpg.htm" title="A sapper searching for mines in the streets of Smolensk"><img alt="A sapper searching for mines in the streets of Smolensk" height="170" longdesc="/wiki/Image:A_sapper_searching_for_mines_in_Smolensk.jpg" src="../../images/236/23659.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23659.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> sapper searching for mines in the streets of <!--del_lnk--> Smolensk</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Smolensk operation was a decisive Soviet victory and a stinging defeat for the Wehrmacht. Although quite modest compared to later offensive operations (not more than 200–250 kilometers or 120–150 miles were gained in depth), the Soviet advance during this operation was important from several points of view.<p>Firstly, German troops were definitively driven back from the Moscow approaches. This strategic threat, which had been the Stavka's biggest source of worries since 1941, was finally removed.<p>Secondly, German defense rings, on which German troops planned to rely, were almost completely overrun. Quite a few remained, but it was obvious that they would not last. An essay written after the war by several Wehrmacht officers stated that:<blockquote>
<p>Although the vigorous actions of their command and troops allowed the Germans to create a continuous front, there was no doubt that the poor condition of the troops, the complete lack of reserves, and the unavoidable lengthening of individual units' lines concealed the danger that the next major Soviet attack would cause this patchwork front—constructed with such difficulty—to collapse.</blockquote>
<p>Thirdly, as outlined above, the Smolensk Operation was an important "helper" for the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Dnieper, locking between 40 and 55 divisions near Smolensk and preventing their relocation to the southern front.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23660.jpg.htm" title="Smolensk streets during the war."><img alt="Smolensk streets during the war." height="193" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Smolensk_streets_after_liberation.jpg" src="../../images/236/23660.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23660.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Smolensk streets during the war.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Finally, a once-united German front was now separated by the huge and impassable <!--del_lnk--> Pripet marshes, cutting <!--del_lnk--> Army Group South off from its northern counterparts, thus greatly reducing the Wehrmacht's abilities to shift troops and supplies from one sector of the front to the other.<p>For the first time, Soviet troops entered territories which had been occupied for a long time by German soldiers, and discovered <!--del_lnk--> war crimes committed by the <!--del_lnk--> SS, <!--del_lnk--> Einsatzgruppen, and Wehrmacht troops. In the areas liberated during the Smolensk operation (occupied for almost two years), almost all industry and agriculture was gone. In Smolensk <!--del_lnk--> oblast itself, almost 80% of urban and 50% of rural living space had been destroyed, along with numerous factories and plants.<p>After the Smolensk offensive, the central part of the Soviet-German front stabilized again for many months until late June 1944, while the major fighting shifted to the south for the Dnieper line and the territory of the <!--del_lnk--> Ukraine. Only during January 1944 would the front move again in the north, when German forces were driven back from <a href="../../wp/s/Saint_Petersburg.htm" title="Saint Petersburg">Leningrad</a>, completely lifting the <!--del_lnk--> siege which had lasted for 900 days. Finally, <!--del_lnk--> Operation Bagration in summer 1944 allowed the Red Army to clear almost all the remaining territory of the USSR of Wehrmacht troops, ending German occupation and shifting the war into Poland and Germany.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Smolensk_%281943%29"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War II', 'Soviet Union', 'Soviet Union', 'Battle of Moscow', 'Battle of Stalingrad', 'World War II', 'Russia', 'Nazi Germany', 'Moscow', 'Joseph Stalin', 'Aleksandr Vasilevsky', 'Logistics', 'Trench warfare', 'Tank', 'Saint Petersburg']
|
Battle_of_Stalingrad
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Stalingrad,World War II,World War II,1941,1942,1943,1945,Adolf Hitler,Aerial bombing,Airfield,Aleksandr Vasilevsky" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Stalingrad</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Stalingrad";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Stalingrad";
var wgArticleId = 4284;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Stalingrad">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Stalingrad</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Stalingrad</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;">
<div class="floatright"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/148/14840.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="222" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stalingrad-a.jpg" src="../../images/169/16919.jpg" width="300" /></a></span></div>
<br /> Soviet soldiers fighting in the ruins of Stalingrad, 1942</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 21, <!--del_lnk--> 1942 – <!--del_lnk--> February 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1943</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stalingrad, <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">USSR</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Soviet victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1309.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany_1933.svg" src="../../images/99/9933.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Germany</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1311.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Italy_%281861-1946%29.svg" src="../../images/48/4869.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Italy<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/148/14821.gif.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Rumania.gif" src="../../images/169/16920.gif" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Romania<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1312.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Hungary_1940.svg" src="../../images/48/4871.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/h/Hungary.htm" title="Hungary">Hungary</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/187/18789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg" src="../../images/48/4812.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Friedrich Paulus<a class="image" href="../../images/169/16921.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="22" longdesc="/wiki/Image:White_flag_icon.svg" src="../../images/169/16921.png" width="16" /></a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Erich von Manstein<br /><!--del_lnk--> Hermann Hoth</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Georgiy Zhukov<br /><!--del_lnk--> Vasiliy Chuikov<br /><a href="../../wp/a/Aleksandr_Vasilevsky.htm" title="Aleksandr Vasilevsky">Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> German Sixth Army<br /><!--del_lnk--> German Fourth Panzer Army<br /><!--del_lnk--> Romanian Third Army<br /><!--del_lnk--> Romanian Fourth Army<br /><!--del_lnk--> Hungarian Second Army<br /><!--del_lnk--> Italian Eighth Army<br /> 500,000 Germans<br /> Unknown number Reinforcements<br /> Unknown number <!--del_lnk--> Axis-allies</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Stalingrad Front<br /><!--del_lnk--> Southwestern Front<br /><!--del_lnk--> Don Front<br /> 1,700,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">740,000 killed or wounded<br /> 110,000 captured</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">750,000+ killed, wounded or captured<br /> 40,000+ civilian dead</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Eastern Front</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Barbarossa – <!--del_lnk--> Finland – <!--del_lnk--> Leningrad and Baltics – <!--del_lnk--> Crimea and Caucasus – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Moscow.htm" title="Battle of Moscow">Moscow</a> – <!--del_lnk--> 1st Rzhev-Vyazma – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Kharkov – <strong class="selflink">Stalingrad</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Velikiye Luki – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Rzhev-Sychevka – <!--del_lnk--> Kursk – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Smolensk_%25281943%2529.htm" title="Battle of Smolensk (1943)">2nd Smolensk</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Dnieper – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Kiev – <!--del_lnk--> Korsun – <!--del_lnk--> Hube's Pocket – <!--del_lnk--> Belorussia – <!--del_lnk--> Lvov-Sandomierz – <!--del_lnk--> Balkans – <!--del_lnk--> Hungary – <!--del_lnk--> Vistula-Oder – <!--del_lnk--> Königsberg – <!--del_lnk--> Berlin – <!--del_lnk--> Prague</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Operation Blue to <!--del_lnk--> 3rd Kharkov</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Blue – <!--del_lnk--> Voronezh – <!--del_lnk--> Edelweiss – <strong class="selflink">Stalingrad</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Uranus – <!--del_lnk--> Winter Storm – <!--del_lnk--> Saturn – <!--del_lnk--> Tatsinskaya Raid – <!--del_lnk--> 3rd Kharkov</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Stalingrad</b> was the most important turning point of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> and is considered <!--del_lnk--> the bloodiest battle in human history, with more combined casualties suffered than any battle before or since. The battle was marked by brutality and disregard for military and <!--del_lnk--> civilian casualties on both sides. The battle is taken to include the German <a href="../../wp/s/Siege.htm" title="Siege">siege</a> of the southern Russian city of <!--del_lnk--> Stalingrad (now <!--del_lnk--> Volgograd), the battle inside the city, and the Soviet counter-offensive which eventually trapped and destroyed the <!--del_lnk--> German Sixth Army and other <!--del_lnk--> Axis forces around the city. Total casualties for both sides are estimated to be over two million. As a result of the battle, the Axis powers suffered roughly 850,000 casualties, 1/4 of their strength on the Eastern Front, as well as a huge amount of supplies and equipment. The Axis forces were never able to recover from this loss and were eventually forced into a long retreat out of <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Europe. For the Soviets, who also suffered great losses during the battle, the victory at Stalingrad marked the start of the <!--del_lnk--> liberation of the <a href="../../wp/s/Soviet_Union.htm" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> leading to eventual victory over <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> in <!--del_lnk--> 1945.<p>Besides being a turning point in the war, Stalingrad was also revealing in terms of the discipline and determination of both the German and Soviet armies. The Soviets first defended Stalingrad against a fierce German onslaught. So great were Soviet losses that at points in time the life expectancy of a newly arrived soldier was less than a day, yet discipline was maintained and soldiers gave their lives rather than retreat. Their sacrifice is immortalized by a soldier of General Rodimstev about to die who scratched on the wall of the tractor factory 'Rodimstev's Guardsmen fought and died here for their motherland (rodina)'. Next, after being surrounded, the German Army showed remarkable discipline. It was the first time that it had operated under adverse conditions of such scale. Short of food and clothing, during the latter part of the siege many German soldiers literally starved or froze to death. Yet, discipline and obedience to authority prevailed, until finally at the very end when resistance no longer served any useful purpose, to save the lives of his remaining men Field Marshal <!--del_lnk--> Friedrich Paulus disobeyed <a href="../../wp/a/Adolf_Hitler.htm" title="Hitler">Hitler</a> and surrendered.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> June 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1941, Germany and its Axis allies <!--del_lnk--> invaded the Soviet Union, quickly advancing deep into Soviet territory. Having suffered defeat during the summer and autumn of 1941, Soviet forces counter-attacked in the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Moscow.htm" title="Battle of Moscow">Battle of Moscow</a> in December. Then the exhausted German forces, ill equipped for winter warfare and with overstretched <!--del_lnk--> supply lines, were stopped in their drive towards the <a href="../../wp/m/Moscow.htm" title="Moscow">capital</a>.<p>The Germans stabilized their <!--del_lnk--> front by spring <!--del_lnk--> 1942. Plans to launch another offensive against Moscow were discarded however, as <!--del_lnk--> Army Group Centre had been too heavily weakened. Part of the German military philosophy was to attack where least expected, so that rapid gains could be made. An attack on Moscow was seen as too predictable by some, most notably <a href="../../wp/a/Adolf_Hitler.htm" title="Adolf Hitler">Hitler</a>. Along with this, the German high command knew that time was running out for them, as the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> had entered WWII following the <a href="../../wp/j/Japan.htm" title="Japan">Japanese</a> <a href="../../wp/a/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor.htm" title="Attack on Pearl Harbor">attack on Pearl Harbour</a>. Hitler wanted to end the fighting on the Eastern Front or at least minimize it before the US had a chance to get deeply involved in the war in Europe.<p><a id="Importance_of_Stalingrad" name="Importance_of_Stalingrad"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Importance of Stalingrad</span></h3>
<p>The capture of Stalingrad was important to Hitler for several reasons. It was a major industrial city on the <!--del_lnk--> banks of the river Volga (a vital transport route between the <a href="../../wp/c/Caspian_Sea.htm" title="Caspian Sea">Caspian Sea</a> and northern Russia). Its capture would secure the left flank of the German armies as they advanced into the Caucasus. Finally, the fact that the city bore the name of Hitler's nemesis, <a href="../../wp/j/Joseph_Stalin.htm" title="Joseph Stalin">Joseph Stalin</a>, would make the city's capture an <!--del_lnk--> ideological and <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> coup.<p>It is believed that Stalin also had an ideological and propaganda interest in defending the city which bore his name, but the fact remains that Stalin was doing the best he could given the time and resources. Some believe that the <!--del_lnk--> siege of Leningrad lasted too long due to his diversion of forces from Leningrad to Stalingrad, which is false. During the <!--del_lnk--> Russian Civil War he played a prominent role in the Red defense of the city, then known as Tsaritsyn, from White forces. Also, the Red Army, at this stage of the war, was less capable of highly mobile operations than the German army. The prospect of combat inside a large urban area, which would be dominated by infantry and artillery, maximized the Red Army's advantages against the Germans.<p><a id="Operation_Blau_.2F_Blue" name="Operation_Blau_.2F_Blue"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Operation Blau / Blue</span></h2>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Army Group South was selected for a sprint forward through the southern Russian <!--del_lnk--> steppes into the <!--del_lnk--> Caucasus to capture the vital Soviet <!--del_lnk--> oil fields. These oil fields were a key goal for Hitler and instead of focusing his attention on the key capital of Moscow as his generals advised, he continued to send his forces and supplies to the southern Russian front. The summer offensive was <!--del_lnk--> code-named <i><!--del_lnk--> Fall Blau</i> (literally: "Case Blue"). It was to include the <!--del_lnk--> 6th and 17th Armies and the 4th and 1st Panzer Armies. In 1941, Army Group South had conquered <!--del_lnk--> Ukraine, and was positioned at the area of the planned offensive.<p>Hitler intervened, however, ordering the <!--del_lnk--> Army Group to be split in two. Army Group South (A), under the command of <!--del_lnk--> Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, was to continue advancing south towards the Caucasus as planned with the 17th and 1st Panzer Armies. Army Group South (B), including <!--del_lnk--> Friedrich Paulus' <!--del_lnk--> 6th Army and <!--del_lnk--> Hermann Hoth's <!--del_lnk--> 4th Panzer Army, was to move east towards the <a href="../../wp/v/Volga_River.htm" title="Volga River">river Volga</a> and the city of <!--del_lnk--> Stalingrad.<p>The start of Operation Blau had been planned for late May 1942. However, a number of German and <a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romanian</a> units that were involved in Blau were then in the process of <!--del_lnk--> besieging Sevastopol on the <!--del_lnk--> Crimean Peninsula. Delays in ending the siege pushed back the start date for Blau several times, and the city did not fall until the end of June. A smaller action was taken in the meantime, pinching off a Soviet <!--del_lnk--> salient in the <!--del_lnk--> Second Battle of Kharkov, which resulted in the pocketing of a large Soviet force on <!--del_lnk--> 22 May.<p>Blau finally opened as Army Group South began its attack into southern Russia on <!--del_lnk--> June 28, <!--del_lnk--> 1942. The German offensive started well. Soviet forces offered little resistance in the vast empty steppes, and started streaming eastward in disarray. Several attempts to form defensive lines failed when other German units <!--del_lnk--> flanked Soviet defensive lines. Two major pockets were formed and destroyed, the first northeast of Kharkov on <!--del_lnk--> June 2, a second around <!--del_lnk--> Millerovo, <!--del_lnk--> Rostov Oblast a week later.<p>Meanwhile the 2nd <a href="../../wp/h/Hungary.htm" title="Hungary">Hungarian</a> Army and the 4th Panzer Army had launched an <!--del_lnk--> assault on Voronezh, capturing the city on <!--del_lnk--> 5 July.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16922.png.htm" title="Operation Blau: German advances from 7 May 1942 to 18 November 1942 ██ to 7 July 1942 ██ to 22 July 1942 ██ to 1 August 1942 ██ to 18 November 1942"><img alt="Operation Blau: German advances from 7 May 1942 to 18 November 1942 ██ to 7 July 1942 ██ to 22 July 1942 ██ to 1 August 1942 ██ to 18 November 1942" height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Eastern_Front_1942-05_to_1942-11.png" src="../../images/169/16922.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16922.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Operation Blau: German advances from <!--del_lnk--> 7 May <!--del_lnk--> 1942 to <!--del_lnk--> 18 November <!--del_lnk--> 1942 <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#fff8d5; color:#fff8d5;">██</span> to <!--del_lnk--> 7 July <!--del_lnk--> 1942</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#ffd2b9; color:#ffd2b9;">██</span> to <!--del_lnk--> 22 July <!--del_lnk--> 1942</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#ebd7ff; color:#ebd7ff;">██</span> to <!--del_lnk--> 1 August <!--del_lnk--> 1942</span> <span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:none; background-color:#ccffcd; color:#ccffcd;">██</span> to <!--del_lnk--> 18 November <!--del_lnk--> 1942</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The initial advance of the 6th Army was so successful that Hitler intervened, and ordered the 4th Panzer Army to join Army Group South (A) to the south. A massive <!--del_lnk--> traffic jam resulted when the 4th Army and the 6th Army both required the few roads in the area. Both armies were stopped dead while they attempted to clear the resulting mess of thousands of vehicles. The delay was long, and it is thought that it cost the advance at least one week. With the advance now slowed, Hitler changed his mind and re-assigned the 4th Panzer back to the attack on Stalingrad.<p>By the end of July the Germans had pushed the Soviets across the <!--del_lnk--> Don River. At this point the Germans established defensive lines using the Armies of their <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italian</a>, Hungarian and Romanian allies. The 6th Army was only a few dozen kilometers from Stalingrad, and the 4th Panzer, now to their south, turned north to help take the city. To the south, Group A was pushing far into the Caucasus, but their advance slowed. Group A's forces were deployed far to the south and provided no support to Group B in the north.<p>Now German intentions became clear to the Soviet commanders: in July Soviet plans were developed for the defense in Stalingrad. Soviet troops still moving eastward before the Germans offensive were ordered into Stalingrad. The eastern border of Stalingrad was the broad Volga river, and over the river additional Soviet units were deployed. This combination of units became the newly formed 62nd Army under the command of <!--del_lnk--> Vasily Chuikov. Its mission was to defend Stalingrad at all costs.<p><a id="In_the_city" name="In_the_city"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">In the city</span></h2>
<p>The battle began with the heavy bombing of the city by the <a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a>. The sprawling metropolis became a graveyard. Many died once the battle began and the city became a shell of what it once was. Still, many buildings survived and Soviet patriotism shone through. Many factory workers joined in the fighting.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16923.jpg.htm" title="Streetfighting inside Stalingrad"><img alt="Streetfighting inside Stalingrad" height="290" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Streetfight_Stralingrad01.jpg" src="../../images/169/16923.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16923.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Streetfighting inside Stalingrad</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Stalin prevented civilians from leaving the city on the premise that their presence would encourage greater resistance from the city's defenders. Civilians, including women and children, were put to work building <!--del_lnk--> trenchworks and protective fortifications. A massive German <!--del_lnk--> air bombardment on <!--del_lnk--> 23 August caused a <!--del_lnk--> firestorm, killing thousands and turning Stalingrad into a vast landscape of rubble and burnt ruins. 80% of the living space in the city was destroyed.<p>The burden of the initial defense of the city proper fell on the 1077th <!--del_lnk--> Anti-aircraft regiment, a unit made up mainly of young women <!--del_lnk--> volunteers who had no training on engaging ground targets. Despite this and with no support available from other Soviet units, the AA gunners stayed at their posts and took on the advancing panzers. The 16th Panzer Division reportedly had to fight the 1077th's gunners "shot for shot" until all 37 AA batteries were destroyed or overrun. In the beginning, the Soviets relied extensively on "Workers <!--del_lnk--> militias" composed of workers not directly involved in war production. For a short time, <a href="../../wp/t/Tank.htm" title="Tank">tanks</a> continued to be produced and then manned by volunteer crews of factory workers. They were driven directly from the factory floor to the front line, often without paint or even gunsights.<p>By the end of August, Army Group South (B) had finally reached the Volga to the north of Stalingrad. Another advance to the river south of the city followed. By <!--del_lnk--> September 1, <!--del_lnk--> 1942, the Soviets could only reinforce and supply their forces in Stalingrad by perilous crossings of the Volga, under constant bombardment by German artillery and planes.<p>Amid the debris of the wrecked city, the Soviet 62nd Army anchored their defense lines with strongpoints in houses and factories. Fighting was fierce and desperate. The life expectancy of a newly-arrived Soviet private in the city dropped to less than twenty-four hours. Stalin's <!--del_lnk--> Order No. 227 of <!--del_lnk--> July 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1942 decreed that all those who retreated or otherwise left their positions without orders could be summarily shot. "Not a step back!" was the <!--del_lnk--> slogan. The Germans pushing forward into Stalingrad suffered heavy casualties.<p>German <!--del_lnk--> military doctrine was based on the principle of <!--del_lnk--> combined-arms teams and close co-operation by <a href="../../wp/t/Tank.htm" title="Tank">tanks</a>, <!--del_lnk--> infantry, <!--del_lnk--> engineers, <!--del_lnk--> artillery, and <!--del_lnk--> ground-attack aircraft. To counter this, Soviet commanders adopted the simple expedient of always keeping the front lines as close together as physically possible. Chuikov called this tactic "hugging" the Germans. This forced the German infantrymen to either fight on their own or risk taking casualties from their own supporting fire; it neutralized German close air support and weakened their artillery support. Bitter fighting raged for every street, every factory, every house, basement and staircase. The Germans, calling this unseen <!--del_lnk--> urban warfare <i>Rattenkrieg</i> ("rat-war"), bitterly joked about capturing the kitchen but still fighting for the living-room.<p>Fighting on <!--del_lnk--> Mamayev Kurgan, a prominent, blood-soaked hill above the city, was particularly merciless. The height changed hands many times. During one Soviet counter-attack, the Russians lost an entire division of 10,000 men in one day. At the Grain Elevator, a huge grain processing complex dominated by a single enormous silo, combat was so close that Soviet and German soldiers could hear each other breathe. Combat raged there for weeks until the German army reduced the opposition. In another part of the city, a Soviet <!--del_lnk--> platoon under the command of <!--del_lnk--> Yakov Pavlov turned an <!--del_lnk--> apartment building into an impenetrable <!--del_lnk--> fortress. The building, later called "<!--del_lnk--> Pavlov's House", oversaw a square in the city centre. The soldiers surrounded it with minefields, set up machine-gun positions at the windows, and breached the walls in the basement for better communications.<p>With no end in sight, the Germans started transferring <!--del_lnk--> heavy artillery to the city, including a gigantic <!--del_lnk--> 800 mm mortar. The Germans made no effort to send a force across the Volga, allowing the Soviets to build up a large number of artillery batteries there. Soviet artillery on the eastern bank continued to bombard the German positions. The Soviet defenders used the resulting ruins as defensive positions. German tanks became useless amid heaps of rubble up to eight meters high. When they were able to move forward, they came under Soviet <!--del_lnk--> anti-tank fire from building wrecks.<p><!--del_lnk--> Soviet snipers also successfully used the ruins to inflict heavy casualties on the Germans. The most successful sniper was Ivan Mihailovich Sidorenko of the 1122nd rifle regiment who had made approximately 500 kills by the end of the war. <!--del_lnk--> <!--del_lnk--> . <!--del_lnk--> Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev was credited with 242 kills during the battle. He was also thought to have killed an infamous German sniper by the name of <!--del_lnk--> Heinz Thorvald, but this claim was never confirmed.<p>For both Stalin and Hitler, the battle of Stalingrad became a prestige issue, on top of the actual strategic significance of the battle. The Soviet command moved the <!--del_lnk--> Red Army's strategic reserves from the <a href="../../wp/m/Moscow.htm" title="Moscow">Moscow</a> area to the lower Volga, and transferred aircraft from the entire country to the Stalingrad region. The strain on both military commanders was immense: Paulus developed an uncontrollable tic in his eye, while Chuikov experienced an outbreak of <!--del_lnk--> eczema that required him to bandage his hands completely. The troops on both sides faced the constant strain of close-range combat.<p>In November, after three months of carnage and slow and costly advance, the Germans finally reached the river banks, capturing 90% of the ruined city and splitting the remaining Soviet forces into two narrow pockets. In addition, ice-floes on the Volga now prevented boats and tugs from supplying the Soviet defenders across the river. Nevertheless the fighting, especially on the slopes of Mamayev Kurgan and inside the factory area in the northern part of the city, continued as fiercely as ever. The battles for the <!--del_lnk--> Red October steel factory, the <!--del_lnk--> Dzerzhinsky tractor factory and the Barrikady gun factory became world famous. While Soviet soldiers defended their positions and took the Germans under fire, factory workers repaired damaged Soviet tanks and other weapons close to the battlefield, sometimes on the battlefield itself.<p><a id="The_Soviet_counter-offensive:_Operation_Uranus" name="The_Soviet_counter-offensive:_Operation_Uranus"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Soviet counter-offensive: Operation Uranus</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16924.png.htm" title="The Soviet counter-attack at Stalingrad German front, 19 November German front, 12 December German front, 24 December ██ Russian advance, 19-28 November "><img alt="The Soviet counter-attack at Stalingrad German front, 19 November German front, 12 December German front, 24 December ██ Russian advance, 19-28 November " height="321" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Stalingrad.png" src="../../images/169/16924.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16924.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Soviet counter-attack at Stalingrad <table style="border-collapse:collapse">
<tr>
<td style="padding:0">
<div style="border-width:0; border-top:2px dotted #000; border-top:solid #0000cf 2px; width:1em; position:relative; margin-bottom:-9px; font-size:90%; top:.6em"> </div>
</td>
<td style="padding:0 0 0 .2em">German front, <!--del_lnk--> 19 November</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse:collapse">
<tr>
<td style="padding:0">
<div style="border-width:0; border-top:2px dotted #000; border-top:solid #ff6600 2px; width:1em; position:relative; margin-bottom:-9px; font-size:90%; top:.6em"> </div>
</td>
<td style="padding:0 0 0 .2em">German front, <!--del_lnk--> 12 December</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse:collapse">
<tr>
<td style="padding:0">
<div style="border-width:0; border-top:2px dotted #000; border-top:solid #009a00 2px; width:1em; position:relative; margin-bottom:-9px; font-size:90%; top:.6em"> </div>
</td>
<td style="padding:0 0 0 .2em">German front, <!--del_lnk--> 24 December</td>
</tr>
</table><span style="margin:0px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:solid grey 1px; background-color:#c3c3c3; color:#c3c3c3;">██</span> Russian advance, 19-<!--del_lnk--> 28 November</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>During the siege the German, Hungarian, and Romanian armies protecting Army Group South (B)'s <!--del_lnk--> flanks had pressed their <!--del_lnk--> headquarters for support. The 2nd Hungarian Army (consisting of mainly ill-equipped and ill-trained units) were given the task of defending a 200 km section of the front north of Stalingrad. This resulted in a very thin line of defense with some parts where 1-2km stretches were being guarded by a single <!--del_lnk--> platoon. Soviet forces held several points on the south bank of the river and presented a potentially serious threat to Army Group South (B). However, Hitler was so focused on the city itself that requests from the flanks for support were refused. The chief of the Army General Staff <!--del_lnk--> OKH, <!--del_lnk--> Franz Halder, expressed concerns about Hitler's preoccupation with the city, pointing at the Germans' weak flanks. Hitler replaced Halder in mid-October with General <!--del_lnk--> Kurt Zeitzler.<p>In Autumn the Soviet general <!--del_lnk--> Georgy Zhukov, responsible for strategic planning in the Stalingrad area, concentrated massive Soviet forces in the steppes to the north and south of the city. The German northern flank was particularly vulnerable, since it was defended by <!--del_lnk--> Hungarian and <!--del_lnk--> Romanian units which suffered from inferior equipment and low <!--del_lnk--> morale. Zhukov's plan was to keep pinning the Germans down in the city, and then to punch through the overstretched and weakly defended German flanks and to surround the Germans inside Stalingrad. The operation was code-named "<!--del_lnk--> Uranus" and launched in conjunction with <!--del_lnk--> Operation Mars, which was directed at <!--del_lnk--> Army Group Centre.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> November 19, <!--del_lnk--> 1942 the Red Army unleashed Uranus. The attacking Soviet units under the command of General <!--del_lnk--> Nikolai Vatutin consisted of three complete armies, the 1st Guards Army, 5th Tank Army, and 21st Army, including a total of 18 infantry <!--del_lnk--> divisions, eight tank <!--del_lnk--> brigades, two <!--del_lnk--> motorized brigades, six <!--del_lnk--> cavalry divisions and one anti-tank brigade. The preparations for the attack could be heard by the Romanians, who continued to push for reinforcements, only to be refused again. Thinly spread, outnumbered and poorly equipped, the 3rd Romanian Army, which held the northern flank of the German 6th Army, was shattered after an almost miraculous one-day defense.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> November 20, a second Soviet offensive (two armies) was launched to the south of Stalingrad, against points held by the Romanian 4th Army Corps. The Romanian forces, made up primarily of <!--del_lnk--> cavalry, collapsed almost immediately. Soviet forces raced west in a <!--del_lnk--> pincer movement, and met two days later near the town of <!--del_lnk--> Kalach, sealing the ring around Stalingrad. The Russians filmed this linkup to later use as <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a>, and the piece of footage is famous today; however, the footage is not of the actual linkup. Instead, the Russians had to stage and film it later after the initial link-up because they had no cameras available the first time. Because of this brilliant pincer attack, about 250,000 German and Romanian soldiers, as well as some <a href="../../wp/c/Croatia.htm" title="Croatia">Croatian</a> units and volunteer subsidiary troops found themselves trapped inside the resulting pocket. This pocket was known in Germany as <i>Der Kessel</i> (The Cauldron). Inside the pocket there were also the surviving Soviet civilians - around 10,000 , and several thousands of Soviet soldiers whom the Germans had taken captive during the battle. Not all German soldiers from the 6th Army were trapped: 50,000 were brushed aside outside the pocket. The encircling Red Army units immediately formed two defensive fronts: one facing 'inward' to defend against breakout attempt by the surrounded Germans, the other facing 'outward' to defend against any relief attempt.<p><a href="../../wp/a/Adolf_Hitler.htm" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a> had already declared in a public speech on <!--del_lnk--> September 30 that the German army would never leave the city. At a meeting shortly after the encirclement, German army chiefs pushed for an immediate breakout to a new line on the west of the Don. However, Hitler was at his Bavarian retreat of Obersalzberg in <!--del_lnk--> Berchtesgaden with the head of the <a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a>, Jeschonnek. When asked by Hitler, Jeschonnek replied, without much thought, that the Luftwaffe could supply the 6th Army with an "air bridge." This would allow the Germans in the city to fight on while a relief force could be assembled, a plan that had been used successfully a year earlier at the <!--del_lnk--> Demyansk Pocket on a much smaller scale (an army corps versus an entire army). This reinforced Hitler's own views and was endorsed by <!--del_lnk--> Hermann Göring several days later. The head of the 4th Air Fleet (Luftflotte 4), <!--del_lnk--> Wolfram von Richthofen, tried in vain to overturn this decision without success. The 6th Army would be supplied by air. The German Sixth Army was the largest unit of this type in the world, almost twice as large as a regular German army. Also trapped in the "pocket" was a corps of the Fourth Panzer Army. It should have been clear that supplying the pocket by air was impossible: the Luftwaffe's carrying capacity after the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Crete had not been reinforced, and the maximum 300 tonnes they could deliver a day would be less than the 500 needed by the pocket. However, Hitler backed Göring's plan and re-iterated his order of "no surrender" to his trapped armies.<p>The air supply mission failed almost immediately. Heavy Soviet anti-aircraft fire and fighter interceptions led to the loss of many German transport aircraft. The winter weather reduced the flying efficiency of the German air force. In general, only 10 percent of the needed supplies could be delivered. Those transport planes which made it would evacuate technical specialists and sick or wounded men when taking off from the besieged enclave. The 6th Army slowly starved. <!--del_lnk--> Pilots were shocked to find the troops assigned to offloading the planes too exhausted and hungry to unload food. One general at the German high command, moved by the troops' plight at Stalingrad, began to limit himself to their slim rations at meal times. After a few weeks of such a diet he'd grown so emaciated that Hitler, annoyed, personally ordered him to start eating regular meals again.<p>Soviet forces consolidated their positions around Stalingrad, and fierce fighting to shrink the pocket began. An attack by a German battlegroup formed to relieve the trapped armies from the South, <i><!--del_lnk--> Operation Wintergewitter</i> ("Winter Storm") was successfully fended off by the Soviets in December. The full impact of the harsh Russian winter set in. The Volga froze solid, allowing the Soviets to supply their forces in the city more easily. The trapped Germans rapidly ran out of heating fuel and medical supplies, and thousands started dying of <!--del_lnk--> frostbite, <!--del_lnk--> malnutrition and <!--del_lnk--> disease.<p>On December 16 the Soviets launched a second offensive, <!--del_lnk--> Operation Saturn, which attempted to punch through the Axis army on the Don and take <!--del_lnk--> Rostov. If successful, this offensive would have trapped the remainder of Army Group South in the Caucasus. The Germans set up a "mobile defense" in which small units would hold towns until supporting armor could arrive. The Soviets never got close to Rostov, but the fighting forced von Manstein to extract Group A from the Caucasus and restabilize the frontline some 250 km away from the city. The <!--del_lnk--> Tatsinskaya Raid also caused significant losses to <a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a>'s transport fleet. The 6th Army was now beyond all hope of German reinforcement. The German troops in Stalingrad were not told this, however, and continued to believe that reinforcements were on their way. Some German officers requested that Paulus defy Hitler's orders to stand fast and instead attempt to break out of the Stalingrad pocket. Paulus refused, as he abhorred the thought of disobeying orders. Also, whereas a breakout may have been possible in the first few weeks, at this late stage the 6th Army was short of fuel required for a breakout. The German soldiers would have faced great difficulty breaking out through the Soviet lines on foot in harsh winter conditions <!--del_lnk--> .<p><a id="Soviet_victory" name="Soviet_victory"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Soviet victory</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16925.jpg.htm" title="German POWs: The staff of Field Marshal Paulus"><img alt="German POWs: The staff of Field Marshal Paulus" height="207" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Paulus_POW.jpg" src="../../images/169/16925.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16925.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> German POWs: The staff of Field Marshal Paulus</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Germans inside the pocket retreated from the <!--del_lnk--> suburbs of Stalingrad to the city itself. The loss of the two <!--del_lnk--> airfields at Pitomnik and Gumrak by 25 January meant an end to air supplies and to the evacuation of the wounded. The Germans were now literally starving, and running out of <!--del_lnk--> ammunition. Nevertheless they continued to resist stubbornly, partly because they believed the Soviets would execute those who surrendered. In particular, the so-called "HiWi" troops, ex-Soviets fighting for the Germans, had no illusions about their fate if captured. The Soviets, in turn, were initially surprised by the large number of German forces they had trapped, and had to reinforce their encircling forces. Bloody <!--del_lnk--> urban warfare began again in Stalingrad, but this time it was the Germans who were pushed back to the banks of the Volga.<p>Hitler promoted Paulus to <i><!--del_lnk--> Generalfeldmarschall</i> on <!--del_lnk--> January 30, <!--del_lnk--> 1943 (the 10th anniversary of Hitler coming to power). Since no German <!--del_lnk--> Field Marshal had ever been taken prisoner, Hitler assumed that Paulus would fight on or take his own life. Nevertheless, when Soviet forces closed in on Paulus' headquarters in the ruined <!--del_lnk--> GUM department store, Paulus surrendered. The remnants of the German forces in Stalingrad surrendered on <!--del_lnk--> February 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1943; 91,000 tired, ill, and starving Germans were taken captive. To the delight of the Soviet forces and the dismay of the Reich, the prisoners included 22 generals. Hitler was angry at the Field Marshal's surrender and confided that "Paulus stood at the doorstep of eternal glory but made an about-face".<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16926.jpg.htm" title="German soldiers celebrating a supposed success near Stalingrad, 1942."><img alt="German soldiers celebrating a supposed success near Stalingrad, 1942." height="157" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Near_Stalingrad.jpg" src="../../images/169/16926.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16926.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> German soldiers celebrating a supposed success near Stalingrad, 1942.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Only 6,000 of the 91,000 German <!--del_lnk--> prisoners of war survived their captivity and returned home. Already weakened by disease, starvation and lack of medical care during the encirclement, they were sent to <!--del_lnk--> labour camps all over the Soviet Union, where most of them died of overwork and malnutrition. A handful of senior officers were taken to <a href="../../wp/m/Moscow.htm" title="Moscow">Moscow</a> and used for propaganda purposes. Some, including Paulus, signed anti-Hitler statements which were broadcast to German troops. General <!--del_lnk--> Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach offered to raise an anti-Hitler army from the Stalingrad survivors, but the Soviets did not accept this offer. It was not until 1955 that the last of the handful of survivors were <!--del_lnk--> repatriated.<p>The German public was not officially told of the disaster until the end of January 1943, though positive reports in the German propaganda media about the battle had stopped in the weeks before the announcement. It was not the first major setback of the German military, but the crushing defeat at Stalingrad was unmatched in scale. On <!--del_lnk--> February 18 the <!--del_lnk--> minister of <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Goebbels, gave his famous <!--del_lnk--> Sportpalast speech in Berlin, encouraging the Germans to accept a <!--del_lnk--> total war which would claim all resources and efforts from the entire population.<p>
<br />
<p><a id="Legacy" name="Legacy"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Legacy</span></h2>
<p><a id="The_scope_of_the_battle" name="The_scope_of_the_battle"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The scope of the battle</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16927.jpg.htm" title="The aftermath of the Battle of Stalingrad"><img alt="The aftermath of the Battle of Stalingrad" height="161" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stalingrad_aftermath.jpg" src="../../images/169/16927.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16927.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The aftermath of the Battle of Stalingrad</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The battle of Stalingrad was the largest single battle in human history. It raged for 199 days. Numbers of casualties are difficult to compile due to the vast scope of the battle and the fact the Soviet government didn't allow estimates to be run for fear the cost would have proven too high. In its initial phases, the Germans inflicted heavy casualties on Soviet formations; however, the Soviet counter strike cut off and annihilated the entire 6th Army (which was exceptionally strong) and parts of the 4th Panzer Army. Various <!--del_lnk--> scholars have estimated the Axis suffered 850,000 casualties of all types among all branches of the German armed forces and its allies: 400,000 Germans, 200,000 Romanians, 130,000 Italians, 120,000 Hungarians were killed, wounded or captured. In addition, and as many as 50,000 <!--del_lnk--> turncoat Soviets were killed or captured by the Red Army. According to archival figures, the Red Army suffered 478,741 men killed and 650,878 wounded (for a total of 1,129,619). These numbers; however, include a wide scope of operations. Also, more than 40,000 Soviet civilians died in Stalingrad and its suburbs during a single week of aerial bombing as the 6th and 4th Panzer armies approached the city; the total number of civilians killed in the regions outside the city is unknown. In all, the battle resulted in an estimated total of 1.7 million to 2 million Axis and Soviet casualties, making it by far the largest in human history.<p><a id="After_the_war" name="After_the_war"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">After the war</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16928.jpg.htm" title="The 85-meter-tall statue of Mother Motherland crowns the Mamayev Kurgan."><img alt="The 85-meter-tall statue of Mother Motherland crowns the Mamayev Kurgan." height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Mutter_Heimat.jpg" src="../../images/169/16928.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16928.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The 85-meter-tall statue of <!--del_lnk--> Mother Motherland crowns the <!--del_lnk--> Mamayev Kurgan.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>For the heroism of the Soviet defenders of Stalingrad, the city was awarded the title <!--del_lnk--> Hero City in 1945. After the war, in the 1960s, a colossal <!--del_lnk--> monument of "<!--del_lnk--> Mother Russia" was erected on <!--del_lnk--> Mamayev Kurgan, the hill overlooking the city. The statue forms part of a <!--del_lnk--> memorial complex which includes ruined walls deliberately left the way they were after the battle. The Grain Elevator, as well as <!--del_lnk--> Pavlov's House, the apartment building whose defenders eventually held out for two months until they were relieved, can still be visited. Even today, one may find bones and rusty metal splinters on Mamayev Kurgan, symbols of both the human suffering during the battle and the successful yet costly resistance against the German invasion.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stalingrad"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War II', 'Soviet Union', 'Nazi Germany', 'Hungary', 'Soviet Union', 'Aleksandr Vasilevsky', 'Battle of Moscow', 'Battle of Smolensk (1943)', 'World War II', 'Siege', 'Soviet Union', 'Nazi Germany', 'Hitler', 'Battle of Moscow', 'Moscow', 'Adolf Hitler', 'United States', 'Japan', 'Attack on Pearl Harbor', 'Caspian Sea', 'Joseph Stalin', 'Propaganda', 'Volga River', 'Romania', 'Hungary', 'Italy', 'Luftwaffe', 'Tank', 'Tank', 'Moscow', 'Propaganda', 'Croatia', 'Adolf Hitler', 'Luftwaffe', 'Luftwaffe', 'Moscow', 'Propaganda']
|
Battle_of_Tours
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Tours,18th century,19th century,2006,20th century,711,718,719,720,732,739" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Tours</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Tours";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Tours";
var wgArticleId = 46674;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Tours">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Tours</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Ancient_History_Classical_History_and_Mythology.htm">Ancient History, Classical History and Mythology</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Tours</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Muslim conquests</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/169/16929.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="255" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Steuben_-_Bataille_de_Poitiers.png" src="../../images/169/16929.png" width="300" /></a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Charles de Steuben's <i>Bataille de Poitiers en Octobre 732</i> depicts a triumphant <!--del_lnk--> Charles Martel (mounted) facing <!--del_lnk--> ‘Abd-al-Raḥmān al-Ghāfiqī (right) at the Battle of Tours.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> October 10, <!--del_lnk--> 732</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td>near <!--del_lnk--> Tours, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Frankish victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Carolingian <a href="../../wp/f/Franks.htm" title="Franks">Franks</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Umayyad Caliphate</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Charles Martel</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> ‘Abd-al-Raḥmān al-Ghāfiqī†</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">Unknown, possibly 20,000 to 30,000 </td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">Unknown, but the earliest Arab sources, still after the era of the battle mention a figure of 80,000. Modern Historian Paul Davis echoes this estimate, while another modern source estimates around 20,000 to 30,000 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">Unknown; 1500 reported in early Christian chronicles.</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">Unknown, but possibly 10,000, notably ‘Abd-al-Raḥmān</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Umayyad conquest of Hispania</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Guadalete – <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse – <!--del_lnk--> Covadonga – <strong class="selflink">Tours</strong></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th>Campaigns of <!--del_lnk--> Charles Martel</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Cologne – <!--del_lnk--> Amblève – <!--del_lnk--> Vincy – <!--del_lnk--> Soissons – <strong class="selflink">Tours</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Avignon – <!--del_lnk--> Narbonne – <!--del_lnk--> River Berre – <!--del_lnk--> Nîmes</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Tours</b> (<!--del_lnk--> October 10, <!--del_lnk--> 732), often called <b>Battle of Poitiers</b> and also called in <!--del_lnk--> Arabic <span lang="ar" xml:lang="ar">بلاط الشهداء (Balâṭ al-Shuhadâ’)</span> <i>The Court of Martyrs</i> was fought near the city of <!--del_lnk--> Tours, close to the border between the Frankish realm and the independent region of <!--del_lnk--> Aquitaine. The battle pitted <a href="../../wp/f/Franks.htm" title="Franks">Frankish</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Burgundian forces under <!--del_lnk--> Austrasian <!--del_lnk--> Mayor of the Palace <!--del_lnk--> Charles Martel against an army of the <!--del_lnk--> Umayyad Caliphate led by <!--del_lnk--> ‘Abd-al-Raḥmān al-Ghāfiqī, Governor-general of <!--del_lnk--> al-Andalus. The Franks were victorious, ‘Abd-al-Raḥmān was killed, and Martel subsequently extended his authority in the south. Ninth-century chroniclers, who interpreted the outcome of the battle as divine judgment in his favour, gave Charles the nickname <i>Martellus</i> ("The Hammer"), possibly recalling <!--del_lnk--> Judas Maccabeus ("The Hammerer") of <!--del_lnk--> Maccabean revolt. Details of the battle, including its exact location and the exact number of combatants, cannot be determined from accounts that have survived.<p>As later chroniclers increasingly came to praise Charles Martel as the champion of Christianity, pre-<a href="../../wp/2/20th_century.htm" title="20th century">20th century</a> historians began to characterize this battle as being the decisive turning point in the struggle against Islam. "Most of the <a href="../../wp/1/18th_century.htm" title="18th century">18th</a> and <a href="../../wp/1/19th_century.htm" title="19th century">19th century</a> historians, like Gibbon, saw Poitiers (Tours), as a landmark battle that marked the high tide of the Muslim advance into Europe." Leopold Von Ranke felt that "Poitiers was the turning point of one of the most important epochs in the history of the world." <p>While modern historians are divided as to whether or not the victory was responsible — as Gibbon and his generation of historians claimed — for saving <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> and halting the conquest of Europe by <a href="../../wp/i/Islam.htm" title="Islam">Islam</a>, the battle helped lay the foundations for the <!--del_lnk--> Carolingian Empire, and Frankish domination of Europe for the next century. "The establishment of Frankish power in western Europe shaped that continent's destiny and the Battle of Tours confirmed that power." <p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p>The battle followed twenty years of <!--del_lnk--> Muslim conquests in Europe, beginning with the invasion of the <!--del_lnk--> Visigoth <!--del_lnk--> Christian Kingdoms of the <!--del_lnk--> Iberian peninsula in <!--del_lnk--> 711 and progressing into the <!--del_lnk--> Frankish territories of <!--del_lnk--> Gaul, former provinces of the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>. Muslim military campaigns had reached northward into <!--del_lnk--> Aquitaine and <!--del_lnk--> Burgundy, including a major battle at <!--del_lnk--> Bordeaux and a raid on <!--del_lnk--> Autun. Martel's victory is believed by some historians to have stopped the northward advance of <!--del_lnk--> Muslims from the <!--del_lnk--> Iberian peninsula, and to have preserved <a href="../../wp/c/Christianity.htm" title="Christianity">Christianity</a> in Europe during a period when Muslim rule was overrunning the remains of the old <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_Empire.htm" title="Roman Empire">Roman</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Persian_Empire.htm" title="Persian Empire">Persian Empires</a>. Others have argued that the battle marked only the defeat of a raid in force and was not a watershed event.<p>The exact location of the Battle of Tours remains unknown. Surviving contemporary sources, both Western and Muslim, agree on certain details while disputing others. Most historians assume that the two armies met where the rivers <!--del_lnk--> Clain and <!--del_lnk--> Vienne join between <!--del_lnk--> Tours and <!--del_lnk--> Poitiers. The number of troops in each army is not known. Drawing on non-contemporary Arab sources Creasy describes the Muslim forces as 80,000 strong or more. Writing in 1999, Paul K. Davis estimates the Muslim forces at 80,000 and the Franks at about 30,000, while noting that modern historians have estimated the strength of the Muslim army at Tours at between 20–80,000. Edward J. Schoenfeld (rejecting the older figures of 60–400,000 Muslim and 75,000 Franks) contends that "estimates that the Muslims had over fifty thousand troops (and the Franks even more) are logistically impossible." Another modern military historian, Victor Davis Hanson, believes both armies were of roughly the same size, about 30,000 men. Modern historians may be more accurate than the mediæval sources as the modern figures are based on estimates of the logistical ability of the countryside to support these numbers of men and animals. Both Davis and Hanson point out that both armies had to live off the countryside, neither having a commissary system sufficient to provide supplies for a campaign. Losses during the battle are unknown but chroniclers later claimed that Martel's force lost about 1,500 while the Muslim force was said to have suffered massive casualties of up to 375,000 men. However, these same casualty figures were recorded in the <i><!--del_lnk--> Liber pontificalis</i> for Duke <!--del_lnk--> Odo of Aquitaine's victory at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Toulouse (721). <!--del_lnk--> Paul the Deacon, correctly reported in his <i><!--del_lnk--> Historia Langobardorum</i> (written around the year <!--del_lnk--> 785) that the <i>Liber pontificalis</i> mentioned these casualty figures in relation to Odo's victory at Toulouse (though he claimed that Charles Martel fought in the battle alongside Odo), but later writers, probably "influenced by the <i><!--del_lnk--> Continuations of Fredegar</i>, attributed the Saracen casualties solely to Charles Martel, and the battle in which they fell became unequivocally that of Poitiers." The <i><!--del_lnk--> Vita Pardulfi</i>, written in the middle of the <!--del_lnk--> eighth century, reports that after the battle ‘Abd-al-Raḥmân's forces burned and looted their way through the Limousin on their way back to Al-Andalus, which implies that they were not destroyed to the extent imagined in the <i>Continuations of Fredegar</i>.<p><a id="The_Opponents" name="The_Opponents"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Opponents</span></h3>
<p>The Invasion of <!--del_lnk--> Hispania, and then <!--del_lnk--> Gaul, was led by the <!--del_lnk--> Umayyad Dynasty (<a href="../../wp/a/Arabic_language.htm" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a>: <span dir="rtl" lang="ar" style="white-space: nowrap;" xml:lang="ar">بنو أمية banū umayya / الأمويون al-umawiyyūn</span>‎; <!--del_lnk--> Persian: <span dir="rtl" lang="fa" style="white-space: nowrap;" xml:lang="fa">امویان Omaviyân</span>‎; <!--del_lnk--> Turkish: <span lang="tr" xml:lang="tr"><i>Emevi</i></span>), also "Umawi", the first dynasty of caliphs of the Islamic empire after the reign of the <!--del_lnk--> Four Rightly Guided Caliphs (<!--del_lnk--> Abu Bakr, <!--del_lnk--> Umar, <!--del_lnk--> Uthman, and <!--del_lnk--> Ali) ended. The Umayyad Caliphate, at the time of the Battle of Tours, was perhaps the world’s foremost military power. Great expansion of the Caliphate occurred under the reign of the Umayyads. Muslim armies pushed across North Africa and <!--del_lnk--> Persia, through the late 600s, expanding the borders of the empire from the Iberian Peninsula, in the west, to what is today <a href="../../wp/p/Pakistan.htm" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a>, in the east. Forces led by <!--del_lnk--> Tariq ibn-Ziyad crossed <a href="../../wp/g/Gibraltar.htm" title="Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a> and established Muslim power in the Iberian peninsula, while other armies established power far away in <!--del_lnk--> Sind, in what is now the modern state of Pakistan. The Muslim empire under the Umayyads was now a vast domain that ruled a diverse array of peoples. It had destroyed what were the two former foremost military powers, the <a href="../../wp/s/Sassanid_Empire.htm" title="Sassanid Empire">Sassanid Empire</a>, which it absorbed completely, and the <a href="../../wp/b/Byzantine_Empire.htm" title="Byzantine Empire">Byzantine Empire</a>, most of which it had absorbed, including Syria, Armenia and North Africa, although <!--del_lnk--> Leo the Isaurian successfully defended Anatolia at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Akroinon (<!--del_lnk--> 739) in the final campaign of the Umayyad dynasty.<p>The Frankish realm under Charles Martel was the foremost military power of Western Europe. It consisted of what is today most of Germany, the low countries, and part of France (Austrasia, Neustria and Burgundy). The Frankish realm had begun to progress towards becoming the first real imperial power in Europe since the fall of Rome, as it struggled against the hordes of barbarians on its borders, such as the fierce <!--del_lnk--> Saxons, and internal opponents such as Eudes, the Duke of Aquitaine.<p><a id="Muslim_conquests_from_Hispania" name="Muslim_conquests_from_Hispania"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Muslim conquests from Hispania</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="The "Age of the Caliphs," showing Muslim dominance stretching from the Middle East to the Iberian peninsula, including the port of Narbonne, c. 720" height="128" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Age_of_Caliphs.gif" src="../../images/38/3804.gif" width="250" /><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></div> The "Age of the Caliphs," showing Muslim dominance stretching from the Middle East to the Iberian peninsula, including the port of <!--del_lnk--> Narbonne, c. <!--del_lnk--> 720</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Moors, under <!--del_lnk--> Al-Samh ibn Malik, the governor-general of <!--del_lnk--> al-Andalus, overran <!--del_lnk--> Septimania by <!--del_lnk--> 719, following their sweep up the <!--del_lnk--> Iberian peninsula. Al-Samh set up his capital from <!--del_lnk--> 720 at <!--del_lnk--> Narbonne, which the Moors called Arbūna. With the port of Narbonne secure, the Moors swiftly subdued the largely unresisting cities of <!--del_lnk--> Alet, <!--del_lnk--> Béziers, <!--del_lnk--> Agde, <!--del_lnk--> Lodève, <!--del_lnk--> Maguelonne, and <!--del_lnk--> Nîmes, still controlled by their <!--del_lnk--> Visigoth counts.<p>The Muslim campaign into <!--del_lnk--> Aquitaine suffered a temporary setback at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Toulouse (721), when Duke <!--del_lnk--> Odo of Aquitaine (also known as Eudes the Great) broke the siege of <!--del_lnk--> Toulouse, taking <!--del_lnk--> Al-Samh ibn Malik's forces by surprise and mortally wounding the governor-general Al-Samh ibn Malik himself. This defeat did not stop incursions into old Roman Gaul, as <!--del_lnk--> Arab forces, soundly based in Narbonne and easily resupplied by sea, struck eastwards in the 720s, penetrating as far as <!--del_lnk--> Autun in <!--del_lnk--> Burgundy (725).<p>Threatened by both the Arabs in the south and by the Franks in the north, in 730 Eudes allied himself with the Berber <!--del_lnk--> emir Uthman ibn Naissa, called "Munuza" by the Franks, the deputy governor of what would later become <!--del_lnk--> Catalonia. As a <!--del_lnk--> gage, Uthman was given Eudes's daughter Lampade in marriage to seal the alliance, and Arab raids across the Pyrenees, Eudes's southern border, ceased.<p>However, the next year, Uthman rebelled against the governor of <!--del_lnk--> al-Andalus, ‘Abd-al-Raḥmân, who quickly crushed the revolt and directed his attention against Eudes. ‘Abd-al-Raḥmân had brought a huge force of Arab heavy cavalry and Berber light cavalry, plus troops from all provinces of the Caliphate, in the Umayyad attempt at a conquest of Europe north of the Pyrenees. According to one unidentified <!--del_lnk--> Arab, "That army went through all places like a desolating storm." Duke Eudes (called King by some), collected his army at <!--del_lnk--> Bordeaux, but was defeated, and Bordeaux was plundered. The slaughter of Christians at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the River Garonne was evidently horrific; the <i><!--del_lnk--> Mozarabic Chronicle of 754</i> commented, "<i><span lang="la" xml:lang="la">solus Deus numerum morientium vel pereuntium recognoscat</span></i>", ("God alone knows the number of the slain"). The Muslim horsemen then utterly devastated that portion of Gaul, their own histories saying the "faithful pierced through the mountains, trampled over rough and level ground, plundered far into the country of the Franks, and smote all with the sword, insomuch that when Eudo came to battle with them at the River Garonne, he fled."<p>Sir Edward Creasy said, (incorporating verses from Robert Southey's poem "<i>Roderick, the Last of the Goths</i>"):<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>It was under one of their ablest and most renowned commanders, with a veteran army, and with every apparent advantage of time, place, and circumstance, that the Arabs made their great effort at the conquest of Europe north of the Pyrenees. The victorious Moslem soldiery in Spain, eager for the plunder of more Christian cities and shrines, and full of fanatic confidence in the invincibility of their arms." <dl>
<dd>"A countless multitude;<dd>Syrian, Moor, Saracen, Greek renegade,<dd>Persian, and Copt, and Tartar, in one bond<dd>Of erring faith conjoined — strong in the youth<dd>And heat of zeal — a dreadful brotherhood"<dd>"Nor were the chiefs<dd>Of victory less assured, by long success<dd>Elate, and proud of that o'erwhelming strength<dd>Which surely, they believed, as it had rolled<dd>Thus far uncheck'd, would roll victorious on,<dd>Till, like the Orient, the subjected West<dd>Should bow in reverence at Mahommed's name;<dd>And pilrims from remotest Arctic shores<dd>Tread with religious feet the burning sands<dd>Of Araby and Mecca's stony soil."<dd>SOUTHEY'S <i>Roderick, the Last of the Goths</i></dl>
</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>And so, after smashing Eudes and laying waste in the south, the Muslim Cavalry advanced north, pursuing the fleeing Eudes, and looting, and destroying all before them.<p><a id="Eudes.27_appeal_to_the_Franks" name="Eudes.27_appeal_to_the_Franks"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Eudes' appeal to the Franks</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/53/5345.jpg.htm" title="From the former Gothic Kingdoms of Hispania and Septimania, lower left, Muslim armies advanced deep into Aquitaine and Burgundy. Note the location of Tours south of the Loire river."><img alt="From the former Gothic Kingdoms of Hispania and Septimania, lower left, Muslim armies advanced deep into Aquitaine and Burgundy. Note the location of Tours south of the Loire river." height="229" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Austrasia.JPG" src="../../images/169/16931.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/53/5345.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> From the former <!--del_lnk--> Gothic Kingdoms of <!--del_lnk--> Hispania and <!--del_lnk--> Septimania, lower left, Muslim armies advanced deep into <!--del_lnk--> Aquitaine and <!--del_lnk--> Burgundy. Note the location of <!--del_lnk--> Tours south of the <!--del_lnk--> Loire river.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Eudes appealed to the Franks for assistance, which Charles Martel only granted after Eudes agreed to submit to Frankish authority.<p>It appears as if the Muslims were not aware of the true strength of the Franks. The Muslim forces were not particularly concerned about any of the <!--del_lnk--> Germanic tribes, including the Franks, and the <!--del_lnk--> Arab Chronicles, the history of that age, show that awareness of the Franks as a growing military power only came after the Battle of Tours.<p>Further, the Muslims appear not to have scouted northward for potential foes, for if they had, they surely would have noted Charles Martel as a force to be reckoned with in his own account, due to his thorough domination of Europe from 717: this might have alerted the <!--del_lnk--> Moors that a real power led by a gifted general was rising in the ashes of the <a href="../../wp/w/Western_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Western Roman Empire">Western Roman Empire</a>.<p><a id="Advance_toward_the_Loire" name="Advance_toward_the_Loire"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Advance toward the Loire</span></h3>
<p>In <!--del_lnk--> 732, the Arab advance force was proceeding north toward the <!--del_lnk--> River Loire having outpaced their supply train and a large part of their army. Essentially, having easily destroyed all resistance in that part of Gaul, the invading army had split off into several raiding parties, while the main body advanced more slowly.<p>The Muslim attack was likely so late in the year because many men and horses needed to live off the land as they advanced; thus they had to wait until the area's wheat <a href="../../wp/h/Harvest.htm" title="Harvest">harvest</a> was ready and then until a reasonable amount of the harvest was <!--del_lnk--> threshed (slowly by hand with <!--del_lnk--> flails) and stored. The further north, the later the harvest is, and while the men could kill farm livestock for food, horses cannot eat meat and needed <a href="../../wp/c/Cereal.htm" title="Grain">grain</a> as food. Letting them graze each day would take too long, and interrogating natives to find where food stores were kept would not work where the two sides had no common language.<p>A military explanation for why Eudes was defeated so easily at <!--del_lnk--> Bordeaux and at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the River Garonne after having won 11 years earlier at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Toulouse is simple. At Toulouse, Eudes managed a basic surprise attack against an overconfident and unprepared foe, all of whose defensive works were aimed inward, while he attacked from the outside. The Arab cavalry never got a chance to mobilize and meet him in open battle. As <!--del_lnk--> Herman de Carinthia wrote in one of his translations of a history of al-Andalus, Eudes managed a highly successful encircling envelopment which took the attackers totally by surprise — and the result was a chaotic slaughter of the Muslim cavalry.<p>At <!--del_lnk--> Bordeaux, and again at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the River Garonne, the Arab cavalry were not taken by surprise, and given a chance to mass for battle, this led to the devastation of Eudes's army, almost all of whom were killed with minimal losses to the Muslims. Eudes's forces, like other European troops of that era, lacked <!--del_lnk--> stirrups, and therefore had no armoured cavalry. Virtually all of their troops were infantry. The Muslim heavy cavalry broke the Christian infantry in their first charge, and then slaughtered them at will as they broke and ran.<p>The invading force went on to devastate southern Gaul. A possible motive, according to the second continuator of <!--del_lnk--> Fredegar, was the riches of the <!--del_lnk--> Abbey of Saint Martin of <!--del_lnk--> Tours, the most prestigious and holiest <!--del_lnk--> shrine in Western Europe at the time. Upon hearing this, <!--del_lnk--> Austrasia's <!--del_lnk--> Mayor of the Palace, <!--del_lnk--> Charles Martel, collected his army and marched south, avoiding the old Roman roads and hoping to take the Muslims by surprise. Because he intended to use a <!--del_lnk--> phalanx, it was essential for him to choose the battlefield. His plan — to find a high wooded plain, form his men and force the Muslims to come to him — depended on the element of surprise.<p><a id="Battle" name="Battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle</span></h2>
<p><a id="Preparations_and_maneuver" name="Preparations_and_maneuver"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Preparations and maneuver</span></h3>
<p>From all accounts, the invading forces were caught entirely off guard to find a large force, well disposed and prepared for battle, with high ground, directly opposing their attack on Tours. Charles had achieved the total surprise he hoped for. He then chose to begin the battle in a defensive, <!--del_lnk--> phalanx-like formation. According to the Arabian sources the Franks drew up in a large square, with the trees and upward slope to break any cavalry charge.<p>For seven days, the two armies watched each other with minor skirmishes. The Muslims waited for their full strength to arrive, which it did, but they were still uneasy. A good general never likes to let his opponent pick the ground and the conditions for battle. 'Abd-al-Raḥmân, despite being a good commander, had managed to let Martel do both. Furthermore, it was difficult for the Muslims to judge the size of the army opposing them, since Martel had used the trees and forest to make his force appear larger than it probably was. Thus, 'Abd-al-Raḥmân recalled all his troops, which did give him an even larger army - but it also gave Martel time for more of his veteran infantry to arrive from the outposts of his Empire. These infantry were all the hope for victory he had. Seasoned and battle hardened, most of them had fought with him for years, some as far back as 717. Further, he also had levies of militia arrive, but the militia was virtually worthless except for gathering food, and harassing the Muslims. (Most historians through the centuries have believed the Franks were badly outnumbered at the onset of battle by at least 2-1) Martel gambled everything that ‘Abd-al-Raḥmân would in the end feel compelled to battle, and to go on and loot Tours. Neither of them wanted to attack - but Abd-al-Raḥmân felt in the end obligated to sack Tours, which meant literally going through the Frankish army on the hill in front of him. Martel's decision to wait in the end proved crucial, as it forced the Muslims to rush uphill, against the grade and the woods, which in and of themselves negated a large part of the natural advantages of a cavalry chage.<p>Martel had been preparing for this confrontation since Toulouse a decade before. He was well aware that if he failed, no other Christian force remained able to defend western Christianity. But Gibbon believes, as do most pre and modern historians, that Martel had made the best of a bad situation. Though outnumbered and depending on infantry, without stirrups in wide use, Martel had a tough, battle hardened heavy infantry who believed in him implicitly. Martel had the element of surprise, and had been allowed to pick the ground.<p>The Franks in their wolf and bear pelts were well dressed for the cold, and had the terrain advantage. The Arabs were not as prepared for the intense cold of an oncoming northern European winter, despite having tents, which the Franks did not, but did not want to attack a Frankish army they believed may have been numerically superior -- according to most historians it was not. Essentially, the Arabs wanted the Franks to come out in the open, while the Franks, formed in a tightly packed defensive formation, wanted them to come uphill, into the trees, diminishing at once the advantages of their cavalry. It was a waiting game which Martel won: The fight began on the seventh day, as Abd er Rahman did not want to postpone the battle indefinitely with winter approaching.<p><a id="Engagement" name="Engagement"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Engagement</span></h3>
<p>‘Abd-al-Raḥmân trusted the tactical superiority of his cavalry, and had them charge repeatedly. This time the faith the Muslims had in their cavalry, armed with their long <!--del_lnk--> lances and <!--del_lnk--> swords which had brought them victory in previous battles, was not justified. The Franks, without <!--del_lnk--> stirrups in wide use, had to depend on unarmoured foot soldiers.<p>In one of the instances where <!--del_lnk--> medieval <!--del_lnk--> infantry stood up against cavalry charges, the disciplined Frankish soldiers withstood the assaults, though according to Arab sources, the Arab cavalry several times broke into the interior of the Frankish square. "The Moslem horsemen dashed fierce and frequent forward against the battalions of the Franks, who resisted manfully, and many fell dead on either side."<p>Despite this, the Franks did not break. It appears that the years of year-round training that Charles had bought with Church funds, paid off. His hard-trained soldiery accomplished what was not thought possible at that time: unarmoured infantry withstood the fierce Muslim heavy cavalry. Paul Davis says the core of Martel's army was a professional infantry which was both highly disciplined and well motivated, "having campaigned with him all over Europe," buttressed by levies that Charles basically used to raid and disrupt his enemy. The <i>Mozarabic Chronicle of 754</i> says: "And in the shock of the battle the men of the North seemed like a sea that cannot be moved. Firmly they stood, one close to another, forming as it were a bulwark of ice; and with great blows of their swords they hewed down the Arabs. Drawn up in a band around their chief, the people of the <!--del_lnk--> Austrasians carried all before them. Their tireless hands drove their swords down to the breasts of the foe."<p><a id="The_battle_turns" name="The_battle_turns"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The battle turns</span></h3>
<p>Those Muslims who had broken into the square had tried to kill Martel, but his <!--del_lnk--> liege men surrounded him and would not be broken. The battle was still in flux when Frankish histories claim that a rumor went through the Arab army that Frankish scouts threatened the booty that they had taken from <!--del_lnk--> Bordeaux. Some of the Muslim troops at once broke off the battle and returned to camp to secure their loot. According to Muslim accounts of the battle, in the midst of the fighting on the second day (Frankish accounts have the battle lasting one day only), scouts from the Franks sent by Charles began to raid the camp and supply train (including slaves and other plunder).<p>Charles supposedly had sent scouts to cause chaos in the Muslim base camp, and free as many of the slaves as possible, hoping to draw off part of his foe. This succeeded, as many of the Muslim cavalry returned to their camp. To the rest of the Muslim army, this appeared to be a full-scale retreat, and soon it became one. Both Western and Muslim histories agree that while trying to stop the retreat, ‘Abd-al-Raḥmân became surrounded, which led to his death, and the Muslims then withdrew altogether to their camp. "All the host fled before the enemy," candidly wrote one Arabic source, "and many died in the flight." The Franks resumed their phalanx, and rested in place through the night, believing the battle would resume at dawn the following morning.<p><a id="Following_day" name="Following_day"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Following day</span></h3>
<p>The next day, when the Muslims did not renew the battle, the Franks feared an ambush. Charles at first believed that the Muslims were trying to lure him down the hill and into the open. This tactic he knew he had to resist at all costs; he had in fact disciplined his troops for years to under no circumstances break formation and come out in the open. (See the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Hastings.htm" title="Battle of Hastings">Battle of Hastings</a> for the results of infantry being lured into the open by armoured cavalry.) Only after extensive reconnaissance of the Muslim camp by Frankish soldiers — which by both historical accounts had been so hastily abandoned that even the tents remained, as the Muslim forces headed back to <!--del_lnk--> Iberia with what loot remained that they could carry — was it discovered that the Muslims had retreated during the night.<p>Given the disparity between the armies, in that the Franks were mostly infantry, all without armour, against Berber cavalry and armored or mailed Arab horsemen (the Berbers were less heavily protected), Charles Martel fought a brilliant defensive battle. In a place and time of his choosing, he met a far superior force, and defeated it.<p><a id="Contemporary_accounts" name="Contemporary_accounts"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Contemporary accounts</span></h3>
<p>The <i>Mozarabic Chronicle of 754</i> "describes the battle in greater detail than any other Latin or Arabic source". It says of the encounter that,<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px;">
<p>While Abd ar-Rahman was pursuing Eudes, he decided to despoil Tours by destroying its palaces and burning its churches. There he confronted the consul of Austrasia by the name of Charles, a man who, having proved himself to be a warrior from his youth and an expert in things military, had been summoned by Eudes. After each side had tormented the other with raids for almost seven days, they finally prepared their battle lines and fought fiercely. The northern peoples remained as immobile as a wall, holding together like a glacier in the cold regions. In the blink of an eye, they annihilated the Arabs with the sword. The people of Austrasia, greater in number of soldiers and formidably armed, killed the king, Abd ar-Rahman, when they found him, striking him on the chest. But suddenly, within sight of the countless tents of the Arabs, the Franks despicably sheathed their swords postponing the fight until the next day since night had fallen during the battle. Rising from their own camp at dawn, the Europeans saw the tents and canopies of the Arabs all arranged just as they had appeared the day before. Not knowing that they were empty and thinking that inside them there were Saracen forces ready for battle, they sent officers to reconnoitre and discovered that all the Ishmaelite troops had left. They had indeed fled silently by night in tight formation, returning to their own country.<p style="text-align: right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;">— Wolf (trans), <i>Chronicle of 754</i>, p. 145</cite></blockquote>
<p>The <i>Continuations of Fredegar</i> provide a highly stylised account of the battle, which says only that,<blockquote class="toccolours" style="float:none; padding: 10px 15px 10px 15px;">
<p>Prince Charles bodly drew up his battle lines against them [the Arabs] and the warrior rushed in against them. With Christ's help he overturned their tents, and hastened to battle to grind them small in slaughter. The king Abdirama having been killed, he destroyed [them], driving forth the army, he fought and won. Thus did the victor triumph over his enemies.<p style="text-align: right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;">— Fouracre, <i>Continuations of Fredegar</i>, p. 149</cite></blockquote>
<p>The fourth book of the Continuums of the <i>Chronicle of Fredegar</i>, details further that "he (Charles Martel) came down upon them like a great man of battle." It goes on to say Charles "scattered them like the stubble."<p>The references to "rushing in" and "overturning their tents" may allude to the phraseology of the <!--del_lnk--> Book of Numbers, chapter 24, "where the Spirit of God 'rushed in' to the tents of Israel." The Latin word used for "warrior", <i>belligerator</i>, "is also biblical, from the <!--del_lnk--> Book of Maccabees, chapters 15 and 16, which describe huge battles.<p>It is thought that <a href="../../wp/b/Bede.htm" title="Bede">Bede</a>'s <i>Historiam Ecclesiasticam Gentis Anglorum</i> (Chapter XXIII) includes a reference to the Battle of Poitiers: "...a dreadful plague of Saracens ravaged France with miserable slaughter, but they not long after in that country received the punishment due to their wickedness".<p><a id="Strategic_analysis" name="Strategic_analysis"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Strategic analysis</span></h3>
<p>‘Abd-al-Raḥmân was a good general and should have done two things he failed to do, Gibbon makes the point that he did not move at once against Charles Martel, was surprised by him at Tours as Martel had marched over the mountains avoiding the roads to surprise the Muslim invaders, and thus the wily Martel selected the time and place they would collide:<ul>
<li>‘Abd-al-Raḥmân either assumed that the Franks would not come to the aid of their <!--del_lnk--> Aquitanian rivals, or did not care, and he thus failed to assess their strength before invasion.<li>He failed to scout the movements of the <!--del_lnk--> Frankish army, and Charles Martel.</ul>
<p>Having done either, he would have curtailed his lighthorse ravaging throughout lower Gaul, and marched at once with his full power against the Franks. This strategy would have nullified every advantage Charles had at Tours:<ul>
<li>The invaders would have not been burdened with booty that played such a huge role in the battle.<li>They would have not lost one warrior in the battles they fought before Tours. (Though they lost relatively few men in overrunning <!--del_lnk--> Aquitaine, they suffered some casualties — losses that may have been pivotal at Tours).<li>They would have bypassed weaker opponents such as Eudes, whom they could have picked off at will later, while moving at once to force battle with the real power in Europe, and at least partially picked the battlefield.</ul>
<p>While some military historians point out that leaving enemies in your rear is not generally wise, the Mongols proved that indirect attack, and bypassing weaker foes to eliminate the strongest first, is a devastatingly effective mode of invasion. In this case, those enemies were virtually no danger, given the ease with which the Muslims destroyed them. The real danger was Charles, and the failure to scout Gaul adequately was disastrous.<p>According to <!--del_lnk--> Creasy, the Muslims' best strategic choice would have been to simply decline battle, depart with their loot, garrisoning the captured towns in southern Gaul, and return when they could force Martel to a battleground more to their liking, one that maximized the huge advantage they had in their mailed and armored horsemen—the first true "knights". It might have been different, however, had the Muslim forces remained under control. Both western and Muslim histories agree the battle was hard fought, and that the Muslim heavy cavalry had broken into the square, but agreed that the Franks were in formation still strongly resisting.<p>Charles could not afford to stand idly by while Frankish territories were threatened. He would have to face the Muslims sooner or later, and his men were enraged by the utter devastation of the Aquitanians and wanted to fight. But Sir Edward Creasy noted that,<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>when we remember that Charles had no standing army, and the independent spirit of the Frank warriors who followed his standard, it seems most probable that it was not in his power to adopt the cautious policy of watching the invaders, and wearing out their strength by delay. So dreadful and so widespread were the ravages of the Saracenic light cavalry throughout Gaul, that it must have been impossible to restrain for any length of time the indignant ardor of the Franks. And, even, if Charles could have persuaded his men to look tamely on while the Arabs stormed more towns and desolated more districts, he could not have kept an army together when the usual period of a military expedition had expired.</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Both <!--del_lnk--> Hallam and Watson argue that had Martel failed, there was no remaining force to protect Western Europe. Hallam perhaps said it best: "It may justly be reckoned among those few battles of which a contrary event would have essentially varied the drama of the world in all its subsequent scenes: with Marathon, Arbela, the Metaurus, Châlons, and Leipzig."<p>Strategically, and tactically, Martel probably made the best decision he could in waiting until his enemies least expected him to intervene, and then marching by stealth to catch them by surprise at a battlefield of his choosing. Probably he and his own men did not realize the seriousness of the battle they had fought, as Matthew Bennett and his co-authors, in <i>Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World</i> (2005) says: "few battles are remembered 1,000 years after they are fought [...] but the Battle of Tours is an exception [...] Charles Martel turned back a Muslim raid that had it been allowed to continue, might have conquered Gaul."<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<p><a id="Muslim_retreat_and_second_invasion" name="Muslim_retreat_and_second_invasion"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Muslim retreat and second invasion</span></h3>
<p>The Arab army retreated south over the <!--del_lnk--> Pyrenees. Martel continued to drive the Muslims from France in subsequent years. After the death (c. 735) of Eudes, who had reluctantly acknowledged Charles' <!--del_lnk--> suzerainty in 719, Charles wished to unite Eudes's Duchy to himself, and went there to elicit the proper <!--del_lnk--> homage of the <!--del_lnk--> Aquitainians. But the nobility proclaimed Hunold, Eudes' son, as the Duke, and Charles recognized his legitimacy when the <!--del_lnk--> Arabs entered <!--del_lnk--> Provence as part of an alliance with Duke <!--del_lnk--> Maurontus the next year. Hunold, who originally resisted acknowledging Charles as overlord, soon had little choice. He acknowledged Charles at once as his overlord, and Martel confirmed his Duchy, and the two prepared to confront the invaders. Martel believed it was vital to confine the Muslims to <!--del_lnk--> Iberia and deny them any foothold in Gaul, a view many historians share. Therefore he marched at once against the invaders, defeating one army outside <!--del_lnk--> Arles, which he took by storm and razed the city, and defeated the primary invasion force at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the River Berre, outside <!--del_lnk--> Narbonne.<p><a id="Advance_to_Narbonne" name="Advance_to_Narbonne"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Advance to Narbonne</span></h3>
<p>Despite this, the Arabs remained in control of Narbonne and <!--del_lnk--> Septimania for another 27 years, though they could not expand further. The treaties reached earlier with the local population stood firm and were further consolidated in 734 when the governor of Narbonne, <!--del_lnk--> Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri, concluded agreements with several towns on common defense arrangements against the encroachments of Charles Martel, who had systematically brought the south to heel as he extended his domains. He destroyed Muslim armies and fortresses at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Avignon and the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Nimes. The army attempting to relieve Narbonne met him in open battle at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the River Berre and was destroyed, but Charles failed in his attempt to take Narbonne by siege in 737, when the city was jointly defended by its Muslim Arab and Christian <!--del_lnk--> Visigoth citizens.<p><a id="Carolingian_dynasty" name="Carolingian_dynasty"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Carolingian dynasty</span></h3>
<p>Reluctant to tie down his army for a siege that could last years, and believing he could not afford the losses of an all out frontal assault such as he had used at <!--del_lnk--> Arles, Martel was content to isolate the few remaining invaders in <!--del_lnk--> Narbonne and <!--del_lnk--> Septimania. The threat of Muslim invasion was diminished after the Arab defeat at Narbonne, and the unified <!--del_lnk--> Caliphate would collapse into <!--del_lnk--> civil war in 750 at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Zab. It was left to Martel's son, <!--del_lnk--> Pippin the Short, to force Narbonne's surrender in 759, thus bringing Narbonne into the Frankish domains. The <!--del_lnk--> Umayyad dynasty was expelled, driven back to Al-Andalus where <!--del_lnk--> Abd ar-Rahman I established an emirate in Cordoba in opposition to the <a href="../../wp/a/Abbasid.htm" title="Abbasid">Abbasid</a> Caliph in <a href="../../wp/b/Baghdad.htm" title="Baghdad">Baghdad</a>. The threat posed by the Arab heavy cavalry also receded as the Christians copied the Arab model in developing similar forces of their own, giving rise to the familiar figure of the western European medieval armored <!--del_lnk--> knight.<p>Martel's grandson, <a href="../../wp/c/Charlemagne.htm" title="Charlemagne">Charlemagne</a>, became the first Christian ruler to begin what would be called the <!--del_lnk--> Reconquista from Europe. In the northeast of Spain the Frankish emperors established the <!--del_lnk--> Marca Hispanica across the <!--del_lnk--> Pyrenees in part of what today is <!--del_lnk--> Catalonia, reconquering <!--del_lnk--> Girona in 785 and <a href="../../wp/b/Barcelona.htm" title="Barcelona">Barcelona</a> in 801. This formed a buffer zone against Muslim lands across the Pyrenees. Historian J.M. Roberts said in 1993 of the Carolingian Dynasty:<dl>
<dd>
<dl>
<dd>"It produced Charles Martel, the soldier who turned the Arabs back at Tours, and the supporter of Saint Boniface the Evangelizer of Germany. This is a considerable double mark to have left on the history of Europe."</dl>
</dl>
<p><a id="The_Last_Umayyad_Invasions_of_Gaul" name="The_Last_Umayyad_Invasions_of_Gaul"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Last Umayyad Invasions of Gaul</span></h2>
<p>In 735 the new governor of al-Andalus again invaded Gaul. Antonio Santosuosso and other historians detail how the new governor of Al-Andalus, 'Uqba b. Al-Hajjaj, again moved into France to avenge the defeat at Poitiers and to spread Islam. Santosuosso notes that 'Uqba b. Al-Hajjaj converted about 2,000 Christians he captured over his career. In the last major attempt at forcible invasion of Gaul through Iberia, a sizable invasion force was assembled at Saragossa and entered what is now French territory in 735, crossed the River Rhone and captured and looted Arles. From there he struck into the heart of Provence, ending with the capture of Avignon, despite strong resistance. Uqba b. Al-Hajjaj's forces remained in French territory for about four years, carrying raids to Lyons, Burgundy, and Piedmont. Again Charles Martel came to the rescue, reconquering most of the lost territories in two campaigns in 736 and 739, except for the city of Narbonne, which finally fell in 759. Alessandro Santosuosso strongly argues that the second (Muslim) expedition was probably more dangerous than the first to Poitiers. Yet its failure put an end to any serious Muslim expedition across the Pyrenees, although raids continued. And internal turmoil in the Muslim lands often made enemies out of their own kind.<p><a id="Historical_and_macrohistorical_views" name="Historical_and_macrohistorical_views"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Historical and macrohistorical views</span></h2>
<p>The Historical views of this battle fall into three great phases, both in the East and and especially in the West. Western historians beginning with the Mozarabic Chronicle of 754 stressed the macrohistorical impact of the battle, as did the Continuations of Fredegar. This became a claim that Martel had literally saved Christianity as Gibbon and his generation of historians agreed that the Battle of Tours was unquestionably decisive in world history.<p>Modern historians have essentially fallen into two camps on the issue. The first camp essentially agrees with Gibbon, and the other argues that the Battle has been massively overstated—turned from a raid in force to an invasion, and from a mere annoyance to the Caliph to a shattering defeat that helped end the Islamic Expansion Era.<p>In the East, Arab histories followed a similar path. First, the Battle was regarded as a disastrous defeat, then it faded essentially from Arab histories, leading to a modern dispute which regards it as either a secondary loss to the great defeat of the <!--del_lnk--> Second Siege of Constantinople or a part of a series of great macrohistorical defeats which together brought about the fall of the first Caliphate. Essentially, many modern Muslim scholars argue that the first Caliphate was a jihadist state which could not withstand an end to its constant expansion. <!--del_lnk--> With the Byzantines and Franks both successfully blocking further expansion, internal social troubles came to a head, starting with the Great Berber Revolt of 740, and ending with the Battle of the Zab, and the destruction of the Umayyad Caliphate.<p><a id="In_Western_history" name="In_Western_history"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">In Western history</span></h3>
<p>Mid era scholars, such as <a href="../../wp/e/Edward_Gibbon.htm" title="Edward Gibbon">Edward Gibbon</a>, contended that had Martel fallen, the Moors would have easily conquered a divided Europe. Gibbon famously observed:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>A victorious line of march had been prolonged above a thousand miles from the rock of Gibraltar to the banks of the Loire; the repetition of an equal space would have carried the Saracens to the confines of Poland and the Highlands of Scotland; the Rhine is not more impassable than the Nile or Euphrates, and the Arabian fleet might have sailed without a naval combat into the mouth of the Thames. Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet.</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Gibbon was echoed a century later by the Belgian historian <!--del_lnk--> Godefroid Kurth, who wrote that the Battle of Poitiers “must ever remain one of the great events in the history of the world, as upon its issue depended whether Christian Civilization should continue or Islam prevail throughout Europe.”<p><a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">German</a> historians were especially ardent in their praise of Martel; <!--del_lnk--> Schlegel speaks of this "mighty victory"in terms of fervent gratitude, and tells how "the arm of Charles Martel saved and delivered the Christian nations of the West from the deadly grasp of all-destroying Islam." Creasy quotes <!--del_lnk--> Leopold von Ranke's opinion that this period was<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>one of the most important epochs in the history of the world, the commencement of the eighth century, when on the one side Mohammedanism threatened to overspread Italy and Gaul, and on the other the ancient idolatry of <!--del_lnk--> Saxony and <!--del_lnk--> Friesland once more forced its way across the Rhine. In this peril of Christian institutions, a youthful prince of Germanic race, Karl Martell, arose as their champion, maintained them with all the energy which the necessity for self-defence calls forth, and finally extended them into new regions.</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Had Martel failed, <!--del_lnk--> Henry Hallam argued, there would have been no <a href="../../wp/c/Charlemagne.htm" title="Charlemagne">Charlemagne</a>, no <a href="../../wp/h/Holy_Roman_Empire.htm" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a> or <!--del_lnk--> Papal States; all these depended upon Martel's containment of Islam from expanding into Europe while the Caliphate was unified and able to mount such a conquest.<p>Another great mid era historian, <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Arnold, ranked the victory of Charles Martel even higher than the victory of <!--del_lnk--> Arminius in its impact on all of modern history: "Charles Martel's victory at Tours was among those signal deliverances which have affected for centuries the happiness of mankind."<p><!--del_lnk--> John Bagnell Bury, writing at the beginning of the 20th century, said "The Battle of Tours… has often been represented as an event of the first magnitude for the world’s history, because after this, the penetration of Islam into Europe was finally brought to a standstill.”<p>But, as will be seen below, today’s historians are very clearly divided on the importance of the Battle, and where it should rank in the signal moments of military history.<p><a id="In_Muslim_history" name="In_Muslim_history"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">In Muslim history</span></h3>
<p>Eastern historians, like their western counterparts, have not always agreed on the importance of the Battle. According to <!--del_lnk--> Bernard Lewis, "The Arab historians, if they mention this engagement [the Battle of Tours] at all, present it as a minor skirmish," and Gustave von Grunebaum writes: "This setback may have been important from the European point of view, but for Muslims at the time, who saw no master plan imperilled thereby, it had no further significance." Contemporary Arab and Muslim historians and chroniclers were much more interested in the <!--del_lnk--> second Umayyad siege of Constantinople in <!--del_lnk--> 718, which ended in a disastrous defeat.<p>However, Creasy has claimed: "The enduring importance of the battle of Tours in the eyes of the Moslems is attested not only by the expressions of 'the deadly battle' and 'the disgraceful overthrow' which their writers constantly employ when referring to it, but also by the fact that no more serious attempts at conquest beyond the Pyrenees were made by the Saracens."<p>Thirteenth-century Moroccan author Ibn Idhari al-Marrakushi, mentioned the battle in his history of the Maghrib, “<i>al-Bayan al-Mughrib fi Akhbaral-Maghrib</i>.” According to Ibn Idhari, “Abd ar-Rahman and many of his men found martyrdom on the balat ash-Shuhada'i ("the path of the martyrs).” Antonio Santosuosso points out in his book <i>Barbarians, Marauders and Infidels: The Ways of Medieval Warfare,</i> on p. 126 "they (the Muslims) called the battle's location, the road between Poitiers and Tours, "the pavement of Martyrs." However, as Henry Coppée has explained, "The same name was given to the battle of Toulouse and is applied to many other fields on which the Moslemah were defeated: they were always martyrs for the faith" <p>Khalid Yahya Blankinship has argued that the military defeat at Tours was amongst one of the failures that contributed to the decline of the Umayyad caliphate: “Stretching from Morocco to China, the Umayyad caliphate based its expansion and success on the doctrine of jihad--armed struggle to claim the whole earth for God's rule, a struggle that had brought much material success for a century but suddenly ground to a halt followed by the collapse of the ruling Umayyad dynasty in 750 CE. The End of the Jihad State demonstrates for the first time that the cause of this collapse came not just from internal conflict, as has been claimed, but from a number of external and concurrent factors that exceeded the caliphate's capacity to respond. These external factors began with crushing military defeats at Byzantium, Toulouse and Tours, which led to the Great Berber Revolt of 740 in Iberia and Northern Africa.”<p><a id="Current_opinion" name="Current_opinion"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Current opinion</span></h2>
<p>Some modern historians argue that the Battle of Tours was of no great historical significance while others continue to contend that Martel's victory was important in European or even world history. William Watson, for example, wrote of the battle's importance in Frankish history in 1993:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>There is clearly some justification for ranking Tours-Poitiers among the most significant events in Frankish history when one considers the result of the battle in light of the remarkable record of the successful establishment by Muslims of Islamic political and cultural dominance along the entire eastern and southern rim of the former Christian, Roman world. The rapid Muslim conquest of Palestine, Syria, Egypt and the North African coast all the way to Morocco in the seventh century resulted in the permanent imposition by force of Islamic culture onto a previously Christian and largely non-Arab base. The Visigothic kingdom fell to Muslim conquerors in a single battle on the Rio Barbate in 711, and the Hispanic Christian population took seven long centuries to regain control of the Iberian peninsula. The Reconquista, of course, was completed in 1492, only months before Columbus received official backing for his fateful voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Had Charles Martel suffered at Tours-Poitiers the fate of King Roderick at the Rio Barbate, it is doubtful that a "do-nothing" sovereign of the Merovingian realm could have later succeeded where his talented major domus had failed. Indeed, as Charles was the progenitor of the Carolingian line of Frankish rulers and grandfather of Charlemagne, one can even say with a degree of certainty that the subsequent history of the West would have proceeded along vastly different currents had ‘Abd ar-Rahman been victorious at Tours-Poitiers in 732.</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Watson adds, "After examining the motives for the Muslim drive north of the Pyrenees, one can attach a macrohistorical significance to the encounter between the Franks and Andalusi Muslims at Tours-Poitiers, especially when one considers the attention paid to the Franks in Arabic literature and the successful expansion of Muslims elsewhere in the medieval period."<p>A number of modern historians and writers in other felds agree with Watson. Professor of religion <!--del_lnk--> Huston Smith says in <i>The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions</i> "But for their defeat by Charles Martel in the Battle of Tours in 733, the entire Western world might today be Muslim."<p>In <i>An Islamic Europe</i> educationalist <!--del_lnk--> Dexter Wakefield writes, “A Muslim France? Historically, it nearly happened. But as a result of Martel’s fierce opposition, which ended Muslim advances and set the stage for centuries of war thereafter, Islam moved no farther into Europe. European schoolchildren learn about the Battle of Tours in much the same way that American students learn about Valley Forge and Gettysburg.<p>Victorian writer John Henry Haaren says in <i>Famous Men of the Middle Ages</i>, "The battle of Tours, or Poitiers, as it should be called, is regarded as one of the decisive battles of the world. It decided that Christians, and not Moslems, should be the ruling power in Europe." Bernard Grun delivers this assessment in his "Timetables of History," reissued in 2004: "In 732 Charles Martel's victory over the Arabs at the Battle of Tours stems the tide of their westward advance.” <p>Michael Grant, author of <i>History of Rome</i>, lists the battle of Tours in the macrohistorical dates of the Roman era. Historian <!--del_lnk--> Norman Cantor says in 1993: "It may be true that the Arabs had now fully extended their resources and they would not have conquered France, but their defeat (at Tours) in 732 put a stop to their advance to the north." Robert W. Martin considers Tours "one of the most decisive battles in all of history." <p>Paul Davis argued in 1999, "had the Muslims been victorious at Tours, it is difficult to suppose what population in Europe could have organized to resist them." <p>Writer and philosopher Mark Whittington says that “Along with the defeat at the gates of Constantinople… the Battle of Tours halted Muslim Expansion into Europe. It has been suggested by numerous historians, including Edward Gibbon that had the Franks been defeated at Tours, the Muslim advance into Europe, then divided into squabbling kingdoms, would have been unstoppable. France, Germany, even England, would have fallen to Islam, putting an end to Christian Europe." Likewise, George Bruce in his update of Harbottle's classic military history <i>Dictionary of Battles</i> maintains that "Charles Martel defeated the Moslem army effectively ending Moslem attempts to conquer western Europe." <!--del_lnk--> <p>Other historians disagree with this assessment. Alessandro Barbero writes, "Today, historians tend to play down the significance of the battle of Poitiers, pointing out that the purpose of the Arab force defeated by Charles Martel was not to conquer the Frankish kingdom, but simply to pillage the wealthy monastery of St-Martin of Tours". Similarly, Tomaž Mastnak writes:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>Modern historians have constructed a myth presenting this victory as having saved Christian Europe from the Muslims. Edward Gibbon, for example, called Charles Martel the savior of Christendom and the battle near Poitiers an encounter that changed the history of the world... This myth has survived well into our own times... Contemporaries of the battle, however, did not overstate its significance. The continuators of Fredegar's chronicle, who probably wrote in the mid-eighth century, pictured the battle as just one of many military encounters between Christians and Saracens - moreover, as only one in a series of wars fought by Frankish princes for booty and territory... One of Fredegar's continuators presented the battle of Poitiers as what it really was: an episode in the struggle between Christian princes as the Carolingians strove to bring Aquitaine under their rule.</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The Lebanese-American historian <!--del_lnk--> Philip Hitti believes that "In reality nothing was decided on the battlefield of Tours. The Moslem wave, already a thousand miles from its starting point in Gibraltar - to say nothing about its base in al-Qayrawan - had already spent itself and reached a natural limit."<p>The view that the battle has no great significance is perhaps best summarized by <!--del_lnk--> Franco Cardini in <i>Europe and Islam</i>, who writes,<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>Although prudence needs to be exercised in minimizing or 'demythologizing' the significance of the event, it is no longer thought by anyone to have been crucial. The 'myth' of that particular military engagement survives today as a media cliché, than which nothing is harder to eradicate. It is well known how the propaganda put about by the Franks and the papacy glorified the victory that took place on the road between Tours and Poitiers...</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>In their introduction to <i>The Reader's Companion to Military History</i> <!--del_lnk--> Robert Cowley and <!--del_lnk--> Geoffrey Parker summarise this side of the modern view of the Battle of Tours by saying “The study of military history has undergone drastic changes in recent years. The old drums-and-bugles approach will no longer do. Factors such as economics, logistics, intelligence, and technology receive the attention once accorded to solely to battles and campaigns and casualty counts Words like "strategy" and "operations" have acquired meanings that might not have been recognizable a generation ago. Changing attitudes and new research have altered our views of what once seemed to matter most. For example, several of the battles that Edward Shepherd Creasy listed in his famous 1852 book <i>Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World</i> rate hardly a mention here, and the confrontation between Muslims and Christians at Poitiers-Tours in 732, once considered a watershed event, has been downgraded to a raid in force."<p><a id="Conclusion" name="Conclusion"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Conclusion</span></h2>
<p>Modern military historian <!--del_lnk--> Victor Davis Hanson acknowledges the debate on this battle, citing historians both for and against its macrohistorical placement:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>Recent scholars have suggested Poitiers, so poorly recorded in contemporary sources, was a mere raid and thus a construct of western mythmaking or that a Muslim victory might have been preferable to continued frankish dominance. What is clear is that Poitiers marked a general continuance of the successful defense of Europe, (from the Muslims). Flush from the victory at Tours, Charles Martel went on to clear southern France from Islamic attackers for decades, unify the warring kingdoms into the foundations of the Carolingian Empire, and ensure ready and reliable troops from local estates.".</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of Tours"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of Tours"><img alt="Battle of Tours" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Paul Davis, another modern historian who addresses both sides in the debate over whether or not this Battle truly determined the direction of history, as Watson claims, or merely was a relatively minor raid, as Cardini writes, says "whether Charles Martel saved Europe for Christianity is a matter of some debate. What is sure, however, is that his victory ensured that the Franks would dominate Gaul for more than a century." <div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tours"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['France', 'Franks', 'Franks', '20th century', '18th century', '19th century', 'Christianity', 'Islam', 'Roman Empire', 'Christianity', 'Roman Empire', 'Persian Empire', 'Arabic language', 'Pakistan', 'Gibraltar', 'Sassanid Empire', 'Byzantine Empire', 'Western Roman Empire', 'Harvest', 'Grain', 'Battle of Hastings', 'Bede', 'Abbasid', 'Baghdad', 'Charlemagne', 'Barcelona', 'Edward Gibbon', 'Germany', 'Charlemagne', 'Holy Roman Empire']
|
Battle_of_Vaslui
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Vaslui,Suceava,Caffa,Lwow,Ukraine,Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania,Armenians,Ukrainian language,Matthias Corvinus,Transylvania,January 22" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Vaslui</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Vaslui";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Vaslui";
var wgArticleId = 2668796;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Vaslui">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Vaslui</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Pre_1900_Military.htm">Pre 1900 Military</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Vaslui</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Moldavian-Ottoman Wars</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/169/16932.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="275" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Vaslui_15cMD.png" src="../../images/169/16932.png" width="300" /></a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> January 10, <!--del_lnk--> 1475</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td>Near <!--del_lnk--> Vaslui, <a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romania</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Moldavian victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Moldavia</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Empire</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Stephen III of Moldavia</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Hadân Suleiman Pasha</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">40,000 Moldavians with 5,000 Szekely recruited by Stephen,<br /> 3,800 allied troops<br /> 20 cannon</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">~ 60,000 - 80,000<br /> 17,000 Wallachians<br /> (Possibly up to 120,000)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">Unknown</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">minimum of 40,000</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Vaslui</b> (also referred to as the <b>Battle of Podul Înalt</b> and <b>Battle of Racova</b>) (<!--del_lnk--> January 10, <!--del_lnk--> 1475) was fought between the <!--del_lnk--> Moldavian (<!--del_lnk--> Romanian) Prince, <!--del_lnk--> Stephen the Great and the <!--del_lnk--> Beylerbeyi of <!--del_lnk--> Rumelia, <!--del_lnk--> Hadân Suleiman Pasha. The battle took place at Podul Înalt (<i>the High Bridge</i>), near the town of <!--del_lnk--> Vaslui, in Moldavia (now part of eastern <a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romania</a>) between <b>Barnaba</b> and <b>Racovica</b>. The <a href="../../wp/o/Ottoman_Empire.htm" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman</a> troops numbered between 60,000 and 120,000, facing about 40,000 Moldavian troops, plus smaller numbers of allied and mercenary troops on both sides.<p>Stephen inflicted a decisive defeat on the Ottomans which has been said to be "the greatest ever secured by the Cross against Islam," with casualties, according to <!--del_lnk--> Venetian and <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Polish</a> records, reaching beyond 40,000 on the Ottoman side. As witnessed by Maraym Khanum (<!--del_lnk--> Mara Brankovic), former younger wife of <!--del_lnk--> Murad II, to a Venetian envoy, the invasion was the worst defeat for the Ottomans at that time. Stephen was later awarded the title "<!--del_lnk--> Athleta Christi" (<i>Champion of Christ</i>) by <!--del_lnk--> Pope Sixtus IV. The Polish chronicler, <!--del_lnk--> Jan Długosz, hailed Stephen after his victory in the battle:<blockquote>
<p><i>Praiseworthy hero, in no respect inferior to other hero soldiers we admire. He was the first contemporary among the rulers of the world to score a decisive victory against the Turks. To my mind, he is the worthiest to lead a coalition of the Christian Europe against the Turks</i>.</blockquote>
<p>According to Długosz, Stephen did not celebrate his victory; instead, he fasted for forty days on bread and water and forbade anyone to attribute the victory to him, insisting that credit be given only to "<!--del_lnk--> The Lord."<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> June 22, <!--del_lnk--> 1462, Stephen made an attempt to take the castle of <!--del_lnk--> Chilia from the shared <a href="../../wp/h/Hungary.htm" title="Hungary">Hungarian</a>-<!--del_lnk--> Wallachian rulership. The siege failed and Stephen was wounded. In November, the same year, the Ottoman Sultan <!--del_lnk--> Mehmed II invaded Wallachia and tried to subdue it. Stephen's cousin, <!--del_lnk--> Vlad III Dracula, repelled the invasion, but after the Ottomans retreated, the <!--del_lnk--> boyars allied with Dracula's half-brother, <!--del_lnk--> Radu the Handsome, who in turn served the Sultan. Dracula fled to <!--del_lnk--> Transylvania where he was imprisoned by King <!--del_lnk--> Matthias Corvinus of Hungary; the boyars installed Radu as Prince of Wallachia. Three years later, between <!--del_lnk--> January 22 and <!--del_lnk--> January 26, Stephen successfully besieged Chilia. Since Chilia was then counted as part of Wallachia, the Sultan, having subdued most of Wallachia and made it his vassal, made claims to the town and asked Stephen to handle it back to Wallachia.<p>The ports of Chilia and <!--del_lnk--> Akkerman (Romanian: <i>Cetatea Albā</i>; now known by the <!--del_lnk--> Ukrainian name <i>Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi</i>) were essential for Moldavian commerce, hosting <!--del_lnk--> Armenian merchants who made trade a very profitable business. The towns developed into rich market centers. The old trade route from <!--del_lnk--> Caffa, Akkerman, and Chilia passed through <!--del_lnk--> Suceava in Moldavia and <!--del_lnk--> Lwow in Poland (now in <a href="../../wp/u/Ukraine.htm" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a>). Both Poland and Hungary had previously made attempts to control the region, but failed; and for the Ottomans, "the control of these two ports and of Caffa was as much an economic as a political necessity", as it would also give them a better grip on Moldavia and serve as a valuable strategic point from which naval attacks could be launched against the <!--del_lnk--> Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania. Stephen refused to give up Chilia and Akkerman and in 1470, he invaded Wallachia and burned down the town of <!--del_lnk--> Brăila. In retaliation, the Turks crossed the <!--del_lnk--> Dniester and pillaged a few Moldavian towns. In <!--del_lnk--> 1474, after defeating an army consisting of 12,000 Ottomans and 6,000 Wallachians, Stephen captured the castle of <a href="../../wp/b/Bucharest.htm" title="Bucharest">Bucharest</a> and took Radu's wife and daughter — whom the latter he married — and replaced Radu with the seemingly loyal Prince, <!--del_lnk--> Basarab Laiotā. Mehmed gave Stephen an ultimatum of forfeiting Chilia and Akkerman to the Porte and coming to <!--del_lnk--> Constantinople with his delayed homage. Stephen refused and in November 1474, he wrote to the <a href="../../wp/p/Pope.htm" title="Pope">Pope</a>, warning him of further Ottoman expansion and asking for assistance.<p><a id="Preparations_for_war" name="Preparations_for_war"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Preparations for war</span></h2>
<p><a id="Ottomans" name="Ottomans"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Ottomans</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/100/10035.jpg.htm" title="Mehmed II by Gentile Bellini"><img alt="Mehmed II by Gentile Bellini" height="246" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gentile_Bellini_003.jpg" src="../../images/100/10035.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/100/10035.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Mehmed II by <!--del_lnk--> Gentile Bellini</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Mehmed ordered his great general, <!--del_lnk--> Suleiman Pasha, to end the siege of <!--del_lnk--> Venetian-controlled <!--del_lnk--> Shkodër (now in <a href="../../wp/a/Albania.htm" title="Albania">Albania</a>), to assemble his troops in <!--del_lnk--> Sofia, and from there to advance with additional troops towards Moldavia. For these already exhausted Ottoman troops, the transit from Shkodër to Moldavia was a month's journey through bad weather and difficult terrain. According to Długosz, Suleiman was also ordered that after inflicting defeat on Stephen, he was to advance towards Poland, set camp for the winter, and in spring invade Hungary and unite his forces with the army of the Sultan. The Ottoman army consisted of <!--del_lnk--> Janissaries and heavy infantry, which were supported by the heavy cavalry <i><!--del_lnk--> sipahis</i> and by the light cavalry—known as <!--del_lnk--> Akinci—who would scout ahead; there were also <!--del_lnk--> Tatar cavalry and other troops (such as the <!--del_lnk--> Timariots ) from vassal states. Twenty-thousand <!--del_lnk--> Bulgarian peasants were also included in the army; their main tasks were to clear the way for the rest of the army by building bridges over waters and removing snow from the roads, and to drive supply wagons. In total, the Ottoman cavalry numbered 30,000. Most documents put the number of Ottoman troops as high as 120,000, while other sources mention anything from 60,000 and 80,000. Of this number, about 40,000 constituted a standing army, while the rest were to be paid in booty. In September 1474, the Ottoman army gathered in <!--del_lnk--> Sofia, and from there, Suleiman marched towards Moldavia by crossing the frozen <a href="../../wp/d/Danube.htm" title="Danube">Danube</a> on foot.. Their first stop was Wallachia, in which they entered via <!--del_lnk--> Vidin and <!--del_lnk--> Nicopolis. The army rested in Wallachia for two weeks, and was later joined by a Wallachian contingent of 17,000 under Basarab Laiotă, who had changed sides in favour of the Ottomans.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16933.jpg.htm" title="Stephen the Great - detail of a dedication miniature in the 1473 Gospel at Humor Monastery"><img alt="Stephen the Great - detail of a dedication miniature in the 1473 Gospel at Humor Monastery" height="182" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Humorstefan.jpg" src="../../images/169/16933.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16933.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Stephen the Great - detail of a dedication miniature in the 1473 <i>Gospel</i> at Humor Monastery</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Moldavians" name="Moldavians"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Moldavians</span></h3>
<p>Stephen was hoping to gain support from the West, and more specifically from the Pope. The help that he received was modest in numbers. The Hungarian Kingdom sent 1,800 Hungarians and Poland sent 2,000 horsemen. Stephen recruited 5,000 <!--del_lnk--> Szekely soldiers. <!--del_lnk--> The Moldavian army consisted of twenty <!--del_lnk--> cannon; <!--del_lnk--> light cavalry (Călăraşi); elite, heavy cavalry – named Viteji, Curteni, and <!--del_lnk--> Boyars – and professional foot soldiers. Each piece of artillery was prepared with powder and ammunition to fire at least 7 times. The army reached a strength of up to 40,000, of whom 10,000 to 15,000 comprised the standing army. The rest of the force consisted of 30,000 peasants armed with maces, bows, and other home-made weapons. They were recruited into <i>Oastea Mare</i> (the Great Army), into which all able-bodied free males over the age of 14 were conscripted.<p><a id="Battle" name="Battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16934.png.htm" title="Map of the battle"><img alt="Map of the battle" height="235" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Vaslui_Battle_map.png" src="../../images/169/16934.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16934.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of the battle</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The invading army entered Moldavia in December 1474. Stephen had instituted a policy of <!--del_lnk--> scorched earth and poisoned waters in order to fatigue the Ottomans. Troops who specialised in setting <!--del_lnk--> ambushes harassed the advancing Ottomans. The population, and animals, were evacuated to the north of the country, in the mountains. Ottoman scouts reported to Suleiman that there were untouched villages near <!--del_lnk--> Vaslui, and the Ottomans headed for that region. The winter made it difficult to set camp, which forced the Ottomans to move quickly and head for the Moldavian capital, <!--del_lnk--> Suceava. In order to reach Vaslui, where the Moldavian army had its main camp, they needed to cross Podul Înalt (The High Bridge) over the <!--del_lnk--> Bârlad River. The bridge was made of wood and not suitable for heavy transportation of troops. Stephen chose that area for the battle—the same location where his father, <!--del_lnk--> Bogdan II, defeated the Poles in <!--del_lnk--> 1450, when Stephen was 17. The area was ideal for the defenders: the valley was a semi-oval surrounded by hills covered by forest on all three sides. Inside the valley the terrain was marshy, which restricted troop movement. Suleiman had full confidence in his troops and made few efforts to scout the area.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> January 10, on a dark and misty Tuesday morning, the battle began. The weather was frigid, and a dense fog limited vision. The Ottoman troops were exhausted and the torrent made them look like "plucked chickens". Stephen fortifed the bridge while setting aiming his cannons at the structure. Peasants and archers were hidden in the forest, together with their Prince and his boyar cavalry. The Moldavians made the first move by sending musicians to the middle of the valley. The sound of drums and bugles made Suleiman think that the entire Moldavian army awaited him there. Instead, the centre of the valley held the Szekely forces and the Moldavian professional army, which were ordered to make a slow retreat when they encountered the enemy. Suleiman ordered his troops to advance and, when they made enough progress, the Moldavian artillery started to fire, followed by archers and handgunners firing from three different directions. The archers could not see the enemy for the fog, and, instead, had to follow the noise of their footsteps. The Moldavian light cavalry then helped to lure the Ottoman troops into the valley by making hit-and-run attacks. Ottoman cavalry tried to cross the wooden bridge, causing it to collapse. Those Ottoman soldiers who managed to survive the attacks from the artillery and the archers, and who did not get caught in the marshes, had to confront the Moldavian army, together with the Szekely soldiers further up the valley. The 5,000 Szekely soldiers were successful in repelling the 7,000 Ottoman infantrymen. Thereafter, they made a slow retreat, as instructed by Stephen, but were later routed by the Ottoman <!--del_lnk--> sipahi,, while the remaining Ottoman infantry attacked the Moldavian flanks.<p>Suleiman tried to reinforce his offensive, not knowing what transpired in the valley, but then Stephen ordered a major attack. All his troops, together with peasants and heavy cavalry, attacked from all sides. Simultaneously, Moldavian buglers concealed behind Ottoman lines started to sound their bugles, and in great confusion some Ottoman units changed direction to face the sound. When the Moldavian army hit, Suleiman lost control of his army and signalled a retreat. The fleeing Ottoman army was pursued by the Moldavian light cavalry and the 2,000-strong Polish cavalry for three days until they reached the town of Obluciţa (now <!--del_lnk--> Isaccea, <a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romania</a>), in <!--del_lnk--> Dobruja.<p>The Wallachians fled the field without joining battle and Laiotă now turned his sword against the Turks, who had hoped for a safe passage in Wallachia; he took one of their flags and sent it to a Hungarian friend as proof of his bravery. The Ottoman casualties were counted as 45,000, including four <!--del_lnk--> Pashas killed and a hundred standards taken. <!--del_lnk--> Jan Długosz writes that "all but the most eminent of the Turkish prisoners are <!--del_lnk--> impaled", and their corpses burned. Only one was spared — the only son of the Ottoman general <b>Isaac Bey</b>, of the <!--del_lnk--> Gazi Evrenos family. Another Polish chronicler reported that on the spot of the battle rested huge piles of bones upon each other, next to three immuned crosses.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<p>After the battle, Stephen sent "four of the captured Turkish commanders, together with thirty-six of their standards and much splendid booty, to <!--del_lnk--> King Casimir in Lithuania" and implored him to support him in the struggle against the Ottomans with troops and money. He also sent letters and a few prisoners and Turkish standards to the Pope and King <!--del_lnk--> Matthias Corvinus, asking for support. In response, "the arrogant Matthias writes to the Pope, the Emperor and other kings and princes, telling them that he has defeated a large Turkish army with his own forces under the Voivode of Wallachia." The Pope's reply to Stephen denied him help, but awarded him with the "<!--del_lnk--> Athleta Christi", while King Casimir pleaded "poverty both in money and men" and did nothing; his own men then accused him of sloth and advised him to change his shameful behaviour or hand over his rule to someone else.<p>The following year, Mehmed himself invaded the country with an army of 150,000, which was joined by 10,000 Wallachians under Laiotă and 30,000 Tatars under <!--del_lnk--> Meñli I Giray. The Tatars, who called for a <!--del_lnk--> Holy War, attacked with their cavalry from the north and started to pillage the country. The Moldavians took chase after them, routed and killed most of them. "The fleeing Tatars discard their weapons, their saddles and clothes, while some, as though crazed, jump into the River Dniepr." Giray wrote to Mehmed that he could not wage more war against Stephen, as he lost his son, two brothers, and returned with only one horse. In July 1476, after killing 30,000 Ottomans, Stephen was defeated at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Valea Albă. The Ottomans were unsuccessful in their siege of the <!--del_lnk--> Suceava citadel and the <!--del_lnk--> Neamţ fortress, while Laiotă was forced to retreat back to Wallachia when <!--del_lnk--> Vlad Dracula and <!--del_lnk--> Stefan Báthory, Voivode of Transylvania, gave chase with an army of 30,000. The Ottoman troops, who suffered from plague and fatigue, were also forced to retreat.<p>Stephen assembled his army and invaded Wallachia from the north, while Dracula and Báthory invaded from the west. Laiotă fled and in November, Dracula was installed on the Wallachian throne. He received 200 loyal knights from Stephen that were to serve as his loyal bodyguards, but his army remained small. When Laiotă returned in December, Dracula went to battle and was killed. Laiotă again occupied the Wallachian throne, which urged Stephen to make another return to Wallachia and dethrone Laiotă for the fifth and last time, while Dracula's son Ţepeluş, was put to rule the country. In <!--del_lnk--> 1484, the Ottomans under <!--del_lnk--> Bayezid II, managed to conquer <!--del_lnk--> Bessarabia and incorporate it into their empire under the name of <!--del_lnk--> Budjak, leaving Moldavia a landlocked vassal of the Porte (that is, the Ottomans) until it was conquered in the late 16th century by <!--del_lnk--> Mihai Viteazul. In 1490, Stephen built the church of <!--del_lnk--> Saint John the Baptist, in remembrance of his great victory at Vaslui; the Moldavian churches built by Stephen are on <!--del_lnk--> UNESCO's <!--del_lnk--> World Heritage List.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vaslui"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Romania', 'Ottoman Empire', 'Romania', 'Ottoman Empire', 'Poland', 'Hungary', 'Ukraine', 'Bucharest', 'Pope', 'Albania', 'Danube', 'Romania']
|
Battle_of_Warsaw_(1920)
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of Warsaw (1920),1920,1930,1st Cavalry Army,Aleksandr Yegorov,Armoured car,Armoured train,Artillery,August 13,August 14,August 15" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of Warsaw (1920)</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_Warsaw_(1920)";
var wgTitle = "Battle of Warsaw (1920)";
var wgArticleId = 224063;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_Warsaw_1920">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of Warsaw (1920)</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Military_History_and_War.htm">Military History and War</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of Warsaw</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of <!--del_lnk--> Polish-Bolshevik War</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="207" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bitwa_warszawska_1920.JPG" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="299" /><br /><i><strong class="selflink">Miracle at the Vistula</strong></i>, oil on canvas, <!--del_lnk--> 1930. Painting by <!--del_lnk--> Jerzy Kossak</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 13 - <!--del_lnk--> August 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1920</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td>near <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Decisive Polish victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/11/1139.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="14" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Poland.svg" src="../../images/48/4874.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Second Polish Republic</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/236/23662.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_RSFSR_1918.svg" src="../../images/236/23662.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Bolshevist Russia</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/j/J%25C3%25B3zef_Pi%25C5%2582sudski.htm" title="Józef Piłsudski">Józef Piłsudski</a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Tadeusz Rozwadowski<br /><!--del_lnk--> Władysław Sikorski</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Mikhail Tukhachevski<br /><a href="../../wp/j/Joseph_Stalin.htm" title="Joseph Stalin">Joseph Stalin</a><br /><!--del_lnk--> Semyon Budyonny</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">113,000-123,000</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">104,000-140,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">4,500 dead<br /> 22,000 wounded<br /> 10,000 missing</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">15,000 - 25,000 dead, wounded, or missing<br /> 65,000 - 66,000 captured<br /> 30,000-35,000 <!--del_lnk--> interned in <!--del_lnk--> East Prussia</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><a href="../../wp/p/Polish-Soviet_War.htm" title="Polish-Soviet War">Polish-Soviet War</a></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Target Vistula – <!--del_lnk--> Bereza Kartuska – <!--del_lnk--> <i>Wilno</i> – <!--del_lnk--> <i>Minsk</i> – <!--del_lnk--> Daugavpils – <!--del_lnk--> Koziatyn – <!--del_lnk--> Kiev – <!--del_lnk--> Volodarka – <!--del_lnk--> Mironówka – <!--del_lnk--> Olszanica – <!--del_lnk--> Żywotów – <!--del_lnk--> Miedwiedówka – <!--del_lnk--> Dziunków – <!--del_lnk--> Wasylkowce – <!--del_lnk--> Bystrzyk – <!--del_lnk--> Nowochwastów – <!--del_lnk--> Berezno – <!--del_lnk--> Spiczyniec – <!--del_lnk--> Boryspol – <!--del_lnk--> Zazime – <!--del_lnk--> Puchówka – <!--del_lnk--> Okuniew – <!--del_lnk--> Spiczyn – <!--del_lnk--> Lwów – <!--del_lnk--> Berezina – <!--del_lnk--> Nasielsk – <!--del_lnk--> Serock – <!--del_lnk--> Radzymin – <!--del_lnk--> Zadwórze – <strong class="selflink">Warsaw</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Komarów – <!--del_lnk--> Niemen – <!--del_lnk--> Zboiska – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Minsk</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of Warsaw</b> (sometimes referred to as the <b>Miracle at the Vistula</b>, <!--del_lnk--> Polish: <i>Cud nad Wisłą</i>) was the decisive <!--del_lnk--> battle of the <a href="../../wp/p/Polish-Soviet_War.htm" title="Polish-Soviet War">Polish-Soviet War</a>, which began soon after the end of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">World War I</a> in 1918 and lasting until the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Riga (1921).<p>The Battle of Warsaw was fought from 13 to 25 August 1920 as <!--del_lnk--> Red Army forces commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Mikhail Tukhachevski approached the <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Polish</a> <a href="../../wp/c/Capital.htm" title="Capital">capital</a> of <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a> and nearby <!--del_lnk--> Modlin Fortress. On <!--del_lnk--> August 16, <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Polish</a> forces commanded by <a href="../../wp/j/J%25C3%25B3zef_Pi%25C5%2582sudski.htm" title="Józef Piłsudski">Józef Piłsudski</a> <!--del_lnk--> counter-attacked from the south, forcing the <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russian</a> forces into a disorganised <!--del_lnk--> withdrawal eastward and behind the <!--del_lnk--> Niemen River. Estimated <!--del_lnk--> Bolshevik losses were 10,000 killed, 500 missing, 10,000 wounded and 66,000 <!--del_lnk--> taken prisoner, compared with Polish losses of some 4,500 killed, 10,000 missing and 22,000 wounded.<p>Before the Polish victory at the <!--del_lnk--> Vistula, both the Bolsheviks and the majority of foreign experts considered Poland to be on the verge of defeat. The stunning, unexpected Polish victory crippled the Bolshevik forces. In the following months, several more Polish victories secured Poland's independence and eastern borders.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="The_battle" name="The_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The battle</span></h2>
<p><a id="Prelude_to_the_battle" name="Prelude_to_the_battle"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude to the battle</span></h3>
<p>The Poles were fighting to preserve their <!--del_lnk--> newly regained independence, lost in the 1795 <!--del_lnk--> third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and to carve out the borders of a new multinational federation (<!--del_lnk--> Międzymorze) from the territories of their former partitioners, <a href="../../wp/r/Russia.htm" title="Russia">Russia</a>, <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Austria-Hungary.<p>The Bolsheviks had in 1919 gained the upper hand in the <!--del_lnk--> Russian Civil War, having dealt crippling blows to the <!--del_lnk--> White Russians. <a href="../../wp/v/Vladimir_Lenin.htm" title="Vladimir Lenin">Vladimir Lenin</a> viewed Poland as a bridge that had to be crossed so that communism could be brought to <!--del_lnk--> Central and <!--del_lnk--> Western Europe, and the <!--del_lnk--> Polish-Bolshevik War seemed the perfect way to test Bolshevik strength. Bolshevik speeches asserted that the revolution was to be carried to western Europe on the <!--del_lnk--> bayonets of Soviet <i>soldat</i>s and that the shortest route to <a href="../../wp/b/Berlin.htm" title="Berlin">Berlin</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a> lay through Warsaw. <p>After early setbacks against Poland in 1919, the Bolshevik offensive that eclipsed the Polish <!--del_lnk--> Kiev Operation began in early 1920 and had been overwhelmingly successful. By mid-1920, Poland's very survival was at stake and the entire world expected Poland to collapse at any moment. The Soviet strategy called for a massed push toward the Polish capital, Warsaw. Its capture would have had a tremendous <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> effect for the Soviets, who expected it not only to undermine the morale of the Poles, but to spark an international series of communist uprisings and clear the way for the Red Army to join the <!--del_lnk--> German Revolution.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23663.jpg.htm" title="Polish defences at Miłosna, near Warsaw."><img alt="Polish defences at Miłosna, near Warsaw." height="154" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Polish-soviet_war_1920_Polish_defences_near_Milosna%2C_August.jpg" src="../../images/236/23663.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23663.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Polish defences at Miłosna, near Warsaw.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Soviet <!--del_lnk--> 1st Cavalry Army under <!--del_lnk--> Semyon Budyonny broke through Polish lines in early June 1920. This led to a collapse of all Polish <!--del_lnk--> fronts in the east. On <!--del_lnk--> July 4, <!--del_lnk--> 1920, <!--del_lnk--> Mikhail Tukhachevski's <!--del_lnk--> Western Front began an all-out assault in <a href="../../wp/b/Belarus.htm" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> from the <!--del_lnk--> Berezina River, forcing Polish forces to <!--del_lnk--> retreat. On <!--del_lnk--> July 19 the <!--del_lnk--> Red Army seized <!--del_lnk--> Grodno, on <!--del_lnk--> July 28, it reached <!--del_lnk--> Białystok, and three days later, the <!--del_lnk--> Brześć Fortress was captured.<p><a id="The_battle_plan" name="The_battle_plan"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The battle plan</span></h3>
<p><a id="Polish_plan" name="Polish_plan"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Polish plan</span></h4>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/283/28388.jpg.htm" title="Polish commander: Józef Piłsudski."><img alt="Polish commander: Józef Piłsudski." height="268" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Jozef_Pilsudski1.jpg" src="../../images/236/23664.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/283/28388.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Polish commander: Józef Piłsudski.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>By the beginning of August, the Polish retreat had become more organized. At first, <a href="../../wp/j/J%25C3%25B3zef_Pi%25C5%2582sudski.htm" title="Józef Piłsudski">Józef Piłsudski</a> wanted to base his operation on the <!--del_lnk--> Bug River and <!--del_lnk--> Brest-Litovsk, but their unexpected fall made it impossible. On the night of August 5—6, Piłsudski conceived a revised plan at the <!--del_lnk--> Belweder Palace in Warsaw. It called in the first phase for Polish forces to withdraw across the Vistula River and defend the bridgeheads at <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a> and at the <!--del_lnk--> Wieprz River. Some 25% of the available <!--del_lnk--> divisions would be concentrated to the south for a strategic counteroffensive. Next, Piłsudski's plan called for the 1st and 2nd Armies of Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Józef Haller's Central Front (10 1/2 divisions) to take a passive role, facing the Soviet frontal attack on Warsaw from the east and holding their <!--del_lnk--> entrenched positions at all costs. At the same time, the 5th Army (5 1/2 divisions) under Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Władysław Sikorski, subordinate to Gen. Haller, would defend the northern area near the <!--del_lnk--> Modlin Fortress and, when it became feasible, strike from behind Warsaw, thus cutting off Soviet forces attempting to envelop Warsaw from that direction, and break through the enemy front and fall upon the rear of the Soviet Northwestern Front. An additional five divisions of the 5th Army were to defend Warsaw from the north. General <!--del_lnk--> Franciszek Latinik's 1st Army would defend Warsaw itself, while General <!--del_lnk--> Bolesław Roja's 2nd Army was to hold the Vistula River line from <!--del_lnk--> Góra Kalwaria to <!--del_lnk--> Dęblin.<p>The most important role, however, was assigned to a relatively small (some 20,000-man), newly assembled "Reserve Army" (also called the "Assault Group" - <i>Grupa Uderzeniowa</i>), commanded personally by Józef Piłsudski, comprising the most battle-hardened and determined Polish units drawn from the southern front. They were to be reinforced by General <!--del_lnk--> Leonard Skierski's 4th Army and General <!--del_lnk--> Zygmunt Zieliński's 3rd Army, which, after retreating from the <!--del_lnk--> Western Bug River area, had moved not directly toward Warsaw but had crossed the <!--del_lnk--> Wieprz River and broken off contact with their pursuers. The Assault Group's assignment was to spearhead a lightning northern offensive from the Vistula-Wieprz River triangle south of Warsaw, through a weak spot identified by Polish intelligence between the Soviet Western and Southwestern Fronts. This would separate the Soviet Western Front from its reserves and disorganize its movements. Eventually the gap between Gen. Sikorski's 5th Army and the advancing Assault Group would close near the East Prussian border, leaving the Soviet offensive "trapped in a sack."<p>Although based on fairly reliable information provided by Polish intelligence and intercepted Soviet <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a> communications, the plan was labelled as 'amateurish' by many high-ranking army officers and military experts, who were quick to point out Piłsudski's lack of formal military education. Many Polish units, a mere week before the planned date of the counter-attack, were fighting in places as far as 100-150 miles (150 to 250 km) from the concentration points. All of the troop movements were within striking distance of the Red Army. One strong push by the Red Army could derail plans for a Polish counter-attack and endanger the cohesion of the whole Polish front. Piłsudski's plan was strongly criticized by Polish commanders and officers of the <!--del_lnk--> French Military Mission. Even Piłsudski himself admitted in his memoirs that it was a very risky gamble and the reasons he decided to go forward with the plan were the defeatist mood of politicians, fear for the safety of the capital and the prevailing feeling that if Warsaw were to fall, all would be lost. Only the desperate situation persuaded other army commanders to go along with it, as they realized that under such circumstances it was the only possible way to avoid a devastating defeat. Ironically, when a copy of the plan accidentally fell into Soviet hands it was considered to be a poor deception attempt and ignored. A few days later, the Soviets paid dearly for this mistake.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:159px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23665.jpg.htm" title="Soviet commander: Mikhail Tukhachevski."><img alt="Soviet commander: Mikhail Tukhachevski." height="255" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tukhachevsky-mikhail-2.jpg" src="../../images/236/23665.jpg" width="157" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23665.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Soviet commander: Mikhail Tukhachevski.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>There is some controversy as to the authorship of the plan. Due to Piłsudski's political image, he was largely unpopular with the right wing of Polish politics. Because of that, after the battle many journalists suggested that the plan was in fact prepared either by <!--del_lnk--> Maxime Weygand or by the Polish Chief of Staff <!--del_lnk--> Tadeusz Rozwadowski. According to recent research, the <!--del_lnk--> French Military Mission to Poland proposed only a minor tactical counter-attack of two divisions towards <!--del_lnk--> Mińsk Mazowiecki. Its aim would have been to push the Bolshevik forces 30 kilometres back in order to ease subsequent ceasefire negotiations. On the other hand, Gen. Rozwadowski's plan called for a deeper thrust into Russian lines from the area of Wieprz. However, Piłsudski proposed a large scale operation, with significant forces committed to beating the enemy forces rather than merely pushing them back. The plan was opposed by the French mission, which did not believe that the Polish Army would be able to regroup after a 600 kilometre retreat. Nonetheless for many years, a <a href="../../wp/m/Mythology.htm" title="Mythology">myth</a> persisted that it was the timely arrival of Allied forces that had saved Poland, a myth in which Weygand occupied the central role.<p><a id="Bolshevik_plan" name="Bolshevik_plan"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">Bolshevik plan</span></h4>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Mikhail Tukhachevski planned to encircle and surround <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a> by crossing the <!--del_lnk--> Vistula river, near <!--del_lnk--> Włocławek to the north and south of the city and launch an attack from the northwest. With his 24 divisions, he planned to repeat the classic maneuvre of <!--del_lnk--> Ivan Paskievich, who in 1831, during the <!--del_lnk--> November Uprising, had crossed the <!--del_lnk--> Vistula at <!--del_lnk--> Toruń and reached Warsaw practically unopposed. This move would also cut the Polish forces off from <!--del_lnk--> Gdańsk, the only port open to shipments of arms and supplies.<p>The main weakness of the Soviet plan was the poorly defended southern flank, secured only by the <!--del_lnk--> Pinsk Marshes and the weak <!--del_lnk--> Mozyr Group; the majority of the Soviet Southwest Front was engaged in the <!--del_lnk--> battle of Lwów (1920).<p><a id="First_phase.2C_August_12" name="First_phase.2C_August_12"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">First phase, August 12</span></h3>
<p>Meanwhile Bolsheviks pushed forward. <!--del_lnk--> Gay Dimitrievich Gay's Cavalry Corps together with the 4th Army crossed <!--del_lnk--> Wkra river and advanced towards the town of <!--del_lnk--> Włocławek. The 15th and 3rd Armies were approaching <!--del_lnk--> Modlin fortress and the 16th Army moved towards Warsaw.<p>The final Soviet assault on Warsaw began on August 12 with the Soviet 16th Army <!--del_lnk--> the attack at the town of Radzymin (only 23 kilometres east of the city). Its initial success prompted Piłsudski to move up his plans by 24 hours.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23666.png.htm" title="Positions prior to the battle."><img alt="Positions prior to the battle." height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Warsaw_-_Phase_1.png" src="../../images/236/23666.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23666.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Positions prior to the battle.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The first phase of the battle started on <!--del_lnk--> August 13, with a <!--del_lnk--> Red Army frontal assault on the <!--del_lnk--> Praga <!--del_lnk--> bridgehead. In heavy fighting, <!--del_lnk--> Radzymin changed hands several times and foreign <!--del_lnk--> diplomats, with the exception of British and <!--del_lnk--> Vatican ambassadors, hastily left Warsaw. On <!--del_lnk--> August 14, it fell to the <!--del_lnk--> Red Army, and the lines of Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Władysław Sikorski's Polish 5th Army were broken. The 5th Army had to fight three Soviet armies at once: the 3rd, 4th and 15th. The <!--del_lnk--> Modlin sector was reinforced with reserves (the <i><!--del_lnk--> Siberian Brigade,</i> and Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Franciszek Krajowski's fresh <i>18th Infantry Division</i>—both elite, battle-tested units), and the 5th Army held out until dawn.<p>The situation was saved around midnight when the <i>203rd <!--del_lnk--> Uhlan Regiment</i> managed to break through the Bolshevik lines and destroy the <!--del_lnk--> radio station of <!--del_lnk--> A.D. Shuvayev's Soviet 4th Army. The latter unit had only one remaining radio station fixed on one frequency which was known to the Polish intelligence. Since the Polish code-breakers did not want the Bolsheviks to find out that their codes were broken, but still neutralize the other radio station, the radio station in Warsaw recited the book of <!--del_lnk--> Genesis in Polish and Latin on the frequency used by the 4th Army, which thus lost contact with its <!--del_lnk--> headquarters and continued marching toward <!--del_lnk--> Toruń and <!--del_lnk--> Płock, unaware of <!--del_lnk--> Tukhachevski's order to turn south. The raid by the 203rd Uhlans is sometimes referred to as <i>the Miracle of <!--del_lnk--> Ciechanów</i>.<p>At the same time, the Polish 1st Army under Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Franciszek Latinik resisted a Red Army direct assault on Warsaw by six <!--del_lnk--> rifle divisions. The struggle for control of Radzymin forced Gen. Józef Haller, commander of the Polish <i>Northern Front</i>, to start the 5th Army's counterattack earlier than planned.<p>During this time, Piłsudski was finishing his plans for the counter-offensive. He decided to personally supervise the attack and, because of the enormous risks involved, he handed in a letter with his resignation from all state functions. Thereafter, between August 13 and 15, he visited all units of the 4th Army concentrating near <!--del_lnk--> Puławy, about 100 kilometres south of Warsaw. He tried to raise morale, since many soldiers were tired and demoralized and numerous recently incorporated replacements showed everyone the extent of Polish losses. Logistics were a nightmare, as the Polish army was equipped with guns made in five countries and rifles manufactured in six, each of them using different ammunition. Adding to the problem was the fact that the equipment was in poor shape. Piłsudski remembers: "In 21 Division, almost half of the soldiers paraded in front of me barefoot." Nevertheless, in only three days, Piłsudski was able to raise the morale of his troops and motivate them for one of their greatest efforts.<p><a id="Second_phase.2C_August_14" name="Second_phase.2C_August_14"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Second phase, August 14</span></h3>
<p>The 27th Infantry Division of the Red Army managed to reach the village of <!--del_lnk--> Izabelin, 13 kilometres from the capital, but this was the closest that Russian forces would come. Soon the tides of battle would change.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23667.png.htm" title="Positions around Warsaw, early morning on August 15."><img alt="Positions around Warsaw, early morning on August 15." height="226" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bitwa_warszawska_rano_15_lipca_600px.png" src="../../images/236/23667.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23667.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Positions around Warsaw, early morning on <!--del_lnk--> August 15.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Tukhachevski, certain that all was going according to plan, was actually falling into Piłsudski's trap. The Russian march across the Vistula in the north was striking into an operational vacuum, where there was no sizeable group of Polish troops. On the other hand, south of Warsaw, Tukhachevski left only token forces to guard the vital link between the North-Western and South-Western Fronts. The <!--del_lnk--> Mozyr Group, which was assigned this task, numbered only 8,000 soldiers. Another error neutralized the 1st Cavalry Army of <!--del_lnk--> Semyon Budyonny, a unit much feared by Piłsudski and other Polish commanders. Soviet High Command, at Tukhachevski's insistence, ordered the 1st Cavalry Army to march toward Warsaw from the south. Semyon Budyonny did not obey this order due to a grudge between commanding South-Western Front generals <!--del_lnk--> Aleksandr Yegorov and Tukhachevski. In addition, the political games of <a href="../../wp/j/Joseph_Stalin.htm" title="Joseph Stalin">Joseph Stalin</a> at the time the chief political <!--del_lnk--> commissar of the South-Western Front, further contributed to Yegorov's and Budyonny's disobedience. Stalin, in search of personal glory, wanted to capture the besieged important industrial centre of <!--del_lnk--> Lwów. Ultimately, Budyonny's forces marched on Lwow instead of Warsaw and thus missed the battle.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23668.png.htm" title="Second phase of the battle: Polish counterattack."><img alt="Second phase of the battle: Polish counterattack." height="167" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Warsaw_-_Phase_2.png" src="../../images/236/23668.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23668.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Second phase of the battle: Polish counterattack.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23669.png.htm" title="Heavy fighting for Radzymin, 13:00 hours, August 15."><img alt="Heavy fighting for Radzymin, 13:00 hours, August 15." height="234" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bitwa_warszawska_15_lipca_ok_godz_13_600px.png" src="../../images/236/23669.png" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23669.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Heavy fighting for <!--del_lnk--> Radzymin, 13:00 hours, <!--del_lnk--> August 15.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The Polish 5th Army counter-attacked on <!--del_lnk--> August 14, crossing the <!--del_lnk--> Wkra River. It faced the combined forces of the Soviet 3rd and 15th Armies (both numerically and technically superior). The struggle at <!--del_lnk--> Nasielsk lasted until <!--del_lnk--> August 15 and resulted in the almost complete destruction of the town. However, the Soviet advance toward Warsaw and Modlin was halted at the end of August 15th and on that day Polish forces recaptured Radzymin, which boosted the Polish morale.<p>From that moment on, Gen. Sikorski's 5th Army pushed exhausted Soviet units away from Warsaw, in an almost <a href="../../wp/b/Blitzkrieg.htm" title="Blitzkrieg">blitzkrieg</a>-like operation. Sikorski's units, supported by the majority of the small number of Polish <a href="../../wp/t/Tank.htm" title="Tank">tanks</a>, <!--del_lnk--> armoured cars and <!--del_lnk--> artillery of the two <!--del_lnk--> armoured trains, advanced at the speed of 30 kilometres a day, soon destroying any Soviet hopes for completing their "enveloping" manoeuvre in the north.<p><a id="Third_phase.2C_August_16" name="Third_phase.2C_August_16"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Third phase, August 16</span></h3>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> August 16, the Polish <i>Reserve Army</i> commanded by Józef Piłsudski began its march north from the <!--del_lnk--> Wieprz River. It faced the <i><!--del_lnk--> Mozyr Group</i>, a Soviet corps that had defeated the Poles during the <!--del_lnk--> Kyiv operation several months earlier. However, during its pursuit of the retreating Polish armies, the <i>Mozyr Group</i> had lost most of its forces and been reduced to a mere two divisions covering a 150-kilometre front-line on the left flank of the Soviet 16th Army. On the first day of the counter-offensive, only one of the five Polish divisions reported any sort of opposition, while the remaining four, supported by a <!--del_lnk--> cavalry brigade, managed to push north 45 kilometres unopposed. When evening fell, the town of <!--del_lnk--> Włodawa had been liberated, and the communication and supply lines of the Soviet 16th Army had been cut. Even Piłsudski was surprised by the extent of these early successes. <i>Reserve Army</i> units covered about 70 kilometres in 36 hours, splitting the Soviet offensive and meeting virtually no resistance. The Mozyr Group consisted solely of the 57th Infantry Division, which had been beaten in the first day of the operation. Consequently, the Polish armies found a huge gap between the Russian fronts and exploited it, continuing their northward offensive with two armies following and falling on the surprised and confused enemy.<p>On August 18, <!--del_lnk--> Mikhail Tukhachevski, in his headquarters in <!--del_lnk--> Minsk some 300 miles east of Warsaw, became fully aware of the extent of his defeat and ordered the remnants of his forces to retreat and regroup. His intention was to straighten the front line, stop the Polish attack and to regain the initiative, but the orders either arrived too late or failed to arrive at all. Soviet General <!--del_lnk--> Gay's 3rd Cavalry Corps continued to advance toward <!--del_lnk--> Pomerania, its lines endangered by the Polish 5th Army, which had finally managed to push back the Bolshevik armies and gone over in pursuit. The Polish 1st Division of the Legion, in order to cut the enemy's retreat, made a remarkable march from <!--del_lnk--> Lubartów to <!--del_lnk--> Białystok - 163 miles in 6 days. The soldiers fought in two battles, slept only a few hours and marched for up to 21 hours a day. Their sacrifice and endurance was rewarded when the entire 16th Soviet Army was cut off at <!--del_lnk--> Białystok and most of its troops taken prisoner.<p>The Soviet armies in the centre of the front fell into chaos. Some divisions continued to fight their way toward <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a>, while others turned to retreat, lost their cohesion and panicked. The Russian <!--del_lnk--> commander-in-chief lost contact with most of his forces, and all Soviet plans were thrown into disorder. Only the 15th Army remained an organised force and tried to obey Tukhachevski's orders, shielding the withdrawal of the westernmost extended 4th Army. But it was defeated twice on August 19th and 20th and joined the general rout of the Red Army's North-Western Front. Tukhachevski had no choice but to order a full <!--del_lnk--> retreat toward the Western <!--del_lnk--> Bug River. By August 21st, all organized resistance ceased to exist and by August 31, the Soviet South-Western Front was completely routed.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h3>
<p>Although Poland managed to achieve victory and push back the Russians, Piłsudski's plan to outmanoeuvre and surround the Red Army did not succeed completely. Four Soviet armies began to march toward Warsaw on July 4th in the framework of the North-Western Front. By the end of August, the 4th and 15th Armies were defeated in the field, their remnants crossed the Prussian border and were disarmed. Nevertheless, these troops were soon released and fought against Poland again. The 3rd Army retreated east so quickly that Polish troops could not catch up with them; consequently, this army sustained the fewest losses. The 16th Army disintegrated at <!--del_lnk--> Białystok and most of its soldiers became prisoners of war. The majority of Gay's 3rd Cavalry Corps were forced across the German border and were temporarly interned in <!--del_lnk--> East Prussia.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/271/27105.jpg.htm" title="Polish soldiers displaying captured Soviet battle standards."><img alt="Polish soldiers displaying captured Soviet battle standards." height="124" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Polish-soviet_war_1920_Aftermath_of_Battle_of_Warsaw.jpg" src="../../images/236/23670.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/271/27105.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Polish soldiers displaying captured Soviet battle standards.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Soviet losses were about 10,000 dead, 500 missing, 10,000 wounded and 65,000 captured, compared to Polish losses of approximately 4,500 killed, 22,000 wounded and 10,000 missing. Between 25,000 and 30,000 Soviet troops managed to reach the borders of <a href="../../wp/g/Germany.htm" title="Germany">Germany</a>. After crossing into East Prussia, they were briefly <!--del_lnk--> interned, then allowed to leave with their arms and equipment. Poland captured about 231 <!--del_lnk--> artillery guns and 1,023 <!--del_lnk--> machine-guns.<p>The southern arm of the <!--del_lnk--> Red Army's forces had been routed and no longer posed a threat to the Poles. Semyon Budyonny's 1st Cavalry Army besieging <!--del_lnk--> Lwów had been defeated at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Komarów (August 31, 1920) and the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Hrubieszów. By mid-October, the Polish Army had reached the <!--del_lnk--> Tarnopol-<!--del_lnk--> Dubno-<!--del_lnk--> Minsk-<!--del_lnk--> Drisa line.<p>Tukhachevski managed to reorganize the eastward-retreating forces and in September established a new defensive line near <!--del_lnk--> Grodno. In order to break it, the Polish Army had to fight the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Niemen River (September 15-September 21), once again defeating the Bolshevik armies. After the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Szczara River, both sides were exhausted and on <!--del_lnk--> October 12, under heavy pressure from <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a> and <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">Britain</a>, a <!--del_lnk--> cease-fire was signed. By <!--del_lnk--> October 18, the fighting was over, and on <!--del_lnk--> March 18, 1921, the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Riga was signed, ending hostilities.<p>Soviet <a href="../../wp/p/Propaganda.htm" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> before the Battle of Warsaw had described the fall of Poland's capital as imminent, and the anticipated fall of Warsaw was to be a signal for the start of a large-scale communist revolutions in Poland, Germany and other European countries, economically devastated by the <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">First World War</a>. The Soviet defeat was thus a setback for some Soviet officials (particularly <a href="../../wp/v/Vladimir_Lenin.htm" title="Vladimir Lenin">Vladimir Lenin</a>).<p>A <!--del_lnk--> National Democrat <!--del_lnk--> Sejm deputy, <!--del_lnk--> Stanisław Stroński, coined the phrase, "Miracle at the Wisła" (<!--del_lnk--> Polish: <i>"Cud nad Wisłą"</i>), to underline his disapproval of <a href="../../wp/j/J%25C3%25B3zef_Pi%25C5%2582sudski.htm" title="Józef Piłsudski">Piłsudski's</a> "Ukrainian adventure." Stroński's phrase was adopted with approval by some patriotically- or piously-minded Poles unaware of Stroński's ironic intent.<p><a id="Breaking_of_Soviet_ciphers" name="Breaking_of_Soviet_ciphers"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Breaking of Soviet ciphers</span></h3>
<p>According to documents found in 2005 at Poland's Central Military Archives, <!--del_lnk--> Polish cryptologists broke intercepted Russian ciphers as early as September 1919. At least some of the Polish victories, not only the Battle of Warsaw but throughout the campaign, are attributable to this. Lieutenant <!--del_lnk--> Jan Kowalewski, credited with the original breakthrough, received the order of <a href="../../wp/v/Virtuti_Militari.htm" title="Virtuti Militari">Virtuti Militari</a> in 1921.<p><a id="Orders_of_battle" name="Orders_of_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Orders of battle</span></h2>
<p><a id="Polish" name="Polish"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Polish</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23671.jpg.htm" title="Graves of Polish soldiers fallen at the Battle of Warsaw, Powązki Cemetery, Warsaw."><img alt="Graves of Polish soldiers fallen at the Battle of Warsaw, Powązki Cemetery, Warsaw." height="162" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Powazki_1920.JPG" src="../../images/236/23671.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23671.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Graves of Polish soldiers fallen at the Battle of Warsaw, <!--del_lnk--> Powązki Cemetery, <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>3 Fronts (<i>Northern, Central, Southern</i>), 7 Armies, a total of 32 divisions: 46,000 infantry; 2,000 cavalry; 730 machine guns; 192 artillery batteries; and several units of (mostly <!--del_lnk--> FT-17) tanks.<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;border:1px solid #ccc;">
<caption style="font-weight:bold;"><!--del_lnk--> Polish Army</caption>
<tr style="background:#ccc;" valign="top">
<th style="font-weight:normal" width="110px">Northern Front<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Haller</small></th>
<th style="font-weight:normal" width="110px">Central Front<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Rydz-Śmigły</small></th>
<th style="font-weight:normal" width="110px">Southern Front<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Iwaszkiewicz</small></th>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>5th Army<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Sikorski</small></td>
<td>4th Army<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Skierski</small></td>
<td>6th Army<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Jędrzejewski</small></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#eee;" valign="top">
<td>1st Army<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Latinik</small></td>
<td>3rd Army<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Zieliński</small></td>
<td>Ukrainian Army<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Petlura</small></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>2nd Army<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Roja</small></td>
<td>
</td>
<td>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>Fronts:<ul>
<li>Northern Front: 250 km., from <!--del_lnk--> East Prussia, along the <!--del_lnk--> Vistula River, to <!--del_lnk--> Modlin: <ul>
<li>5th Army<li>1st Army - <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a><li>2nd Army - <a href="../../wp/w/Warsaw.htm" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a></ul>
<li>Central Front: <ul>
<li>4th Army - between <!--del_lnk--> Dęblin and <!--del_lnk--> Kock<li>3rd Army - between south of <!--del_lnk--> Kock and <!--del_lnk--> Brody</ul>
<li>Southern Front - between <!--del_lnk--> Brody and the <!--del_lnk--> Dniestr River</ul>
<p><a id="Soviet" name="Soviet"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Soviet</span></h3>
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;border:1px solid #ccc;">
<caption style="font-weight:bold;"><!--del_lnk--> Red Army</caption>
<tr style="background:#ccc;" valign="top">
<th style="font-weight:normal" width="300px">North-Western Front<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Tukhachevskiy</small></th>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>4th Army<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Shuvayev</small></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#eee;" valign="top">
<td>3rd Cavalry Corps<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Gay</small></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>15th Army<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Kork</small></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#eee;" valign="top">
<td>3rd Army<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Lazarievich</small></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>16th Army<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Sollohub</small></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#eee;" valign="top">
<td>Cavalry Army<br /><small><!--del_lnk--> Budyonny</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Warsaw_%281920%29"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Warsaw', 'Poland', 'Józef Piłsudski', 'Joseph Stalin', 'Polish-Soviet War', 'Polish-Soviet War', 'World War I', 'Poland', 'Capital', 'Warsaw', 'Poland', 'Józef Piłsudski', 'Russia', 'Russia', 'Germany', 'Vladimir Lenin', 'Berlin', 'Paris', 'Propaganda', 'Belarus', 'Józef Piłsudski', 'Warsaw', 'Radio', 'Mythology', 'Warsaw', 'Joseph Stalin', 'Blitzkrieg', 'Tank', 'Warsaw', 'Germany', 'France', 'United Kingdom', 'Propaganda', 'World War I', 'Vladimir Lenin', 'Józef Piłsudski', 'Virtuti Militari', 'Warsaw', 'Warsaw', 'Warsaw']
|
Battle_of_the_Bulge
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of the Bulge,World War II,World War II,101st Airborne Division,12th Army Group,12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend,1944,1945,2006,506th Parachute Infantry Regiment,6th SS Panzer Army" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of the Bulge</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_the_Bulge";
var wgTitle = "Battle of the Bulge";
var wgArticleId = 57998;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_the_Bulge">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of the Bulge</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of the Bulge</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/236/23672.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="232" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_the_Bulge.jpg" src="../../images/236/23672.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /> American soldiers photographed in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 16 December <!--del_lnk--> 1944 - <!--del_lnk--> 25 January <!--del_lnk--> 1945</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td>The <!--del_lnk--> Ardennes, <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>Allied victory, last major German offensive</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1294.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:US_flag_48_stars.svg" src="../../images/48/4867.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/7/789.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1309.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany_1933.svg" src="../../images/99/9933.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/n/Nazi_Germany.htm" title="Nazi Germany">Germany</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1294.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:US_flag_48_stars.svg" src="../../images/48/4867.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/d/Dwight_D._Eisenhower.htm" title="Dwight D. Eisenhower">Dwight Eisenhower</a><br /><a class="image" href="../../images/12/1294.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="12" longdesc="/wiki/Image:US_flag_48_stars.svg" src="../../images/48/4867.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> George Patton<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/7/789.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Bernard Montgomery</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1309.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany_1933.svg" src="../../images/99/9933.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Walther Model<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1309.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Germany_1933.svg" src="../../images/99/9933.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Gerd von Rundstedt</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">Dec 16 - start of the Battle: about 83,000 men; 242 Sherman tanks, 182 tank destroyers, and 394 pieces of corps and divisional artillery.</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">Dec 16 - start of the Battle: about 200,000 men, 5 armoured divisions, 12⅔ infantry divisions, and about 500 medium tanks, supported by 1,900 guns and <i><!--del_lnk--> Werfers</i>.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">American: <p>89,987 casualties<br /> (19,276 dead,<br /> 23,218 captured or missing,<br /> 47,493 wounded)<p>British: 200 dead, 1400 wounded and missing</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">84,834 casualties<br /> (15,652 dead,<br /> 27,582 captured or missing,<br /> 41,600 wounded)<br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Western European Campaign</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Normandy.htm" title="Battle of Normandy">Normandy</a> - <!--del_lnk--> Dragoon - <!--del_lnk--> Siegfried Line - <strong class="selflink">Ardennes Offensive</strong> - <!--del_lnk--> Elbe</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Western Front (World War II)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_France.htm" title="Battle of France">France</a> - <!--del_lnk--> The Netherlands - <!--del_lnk--> Dunkirk - <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Britain.htm" title="Battle of Britain">Britain</a> - <!--del_lnk--> Dieppe - <!--del_lnk--> Villefranche-de-Rouergue - <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Normandy.htm" title="Battle of Normandy">Normandy</a> - <!--del_lnk--> Dragoon - <!--del_lnk--> Arnhem - <!--del_lnk--> Scheldt - <!--del_lnk--> Hurtgen Forest - <!--del_lnk--> Aachen - <strong class="selflink">Bulge</strong> - <!--del_lnk--> Plunder - <!--del_lnk--> Varsity - <!--del_lnk--> Aintree</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b><!--del_lnk--> Ardennes Offensive</b> (called <b>Unternehmen: <i>Wacht am Rhein</i></b> by the German military Army Gruppe B), officially named the <b>Battle of the Ardennes</b> by the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Army (and known to the general public as the <b>Battle of the Bulge</b>), started on <!--del_lnk--> December 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1944. <i><b>Wacht am Rhein</b></i> was supported by subordinate operations known as <i><b><!--del_lnk--> Bodenplatte, <!--del_lnk--> Greif,</b></i> and <i><b><!--del_lnk--> Wahrung</b></i>. The goal of these operations as planned by the Germans was to split the British and American <!--del_lnk--> Allied line in half, capturing <a href="../../wp/a/Antwerp.htm" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a> and then proceeding to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the <!--del_lnk--> Axis' favour. The Ardennes attack was planned in total secrecy in almost total radio silence. Even <!--del_lnk--> Ultra (the allies reading of secret German radio messages) revealed nothing about the up-coming buildup and offensive. Moreover, the degree of surprise achieved was compounded by Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with their own offensive plans, poor aerial reconnaissance, and the relative lack of combat contact by the US First Army. Allied intelligence failed completely to detect the upcoming offensive and almost complete surprise against a weak section of the Allies line was achieved at a time of heavy overcast when the Allies strong air forces would be grounded. The "bulge" refers to the "dent" the Germans initially put into the Allies' line of advance, as seen in maps presented in newspapers of the time.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Battle_Outline" name="Battle_Outline"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle Outline</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>The battle began on December 16, 1944, one of the coldest, snowiest days "in memory" in the Ardennes Forest, occupying about 80 miles of the German/Belgian border. Casualties from exposure to extreme cold grew as large as the losses from fighting.</ul>
<ul>
<li>At the end of the battle the forces included over a million men, about 560,000 Germans, 640,000 Americans (more than fought at <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Gettysburg.htm" title="Battle of Gettysburg">Gettysburg</a>) and 55,800 British. <ul>
<li>3 German armies, 10 corps, the equivalent of 29 divisions.<li>3 American armies, 6 corps, the equivalent of 31 divisions.<li>The equivalent of 3 British divisions as well as contingents of Belgian, Canadian and French troops.<li>About 6,000 allied fighters and bombers against 2,400 German aircraft.<li>~100,000 German casualties, killed, wounded or captured [~80,000 captured].<li>81,000 American casualties, including 23,554 captured and 19,000 killed.<li>1,400 British casualties 200 killed.<li>610 German and 730 U.S. tanks lost, 1,000 German aircraft destroyed.</ul>
</ul>
<p>Most of the American casualties occurred within the first three days of battle, when two of the 106th division’s three regiments were forced to surrender. In its entirety, the "Battle of the Bulge" was the most bloody battle American Forces experienced in WWII, the 19,000 American dead unsurpassed by any other engagement. For the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Army, the Battle of the Ardennes was a battle incorporating more American troops and engaging more enemy troops than any American conflict prior to WWII.<p>Although the German objective was ultimately unrealized, the Allies' own offensive timetable was set back by months. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, as German survivors retreated to the defenses of the <!--del_lnk--> Siegfried Line.<p><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p>The <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Normandy.htm" title="Battle of Normandy">breakout from Normandy</a> at the end of August 1944, coupled with landings in southern France, saw the Allies advance towards Germany faster than anticipated. The rapid advance, coupled with an initial lack of deep water ports, presented the Allies with enormous supply problems. Aside from the temporary <!--del_lnk--> Mulberry harbours established in Normandy and direct landing of LST's on the beaches, the only deep water port in Allied hands was at <!--del_lnk--> Cherbourg near the original invasion beaches. The port of <!--del_lnk--> Antwerp, Belgium was captured much later than the original planning had assumed and was severely damaged when finally captured. German forces remained in control of several major ports on the Channel coast until May 1945; those ports that did fall to the Allies in 1944 were sabotaged to deny their immediate use by the Allies. The extensive destruction of the French <!--del_lnk--> railroad system prior to D-Day, intended to deny movement to the Germans, now proved equally damaging to the Allies as it took time to repair the system of tracks and bridges. A trucking system known as the <!--del_lnk--> Red Ball Express was instituted to bring supplies to front line troops; however, for every gallon of fuel that reached the front line near the <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgian</a> border, five gallons of fuel had been expended delivering it. By early October the supply situation had halted major Allied offensives as they paused to build up their supplies.<p>Bradley, Patton and Montgomery each pressed for priority delivery of supplies to his own army, in order to continue advancing and keeping pressure on the Germans while the supply situation was worked out. <a href="../../wp/d/Dwight_D._Eisenhower.htm" title="Dwight D. Eisenhower">Eisenhower</a>, however, preferred a broad-front strategy—though with priority for Montgomery 's Northern forces, since their short-term goal included opening the urgently needed port of <a href="../../wp/a/Antwerp.htm" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a>, and their long-term goal was the capture of the <!--del_lnk--> Ruhr area, the <a href="../../wp/i/Industry.htm" title="Industry">industrial</a> heart of Germany. With the Allies paused for lack of supplies, <!--del_lnk--> Gerd von Rundstedt was able to reorganize the disrupted German armies into a semi-coherent defence.<p><!--del_lnk--> Bernard Montgomery's <!--del_lnk--> Operation Market Garden, a September offensive designed to cross the <a href="../../wp/r/Rhine.htm" title="Rhine">Rhine</a> and bypass the <!--del_lnk--> Siegfried Line, was unsuccessful and left the Allies little better off than before. In October the <!--del_lnk--> Canadian First Army fought the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Scheldt, clearing the <!--del_lnk--> Westerschelde by taking <!--del_lnk--> Walcheren and opening the ports of Antwerp to shipping. By the end of the month the supply situation was easing. The Allied seizure of the large port of <a href="../../wp/m/Marseille.htm" title="Marseilles">Marseilles</a> in the south also improved the supply situation.<p>Despite a pause along the front after the Scheldt battles, the German situation remained dire. While operations continued in the autumn, notably the <!--del_lnk--> Lorraine Campaign, the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Aachen, and the fighting in the <!--del_lnk--> Hurtgen forest, the strategic situation in the west changed little. In the east, <!--del_lnk--> Operation Bagration destroyed much of <!--del_lnk--> Army Group Centre during the summer; Soviet progress was so fast that the offensive ended only when the advancing <!--del_lnk--> Red Army forces outran their supply lines. By November it was clear the Soviet forces were preparing for a winter offensive, most likely in December.<p>Meanwhile, the Allied air offensive of early 1944 had effectively grounded the <a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a>, leaving them with little battlefield intelligence and no way to interdict Allied supplies. The converse was equally damaging: daytime movement of German forces was almost instantly noticed, and interdiction of supplies combined with the bombing of the <a href="../../wp/r/Romania.htm" title="Romania">Romanian</a> <!--del_lnk--> oilfields starved Germany of <!--del_lnk--> oil and <!--del_lnk--> gasoline.<p>The only advantage for the German forces by November 1944 was that they were no longer defending all of western Europe. The front lines in the west were considerably shorter and closer to the German heartland, dramatically improving their supply problems regardless of the Allied air control. Additionally, their extensive telephone and telegraph network meant that radios no longer had to be used for communications, which deprived the Allies of their most powerful weapon, <!--del_lnk--> ULTRA intercepts.<p><a id="Drafting_the_offensive" name="Drafting_the_offensive"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Drafting the offensive</span></h3>
<p>Hitler felt that his armies still might be able to successfully defend Germany in the long term, if only they could somehow neutralize the Western front in the short term. Further, Hitler believed that he could split the Allies and make the Americans and British sue for a separate peace, independent of the Soviet Union. Success in the West would give the Germans time to design and produce more advanced weapons (such as jet aircraft and super-heavy tanks) and permit the concentration of forces in the East. This assessment is generally regarded as unrealistic, given Allied air superiority throughout Europe and the ability to intervene significantly in German offensive operations.<p>Several senior German military advisors expressed their concern that favourable weather would permit Allied air power to effectively stop any offensive action undertaken. Hitler ignored or dismissed these concerns, though the offensive was intentionally scheduled for late autumn, when northwestern Europe is often covered by heavy fog and low-lying cloud, to neutralize the Allied air forces.<p>When the Allied offensive in the Netherlands (<!--del_lnk--> Operation Market Garden) wound down in September 1944, at about the same time as <!--del_lnk--> Operation Bagration, strategic initiative briefly swung to the Germans. Given the reduced manpower of German land forces at the time, it was believed that the best way to take advantage of the initiative would be to attack in the West, against the smaller Allied forces deployed there, rather than against the vast Soviet forces. Even the unrealistic encirclement and destruction of entire Soviet armies would still have left the Soviets with a large numerical superiority. Also, in the East, most of the "natural" defensive lines remained under German control.<p>In the West, supply problems were beginning to significantly impede Allied operations, even though the opening of Antwerp in November 1944 did slightly improve the situation. The Allied armies were overextended - their positions ran from southern France to the Netherlands. German planning revolved around the premise that a successful strike against thinly manned stretches of the line would halt Allied advances on the entire Western front.<p>Several plans for major Western offensives were put forward, but the German High Command quickly concentrated on two. A first plan for an encirclement maneuver called for a two-prong attack along the borders of the U.S. armies, hoping to encircle the 9th and 3rd armies and leave the German forces back in control of the excellent defensive grounds where they had fought the U.S. to a standstill earlier in the year. A second plan for a <a href="../../wp/b/Blitzkrieg.htm" title="Blitzkrieg">blitzkrieg</a> maneuver called for a classic blitzkrieg attack through the thinly defended <!--del_lnk--> Ardennes, splitting the armies along the U.S.-British lines and capturing <a href="../../wp/a/Antwerp.htm" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a>. The blitzkrieg plan was dubbed the "Wacht am Rhein," or "Watch on the Rhine." This name was deceptive in nature, implying a watch and wait strategy on the Western Front (<!--del_lnk--> A popular German song also shared this name for the offensive).<p>Hitler chose the second plan, believing that a successful encirclement would have little impact on the overall situation and finding the prospect of splitting the Anglo-American armies more appealing. The disputes between <!--del_lnk--> Montgomery and <!--del_lnk--> Patton were well known, and Hitler hoped he could exploit this perceived disunity, If the attack were to succeed, the capture of the port of Antwerp would trap four complete armies without supplies behind German lines. It was hoped that this might even bring about a repeat of the Allied evacuation of <!--del_lnk--> Dunkirk.<p>Both plans centered on attacks against the American forces, due largely to Hitler's view of Americans as incapable of fighting effectively, and his belief that the American home front was likely to crack upon hearing of a decisive American loss. There is no evidence that Hitler realized, or any of his military staff pointed out, that of all the major combatants, the United States was the one which, up to this point in the war, had been damaged the least and had the greatest restorative powers.<p><a id="Planning" name="Planning"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Planning</span></h3>
<p>The German High Command decided by the middle of September, on Hitler's insistence, that the offensive be mounted in the Ardennes, as was done in <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_France.htm" title="Battle of France">France</a> in 1940. While German forces in that battle had passed through the Ardennes before engaging the enemy, the 1944 plan called for battle to occur within the forest itself. The main forces were to advance westward until reaching the <!--del_lnk--> Meuse River, then turn northwest for Antwerp and <a href="../../wp/b/Brussels.htm" title="Brussels">Brussels</a>. The close terrain of the Ardennes would make rapid movement difficult, though open ground beyond the Meuse offered the prospect of a successful dash to the coast.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:546px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23673.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="697" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Western_Front_Ardennes_1944.jpg" src="../../images/236/23673.jpg" width="544" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23673.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Four armies were selected for the operation:<ul>
<li>The <!--del_lnk--> 6th SS Panzer Army, led by <!--del_lnk--> Sepp Dietrich. Newly created on <!--del_lnk--> October 26, 1944, it incorporated the senior formation of the <!--del_lnk--> Waffen-SS, the <!--del_lnk--> 1st SS Panzer Division <i>Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler</i> as well as the <!--del_lnk--> 12th SS Panzer Division <i>Hitlerjugend</i>. The 6th SS Panzer Army was designated the northernmost attack force, with the offensive's primary objective of capturing <a href="../../wp/a/Antwerp.htm" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a> entrusted to it.<li>The <!--del_lnk--> 5th Panzer Army led by <!--del_lnk--> Hasso von Manteuffel, was assigned to the middle attack route with the objective of capturing <a href="../../wp/b/Brussels.htm" title="Brussels">Brussels</a>.<li>The <!--del_lnk--> 7th Army, led by <!--del_lnk--> Erich Brandenberger, was assigned to the southernmost attack, with the task of protecting the flank. This Army was made up of only four infantry divisions, with no largescale armoured formations to use as a spearhead unit. As a result, they made little progress throughout the battle.<li>Also participating in a secondary role was the <!--del_lnk--> 15th Army, led by <!--del_lnk--> Gustav-Adolf von Zangen. Recently rebuilt after heavy fighting during <!--del_lnk--> Operation Market Garden, it was located on the far north of the Ardennes battlefield and tasked with holding US forces in place, with the possibility of launching its own attack given favourable conditions.</ul>
<p>Overseeing the operation were Field Marshals <!--del_lnk--> Walther Model, the commander of the German <!--del_lnk--> Army Group B, and <!--del_lnk--> Gerd von Rundstedt, the overall commander of German troops in the West.<p>For the offensive to be successful, four criteria were deemed critical by the planners.<ul>
<li>The attack had to be a complete surprise.<li>The weather conditions had to be poor in order to neutralize Allied air superiority and the damage it could inflict on the German offensive and its supply lines.<li>The progress had to be rapid. Model had declared that the Meuse River had to be reached by day 4, if the offensive was to have any chance of success.<li>Allied fuel supplies would have to be captured intact along the way due to the Wehrmacht's shortage of fuel. The General Staff estimated they only had enough fuel to cover a third to one half of the ground to Antwerp in heavy combat conditions.</ul>
<p>The plan originally called for just under 45 divisions, including a dozen <!--del_lnk--> panzer and <!--del_lnk--> panzergrenadier divisions forming the <!--del_lnk--> armoured spearhead and various infantry units to form a defensive line as the battle unfolded. The German army suffered from an acute manpower shortage by this time, however, and the force had been reduced to around 30 divisions. Although it retained most of its armour, there were not enough infantry units due to the defensive needs in the east. These thirty newly rebuilt <!--del_lnk--> divisions used some of the German army's last reserves. Among them were <!--del_lnk--> Volksgrenadier units formed from a mix of battle-hardened veterans and recruits formerly regarded as too young or too old to fight. Training time, equipment, and supplies were inadequate during the preparations. German fuel supplies were precarious—those materials and supplies that could not be directly transported by rail had to be horse-drawn in order to conserve fuel—the mechanized and panzer divisions would depend heavily on captured fuel. The start of the offensive was delayed from <!--del_lnk--> November 27 to <!--del_lnk--> December 16 as a result.<p>Before the offensive the Allies were virtually blind to German troop movement. During the reconquest of France the extensive network of the <!--del_lnk--> French resistance had provided valuable intelligence about German dispositions. Now that they had reached the German border this source dried up. In France orders had been relayed within the German army using <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a> messages enciphered by the <a href="../../wp/e/Enigma_machine.htm" title="Enigma machine">Enigma machine</a>, and these could be picked up and decrypted by Allied codebreakers to give the intelligence known as <!--del_lnk--> ULTRA. In Germany such orders were typically transmitted using <a href="../../wp/t/Telephone.htm" title="Telephone">telephone</a> and <!--del_lnk--> teleprinter, and a special <!--del_lnk--> radio silence order was imposed on all matters concerning the upcoming offensive. The major crackdown in the <!--del_lnk--> Wehrmacht after the <!--del_lnk--> July 20 Plot resulted in much tighter security and fewer leaks. The foggy autumn weather also prevented Allied reconnaissance planes from correctly assessing the ground situation.<p>Thus Allied High Command considered the Ardennes a quiet sector, relying on assessments from their intelligence services that the Germans were unable to launch any major offensive operations this late in the war. What little intelligence they had led the Allies to believe precisely what the Germans wanted them to believe—that preparations were being carried out only for defensive, not offensive operations. In fact, due to the Germans' efforts, the Allies were led to believe that a new defensive army was being formed around <!--del_lnk--> Dusseldorf in the northern Rhine, possibly to defend against British attack. This was done by increasing the number of flak batteries in the area and the artificial multiplication of radio transmissions in the area. The Allies at this point thought the information was of no importance. All of this meant that the attack, when it came, completely surprised the Allied forces.<p>Because the Ardennes were considered a quiet sector, economy-of-force considerations led it to be used as a training ground for new units and a rest area for units that had seen hard fighting. The US units deployed in the Ardennes thus were a mixture of inexperienced troops (such as the <!--del_lnk--> rookie U.S. <!--del_lnk--> 99th and <!--del_lnk--> 106th Divisions), and battle-hardened troops sent to that sector to recuperate (the U.S. <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Division).<p>Two major <!--del_lnk--> special operations were planned for the offensive. By October it was decided that <!--del_lnk--> Otto Skorzeny, the German commando who had rescued the former <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italian</a> dictator <a href="../../wp/b/Benito_Mussolini.htm" title="Benito Mussolini">Benito Mussolini</a>, was to lead a task force of <a href="../../wp/e/English_language.htm" title="English language">English</a>-speaking German soldiers in <!--del_lnk--> Operation Greif. These soldiers were to be dressed in American and British <!--del_lnk--> uniforms and wear <!--del_lnk--> dog tags taken from corpses and <!--del_lnk--> POWs. Their job was to go behind American lines and change signposts, misdirect traffic, generally cause disruption and to seize bridges across the <!--del_lnk--> Meuse River between <!--del_lnk--> Liège and <!--del_lnk--> Namur. By late November another ambitious special operation was added: <!--del_lnk--> Colonel <!--del_lnk--> Friedrich August von der Heydte was to lead a <!--del_lnk--> Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) <!--del_lnk--> Kampfgruppe in <!--del_lnk--> Operation Stösser, a nighttime paratroop drop behind the Allied lines aimed at capturing a vital road junction near <!--del_lnk--> Malmedy.<p>German intelligence had set <!--del_lnk--> December 20 as the expected date for the start of the upcoming Soviet offensive, aimed at crushing what was left of German resistance on the Eastern Front and thereby opening the way to <a href="../../wp/b/Berlin.htm" title="Berlin">Berlin</a>. It was hoped that <!--del_lnk--> Stalin would delay the start of the operation once the German assault in the Ardennes had begun and wait for the outcome before continuing.<p>In the final stage of preparations Hitler and his staff left their <!--del_lnk--> Wolf's Lair headquarters in <!--del_lnk--> East Prussia, in which they had co-ordinated much of the fighting on the Eastern Front. After a brief visit to Berlin, on <!--del_lnk--> December 11, they came to the <!--del_lnk--> Eagle's Nest, Hitler's headquarters in southern Germany, the site from which he had overseen the successful 1940 campaign against France and the low countries.<p><a id="Initial_German_assault" name="Initial_German_assault"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Initial German assault</span></h2>
<div style="float:right;width:230px;">
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:207px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23675.jpg.htm" title="Sepp Dietrich led the 6th SS Panzer Army in the northernmost attack route"><img alt="Sepp Dietrich led the 6th SS Panzer Army in the northernmost attack route" height="117" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_the_Bulge_6th.jpg" src="../../images/236/23675.jpg" width="205" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23675.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Sepp Dietrich led the 6th SS Panzer Army in the northernmost attack route</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:207px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23676.jpg.htm" title="Hasso von Manteuffel led the 5th Panzer Army in the middle attack route"><img alt="Hasso von Manteuffel led the 5th Panzer Army in the middle attack route" height="125" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_the_Bulge_5th.jpg" src="../../images/236/23676.jpg" width="205" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23676.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Hasso von Manteuffel led the 5th Panzer Army in the middle attack route</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:207px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23677.jpg.htm" title="Erich Brandenberger led the 7th Army in the southernmost attack route"><img alt="Erich Brandenberger led the 7th Army in the southernmost attack route" height="141" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_the_Bulge_7th.jpg" src="../../images/236/23677.jpg" width="205" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23677.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Erich Brandenberger led the 7th Army in the southernmost attack route</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The German assault began on <!--del_lnk--> December 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1944, at 0530 hrs with a massive <!--del_lnk--> artillery barrage on the Allied troops facing the 6th SS Panzer Army. By 0800 all three German armies attacked through the Ardennes. In the northern sector Dietrich's <!--del_lnk--> 6th SS Panzer Army assaulted <!--del_lnk--> Losheim Gap and the <!--del_lnk--> Elsenborn Ridge in an effort to break through to <!--del_lnk--> Liège. In the centre von Manteuffel's <!--del_lnk--> 5th Panzer Army attacked towards <!--del_lnk--> Bastogne and <!--del_lnk--> St. Vith, both road junctions of great strategic importance. In the south, Brandenberger's <!--del_lnk--> 7th Army pushed towards <a href="../../wp/l/Luxembourg.htm" title="Luxembourg">Luxembourg</a> in their efforts to secure the flank from Allied attacks.<p>Attacks by the <!--del_lnk--> 6th SS Panzer Army infantry units in the north fared badly due to unexpectedly fierce resistance by the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and <!--del_lnk--> U.S. 99th Infantry Division, which was attached to the 2nd, at the Elsenborn Ridge, stalling their advance; this forced Dietrich to unleash his panzer forces early. Starting on <!--del_lnk--> December 16, however, snowstorms engulfed parts of the Ardennes area. While having the desired effect of keeping the Allied aircraft grounded, the weather also proved troublesome for the Germans as poor <!--del_lnk--> road conditions hampered their advance. Poor traffic control led to massive traffic jams and fuel shortages in forward units.<p>The Germans fared better in the centre (the 20 mile wide <i>Schnee Eifel</i> sector) as they attacked positions held by the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. 28th Infantry Division and the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. 106th Infantry Division. The remarkable feature here was that the German attackers lacked any such overwhelming strength as had been deployed in the north; but it succeeded in surrounding two regiments (422nd and 423rd) of the 106th Division in a pincer movement and forced their surrender. That was a tribute to the way that Manteuffel’s new tactics had been applied. The official U.S. Army history states: <i>At least seven thousand [men] were lost here and the figure probably is closer to eight or nine thousand. The amount lost in arms and equipment, of course, was very substantial. The Schnee Eifel battle, therefore, represents the most serious reverse suffered by American arms during the operations of 1944-45 in the European theatre.</i><p>Further south on Manteuffel’s front the main thrust was delivered by all attacking divisions crossing the River Our, then increasing the pressure on the key road centers of St. Vith and <!--del_lnk--> Bastogne. Panzer columns took the outlying villages. The struggle for these villages, and transport confusion on the German side, slowed the attack to allow the <!--del_lnk--> 101st Airborne Division (along with units from the U.S. 9th & 10th Armored Divisions) to reach Bastogne by truck on the morning of 19 December 1944. The fierce defense of Bastogne, in which American engineers particularly distinguished themselves, made it impossible for the Germans to rush the town, and the panzer columns swung past on either side, thus Bastogne was cut off on 20 December.<p>In the extreme south, Brandenberger’s three infantry divisions were checked after an advance of four miles by divisions of the U.S. 8th Corps; that front was then firmly held. Only the German 5th Parachute Division of Brandenberger’s command was able to thrust forward 12 miles on the inner flank to partially fulfill its assigned role.<p><!--del_lnk--> Eisenhower and his principal commanders realized by 17 December that the fighting in the Ardennes was a major offensive and not a local counter-attack, and ordered vast reinforcements to the area. Within a week 250,000 troops had been sent. In addition, the <!--del_lnk--> 82nd Airborne Division was also thrown into the battle north of the bulge, near Liège.<p><a id="Operation_St.C3.B6sser" name="Operation_St.C3.B6sser"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Operation Stösser</span></h3>
<p>Originally planned for the early hours of <!--del_lnk--> 16 December, Operation Stösser was delayed for a day because of bad weather and fuel shortages. The new drop time was set for 0300 hrs on <!--del_lnk--> December 17; their drop zone was 11 km north of <!--del_lnk--> Malmedy and their target was the "Baraque Michel" crossroads. Von der Heydte and his men were to take it and hold it for approximately twenty-four hours until being relieved by the <!--del_lnk--> 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, thereby hampering the Allied flow of reinforcements and supplies into the area.<p>Just after midnight <!--del_lnk--> 16 December/<!--del_lnk--> 17 December 112 <!--del_lnk--> Ju 52 transport planes with around 1,300 <i><!--del_lnk--> Fallschirmjäger</i> (German paratroopers) on board took off amid a powerful snowstorm, with strong winds and extensive <!--del_lnk--> low cloud cover. As a result, many planes went off-course, and men were dropped as far as a dozen kilometres away from the intended drop zone, with only a fraction of the force landing near it. Strong winds also took off-target those paratroopers whose planes were relatively close to the intended drop zone and made their landings far rougher.<p>By noon a group of around 300 managed to assemble, but this force was too small and too weak to counter the Allies. Colonel von der Heydte abandoned plans to take the crossroads and instead ordered his men to harass the Allied troops in the vicinity with <!--del_lnk--> guerrilla-like actions. Because of the extensive dispersal of the jump, with <i>Fallschirmjäger</i> being reported all over the Ardennes, the Allies believed a major divisional-sized jump had taken place, resulting in much confusion and causing them to allocate men to secure their rear instead of sending them off to the front to face the main German thrust.<p><a id="Operation_Greif" name="Operation_Greif"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Operation Greif</span></h3>
<dl>
<dd><i>Main article:</i> <!--del_lnk--> Operation Greif</dl>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Skorzeny successfully infiltrated a small part of his battalion of disguised, English-speaking Germans behind the Allied lines. Although they failed to take the vital bridges over the Meuse, the battalion's presence produced confusion out of all proportion to their military activities, and rumours spread like wildfire. Even General <!--del_lnk--> Patton was alarmed and, on <!--del_lnk--> December 17, described the situation to General Eisenhower as <i>"<!--del_lnk--> Krauts... speaking perfect English... raising hell, cutting wires, turning road signs around, spooking whole divisions, and shoving a bulge into our defenses"</i>.<p>Checkpoints were soon set up all over the Allied rear, greatly slowing the movement of soldiers and equipment. Military policemen drilled servicemen on things which every American was expected to know, such as the identity of <!--del_lnk--> Mickey Mouse's girlfriend, baseball scores, or the capital of <!--del_lnk--> Illinois. This latter question resulted in the brief detention of General <!--del_lnk--> Omar Bradley himself; although he gave the correct answer—<!--del_lnk--> Springfield—the GI who questioned him apparently believed that the capital was <a href="../../wp/c/Chicago.htm" title="Chicago">Chicago</a>.<p>The tightened security nonetheless made things harder for the German infiltrators, and some of them were captured. Even during interrogation they continued their goal of spreading <!--del_lnk--> disinformation; when asked about their mission, some of them claimed they had been told to go to <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a> to either kill or capture General Eisenhower. Security around the general was greatly increased, and he was confined to his headquarters. Because these prisoners had been captured in American uniform they were later <!--del_lnk--> executed by firing squad; this was the standard practice of every army at the time, although it was left ambivalent under the <!--del_lnk--> Geneva Convention, which merely stated that soldiers had to wear uniforms that distinguished them as combatants. In addition, Skorzeny was an expert at international law and knew that such an operation would be well within its boundaries as long as they were wearing their German uniforms when firing. Skorzeny and his men were fully aware of their likely fate, and most wore their German uniforms underneath their Allied ones in case of capture. Skorzeny himself avoided capture, survived the war and may have been involved with the Nazi <!--del_lnk--> ODESSA <!--del_lnk--> ratline escape network.<p><a id="Malmedy_massacre" name="Malmedy_massacre"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Malmedy massacre</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23680.jpg.htm" title="The Malmedy massacre"><img alt="The Malmedy massacre" height="172" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Malmedy_Massacre.jpg" src="../../images/236/23680.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23680.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Malmedy massacre</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd><i>Main article</i>: <!--del_lnk--> Malmedy massacre</dl>
<p>In the north the main armoured spearhead of the 6th SS Panzer Army, Kampfgruppe Peiper, consisting of 4,800 men and 600 vehicles under the command of <!--del_lnk--> Waffen-SS Colonel <!--del_lnk--> Jochen Peiper, pushed west into <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a>. At 0700 hrs <!--del_lnk--> December 17 they seized a U.S. fuel depot at <!--del_lnk--> Büllingen, where they paused to refuel before continuing westward. At 1230 hrs, near the hamlet of <!--del_lnk--> Baugnez, on the height halfway between the town of <!--del_lnk--> Malmedy and <!--del_lnk--> Ligneuville, they encountered elements of the American 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion. After a brief battle the Americans surrendered. They were disarmed and, with some other Americans captured earlier (approximately 150 people), sent to stand in a field near the crossroads. Here they were all shot. It is not known what caused the shooting and there is no record of an SS officer giving an execution order; such shootings of <!--del_lnk--> prisoners of war (POWs), however, were more common by both sides on the <!--del_lnk--> Eastern Front. News of the killings raced through Allied lines. Afterwards, it became common for soldiers to take no SS or <i><!--del_lnk--> Fallschirmjäger</i> soldiers prisoner. Captured SS soldiers who were part of Kampfgruppe Peiper were tried in the <!--del_lnk--> Malmedy massacre trial following the war.<p>The fighting went on and, by the evening, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Division spearhead had pushed north to engage the U.S. 99th Infantry Division and Kampfgruppe Peiper arrived in front of <!--del_lnk--> Stavelot. He was already behind the timetable as it took 36 hours to advance from <!--del_lnk--> Eifel to <!--del_lnk--> Stavelot; it had taken just 9 hours in 1940. As the Americans fell back they blew up bridges and fuel dumps, denying the Germans critically needed fuel and further slowing their progress.<p><a id="The_Wereth_11" name="The_Wereth_11"></a><h4> <span class="mw-headline">The Wereth 11</span></h4>
<dl>
<dd><i>Main Article</i>: <!--del_lnk--> Wereth 11</dl>
<p>Another, much smaller, massacre was committed in <!--del_lnk--> Wereth, Belgium, approximately a thousand yards north-east of <!--del_lnk--> Saint Vith by men of the 1st SS Division, belonging to Kampfgruppe Hansen. Due to the lack of any verifiable evidence to identify the murderers, the murders went mostly unavenged and unpublicized.<p><a id="The_assault_of_Kampfgruppe_Peiper" name="The_assault_of_Kampfgruppe_Peiper"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The assault of Kampfgruppe Peiper</span></h3>
<p>Peiper entered Stavelot on <!--del_lnk--> December 18 but encountered fierce resistance by the American defenders. Unable to defeat the American force in the area, he left a smaller support force in town and headed for the bridge at <!--del_lnk--> Trois-Ponts with the bulk of his forces, but by the time he reached it, the retreating US engineers had already destroyed it. Peiper pulled off and headed for the village of <!--del_lnk--> La Gleize and from then on to <!--del_lnk--> Stoumont. There, as Peiper approached, the American engineers blew up the bridge and the American troops were entrenched and ready to fight a bitter battle.<p>His troops were cut off from the main German force and supplies when the Americans recaptured the poorly defended Stavelot on <!--del_lnk--> December 19. As their situation in Stoumont was becoming hopeless, Peiper decided to pull back to La Gleize where he set up his defences waiting for the German relief force. As no relief force was able to penetrate the Allied line, on <!--del_lnk--> December 23 Peiper decided to break through back to the German lines. The men of the Kampfgruppe were forced to abandon their vehicles and heavy equipment, although most of the unit was able to escape.<p><a id="St._Vith" name="St._Vith"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">St. Vith</span></h3>
<p>In the centre, the town of St. Vith, a vital road junction, presented the main challenge for both von Manteuffel's and Dietrich's forces. The defenders, led by the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. 7th Armored Division, and also including one regiment of the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. 106th Infantry Division, and additional elements of the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. 9th Armored Division and <!--del_lnk--> U.S. 28th Infantry Division, all under the command of General <!--del_lnk--> Bruce C. Clarke, successfully resisted the German attacks, thereby significantly slowing the German advance. Under orders, St. Vith was given up on <!--del_lnk--> December 21; U.S. troops fell back to entrenched positions in the area, presenting an imposing obstacle to a successful German advance. By <!--del_lnk--> December 23, as the Germans shattered their flanks, the defenders' position became untenable and U.S. troops were ordered to retreat west of the <!--del_lnk--> Salm River. As the German plan called for the capture of St. Vith by 1800 hrs <!--del_lnk--> December 17, the prolonged action in and around it presented a major blow to their timetable.<p><a id="Bastogne" name="Bastogne"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Bastogne</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23682.jpg.htm" title="Wacht am Rhein—the German offensive, 16–25 December 1944"><img alt="Wacht am Rhein—the German offensive, 16–25 December 1944" height="242" longdesc="/wiki/Image:P23%28map%29.jpg" src="../../images/236/23682.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23682.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Wacht am Rhein—the German offensive, 16–25 December 1944</div>
</div>
</div>
<dl>
<dd><i>Main article</i>: <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Bastogne</dl>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> December 19, the senior Allied commanders met in a <!--del_lnk--> bunker in <!--del_lnk--> Verdun. Eisenhower, realizing that the Allies could destroy German forces much more easily when they were out in the open and on the offensive than if they were on the defensive, told the generals, <i>"The present situation is to be regarded as one of opportunity for us and not of disaster. There will be only cheerful faces at this table"</i>. Patton, realizing what Eisenhower implied, responded, <i>"Hell, let's have the guts to let the bastards go all the way to Paris. Then, we'll really cut'em off and chew'em up"</i>. Eisenhower asked Patton how long it would take to turn his Third Army (then located in south-central France) north to counter-attack. He said he could do it in 48 hours, to the disbelief of the other generals present. Before he had gone to the meeting, in fact, Patton had ordered his staff to prepare to turn north; by the time Eisenhower asked him how long it would take the movement was already underway (<i>Citizen Soldiers</i>, p 208). On <!--del_lnk--> 20 December, Eisenhower removed the <!--del_lnk--> 1st and <!--del_lnk--> 9th American Armies from Bradley's <!--del_lnk--> 12th Army Group and placed them under <!--del_lnk--> Montgomery's <!--del_lnk--> 21st Army Group command.<p>By <!--del_lnk--> December 21 the German forces had surrounded <!--del_lnk--> Bastogne, which was defended by the <!--del_lnk--> 101st Airborne Division and Combat Command B of the 10th Armored Division. Conditions inside the perimeter were tough—most of the medical supplies and medical personnel had been captured. Food was scarce, and ammunition was so low that artillery crews were forbidden to fire on advancing Germans unless there was a large, heavy concentration of them. Despite determined German attacks, however, the perimeter held. The German Commander sent this request to the American commander in Bastogne.<p><i>"To the USA Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne: The fortune of war is changing. This time strong German armored units have encircled the USA forces in and near Bastogne ... There is only one possibility to save the encircled USA troops from total annihilation; that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town ... If this proposal is rejected, one German Artillery Corps and six heavy AA Battalions are ready to annihilate USA troops ... all the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well-known American humanity..." -The German Commander</i><p>When General <!--del_lnk--> Anthony McAuliffe was awakened by a German invitation to surrender, he gave a reply of annoyance that has been variously reported and was probably unprintable. There is no disagreement, however, as to what he wrote on the paper delivered to the Germans: "NUTS!" That reply had to be explained, both to the Germans and to non-American Allies.<p>Rather than launching one simultaneous attack all around the perimeter the German forces concentrated their assaults on several individual locations attacked in sequence. Although this compelled the defenders to constantly shift reinforcements in order to repel each attack, it tended to dissipate the Germans' numerical advantage.<p><a id="The_Meuse" name="The_Meuse"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Meuse</span></h3>
<p>To protect the crossings on the Meuse at Givet, Dinant and Namur, on the <!--del_lnk--> 19 December Montgomery ordered those few units available to hold the bridges. This led to a hastily assembled force including rear echelon troops, military police and Air Corps personnel. The <!--del_lnk--> British 29th Armoured Brigade, which had turned in its tanks for re-equipping, was told to take back their tanks and head to the area. XXX Corps in Holland began their move to the area.<p><a id="Allied_counter-offensive" name="Allied_counter-offensive"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Allied counter-offensive</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23683.jpg.htm" title="The Germans fell far short of achieving their objectives"><img alt="The Germans fell far short of achieving their objectives" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_the_Bulge_progress.jpg" src="../../images/236/23683.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23683.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Germans fell far short of achieving their objectives</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 23 December the weather conditions started improving, allowing the Allied air forces to attack. They launched devastating bombing raids on the German supply points in their rear, and <!--del_lnk--> P-47s started attacking the German troops on the roads. The Allied air forces also helped the defenders of Bastogne, dropping much-needed supplies—<a href="../../wp/m/Medicine.htm" title="Medicine">medicine</a>, <a href="../../wp/f/Food.htm" title="Food">food</a>, <!--del_lnk--> blankets and <!--del_lnk--> ammunition. A team of volunteer <!--del_lnk--> surgeons flew in by <!--del_lnk--> glider and began operating in a tool room.<p>By <!--del_lnk--> December 24 the German advance was effectively stalled short of the <!--del_lnk--> Meuse River. Units of the British XXX Corps were holding the bridges at Dinant, Givet, and Namur and US units were about to take over. The Germans had outrun their supply lines and shortages of fuel and ammunition were becoming critical. Up to this point the German losses had been light, notably in armour, which was almost untouched with the exception of Peiper's losses. On the evening of the 24th, General <!--del_lnk--> Hasso von Manteuffel recommended to Hitler's Military Adjutant a halt to all offensive operations and a withdrawal back to the West Wall. Hitler rejected this.<p>Patton's Third Army was now battling to relieve Bastogne. At 1650 on <!--del_lnk--> December 26, the lead element of the <!--del_lnk--> 37th Tank Battalion of the Fourth Armored Division reached Bastogne, ending the siege.<dl>
<dd><i>Charles Boggess drove the first vehicle from the 4th Armored into the lines of the 101st Airborne. He was followed by Capt. William Dwight. 'How are you, General?' Dwight asked General McAuliffe, who had driven out to the perimeter to greet them. 'Gee, I'm mighty glad to see you', McAuliffe replied'.</i> (<i>Citizen Soldiers</i>, p 248).</dl>
<p><a id="Germans_strike_back" name="Germans_strike_back"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Germans strike back</span></h3>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 1 January, in an attempt to keep the offensive going, the Germans launched two new operations. At 0915 the <a href="../../wp/l/Luftwaffe.htm" title="Luftwaffe">Luftwaffe</a> launched <!--del_lnk--> Operation Bodenplatte, a major campaign against Allied airfields in the <!--del_lnk--> Low Countries. Hundreds of planes attacked Allied airfields, destroying or severely damaging some 465 <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft.htm" title="Aircraft">aircraft</a>. However, the Luftwaffe lost 277 planes, 62 to Allied fighters and 172 mostly because of an unexpectedly high number of Allied <!--del_lnk--> flak guns, set up to protect against German <!--del_lnk--> V-1 flying bomb attacks, but also due to <!--del_lnk--> friendly fire from the German flak guns that were uninformed of the pending large-scale German air operation. While the Allies recovered from their losses in just days, the operation left the Luftwaffe <i>"weaker than ever and incapable of mounting any major attack again"</i>. (<i>A World At Arms</i>, p 769, Gerhard Weinberg).<p>On the same day, German Army Group G launched a major offensive against the thinly stretched, 110 km line of the Seventh U.S. Army. <!--del_lnk--> Operation Nordwind, the last major German offensive of the war on the Western Front, soon had the weakened Seventh U.S. Army, which had, at Eisenhower's orders, sent troops, equipment, and supplies north to reinforce the American armies in the Ardennes, in dire straits. By <!--del_lnk--> 15 January, the Seventh U.S. Army VI Corps was fighting for its very life on three sides in <!--del_lnk--> Alsace. With casualties mounting, and running short on replacements, tanks, ammunition, and supplies, Seventh U.S. Army was forced to withdraw to defensive positions on the south bank of the Moder River on <!--del_lnk--> 21 January. The German offensive finally drew to a close on <!--del_lnk--> 25 January. In the bitter, desperate fighting of Operation Nordwind, VI Corps, which had borne the brunt of the fighting suffered a total of 14,716 casualties. The total for the Seventh U.S. Army is unclear, but the total casualties included at least 9,000 wounded and 17,000 sick and injured.(Smith and Clark, "Riviera To The Rhine," p. 527.)<p><a id="Allies_prevail" name="Allies_prevail"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Allies prevail</span></h3>
<p>While the German offensive had ground to a halt, they still controlled a dangerous salient in the Allied line. <!--del_lnk--> Patton's Third Army in the south, centred around Bastogne, would attack north, <!--del_lnk--> Montgomery's forces in the north would strike south, and the two forces planned to meet at <!--del_lnk--> Houffalize.<p>The temperature during January 1945 was unseasonably low. Trucks had to be run every half hour or the oil in them would freeze, and weapons would freeze. The offensive went forward regardless.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23684.jpg.htm" title="Erasing the Bulge—The Allied counter-attack, 26 December – 25 January"><img alt="Erasing the Bulge—The Allied counter-attack, 26 December – 25 January" height="244" longdesc="/wiki/Image:P41%28map%29.jpg" src="../../images/236/23684.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23684.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Erasing the Bulge—The Allied counter-attack, <!--del_lnk--> 26 December – <!--del_lnk--> 25 January</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Eisenhower wanted Montgomery to go on the offensive on <!--del_lnk--> January 1, with the aim of meeting up with Patton's advancing Third Army and cutting off most of the attacking Germans, trapping them in a pocket. However, refusing to risk underprepared infantry in a snowstorm for a strategically unimportant area, Montgomery did not launch the attack until <!--del_lnk--> 3 January, by which time substantial numbers of German troops had already managed to successfully disengage, albeit with the loss of their heavy equipment.<p>At the start of the offensive, the two Armies were separated by about 40 km. American progress in the south was also restricted to about a kilometre a day. The majority of the German force executed a successful fighting withdrawal and escaped the battle area, although the fuel situation had become so dire that most of the German armour had to be abandoned. On <!--del_lnk--> 7 January <!--del_lnk--> 1945, Hitler agreed to withdraw forces from the Ardennes, including the SS Panzer Divisions, thus ending all offensive operations.<p><a id="Controversy_in_the_Allied_high_command" name="Controversy_in_the_Allied_high_command"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Controversy in the Allied high command</span></h2>
<p>On the same day as Hitler's withdrawal order, <!--del_lnk--> 7 January, Montgomery held a press conference at Zonhoven in which he gave credit for the victory to the "<i>courage and good fighting quality</i>" of the American troops, characterizing a typical American as a "<i>very brave fighting man who has that tenacity in battle which makes a great soldier</i>". He went on to talk about the necessity of Allied teamwork, and praised Eisenhower, stating that "<i>Teamwork wins battles and battle victories win wars. On our team the captain is General Ike.</i>"<p>The conference caused some controversy when his comments were interpreted as self-promoting, particularly his claiming that when the situation "began to deteriorate", Eisenhower had placed him in command in the north. Patton and Eisenhower both felt this was a misrepresentation of the relative share of the fighting played by the British and Americans in the Ardennes. In the context of Patton and Montgomery's well-known antipathy, Montgomery's failure to mention the contribution of any American general beside Eisenhower was seen as insulting. Focusing exclusively on his own generalship, Montgomery continued to say that he thought the counter-offensive had gone very well but did not explain the reason for his delayed attack on <!--del_lnk--> January 3. He later attributed this to needing more time for preparation on the northern front. According to Churchill, the attack from the south under Patton was steady but slow and involved heavy losses, and Montgomery claimed to be trying to avoid this situation.<p>Montgomery subsequently recognised his error and later wrote: "<i>I think now that I should never have held that press conference. So great were the feelings against me on the part of the American generals that whatever I said was bound to be wrong. I should therefore have said nothing.</i>" Eisenhower commented in his own memoirs: "<i>I doubt if Montgomery ever came to realise how resentful some American commanders were. They believed he had belittled them - and they were not slow to voice reciprocal scorn and contempt</i>".<p>Bradley and Patton both threatened to resign unless Montgomery's command was changed. Subsequently Bradley started to court the press, and it was stated that he would rarely leave headquarters "without at least fifteen newspapermen"; it has been suggested that he and Patton began to leak information detrimental to Montgomery. Eisenhower, encouraged by his British deputy, <!--del_lnk--> Tedder, was minded to sack Montgomery. However, intervention by Montgomery's and Eisenhower's Chiefs of Staff, Major-General <!--del_lnk--> Freddie de Guingand, and Lieutenant-General <!--del_lnk--> Walter Bedell Smith allowed Eisenhower to re-consider and Montgomery to apologise.<p><a id="Strategic_situation_after_the_Bulge" name="Strategic_situation_after_the_Bulge"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Strategic situation after the Bulge</span></h2>
<p>Although the German advance was halted, the overall situation remained dangerous. On <!--del_lnk--> 6 January <a href="../../wp/w/Winston_Churchill.htm" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a> once again asked Stalin for support. On <!--del_lnk--> 12 January, the <!--del_lnk--> Red Army launched the <!--del_lnk--> Vistula-Oder Offensive in <a href="../../wp/p/Poland.htm" title="Poland">Poland</a> and <!--del_lnk--> East Prussia. Soviet sources claim this was done ahead of schedule, while most Western sources doubt it, and instead claim the Soviet offensive was delayed because of the situation in the West, with Stalin waiting until both sides had militarily exhausted themselves.<p>The Battle of the Bulge officially ended when the two American forces met up on <!--del_lnk--> 15 January <!--del_lnk--> 1945.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23685.jpg.htm" title="Battle of the Bulge memorial in Belgium"><img alt="Battle of the Bulge memorial in Belgium" height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Mardasson_Memorial_Bastogne.JPG" src="../../images/236/23685.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23685.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Bulge memorial in Belgium</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><!--del_lnk--> Casualty estimates from the battle vary widely. The official US account lists 80,987 American casualties, while other estimates range from 70,000 to 104,000. British losses totaled 1,400. The German High Command's official figure for the campaign was 84,834 casualties, and other estimates range between 60,000 and 100,000.<p>The Allies pressed their advantage following the battle. By the beginning of February 1945, the lines were roughly where they had been in December 1944. In early February, the Allies launched an attack all along the Western front: in the north under Montgomery toward <a href="../../wp/a/Aachen.htm" title="Aachen">Aachen</a>; in the centre, under <!--del_lnk--> Courtney Hodges; and in the south, under Patton. Montgomery's behaviour during the months of December and January, including the press conference on <!--del_lnk--> January 7 where he downplayed the contribution of the American generals, further soured his relationship with his American counterparts through to the end of the war.<p>The German losses in the battle were critical in several respects: the last of the German reserves were now gone; the Luftwaffe had been broken; and the German army in the West was being pushed back. Most importantly, the Eastern Front was now ripe for the taking. In the East, the German army was unable to halt the Soviet juggernaut. German forces were sent reeling on two fronts and never recovered.<p>The Americans were short of available in-theatre reinforcements. The <i>American Military History</i> says:<dl>
<dd>"<i>Faced with a shortage of infantry replacements during the enemy's counteroffensive General Eisenhower offered Negro soldiers in service units an opportunity to volunteer for duty with the infantry. More than 4,500 responded, many taking reductions in grade in order to meet specified requirements. The 6th Army Group formed these men into provisional companies, while the 12th Army Group employed them as an additional platoon in existing rifle companies. The excellent record established by these volunteers, particularly those serving as platoons, presaged major postwar changes in the traditional approach to employing Negro troops.</i>"</dl>
<p><a id="The_battle_in_popular_culture" name="The_battle_in_popular_culture"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The battle in popular culture</span></h2>
<p>The Battle of the Bulge has been the setting of several <a href="../../wp/f/Film.htm" title="Film">movies</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/Novel.htm" title="Novel">novels</a>, and other media.<p><a id="Films" name="Films"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Films</span></h3>
<p><i><!--del_lnk--> Battleground</i> was an <!--del_lnk--> Oscar winning 1949 film depicting the 101st Airborne's defence of Bastogne, told from the common soldier's point of view, depicting the troops as weary but determined survivors.<p><i><!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Bulge</i> was released in 1965, starring <!--del_lnk--> Robert Shaw and <a href="../../wp/h/Henry_Fonda.htm" title="Henry Fonda">Henry Fonda</a>. While filmed against sweeping vistas and with famous stars in the lead roles, the movie is notorious for countless major inaccuracies.<p>The movie <i>Silent Night</i> takes place during the campaign and is based on a true story about a German woman named Elisabeth Vincken who was able to broker a truce between American and German soldiers who sought shelter in her cabin on Christmas Eve.<p>The 1992 film <i><!--del_lnk--> A Midnight Clear</i>, featuring <!--del_lnk--> Ethan Hawke and <!--del_lnk--> Gary Sinise, is set on the eve of the Battle of the Bulge and depicts the beginning of the German offensive.<p>The 1994 PBS documentary "Battle of the Bulge", produced by <!--del_lnk--> Thomas F. Lennon, wrtten by Lennon and Mark Zwonitzer, was told from the perspective of American soldiers who survived. It received many awards, including the duPont-Columbia Journalism award.<p>The 2002 film <i><!--del_lnk--> Hart's War</i>, featuring <!--del_lnk--> Colin Farrell, <!--del_lnk--> Terrence Howard, and <!--del_lnk--> Bruce Willis also depicts the beginning of the battle.<p>The 2005 film "<!--del_lnk--> Saints and Soldiers" depicts the Massacre at Malmedy with its opening scene.<p><!--del_lnk--> Stephen Ambrose's <i><!--del_lnk--> Band of Brothers</i> is a factual account which follows the fortunes of <!--del_lnk--> Easy Company, <!--del_lnk--> 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne. It was later made into a <a href="../../wp/b/BBC.htm" title="BBC">BBC</a>/<!--del_lnk--> HBO television series, also called <i><!--del_lnk--> Band of Brothers</i>, that includes the Company's experiences in the Battle of the Bulge, particularly near Bastogne. Episode 6 of the television series, titled "Bastogne", depicts the fighting around Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Episode 7 of the series, titled "Breaking Point" covers the end of the Battle of Bastogne, including an assault on Foy, a Belgian village about 5 km outside of Bastogne.<p><a id="Games" name="Games"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Games</span></h3>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> computer game <i><!--del_lnk--> Battlefield 1942</i> allows players to reenact the battle, as does the <i><!--del_lnk--> United Offensive</i> expansion pack for <i><!--del_lnk--> Call of Duty</i>, but the games are generally considered focused too heavily on Bastogne to be considered a full reenactment. "Decisive Battles: The Ardennes Offensive" and <i><!--del_lnk--> Close Combat IV: Battle of the Bulge</i> (1999 by SSI) are seen by many as the most accurate implementations of the full battle, though the latter focuses on platoon-sized battles translated onto a much larger strategic map and bear little resemblance to the actual battle. The WWII first person shooter <i><!--del_lnk--> Medal of Honour: European Assault</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Medal of Honour: Spearhead</i> also feature the battle.<p>The award-winning WWII-themed board game <!--del_lnk--> Memoir '44 also contains a scenario that reenacts the battle. A number of other board games deal with this battle in various degrees of complexity, but in greater detail than Memoir '44. There are also two Historical Modules for <i><!--del_lnk--> Advanced Squad Leader</i> depicting the fighting by Kampfgruppe Peiper during the battle. Other games have included <i>Battle of the Bulge</i> <i>Bitter Woods</i> by The Avalon Hill Company, as well as <i>Tigers in the Mist</i> and <i>Ardennes '44</i> by GMT Games.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War II', 'Belgium', 'United States', 'United Kingdom', 'Nazi Germany', 'Dwight D. Eisenhower', 'Battle of Normandy', 'Battle of France', 'Battle of Britain', 'Battle of Normandy', 'Antwerp', 'Battle of Gettysburg', 'Battle of Normandy', 'Belgium', 'Dwight D. Eisenhower', 'Antwerp', 'Industry', 'Rhine', 'Marseilles', 'Luftwaffe', 'Romania', 'Blitzkrieg', 'Antwerp', 'Battle of France', 'Brussels', 'Antwerp', 'Brussels', 'Radio', 'Enigma machine', 'Telephone', 'Italy', 'Benito Mussolini', 'English language', 'Berlin', 'Luxembourg', 'Chicago', 'Paris', 'Belgium', 'Medicine', 'Food', 'Luftwaffe', 'Aircraft', 'Winston Churchill', 'Poland', 'Aachen', 'Film', 'Novel', 'Henry Fonda', 'BBC']
|
Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of the Eastern Solomons,1942,1943,2006,24 August,24 hour clock,A6M Zero,Adversary,Aichi D3A,Aircraft,Aircraft carrier" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of the Eastern Solomons</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons";
var wgTitle = "Battle of the Eastern Solomons";
var wgArticleId = 261096;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of the Eastern Solomons</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of the Eastern Solomons</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Theatre of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/236/23686.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="229" longdesc="/wiki/Image:EasternSolomonsEnterpriseBurning.jpg" src="../../images/236/23686.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><!--del_lnk--> USS <i>Enterprise</i> (centre left), <!--del_lnk--> heeling over under aerial attack and afire on <!--del_lnk--> August 24, <!--del_lnk--> 1942. <!--del_lnk--> Anti-aircraft shell bursts directed at the attacking Japanese <!--del_lnk--> dive bombers are visible above the carrier.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 24, <!--del_lnk--> 1942 – <!--del_lnk--> August 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1942</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td>North of <!--del_lnk--> Santa Isabel, <a href="../../wp/s/Solomon_Islands.htm" title="Solomon Islands">Solomon Islands</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Allied <!--del_lnk--> tactical and <!--del_lnk--> strategic advantage</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> (U.S.),<br /><a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Empire of Japan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Robert Ghormley<br /><!--del_lnk--> Frank Jack Fletcher</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Isoroku Yamamoto<br /><!--del_lnk--> Chuichi Nagumo</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">2 fleet <!--del_lnk--> carriers,<br /> 1 <!--del_lnk--> battleship,<br /> 4 <!--del_lnk--> cruisers,<br /> 11 <!--del_lnk--> destroyers,<br /> 176 <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft.htm" title="Aircraft">aircraft</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">2 fleet carriers,<br /> 1 <!--del_lnk--> light carrier,<br /> 2 battleships,<br /> 16 cruisers,<br /> 25 destroyers,<br /> 1 <!--del_lnk--> seaplane tender,<br /> 4 <!--del_lnk--> patrol boats,<br /> 3 <!--del_lnk--> transports,<br /> 171 aircraft</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">1 carrier heavily damaged,<br /> 25 aircraft destroyed,<br /> 90 killed</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">1 light carrier,<br /> 1 destroyer,<br /> 1 transport sunk,<br /> 1 <!--del_lnk--> light cruiser,<br /> 1 seaplane tender heavily damaged,<br /> 75 aircraft destroyed,<br /> 290+ killed</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal campaign</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Tulagi – <!--del_lnk--> Savo I. – <!--del_lnk--> Tenaru – <strong class="selflink">Eastern Solomons</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Edson's Ridge – <!--del_lnk--> Cape Esperance – <!--del_lnk--> Henderson Field – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Santa_Cruz_Islands.htm" title="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands">Santa Cruz Is.</a> – <a href="../../wp/n/Naval_Battle_of_Guadalcanal.htm" title="Naval Battle of Guadalcanal">Naval Guadalcanal</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Tassafaronga – <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ke</i> – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Rennell_Island.htm" title="Battle of Rennell Island">Rennell I.</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Solomon Islands campaign</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1st Tulagi – <!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal – <!--del_lnk--> Blackett Strait – <!--del_lnk--> <i>Cartwheel</i> – <!--del_lnk--> Death of Yamamoto – <!--del_lnk--> New Georgia – <!--del_lnk--> Kula Gulf – <!--del_lnk--> Kolombangara – <!--del_lnk--> Vella Gulf – <!--del_lnk--> Horaniu – <!--del_lnk--> Vella Lavella – <!--del_lnk--> Naval Vella Lavella – <!--del_lnk--> Treasury Is. – <!--del_lnk--> Choiseul – <!--del_lnk--> Empress Augusta Bay – <!--del_lnk--> Cape St. George – <!--del_lnk--> Green Is. – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Rabaul – <!--del_lnk--> Bougainville</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The naval <b>Battle of the Eastern Solomons</b> (also known as the <b>Battle of the Stewart Islands</b> and, in Japanese sources, as the <b>Second Battle of the Solomon Sea</b> (第二次ソロモン海戦)) took place on <!--del_lnk--> 24-<!--del_lnk--> 25 August <!--del_lnk--> 1942 and was the third <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft_carrier.htm" title="Aircraft carrier">carrier</a> <!--del_lnk--> battle of the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific campaign of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> and the second major engagement fought by the <!--del_lnk--> United States Navy and the <a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">Imperial Japanese Navy</a> during the lengthy <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Guadalcanal in the <!--del_lnk--> Solomon Islands campaign. As at <!--del_lnk--> Coral Sea and <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Midway.htm" title="Battle of Midway">Midway</a>, the <a href="../../wp/s/Ship.htm" title="Ship">ships</a> of the two <!--del_lnk--> adversaries were never in direct <!--del_lnk--> visual range of each other. Instead, all of the attacks by either side were carried out by either carrier or land-based <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft.htm" title="Aircraft">aircraft</a>.<p>After several damaging <!--del_lnk--> air attacks, the <!--del_lnk--> naval <!--del_lnk--> surface <!--del_lnk--> combatants from both the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States of America">United States of America</a> (U.S.) and <!--del_lnk--> Japan withdrew from the battle area without either side securing a clear <!--del_lnk--> victory. However, the U.S. and its <!--del_lnk--> allies apparently gained a greater <!--del_lnk--> tactical and <!--del_lnk--> strategic advantage from the battle than Japan because the <!--del_lnk--> Allied forces suffered fewer losses than the Japanese, who lost a significant amount of aircraft and experienced <!--del_lnk--> aircrews. Also, Japanese reinforcements intended for <!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal were delayed and eventually delivered by naval <!--del_lnk--> warships instead of <!--del_lnk--> transport ships, giving the Allies more time to prepare for the Japanese counteroffensive and preventing the Japanese from landing heavy <!--del_lnk--> artillery, <!--del_lnk--> ammunition, and other <!--del_lnk--> logistical <!--del_lnk--> supplies that would have significantly assisted their forces in the struggle for the island.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> August 7, 1942, Allied forces (primarily U.S.) <!--del_lnk--> landed on Guadalcanal, <!--del_lnk--> Tulagi, and <!--del_lnk--> Florida Islands in the southern <a href="../../wp/s/Solomon_Islands.htm" title="Solomon Islands">Solomon Islands</a>. The landings on the <!--del_lnk--> islands were meant to deny their use by the Japanese as <!--del_lnk--> bases to <!--del_lnk--> threaten the <!--del_lnk--> supply routes between the U.S. and <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>, and to use them as starting points for a <!--del_lnk--> campaign with the eventual goal of isolating the major Japanese <!--del_lnk--> base at <!--del_lnk--> Rabaul while also supporting the Allied <!--del_lnk--> New Guinea and <!--del_lnk--> New Britain campaigns. The landings initiated the six-month-long <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Guadalcanal.<p>The Allied landings were directly supported by three U.S. aircraft carrier <!--del_lnk--> task forces: <!--del_lnk--> TF 11 (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Saratoga</i>), <!--del_lnk--> TF 16 (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Enterprise</i>), and <!--del_lnk--> TF 18 (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Wasp</i>), their respective <!--del_lnk--> air groups, and supporting surface warships, including a <!--del_lnk--> battleship, <!--del_lnk--> cruisers, and <!--del_lnk--> destroyers. The overall <!--del_lnk--> commander of the three carrier task forces was <!--del_lnk--> Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Frank Jack Fletcher who flew his <!--del_lnk--> flag on <i>Saratoga</i>. The aircraft from the three U.S. carriers provided <!--del_lnk--> close air support for the <a href="../../wp/i/Invasion.htm" title="Invasion">invasion</a> forces and defended against Japanese air attacks from Rabaul. However, worried over the losses of many of his <!--del_lnk--> fighter aircraft in <!--del_lnk--> combat with Japanese aircraft, which he felt made this carriers too vulnerable to air attack, and concerned about the Allied defeat in <!--del_lnk--> The Battle of Savo Island, Fletcher, claiming a need to <!--del_lnk--> fuel, withdrew his carriers to a safer distance between the Solomons and <!--del_lnk--> New Hebrides (<a href="../../wp/v/Vanuatu.htm" title="Vanuatu">Vanuatu</a>) islands on <!--del_lnk--> August 9. Here, U.S. carriers were charged with guarding the line of communication between the major Allied bases at <a href="../../wp/n/New_Caledonia.htm" title="New Caledonia">New Caledonia</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Espiritu Santo, supporting the Allied ground forces at Guadalcanal and Tulagi against any Japanese counteroffensives, covering the movement of supply ships to Guadalcanal, and last, but not least, engaging and destroying any Japanese warships, especially carriers, that came within range.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:277px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23687.jpg.htm" title="U.S. carriers Wasp (foreground), Saratoga, and Enterprise (background) operating in the Pacific south of Guadalcanal on August 12 1942"><img alt="U.S. carriers Wasp (foreground), Saratoga, and Enterprise (background) operating in the Pacific south of Guadalcanal on August 12 1942" height="206" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SolomonsThreeCarriers.jpg" src="../../images/236/23687.jpg" width="275" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23687.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> U.S. carriers <i>Wasp</i> (foreground), <i>Saratoga</i>, and <i>Enterprise</i> (background) operating in the <a href="../../wp/p/Pacific_Ocean.htm" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific</a> <!--del_lnk--> south of Guadalcanal on <!--del_lnk--> August 12 1942</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Between <!--del_lnk--> August 15 and <!--del_lnk--> August 20, the U.S. carriers covered the delivery of fighter and <!--del_lnk--> bomber aircraft to the newly opened <!--del_lnk--> Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. Henderson Field and the aircraft based there soon began having a telling effect on the movement of Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands and in the <!--del_lnk--> attrition of Japanese air forces in the <!--del_lnk--> South Pacific Area. In fact, Allied control of Henderson Field became the key factor in the entire battle for Guadalcanal.<p>Taken by surprise by the Allied offensive in the Solomons, Japanese naval (under Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Isoroku Yamamoto) and <!--del_lnk--> army forces prepared a counteroffensive, with the goal of driving the Allies out of Guadalcanal and Tulagi. The counteroffensive was called <i>Operation Ka</i> (<i>Ka</i> comes from the first syllable for <i>Guadalcanal</i> as pronounced in <!--del_lnk--> Japanese) with the naval portion having an additional objective of destroying Allied warship forces in the South Pacific area, specifically the U.S. carriers.<div style="clear: both">
</div>
<p><a id="Battle" name="Battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle</span></h2>
<p><a id="Prelude" name="Prelude"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude</span></h3>
<p>A <!--del_lnk--> convoy containing 1,500 Japanese troops, loaded on three slow transport ships, left <!--del_lnk--> Truk (Chuuk) on <!--del_lnk--> August 16 and headed towards Guadalcanal. The transports were guarded by <!--del_lnk--> light cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Jintsu</i>, eight destroyers, and four patrol boats, led by Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Raizo Tanaka (flag in <i>Jintsu</i>) Also departing from Rabaul to help protect the convoy was a "Close Cover force" of four heavy cruisers, commanded by Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Gunichi Mikawa. These were the same cruisers that had defeated an Allied naval surface force in the earlier <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Savo Island. Tanaka planned to land the troops from his convoy on Guadalcanal on August 24.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:177px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23688.jpg.htm" title="Japanese Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo"><img alt="Japanese Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Chuichi_Nagumo.jpg" src="../../images/236/23688.jpg" width="175" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23688.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Japanese Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> August 21, the rest of the Japanese <i>Ka</i> naval force departed Truk, heading for the southern Solomons. These ships were basically divided into three groups: the "Main Body" contained the Japanese carriers — <!--del_lnk--> <i>Shōkaku</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuikaku</i>, <!--del_lnk--> light carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ryūjō</i>, plus a screening force of one <!--del_lnk--> heavy cruiser and eight destroyers, commanded by Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Chuichi Nagumo in <i>Shōkaku</i>; the "Vanguard Force" consisted of two <!--del_lnk--> battleships, three heavy cruisers, one <!--del_lnk--> light cruiser, and three destroyers, commanded by Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Hiroaki Abe; the "Advanced Force" contained five heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, six destroyers, and a seaplane carrier (<!--del_lnk--> <i>Chitose</i>), commanded by Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Nobutake Kondo. Finally, a force of about 100 IJN land-based bomber, fighter, and <!--del_lnk--> reconnaissance aircraft at <!--del_lnk--> Rabaul and nearby islands were positioned to support. Nagumo's Main Body positioned itself behind the Vanguard and Advanced forces in order to more easily remain hidden from U.S. reconnaissance aircraft.<p>The <i>Ka</i> plan dictated once U.S. carriers were located, either by Japanese scout aircraft or an attack on one of the Japanese surface forces, Nagumo's carriers would immediately launch a strike force to destroy them. With the U.S. carriers destroyed or disabled, Abe's Vanguard and Kondo's Advanced forces would close with and destroy the rest of the allied naval forces in a warship surface action. The Japanese naval forces would then be free to neutralize Henderson Field through <!--del_lnk--> bombardment while covering the landing of the Japanese army troops to retake the islands of Guadalcanal and Tulagi.<p>In response to an unanticipated land battle fought between <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Marines on Guadalcanal and Japanese forces on <!--del_lnk--> August 19–20, the U.S. carrier task forces under Fletcher headed back towards Guadalcanal from their positions 400 miles (740 km) to the south on <!--del_lnk--> August 21. The U.S. carriers were to support the Marines, protect Henderson Field, and to combat and destroy any Japanese naval forces, especially carriers, that arrived to support Japanese troops in the land battle on Guadalcanal.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:177px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23689.jpg.htm" title="U.S. Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher"><img alt="U.S. Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher" height="221" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Frank_Jack_Fletcher-g14193.jpg" src="../../images/236/23689.jpg" width="175" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23689.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> U.S. Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Both the Allied and Japanese naval forces continued to head towards each other on <!--del_lnk--> August 22. Although both sides conducted intense aircraft scouting efforts neither side located the other. Due to the disappearance of at least one of their scouting aircraft (shot down by <i>Enterprise</i> aircraft before it could send a <a href="../../wp/r/Radio.htm" title="Radio">radio</a> report of what was happening), the Japanese strongly suspected the presence of U.S. carriers in the area. The U.S., however, was unaware of the disposition and strength of approaching Japanese surface warship forces.<p>At <!--del_lnk--> 09:50 on August 23, a U.S. <!--del_lnk--> PBY Catalina aircraft, based at Ndeni in the <!--del_lnk--> Santa Cruz Islands, sighted Tanaka's convoy. By late afternoon, with no further sightings of Japanese ships, two aircraft strike forces from <i>Saratoga</i> and Henderson Field took-off to attack Tanaka's convoy. However, Tanaka, knowing that an attack would be coming his way after being sighted, reversed course once the Catalina left the area, and both the <i>Saratoga</i> and Henderson Field aircraft were unable to locate his ships. After Tanaka reported to his superiors that he had lost time due to his turn to the <!--del_lnk--> north to avoid the Allied air attacks, the landings of his troops on Guadalcanal was pushed back to <!--del_lnk--> August 25. By 18:23 on <!--del_lnk--> August 23, with no Japanese carriers sighted, and no new <!--del_lnk--> intelligence reporting their presence in the area, Fletcher detached <i>Wasp</i>, which was getting low on fuel, and the rest of TF18 for the two-day trip south towards <!--del_lnk--> Efate to refuel. Thus, <i>Wasp</i> and her escorting warships wouldn't take part in the upcoming battle.<p><a id="Carrier_action_on_August_24" name="Carrier_action_on_August_24"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Carrier action on August 24</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:327px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23690.jpg.htm" title="U.S. Navy map from 1943 showing approximate paths and actions of Japanese (top) and Allied (bottom) naval forces in the battle from August 23 through August 26, 1942. Guadalcanal is the large, roughly oval-shaped island in the center-left of the map. (Click on map to see a larger image.)"><img alt="U.S. Navy map from 1943 showing approximate paths and actions of Japanese (top) and Allied (bottom) naval forces in the battle from August 23 through August 26, 1942. Guadalcanal is the large, roughly oval-shaped island in the center-left of the map. (Click on map to see a larger image.)" height="348" longdesc="/wiki/Image:EasternSolomonsChart.jpg" src="../../images/236/23690.jpg" width="325" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23690.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> U.S. Navy map from 1943 showing approximate paths and actions of Japanese (top) and Allied (bottom) naval forces in the battle from August 23 through August 26, 1942. Guadalcanal is the large, roughly oval-shaped island in the centre-left of the map. (Click on map to see a larger image.)</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>At 01:45 on <!--del_lnk--> August 24, Nagumo ordered the light carrier <i>Ryūjō</i>, along with the heavy cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tone</i> and destroyers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Amatsukaze</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tokitsukaze</i>, to proceed ahead of the main Japanese force and send an aircraft attack force against Henderson Field at daybreak. The <i>Ryūjō</i> mission may have been intended by Nagumo as a <!--del_lnk--> decoy to divert U.S. attention so that the rest of the Japanese force could approach the U.S. naval forces undetected as well as to help provide protection and cover for Tanaka's convoy. Most of the aircraft on <i>Shōkaku</i> and <i>Zuikaku</i> were readied to launch on short notice if the U.S. carriers were located. Between 05:55 and 06:30, the U.S. carriers (mainly <i>Enterprise</i>), augmented by Catalinas from Ndeni, launched their own scout aircraft to search for the Japanese naval forces.<p>At 09:35 a Catalina made the first sighting of the <i>Ryūjō</i> force. Several more sightings of <i>Ryūjō</i> and ships of Kondo's and Mikawa's forces by carrier and other U.S. reconnaissance aircraft followed later that morning. Throughout the morning and early afternoon, U.S. aircraft also sighted several Japanese scout aircraft and <!--del_lnk--> submarines, leading Fletcher to believe that the Japanese knew where his carriers were, which, however, was not yet the case. Still, Fletcher hesitated to order a strike against the <i>Ryūjō</i> group until he was sure there weren't other Japanese carriers in the area. Finally, with no firm word on the presence or location of other Japanese carriers, Fletcher launched a strike of 38 aircraft from <i>Saratoga</i> at 13:40 to attack <i>Ryūjō</i>. However, he kept aircraft from both U.S. carriers ready just in case any Japanese fleet carriers were sighted.<p>At 12:20, <i>Ryūjō</i> launched six <!--del_lnk--> "Kate" bombers and nine <!--del_lnk--> A6M Zero fighters to attack Henderson Field in conjunction with an attack by 24 <!--del_lnk--> "Betty" bombers and 14 Zero fighters from Rabaul. However, unknown to the <i>Ryūjō</i> aircraft, the Rabaul aircraft had encountered severe weather and returned to their base at 11:30. The <i>Ryūjō</i> aircraft were detected on <a href="../../wp/r/Radar.htm" title="Radar">radar</a> by <i>Saratoga</i> as they flew towards Guadalcanal, further fixing the location of their ship for the impending U.S. attack. The <i>Ryūjō</i> aircraft arrived over Henderson Field at 14:23, and tangled with Henderson's fighter aircraft while bombing the airfield. In the resulting engagement three Kates, three Zeros, and three U.S. fighters were shot down and no damage was done to Henderson Field .<p>At 14:25, a Japanese scout aircraft sighted the U.S. carriers. Although it was shot down, its report was transmitted in time, and Nagumo immediately ordered his strike force launched from <i>Shōkaku</i> and <i>Zuikaku</i>. The two Japanese carriers' first wave of attack aircraft, 27 <!--del_lnk--> "Val" <!--del_lnk--> dive bombers and 15 Zeros, was off by 14:50 and on its way towards <i>Enterprise</i> and <i>Saratoga</i>. About this same time, two U.S. scout aircraft finally sighted the Main force containing the Japanese fleet carriers. However, due to <a href="../../wp/c/Communication.htm" title="Communication">communication</a> problems, these sighting reports never reached Fletcher. The two U.S. scout aircraft attacked <i>Shōkaku</i> before leaving the area, causing negligible damage. A second wave of 27 Vals and nine Zeros was launched by the Japanese carriers at 16:00 and headed south towards the U.S. carriers. Abe's Vanguard force also now surged ahead in anticipation of meeting the U.S. ships in a surface action after nightfall.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23691.jpg.htm" title="The disabled Ryujo (just right of center) being bombed on August 24, 1942 from high level by B-17 bombers. The destroyer Amatsukaze (center bottom) is moving away from Ryujo at full speed and Tokitsukaze (faintly visible, center right) is backing away from the bow of Ryujo in order to evade the B-17's falling bombs"><img alt="The disabled Ryujo (just right of center) being bombed on August 24, 1942 from high level by B-17 bombers. The destroyer Amatsukaze (center bottom) is moving away from Ryujo at full speed and Tokitsukaze (faintly visible, center right) is backing away from the bow of Ryujo in order to evade the B-17's falling bombs" height="178" longdesc="/wiki/Image:200px-Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons.jpg" src="../../images/236/23691.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23691.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The disabled <i>Ryujo</i> (just right of centre) being bombed on August 24, 1942 from high level by B-17 bombers. The destroyer <i>Amatsukaze</i> (centre bottom) is moving away from <i>Ryujo</i> at full speed and <i>Tokitsukaze</i> (faintly visible, centre right) is backing away from the bow of <i>Ryujo</i> in order to evade the B-17's falling bombs</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>About this same time, the <i>Saratoga</i> strike force arrived and began their attacks on <i>Ryūjō</i>, hitting her with three to five <!--del_lnk--> bombs, perhaps one <!--del_lnk--> torpedo, and killing 120 of her crew. Heavily damaged, <i>Ryūjō</i> abandoned ship at nightfall and sank soon after. <i>Amatsukaze</i> and <i>Tokitsukaze</i> rescued <i>Ryūjō's</i> survivors as well as the aircrews from her returning strike force, who <!--del_lnk--> ditched their aircraft in the ocean nearby. During this time, several U.S. <!--del_lnk--> B-17 bombers attacked the crippled <i>Ryūjō</i>, but caused no additional damage (see photo at left). After the rescue operations were complete, both Japanese destroyers and <i>Tone</i> rejoined Nagumo's Main force.<p>At 16:02, still waiting for a definitive report on the location of the Japanese fleet carriers, the U.S. carriers' radar detected the first incoming wave of Japanese strike aircraft. Fifty-three <!--del_lnk--> F4F Wildcat fighters from the two U.S. carriers were directed by radar control towards the approaching Japanese aircraft. However, communication problems, limitations of the aircraft <!--del_lnk--> identification capabilities of the radar, primitive control procedures, and effective screening of the Japanese dive bombers by their escorting Zero fighters, prevented all but a few of the U.S. fighters from engaging the Vals before they began their attacks on the U.S. carriers. Just before the Japanese dive bombers began their attacks, <i>Enterprise</i> and <i>Saratoga</i> cleared their decks for the impending action by launching the aircraft that they had been holding ready in case the Japanese fleet carriers were sighted. These aircraft were told to fly north and attack anything they could find, or else to circle outside the battle zone, until it was safe to return.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23692.jpg.htm" title="A Japanese "Val" dive bomber is shot down by anti-aircraft fire directly over Enterprise."><img alt="A Japanese "Val" dive bomber is shot down by anti-aircraft fire directly over Enterprise." height="183" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Dive_bomber_shot_over_Enterprise-24Aug42.jpg" src="../../images/236/23692.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23692.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A Japanese "Val" dive bomber is shot down by anti-aircraft fire directly over <i>Enterprise</i>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>At 16:29, the Japanese dive bombers began their attacks on the U.S. ships. Although several of the Japanese aircraft attempted to set-up to attack the <i>Saratoga</i>, they quickly shifted back to the nearer carrier, which was <i>Enterprise</i>. Thus, <i>Enterprise</i> was the target of almost the entire Japanese air attack. Several Wildcats followed the Vals into their attack dives, in spite of the intense <!--del_lnk--> anti-aircraft artillery fire from <i>Enterprise</i> and her screening warships, in a desperate attempt to disrupt their attacks. As many as four Wildcats were shot-down by U.S. anti-aircraft fire, as well as several Vals.<p>Due to the effective anti-aircraft fire from the U.S. ships, plus evasive maneuvers, the bombs from the first nine Vals missed <i>Enterprise</i>. However, at 16:44, an <!--del_lnk--> armor-piercing, <!--del_lnk--> delayed-action bomb penetrated the <!--del_lnk--> flight deck near the after <!--del_lnk--> elevator and passed through three <!--del_lnk--> decks before <!--del_lnk--> detonating below the <!--del_lnk--> waterline, killing 35 men and wounding 70 more. Incoming sea water caused <i>Enterprise</i> to develop a slight list, but it wasn't a major breach of <!--del_lnk--> hull integrity.<p>Just 30-seconds later, the next Val to attack planted its bomb only 15-feet away from where the first bomb hit. The resulting detonation ignited a large secondary explosion from one of the nearby 5-inch gun's ready powder casings, killing 35 members of the nearby gun crews, and starting a large fire.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23693.jpg.htm" title="The third and last bomb hits Enterprise, causing minor damage. Smoke from the first two bomb hits can be seen in the upper left of the picture"><img alt="The third and last bomb hits Enterprise, causing minor damage. Smoke from the first two bomb hits can be seen in the upper left of the picture" height="197" longdesc="/wiki/Image:USS_enterprise-bomb_hit-Bat_eastern_Solomons.jpg" src="../../images/236/23693.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23693.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The third and last bomb hits <i>Enterprise</i>, causing minor damage. Smoke from the first two bomb hits can be seen in the upper left of the picture</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>About a minute later, at 16:46, the third and last bomb hit <i>Enterprise</i> on the flight deck forward of where the first two bombs hit. This bomb exploded on contact, creating a 10-foot hole in the deck, but caused no further damage. Four Vals then broke-off from the attack on <i>Enterprise</i> to attack the U.S. battleship <i>North Carolina</i>, but all of their bombs missed. The attack was over at 16:48 and the surviving Japanese aircraft reassembled in small groups and returned to their ships.<p>Both sides thought that they had done more damage to each other during the attack than had actually occurred, due to many factors, but probably mainly due to the confused and complex nature of the engagement. The U.S. claimed to have shot down 70 Japanese aircraft in the attack, even though only 42 Japanese aircraft actually participated. Actual Japanese losses, from all causes, in the engagement were 25 aircraft, with most of the crews of the lost aircraft not being recovered or rescued. The Japanese, for their part, mistakenly believed that they had heavily damaged two, instead of just one, U.S. carrier. The U.S. lost six aircraft in the engagement, with most of the crews being rescued.<p>Although <i>Enterprise</i> was heavily damaged and on fire, her damage-control teams were able to make sufficient repairs for the ship to resume flight operations at 17:46, only one hour after the engagement ended. At 18:05, the <i>Saratoga</i> strike force returned from sinking <i>Ryūjō</i> and landed without major incident. The second wave of Japanese aircraft approached the U.S. carriers at 18:15, but was unable to locate the U.S. formation due to communication problems and had to return to their carriers without attacking any U.S. ships, losing several aircraft in the process due to operational mishaps. Most of the U.S. carrier aircraft launched just before the first wave of Japanese aircraft attacked failed to find any targets. However, five <!--del_lnk--> TBF Avengers from <i>Saratoga</i> sighted Kondo's Advanced force and attacked the seaplane tender <i>Chitose</i>, scoring two near misses which heavily damaged the unarmored ship. The U.S. carrier aircraft either landed at Henderson Field or were able to return to their carriers after dusk. The U.S. ships retired to the south to get out of range of any approaching Japanese warships. In fact, Abe's Vanguard force and Kondo's Advance force were steaming south to try to catch the U.S. carrier task forces in a surface battle, but turned around at midnight without having made contact with the U.S. warships. Nagumo's Main body, having taken heavy aircraft losses in the engagement, plus being low on fuel, also retreated from the area towards the north.<p><a id="Actions_on_August_25" name="Actions_on_August_25"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Actions on August 25</span></h3>
<p>Believing that two U.S. carriers had been taken out of action with heavy damage, Tanaka's reinforcement convoy again headed towards Guadalcanal and, by 08:00 on August 25, was within 150 miles of their destination. At 08:05, 18 U.S. aircraft from Henderson Field attacked Tanaka's convoy, causing heavy damage to <i>Jintsu</i>, killing 24 crewmen, and knocking Tanaka unconscious. The troop transport, <i>Kinryu Maru</i>, was also hit and eventually sank. Just as the Japanese destroyer <i>Mutsuki</i> pulled-alongside <i>Kinryu Maru</i> to rescue her crew and embarked troops, she was attacked by four U.S. B-17s from <!--del_lnk--> Espiritu Santo which landed five bombs on or around <i>Mutsuki</i>, sinking her immediately. A revived but shaken Tanaka ordered the convoy to retreat. Both the Japanese and U.S. elected to completely withdraw their warships from the area, ending the battle. The Japanese naval forces hovered near the northern Solomons, out of range of the U.S. aircraft based at Henderson Field, before finally returning to Truk on September 5.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23694.jpg.htm" title="The burned-out 5 inch (127 mm) gun gallery on Enterprise, photographed after the battle"><img alt="The burned-out 5 inch (127 mm) gun gallery on Enterprise, photographed after the battle" height="195" longdesc="/wiki/Image:EasternSolomons5inchGallery.jpg" src="../../images/236/23694.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23694.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The burned-out 5 inch (127 mm) gun gallery on <i>Enterprise</i>, photographed after the battle</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The battle is generally considered to be more or less a tactical and strategic victory for the U.S. due to the fact that the Japanese lost more ships, aircraft, and aircrew and Japanese troop reinforcements for Guadalcanal were delayed. Summing up the significance of the battle, historian <!--del_lnk--> Richard B. Frank states,<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of the Eastern Solomons"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of the Eastern Solomons"><img alt="Battle of the Eastern Solomons" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>The Battle of the Eastern Solomons was unquestionably an American victory, but it had little long-term result, apart from a further reduction in the corps of trained Japanese carrier aviators. The (Japanese) reinforcements that could not come by slow transport would soon reach Guadalcanal by other means.</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of the Eastern Solomons"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of the Eastern Solomons"><img alt="Battle of the Eastern Solomons" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The U.S. lost only seven aircrew members in the battle. However, the Japanese lost about 100, hard-to-replace, veteran aircrew members. The troops in Tanaka's convoy were later loaded onto destroyers at the <!--del_lnk--> Shortland Islands and delivered piecemeal, without most of their heavy equipment, to Guadalcanal beginning on <!--del_lnk--> August 29, 1942.<p>Emphasizing the strategic value of Henderson Field, in a separate reinforcement effort, Japanese destroyer <i><!--del_lnk--> Asagiri</i> was sunk and two other Japanese destroyers heavily damaged on <!--del_lnk--> August 28, 70 miles (130 km) north of Guadalcanal in the "<!--del_lnk--> The Slot" by U.S. aircraft based at the airfield. The Japanese effort to retake Guadalcanal continued as the battle for the island settled into a two-month long stalemate, punctuated by a large surface naval engagement at <!--del_lnk--> Cape Esperance on October 11-12, 1942.<p><i>Enterprise</i> traveled to <!--del_lnk--> Pearl Harbour for extensive repairs which were completed on <!--del_lnk--> October 15, 1942. She returned to the South Pacific on <!--del_lnk--> October 24, just in time for the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Santa_Cruz_Islands.htm" title="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands">Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands</a> and her rematch with <i>Shōkaku</i> and <i>Zuikaku</i>.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War II', 'Solomon Islands', 'United States', 'Australia', 'Aircraft', 'Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands', 'Naval Battle of Guadalcanal', 'Battle of Rennell Island', 'Aircraft carrier', 'World War II', 'Imperial Japanese Navy', 'Battle of Midway', 'Ship', 'Aircraft', 'United States of America', 'Solomon Islands', 'Australia', 'Invasion', 'Vanuatu', 'New Caledonia', 'Pacific Ocean', 'Radio', 'Radar', 'Communication', 'Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands']
|
Battle_of_the_Little_Bighorn
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of the Little Bighorn,1875,1876,1910,Alfred Terry,Algernon Smith,American Civil War,American Horse (elder),American West,Arapaho,Arikara" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of the Little Bighorn</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_the_Little_Bighorn";
var wgTitle = "Battle of the Little Bighorn";
var wgArticleId = 56126;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_the_Little_Bighorn">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of the Little Bighorn</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Pre_1900_Military.htm">Pre 1900 Military</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of the Little Bighorn</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Black Hills War</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/169/16935.jpg.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Custer_Massacre_At_Big_Horn%2C_Montana_June_25_1876.jpg" src="../../images/169/16935.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><i>Custer Massacre at Big Horn, Montana —<br /> June 25, 1876</i>, artist unknown</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> June 25 – <!--del_lnk--> June 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1876</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td>Near the <!--del_lnk--> Little Bighorn River, <!--del_lnk--> Big Horn County, Montana</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Native American victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Lakota,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Northern Cheyenne,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Arapaho</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/s/Sitting_Bull.htm" title="Sitting Bull">Sitting Bull</a>,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Crazy Horse</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> George Armstrong Custer †</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">949 lodges (probably 950-1200 warriors)</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">31 officers,<br /> 566 troopers,<br /> 15 civilians,<br /> ~35-40 scouts</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">~200 killed (according to Yellow Horse, Red Horse and Little Buck Elk and latest NPS researchs)</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">~268 killed (16 officers, 242 troopers, ~10 civilians/scouts),<br /> ~55 wounded</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Black Hills War</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Powder River – <!--del_lnk--> Rosebud – <strong class="selflink">Little Bighorn</strong> – <!--del_lnk--> Warbonnet Creek – <!--del_lnk--> Slim Buttes – <!--del_lnk--> Cedar Creek – <!--del_lnk--> Dull Knife Fight – <!--del_lnk--> Wolf Mountain</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of the Little Bighorn</b> — which is also called <b>Custer's <!--del_lnk--> last stand</b> and <b>Custer Massacre</b> and, in the parlance of the relevant <!--del_lnk--> Native Americans, the <b>Battle of the Greasy Grass</b> — was an armed engagement between a <!--del_lnk--> Lakota-<!--del_lnk--> Northern Cheyenne combined force and the <!--del_lnk--> 7th Cavalry of the <!--del_lnk--> United States Army. It occurred <!--del_lnk--> June 25–<!--del_lnk--> June 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1876, near the <!--del_lnk--> Little Bighorn River in the eastern <!--del_lnk--> Montana Territory.<p>The battle was the most famous incident in the <!--del_lnk--> Indian Wars and was a remarkable victory for the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne. A U.S. <!--del_lnk--> cavalry detachment commanded by <!--del_lnk--> Lt. Col. <!--del_lnk--> George Armstrong Custer was annihilated.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Prelude_to_battle" name="Prelude_to_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude to battle</span></h2>
<p><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h3>
<p>Forces from the Army were sent to attack the Native Americans based on Indian Inspector E.C. Watkins' report (issued on <!--del_lnk--> November 9, <!--del_lnk--> 1875) that claimed that hundreds of Lakota and Northern Cheyenne associated with <a href="../../wp/s/Sitting_Bull.htm" title="Sitting Bull">Sitting Bull</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Crazy Horse were hostile to the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>.<p>Thousands of Indians had indeed slipped away from their reservations through early 1876. Military officials planned a three-pronged expedition to corral them and force them back to the reservations, using both <!--del_lnk--> infantry and <!--del_lnk--> cavalry, as well as small detachments of <!--del_lnk--> artillery, including <!--del_lnk--> Gatling guns. <!--del_lnk--> Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> George Crook's column moved north from <!--del_lnk--> Fort Fetterman in the <!--del_lnk--> Wyoming Territory toward the <!--del_lnk--> Powder River area. <!--del_lnk--> Col. <!--del_lnk--> John Gibbon's column marched east from <!--del_lnk--> Fort Ellis in western <!--del_lnk--> Montana Territory. The third column under Brig. Gen. <!--del_lnk--> Alfred Terry, including George Custer's 7th Cavalry, departed westward from <!--del_lnk--> Fort Abraham Lincoln in the <!--del_lnk--> Dakota Territory. However, on <!--del_lnk--> June 17, Crook's column was defeated at the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Rosebud and forced to stop and regroup. Gibbon and Terry proceeded, joining forces in late <!--del_lnk--> June near the mouth of the Rosebud River. Terry and Gibbon formulated a plan that called for Custer's regiment to proceed up the Rosebud River, while Terry and Gibbon's united columns would proceed up the <!--del_lnk--> Big Horn and <!--del_lnk--> Little Big Horn rivers. The officers hoped to trap the Indian village between the two forces.<p>Custer's force arrived at an overlook 14 miles (23 km) east of the Little Bighorn River in what is now the state of <!--del_lnk--> Montana, on the night of <!--del_lnk--> June 24, as the Terry/Gibbon column was marching toward the mouth of the Little Big Horn.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16936.jpg.htm" title="Localisation of Little Bighorn in United States"><img alt="Localisation of Little Bighorn in United States" height="109" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Custermovements.jpg" src="../../images/169/16936.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16936.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Localisation of Little Bighorn in United States</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a name="7th_Cavalry_deployment"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">7th Cavalry deployment</span></h3>
<p>The 7th had previously served four-and-a-half years at <!--del_lnk--> Ft. Riley, <!--del_lnk--> Kansas, during which time it fought one major engagement and numerous skirmishes, experiencing casualties of 36 killed and 27 wounded. 6 other troopers had died of drowning and 51 from <a href="../../wp/c/Cholera.htm" title="Cholera">cholera</a> epidemics.<p>Fully half of the 7th Cavalry had just returned from eighteen months of constabulary duty in the <!--del_lnk--> deep South, having been recalled to Fort Abraham Lincoln to reassemble the regiment for the campaign. Approximately 20% of the troopers had been enlisted in the prior seven months (139 of an enlisted roll of 718), were only marginally trained, and had no combat or frontier experience. A sizable number of these recruits were immigrants from <a href="../../wp/i/Ireland.htm" title="Ireland">Ireland</a>, <a href="../../wp/e/England.htm" title="England">England</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Prussia, as had been many of the veteran troopers prior to their enlistments. Several men were veterans of the <a href="../../wp/a/American_Civil_War.htm" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a>, including many of the leading officers.<p>Of the 44 officers and 718 troopers then assigned to the 7th Cavalry (including a second lieutenant detached from the 20th Infantry and serving in L Troop), 13 officers (including the regimental commander, Col. <!--del_lnk--> Samuel D. Sturgis, who was on detached duty) and 152 troopers did not accompany the 7th during the campaign. Among those left behind at Fort Abraham Lincoln were the regimental band.<p>After discovering a large trail on <!--del_lnk--> June 15, the 7th Cavalry split from the remainder of the Terry column on <!--del_lnk--> June 22 and began a pursuit along the trail. Following a night forced march on <!--del_lnk--> June 24–<!--del_lnk--> 25, in which <!--del_lnk--> Crow Indian scouts reported to Custer the presence of what was judged a very large encampment of Indians, Custer divided the 7th Cavalry into four detachments.<p>The largest detachment consisted of Troops C, E, F, I, and L, personally led by Custer. It numbered 13 officers, 198 men (7 of whom would eventually be detached before the "last stand") and three civilians—a newspaper reporter, and two scouts. Two of Custer's relatives would later join the column. Troop C was commanded by Custer's brother, <!--del_lnk--> Capt. <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Custer, and L Company by his brother-in-law, <!--del_lnk--> 1st Lt. <!--del_lnk--> James Calhoun. This detachment marched along a ridge line on the east bank of the Little Big Horn in an attempt to enter the encampment from the north.<p>A second detachment, led by <!--del_lnk--> Maj. <!--del_lnk--> Marcus Reno, was sent into the Little Big Horn valley to provoke an engagement. This detachment consisted of Troops A, G, and M, and numbered 11 officers, 131 troopers, and most of the approximately 35 Sioux, <!--del_lnk--> Ree/<!--del_lnk--> Arikara and Crow scouts.<p>A third detachment was led by a company commander, Capt. <!--del_lnk--> Frederick Benteen, and was made up of Troops D, H, and K, with 5 officers and 110 men. Its mission was to scout within supporting distance of either of the other columns or to attack any body of Indians it encountered.<p>The last group was the regimental pack train, consisting of 7 or 8 troopers from each company and escorted by Troop B. Commanded by Captain <!--del_lnk--> Thomas McDougall, this sizable force had 2 officers, 127 troopers, and 7 civilian packers.<p>Each of the first three detachments was to seek out the Indian encampments, attack them, and hold them in place until the other two detachments arrived to support. Custer had employed similar tactics in 1868 during the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Washita.<p><a id="The_Battle" name="The_Battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Battle</span></h2>
<div class="floatleft"><span><a class="image" href="../../images/169/16937.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="355" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bighornbattle_en.png" src="../../images/169/16937.png" width="500" /></a></span></div>
<p><a id="Reno.27s_attack" name="Reno.27s_attack"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Reno's attack</span></h3>
<p>The first detachment to attack was Major Reno's, conducted after receiving orders from Custer delivered by Lt. <!--del_lnk--> William W. Cooke. The orders, made without accurate knowledge of the village's size, location, or propensity to stand and fight, were to pursue the Indians and "bring them to battle". However, Custer did promise to "support...[Reno] with the whole outfit". Reno's force crossed the Little Bighorn at the mouth of what is today called Reno Creek and immediately realized that the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne were present "in force and ...not running away".<p>Sending a message to Custer, but hearing nothing in return, Reno advanced rapidly northward, stating that he drove the enemy "with ease". However, he suspected "a trap" and stopped a few hundred yards short of the encampment, dismounting and deploying in a <!--del_lnk--> skirmish line, as standard army doctrine called for. In deploying in a skirmish line, every fifth trooper handled the horses for four troopers taking firing positions, thus immediately reducing the fighting force by 20%. The troopers on the skirmish line were positioned five to ten yards apart, with officers just to their rear and the troopers with horses behind the officers. After about 20 minutes of long distance firing he had taken only one casualty but the odds against him had become more obvious (Reno estimated five to one) and Custer had not reinforced him. Reno ordered a withdrawal into nearby woods in a loop of the river, then made a disorderly retreat across the river to reach the high ground of the bluffs on the other side. The retreat was confused and immediately disrupted by Cheyenne attacks at close quarters. Reno later reported that 3 officers and 29 troopers were killed during the retreat and the subsequent <!--del_lnk--> fording of the river and another officer and 13-18 men missing, left behind in the woods, although most of these men eventually rejoined the detachment.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/121/12177.jpg.htm" title="The battlefield today."><img alt="The battlefield today." height="119" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Little_bighorn_memorial_overview_with_clouds.jpg" src="../../images/121/12177.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/121/12177.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The battlefield today.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Atop the bluffs, Reno's shaken troops soon linked up with the detachment of Captain Benteen, arriving from the south. This force had been on its lateral scouting mission when it had been summoned by a messenger from Custer to "Come on...big village, be quick...bring pacs...". (This messenger was <!--del_lnk--> John Martin, a trumpeter, who was the last white person to see Custer alive and survive the battle.) Benteen's coincidental arrival on the bluffs was just in time to save Reno's men from possible annihilation. Their detachments were then reinforced by McDougall and the pack train. The 14 officers and 340 troopers on the bluffs organized an all-around defense and dug <!--del_lnk--> rifle pits.<p>Despite hearing heavy gunfire from the north, Benteen concentrated on reinforcing Reno's badly wounded battalion, rather than continuing on towards Custer. There was documented conversations between Benteen and Reno taking note of the similarity in Custer's strategy to that used years earlier at the Battle of the Washita. There, when his position looked threatened, Custer retreated instead of supporting one of his sub-commanders, Major Joel Elliot, resulting in the complete annihilation of Elliot's unit. Benteen wondered if history had just repeated itself and Custer had abandoned them to possible annihilation. Benteen was heard to say "I wonder if this is to be another Maj. Elliot affair?" (See Hardoff, <i>Camp</i>; and Nichols, <i>Reno Court</i>.)<p>After an hour, nearing five o'clock and the end of the Custer fight, Capt. <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Weir and Company D moved out against orders to make contact with Custer. They advanced a mile and could see Lakota shooting in the distance, but were under considerable pressure themselves. The other companies eventually followed by assigned batalions, first Benteen, then Reno, and finally the pack train, but growing Lakota attacks forced all seven companies to return to the bluff before the pack train, with the ammunition, had moved even a quarter mile. Benteen's apparent reluctance prompted later criticism that he had failed to follow orders.<p><a id="Custer.27s_fight" name="Custer.27s_fight"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Custer's fight</span></h3>
<p>The gunfire heard on the bluffs was from Custer's fight. His force of 208 was engaged by the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne approximately 3.5 miles (6 km) to the north. Having driven Reno's force away from the encampment and isolated it, many warriors were free to pursue Custer. The route taken by Custer to his "Last Stand" remains a subject of debate. It does seem clear that after ordering Reno to charge, Custer continued down Reno Creek to within about a half mile (800 m) of the Little Bighorn, but then turned north, and climbed up the bluffs, reaching the same spot to which Reno would soon retreat. From this point, he could see Reno, on the other side of the river, charging the village.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16938.jpg.htm" title="General Custer on horseback and his U. S. Army troops make their last charge at the Battle of the Little Bighorn."><img alt="General Custer on horseback and his U. S. Army troops make their last charge at the Battle of the Little Bighorn." height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:X-33628.jpg" src="../../images/169/16938.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16938.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> General Custer on horseback and his U. S. Army troops make their last charge at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Custer then rode north along the bluffs, and descended into a drainage called Medicine Tail Coulee, which led to the river. Some historians believe that part of Custer's force descended the <!--del_lnk--> coulee, going west to the river and attempting unsuccessfully to cross into the village. Other authorities believe that Custer never approached the river, but rather continued north across the coulee and up the other side, where he gradually came under attack. By the time Custer realized he was badly outnumbered by the Indians who came from the Reno fight, according to this theory, it was too late to break through back to the south, where Reno and Benteen could have provided reinforcement.<p>Within roughly three hours, Custer's force was completely annihilated. Only two men from the 7th Cavalry later claimed to have seen Custer engage the Indians: a young Crow whose name translated as <!--del_lnk--> Curley, and a trooper named <!--del_lnk--> Peter Thompson, who had fallen behind Custer's column, and most accounts of the last moments of Custer's forces are conjecture. Lakota accounts assert that Crazy Horse personally led one of the large groups of Lakota who overwhelmed the cavalrymen. While exact numbers are difficult to determine, it is commonly estimated that the Northern Cheyenne and Lakota outnumbered the 7th Cavalry by approximately 3:1, a ratio which was extended to 5:1 during the fragmented parts of the battle. In addition, some of the Indians were armed with repeating Spencer and <!--del_lnk--> Winchester rifles, while the 7th Cavalry carried single-shot <!--del_lnk--> Springfield carbines, which had a slow rate of fire, tended to jam when overheated, and were difficult to operate from horseback.<p>The terrain of the battlefield gave Lakota and Cheyenne bows an advantage, since Custer's troops were pinned in a depression on higher ground from which they could not use <!--del_lnk--> direct fire at the Indians in <!--del_lnk--> defilade. On the other hand, the Lakota and Cheyenne were able to fire their arrows into the depression by launching them on a high arching <!--del_lnk--> indirect fire, with the volume of arrows ensuring severe casualties. U.S. <!--del_lnk--> small arms might have been more accurate over open distances, but the fighting on this occasion was <!--del_lnk--> close combat where rate of fire and reliability of a weapon were more important attributes.<p>Recent archaeological work at the battlefield site indicates that Custer initially deployed his troops in skirmish lines per Army doctrine. This deployment would have resulted in only approximately 150 troopers providing defensive fire over several long skirmish lines. As individual troopers were killed, wounded or their carbines jammed, the skirmish lines became untenable.<p>While many of Custer's troops were recruits who did not possess an adequate level of military training and skill, archaeological evidence also suggests that they were undernourished, in poor physical condition, and had been on forced march nearly 24 hours without sleep at the commencement of the engagement.<p><a id="The_Fight_on_the_Bluffs" name="The_Fight_on_the_Bluffs"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">The Fight on the Bluffs</span></h3>
<p>After the Custer force was annihilated, the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne regrouped to attack Reno and Benteen. The fight continued until dark (approximately 9:00 p.m. by local timekeeping) and for much of the next day, with the outcome in doubt. Reno credited Benteen's leadership with repulsing a severe attack on the portion of the perimeter held by Companies H and M. On June 26 the column under Terry approached from the north, and the Indians drew off in the opposite direction. The wounded were given what treatment was available at that time; five later died of their wounds. Two of the regiment's three surgeons had been with Custer's column; the remaining doctor was assisted by interpreter <!--del_lnk--> Fred Gerard.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16939.jpg.htm" title="General Custer and his U. S. Army troops are defeated in battle with Native American Lakota Sioux, Crow, Northern, and Cheyenne, on the Little Bighorn Battlefield, June 25, 1876 at Little Bighorn River, Montana."><img alt="General Custer and his U. S. Army troops are defeated in battle with Native American Lakota Sioux, Crow, Northern, and Cheyenne, on the Little Bighorn Battlefield, June 25, 1876 at Little Bighorn River, Montana." height="200" longdesc="/wiki/Image:X-33633.jpg" src="../../images/169/16939.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16939.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> General Custer and his U. S. Army troops are defeated in battle with Native American Lakota Sioux, Crow, Northern, and Cheyenne, on the Little Bighorn Battlefield, June 25, 1876 at Little Bighorn River, Montana.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>An examination was made of the Custer battle site. The Indian dead had mostly been removed from the field. The 7th's dead were identified as best as possible and hastily buried where they fell. Custer was found to have been shot in the left temple and in the left chest; either wound would have been fatal. He also suffered a wound to the arm. Some Lakota oral histories assert that Custer committed suicide to avoid capture and subsequent torture or death—as Custer believed—but he was right-handed. His body was found near the top of "Last Stand Hill" where a large obelisk inscribed with the names of the 7th's dead now stands. Most of the dead had been stripped of their clothing, mutilated, and were in an advanced state of deterioration, such that identification of many of the bodies was impossible.<p>From the evidence, it was impossible to determine what exactly had transpired, but there was not much evidence of prolonged organized resistance. Several days after the battle, the young Crow scout <!--del_lnk--> Curley gave an account of the battle which indicated that Custer had attacked the village after crossing the river at the mouth of Medicine Tail Coulee and had been driven back across the river, retreating up the slope to the hill where his body was later found. This scenario seemed compatible with Custer's aggressive style of warfare, and with some of the evidence found on the ground, and formed the basis for many of the popular accounts of the battle.<p>Unfortunately (for Custer and his troops), this aggressive action was deeply flawed as a military tactic. First, Custer did not have adequate information (or did not believe it) on the size of the Lakota/Cheyenne encampment. According to Herman Viola's 1998 book on the battle, Custer's Crow scouts did tell Custer the encampment was far too large to be attacked, and began to change into their native dress, because they did not want to die dressed in white man's uniforms. When Custer asked his famed Indian Scout, <!--del_lnk--> Mitch Bouyer, why the Crow scouts were changing, Bouyer told him the scouts believed the attack on the village would be fatal to them all.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16940.jpg.htm" title=""Custer's Last Stand." Native American Lakota Sioux, Crow, Northern, and Cheyenne, defeat General Custer standing center, wearing buckskin, with few of his soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry still standing, Little Bighorn Battlefield, June 26, 1876 at the Little Bighorn River, Montana."><img alt=""Custer's Last Stand." Native American Lakota Sioux, Crow, Northern, and Cheyenne, defeat General Custer standing center, wearing buckskin, with few of his soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry still standing, Little Bighorn Battlefield, June 26, 1876 at the Little Bighorn River, Montana." height="196" longdesc="/wiki/Image:X-33630.jpg" src="../../images/169/16940.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16940.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> "Custer's Last Stand." Native American Lakota Sioux, Crow, Northern, and Cheyenne, defeat General Custer standing centre, wearing buckskin, with few of his soldiers of the Seventh Cavalry still standing, Little Bighorn Battlefield, June 26, 1876 at the Little Bighorn River, Montana.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Custer then released the Crow Scouts, including Curley and White Man Runs Him, from their duty. (White Man Runs Him was the first to tell General Terry's officers that Custer's force had "been wiped out".) The element of surprise in the 7th Cavalry attack may have been able to overcome a slightly larger force, but not a force roughly five times as large. Second, Custer did not know the terrain from which he would attempt his attack. Custer, according to Lakota/Cheyenne sources, was never able to get any part of his battalion across the river to the encampment. Custer's troops were never able to concentrate their firepower on the Lakota/Cheyenne forces. Third, Custer set his regiment up for "defeat in detail" by dividing it into three smaller battle units (the troops assigned to the pack train were a necessary part of any battle plan), that could not quickly support each other. None of the battalions was large enough to win a major engagement, due to the standard skirmish line deployment in battle. In addition, many of the Native American warriors had far better weapons than the U.S. cavalry soldiers.<p>Estimates of Lakota and Cheyenne casualties widely vary, from as few as 36 dead (listings of dead by name) to as many as 300. The 7th Cavalry suffered 52% casualties: 16 officers and 242 troopers killed or died of wounds, one officer and 51 troopers wounded. Every soldier in Custer's detachment was killed. The sole survivor that was found by General Terry's troops was Captain Keogh's horse <!--del_lnk--> Comanche. By July, the 7th cavalry had been restocked with officers and new recruiting efforts were underway. It would again take the field in pursuit of its adversaries, but its legacy remains the Little Bighorn.<p>For further details on participants and casualties, see below.<p><a id="Inquiries_into_the_causes_for_the_defeat" name="Inquiries_into_the_causes_for_the_defeat"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Inquiries into the causes for the defeat</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16941.png.htm" title="Scene of Custer's last stand, looking in the direction of the ford and the Indian village, 1877."><img alt="Scene of Custer's last stand, looking in the direction of the ford and the Indian village, 1877." height="281" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Custer%27s_Last_Stand%2C_1877.png" src="../../images/169/16941.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16941.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Scene of Custer's last stand, looking in the direction of the ford and the Indian village, 1877.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>In 1878, the army awarded 24 <a href="../../wp/m/Medal_of_Honor.htm" title="Medal of Honor">Medals of Honour</a> to participants in the fight on the bluffs for bravery, most for risking their lives to carry water from the river up the hill to the wounded. Few questioned the conduct of the enlisted men, but many questioned the tactics, strategy, and conduct of the officers, particularly Major Reno.<p>The battle was the subject of an army Court of Inquiry, made at Reno's request, in 1879 in <a href="../../wp/c/Chicago.htm" title="Chicago">Chicago</a>, in which Reno's conduct was scrutinized. Some testimony was presented suggesting that he was drunk and a coward, but since none of this came from army officers, Reno was not officially condemned. Other factors have been identified which may have contributed to the outcome of the fight: it is apparent that a number of the cavalry troopers were inexperienced and poorly trained. Benteen has been criticized for "dawdling" on the first day of the fight, and disobeying Custer's order. Both Reno and Benteen were heavy drinkers whose subsequent careers were truncated. Terry has been criticized for his tardy arrival on the scene.<p>Pvt. William Taylor wrote to Lt. Edward Godfrey on <!--del_lnk--> February 20, <!--del_lnk--> 1910: "Reno proved his incompetence and Benteen showed his indifference—I will not use the words I've often thought about. Both failed Custer and he had to fight it alone."<p>For years a debate raged as to whether Custer himself had disobeyed Terry's order not to attack the village until reinforcements arrived. Finally, almost a hundred years after the fight, a document surfaced which indicated that Terry actually had given Custer considerable freedom to do as he saw fit. Custer's widow <!--del_lnk--> Libby actively affected the historiography of the battle by suppressing criticism of her husband. A number of participants decided to wait for her death before disclosing what they knew; however, she outlived almost all of them. As a result, the event was recreated along tragic <!--del_lnk--> Victorian lines in numerous books, films and other media. The story of Custer's purported heroic attack across the river, however, was undermined by the account of participant <!--del_lnk--> Gall, who told Lt. Edward Godfrey that Custer never came near the river. Godfrey incorporated this into his important publication in 1892 in <i>The Century Magazine</i>. In spite of this, however, Custer's legend was embedded in the American imagination as a heroic officer fighting valiantly against savage forces, an image popularized in "Wild West" extravaganzas hosted by showman <!--del_lnk--> "Buffalo Bill" Cody.<p>By the end of the 20th century, the general recognition of the mistreatment of the various Indian tribes in the conquest of the <!--del_lnk--> American West, and the perception of Custer's role in it, have changed the image of the battle and of Custer. The Little Bighorn is now viewed by some as a confrontation between relentless U.S. westward expansion and warriors defending their land and way of life.<p><a id="Battlefield_preservation" name="Battlefield_preservation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battlefield preservation</span></h2>
<dl>
<dd>
</dl>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16942.jpg.htm" title="Indian Memorial"><img alt="Indian Memorial" height="103" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Little-bighorn-memorial-sculpture.jpg" src="../../images/169/16942.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16942.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Indian Memorial</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The site was first preserved as a <!--del_lnk--> national cemetery in 1879, to protect graves of the 7th Cavalry troopers buried there. It was redesignated <i>Custer Battlefield <!--del_lnk--> National Monument</i> in 1946, and later renamed <i>Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument</i> in 1991.<p>Memorialization on the battlefield began in 1879 with a temporary monument to U.S. dead. This was replaced with the current marble obelisk in 1881. In 1890 the marble blocks that dot the field were added to mark the place where the U.S. cavalry soldiers fell. The bill that changed the name of the national monument also called for an Indian Memorial to be built near Last Stand Hill. On Memorial Day 1999, two red granite markers were added to the battlefield where Native American warriors fell. As of June 2005 there are now a total of 10 warrior markers (three at the Reno-Benteen Defense Site, seven on the Custer Battlefield).<p><a name="7th_Cavalry_Officers_at_the_Little_Big_Horn"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">7th Cavalry Officers at the Little Big Horn</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16943.jpg.htm" title="An obelisk commemorates the U.S. dead."><img alt="An obelisk commemorates the U.S. dead." height="233" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Little_bighorn_memorial_obelisk.jpg" src="../../images/169/16943.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16943.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An obelisk commemorates the U.S. dead.</div>
</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li>Commanding Officer: Lt. Colonel <!--del_lnk--> George Armstrong Custer <i>killed</i><li>Major <!--del_lnk--> Marcus Reno<li>Adjutant: 1st Lt. <!--del_lnk--> William W. Cooke <i>killed</i><li>Assistant Surgeon <!--del_lnk--> George Edwin Lord, <i>killed</i><li>Acting Assistant Surgeon <!--del_lnk--> James Madison DeWolf, <i>killed</i><li>Acting Assistant Surgeon <!--del_lnk--> Henry Rinaldo Porter<li>Chief of Scouts: 2nd Lt. <!--del_lnk--> Charles Varnum <i>wounded</i><li>2nd in command of Scouts: 2nd Lt. <!--del_lnk--> Luther Hare <i>detached from K Company</i><li>Pack Train commander: 1st Lt. <!--del_lnk--> Edward Mathey <i>detached from M Company</i><li>A Company: Captain <!--del_lnk--> Myles Moylan, 1st Lt. <!--del_lnk--> Charles DeRudio<li>B Company: Captain <!--del_lnk--> Thomas McDougall, 2nd Lt. <!--del_lnk--> Benjamin Hodgson <i>killed</i><li>C Company: Captain <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Custer <i>killed</i>, 2nd Lt. <!--del_lnk--> Henry Moore Harrington <i>killed</i><li>D Company: Captain <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Weir, 2nd Lt. <!--del_lnk--> Winfield Edgerly<li>E Company: 1st Lt. <!--del_lnk--> Algernon Smith <i>killed</i>, 2nd Lt. <!--del_lnk--> James Sturgis <i>killed</i><li>F Company: Captain <!--del_lnk--> George Yates <i>killed</i>, 2nd Lt. <!--del_lnk--> William Reily <i>killed</i><li>G Company: 1st Lt. <!--del_lnk--> Donald McIntosh <i>killed</i>, 2nd Lt. <!--del_lnk--> George Wallace<li>H Company: Captain <!--del_lnk--> Frederick Benteen, 1st Lt. <!--del_lnk--> Francis Gibson<li>I Company: Captain <!--del_lnk--> Myles Keogh <i>killed</i>, 1st Lt. <!--del_lnk--> James Porter <i>killed</i><li>K Company: 1st Lt. <!--del_lnk--> Edward Godfrey<li>L Company: 1st Lt. <!--del_lnk--> James Calhoun <i>killed</i>, 2nd Lt. <!--del_lnk--> John J. Crittenden <i>killed</i><li>M Company: Captain <!--del_lnk--> Thomas French</ul>
<p><i>Crittenden was on loan to the 7th Cavalry from the 20th U.S. Infantry, since the cavalry regiment was short on officers.</i><div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16944.jpg.htm" title="Photo taken in 1894 by H.R. Locke on Battle Ridge looking toward Last Stand Hill top center. Wooden Leg Hill can be seen at the far top right."><img alt="Photo taken in 1894 by H.R. Locke on Battle Ridge looking toward Last Stand Hill top center. Wooden Leg Hill can be seen at the far top right." height="116" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Littlebighorn_HR_Locke.jpg" src="../../images/169/16944.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16944.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Photo taken in 1894 by <!--del_lnk--> H.R. Locke on Battle Ridge looking toward Last Stand Hill top centre. Wooden Leg Hill can be seen at the far top right.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="Civilians_killed" name="Civilians_killed"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Civilians killed</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Boston Custer: brother of George & Thomas, Forager for the 7th, <i>killed</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Mark Kellogg: Reporter, <i>killed</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Henry Armstrong Reed: Nephew of Custer's, Herder for the 7th, <i>killed</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Frank C. Mann: Packer, <i>killed during the fight on the bluffs</i></ul>
<p><a id="Notable_Scouts.2FInterpreters_in_the_battle" name="Notable_Scouts.2FInterpreters_in_the_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Notable Scouts/Interpreters in the battle</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Charley Reynolds: Scout for the 7th, <i>killed</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Bloody Knife: Arikara/Lakota Scout for the 7th, <i>killed</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Curley: Crow Scout for the 7th<li><!--del_lnk--> Mitch Bouyer: Scout/interpreter for the 7th, <i>killed</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Isaiah Dorman: Interpreter for the 7th, <i>killed</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Fred Gerard: Interpreter for the 7th<li><!--del_lnk--> White Man Runs Him: Crow Scout for the 7th<li><!--del_lnk--> Goes Ahead: Crow Scout for the 7th<li><!--del_lnk--> Hairy Moccasin: Crow Scout for the 7th<li>White Swan: Crow Scout for the 7th<li>Half Yellow Face: Crow Scout for the 7th</ul>
<p><a id="Prominent_Native_Americans_in_the_battle" name="Prominent_Native_Americans_in_the_battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prominent Native Americans in the battle</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> American Horse (Miniconjou Lakota)<li><!--del_lnk--> Buffalo Calf Road Woman (Cheyenne)<li><!--del_lnk--> Chief Crow, (Sioux)<li><!--del_lnk--> Minnie Hollow Wood, (Lakota)<li><!--del_lnk--> Crazy Horse (Oglala Lakota)<li><!--del_lnk--> Curley (Crow)<li><!--del_lnk--> Gall (Hunkpapa Lakota)<li><!--del_lnk--> Goes Ahead, (Crow)<li><!--del_lnk--> Hairy Moccasin, (Crow)<li><!--del_lnk--> He Dog (Oglala Lakota)<li><!--del_lnk--> Hump (Minniconjou Lakota), <i>wounded</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Lame White Man (Cheyenne), <i>killed</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Moving Robe Woman (Hunkpapa Lakota)<li><!--del_lnk--> One Who Walks With the Stars (Oglala Lakota)<li><!--del_lnk--> Rain-in-the-Face (Hunkpapa Lakota)<li><!--del_lnk--> Short Bull (Brulé Lakota)<li><a href="../../wp/s/Sitting_Bull.htm" title="Sitting Bull">Sitting Bull</a> (Hunkpapa Lakota) <i>spiritual leader in the camp, but non-combatant</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Two Moons (Cheyenne)<li><!--del_lnk--> White Bull (Sioux)<li><!--del_lnk--> Wooden Leg (Cheyenne)<li><!--del_lnk--> Black Elk {Oglala Lakota}<li><!--del_lnk--> Red Horse {Sioux}<li><!--del_lnk--> White Bull {Sioux}</ul>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Little_Bighorn"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['United States', 'Sitting Bull', 'Sitting Bull', 'United States', 'Cholera', 'Ireland', 'England', 'American Civil War', 'Medal of Honor', 'Chicago', 'Sitting Bull']
|
Battle_of_the_Santa_Cruz_Islands
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands,1942,2006,24-hour clock,A6M Zero,Admiral,Aichi D3A,Air superiority,Aircraft carrier,Aircrew member,Airstrike" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_the_Santa_Cruz_Islands";
var wgTitle = "Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands";
var wgArticleId = 514897;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_the_Santa_Cruz_Islands">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.World_War_II.htm">World War II</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific Theatre of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/236/23695.jpg.htm" title="The aircraft carrier Hornet under attack"><img alt="The aircraft carrier Hornet under attack" height="242" longdesc="/wiki/Image:USS_Enterprise-Bat_Santa_Cruz.jpg" src="../../images/236/23695.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /> Anti-aircraft shell bursts, fired at attacking Japanese aircraft, fill the sky above USS <i>Enterprise</i> (centre left) and her screening ships during the battle on <!--del_lnk--> October 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1942.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> October 25, <!--del_lnk--> 1942 – <!--del_lnk--> October 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1942</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Santa Cruz Islands, <a href="../../wp/s/Solomon_Islands.htm" title="Solomon Islands">Solomon Islands</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Japanese tactical victory;<br /><!--del_lnk--> Allied strategic advantage</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a></td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Empire of Japan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> William Halsey, Jr.,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Thomas C. Kinkaid</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><!--del_lnk--> Isoroku Yamamoto,<br /><!--del_lnk--> Nobutake Kondo</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">2 carriers,<br /> 1 battleship,<br /> 6 cruisers,<br /> 14 destroyers,<br /> 136 aircraft</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">4 carriers,<br /> 2 battleships,<br /> 10 cruisers,<br /> 22 destroyers,<br /> 199 aircraft</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">1 carrier,<br /> 1 destroyer sunk,<br /> 1 carrier,<br /> 2 destroyers heavily damaged,<br /> 81 aircraft destroyed,<br /> 266 dead </td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">2 carriers,<br /> 1 cruiser heavily damaged,<br /> 97 aircraft destroyed<br /> 400–500 dead</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal campaign</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Tulagi – <!--del_lnk--> Savo I. – <!--del_lnk--> Tenaru – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons.htm" title="Battle of the Eastern Solomons">Eastern Solomons</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Edson's Ridge – <!--del_lnk--> Cape Esperance – <!--del_lnk--> Henderson Field – <strong class="selflink">Santa Cruz Is.</strong> – <a href="../../wp/n/Naval_Battle_of_Guadalcanal.htm" title="Naval Battle of Guadalcanal">Naval Guadalcanal</a> – <!--del_lnk--> Tassafaronga – <!--del_lnk--> <i>Ke</i> – <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Rennell_Island.htm" title="Battle of Rennell Island">Rennell I.</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><!--del_lnk--> Solomon Islands campaign</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1st Tulagi – <!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal – <!--del_lnk--> Blackett Strait – <!--del_lnk--> <i>Cartwheel</i> – <!--del_lnk--> Death of Yamamoto – <!--del_lnk--> New Georgia – <!--del_lnk--> Kula Gulf – <!--del_lnk--> Kolombangara – <!--del_lnk--> Vella Gulf – <!--del_lnk--> Horaniu – <!--del_lnk--> Vella Lavella – <!--del_lnk--> Naval Vella Lavella – <!--del_lnk--> Treasury Is. – <!--del_lnk--> Choiseul – <!--del_lnk--> Empress Augusta Bay – <!--del_lnk--> Cape St. George – <!--del_lnk--> Green Is. – <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Rabaul – <!--del_lnk--> Bougainville</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <b>Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands</b>, <!--del_lnk--> October 26, <!--del_lnk--> 1942, sometimes referred to as the <b>Battle of Santa Cruz</b> or in Japanese sources as the <b>Battle of the South Pacific</b> (南太平洋海戦), was the fourth <a href="../../wp/a/Aircraft_carrier.htm" title="Aircraft carrier">carrier</a> battle of the <!--del_lnk--> Pacific campaign of <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_II.htm" title="World War II">World War II</a> and the fourth major engagement fought between the <!--del_lnk--> United States Navy and the <a href="../../wp/i/Imperial_Japanese_Navy.htm" title="Imperial Japanese Navy">Imperial Japanese Navy</a> during the lengthy <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Guadalcanal in the <!--del_lnk--> Solomon Islands campaign. In similar fashion to the battles of <!--del_lnk--> Coral Sea, <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_Midway.htm" title="Battle of Midway">Midway</a>, and the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons.htm" title="Battle of the Eastern Solomons">Eastern Solomons</a>, the ships of the two adversaries were rarely in direct <!--del_lnk--> visual range of each other. Instead, almost all attacks by both sides were mounted by carrier or land-based <!--del_lnk--> aircraft.<p>In an attempt to drive <!--del_lnk--> Allied forces from <!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal and nearby islands, and end the stalemate which had existed since September 1942, the <!--del_lnk--> Imperial Japanese Army planned a major ground offensive on Guadalcanal for October 20-25, 1942. In support of this offensive, and with the hope of engaging Allied naval forces, Japanese carriers and other large warships moved into a position near the southern <a href="../../wp/s/Solomon_Islands.htm" title="Solomon Islands">Solomon Islands</a>. From this location, the Japanese naval forces hoped to engage and decisively defeat any Allied (primarily U.S.) naval forces, especially carrier forces, that responded to the ground offensive. However, Allied naval forces also hoped to meet the Japanese naval forces in battle, with the same objectives of breaking the stalemate and decisively defeating their adversary.<p>The Japanese ground offensive was defeated by Allied ground forces on October 20-25 in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle for Henderson Field. Nevertheless, the naval warships and aircraft from the two adversaries confronted each other on the morning of October 26, 1942, just north of the <!--del_lnk--> Santa Cruz Islands. After an exchange of carrier <!--del_lnk--> air attacks, Allied <!--del_lnk--> surface ships were forced to retreat from the battle area with the loss of one carrier sunk and another heavily damaged. However, the participating Japanese carrier forces also retreated due to high aircraft and <!--del_lnk--> aircrew losses, and significant damage to two carriers. Although an apparent tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk and damaged, the loss of many irreplaceable, veteran aircrews by the Japanese provided a long-term strategic advantage for the Allies, whose aircrew losses in the battle were relatively low, partially due to search and rescue efforts.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> August 7, 1942, Allied forces landed on <!--del_lnk--> Guadalcanal, <!--del_lnk--> Tulagi, and <!--del_lnk--> Florida Islands in the <a href="../../wp/s/Solomon_Islands.htm" title="Solomon Islands">Solomon Islands</a> with the immediate objective of denying the use of the islands to the Japanese, who would otherwise have been able to use the islands as <!--del_lnk--> bases from which to threaten <!--del_lnk--> supply routes between the U.S. and <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australia</a>. The Allies also sought to use the islands as the starting point for a <!--del_lnk--> campaign which could eventually isolate the major Japanese base at <!--del_lnk--> Rabaul while also supporting the Allied campaings in <!--del_lnk--> New Guinea and <!--del_lnk--> New Britain. The landings initiated the six-month-long <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Guadalcanal.<p>After the <a href="../../wp/b/Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons.htm" title="Battle of the Eastern Solomons">Battle of the Eastern Solomons</a>, in which the U.S. aircraft carrier <!--del_lnk--> <i>Enterprise</i> was heavily damaged and forced to travel to <!--del_lnk--> Pearl Harbour, <!--del_lnk--> Hawaii for a month of major repairs, three U.S. carrier <!--del_lnk--> task forces remained in the South Pacific area. The task forces included the U.S. carriers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Wasp</i>, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Saratoga</i>, and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hornet</i> plus their respective <!--del_lnk--> air groups and supporting surface warships, including <!--del_lnk--> battleships, <!--del_lnk--> cruisers, and <!--del_lnk--> destroyers, and were primarily stationed between the Solomons and <!--del_lnk--> New Hebrides (<a href="../../wp/v/Vanuatu.htm" title="Vanuatu">Vanuatu</a>) islands. At this location, the U.S. carriers were charged with guarding the line of communication between the major Allied bases at <a href="../../wp/n/New_Caledonia.htm" title="New Caledonia">New Caledonia</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Espiritu Santo, supporting the Allied ground forces at Guadalcanal and Tulagi against any Japanese counteroffensives, covering the movement of supply ships to Guadalcanal, and last, but not least, engaging and destroying any Japanese <!--del_lnk--> warships, especially carriers, that came within range.<p>The area of ocean in which the U.S. carrier task forces operated was known as "<!--del_lnk--> Torpedo Junction" by U.S. forces due to the high concentration of Japanese <!--del_lnk--> submarines in the area. On <!--del_lnk--> August 31, <i>Saratoga</i> was torpedoed by Japanese submarine <!--del_lnk--> <i>I-26</i> and was out of action for three months for repairs. On <!--del_lnk--> September 14, while supporting a major reinforcement and resupply convoy to Guadalcanal, and almost engaging Japanese carriers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Shōkaku</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuikaku</i> (who withdrew just before the two adversaries came into range of each other's aircraft), <i>Wasp</i> was hit by three torpedoes fired by Japanese submarine <!--del_lnk--> <i>I-19</i>. With power knocked out due to damage from the torpedo explosions, <i>Wasp</i>’s <!--del_lnk--> damage-control teams were unable to contain the ensuing large fires, and she was abandoned and <!--del_lnk--> scuttled.<p>Although the U.S. now had only one operational carrier (<i>Hornet</i>) in the South Pacific, the Allies still maintained <!--del_lnk--> air superiority over the southern Solomon Islands due to their aircraft based at <!--del_lnk--> Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. However, at night, when aircraft weren't able to operate effectively, the Japanese were able to operate their ships around Guadalcanal almost at will. Thus, a <!--del_lnk--> stalemate in the battle for Guadalcanal developed, with the Allies delivering supplies and reinforcements to Guadalcanal during the day, and the Japanese delivering supplies and reinforcements by warship (called the "<!--del_lnk--> Tokyo Express" by the Allies) at night with neither side able to deliver enough troops to the island to secure a decisive advantage. By mid-October, both sides had roughly an equal number of troops on the island. The stalemate was briefly interrupted by two large-ship naval actions. On the night of October 11–12, a U.S. warship force intercepted and defeated a Japanese warship force that was enroute to bombard Henderson Field in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Cape Esperance. But, just two nights later a Japanese force that included battleships <!--del_lnk--> <i>Haruna</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Kongō</i> successfully bombarded Henderson Field, destroying most of the U.S. aircraft and inflicting severe damage on the field's facilities. Although still marginally operational, it would take several weeks for the airfield to recover from the damage and replace the destroyed aircraft.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23696.jpg.htm" title="Enterprise conducts air operations in the South Pacific on October 24, 1942. The aircraft pictured is an F4F Wildcat."><img alt="Enterprise conducts air operations in the South Pacific on October 24, 1942. The aircraft pictured is an F4F Wildcat." height="230" longdesc="/wiki/Image:EnterpriseWildcat.jpg" src="../../images/236/23696.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23696.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Enterprise</i> conducts air operations in the South Pacific on October 24, 1942. The aircraft pictured is an <!--del_lnk--> F4F Wildcat.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>At this time, the U.S. made two moves to try to break the stalemate in the battle for Guadalcanal. First, repairs to <i>Enterprise</i> were expedited so that she could return to the South Pacific as soon as possible. On October 10, <i>Enterprise</i> received her new air groups, on October 16, she left Pearl Harbour, and, on October 23, she arrived back in the South Pacific and rendezvoused with <i>Hornet</i> and the rest of the Allied South Pacific naval forces on <!--del_lnk--> October 24, 273 miles (505 km) northeast of <!--del_lnk--> Espiritu Santo.<p>Second, on October 18, <!--del_lnk--> Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Chester Nimitz, Allied Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces, replaced <!--del_lnk--> Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Robert L. Ghormley, as Commander, South Pacific Area (this position commanded Allied forces involved in the Solomon Islands campaign) with Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> William Halsey, Jr. Nimitz felt that Ghormley had become too myopic and pessimistic to effectively lead Allied forces involved in the struggle for Guadalcanal. Halsey was reportedly respected throughout the U.S. naval fleet as a "fighter." Upon assuming command, Halsey immediately began making plans to draw the Japanese naval forces into a battle, writing to Nimitz, "I had to begin throwing punches almost immediately."<p>The Japanese Combined Fleet was also seeking to draw Allied naval forces into what was hoped to be a decisive battle. Two fleet carriers, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hiyō</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Junyō</i>, plus one light carrier, <!--del_lnk--> <i>Zuihō</i>, arrived at the main Japanese naval base at <!--del_lnk--> Truk from Japan in early October and joined <i>Shōkaku</i> and <i>Zuikaku.</i> With five carriers fully staffed with air groups, plus their numerous battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, the Japanese Combined Fleet, directed by Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Isoroku Yamamoto, was confident that they could make-up for their defeat at the Battle of Midway. Apart from a couple of air raids on Henderson Field in October, the Japanese carriers and their supporting warships stayed out of the battle for Guadalcanal in the northern Solomon Island's area, waiting for a chance to approach and engage the U.S. carrier fleet. With the Japanese <!--del_lnk--> Army's next planned major ground attack on Allied forces on Guadalcanal set for October 20–25, Yamamoto's warships began to position themselves towards the southern Solomons to not only support their army's offensive, but to be ready to engage any Allied (primarily U.S.) ships, especially carriers, that approached to support the Allied ground forces' defenses on Guadalcanal. The Japanese believed that U.S. Navy forces were likely to be in the Solomons Island area for they had read a report from the <!--del_lnk--> United Press dated <!--del_lnk--> October 20 that stated that the United States Navy was preparing for a major sea and air battle in the South Pacific.<p><a id="Battle" name="Battle"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle</span></h2>
<p><a id="Prelude" name="Prelude"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude</span></h3>
<p>From October 20–25, Japanese land forces on Guadalcanal attempted to capture Henderson Field with a large-scale attack against U.S. troops defending the airfield. However, the attack was decisively defeated with heavy casualties for the Japanese during the <!--del_lnk--> Battle for Henderson Field.<p>Incorrectly believing that the Japanese army troops had succeeded in capturing Henderson Field, a force of Japanese warships approached Guadalcanal on the morning of <!--del_lnk--> October 25 to provide further support for the army offensive. Aircraft from Henderson Field attacked the convoy throughout the day, sinking the <!--del_lnk--> light cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Yura</i> and damaging the destroyer <!--del_lnk--> <i>Akizuki</i>.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23697.jpg.htm" title="Map of the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 26, 1942. Red lines are Japanese warship forces and black lines are U.S. carrier forces. Numbered yellow dots represent significant actions in the battle. (Click on map for larger image and full description.)"><img alt="Map of the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 26, 1942. Red lines are Japanese warship forces and black lines are U.S. carrier forces. Numbered yellow dots represent significant actions in the battle. (Click on map for larger image and full description.)" height="264" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SantaCruzChart2.jpg" src="../../images/236/23697.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23697.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Map of the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 26, 1942. Red lines are Japanese warship forces and black lines are U.S. carrier forces. Numbered yellow dots represent significant actions in the battle. (Click on map for larger image and full description.)</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Despite the failure of the Japanese ground offensive and the loss of <i>Yura.</i> The rest of the Combined Fleet continued to maneuver near the southern Solomon Islands on October 25 with the hope of encountering Allied naval forces in battle. The Japanese naval forces now included four carriers, for <i>Hiyō</i> had suffered an accidental, damaging fire on October 22 that forced her to return to Truk for repairs. The Japanese naval forces were divided into three groups: The "Advanced" force contained <i>Junyō</i>, plus two battleships, four <!--del_lnk--> heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and 10 destroyers, and was commanded by Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Nobutake Kondo in heavy cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Atago</i>; the "Main Body" consisted of <i>Shōkaku</i>, <i>Zuikaku</i>, and <i>Zuihō</i> plus one heavy cruiser and eight destroyers, and was commanded by Vice Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Chuichi Nagumo in <i>Shōkaku</i>; the "Vanguard" force contained two battleships, three heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and seven destroyers, and was commanded by Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Hiroaki Abe in battleship <!--del_lnk--> <i>Hiei</i>. In addition to commanding the Advanced force, Kondo acted as the overall commander of the three forces.<p>On the U.S. side, the <i>Hornet</i> and <i>Enterprise</i> task groups, under the overall command of Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Thomas Kinkaid swept around to the north of the Santa Cruz Islands on October 25 searching for the Japanese naval forces. The U.S. warships were deployed as two separate carrier groups, each centered on either <i>Hornet</i> or <i>Enterprise</i>, and separated from each other by about 10 miles (20 km). A U.S. <!--del_lnk--> PBY Catalina based in the Santa Cruz Islands located the Japanese Main body carriers at <!--del_lnk--> 11:03. However, the Japanese carriers were about 355 miles (655 km) from the U.S. force, just beyond carrier aircraft range. Kinkaid, hoping to close the range to be able to execute an attack that day, steamed towards the Japanese carriers at top speed, and, at 14:25, launched a strike force of 23 aircraft. But, the Japanese, knowing that they had been spotted by U.S. aircraft and not knowing where the U.S. carriers were, turned to the north to stay out of range of the U.S. carriers' aircraft. Thus, the U.S. strike force returned to their carriers without finding or attacking the Japanese warships.<p><a id="Carrier_action_on_October_26_-_1st_strikes" name="Carrier_action_on_October_26_-_1st_strikes"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Carrier action on October 26 - 1st strikes</span></h3>
<p>At 02:50 on October 26, the Japanese naval forces reversed direction and the naval forces of the two adversaries closed the distance until they were only 200 miles (370 km) away from each other by 05:00. At this time, both sides launched search aircraft and prepared their remaining aircraft to attack as soon as the other side's ships were located. Although a <a href="../../wp/r/Radar.htm" title="Radar">radar</a>-equipped U.S. Catalina sighted the Japanese carriers at 03:10, the report didn't reach Kinkaid until 05:12. Therefore, believing that the Japanese ships had probably changed position during the last two hours, he decided to withhold launching a strike force until he received more current information on the location of the Japanese ships.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23698.jpg.htm" title="Japanese fighter and dive bomber aircraft on Shokaku prepare to launch for an attack on U.S. carrier forces the morning of October 26, 1942."><img alt="Japanese fighter and dive bomber aircraft on Shokaku prepare to launch for an attack on U.S. carrier forces the morning of October 26, 1942." height="192" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SantaCruzShokaku.jpg" src="../../images/236/23698.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23698.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Japanese fighter and dive bomber aircraft on <i>Shokaku</i> prepare to launch for an attack on U.S. carrier forces the morning of October 26, 1942.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>At 06:45, a U.S. scout aircraft sighted the carriers of Nagumo's Main body. At 06:58, a Japanese scout aircraft reported the location of <i>Hornet</i>’s task force. Both sides now raced to be the first to attack the other. The Japanese were first to get their strike force launched, with 64 aircraft, including 21 <!--del_lnk--> "Val" <!--del_lnk--> dive bombers, 20 <!--del_lnk--> "Kate" <!--del_lnk--> torpedo bombers, 21 <!--del_lnk--> Zero <!--del_lnk--> fighters, and two "Kate" <!--del_lnk--> command and control aircraft on the way towards <i>Hornet</i> by 07:40. At this same time (07:40), two U.S. <!--del_lnk--> SBD Dauntless scout aircraft, responding to the earlier sighting of the Japanese carriers, arrived and dove on <i>Zuihō</i>. With the Japanese <!--del_lnk--> combat air patrol (CAP) busy chasing other U.S. scout aircraft away, the two U.S. aircraft were able to approach and drop both of their bombs on <i>Zuihō</i>, causing heavy damage and preventing the carrier's <!--del_lnk--> flight deck from being able to land aircraft.<p>Meanwhile, Kondo ordered Abe's Vanguard force to race ahead to try to intercept and engage the U.S. warships. Kondo also brought his own Advanced force forward at maximum speed so that <i>Junyō</i>’s aircraft could join in the attacks on the U.S. ships. At 08:10, <i>Shōkaku</i> launched a second wave of strike aircraft, consisting of 19 Vals and eight Zeros and, at 08:40, <i>Zuikaku</i> launched 16 Kates. Thus, by 09:10 the Japanese had 110 aircraft on the way to attack the U.S. carriers.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23699.jpg.htm" title="As a TBF Avenger prepares to take off from Enterprise on October 26, the signs held aloft by deck crewmen give the last known location of the Japanese carriers as well as instructions to proceed without waiting for Hornet’s aircraft."><img alt="As a TBF Avenger prepares to take off from Enterprise on October 26, the signs held aloft by deck crewmen give the last known location of the Japanese carriers as well as instructions to proceed without waiting for Hornet’s aircraft." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:EnterpriseAvenger.jpg" src="../../images/236/23699.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/236/23699.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> As a TBF Avenger prepares to take off from <i>Enterprise</i> on October 26, the signs held aloft by deck crewmen give the last known location of the Japanese carriers as well as instructions to proceed without waiting for <i>Hornet</i>’s aircraft.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The U.S. strike aircraft were running about 20 minutes behind the Japanese. Believing that a speedy attack was more important than a massed attack, the U.S. aircraft proceeded in small groups towards the Japanese ships instead of forming into one large strike force. The first group, consisting of 15 SBD dive bombers, six <!--del_lnk--> TBF Avenger torpedo bombers, and eight <!--del_lnk--> F4F Wildcat fighters from <i>Hornet</i>, was on its way by about 08:00. A second group, consisting of three SBDs, seven TBFs, and eight Wildcats from <i>Enterprise</i> was off by 08:10. A third group, which included nine SBDs, eight TBFs, and seven Wildcats from <i>Hornet</i>, was on its way by 08:20.<p>At 08:30, the opposing aircraft strike formations began passing within sight of each other. Nine Zeros from <i>Zuihō</i> broke off from their formation and attacked the <i>Enterprise</i> group of aircraft. In the resulting engagement, four Zeros, three Wildcats, and two TBFs were shot down, with another two TBFs forced to return to <i>Enterprise</i> with heavy damage.<p>At 08:50, the lead U.S. attack formation from <i>Hornet</i> spotted four ships from Abe's Vanguard force. Pressing on, the U.S. aircraft sighted the Japanese carriers and prepared to attack. Three Zeros from <i>Zuihō</i> attacked the formation's Wildcats, drawing them away from the bombers they were assigned to protect. Thus, the dive bombers in the first group initiated their attacks without fighter escort. Twenty Zeros from the Japanese carrier CAP attacked the SBD formation and shot-down four of them. The remaining 11 SBDs commenced their attack dives on <i>Shōkaku</i> at 09:27, hitting her with three to six bombs, ruining her flight deck, and causing serious damage to the interior of the ship. The final SBD of the 11 lost track of the <i>Shōkaku</i> and instead dropped its bomb near the Japanese destroyer <!--del_lnk--> <i>Teruzuki</i>, causing minor damage. The six TBFs in the first strike force, having become separated from their strike group, missed finding the Japanese carriers and eventually turned-back towards <i>Hornet</i>. On the way back, they attacked the Japanese heavy cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Tone</i>, missing with all of their torpedoes.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23700.jpg.htm" title="Japanese cruiser Chikuma under attack on October 26. The white spot in the center of the ship is where one of the 1,000 bombs hit directly on the bridge, causing heavy damage and high casualties."><img alt="Japanese cruiser Chikuma under attack on October 26. The white spot in the center of the ship is where one of the 1,000 bombs hit directly on the bridge, causing heavy damage and high casualties." height="234" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SantaCruzChikuma.jpg" src="../../images/237/23700.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23700.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Japanese cruiser <i>Chikuma</i> under attack on October 26. The white spot in the centre of the ship is where one of the 1,000 bombs hit directly on the bridge, causing heavy damage and high casualties.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The TBFs of the second U.S. attack formation from <i>Enterprise</i> were unable to locate the Japanese carriers, and instead attacked the Japanese heavy cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Suzuya</i> from Abe's Vanguard force, but caused no damage. At about the same time, the third U.S. attack formation, from <i>Hornet</i>, found Abe's ships and attacked the Japanese heavy cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Chikuma</i>, hitting her with two 1,000 pound bombs and causing heavy damage. The three <i>Enterprise</i> SBDs then arrived and also attacked <i>Chikuma</i>, causing more damage with one bomb hit and two near-misses. Finally, the eight TBFs from the third strike group arrived and attacked the smoking <i>Chikuma</i>, scoring one more hit. <i>Chikuma</i>, escorted by two destroyers, withdrew from the battle and headed towards Truk for repairs.<p>The U.S. carrier forces received word from their outbound strike aircraft at 08:30 that Japanese attack aircraft were headed their way. At 08:52, the Japanese strike force commander sighted the <i>Hornet</i> task force (the <i>Enterprise</i> task force was hidden by a rain <!--del_lnk--> squall) and deployed his aircraft for attack. At 08:55, the U.S. carriers detected the approaching Japanese aircraft on radar, about 35 miles (65 km) away, and began to vector the 37 Wildcat fighters of their CAP to engage the incoming Japanese aircraft. However, communication problems, mistakes by the U.S. fighter control directors, and primitive control procedures prevented all but a few of the U.S. fighters from engaging the Japanese aircraft before they began their attacks on <i>Hornet</i>. Although the U.S. CAP was able to shoot down several Vals, most of the Japanese aircraft commenced their attacks relatively unmolested by U.S. fighters.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23701.jpg.htm" title="A damaged Japanese Val dive bomber (upper left) purposely dives towards Hornet at 09:13..."><img alt="A damaged Japanese Val dive bomber (upper left) purposely dives towards Hornet at 09:13..." height="191" longdesc="/wiki/Image:USS_Hornet_%28CV-8%29_during_battle_of_the_Santa_Cruz_Islands.jpg" src="../../images/237/23701.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23701.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A damaged Japanese Val dive bomber (upper left) purposely dives towards <i>Hornet</i> at 09:13...</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23702.jpg.htm" title="...and seconds later crashes into the carrier."><img alt="...and seconds later crashes into the carrier." height="175" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SantaCruzHornetCrash.jpg" src="../../images/237/23702.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23702.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> ...and seconds later crashes into the carrier.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>At 09:09, the <!--del_lnk--> anti-aircraft guns of <i>Hornet</i> and her escorting warships opened fire as the 20 untouched Japanese Kates and remaining 16 Vals commenced their attacks on the carrier. At 09:12, a Val placed its 250-kilogram, semi-armor-piercing bomb dead centre on <i>Hornet</i>’s flight deck, across from the island, which penetrated three decks before exploding, killing 60 men. Moments later, a 242-kilogram "land" bomb struck the flight deck, detonating on impact and creating an 11-foot hole as well as killing 30 men. A minute or so later, a third bomb hit <i>Hornet</i> near where the first bomb hit, penetrating three decks before exploding, causing severe damage but no direct loss of life. At 09:14, a diving Val was hit and damaged by anti-aircraft fire directly over <i>Hornet</i>. The Val's pilot, in an apparently spontaneous, <!--del_lnk--> kamikaze-style attack, then purposely crashed his aircraft into <i>Hornet</i>’s <!--del_lnk--> stack, spreading burning aviation fuel over the signal deck.<p>At the same time that the Vals were attacking, the Japanese Kate torpedo bombers were also attacking <i>Hornet</i> from two different directions. In spite of suffering heavy losses from anti-aircraft fire, the Kates planted two torpedoes in <i>Hornet</i> between 09:13 and 09:17, knocking-out her engines. As <i>Hornet</i> glided to a stop, a damaged Val approached and purposely crashed into the carrier's side, starting a fire near the ship's main supply of aviation fuel. At 09:20, the surviving Japanese aircraft departed, leaving <i>Hornet</i> dead in the water and burning. Twenty Five Japanese and six U.S. aircraft were destroyed in this first attack on <i>Hornet</i>.<p>With the assistance of firehoses from three escorting destroyers, the fires on <i>Hornet</i> were under control by 10:00. Wounded personnel were evacuated from the carrier and an attempt was made by the U.S. cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Northampton</i> to tow <i>Hornet</i> away from the battle area. However, the effort to rig the towline took some time and more attack waves of Japanese aircraft were inbound.<p><a id="Carrier_action_on_October_26_-_post-first_strike_actions" name="Carrier_action_on_October_26_-_post-first_strike_actions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Carrier action on October 26 - post-first strike actions</span></h3>
<p>Starting at 09:30, <i>Enterprise</i> landed many of the damaged and fuel-depleted CAP fighters and returning scout aircraft from both carriers. However, with her flight deck full, and the second wave of Japanese aircraft inbound, which was detected on radar at 09:30, <i>Enterprise</i> ceased landing operations at 10:00. Fuel-depleted aircraft then began <!--del_lnk--> ditching in the ocean as the carrier's escorting destroyers rescued the aircrews. One of the ditching aircraft, a damaged TBF from <i>Enterprise</i>’s strike force that had been attacked earlier by <i>Zuihō</i> Zeros, crashed into the water near the U.S. destroyer <!--del_lnk--> <i>Porter</i>. As the destroyer rescued the TBF's crew, the torpedo from the TBF began running in a wild circle and struck <i>Porter</i> and exploded, causing heavy damage and killing 15 crewmen. After the task force commander ordered the destroyer scuttled, the crew was rescued by the U.S. destroyer <!--del_lnk--> <i>Shaw</i> which then sank <i>Porter</i> with gunfire.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:327px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23703.jpg.htm" title="A Japanese Val dive bomber (center) is shot down during the attack on the Enterprise (lower right). Enterprise is smoking from earlier bomb hits as another bomb near-misses the carrier."><img alt="A Japanese Val dive bomber (center) is shot down during the attack on the Enterprise (lower right). Enterprise is smoking from earlier bomb hits as another bomb near-misses the carrier." height="153" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SantaCruzEVal.jpg" src="../../images/237/23703.jpg" width="325" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23703.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A Japanese Val dive bomber (centre) is shot down during the attack on the <i>Enterprise</i> (lower right). <i>Enterprise</i> is smoking from earlier bomb hits as another bomb near-misses the carrier.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>As the first wave of Japanese strike aircraft began returning to their carriers from their attack on <i>Hornet</i>, one of them spotted the <i>Enterprise</i> task force and reported the carrier's position. Thus, the second Japanese aircraft strike wave, believing <i>Hornet</i> to be sinking, directed their attacks on the <i>Enterprise</i> task force, beginning at 10:08. Again, the U.S. CAP had trouble intercepting the Japanese aircraft before they attacked <i>Enterprise</i>, shooting down only two of the 19 Vals as they began their dives on the carrier. Attacking through the intense anti-aircraft fire put-up by <i>Enterprise</i> and her escorting warships, the Vals hit the carrier with two 250-kilogram bombs and near-missed with another, causing heavy damage to the carrier and jamming her forward <!--del_lnk--> elevator in the "up" position. Twelve of the 19 Vals were lost in this attack.<p>Twenty-minutes later, the 16 <i>Zuikaku</i> Kates arrived and split-up to attack <i>Enterprise</i>. One group of Kates was attacked by two CAP Wildcats which shot down three of them and damaged a fourth. On fire, the fourth damaged Kate purposely crashed into the U.S. destroyer <!--del_lnk--> <i>Smith</i>, setting the ship on fire and killing 57 of her crew. The destroyer steered into the spraying <!--del_lnk--> wake of the U.S. battleship <!--del_lnk--> <i>South Dakota</i> to help put-out the fires and then resumed her station, firing her remaining anti-aircraft guns at the still attacking Kates.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23704.jpg.htm" title="A Hornet Wildcat that just landed minutes earlier skids across Enterprise’s flight deck as the carrier maneuvers violently during Junyo’s dive bomber attack. Two crewmen are taking defensive postures on the deck as smoke from earlier bomb hits swirls around them."><img alt="A Hornet Wildcat that just landed minutes earlier skids across Enterprise’s flight deck as the carrier maneuvers violently during Junyo’s dive bomber attack. Two crewmen are taking defensive postures on the deck as smoke from earlier bomb hits swirls around them." height="246" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SantaCruzEHornetWildcat.jpg" src="../../images/237/23704.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23704.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <i>Hornet</i> Wildcat that just landed minutes earlier skids across <i>Enterprise</i>’s flight deck as the carrier maneuvers violently during <i>Junyo</i>’s dive bomber attack. Two crewmen are taking defensive postures on the deck as smoke from earlier bomb hits swirls around them.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The remaining Kates attacked <i>Enterprise</i>, <i>South Dakota</i>, and U.S. cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>Portland</i>, but all of their torpedoes missed or were <!--del_lnk--> duds, causing no damage. The engagement was over at 10:53 with nine of the 16 attacking Kates shot down. After suppressing most of the onboard fires, at 11:15 <i>Enterprise</i> reopened her flight deck to begin landing returning aircraft from the morning U.S. strikes on the Japanese warship forces. However, only a few aircraft landed before the next wave of Japanese strike aircraft arrived and began their attacks on <i>Enterprise</i>, forcing a suspension of landing operations.<p>Between 09:05 and 09:14, <i>Junyō</i> had arrived within 280 miles (520 km) of the U.S. carriers and launched a strike of 17 Vals and 12 Zeros. As the Japanese Main body and Advanced force maneuvered to try to join formations, <i>Junyō</i> readied follow-on strikes. At 11:21, the <i>Junyō</i> Vals arrived and dove on the <i>Enterprise</i> task force. The Vals scored one near miss on <i>Enterprise</i>, causing more damage, and one hit each on <i>South Dakota</i> and U.S. cruiser <!--del_lnk--> <i>San Juan</i>, causing moderate damage to both ships. Eleven of the 17 Vals were destroyed in this attack.<p>At 11:35, Kinkaid decided to withdraw <i>Enterprise</i> and her screening ships from the battle, due to <i>Hornet</i> being out of action, the heavy damage that <i>Enterprise</i> had received, and believing (correctly), that the Japanese had one to two undamaged carriers in the area. He directed <i>Hornet</i>’s task force to follow as soon as they were able. Between 11:39 and 13:22, <i>Enterprise</i> recovered 57 aircraft as she headed away from the battle. The remaining airborne U.S. aircraft ditched in the ocean and their aircrews were rescued by escorting warships.<p>Between 11:40 and 14:00, <i>Zuikaku</i> and <i>Junyō</i> recovered the few aircraft that returned from the morning strikes on <i>Hornet</i> and <i>Enterprise</i> and prepared follow-on strikes. At 13:00, Kondo's Advanced force and Abe's Vanguard force warships together headed directly towards the last reported position of the U.S. carrier task forces and increased speed to try intercept them for a warship gunfire battle. <i>Zuihō</i> and <i>Shōkaku</i>, with Nagumo still on board, retreated from the battle area, leaving Rear Admiral <!--del_lnk--> Kakuji Kakuta in charge of the <i>Zuikaku</i> and <i>Junyō</i> battle forces. At 13:06, <i>Junyō</i> launched her second strike of seven Kates and eight Zeros, and <i>Zuikaku</i> launched her third strike of seven Kates, two Vals, and five Zeros. At 15:35, <i>Junyō</i> launched the last Japanese strike force of the day, consisting of four Kates and six Zeros.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23705.jpg.htm" title="Hornet, sinking and abandoned late on October 26, 1942."><img alt="Hornet, sinking and abandoned late on October 26, 1942." height="201" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SantaCruzHornetSinking.jpg" src="../../images/237/23705.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23705.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Hornet</i>, sinking and abandoned late on October 26, 1942.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>After several technical problems, U.S. cruiser <i>Northampton</i> finally began slowly towing <i>Hornet</i> out of the battle area at 14:45. Also, <i>Hornet</i>’s crew was on the verge of restoring partial power to the ship. However, at 15:20, <i>Junyō</i>’s second strike arrived and attacked the almost stationary carrier. At 15:23, one torpedo struck <i>Hornet</i>, destroying the repairs to the power system, causing heavy flooding, and a 14-degree list. With no power to pump-out the water, <i>Hornet</i> was given-up for lost and the crew abandoned ship. The third strike from <i>Zuikaku</i> attacked <i>Hornet</i> during this time, hitting the sinking ship with one more bomb. All of the <i>Hornet</i>’s crewmen were off by 16:27. The last Japanese strike of the day dropped one more bomb on the sinking hulk at 17:20.<p>U.S destroyers <!--del_lnk--> <i>Mustin</i> and <!--del_lnk--> <i>Anderson</i> were ordered to scuttle <i>Hornet</i> with gunfire and torpedoes while the rest of the U.S. warships retired towards the southeast to get out of range of Kondo's and Abe's oncoming warships. With advancing Japanese destroyers only 20 minutes away, the two U.S. destroyers abandoned <i>Hornet</i>’s burning hulk at 20:40. The rest of the warships of Kondo's and Abe's forces arrived at <i>Hornet</i>’s location by 22:20 and decided that she was too damaged to try to capture. Thus, they finished the job of scuttling her with torpedoes by 01:35 on October 27. Several night attacks by radar-equipped Catalinas on <i>Junyō</i> and <i>Teruzuki</i>, knowledge of the head-start the U.S. warships had in their retreat from the area, plus a critical fuel situation apparently caused the Japanese to reconsider further pursuit of the U.S. warships. After refueling near the northern Solomon Islands, the ships returned to their main base at Truk on October 30. During the U.S. retreat from the battle area towards Espiritu Santo and New Caledonia, <i>South Dakota</i> collided with U.S. destroyer <!--del_lnk--> <i>Mahan</i>, heavily damaging the destroyer.<p><a id="Aftermath" name="Aftermath"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23706.jpg.htm" title="The crew of Enterprise conducts a burial-at-sea on October 27, 1942, for 44 of their fellow crewmen killed during the battle the day before."><img alt="The crew of Enterprise conducts a burial-at-sea on October 27, 1942, for 44 of their fellow crewmen killed during the battle the day before." height="206" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SantaCruzEBurial.jpg" src="../../images/237/23706.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23706.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The crew of <i>Enterprise</i> conducts a burial-at-sea on October 27, 1942, for 44 of their fellow crewmen killed during the battle the day before.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The loss of <i>Hornet</i> was a severe blow for Allied forces in the South Pacific, leaving just one operational, albeit damaged, Allied carrier in the entire Pacific theatre. <i>Enterprise</i>, however, received temporary repairs at New Caledonia and, although still somewhat damaged, returned to the southern Solomons area just two weeks later to support Allied forces during the <a href="../../wp/n/Naval_Battle_of_Guadalcanal.htm" title="Naval Battle of Guadalcanal">Naval Battle of Guadalcanal</a>, playing an important role in what turned out to be the decisive naval engagement in the overall battle for Guadalcanal.<p>Although a tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk, it came at a high cost for Japanese naval forces. Both damaged carriers were forced to return to Japan for extensive repairs and refitting. After repair, <i>Zuihō</i> returned to Truk in late January, 1943. <i>Shōkaku</i> was under repair until March, 1943 and didn't return to the front until July, 1943, when she was reunited with <i>Zuikaku</i> at Truk.<p>The most significant losses for the Japanese Navy, however, were in aircrew. The U.S. lost 24 aircrew members in the battle. The Japanese, on the other hand, lost 148 aircrew members including two dive bomber group leaders, three torpedo squadron leaders, and 18 other section or flight leaders. The Japanese lost so many aircrew members that undamaged <i>Zuikaku</i> and <i>Hiyō</i> were also forced to return to Japan due to a scarcity of trained aircrew to man their air groups. Admiral Nagumo, upon being relieved of command shortly after the battle and reassigned to shore duty in Japan, stated,<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands"><img alt="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>This battle was a tactical win, but a shattering strategic loss for Japan. Considering the great superiority of our enemy's industrial capacity, we must win every battle overwhelmingly. This last one, unfortunately, was not an overwhelming victory.</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands"><img alt="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>With its carrier aircrew ranks decimated, and with no quick way to replace them, Japan lost its strategic opportunity to defeat Allied naval forces in a single, decisive battle before the industrial might of the U.S. placed that goal out of reach. Although they returned to Truk by summer, 1943, the Japanese carriers played no further offensive role in the decisive Solomon Islands campaign. <!--del_lnk--> Historian <!--del_lnk--> Eric Hammel sums up the significance of the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands this way:<table align="center" cellpadding="10" class="cquote" style="border-collapse:collapse; background-color:transparent; border-style:none;">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/147.png.htm" title="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands"><img alt="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" src="../../images/1/147.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
<td>Santa Cruz was a Japanese victory. That victory cost Japan her last best hope to win the war.</td>
<td valign="bottom" width="20">
<div style="position:relative; width:20px; height:20px; overflow:hidden;">
<div style="position:absolute; font-size:20px; overflow:hidden; line-height:20px; letter-spacing:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span style="text-decoration:none;" title="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands"> </span></strong></div><a class="image" href="../../images/1/148.png.htm" title="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands"><img alt="Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" src="../../images/1/148.png" width="20" /></a></div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Santa_Cruz_Islands"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['World War II', 'Solomon Islands', 'United States', 'Battle of the Eastern Solomons', 'Naval Battle of Guadalcanal', 'Battle of Rennell Island', 'Aircraft carrier', 'World War II', 'Imperial Japanese Navy', 'Battle of Midway', 'Battle of the Eastern Solomons', 'Solomon Islands', 'Solomon Islands', 'Australia', 'Battle of the Eastern Solomons', 'Vanuatu', 'New Caledonia', 'Radar', 'Naval Battle of Guadalcanal']
|
Battle_of_the_Somme_(1916)
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battle of the Somme (1916),War Office,Biography,James Edmonds,Henry S. Rawlinson,Division (military),Battle of Arras (1917),Hundred Days (1918),Third Battle of Ypres,New Zealand Division,November 19" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battle of the Somme (1916)</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battle_of_the_Somme_(1916)";
var wgTitle = "Battle of the Somme (1916)";
var wgArticleId = 60921;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battle_of_the_Somme_1916">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battle of the Somme (1916)</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Military_History_and_War.htm">Military History and War</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Battle of the Somme</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: lightsteelblue;">Part of the <a href="../../wp/w/Western_Front_%2528World_War_I%2529.htm" title="Western Front (World War I)">Western Front</a> (<a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">First World War</a>)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><a class="image" href="../../images/237/23707.jpg.htm" title="Cheshire Regiment sentry, Somme, 1916"><img alt="Cheshire Regiment sentry, Somme, 1916" height="229" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cheshire_Regiment_trench_Somme_1916.jpg" src="../../images/237/23707.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /> Men of the 11th Battalion, <!--del_lnk--> The Cheshire Regiment.<br /> Near <!--del_lnk--> La Boisselle, July 1916</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table class="infobox" style="margin: 0; cellpadding: 0; padding: 0; border: 0;" width="100%">
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Date</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> 1 July <!--del_lnk--> 1916 – <!--del_lnk--> 18 November <!--del_lnk--> 1916</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Location</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Somme, <!--del_lnk--> Picardy, <a href="../../wp/f/France.htm" title="France">France</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="padding-right: 1em;">Result</th>
<td>tactical stalemate, strategic Allied victory</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Combatants</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title="United Kingdom"><img alt="United Kingdom" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/7/789.png" width="22" /></a> <a href="../../wp/b/British_Empire.htm" title="British Empire">British Empire</a><br />
<ul>
<li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/785.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Australia.svg" src="../../images/161/16124.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Australia<li><a class="image" href="../../images/148/14818.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Canada-1868-Red.svg" src="../../images/237/23708.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Canada<li><a class="image" href="../../images/29/2940.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_New_Zealand.svg" src="../../images/237/23709.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> New Zealand<li><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Newfoundland_Blue_Ensign.gif" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="25" /> <!--del_lnk--> Newfoundland<li><a class="image" href="../../images/148/14820.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:South_Africa_Red_Ensign.png" src="../../images/237/23711.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> South Africa<li><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="13" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/156/15611.png" width="25" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> United Kingdom</ul>
<p><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> France</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/22/2228.png.htm" title=""><img alt="" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_German_Empire.svg" src="../../images/48/4870.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> German Empire</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Commanders</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/7/789.png.htm" title="United Kingdom"><img alt="United Kingdom" height="11" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" src="../../images/7/789.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Douglas Haig<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/5/526.png.htm" title="France"><img alt="France" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_France.svg" src="../../images/5/526.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Joffre</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%"><a class="image" href="../../images/22/2228.png.htm" title="German Empire"><img alt="German Empire" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_German_Empire.svg" src="../../images/48/4870.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Max von Gallwitz<br /><a class="image" href="../../images/22/2228.png.htm" title="German Empire"><img alt="German Empire" height="15" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Flag_of_the_German_Empire.svg" src="../../images/48/4870.png" width="22" /></a> <!--del_lnk--> Fritz von Below</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Strength</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">13 British & 11 French divisions (initial)<br /> 51 British and 48 French divisions (final)</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">10.5 divisions (initial)<br /> 50 divisions (final)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="background: lightsteelblue; text-align: center;">Casualties</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px dotted #aaa;" width="50%">419,654 British Empire<br /> 204,253 French<br /> 623,907 total (of which 146,431 killed or missing)<br /> 100 tanks & 782 <!--del_lnk--> RFC aircraft destroyed</td>
<td style="padding-left: 0.25em;" width="50%">434,500 total <!--del_lnk--> (of which 164,055 killed or missing)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table class="infobox" style="width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: center; font-size: 95%;">
<tr style="background: lightsteelblue;">
<th><strong class="selflink">Battle of the Somme</strong></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Albert – <!--del_lnk--> Bazentin – <!--del_lnk--> Fromelles – <!--del_lnk--> Pozières – <!--del_lnk--> Mouquet Farm – <!--del_lnk--> Guillemont – <!--del_lnk--> Ginchy – <!--del_lnk--> Flers-Courcelette – <!--del_lnk--> Morval – <!--del_lnk--> Thiepval Ridge – <!--del_lnk--> Le Transloy – <!--del_lnk--> Ancre Heights – <!--del_lnk--> Ancre</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> 1916 <b>Battle of the Somme</b> was one of the largest battles of the <a href="../../wp/w/World_War_I.htm" title="World War I">First World War</a>, with more than one million casualties, and also one of <!--del_lnk--> the bloodiest battles in human history. The <!--del_lnk--> Allied forces attempted to break through the <!--del_lnk--> German lines along a 25-mile (40 km) front north and south of the <!--del_lnk--> River Somme in northern <!--del_lnk--> France. One purpose of the battle was to draw German forces away from the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Verdun; however, by its end the losses on the Somme had exceeded those at Verdun.<p>While Verdun would bite deep in the national consciousness of France for generations, the Somme would have the same effect on generations of Britons. The battle is best remembered for its first day, <!--del_lnk--> 1 July <!--del_lnk--> 1916, on which the British suffered 57,470 casualties, including 19,240 dead — the bloodiest day in the history of the <!--del_lnk--> British Army to this day. As terrible as the battle was for the British Empire troops who suffered there, it naturally affected the other nationalities as well. One German officer famously described 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 irreplaceable losses. British official historian Sir <!--del_lnk--> James Edmonds stated, "It is not too much to claim that the foundations of the final victory on the Western Front were laid by the Somme offensive of 1916."<p>For the first time the home front in Britain was exposed to the horrors of modern war with the release of the <!--del_lnk--> propaganda film <i><!--del_lnk--> The Battle of the Somme</i>, which used actual footage from the first days of the battle.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Prelude" name="Prelude"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Prelude</span></h2>
<p>The Allied war strategy for 1916 was largely formulated during a conference at <!--del_lnk--> Chantilly held between <!--del_lnk--> 6 December and <!--del_lnk--> 8 December <!--del_lnk--> 1915, when it was decided that for the next year, simultaneous offensives were to be be mounted by the <!--del_lnk--> Russians in the <!--del_lnk--> East, the <a href="../../wp/i/Italy.htm" title="Italy">Italians</a> (who had by now joined the Entente) in the Alps and the Anglo-French on the <a href="../../wp/w/Western_Front_%2528World_War_I%2529.htm" title="Western Front (World War I)">Western Front</a>, thereby assailing the <!--del_lnk--> Central Powers from all sides.<p>In late December 1915, General <!--del_lnk--> Sir Douglas Haig had replaced General <!--del_lnk--> Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the <!--del_lnk--> British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Haig favoured a British offensive in <a href="../../wp/f/Flanders.htm" title="Flanders">Flanders</a> — it was close to BEF supply routes via the <a href="../../wp/e/English_Channel.htm" title="English Channel">Channel</a> ports and had a strategic goal of driving the Germans from the <a href="../../wp/n/North_Sea.htm" title="North Sea">North Sea</a> coast of <a href="../../wp/b/Belgium.htm" title="Belgium">Belgium</a>, from which their <!--del_lnk--> U-boats were menacing Britain. However, though there was no formal arrangement, the British were as yet the junior partner on the Western Front and had to comply with French policy. In January 1916, the French commander, General <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Joffre, had agreed to the BEF making their main effort in Flanders, but after further discussions in February, the decision was reached to mount a combined offensive where the French and British armies met astride the Somme River in <!--del_lnk--> Picardy.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:227px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23712.jpg.htm" title="Newfoundland soldiers in support trench, 1 July 1916 "><img alt="Newfoundland soldiers in support trench, 1 July 1916 " height="218" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Newfoundland_soldiers_1916.jpg" src="../../images/237/23712.jpg" width="225" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23712.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Newfoundland soldiers in support trench, <!--del_lnk--> 1 July <!--del_lnk--> 1916</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Plans for the joint offensive on the Somme had barely begun to take shape when the Germans launched the Battle of Verdun on <!--del_lnk--> 21 February 1916. As the French committed themselves to defending Verdun, their capacity to carry out their role on the Somme disappeared, and the burden shifted to the British. France would end up contributing 3 corps to the opening of the attack (the XX, I Colonial and XXXV Corps of the 6th Army). As the bloodbath at Verdun dragged on, the aim of the Somme offensive changed from delivering a decisive blow against Germany to relieving the pressure on the French army.<p>The original British regular army, six <!--del_lnk--> divisions strong at the start of the war, had been effectively wiped out by the battles of 1914 and 1915. The bulk of the army was now made up of volunteers of the <!--del_lnk--> Territorial Force and <!--del_lnk--> Lord Kitchener's <!--del_lnk--> New Army, which had begun forming in August 1914. The expansion of the army demanded <!--del_lnk--> generals for the senior commands, so promotion came at a dizzying pace and did not always reflect competence or ability. Haig himself had started the war as commander of <!--del_lnk--> British I Corps before commanding the <!--del_lnk--> British First Army and now the BEF, in effect an <!--del_lnk--> army group, made up of four armies (soon to be five) of 60 divisions.<p>By mid-1916, the <!--del_lnk--> Fokker Scourge was over, and the <!--del_lnk--> Royal Flying Corps had achieved <!--del_lnk--> air supremacy over the Somme battlefield. On the Somme front, the RFC fielded 10 squadrons and 185 aircraft against the 129 of the Germans. The British pursued a vigorous offensive policy that enabled them to spot for the artillery, via aircraft or tethered <!--del_lnk--> balloons, while denying the Germans the same. It was not until September that the introduction of new aircraft would swing the balance back in favour of the German Air Service once again.<p><a id="The_first_day_on_the_Somme" name="The_first_day_on_the_Somme"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The first day on the Somme</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23713.jpg.htm" title="Explosion of the Hawthorn Ridge mine, 7:20 am, 1 July 1916"><img alt="Explosion of the Hawthorn Ridge mine, 7:20 am, 1 July 1916" height="143" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Hawthorn_Ridge_mine_1_July_1916.jpg" src="../../images/237/23713.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23713.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Explosion of the <!--del_lnk--> Hawthorn Ridge mine, 7:20 am, <!--del_lnk--> 1 July <!--del_lnk--> 1916</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The first day of the battle was preceded by five days of preliminary <!--del_lnk--> artillery bombardment in which the British fired over 1.7 million shells. Ten <!--del_lnk--> mines had also been dug beneath the German front-line trenches and strongpoints; the three largest mines contained about 21 <!--del_lnk--> tons (18 tonnes) of explosives each.<p>The attack would be made by 13 British <!--del_lnk--> divisions (11 from the <!--del_lnk--> Fourth Army and two from the <!--del_lnk--> Third Army) north of the Somme River and 11 divisions of the <!--del_lnk--> French Sixth Army astride and south of the river. They were opposed by the <!--del_lnk--> German Second Army of General <!--del_lnk--> Fritz von Below. The axis of the advance was centred on the <a href="../../wp/r/Roman_road.htm" title="Roman road">Roman road</a> that ran from <!--del_lnk--> Albert in the west to <!--del_lnk--> Bapaume 12 miles (19 km) to the northeast.<p>Zero hour for the Battle of the Somme was 07:30 on 1 July, 1916. Ten minutes prior to this, at 07:20, the mine beneath <!--del_lnk--> Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt was detonated by an officer. The reason he detonated the mine earlier than was planned is unknown. At 07:28, the remaining mines were exploded (except for the mine at <!--del_lnk--> Kasino Point, which was late). At zero hour there was a brief and unsettling silence as the artillery shifted their aim onto the next line of targets. Then, in the words of <!--del_lnk--> poet <!--del_lnk--> John Masefield:<dl>
<dd><i>[T]he hand of time rested on the half-hour mark, and all along that old front line of the English there came a whistling and a crying. The men of the first wave climbed up the parapets, in tumult, darkness, and the presence of death, and having done with all pleasant things, advanced across <!--del_lnk--> No Man's Land to begin the Battle of the Somme.</i> (<i><!--del_lnk--> The Old Front Line</i>, <!--del_lnk--> 1917)</dl>
<p>The infantry were burdened with 70 <!--del_lnk--> lb (32 kg) of equipment and in some cases had been instructed to form up into uniform waves and advance at a walking pace. Elsewhere units had crawled out into no man's land early so that they could rush the front German trench as soon as the barrage lifted. Despite the heavy bombardment, many of the German defenders had survived, protected in deep dugouts, and they were able to inflict a terrible toll on the vulnerable infantry.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23714.png.htm" title="British infantry attack plan for 1 July. The only success came in the south at Mametz and Montauban and on the French sector."><img alt="British infantry attack plan for 1 July. The only success came in the south at Mametz and Montauban and on the French sector." height="397" longdesc="/wiki/Image:British_plan_Somme_1_July_1916.png" src="../../images/237/23714.png" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23714.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> British <!--del_lnk--> infantry attack plan for <!--del_lnk--> 1 July. The only success came in the south at <!--del_lnk--> Mametz and <!--del_lnk--> Montauban and on the French sector.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>North of the Albert-Bapaume road, the advance was almost a complete failure from the outset. In a few places the attackers got into the German front line trench system or even the support line, but invariably their numbers were too few to withstand the German counter-attacks. As the German defensive barrage descended on no man's land, it became impossible for reinforcements to get through or for reports to get back.<p>Communications were completely inadequate, and commanders were largely ignorant of the progress of the battle. A mistaken report that the <!--del_lnk--> 29th Division had succeeded at <!--del_lnk--> Beaumont Hamel led to the reserve brigade being ordered forward in support. The 1st <!--del_lnk--> Newfoundland Regiment was unable to reach the forward trenches, so it advanced from the reserve trench. Most of the battalion was wiped out before it crossed the front line, and it suffered 91% casualties, the second worst battalion loss of the day.<p>British progress astride the Albert-Bapaume road was likewise a failure, despite the explosion of the two mines at <!--del_lnk--> La Boisselle. Here another tragic advance was made by the <!--del_lnk--> Tyneside Irish Brigade of the <!--del_lnk--> 34th Division which started nearly one <!--del_lnk--> mile from the German front line, in full view of the defenders' <!--del_lnk--> machine guns, and was effectively wiped out before it reached its own friendly forward trench line.<p>In the sector south of the road, the French divisions had greater success. Here the German defences were relatively weak, and the French artillery, which was superior in numbers and experience to the British, was highly effective. From the town of <!--del_lnk--> Montauban to the Somme River, all the first day objectives were reached. Though the French XX Corps was to only act in a supporting role in this sector, in the event they would help lead the way. South of the Somme, French forces fared very well, surpassing their intended objectives. The I Colonial Corps departed their trenches at 9:30 am as part of a feint meant to lure the Germans opposite into a false sense of security. The feint was successful as, like the French divisions to the north, they too advanced easily. In under an hour, they had stormed Fay, Dompierre, Becquincourt and attained a foothold on the Flaucourt plateau. The entire German first line was in French hands. By 1100 hrs, the second line –– marked by Assevillers, Herbecourt and Feuillères –– was reached without even having to send in reserves. To the right of the Colonial Corps, the XXXV Corps also attacked at 9:30 am but, having only one division in the first line, had made less progress. Nevertheless, all first-day objectives were met. The Germans trenches had been completely pulverized. The enemy had been completely surprised by the infantry attack. On the north bank, the French had advanced 1.5 km and on the south, 2 km.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23715.jpg.htm" title="A wounded man of the Newfoundland Regiment is brought in at Beaumont Hamel"><img alt="A wounded man of the Newfoundland Regiment is brought in at Beaumont Hamel" height="152" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_Albert.jpg" src="../../images/237/23715.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23715.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A wounded man of the Newfoundland Regiment is brought in at Beaumont Hamel</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Some British divisions managed to perform extremely well; according to <!--del_lnk--> Middlebrook:<dl>
<dd><i>The leading battalions (of the <!--del_lnk--> 36th (Ulster) Division) had been ordered out from the wood just before 7.30 A.M. and laid down near the German trenches...At zero hour the British barrage lifted. Bugles blew the "Advance". Up sprang the Ulstermen and, without forming up in the waves adopted by other divisions, they rushed the German front line.....By a combination of sensible tactics and Ulster dash, the prize that eluded so many, the capture of a long section of the German front line, had been accomplished.</i></dl>
<p>And in another sector, according to <!--del_lnk--> Middlebrook:<dl>
<dd><i>At Gommecourt...Attacking from the south, the 56th (London) Division had performed brilliantly. Making use of the new trench they had dug in No Man's Land and a smoke-screen, four battalions had captured the whole of the German front-line system.</i></dl>
<p>Overall, however, the first day on the Somme was a failure. The British had suffered 19,240 dead, 35,493 wounded, 2,152 missing and 585 prisoners for a total loss of 57,470. Initial casualties were especially heavy among officers, who still dressed differently from <!--del_lnk--> non-commissioned officers and other ranks, and whose uniforms the Germans had been trained to recognize.<p>An exact count of German casualties for 1 July is difficult to make, because German units only submitted casualty returns every 10 days. It is estimated that the Germans suffered 8,000 casualties on the British front of which 2,200 were <!--del_lnk--> prisoners of war. The disparity between British and German casualties was highest at <!--del_lnk--> Ovillers, where the <!--del_lnk--> British 8th Division suffered 5,121 casualties while the defending German 180th Regiment had only 280 casualties — a ratio of 18 to 1.<p><a id="Aftermath_of_the_first_day" name="Aftermath_of_the_first_day"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Aftermath of the first day</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23716.jpg.htm" title="An aerial view of the Somme battlefield in July, taken from a British balloon near Bécourt."><img alt="An aerial view of the Somme battlefield in July, taken from a British balloon near Bécourt." height="129" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Somme_battlefield_aerial_view_July_1916.jpg" src="../../images/237/23716.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23716.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> An aerial view of the Somme battlefield in July, taken from a British <!--del_lnk--> balloon near <!--del_lnk--> Bécourt.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>At 22:00 on 1 July, the commander of the <!--del_lnk--> British Fourth Army, Lieutenant-General <!--del_lnk--> Henry Rawlinson, had issued orders for the attack to be resumed. Confusion and poor communications through the extended chain of command meant it was some days before the British leaders realised the scale of the disaster. Haig appointed Lieutenant-General <!--del_lnk--> Hubert Gough to take over the northern sector while the Fourth Army dealt with the southern sector. Gough recognised the fiasco on his sector and prevented an immediate resumption of the offensive — operations would not resume until <!--del_lnk--> 3 July.<p>The British were also ignorant of opportunities that existed south of the Albert-Bapaume road where they had achieved partial success. It is now known that there existed for a time a large gap in the German defences between Ovillers (on the road) and Longueval. On 3 July a <!--del_lnk--> reconnaissance patrol from the <!--del_lnk--> 18th (Eastern) Division ranged two miles into German territory without encountering an established defensive position. However, the opportunity was missed or the British lacked the resources to exploit it, and the Germans were able to fill the gap in time.<p><!--del_lnk--> Mametz Wood was still vacant on 3 July but was reoccupied by the Germans the following day and would not be captured until <!--del_lnk--> 10 July after two costly attempts. Places such as <!--del_lnk--> High Wood and <!--del_lnk--> Delville Wood, there for the taking in the aftermath of the first day, would require an enormous expenditure of lives before they were eventually captured in August and September. In August Rawlinson wrote of the period 1–<!--del_lnk--> 4 July:<dl>
<dd><i>These four days would in all probability have enabled us to gain full possession of the hostile third line of defence, which was at that time less than half finished... It makes me sick to think of the "might have beens"</i>.</dl>
<p>As the British struggled to jump-start their offensive, the French continued their rapid advance south of the Somme. 3 July - 4 July was the critical point in the offensive when the possibility of a breakthrough actually seemed achievable. But just as quickly as it appeared, it began to slip away. When the XX Corps was forced to halt its advance on the north bank in order to wait for the British to catch up, a simmering hostility toward the British rose up among the rank and file of the French army. Elsewhere, the I Colonial Corps pressed on and by the end of 3 July Frise, Méréaucourt Wood, Herbécourt, Buscourt, Chapitre Wood, Flaucourt, and Asseviller were all in French hands. In so doing, 8,000 Germans had been made prisoner, while the taking of the Flaucourt plateau would allow Foch to move heavy artillery up to support the XX Corps on the north bank. The French continued their advance on <!--del_lnk--> July 5 as Hem was taken. On <!--del_lnk--> 8 July Hardecourt-aux-Bois and Monacu Farm (a veritable fortress, surrounded by hidden machine-gun nests in the nearby marsh) both fell. On <!--del_lnk--> 9 July -10 July, Biaches, Maisonnette and Fortress Biaches.<p>Thus, in ten days of fighting, on nearly a 20 km (12.5 mile) front, the French 6th Army had progressed as far as 10 km at points. It had occupied the entire Flaucourt plateau (which constituted the principal defense of Péronne) while taking 12,000 prisoners, 85 canons, 26 minenwerfers, 100 machine-guns, and other assorted materials, all with relatively minimal losses.<p>For the British, the first two weeks of the battle had descended into a series of disjointed, small-scale actions, ostensibly in preparation for making a major push. Between 3 July and <!--del_lnk--> 13 July Rawlinson's Fourth Army carried out 46 "actions" resulting in 25,000 casualties but no significant advance. This demonstrated a difference in strategy between Haig and his French counterparts and was a source of friction. Haig's purpose was to maintain continual pressure on the enemy while Joffre and Foch preferred to conserve their strength in preparation for a single, heavy blow.<p>In one significant respect, the Battle of the Somme was a major strategic success for the British as on <!--del_lnk--> 12 July, in response to the Somme fighting and the situation in the east, Falkenhayn called off the German offensive at Verdun. While the fighting would continue there until December, it would be the French who dictated the course of the battle.<p>On the Somme, von Below's Second Army would not be able to endure the continued British and French pressure alone. Each front line German division was being attacked by three or four Allied divisions. On <!--del_lnk--> 19 July, the German forces were reorganised with von Below taking command of the <!--del_lnk--> German First Army, responsible for the northern sector, and General <!--del_lnk--> Max von Gallwitz taking over the Second Army which covered the southern sector. In addition, von Gallwitz was made <!--del_lnk--> army group commander responsible for both German armies on the Somme.<p>As early as <!--del_lnk--> 2 July, seven German divisions were on their way to the Somme as reinforcements, and seven more were on their way within another week. In July and August the Germans poured in 35 extra divisions on the British sectors and a further seven divisions on the French sector. The combined pressure on Germany meant that <i><!--del_lnk--> Oberste Heeresleitung</i> (OHL, army high command) had only one division left in reserve by August.<p>The British had hoped to stem this flow of German reinforcements to the Somme from other sectors of the front. To do this a series of raids and demonstrations were carried out with the aim of "pinning" the German divisions to the front. The largest and most infamous of these was the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Fromelles, <!--del_lnk--> 19 July - <!--del_lnk--> 20 July, opposite <!--del_lnk--> Aubers Ridge in <!--del_lnk--> Artois. For the cost of 7,080 <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australian</a> and British casualties, no ground was captured and no halt was made to the withdrawal of German divisions from Artois to the Somme.<p><a id="Battle_of_Bazentin_Ridge" name="Battle_of_Bazentin_Ridge"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Battle of Bazentin Ridge</span></h2>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 14 July (<!--del_lnk--> Bastille Day) the Fourth Army was finally ready to resume the offensive in the southern sector. The attack, known as the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Bazentin Ridge, was aimed at capturing the German second defensive position which ran along the crest of the ridge from <!--del_lnk--> Pozières, on the Albert–Bapaume road, southeast towards the villages of <!--del_lnk--> Guillemont and <!--del_lnk--> Ginchy. The objectives were the villages of <!--del_lnk--> Bazentin le Petit, <!--del_lnk--> Bazentin le Grand and <!--del_lnk--> Longueval, which was adjacent to <!--del_lnk--> Delville Wood. Beyond this line, on the reverse slope of the ridge, lay <!--del_lnk--> High Wood.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23717.png.htm" title="The British 21st Division attack on Bazentin le Petit, 14 July 1916. The area captured by 9.00 am is shown by the dashed red line."><img alt="The British 21st Division attack on Bazentin le Petit, 14 July 1916. The area captured by 9.00 am is shown by the dashed red line." height="221" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bazentin_le_Petit_14_July_1916_map.png" src="../../images/237/23717.png" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23717.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The <!--del_lnk--> British 21st Division attack on <!--del_lnk--> Bazentin le Petit, <!--del_lnk--> 14 July <!--del_lnk--> 1916. The area captured by 9.00 am is shown by the dashed red line.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>There is considerable contrast between the preparation and execution of this attack and that of 1 July. The attack on Bazentin Ridge was made by four divisions on a front of 6,000 yards with the troops going over before dawn at 03:25 after a surprise five minute artillery bombardment. The artillery laid down a <!--del_lnk--> creeping barrage, and the attacking waves pushed up close behind it in no man's land, leaving them only a short distance to cross when the barrage lifted from the Germans' front trench.<p>By mid-morning, the first phase of the attack was a success with nearly all objectives taken, and as on 1 July, a gap was made in the German defences. However, again as on 1 July, the British were unable to successfully exploit it. Their attempt to do so created the most famous <!--del_lnk--> cavalry action of the Battle of the Somme when the <!--del_lnk--> 7th Dragoon Guards and the <!--del_lnk--> 2nd Deccan Horse attempted to capture High Wood. It is likely that the wood could have been captured by the infantry in the morning, but by the time the cavalry were in position to attack, the Germans had begun to recover. Though the cavalry held on in the wood through the night of <!--del_lnk--> 14 July, they had to withdraw the following day.<p>The British had a foothold in High Wood and would continue to fight over it as well as Delville Wood, neighbouring Longueval, for many days. Unfortunately for them, the successful opening of the 14 July attack did not mean they had learnt how to conduct trench battles. On the night of 22–23 July, Rawlinson launched an attack using six divisions along the length of the Fourth Army front which failed completely. The Germans were learning; they had begun to move away from the trench-based defences and towards a flexible <!--del_lnk--> defence in depth system of strongpoints that was difficult for the supporting artillery to suppress.<p><a id="Pozi.C3.A8res_and_Mouquet_Farm" name="Pozi.C3.A8res_and_Mouquet_Farm"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Pozières and Mouquet Farm</span></h2>
<p>No significant progress was made in the northern sector in the first few weeks of July. Ovillers, just north of the Albert-Bapaume road, was not captured until <!--del_lnk--> 16 July. Its capture, and the foothold the British had obtained in the German second position on 14 July, meant that the chance now existed for the German northern defences to be taken in the flank. The key to this was <!--del_lnk--> Pozières.<p>The village of Pozières lay on the Albert-Bapaume road at the crest of the ridge. Just behind (east) the village ran the trenches of the German second position. The Fourth Army made three attempts to seize the village between <!--del_lnk--> 14 July and <!--del_lnk--> 17 July before Haig relieved Rawlinson's army of responsibility for its northern flank. The capture of Pozières became a task for Gough's <!--del_lnk--> Reserve Army, and the tool he would use was the three <a href="../../wp/a/Australia.htm" title="Australia">Australian</a> divisions of <!--del_lnk--> I Anzac Corps.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23718.jpg.htm" title="The ruins of Pozières looking north, 28 August."><img alt="The ruins of Pozières looking north, 28 August." height="95" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pozieres_view_north_28_August_1916.jpg" src="../../images/237/23718.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23718.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The ruins of Pozières looking north, <!--del_lnk--> 28 August.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Gough wanted the <!--del_lnk--> Australian 1st Division to attack immediately, but the division's British commander, <!--del_lnk--> Major General <!--del_lnk--> Harold Walker, refused to send his men in without adequate preparation. The attack was scheduled for the night of <!--del_lnk--> 23 July to coincide with the Fourth Army attack of 22 – 23 July.<p>Going in shortly after midnight, the attack on Pozières was a success, largely thanks to Walker's insistence on careful preparation and an overwhelming supporting bombardment; however, an attempt to capture the neighbouring German second position failed, though two Australians were awarded the <a href="../../wp/v/Victoria_Cross.htm" title="Victoria Cross">Victoria Cross</a> in the attempt. The Germans, recognising the critical importance of the village to their defensive network, made three unsuccessful counter-attacks before beginning a prolonged and methodical bombardment of the village. The final German effort to reclaim Pozières came before dawn on <!--del_lnk--> 7 August following a particularly heavy bombardment. The Germans overran the forward Australian defences, and a wild mêlée developed from which the Australians emerged victorious.<p>Gough planned to drive north along the ridge towards <!--del_lnk--> Mouquet Farm, allowing him to threaten the German bastion of <!--del_lnk--> Thiepval from the rear. However, the further the Australians advanced, the deeper was the <!--del_lnk--> salient they created such that the German artillery could concentrate on them from three directions.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23719.jpg.htm" title="The plateau north and east of Pozières, 28 August."><img alt="The plateau north and east of Pozières, 28 August." height="96" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Pozieres_plateau_28_August_1916.jpg" src="../../images/237/23719.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23719.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The plateau north and east of Pozières, <!--del_lnk--> 28 August.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 8 August the Australians began pushing north along the ridge with the <!--del_lnk--> British II Corps advancing from Ovillers on their left. By <!--del_lnk--> 10 August a line had been established just south of the farm, which the Germans had turned into a fortress with deep dugouts and tunnels connecting to distant redoubts. The Australians made numerous attempts to capture the farm between <!--del_lnk--> 12 August and <!--del_lnk--> 3 September, inching closer with each attempt; however, the German garrison held out. The Australians were relieved by the <!--del_lnk--> Canadian Corps, who would briefly capture Mouquet Farm on <!--del_lnk--> 16 September, the day after the next major British offensive. The farm was finally overrun on <!--del_lnk--> 26 September, and the garrison surrendered the following day.<p>In the fighting at Pozières and Mouquet Farm, the three Australian divisions suffered over 23,000 casualties. If the losses from <!--del_lnk--> Fromelles on <!--del_lnk--> 19 July are included, Australia had sustained more casualties in six weeks in France than they had in the eight months of the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Gallipoli.<p><a id="Attrition:_August_and_September" name="Attrition:_August_and_September"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Attrition: August and September</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23720.jpg.htm" title="Men from The Wiltshire Regiment attacking near Thiepval, 7 August."><img alt="Men from The Wiltshire Regiment attacking near Thiepval, 7 August." height="156" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wiltshire_Regiment_Thiepval_7_August_1916.jpg" src="../../images/237/23720.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23720.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Men from <!--del_lnk--> The Wiltshire Regiment attacking near <!--del_lnk--> Thiepval, <!--del_lnk--> 7 August.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>By the start of August, Haig had accepted that the prospect of achieving a breakthrough was now unlikely; the Germans had "recovered to a great extent from the disorganisation" of July. For the next six weeks, the British would engage in a series of small-scale actions in preparation for the next major push. On <!--del_lnk--> 29 August the German Chief of the General Staff, <!--del_lnk--> Erich Falkenhayn, was replaced by General <!--del_lnk--> Paul von Hindenburg, with General <!--del_lnk--> Erich Ludendorff as his deputy, but in effect the operational commander. The immediate effect of this change was the introduction of a new defensive doctrine. On <!--del_lnk--> 23 September the Germans began constructing the <i>Siegfried Stellung</i>, called the <!--del_lnk--> Hindenburg Line by the British.<p>On the Fourth Army's front, the struggle for <!--del_lnk--> High Wood, <!--del_lnk--> Delville Wood and the <!--del_lnk--> Switch Line dragged on. The boundary between the British and French armies lay southeast of Delville Wood, beyond the villages of <!--del_lnk--> Guillemont and <!--del_lnk--> Ginchy. Here the British line had not progressed significantly since the first day of the battle, and the two armies were in <!--del_lnk--> echelon, making progress impossible until the villages were captured. The first British effort to seize Guillemont on <!--del_lnk--> 8 August was a debacle. On <!--del_lnk--> 18 August, a larger effort began, involving three British corps as well as the French, but it took until <!--del_lnk--> 3 September before Guillemont was in British hands. Attention now turned to Ginchy, which was captured by the <!--del_lnk--> 16th (Irish) Division on <!--del_lnk--> 9 September. The French had also made progress, and once Ginchy fell, the two armies were linked near <!--del_lnk--> Combles.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23721.jpg.htm" title="A demolished German trench and dugout near Guillemont."><img alt="A demolished German trench and dugout near Guillemont." height="168" longdesc="/wiki/Image:German_dead_Guillemont_September_1916.jpg" src="../../images/237/23721.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23721.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A demolished German trench and dugout near <!--del_lnk--> Guillemont.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The British now had an almost straight front line from near Mouquet Farm in the northwest to Combles in the southeast, providing a suitable jumping-off position for another large scale attack. In 1916, a straight front was considered necessary to enable the supporting artillery to lay down an effective creeping barrage behind which the infantry could advance.<p>This intermediate phase of the Battle of the Somme had been costly for the Fourth Army, despite there being no major offensive. Between <!--del_lnk--> 15 July and <!--del_lnk--> 14 September (the eve of the next battle), the Fourth Army made around 90 attacks of <!--del_lnk--> battalion strength or more with only four being general attacks across the length of the army's 5 miles of front. The result was 82,000 casualties and an advance of approximately 1,000 <!--del_lnk--> yards—a performance even worse than <!--del_lnk--> 1 July.<p><a id="Debut_of_the_Tank" name="Debut_of_the_Tank"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Debut of the Tank</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23722.jpg.htm" title="C-15, a British Mark I "male" tank, 25 September 1916."><img alt="C-15, a British Mark I "male" tank, 25 September 1916." height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:British_Mark_I_male_tank_Somme_25_September_1916.jpg" src="../../images/237/23722.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23722.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>C-15</i>, a British Mark I "male" <a href="../../wp/t/Tank.htm" title="Tank">tank</a>, <!--del_lnk--> 25 September <!--del_lnk--> 1916.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The last great Allied effort to achieve a breakthrough came on <!--del_lnk--> 15 September in the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Flers-Courcelette with the initial advance made by 11 British divisions (nine from Fourth Army, two <!--del_lnk--> Canadian divisions on the Reserve Army sector) and a later attack by four French corps.<p>The battle is chiefly remembered today as the debut of the <a href="../../wp/t/Tank.htm" title="Tank">tank</a>. The British had high hopes that this secret weapon would break the deadlock of the trenches. Early tanks were not weapons of mobile warfare — with a top speed of 2 <!--del_lnk--> mph (3.2 km/h), they were easily outpaced by the <!--del_lnk--> infantry — but were designed for <a href="../../wp/t/Trench_warfare.htm" title="Trench warfare">trench warfare</a>. They were untroubled by <!--del_lnk--> barbed wire obstacles and impervious to <!--del_lnk--> rifle and <!--del_lnk--> machine gun fire, though highly vulnerable to artillery. Additionally, the tanks were notoriously unreliable; of the 49 tanks available on <!--del_lnk--> 15 September, only 32 made it to the start line, and of these, only 21 made it into action. Mechanical breakdowns were common, and many others became bogged or ditched in the shell holes and trenches of the churned battlefield.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23723.jpg.htm" title="New Zealand infantry in the Switch Line."><img alt="New Zealand infantry in the Switch Line." height="118" longdesc="/wiki/Image:New_Zealand_trench_Flers_September_1916.jpg" src="../../images/237/23723.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23723.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a> infantry in the <!--del_lnk--> Switch Line.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The British made gains across the length of their front, the greatest being in the centre at <!--del_lnk--> Flers with an advance of 3,500 yards, a feat achieved by the newest British division in France, the <!--del_lnk--> 41st Division, in their first action. They were later joined by the tank <i>D-17</i>, giving rise to the optimistic press report: "A tank is walking up the High Street of Flers with the British Army cheering behind."<p>It was also the first major Western Front battle for the <!--del_lnk--> New Zealand Division, at the time part of the <!--del_lnk--> British XV Corps, which captured part of the <!--del_lnk--> Switch Line west of Flers. On the left flank, the <!--del_lnk--> Canadian 2nd Division captured the village of <!--del_lnk--> Courcelette after heavy fighting, with some assistance from tanks. And finally after two months of fighting, the British captured all of <!--del_lnk--> High Wood, though not without another costly struggle. The plan was to use tanks in support of infantry from the <!--del_lnk--> 47th (1/2nd London) Division, but the wood was an impassable landscape of shattered stumps and shell holes, and only one tank managed to penetrate any distance. The German defenders were forced to abandon High Wood once British progress on the flanks threatened to encircle them.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23724.jpg.htm" title="British infantry advancing near Ginchy during the Battle of Morval, 25 September."><img alt="British infantry advancing near Ginchy during the Battle of Morval, 25 September." height="109" longdesc="/wiki/Image:British_infantry_Morval_25_September_1916.jpg" src="../../images/237/23724.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23724.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> British infantry advancing near <!--del_lnk--> Ginchy during the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Morval, <!--del_lnk--> 25 September.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The British had managed to advance during Flers-Courcelette, capturing 4,500 yards of the German third position, but fell short of all their objectives, and once again the breakthrough eluded them. The tank had shown promise, but its lack of reliability limited its impact, and the <!--del_lnk--> tactics of tank warfare were obviously in their infancy.<p>The least successful sector on 15 September had been east of Ginchy where the <!--del_lnk--> Quadrilateral redoubt had held up the advance towards <!--del_lnk--> Morval — the Quadrilateral was not captured until <!--del_lnk--> 18 September. Another attack was planned for <!--del_lnk--> 25 September with the objectives of the villages of <!--del_lnk--> Gueudecourt, <!--del_lnk--> Lesbœufs and Morval. Like the 14 July <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Bazentin Ridge, the limited objectives, concentrated artillery and weak German defences resulted in a successful attack. On this occasion the tanks remained in reserve.<p><a id="The_final_phase" name="The_final_phase"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The final phase</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23725.jpg.htm" title="Stretcher bearers recovering wounded during the Battle of Thiepval Ridge, September 1916."><img alt="Stretcher bearers recovering wounded during the Battle of Thiepval Ridge, September 1916." height="133" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stretcher_bearers_Battle_of_Thiepval_Ridge_September_1916.jpg" src="../../images/237/23725.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23725.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Stretcher bearers recovering wounded during the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Thiepval Ridge, September 1916.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>On <!--del_lnk--> 26 September Gough's Reserve Army launched its first major offensive since the opening day of the battle in an attempt to capture the German fortress of <!--del_lnk--> Thiepval. The <!--del_lnk--> 18th (Eastern) Division, which had excelled on <!--del_lnk--> 1 July, once more demonstrated by capturing most of Thiepval on the first day that careful training, preparation and leadership could overcome the obstacles of trench warfare. <!--del_lnk--> Mouquet Farm finally fell to the <!--del_lnk--> 11th (Northern) Division, and the Canadians advanced 1,000 yards (1 km) from Courcelette.<p>There followed a period from <!--del_lnk--> 1 October to <!--del_lnk--> 11 November, known as the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Ancre Heights, of grinding attritional fighting for little gain. At the end of October, Gough's army was renamed the <!--del_lnk--> British Fifth Army.<p>Meanwhile on the Fourth Army's front, Haig was still under the illusion that a breakthrough was imminent. On <!--del_lnk--> 29 September he had outlined plans for <!--del_lnk--> Allenby's <!--del_lnk--> Third Army to rejoin the battle in the north around Gommecourt and for the Fourth Army to attack towards <!--del_lnk--> Cambrai. The first step required the capture of the German Transloy Line, effectively the German fourth defensive position that ran from the village of <!--del_lnk--> Le Transloy in the east to <!--del_lnk--> Le Sars on the Albert-Bapaume road.<p>Opening on <!--del_lnk--> 1 October, the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Le Transloy became bogged down as the weather broke, and heavy rain turned the churned battlefield into a quagmire. Le Sars was captured on <!--del_lnk--> 7 October, but elsewhere there was little progress and a continual flow of casualties. The final throe came on <!--del_lnk--> 5 November with a failed attack on the <!--del_lnk--> Butte de Warlencourt. On the Fourth Army's front, major operations in the Battle of the Somme had now ceased.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23726.jpg.htm" title="Mametz, Western Front, a winter scene by Frank Crozier."><img alt="Mametz, Western Front, a winter scene by Frank Crozier." height="111" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Mametz_Western_Front_%28Frank_Crozier%29.jpg" src="../../images/237/23726.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23726.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Mametz, Western Front</i>, a <a href="../../wp/w/Winter.htm" title="Winter">winter</a> scene by Frank Crozier.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The final act of the Battle of the Somme was played out between 13–18 November along the <!--del_lnk--> Ancre River, north of Thiepval. Haig's purpose for the attack was more <!--del_lnk--> political than military — with winter setting in, there was no longer any prospect of a breakthrough. Instead, with another conference at Chantilly starting on <!--del_lnk--> 15 November, he hoped to be able to report of success to his French counterparts.<p>The opening moves were almost a replay of 1 July, even down to another mine being detonated beneath <!--del_lnk--> Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt west of <!--del_lnk--> Beaumont Hamel. The <!--del_lnk--> 31st Division had attacked <!--del_lnk--> Serre on 1 July and four and a half months later was called on to do it again; the results were similar. South of Serre the British, with the benefit of their hard-earned experience, succeeded in capturing most of their objectives. The <!--del_lnk--> 51st (Highland) Division took Beaumont Hamel while on their right the <!--del_lnk--> 63rd (Royal Naval) Division captured <!--del_lnk--> Beaucourt, <!--del_lnk--> Lieutenant Colonel <!--del_lnk--> Bernard Freyberg winning the <a href="../../wp/v/Victoria_Cross.htm" title="Victoria Cross">Victoria Cross</a> in the process. South of the Ancre <!--del_lnk--> II Corps had also made progress.<p>Haig was satisfied with the result, but Gough argued for a final effort which was made on <!--del_lnk--> 18 November with an attack on the Munich and Frankfurt Trenches and a push towards <!--del_lnk--> Grandcourt. Ninety men of the 16th Battalion, <!--del_lnk--> Highland Light Infantry (the "Glasgow Boys Brigade" <!--del_lnk--> Pals battalion) were cut-off in Frankfurt Trench where they held out until <!--del_lnk--> 21 November when the 45 survivors — 30 of them wounded — surrendered. So ended the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Ancre and with it the Battle of the Somme.<p><a id="The_Conclusion" name="The_Conclusion"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">The Conclusion</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23727.png.htm" title="Progress of the Battle of the Somme between 1 July and 18 November."><img alt="Progress of the Battle of the Somme between 1 July and 18 November." height="495" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Battle_of_the_Somme_1916_map.png" src="../../images/237/23727.png" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/237/23727.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Progress of the Battle of the Somme between <!--del_lnk--> 1 July and <!--del_lnk--> 18 November.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>It is difficult to declare the Battle of the Somme a victory for either side. The British and French did succeed in capturing ground but little more than 5 miles (8 km) at the deepest point of penetration, well short of their original objectives. Taking a long-term view, the Battle of the Somme delivered more benefits for the British than it did for the Germans. As British historian <!--del_lnk--> Gary Sheffield said, "The battle of the Somme was not a victory in itself, but without it the <!--del_lnk--> Entente would not have emerged victorious in 1918."<p><a id="Strategic_effects" name="Strategic_effects"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Strategic effects</span></h3>
<p>Prior to the battle, Germany had regarded Britain as a <!--del_lnk--> naval power and discounted her as a military force to be reckoned with, believing Germany's major enemies were France and Russia. Starting with the Somme, Britain began to gain influence in the <!--del_lnk--> coalition, especially following the <!--del_lnk--> mutinies in the French army in 1917. In recognition of the growing threat Britain posed, on <!--del_lnk--> 31 January Germany adopted the policy of <!--del_lnk--> unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to starve the island nation of supplies, an act that would ultimately bring the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> into the war.<p>At the start of 1916, the British army had been a largely inexperienced mass of volunteers. The Somme was the first real test of this newly raised "citizens army" that had come into being following <!--del_lnk--> Lord Kitchener's call for recruits at the start of the war. It is brutal but accurate to observe that many of the British soldiers killed on the Somme lacked experience, and therefore their loss was of little military significance. However, they had been the first to volunteer and so were often the fittest, most enthusiastic and best educated of the citizen soldiers. For Germany, which had entered the war with a trained force of regulars and reservists, each casualty was sapping the experience and effectiveness of the German army. The senior German commander <!--del_lnk--> Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria stated, "What remained of the old first-class peace-trained German infantry had been expended on the battlefield."<p>The Battle of the Somme damaged the German Army beyond repair, after which it was never able to adequately replace its casualties with the same calibre of soldier that doggedly held its ground during most of the battle. By the end of the battle, the British and German armies were closer to being equally matched; effectively <!--del_lnk--> militias.<p>German commanders did not believe the army could endure continual <!--del_lnk--> battles of attrition like the Somme. On <!--del_lnk--> 24 February 1917, the German army made a strategic <!--del_lnk--> scorched earth withdrawal from the Somme battlefield to the prepared fortifications of the <!--del_lnk--> Hindenburg Line, thereby shortening the front line they had to occupy. In the grey area of gains and losses, it is therefore possible to claim that the Entente's territorial gain from the battle was greater than that which existed at the battle's close.<p>The strategic effects of the Battle of the Somme cannot obscure the fact that it was one of the costliest battles of the First World War. A German officer, Friedrich Steinbrecher, wrote:<dl>
<dd><i>Somme. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more ghastly word.</i></dl>
<p><a id="Casualties" name="Casualties"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Casualties</span></h2>
<p>The original Allied estimate of casualties on the Somme, made at the Chantilly conference on 15 November, was 485,000 British and French casualties versus 630,000 German. These figures were used to support the argument that the Somme was a successful battle of attrition for the Allies. However, there was considerable scepticism at the time of the accuracy of the counts. After the war, a final tally showed that 419,654 British and 204,253 French were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner; of the 623,907 total casualties, 146,431 were either killed or missing.<p>The British official historian Sir <!--del_lnk--> James Edmonds maintained that German losses were 680,000, but this figure has been discredited. A separate statistical report by the British <!--del_lnk--> War Office concluded that German casualties on the British sector could be as low as 180,000 during the battle. Today commonly accepted figures for all German losses on the Somme are between 465,000 and 600,000. In compiling his <!--del_lnk--> biography of General <!--del_lnk--> Rawlinson, Major-General Sir Frederick Maurice was supplied by the <i>Reichsarchiv</i> with a figure of 164,055 for the German killed or missing.<p>The average casualties per <!--del_lnk--> division (consisting of circa 10,000 soldiers) on the British sector up until <!--del_lnk--> 19 November was 8,026 — 6,329 for the four Canadian divisions, 7,408 for the <!--del_lnk--> New Zealand Division, 8,133 for the 43 British divisions and 8,960 for the three Australian divisions. The British daily loss rate during the Battle of the Somme was 2,943 men, which exceeded the loss rate during the <!--del_lnk--> Third Battle of Ypres but was not as severe as the two months of the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Arras (1917) (4,076 per day) or the final <!--del_lnk--> Hundred Days offensive in 1918 (3,685 per day).<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Royal Flying Corps lost 782 aircraft and 576 pilots during the battle.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme_%281916%29"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Western Front (World War I)', 'World War I', 'France', 'British Empire', 'World War I', 'Italy', 'Western Front (World War I)', 'Flanders', 'English Channel', 'North Sea', 'Belgium', 'Roman road', 'Australia', 'Australia', 'Victoria Cross', 'Tank', 'Tank', 'Trench warfare', 'New Zealand', 'Winter', 'Victoria Cross', 'United States']
|
Battles_of_the_Mexican-American_War
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Battles of the Mexican-American War,1846,1848,Adobe,Alexander Doniphan,Alexander W. Doniphan,Antonio López de Santa Anna,April 18,April 24,Atlixco,August" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Battles of the Mexican-American War</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Battles_of_the_Mexican-American_War";
var wgTitle = "Battles of the Mexican-American War";
var wgArticleId = 251948;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Battles_of_the_Mexican-American_War">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Battles of the Mexican-American War</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.History.Military_History_and_War.htm">Military History and War</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: .5em; float: right; padding: .5em 0 .8em 1.4em; background: none; width: auto;">
<tr>
<td>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>The following are known <b>battles of the Mexican-American War</b>. This list includes all major engagements and most reported skirmishes. Included also are two major engagements, the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Palo Alto, and the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Resaca de la Palma, which took place prior to the official start of hostilities between the two countries.<p><a id="Background" name="Background"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span></h2>
<p>The <!--del_lnk--> Mexican-American War lasted from 1846 until 1848. It grew out of unresolved border disputes between the <!--del_lnk--> Republic of Texas and <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico.htm" title="Mexico">Mexico</a> after the annexation of the former by the United States during the <!--del_lnk--> Texas Revolution of 1836. Before 1836, Anglo settlers in Texas (which was then a part of Mexico) had increasingly desired to align with the United States and its ongoing westward expansion. Texas was admitted into the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a> in 1845 and as a consequence, tension with Mexico increased over the disputed border.<p>The U.S. government claimed that the southern border of Texas was the <!--del_lnk--> Rio Grande; Mexico maintained it to be the <!--del_lnk--> Nueces River. President <a href="../../wp/j/James_K._Polk.htm" title="James K. Polk">James K. Polk</a> ordered General <a href="../../wp/z/Zachary_Taylor.htm" title="Zachary Taylor">Zachary Taylor</a> to place troops between the two rivers. Taylor crossed the Nueces, ignoring Mexican demands that he withdraw, and marched south to the Rio Grande. After a border clash on <!--del_lnk--> April 24, <!--del_lnk--> 1846, and the battles at <!--del_lnk--> Palo Alto and <!--del_lnk--> Resaca de la Palma, Polk requested a declaration of war. The <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Congress declared war on <!--del_lnk--> May 13, <!--del_lnk--> 1846, while Mexico did so on <!--del_lnk--> May 23.<p>Most of the formal fighting effectively ended on October, 1847, soon after General Winfield Scott and his forces had stormed <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico_City.htm" title="Mexico City">Mexico City</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on <!--del_lnk--> February 2, <!--del_lnk--> 1848 in which Mexico, under pressure, <!--del_lnk--> surrendered a vast tract of land to the United States for the sum of USD $15 million.<div class="center">
<div class="thumb tnone">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1322.jpg.htm" title="Depiction of the Battle of Chapultepec."><img alt="Depiction of the Battle of Chapultepec." height="157" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Storming_of_Chapultepec.jpg" src="../../images/13/1322.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1322.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Depiction of the <!--del_lnk--> Battle of Chapultepec.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="List_of_battles" name="List_of_battles"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">List of battles</span></h2>
<p><i>Key: (A) – American Victory; (M) – Mexican Victory; (I) – Inconclusive.</i><p><a name="1846"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">1846</span></h3>
<table class="wikitable" width="100%">
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#FFEBAD" width="20%"><b>Battle</b></td>
<td bgcolor="#FFEBAD" width="10%"><b>Date</b></td>
<td bgcolor="#FFEBAD" width="65%"><b>Engagement remarks</b></td>
<td bgcolor="#FFEBAD" width="5%"><b>Result</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Thornton Affair</td>
<td>April 25/26</td>
<td>Skirmishing in the disputed borderlands of South <!--del_lnk--> Texas.</td>
<td>(M)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Siege of Fort Texas</td>
<td>May 3-9</td>
<td>Mexican Army besieges American outpost.</td>
<td>(I)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Palo Alto</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> May 8</td>
<td>Mexican Army under <!--del_lnk--> Mariano Arista enters the disputed land between the <!--del_lnk--> Rio Grande (Río Bravo) and the <!--del_lnk--> Nueces River.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Resaca de la Palma</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> May 9</td>
<td>Arista is defeated by <a href="../../wp/z/Zachary_Taylor.htm" title="Zachary Taylor">Zachary Taylor</a>.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Occupation of <!--del_lnk--> Matamoros</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> May 18</td>
<td>U.S. troops occupy <!--del_lnk--> Matamoros, <!--del_lnk--> Tamaulipas, with no resistance.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Monterey</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> July 7</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> U.S. Navy occupies <!--del_lnk--> Monterey, California.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Occupation of <!--del_lnk--> Camargo, Tamaulipas.</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> July 14</td>
<td>–</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Cañoncito</td>
<td>early <!--del_lnk--> August</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Stephen Watts Kearny defeats <!--del_lnk--> Manuel Armijo on the way to <!--del_lnk--> Santa Fe, New Mexico.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Santa Fe</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 18</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Kearny occupies <!--del_lnk--> Santa Fe, New Mexico.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Monterrey</td>
<td>September 21-23</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/z/Zachary_Taylor.htm" title="Zachary Taylor">Zachary Taylor</a> forces <!--del_lnk--> Pedro de Ampudia to surrender <!--del_lnk--> Monterrey.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Siege of Los Angeles</td>
<td>September 22-30</td>
<td>Led by Gen <!--del_lnk--> José Mariá Flores Californios and Mexicans attempt to retake <!--del_lnk--> Los Angeles.</td>
<td>(M)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Chino</td>
<td>September 26-27</td>
<td>A group of Californios captured 24 Americans led by <!--del_lnk--> Benjamin D. Wilson, who were barricaded in an <!--del_lnk--> adobe house in Rancho Chino, near <!--del_lnk--> Chino, California.</td>
<td>(M)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Dominguez Rancho</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> October 7</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Californios clash with <!--del_lnk--> John C. Frémont.</td>
<td>(M)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> First Battle of Tabasco</td>
<td>October 24-26</td>
<td>Commodore Perry makes a demonstration against <!--del_lnk--> Tabasco</td>
<td>(I)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Occupation of <!--del_lnk--> Tampico, Tamaulipas</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> November 14</td>
<td>Occupation by the U.S. Navy.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Occupation of <!--del_lnk--> Saltillo, <!--del_lnk--> Coahuila</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> November 16</td>
<td>Occupation by the <!--del_lnk--> U.S. Army.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Natividad</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> November 16</td>
<td>Town located in northern California.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of San Pasqual</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> December 6</td>
<td>Californeros and Presidial Lancers defeat <!--del_lnk--> Stephen Watts Kearny.</td>
<td>(M)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of El Brazito</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> December 25</td>
<td>Also called the "Battle of Temascalitos" in Spanish. Mexican forces attack <!--del_lnk--> El Brazito, New Mexico. U.S. forces were led by <!--del_lnk--> Col. <!--del_lnk--> Alexander Doniphan.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a name="1847"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">1847</span></h3>
<table class="wikitable" width="100%">
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#FFEBAD" width="20%"><b>Battle</b></td>
<td bgcolor="#FFEBAD" width="10%"><b>Date</b></td>
<td bgcolor="#FFEBAD" width="65%"><b>Engagement remarks</b></td>
<td bgcolor="#FFEBAD" width="5%"><b>Result</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Santa Clara, California</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> January 2</td>
<td>Fought in <a href="../../wp/c/California.htm" title="California">California</a>.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Rio San Gabriel</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> January 8</td>
<td>Part of a series of battles for control of <a href="../../wp/l/Los_Angeles%252C_California.htm" title="Los Angeles, California">Los Angeles</a>.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of La Mesa</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> January 9</td>
<td>Last conflict before U.S. forces enter Los Angeles.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Cañada</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> January 24</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Sterling Price defeats Insurgents in <!--del_lnk--> New Mexico.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Mora</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> January 24/<!--del_lnk--> February 1</td>
<td>After a failed attack by American Forces led by <!--del_lnk--> Israel Hendley on <!--del_lnk--> January 24, on <!--del_lnk--> February 1 another expedition armed with cannon succeeded in razing the village of Mora in New Mexico.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Embudo Pass</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> January 29</td>
<td>Last insurgent stand before the <!--del_lnk--> Siege of Pueblo de Taos.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Siege of Pueblo de Taos</td>
<td>February 3/4</td>
<td>Rancheros and Mexican Militia surrender to U.S. forces thus ending the <!--del_lnk--> Taos Revolt.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Buena Vista</td>
<td>February 22/23</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Antonio López de Santa Anna engages <a href="../../wp/z/Zachary_Taylor.htm" title="Zachary Taylor">Zachary Taylor</a> in one of the largest battles of the war.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of the Sacramento</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> February 28</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Alexander W. Doniphan captures <!--del_lnk--> Chihuahua, Mexico.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Siege of Veracruz</td>
<td>March 9-29</td>
<td>Beginning with Marine landings, U.S. forces besiege and gradually encircle Mexican Marines and Coast Guard in vicious twenty-day siege.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Cerro Gordo</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> April 18</td>
<td>Dubbed the "<!--del_lnk--> Thermopylae of the West."</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Tuxpán</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> April 18</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Commodore <!--del_lnk--> Perry seizes port city on the <a href="../../wp/g/Gulf_of_Mexico.htm" title="Gulf of Mexico">Gulf coast</a>.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left">Skirmish at <!--del_lnk--> Las Vegas, New Mexico</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> June 6</td>
<td>–</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Second Battle of Tabasco</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> June 16</td>
<td>Commodore Perry captures last port city on the <a href="../../wp/g/Gulf_of_Mexico.htm" title="Gulf of Mexico">Gulf coast</a>.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Contreras (also known as <i>Battle of Padierna</i>)</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 19</td>
<td>Santa Anna fails to support the Mexican line at a critical moment; turns victory into rout.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Churubusco</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> August 20</td>
<td>Regular Mexican troops and <!--del_lnk--> San Patricios under <!--del_lnk--> Manuel Rincón hold a fortified monastery against Winfield Scott; San Patricios decimated.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Molino del Rey</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> September 8</td>
<td>Americans lose nearly 800 men in an attempt to take a suspected cannon foundry: "They fell in platoons and companies."</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Chapultepec</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> September 13</td>
<td>Scott assaults <!--del_lnk--> Chapultepec Castle. <i>Los <!--del_lnk--> Niños Héroes</i> pass into legend.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle for Mexico City</td>
<td>September 13/14</td>
<td>Fierce fighting for <a href="../../wp/m/Mexico_City.htm" title="Mexico City">Mexico City</a>.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Siege of Puebla</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> September 14</td>
<td>Mexican forces begin the siege of <!--del_lnk--> Puebla, Puebla.</td>
<td>–</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Fall of Mexico City</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> September 15</td>
<td>U.S. forces finally enter Mexico City.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Mulegé</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> October 2</td>
<td>Mexican forces led by <!--del_lnk--> Captain <!--del_lnk--> Manuel Pineda defeated a small detachment of American forces near <!--del_lnk--> Mulegé, <!--del_lnk--> Baja California Sur.</td>
<td>(M)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Huamantla</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> October 9</td>
<td>U.S. relief column is able to reach <!--del_lnk--> Puebla.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Siege of Puebla</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> October 12</td>
<td>Siege of Puebla lifted.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Skirmish at <!--del_lnk--> Atlixco</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> October 19</td>
<td>Also known as the "Atlixco Affair"</td>
<td>(I)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><a name="1848"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">1848</span></h3>
<table class="wikitable" width="100%">
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#FFEBAD" width="20%"><b>Battle</b></td>
<td bgcolor="#FFEBAD" width="10%"><b>Date</b></td>
<td bgcolor="#FFEBAD" width="65%"><b>Engagement remarks</b></td>
<td bgcolor="#FFEBAD" width="5%"><b>Result</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><!--del_lnk--> Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> March 16</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Sterling Price advances into <!--del_lnk--> Chihuahua after the <!--del_lnk--> Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was already signed.</td>
<td>(A)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>From January to August Mexican <!--del_lnk--> partisans harassed the U.S. Army of Occupation. Formal fighting, however, had ceased by the end of January.<div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_the_Mexican-American_War"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Mexico', 'United States', 'James K. Polk', 'Zachary Taylor', 'Mexico City', 'Zachary Taylor', 'Zachary Taylor', 'California', 'Los Angeles, California', 'Zachary Taylor', 'Gulf of Mexico', 'Gulf of Mexico', 'Mexico City']
|
Bay_Area_Rapid_Transit
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bay Area Rapid Transit,BART train arrival and departure.ogg,BART,16th St. Mission (BART station),1964,1972,1974,1995,1996,1997,19th St./Oakland (BART station)" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bay Area Rapid Transit</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bay_Area_Rapid_Transit";
var wgTitle = "Bay Area Rapid Transit";
var wgArticleId = 60340;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bay_Area_Rapid_Transit">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bay Area Rapid Transit</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Design_and_Technology.Railway_transport.htm">Railway transport</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table class="infobox" style="width: 20em; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;">
<caption style="font-size: larger;"><big><b>Bay Area Rapid Transit</b></big></caption>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><!--del_lnk--> <img alt="" height="63" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BART_logo.png" src="../../images/1x1white.gif" title="This image is not present because of licensing restrictions" width="100" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="white-space: nowrap;">Locale</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> San Francisco Bay Area</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Transit type</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Rapid transit</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="white-space: nowrap;">Began operation</th>
<td><!--del_lnk--> September 11, <!--del_lnk--> 1972</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="white-space: nowrap;">System length</th>
<td>104 <!--del_lnk--> mi (167 <!--del_lnk--> km)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="white-space: nowrap;">No. of lines</th>
<td>5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="white-space: nowrap;">No. of stations</th>
<td>43</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="white-space: nowrap;">Daily ridership</th>
<td>310,717 (avg. weekday exits, FY2005)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="white-space: nowrap;"><!--del_lnk--> Track gauge</th>
<td>5 <!--del_lnk--> ft 6 <!--del_lnk--> in (1676 <!--del_lnk--> mm)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="white-space: nowrap;">Operator</th>
<td>San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16952.jpg.htm" title="A westbound BART train in downtown San Francisco (wide-angle photo)."><img alt="A westbound BART train in downtown San Francisco (wide-angle photo)." height="237" longdesc="/wiki/Image:San_Francisco_BART_1.jpg" src="../../images/169/16952.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16952.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A westbound BART train in downtown San Francisco (wide-angle photo).</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <b>San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District</b> (<b>BART</b>) is a <!--del_lnk--> public <!--del_lnk--> rapid-transit system that serves parts of the <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco Bay Area, including the cities of <a href="../../wp/s/San_Francisco%252C_California.htm" title="San Francisco, California">San Francisco</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Oakland, <!--del_lnk--> Berkeley, <!--del_lnk--> Daly City, <!--del_lnk--> Richmond, <!--del_lnk--> Fremont, <!--del_lnk--> Hayward, <!--del_lnk--> Walnut Creek, and <!--del_lnk--> Concord. It also serves <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco International Airport and, via <!--del_lnk--> AirBART buses, <!--del_lnk--> Oakland International Airport. The BART acronym is pronounced as a single word, not as individual letters.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="BART_today" name="BART_today"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">BART today</span></h2>
<p><a id="System_details" name="System_details"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">System details</span></h3>
<p>BART comprises 104 miles (167 km) of track and 43 stations. The system uses a 5 ft 6 in (1676 mm) <!--del_lnk--> broad rail gauge, as opposed to the 4 ft 8.5 in (1435 mm) <!--del_lnk--> standard gauge predominantly found in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">U.S</a>. The broad gauge was selected to provide greater stability (due in part to a planned <!--del_lnk--> Golden Gate Bridge route), a smoother ride for lightweight aluminum and fibreglass cars, and for political and economic reasons.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16953.jpg.htm" title="A photo of the third rails used on the BART system. Notice how the rail changes location relative to the train upon entering the station and the crossover walkway crossing the trackway. Notice the walkway on the left side of the trackway in the distance, which is the emergency walkway for the aerial trackway leading into the Daly City station – again, the third rail positioned opposite of this walkway."><img alt="A photo of the third rails used on the BART system. Notice how the rail changes location relative to the train upon entering the station and the crossover walkway crossing the trackway. Notice the walkway on the left side of the trackway in the distance, which is the emergency walkway for the aerial trackway leading into the Daly City station – again, the third rail positioned opposite of this walkway." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BART_third_rails.jpg" src="../../images/169/16953.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16953.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A photo of the third rails used on the <!--del_lnk--> BART system. Notice how the rail changes location relative to the train upon entering the station and the crossover walkway crossing the trackway. Notice the walkway on the left side of the trackway in the distance, which is the emergency walkway for the aerial trackway leading into the Daly City station – again, the third rail positioned opposite of this walkway.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Some critics point out that the broad gauge has very little technical merit, but does act as a very effective barrier to use for any other rail system, freight or passenger. The French, German, and Japanese high-speed rail networks, for instance, are all standard gauge, and operate at higher speeds. Most, if not all, light rail systems operate with lightweight cars on standard gauge track. Broad gauge makes engineering more difficult, as track building equipment must be custom-built. In addition, the non-standard gauge makes new fleet procurement extremely expensive because the trains must be custom-built instead of using common designs for standard gauge.<p>Trains can achieve a centrally-controlled maximum speed of 80 mph (129 km/h) and provide a systemwide average speed of 33 mph (53 km/h) with 20-second station dwell times. Trains operate at a minimum length of three cars per California Public Utilities Commission guidelines to a maximum length of 10 cars, spanning the entire 700 ft (213.3 m) length of a platform.<p>Power is delivered to the trains over a <!--del_lnk--> third rail, whose position alternates with respect to the train depending on context. Inside stations, the third rail is always on the side furthest away from the passenger platforms. This design feature eliminates the danger of a passenger either falling directly on the third rail, or stepping onto it to climb back to the platform should they fall off. On ground-level trackways, the third rail also is alternated from one side of the track to the other, providing breaks in the third rail to allow for emergency evacuations across trackways.<p>Underground tunnels, aerial structures and the transbay tube also have evacuation walkways and passageways to allow for train evacuation without exposing passengers to easy, inadvertent contact with the third rail, which is located as far away from these walkways as possible. The voltage over the third rail is 1000 V <!--del_lnk--> DC (1 kV DC); as a result, there are numerous notices through the system to warn passengers of its danger. BART also posts notices in each train car warning of the third rail and of the four paddle-like rail contact shoes that protrude from the underside of each car by the rail wheel trucks.<p>The BART system operates five lines, but most of the network consists of more than one line on the same track. Trains on each line typically run every 15 minutes on weekdays and 20 minutes during the evenings, weekends and holidays; however, since a given station might be served by as many as four lines, it could have service as frequently as every 3-4 minutes. As of 2006, BART service begins around 4:00 a.m. on weekdays, 6:00 a.m. on Saturdays, and 8:00 a.m. on Sundays. Service ends every day around midnight with station closings timed to the last train at station.<p><a id="Current_lines" name="Current_lines"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Current lines</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:377px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16954.png.htm" title="BART Routes: Richmond – Daly City/Colma Fremont – Daly City Richmond – Fremont Pittsburg/Bay Point – Daly City Dublin/Pleasanton – SFO/Millbrae"><img alt="BART Routes: Richmond – Daly City/Colma Fremont – Daly City Richmond – Fremont Pittsburg/Bay Point – Daly City Dublin/Pleasanton – SFO/Millbrae" height="350" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bart-map.svg" src="../../images/169/16954.png" width="375" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16954.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> BART Routes:<br />
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2; background=grey">
<table style="border-collapse:collapse">
<tr>
<td style="padding:0">
<div style="border-width:0; border-top:2px dotted #000; border-top:red solid 3px; width:1em; position:relative; margin-bottom:-9px; font-size:90%; top:.6em"> </div>
</td>
<td style="padding:0 0 0 .2em"><b><!--del_lnk--> Richmond – Daly City/Colma</b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse:collapse">
<tr>
<td style="padding:0">
<div style="border-width:0; border-top:2px dotted #000; border-top:darkgreen solid 3px; width:1em; position:relative; margin-bottom:-9px; font-size:90%; top:.6em"> </div>
</td>
<td style="padding:0 0 0 .2em"><b><!--del_lnk--> Fremont – Daly City</b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse:collapse">
<tr>
<td style="padding:0">
<div style="border-width:0; border-top:2px dotted #000; border-top:orange solid 3px; width:1em; position:relative; margin-bottom:-9px; font-size:90%; top:.6em"> </div>
</td>
<td style="padding:0 0 0 .2em"><b><!--del_lnk--> Richmond – Fremont</b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse:collapse">
<tr>
<td style="padding:0">
<div style="border-width:0; border-top:2px dotted #000; border-top:yellow solid 3px; width:1em; position:relative; margin-bottom:-9px; font-size:90%; top:.6em"> </div>
</td>
<td style="padding:0 0 0 .2em"><b><!--del_lnk--> Pittsburg/Bay Point – Daly City</b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table style="border-collapse:collapse">
<tr>
<td style="padding:0">
<div style="border-width:0; border-top:2px dotted #000; border-top:#00a0c6 solid 3px; width:1em; position:relative; margin-bottom:-9px; font-size:90%; top:.6em"> </div>
</td>
<td style="padding:0 0 0 .2em"><b><!--del_lnk--> Dublin/Pleasanton – SFO/Millbrae</b></td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Unlike most other rapid transit and rail systems around the world, BART lines are consistently not referred to by shorthand designations by the system's users and officials. Although the lines have been colored consistently on BART system maps for more than a decade, they are never referred to officially by colour names (for example, "Red Line"), and only rarely referred to in this way by members of the public. Each line is generally identified on maps and schedules by the names of its termini (for example, "Richmond - Daly City Line"). Since some routes have changed over the years, referring to routes by termini rather makes the change less "painful" for riders.<p>Trains are merely referred to by their destination or destinations by train operators and BART personnel (for example, "Richmond train" or "Richmond-bound train"). Electronic destination signs add "San Francisco" to the destination of any westbound transbay train or eastbound train west of San Francisco to make it clear that it will be passing through the City, and "SFO Airport" (or just "SFO") is added to any train going to the airport. This can cause quite cumbersome destination descriptions, such as "San Francisco/Daly City train", "San Francisco/SFO Airport/Millbrae train", and "San Francisco/Pittsburg/Bay Point train." Perhaps the worst such description is for trains leaving Millbrae, which say "San Francisco/SFO Airport/Dublin/Pleasanton."<p><a id="Rolling_stock" name="Rolling_stock"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Rolling stock</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:302px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16955.jpg.htm" title="Sign about the rehabilitation project in every BART train."><img alt="Sign about the rehabilitation project in every BART train." height="225" longdesc="/wiki/Image:A_and_B_carproject.JPG" src="../../images/169/16955.jpg" width="300" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16955.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Sign about the rehabilitation project in every BART train.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>BART operates four types of cars, built in three separate orders. The <b>A</b> and <b>B</b> cars were built from 1968 to 1971 by <!--del_lnk--> Rohr Industries. The <b>A</b> cars, made to be leading or trailing cars only, have a fibreglass operator's cab with equipment to control the train and BART's two-way communication system. They can comfortably seat 72 passengers, and under crush load can hold 150 passengers. The <b>B</b> cars have no operator's cab and are used in the middle of trains to carry passengers only; these cars have the same passenger capacity as the A cars. Currently, BART operates 137 A Cars and 303 B cars. The <b>C</b> cars were built from 1987 until 1989 by <!--del_lnk--> Alstom. The <b>C</b> cars have the same fibreglass operator's cab and control and communications equipment as the A cars, but unlike A cars, can act as middle cars as well. The dual purpose of the C cars allow train sizes to be changed quickly without having to move the train to a switching yard. The C cars can comfortably seat 64 passengers and under crush load can fit 150 passengers. The last order, from <!--del_lnk--> Morrison-Knudson Corporation, was for <b>C2</b> cars. <b>C2</b> cars are essentially the same as C cars, but have a newer, third-generation interior featuring a blue/gray motif, in contrast to the older blue and brown colors. C2 cars feature flip-up seats near side exit/entry doors to accommodate passengers in wheelchairs and have red lights on posts near the door to warn deaf and hearing-impaired passengers when doors are about to close. C2 cars can comfortably seat 68 passengers, and under crush load can carry 150 passengers. Currently, BART operates 150 C1 cars and 80 C2 cars. From 1995 through 2002, the 439 original Rohr cars were rehabilitated/overhauled by <!--del_lnk--> ADtranz and <!--del_lnk--> Bombardier, which had acquired ADtranz by the end of the project. Refurbishment of the fleet was financially attractive compared to purchasing new custom trains to fit BART's non-standard track gauge and extended its useful life for about 20 years. The older vintage brown seats were converted to light-blue ones, which can be removed easily for washing or replacement.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:152px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16956.jpg.htm" title="A wooden BRIO BART C Car."><img alt="A wooden BRIO BART C Car." height="108" longdesc="/wiki/Image:PEP_BART.jpg" src="../../images/169/16956.jpg" width="150" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16956.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A wooden <!--del_lnk--> BRIO BART C Car.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>All of the BART cars have upholstered seats and many cars have carpeting, although this is being removed for maintenance reasons and due to the prevalence of bicycles on trains. One of the original design goals of BART was that all passengers would have a seat. Therefore, many of the older cars have poor provisions for standees, such as few vertical grab bars. Newer cars, in contrast, have more grab bars, fewer seats facing each other, and flip up seats to accommodate wheelchairs and bicycles. However, unlike many urban transit systems, hand straps are not to be found on BART.<p>The cars, which all have just two doors on each side, often cause extended wait times at stations as passengers must negotiate groups of standees in order to exit or enter the train. To speed up service, BART has considered introducing new, three-door cars. (Bart cars must have doors on both sides as some stations have central platforms while others have platforms on each side of central two-way tracks.)<p><a id="Governance" name="Governance"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Governance</span></h3>
<p>The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District is a special governmental agency created by the State of California consisting of <!--del_lnk--> Alameda County, <!--del_lnk--> Contra Costa County, and <a href="../../wp/s/San_Francisco%252C_California.htm" title="San Francisco, California">San Francisco County</a>. It is governed by an elected Board of Directors with each of the nine directors representing a specific geographic area within the BART district. BART has its own <!--del_lnk--> police force.<p>While the district includes all of the cities and communities in its jurisdiction, some of these cities do not have stations on the BART system. This has caused tensions in places like <!--del_lnk--> Livermore which pay BART taxes but receive no BART service. In addition, in areas like Fremont, the majority of commuters do not commute in the direction that BART would take them (many Fremonters commute to San Jose, where there is currently no BART service). This particular instance of the problem would be alleviated with the completion BART-to-<a href="../../wp/s/San_Jose%252C_California.htm" title="San Jose, California">San Jose</a> extension project, if it ever went forward.<p>However, some cities and towns are near enough to cities with BART stations that residents commute via a bus or car to the nearest BART station. <!--del_lnk--> Emeryville, for instance, has no BART service, but has a free shuttle service, the <!--del_lnk--> Emery-Go-Round, that takes passengers to the nearby <!--del_lnk--> MacArthur station. For those wishing to drive their cars to the stations instead, many BART stations offer many kinds of parking options.<p><a id="Cost_and_budget" name="Cost_and_budget"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Cost and budget</span></h3>
<p>BART's initial cost was $1.6 billion, which included both the initial system and the <!--del_lnk--> Transbay Tube. Adjusted for <!--del_lnk--> inflation, this cost would be valued at $15 billion in 2004.<p>In 2005, BART required nearly $300 million in subsidies after fares. About 37% of the costs went to maintenance, 29% to actual transportation operations, 24% to general administration, 8% to police services, and 4% to construction and engineering.<p>In 2005, 53% of the budget came from fares, 32% came from taxes, and 15% came from "other sources", such as advertising, leasing station space to vendors, and parking fees. BART's <!--del_lnk--> farebox recovery ratio of 0.53 is considered very high for a US public transit agency operating over such long distances with high frequency. It is often favorably compared to the ratio of the nearby <!--del_lnk--> Caltrain diesel commuter rail operation and is presented as an argument for an extension of BART all around the <!--del_lnk--> bay.<p><a id="Fares" name="Fares"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Fares</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16958.jpg.htm" title="Ticket vending machines at the Powell Street Station"><img alt="Ticket vending machines at the Powell Street Station" height="267" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BART_ticket_machines.jpg" src="../../images/169/16958.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16958.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Ticket vending machines at the <!--del_lnk--> Powell Street Station</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16959.jpg.htm" title="Ticket gates with the signature red triangular doors retracted"><img alt="Ticket gates with the signature red triangular doors retracted" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Spare_the_Air.jpg" src="../../images/169/16959.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16959.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Ticket gates with the signature red triangular doors retracted</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Fares on BART are comparable to that of commuter rail systems and are higher than that of most <!--del_lnk--> metros, especially for long trips. The fare is based on a formula that takes into account both the length and speed of the trip. A surcharge is added for trips traveling through the Transbay Tube, to San Francisco International Airport, or through <!--del_lnk--> San Mateo County, which is not a BART member. Historically and up to this day, passengers have used non-refillable paper tickets, on which fares are stored via a magnetic strip, to enter and exit the system. The exit <!--del_lnk--> faregate prints the remaining balance on the ticket each time the passenger exits the station. Even though a given card is not refillable, the remaining balance on any ticket can be applied towards the purchase of a new one. A trial program using thin refillable plastic farecards valid for many rides, called the <!--del_lnk--> TransLink <!--del_lnk--> smart card, is currently in progress, with systemwide rollout expected to be completed by mid-2007. The program was launched to the general public in fall 2006 with rollout on <!--del_lnk--> AC Transit, <!--del_lnk--> Dumbarton Express, and <!--del_lnk--> Golden Gate Transit lines. The cards are not expected to be fully implemented on BART until sometime in 2007.<p>The minimum fare is $1.40, charged for trips under six miles (9.6 km), and the maximum fare is $7.65 for the 51-mile (82 km) journey between <!--del_lnk--> Pittsburg/Bay Point and <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco International Airport, consisting of the regular fare and all possible surcharges. Passengers without enough fare to complete their journey must use an AddFare machine to pay the remaining balance in order to exit the station. Because of the amount of the base fare, traveling between BART stations in downtown San Francisco on BART is slightly cheaper than the city's own light rail system, the <!--del_lnk--> MUNI Metro, which is also generally slower covering the same distance and costs $1.50. However, MUNI permits around two full hours of riding, including transfers to other MUNI vehicles, whereas BART charges $1.40 for a single journey. There are various quirks in the fare system due to a subsidy being provided to riders traveling between some outlying stations. For example, for a trip from <!--del_lnk--> Dublin/Pleasanton to <!--del_lnk--> Fremont, it is less expensive to exit the station at the transfer point, <!--del_lnk--> Bay Fair, and re-enter the station, instead of staying on the platform, because you would get charged two $1.40 base fares instead of a $3.90 fare from end to end.<p>BART uses a system of five different colour-coded tickets for regular fare, special fare, and discount fare to select groups as follows:<ul>
<li><b>Blue tickets</b> – General: the most common type, includes high-value discount tickets<li><b>Red tickets</b> – <!--del_lnk--> Disabled Persons and children aged 4 to 12: 62.5% discount, special <!--del_lnk--> ID required (children under the age of 4 ride free)<li><b>Green tickets</b> – <!--del_lnk--> Seniors age 65 or over: 62.5% discount, proof of age required for purchase<li><b>Orange tickets</b> – Student: special, restricted-use 50% discount ticket for students age 13-18 currently enrolled in <!--del_lnk--> high or <!--del_lnk--> middle school<li><b>BART Plus</b> – special high-value ticket with 'flash-pass' privileges with regional transit agencies, including <!--del_lnk--> MUNI's buses.</ul>
<p>Unlike most transit systems in the United States, but like the <a href="../../wp/m/Mass_Rapid_Transit_%2528Singapore%2529.htm" title="Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)">MRT in Singapore</a>, BART does not have an unlimited ride pass available and riders must pay for each ride they take. The only discount provided to the general public is a 6.25% discount when "high value tickets" are purchased with fare values of $48 and $64. <!--del_lnk--> Capitol Corridor trains sell $10 BART tickets on-board in the café cars for only $8, resulting in a 20% discount. A 62.5% discount is provided to seniors, the disabled, and children age 5 to 12. Middle and high school students 13 to 18 may obtain a 50% discount if their school participates in the BART program; however, these tickets are intended to be used only between the students' home station and the school's station and for transportation to and from school events. However, these <i>intended</i> limitations are not enforced in any way and students are expected to behave on the honour system. Also, the tickets may only be used on weekdays, a restriction that is actually enforced by the faregates. <b>BART Plus</b> tickets enjoy a last-ride bonus where if the remaining value is greater than 5 cents, the ticket can be used one last time for a trip of any distance. The special tickets must be purchased at selected vendors and not at ticket machines. In particular, the middle and high school tickets are usually sold at the schools themselves.<p>Family members of BART employees, however, receive special BART passes and can ride free-of-charge upon showing their pass and photo identification to the BART station attendant.<p>Fares are enforced by the station agent, who monitors activity at the fare gates adjacent to the window and at other fare gates through closed circuit television and faregate status screens located in the agent's booth. All stations are staffed with at least one agent at all times. Despite this, fare fraud occasionally occurs, usually as a result of people entering and exiting through the emergency exit gate.<p>There is little fare coordination between BART and surrounding agencies. Some agencies accept the BART Plus pass, which at a fee of between $42 and $46 per month, permits pass holders to use BART and connecting buses. Most notably, <!--del_lnk--> AC Transit dropped out of the program due to the small amount of reimbursement they received from BART. Aside from that, there is only a token discount (25 to 50 cents) provided to passengers transferring to and from trains to other transit modes. One fare coordination program permits adult monthly pass holders of the <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco Municipal Railway to ride BART trains within the City of San Francisco for free (with no credit applied to trips outside the City). The City pays BART 87 cents for each trip taken under this arrangement.<p><a id="Automation" name="Automation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Automation</span></h3>
<p>BART was one of the first US systems of any size to have substantial automated operations. The trains are computer-controlled via BART's Operations Control Centre (OCC) and headquarters at <!--del_lnk--> Lake Merritt and generally arrive with regular punctuality. Train operators are present to make announcements, close doors, and operate the train in case of unforeseen difficulties.<p>As a first generation system, BART's automation system was plagued with numerous operational problems during its first years of service. Shortly before revenue service began, an on-board electronics failure caused one empty 2-car test train, dubbed the "Fremont Flyer", to run off the end of the platform at its <!--del_lnk--> namesake station into a parking lot, though there were no injuries. When revenue service began, "ghost trains", trains that show up on the computer system as being in a specific place but don't physically exist, were common, and real trains could at times disappear from the system, as a result of dew on the tracks and too low of a voltage being passed through the rails for detecting trains. Under such circumstances, trains had to be operated manually and were restricted to a speed of 25 mph (about 40 km/h). In addition, the fare card system was easily hackable with equipment commonly found in universities, although most of these flaws have been fixed.<p>During this initial shakedown period, there were several episodes where trains had to be manually run and signaled via station agents communicating by phone. This caused a great outcry in the press and led to a flurry of litigation among <!--del_lnk--> Westinghouse, the original controls contractor, and BART, as well as public battles between the <a href="../../wp/c/California.htm" title="California">state government</a> (advised by University of California professor Dr. <!--del_lnk--> Bill Wattenburg), <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">federal government</a>, and the district, but in time these problems were resolved and BART became a reliable service. Ghost trains apparently still persist on the system to this day and are usually cleared quickly enough to avoid significant delay, but occasionally some can cause an extended backup of manually operated trains in the system. BART does not operate two-car trains per <!--del_lnk--> PUC requirements, even though it is operationally feasible.<p><a id="Connecting_rail_and_bus_transit_services" name="Connecting_rail_and_bus_transit_services"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Connecting rail and bus transit services</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16960.jpg.htm" title="AC Transit bus stop at Bay Fair Station"><img alt="AC Transit bus stop at Bay Fair Station" height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:AC_transit_bayfair_stop.JPG" src="../../images/169/16960.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/169/16960.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> AC Transit bus stop at Bay Fair Station</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>BART has direct connections to two <!--del_lnk--> regional rail services – <!--del_lnk--> Caltrain, which provides service between San Francisco, <a href="../../wp/s/San_Jose%252C_California.htm" title="San Jose, California">San Jose</a>, and <!--del_lnk--> Gilroy, at the <!--del_lnk--> Millbrae Station, and <a href="../../wp/a/Amtrak.htm" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a>'s <!--del_lnk--> Capitol Corridor, which runs from <!--del_lnk--> Sacramento to San Jose, at the <!--del_lnk--> Richmond and <!--del_lnk--> Coliseum/Oakland Airport stations. A third Capitol Corridor connection at the <!--del_lnk--> Union City station is planned as part of a larger <!--del_lnk--> Dumbarton Rail Corridor Project to connect Union City, <!--del_lnk--> Fremont, and <!--del_lnk--> Newark to various <!--del_lnk--> Peninsula destinations via the <!--del_lnk--> Dumbarton rail bridge. BART is also the managing agency for the Capital Corridor until 2010.<p>In addition, BART connects to San Francisco's local <!--del_lnk--> light rail system, the <!--del_lnk--> Muni Metro. The upper track level of BART's Market Street subway, originally designed for the lines to Marin County, was turned over to Muni and both agencies share the <!--del_lnk--> Embarcadero, <!--del_lnk--> Montgomery Street, <!--del_lnk--> Powell and <!--del_lnk--> Civic Centre stations. In addition, some Muni Metro lines connect with (or pass by) the BART system at the <!--del_lnk--> Balboa Park and <!--del_lnk--> Glen Park stations.<p>A number of bus services connect to BART, which, while managed by separate agencies, are integral to the successful functioning of the system. The primary providers include the <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), <!--del_lnk--> Alameda-Contra Costa Transit (AC Transit), <!--del_lnk--> San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans), <!--del_lnk--> Central Contra Costa Transit Authority (County Connection), and the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (<!--del_lnk--> Golden Gate Transit). Until <!--del_lnk--> 1997, BART ran its own "BART Express" connector buses, which ran to eastern Alameda County and far eastern and western areas of Contra Costa County; these routes were later devolved to subregional transit agencies such as <!--del_lnk--> Tri-Delta Transit and the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (<!--del_lnk--> WHEELS) or, in the case of Dublin/Pleasanton service, replaced by a full BART extension.<p>BART is connected to <!--del_lnk--> Oakland International Airport via <!--del_lnk--> AirBART shuttle buses, which bring travelers to and from the Coliseum/Oakland Airport BART station. These buses are operated by BART and accept exact-change BART fare cards as fare in addition to exact change. BART also connects to the <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco International Airport, though in this case the train actually enters the airport directly and no shuttle is necessary.<p>Smaller services connect to BART as well and include the <!--del_lnk--> Emery Go Round (<!--del_lnk--> Emeryville), <!--del_lnk--> WestCat (northwestern <!--del_lnk--> Contra Costa County), <!--del_lnk--> Benicia Transit (<!--del_lnk--> Benicia), <!--del_lnk--> Union City Transit (<!--del_lnk--> Union City), and the <!--del_lnk--> Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA, in <!--del_lnk--> Silicon Valley).<p>The bus service connecting the <!--del_lnk--> University of California, Berkeley to the <!--del_lnk--> Berkeley BART station was once called <!--del_lnk--> Humphrey Go-BART, a <!--del_lnk--> spoonerism of the famous actor and director <!--del_lnk--> Humphrey Bogart. It has since been replaced by a number of regular AC Transit bus routes.<p><a id="Other_connecting_services" name="Other_connecting_services"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Other connecting services</span></h3>
<p>BART hosts <!--del_lnk--> Car Sharing locations at a number of stations, a program pioneered by <!--del_lnk--> City CarShare. Riders can transfer from BART, and complete their journeys by car.<p>Casual Car Pools have formed at several stations.<p><a id="History_of_BART" name="History_of_BART"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">History of BART</span></h2>
<p><a id="Origins_and_planning" name="Origins_and_planning"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Origins and planning</span></h3>
<p>A rapid transit system in the San Francisco Bay Area was first proposed in 1946 by Bay Area business leaders concerned with increased post-war migration and congestion in the region. An Army-Navy task force concluded that another trans-bay crossing would soon be needed to relieve congestion on the <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The idea of an underwater electric rail tube, first proposed in the early 1900s by <!--del_lnk--> Francis "Borax" Smith of the <!--del_lnk--> Key System, was deemed the best solution in conjunction with a multiple-county rapid transit rail system.<p>In fact, much of BART's current territory was earlier covered by the Key System, an electrified streetcar and suburban train network that had its origins in the 1900s and ran across the lower deck of the Bay Bridge when it first opened; however, this system was removed in the 1950s due to the combined pressures of declining ridership, the automotive industry, and highway planners.<p>However, it was not until the 1950s that the actual planning for a rapid transit system would begin. In 1951, California's legislature created the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit Commission to study the Bay Area's long term transportation needs. The commission's 1957 final report recommended that the cheapest solution to reduce traffic tie-ups would be to form a rapid transit district that would build and operate a high-speed rapid rail system linking the cities with the suburbs. Nine counties in the region were involved in planning.<p>Acting on the recommendations, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District was formed by the state legislature in 1957, comprising the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, <!--del_lnk--> Marin, San Francisco, and <!--del_lnk--> San Mateo. <!--del_lnk--> Santa Clara County was left out of the initial stage of building, though both the proposed Palo Alto and Fremont lines could have provided service, and opted to build the <!--del_lnk--> Santa Clara County Expressway System instead.<p>By 1961, a final plan for the new system was sent to the supervisors of the five counties within the BART district for approval. The system was supposed to consist of lines to <!--del_lnk--> Concord, <!--del_lnk--> Richmond, <!--del_lnk--> Fremont, Arastradero Road in <!--del_lnk--> Palo Alto, and <!--del_lnk--> Novato. Each county approved the system except for San Mateo County. Instead, the San Mateo County supervisors voted to opt out of the district, citing high costs and existing service provided by <!--del_lnk--> Southern Pacific commuter trains. San Mateo county was also supposedly concerned about shoppers leaving the county's stores for those in San Francisco, and was of the opinion that a San Mateo line would mostly carry Santa Clara County commuters. A year later, Marin County was also forced to withdraw because the engineering feasibility of carrying trains across the <!--del_lnk--> Golden Gate Bridge was under dispute. Plus, Marin County's tax base could not adequately pay for its share of BART's projected cost, which had grown considerably after the departure of San Mateo County. The plans for BART were finally approved by the voters of each participating county in 1962.<p><a id="Construction_of_the_initial_system" name="Construction_of_the_initial_system"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Construction of the initial system</span></h3>
<p>BART construction officially began on <!--del_lnk--> June 19, <!--del_lnk--> 1964. <a href="../../wp/p/President_of_the_United_States.htm" title="President of the United States">President</a> <!--del_lnk--> Lyndon Johnson presided over the ground-breaking ceremonies at a 4.4 mile (7.1 km) test track between <!--del_lnk--> Concord and <!--del_lnk--> Walnut Creek in <!--del_lnk--> Contra Costa County.<p>Enormous construction tasks were at hand, including underground rail sections in downtown Oakland, Market Street in San Francisco, and <!--del_lnk--> Berkeley; a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) tunnel through the <!--del_lnk--> Berkeley Hills; and the 3.6 mile (5.8 km) <!--del_lnk--> Transbay Tube between Oakland and San Francisco beneath the <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco Bay. The tube is the world's longest and deepest <!--del_lnk--> immersed tunnel and was constructed in 57 sections. It was completed in August 1969 at a cost of $180 million.<p><a id="Operation" name="Operation"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Operation</span></h3>
<p>BART began regular passenger service on <!--del_lnk--> September 11, <!--del_lnk--> 1972. President <a href="../../wp/r/Richard_Nixon.htm" title="Richard Nixon">Richard Nixon</a> rode the system on <!--del_lnk--> September 27, <!--del_lnk--> 1972. The Transbay Tube opened nearly two years later on <!--del_lnk--> September 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1974, completing the original system, which had four branches extending to Daly City, Concord, Richmond, and Fremont.<p>In January 1979, an electrical fire broke out on a train traveling in the Transbay Tube, killing one firefighter. Service was halted for over two months. The trains were more flammable than permitted by current codes. Since then, BART holds regular fire drills and has used fire-resistant seating in its trains.<p>In the aftermath of the 1989 <!--del_lnk--> Loma Prieta earthquake, most of the major San Francisco freeways were too damaged for car travel, but the BART system was specially designed to withstand earthquakes. Six hours after the quake, the trains were operational, and BART became the sole form of transportation for much of the Bay Area, including the shipment of relief supplies to the more damaged areas of <a href="../../wp/s/San_Francisco%252C_California.htm" title="San Francisco, California">San Francisco</a> and <!--del_lnk--> Oakland. Nonetheless, the trains are routinely halted for several hours following minor earthquakes while maintenance crews inspect tracks, over- and under-crossings, and tunnels for damage before service is restored.<p>Extensions to the original system were made possible by a regional agreement under which San Mateo County contributed $200M to East Bay extensions as a way of buying into the BART system without actually joining the BART district. The North-of-Concord extension opened in two phases, with service to <!--del_lnk--> North Concord/Martinez beginning on <!--del_lnk--> December 16, <!--del_lnk--> 1995 and service to <!--del_lnk--> Pittsburg/Bay Point beginning just under a year later on <!--del_lnk--> December 7, <!--del_lnk--> 1996. The first service south of <!--del_lnk--> Daly City Station began on <!--del_lnk--> February 24, <!--del_lnk--> 1996, to <!--del_lnk--> Colma Station. Over a year later, the Dublin/Pleasanton extension was finally completed, and service to <!--del_lnk--> Castro Valley and <!--del_lnk--> Dublin/Pleasanton began on <!--del_lnk--> May 10, <!--del_lnk--> 1997.<p>BART has a unionized work force that went on strike for six days in 1997, causing great inconvenience to the public. In its 2001 negotiations, BART unions won 24 percent wage increases over four years and continuing generous benefits for employees and retirees. Another threatened strike on <!--del_lnk--> July 6, <!--del_lnk--> 2005 was averted by a last-minute agreement between management and the unions.<p>In October 2004, BART received the <!--del_lnk--> American Public Transportation Association 2004 Outstanding Public Transportation System award for transit systems with 30 million or more annual passenger trips. BART issued announcements and began a promotional campaign declaring that it had been named #1 Transit System in America by APTA, but no such award or title is currently given by the organization.<p><a id="San_Francisco_International_Airport_extension" name="San_Francisco_International_Airport_extension"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">San Francisco International Airport extension</span></h3>
<p>A $1.5 billion extension of BART southward to <!--del_lnk--> San Francisco International Airport's (SFO) Garage G, next to the International Terminal, was completed in June 2003. Ground was broken in November 1997, and the extension added three new stations in addition to the <!--del_lnk--> SFO station – <!--del_lnk--> South San Francisco, <!--del_lnk--> San Bruno, <!--del_lnk--> Millbrae, the last of which had a <!--del_lnk--> cross-platform connection to <!--del_lnk--> Caltrain, the first of its kind west of the <a href="../../wp/m/Mississippi_River.htm" title="Mississippi River">Mississippi River</a>. The project encompassed 8.7 miles (14 km) of new rail track, of which 6.1 miles (9.8 km) is subway, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) is aerial, and 1.4 miles (2.2 km) is at-grade. The precursor project for the airport extension was the <!--del_lnk--> Daly City Tailtrack project, which allowed track to be laid considerably south of its then existing terminus in San Francisco; this precursor work was carried out in the 1980s.<p>However, problems have plagued this extension since it opened. To date, it has drawn far fewer riders than anticipated, forcing BART to cease claiming that it remained on track on its target of 50,000 average weekday riders. Many commuters find it faster to take Caltrain from Millbrae to downtown San Francisco instead because that system has a more direct express route, albeit with a slightly higher fare. Secondly, since <!--del_lnk--> San Mateo County is not part of the BART district and does not pay taxes directly to the district, the <!--del_lnk--> San Mateo County Transit District is responsible for the extension's operating costs. The extension had been projected to be financially self-sufficient, but this expectation has turned out to be unrealistic. Thus, service along the extension has been changed four times. Service has been reduced from eight trains per hour to four trains per hour on the extension. Critics contend that the SFO Airport Extension was merely a cover for the goal of BART around the bay, which would most likely result in the elimination of Caltrain.<p><a id="Future_expansion_and_extension" name="Future_expansion_and_extension"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Future expansion and extension</span></h2>
<p><a id="Warm_Springs_.26_San_Jose_extensions" name="Warm_Springs_.26_San_Jose_extensions"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Warm Springs & San Jose extensions</span></h3>
<p>A 5.4-mile extension of BART southward past Fremont to the <!--del_lnk--> Warm Springs District in southern Fremont, with an optional station at Irvington between the Fremont and Warm Springs stations, is in the planning and engineering stage by BART planning staff. This extension received a green light from the federal government when the <!--del_lnk--> Federal Transit Administration issued a <!--del_lnk--> Record of Decision on <!--del_lnk--> October 24, <!--del_lnk--> 2006. The action allows BART to begin purchasing the necessary right-of-way for the project and receive state-administered federal funding to finance the project. A further, more controversial extension towards <a href="../../wp/s/San_Jose%252C_California.htm" title="San Jose, California">San Jose</a> is also proposed by the transit district south of BART, the <!--del_lnk--> Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), but preliminary engineering remains to be completed and funding to be acquired. The VTA has allocated funds for constructing BART from a 2000 sales tax, but does not have enough money to pay for all of the other projects it promised to its residents. In addition, the San Jose extension project received a "not recommended" rating from the Federal Transit Administration due to the VTA's financial problems, potentially putting its future in jeopardy.<p><a id="Oakland_Airport_Connector" name="Oakland_Airport_Connector"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Oakland Airport Connector</span></h3>
<p>Procurement is currently underway for a <!--del_lnk--> people mover that would directly connect the Coliseum station to the terminal buildings at <!--del_lnk--> Oakland International Airport. This connection would physically resemble the <!--del_lnk--> AirTrain connection to New York City's <!--del_lnk--> JFK Airport, in that passengers would leave standard subway cars at a nearby station and enter a specialized people mover to reach the airport itself. However, unlike the AirTrain, the Oakland Airport Connector will be operated by BART, and integrated into the BART fare system, with standard BART ticket gates located at the entrance to the station at the Airport end of the people mover. Construction of this extension is expected to start in 2007, with revenue service expected by 2011.<p><a id="eBART" name="eBART"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">eBART</span></h3>
<p>eBART calls for <!--del_lnk--> diesel multiple unit train service to be implemented from the existing Pittsburg/Bay Point station with a cross-platform transfer east along the Highway 4 corridor to the town of <!--del_lnk--> Byron, with the future possibility of service to <!--del_lnk--> Tracy in the <!--del_lnk--> San Joaquin Valley. New stations would be located in Pittsburg, <!--del_lnk--> Antioch, <!--del_lnk--> Oakley, <!--del_lnk--> Brentwood, and Byron. Another option would be a <!--del_lnk--> Caltrain-like service on the existing <!--del_lnk--> Union Pacific right-of-way from North Concord to Brentwood and beyond to Tracy and Stockton, though such a project would be subject to problems associated with using non-dedicated rights of way. Service is expected to start in 2010. <p><a id="I-580.2FTri-Valley_Corridor" name="I-580.2FTri-Valley_Corridor"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">I-580/Tri-Valley Corridor</span></h3>
<p>This extension of either conventional BART or <!--del_lnk--> diesel multiple unit BART service would go from Dublin/Pleasanton station east to Livermore and over the <!--del_lnk--> Altamont Pass into <!--del_lnk--> Tracy and the <!--del_lnk--> Central Valley along <!--del_lnk--> I-580. It could possibly also go north through <!--del_lnk--> Dublin, <!--del_lnk--> San Ramon, <!--del_lnk--> Danville, and <!--del_lnk--> Alamo to the existing Walnut Creek station via the <!--del_lnk--> I-680 corridor.<p>Currently, a petition to extend BART to Livermore is being circulated by Linda Jeffery Sailors, the former mayor of <!--del_lnk--> Dublin, California.<p>The extension of conventional BART rail to Tracy is considered unlikely, as <!--del_lnk--> San Joaquin County, in which Tracy is located, is not part of the nine district counties and does not pay into the regional BART tax. Additionally, an extension of third-rail BART over such a distance would be prohibitively expensive.<p><a id="I-80.2FWest_Contra_Costa_Corridor" name="I-80.2FWest_Contra_Costa_Corridor"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">I-80/West Contra Costa Corridor</span></h3>
<p>A corridor study of extending the service north from the <!--del_lnk--> Richmond Station is underway with numerous options being studied. One would create commuter rail service utilizing lightweight <!--del_lnk--> diesel multiple units (DMU) to operate on existing or new rail trackage. In order to operate on existing tracks with freight service, however, heavier-weight DMU vehicles adhering to <!--del_lnk--> Federal Railroad Administration regulations would need to be used. This option is also known as wBART. A second option would create a commuter rail service running from the BART terminus along the Amtrak line to <!--del_lnk--> Hercules and possibly <!--del_lnk--> Fairfield in <!--del_lnk--> Solano County, similar to the <!--del_lnk--> Caltrain or <!--del_lnk--> ACE services. Yet another option would extend convetional BART to a <!--del_lnk--> North Richmond station near the Richmond Trainyard at 13th Street/Rumrill Avenue and Market Street, then continue along the existing Southern Pacific rail line and the <!--del_lnk--> Richmond Parkway expressway to <!--del_lnk--> Interstate 80. The service would have a Hilltop station and then continue along I-80 to <!--del_lnk--> Highway 4 in Hercules, near <!--del_lnk--> Hercules Transit Centre. Service would continue along I-80 through <!--del_lnk--> Vallejo until Peabody Road in Fairfield.<p><a id="Infill_stations" name="Infill_stations"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Infill stations</span></h3>
<p>BART has either planned, or studied the idea of, infill stations for three locations within the system. Infill stations are stations constructed on existing line segments between two existing stations. The <b>30th Street Mission</b> station was planned for San Francisco between 24th Street Mission and Glen Park stations and was estimated to cost approximately $500 million to construct. The <b>Jack London Square</b> station in Oakland was studied and rejected as being incompatible with existing track geometry. A one-station stub line to <!--del_lnk--> Jack London Square at the foot of Broadway and the utilization of other transit modes was also studied. The <b>West Dublin/Pleasanton</b> station will be located in the median of <!--del_lnk--> I-580 just west of <!--del_lnk--> I-680 between Castro Valley and Dublin/Pleasanton stations. This station is expected to cost $71.5 million, with funding coming from a unique public-private partnership and the proceeds of planned <!--del_lnk--> transit-oriented development (TOD) on adjacent BART-owned property. Originally planned as a third station on the Dublin-Pleasanton extension, the station's foundation, along with some communication and train control facilities, already exist on-site. Construction on the station is scheduled to begin <!--del_lnk--> 29 October <!--del_lnk--> 2006, and is slated to be complete in 2009.<p><a id="BART_compared_with_other_rail_transit_systems" name="BART_compared_with_other_rail_transit_systems"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Recent news</span></h2>
<table cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="width: 250px; font-size: 95%; float: right;">
<tr>
<th colspan="2">2005 statistics</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Number of vehicles</td>
<td>670</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Initial system cost</td>
<td>$1.6 billion</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Equivalent cost in 2004 dollars</td>
<td>$15 billion</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hourly passenger capacity</td>
<td>15,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Maximum daily capacity</td>
<td>360,000</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Average weekday ridership</td>
<td>310,717</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual gross fare income</td>
<td>$233.65 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual expenses</td>
<td>$581.81 million</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual profits (losses)</td>
<td>($300 million)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Rail cost/passenger mile</td>
<td>32.3 cents</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>A recent study shows that along with some Bay Area freeways, some of BART's overhead structures would collapse in the event of a major earthquake, which is predicted as highly likely to happen in the Bay Area within the next 30 years. Extensive <!--del_lnk--> seismic retrofit will be necessary to address many of these deficiencies, although one in particular, the penetration of the <!--del_lnk--> Hayward Fault Zone by the Berkeley Hills Tunnel, will be left for correction <i>after</i> any disabling earthquake at that point, with the consequenses for in-transit trains, their operators, and their passengers left to <!--del_lnk--> chance.<p>On <!--del_lnk--> March 28 and <!--del_lnk--> 29, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, BART experienced a <!--del_lnk--> computer glitch in its system during <!--del_lnk--> rush hour, which left about 35,000 commuters stranded inside trains or stations while the problem was being resolved. The following month, BART's on-time performance hit a 16-month high. However, starting with a small fire that caused chaos on <!--del_lnk--> March 9, <!--del_lnk--> 2006, BART has experienced seven major delays, including the one above, which is claimed by some to point to a BART meltdown. Faulty equipment was the cause of three of the delays, including the latest on <!--del_lnk--> July 12. In two of the delays, the fire of March 9 and the debris incident on <!--del_lnk--> June 20, passengers were so scared and frustrated, respectively, that they self-evacuated, causing further delays and hassles for BART.<p>By November 2005, BART had become the first transit system in the nation to offer <!--del_lnk--> cellular communication to passengers of all wireless carriers on its trains underground. As of summer 2006, service is available for customers of <!--del_lnk--> Verizon Wireless, <!--del_lnk--> Sprint/Nextel, <!--del_lnk--> Cingular Wireless, and <!--del_lnk--> T-Mobile in and between the four San Francisco Market Street stations from <!--del_lnk--> Civic Centre to <!--del_lnk--> Embarcadero. This is in contrast to other systems in US, which, while having <i>some</i> cellular service, do not provide it for passengers of <i>all</i> the major cell phone carriers. Coverage is eventually planned for the entire system, with coverage for the segment between <!--del_lnk--> Balboa Park and <!--del_lnk--> 16th St. Mission by the middle of 2007 and between <!--del_lnk--> Lake Merritt and <!--del_lnk--> 19th St./Oakland at some time after that.<p>Since the mid 1990s, BART has been trying to modernize its aging 30-year-old system. The aforementioned fleet rehabilitation is part of this modernization; presently, fire alarms, water-sprinkling systems, yellow tactile platform edge domes, and cemented-mat rubber tiles are being installed. The rough black tiles on the platform edge mark the location of the doorway of approaching trains, allowing passengers to wait at the appropriate locations for the train, instead of waiting until the train arrives to figure out where to board. All faregates and ticket vending machines have also been completely replaced.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Area_Rapid_Transit"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['San Francisco, California', 'United States', 'San Francisco, California', 'San Jose, California', 'Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)', 'California', 'United States', 'San Jose, California', 'Amtrak', 'President of the United States', 'Richard Nixon', 'San Francisco, California', 'Mississippi River', 'San Jose, California']
|
Bay_of_Bengal
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bay of Bengal,Andaman Islands,Andaman and Nicobar Islands,Arabian Sea,Ayeyarwady River,Bakkhali,Bangladesh,Beas River,Bengal,Betwa River,Borith Lake" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bay of Bengal</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bay_of_Bengal";
var wgTitle = "Bay of Bengal";
var wgArticleId = 47892;
var wgCurRevisionId = 90413079;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bay_of_Bengal">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bay of Bengal</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.General_Geography.htm">General Geography</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1027.png.htm" title="A map showing the location of the Bay of Bengal."><img alt="A map showing the location of the Bay of Bengal." height="183" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Bay_of_Bengal_map.png" src="../../images/10/1027.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1027.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A map showing the location of the Bay of Bengal.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The <b>Bay of Bengal</b> is a <!--del_lnk--> bay that forms the northeastern part of the <a href="../../wp/i/Indian_Ocean.htm" title="Indian Ocean">Indian Ocean</a>. It resembles a <!--del_lnk--> triangle in shape, and is bordered on the east by <!--del_lnk--> Malay Peninsula, and on the west by <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">India</a>. On the northern tip of the "bay" lies the <!--del_lnk--> Bengal region, comprising the <a href="../../wp/i/India.htm" title="India">Indian</a> state of <!--del_lnk--> West Bengal and the country of <a href="../../wp/b/Bangladesh.htm" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a>, thus the name. The southern extremes reach the island country of <a href="../../wp/s/Sri_Lanka.htm" title="Sri Lanka">Sri Lanka</a>, and the Indian Union Territory of <!--del_lnk--> Andaman and Nicobar Islands.<p>A zone 50 m. wide extending from the island of Ceylon and the Coromandel coast to the head of the bay, and thence southwards through a strip embracing the Andaman and Nicobar islands, is bounded by the ioo fathom line of sea bottom; some 50 m. beyond this lies the Soo-fathom limit. Opposite the mouth of the Ganges, however, the intervals between these depths are very much extended by deltaic influence.<p>Many major rivers of India flow west to east into the Bay of Bengal: in the north, the <a href="../../wp/g/Ganges_River.htm" title="Ganges River">Ganges River</a> (or Ganga), <!--del_lnk--> Meghna River and <!--del_lnk--> Brahmaputra River rivers, and in the south <!--del_lnk--> Mahanadi River through the <!--del_lnk--> Mahanadi River Delta, <!--del_lnk--> Godavari River, <!--del_lnk--> Krishna River, <!--del_lnk--> Irrawaddy and <!--del_lnk--> Kaveri River (sometimes written as Cauvery) rivers. The <!--del_lnk--> Sundarbans mangrove forest is formed at the delta of the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal. The <!--del_lnk--> Ayeyarwady River of <a href="../../wp/m/Myanmar.htm" title="Myanmar">Myanmar</a> also flows into the bay.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1028.jpg.htm" title="Fishing boats on the Bay of Bengal"><img alt="Fishing boats on the Bay of Bengal" height="165" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Fishing_boat_on_Bay_of_Bengal.JPG" src="../../images/10/1028.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/10/1028.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Fishing boats on the Bay of Bengal</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Major Bangladeshi ports on the bay include <!--del_lnk--> Chittagong and <!--del_lnk--> Mongla. Major Indian ports on the bay include <a href="../../wp/c/Chennai.htm" title="Chennai">Chennai</a> (formerly Madras), <!--del_lnk--> Vishakhapatnam, <a href="../../wp/k/Kolkata.htm" title="Kolkata">Kolkata</a> (formerly <!--del_lnk--> Calcutta) and <!--del_lnk--> Pondicherry.<p>The islands in the bay are very numerous, including the Andaman, <!--del_lnk--> Nicobar and <!--del_lnk--> Mergui groups. The group of islands, Cheduba and others, in the north-east, off the Burmese coast, are remarkable for a chain of mud volcanoes, which are occasionally active.<p><!--del_lnk--> Cox's Bazar, on the northeastern coast of the bay, is one of the longest unbroken natural beaches of the world. Other beaches along the bay are <!--del_lnk--> Bakkhali, <!--del_lnk--> Digha, <!--del_lnk--> Chandipur, <!--del_lnk--> Puri, <!--del_lnk--> Waltair, and Marina Beach at <a href="../../wp/c/Chennai.htm" title="Chennai">Chennai</a>.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Bengal"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Indian Ocean', 'India', 'India', 'Bangladesh', 'Sri Lanka', 'Ganges River', 'Myanmar', 'Chennai', 'Kolkata', 'Chennai']
|
Beach
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Beach,Rotterdam,Beaches of Hong Kong,Paris,Monaco,Kuwait,Beaches of Singapore,Urban beach,Artificial reef,The Surfrider Foundation,Anthropogenic" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Beach</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Beach";
var wgTitle = "Beach";
var wgArticleId = 40630;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Beach">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Beach</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Geography.Geology_and_geophysics.htm">Geology and geophysics</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:252px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1323.jpg.htm" title="The Beach in Calella, Spain."><img alt="The Beach in Calella, Spain." height="188" longdesc="/wiki/Image:The_Beach_2.jpg" src="../../images/13/1323.jpg" width="250" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1323.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The Beach in Calella, Spain.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>A <b>beach</b> or <b>strand</b> is a <a href="../../wp/g/Geology.htm" title="Geology">geological</a> formation consisting of loose <!--del_lnk--> rock particles such as <a href="../../wp/s/Sand.htm" title="Sand">sand</a>, <!--del_lnk--> gravel, <!--del_lnk--> shingle, <!--del_lnk--> pebbles, <!--del_lnk--> cobble, or even <!--del_lnk--> shell along the <!--del_lnk--> shoreline of a body of water.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Components" name="Components"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Components</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:232px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1324.jpg.htm" title="A view from above of Waikiki Beach"><img alt="A view from above of Waikiki Beach" height="153" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Palmtreebeach.jpg" src="../../images/13/1324.jpg" width="230" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1324.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A view from above of <!--del_lnk--> Waikiki Beach</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Some geologists consider a beach to be just this shoreline feature of deposited material, but William Bascom (1980) has argued that a beach is the entire system of sand set in motion by waves to a depth of ten meters (30+ feet) or more off ocean coasts. Submerged, longshore bars are therefore also part of the beach. In the Bascom approach, beaches can be viewed as either:<ul>
<li>small systems in which the rock material moves onshore, offshore, or alongshore by the forces of waves and currents; or<li>geological units of considerable size.</ul>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/135/13539.jpg.htm" title="90 mile beach Australia"><img alt="90 mile beach Australia" height="133" longdesc="/wiki/Image:90_mile_beach02.jpg" src="../../images/13/1325.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/135/13539.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> 90 mile beach Australia</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The former are described in detail below; the larger geological units are discussed elsewhere under <!--del_lnk--> bars. Both types can be viewed as "beaches."<p>There are several conspicuous parts to a beach, all of which relate to the processes that form and shape it. The part mostly above water (depending upon tide), and more or less actively influenced by the waves at some point in the tide, is termed the <b>beach berm</b>. The berm is the deposit of material comprising the active shoreline. The berm has a <b>crest</b> (top) and a <b>face</b> — the latter being the slope leading down towards the water from the crest. At the very bottom of the face, there may be a <b>trough</b>, and further seaward one or more <b>longshore bars</b>: slightly raised, underwater embankments formed where the waves first start to break.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1326.jpg.htm" title="Lanikai Beach on Oahu. This gently-sloping beach face is topped by a beach crest onto which a salt-tolerant grass (Sporobolus virginicus) is spreading from the incipient dune"><img alt="Lanikai Beach on Oahu. This gently-sloping beach face is topped by a beach crest onto which a salt-tolerant grass (Sporobolus virginicus) is spreading from the incipient dune" height="165" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Beach_Dune.jpg" src="../../images/13/1326.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1326.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Lanikai Beach on <!--del_lnk--> Oahu. This gently-sloping beach face is topped by a beach crest onto which a salt-tolerant grass (<i><!--del_lnk--> Sporobolus virginicus</i>) is spreading from the incipient <a href="../../wp/d/Dune.htm" title="Dune">dune</a></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The sand deposit may extend well inland from the <i>berm crest</i>, where there may be evidence of one or more older crests (the <b>storm beach</b>) resulting from very large storm waves and beyond the influence of the normal waves. At some point the influence of the waves (even storm waves) on the material comprising the beach stops, and if the particles are small enough (that is, are <a href="../../wp/s/Sand.htm" title="Sand">sand</a>), winds shape the feature. Where wind is the force distributing the grains inland, the deposit behind the beach becomes a <b><a href="../../wp/d/Dune.htm" title="Dune">dune</a></b>.<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1327.jpg.htm" title="A view from the rocks at Tamandaré Beach in Brazil"><img alt="A view from the rocks at Tamandaré Beach in Brazil" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tamandare.jpg" src="../../images/13/1327.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1327.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A view from the rocks at <!--del_lnk--> Tamandaré Beach in Brazil</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>The line between beach and dune is difficult to define in the field. Over any significant period of time, sand is always being exchanged between them. The <b>drift line</b> (the high point of material deposited by waves) is one potential demarcation. This would be the point at which significant wind movement of sand could occur, since the normal waves do not wet the sand beyond this area. However, the drift line is likely to move inland under assault by storm waves.<p><a id="How_beaches_are_formed" name="How_beaches_are_formed"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">How beaches are formed</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1328.jpg.htm" title="Beach in Long Branch, New Jersey"><img alt="Beach in Long Branch, New Jersey" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Beach_in_Long_Branch%2C_NJ.jpg" src="../../images/13/1328.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1328.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Beach in <!--del_lnk--> Long Branch, New Jersey</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Beaches are <!--del_lnk--> deposition <a href="../../wp/l/Landform.htm" title="Landform">landforms</a>, and are the result of wave action by which <a href="../../wp/w/Wave.htm" title="Wave">waves</a> or <!--del_lnk--> currents move sand or other loose <!--del_lnk--> sediments of which the beach is made as these particles are held in <!--del_lnk--> suspension. Alternatively, sand may be moved by <b>saltation</b> (a bouncing movement of large particles). Beach materials come from erosion of rocks offshore, as well as from headland <!--del_lnk--> erosion and <!--del_lnk--> slumping producing deposits of <!--del_lnk--> scree. A <!--del_lnk--> coral reef offshore is a significant source of sand particles.<p>The shape of a beach depends on whether or not the waves are constructive or destructive, and whether the material is sand or shingle. Constructive waves move material up the beach while destructive waves move the material down the beach. On sandy beaches, the backwash of the waves removes material forming a gently sloping beach. On shingle beaches the swash is dissipated because the large particle size allows percolation, so the backwash is not very powerful, and the beach remains steep. Cusps and horns form where incoming waves divide, depositing sand as horns and scouring out sand to form cusps. This forms the uneven face on some sand shorelines.<p>There are several beaches which are claimed to be the "World's longest", including <!--del_lnk--> Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh (120kms), <!--del_lnk--> Fraser Island beach, <!--del_lnk--> 90 Mile Beach in Australia and <!--del_lnk--> 90 Mile Beach in New Zealand and <!--del_lnk--> Long Beach, Washington (which is about 30km). <!--del_lnk--> Wasaga Beach, Ontario on <!--del_lnk--> Georgian Bay claims to have the world's longest freshwater beach.<p><a id="Beaches_and_recreation" name="Beaches_and_recreation"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Beaches and recreation</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:242px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/128/12809.jpg.htm" title="A beach is a popular form of recreational "park"; here, Sunset Beach Park on O'ahu"><img alt="A beach is a popular form of recreational "park"; here, Sunset Beach Park on O'ahu" height="160" longdesc="/wiki/Image:SunsetBeach.jpg" src="../../images/13/1329.jpg" width="240" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/128/12809.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A beach is a popular form of recreational "park"; here, Sunset Beach Park on <!--del_lnk--> O'ahu</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1330.jpg.htm" title="A surfer carries a surfboard along the beach."><img alt="A surfer carries a surfboard along the beach." height="147" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Sufer_carrying_surfboard_along_the_beach.JPG" src="../../images/13/1330.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1330.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A <!--del_lnk--> surfer carries a <!--del_lnk--> surfboard along the beach.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Beaches have long been a popular attraction for <a href="../../wp/t/Tourism.htm" title="Tourism">tourism</a> and <!--del_lnk--> recreation. Especially popular are <!--del_lnk--> seaside resorts and large white <a href="../../wp/s/Sand.htm" title="Sand">sand</a> beaches. Residents and tourists alike use beaches as a place for <a href="../../wp/l/Leisure.htm" title="Leisure">leisure</a> and <a href="../../wp/s/Sport.htm" title="Sport">sport</a>. The relatively soft formation of sand is comfortable to sit or lie on, and entering and exiting the water is far easier across a sand beach than a rocky shore. The <a href="../../wp/w/Wave.htm" title="Wave">waves</a> present at beaches add to the enjoyment and make the sport of <!--del_lnk--> body surfing and related activities possible. One of the many attractions of a sand beach, especially for children, is playing with the sand, building <a href="../../wp/s/Sand_art_and_play.htm" title="Sand art and play">sand castles</a> and other constructs.<p><!--del_lnk--> Towels and mats are typical beach "<!--del_lnk--> furniture". In the <!--del_lnk--> Victorian era, many popular beach resorts were equipped with <!--del_lnk--> bathing machines because even the all-covering <!--del_lnk--> beachwear of the period was considered immodest. This social standard still prevails in some <!--del_lnk--> Muslim countries. At the other end of the spectrum are <!--del_lnk--> clothing-optional beaches, where swimwear is optional.<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:222px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1331.jpg.htm" title="Recreation on a California beach, first decade of the 20th century"><img alt="Recreation on a California beach, first decade of the 20th century" height="118" longdesc="/wiki/Image:CaliforniaBeachc1905.jpg" src="../../images/13/1331.jpg" width="220" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1331.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Recreation on a California beach, first decade of the 20th century</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>A walk along the beach is also popular, including a long walk in the case of a long beach, for example from one seaside resort to the next. People usually walk the beach with bare feet. It is typically done near the shore line, where the sand is wet and therefore more convenient to walk on. One may or may not walk with the feet in the water, and this may also alternate with the waves<p>In more than thirty countries in Europe, <a href="../../wp/s/South_Africa.htm" title="South Africa">South Africa</a>, <a href="../../wp/n/New_Zealand.htm" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>, <a href="../../wp/c/Canada.htm" title="Canada">Canada</a>, <a href="../../wp/s/South_America.htm" title="South America">South America</a> and the <!--del_lnk--> Caribbean, the best recreational beaches are awarded <!--del_lnk--> Blue Flag status, based on such criteria as water quality and safety provision. Subsequent loss of this status can have a severe effect on tourism revenues.<p>Due to intense use by the <!--del_lnk--> expanding human population, beaches are often dumping grounds for <!--del_lnk--> waste and litter, necessitating the use of <!--del_lnk--> beach cleaners and other cleanup projects. More significantly, many beaches are a discharge zone for untreated sewage in most <!--del_lnk--> underdeveloped countries; even in <!--del_lnk--> developed countries beach closure is an occasional circumstance due to <!--del_lnk--> sanitary sewer overflow. In these cases of marine discharge, waterborne <!--del_lnk--> disease from <!--del_lnk--> fecal <!--del_lnk--> pathogens and contamination of certain marine species is a frequent outcome.<p>
<br />
<p><a id="Artificial_beaches" name="Artificial_beaches"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Artificial beaches</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tleft">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1332.jpg.htm" title="Girls Having Fun At Messila Beach, Kuwait"><img alt="Girls Having Fun At Messila Beach, Kuwait" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Girlzwet.jpg" src="../../images/13/1332.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1332.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Girls Having Fun At Messila Beach, <a href="../../wp/k/Kuwait.htm" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Some beaches are artificial; they are either permanent or temporary (For examples see <a href="../../wp/m/Monaco.htm" title="Monaco">Monaco</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Paris.htm" title="Paris">Paris</a>, <a href="../../wp/r/Rotterdam.htm" title="Rotterdam">Rotterdam</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Hong Kong and <!--del_lnk--> Singapore).<p>The soothing qualities of a beach and the pleasant environment offered to the beachgoer are replicated in artificial beaches, such as "beach style" pools with zero-depth entry and wave pools that recreate the natural waves pounding upon a beach. In a zero-depth entry pool, the bottom surface slopes gradually from above water down to depth. Another approach involves so-called <!--del_lnk--> urban beaches, a form of public <a href="../../wp/p/Park.htm" title="Park">park</a> becoming common in large cities. Urban beaches attempt to mimic natural beaches with fountains that imitate surf and mask city noises, and in some cases can be used as a play park.<p><!--del_lnk--> Beach nourishment involves pumping sand onto beaches to improve their health. Beach nourishment is common for major beach cities around the world; however the beaches that have been nourished can still appear quite natural and often many visitors are unaware of the works undertaken to support the health of the beach. Such beaches are often not recognised as artificial.<p>A concept of IENCE has been devised to describe investment into the capacity of natural environments. IENCE is Investment to Enhance the Natural Capacity of the Environment and includes things like beach nourishment of natural beaches to enhance recreational enjoyment and snow machines that extend ski seasons for areas with an existing snow economy developed upon a natural snowy mountain. As the name implies IENCE is not quite mainstream natural science as its goal is to artificially invest into an environment's capacity to support <!--del_lnk--> anthropogenic economic activity. An <!--del_lnk--> artificial reef designed to enhance wave quality for surfing is another example of IENCE. <!--del_lnk--> The Surfrider Foundation has debated the merits of <!--del_lnk--> artificial reefs with members torn between their desire to support natural coastal environments and opportunities to enhance the quality of surfing waves. Similar debates surround <!--del_lnk--> Beach nourishment and <!--del_lnk--> Snow cannon in sensitive environments.<p><a id="Sounds_of_the_beach" name="Sounds_of_the_beach"></a><h3> <span class="mw-headline">Sounds of the beach</span></h3>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1333.jpg.htm" title="Gentle waves at the beach"><img alt="Gentle waves at the beach" height="133" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Gentle_waves_come_in_at_a_sandy_beach.JPG" src="../../images/13/1333.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1333.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Gentle <a href="../../wp/w/Wave.htm" title="Waves">waves</a> at the beach</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Beaches are noted for their sometimes serene stillness and the rhythmic sound made by waves crashing upon the sand. To experience, listen to this sound file <!--del_lnk--> sound recording (1.00MB) made on a <!--del_lnk--> South Carolina beach at night.<br clear="all" />
<p><a id="Beaches_as_habitat" name="Beaches_as_habitat"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Beaches as habitat</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:202px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1334.jpg.htm" title="Flooded beach at Shell Bay, on Studland, Dorset, UK, with Marram grass beds in foreground"><img alt="Flooded beach at Shell Bay, on Studland, Dorset, UK, with Marram grass beds in foreground" height="150" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Studland_Beach-Flooded_Shell_Bay.JPG" src="../../images/13/1334.jpg" width="200" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1334.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Flooded beach at Shell Bay, on <!--del_lnk--> Studland, <a href="../../wp/d/Dorset.htm" title="Dorset">Dorset</a>, <a href="../../wp/u/United_Kingdom.htm" title="United Kingdom">UK</a>, with <!--del_lnk--> Marram grass beds in foreground</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>A beach is an unstable environment which exposes plants and animals to harsh conditions. Some small animals burrow into the sand and feed on material deposited by the waves. <!--del_lnk--> Crabs, <a href="../../wp/i/Insect.htm" title="Insect">insects</a> and <!--del_lnk--> shorebirds feed on these beach dwellers. The endangered <!--del_lnk--> Piping Plover and some <a href="../../wp/t/Tern.htm" title="Tern">tern</a> species rely on beaches for nesting. <!--del_lnk--> Sea turtles also lay their eggs on ocean beaches. <!--del_lnk--> Seagrasses and other beach plants grow on undisturbed areas of the beach and dunes.<br clear="all" />
<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Geology', 'Sand', 'Dune', 'Sand', 'Dune', 'Landform', 'Wave', 'Tourism', 'Sand', 'Leisure', 'Sport', 'Wave', 'Sand art and play', 'South Africa', 'New Zealand', 'Canada', 'South America', 'Kuwait', 'Monaco', 'Paris', 'Rotterdam', 'Park', 'Waves', 'Dorset', 'United Kingdom', 'Insect', 'Tern']
|
Bean
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bean,Alfalfa,Azuki bean,Baked beans,Bean (disambiguation),Beano (dietary supplement),Beans Beans the Magical Fruit...,Black-eyed pea,Broad bean,Cabbage,Cajanus" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bean</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bean";
var wgTitle = "Bean";
var wgArticleId = 4487;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bean">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bean</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Everyday_life.Food_and_agriculture.htm">Food and agriculture</a>; <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Plants.htm">Plants</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:352px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1336.jpg.htm" title="Green beans"><img alt="Green beans" height="233" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Heaps_of_beans.jpg" src="../../images/13/1336.jpg" width="350" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1336.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Green beans</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><b>Bean</b> is a common name for large plant <a href="../../wp/s/Seed.htm" title="Seed">seeds</a> of several <!--del_lnk--> genera of <!--del_lnk--> Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae) used for food or feed.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Name" name="Name"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Name</span></h2>
<p><i>Bean</i> originally meant the seed of the <!--del_lnk--> broad bean, but was later broadened to include members of the genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Phaseolus</i> such as the <!--del_lnk--> common bean or haricot and the <!--del_lnk--> runner bean and the related genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Vigna</i>. The term is now applied in a general way to many other related plants such as <a href="../../wp/s/Soybean.htm" title="Soybean">soybeans</a>, <a href="../../wp/p/Pea.htm" title="Pea">peas</a>, <!--del_lnk--> lentils, <!--del_lnk--> vetches and <!--del_lnk--> lupins. <i>Bean</i> can be used as a near synonym of <!--del_lnk--> pulse, an edible <!--del_lnk--> legume, though the term "pulses" is usually reserved for leguminous crops harvested for their dry grain. <i>Pulses</i> usually excludes crops mainly used for oil extraction (like <a href="../../wp/s/Soybean.htm" title="Soybean">soybean</a> and <a href="../../wp/p/Peanut.htm" title="Peanut">peanut</a>) or those used exclusively for sowing purposes (<!--del_lnk--> clover and <!--del_lnk--> alfalfa). Leguminous crops harvested green for food like snap beans, green peas etc. are classified as vegetable crops.<p>In English usage beans sometimes also refer to seeds or other organs of non <i>leguminosae</i>, for example <!--del_lnk--> coffee beans, <!--del_lnk--> castor beans and <!--del_lnk--> cocoa beans (which resemble bean seeds), and <!--del_lnk--> vanilla beans (which resemble the pods).<p><a id="Types_of_beans" name="Types_of_beans"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Types of beans</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Vicia</i><ul>
<li><i>Faba</i> or <a href="../../wp/v/Vicia_faba.htm" title="Vicia faba">broad bean</a><div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1337.jpg.htm" title="Vica faba (broad bean)"><img alt="Vica faba (broad bean)" height="149" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Tuinboon_zaden_in_peul.jpg" src="../../images/13/1337.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1337.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Vica faba</i> (broad bean)</div>
</div>
</div>
</ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Vigna</i><ul>
<li><i>Aconitifolia</i> or <!--del_lnk--> Moth bean<li><i>Angularis</i> or <!--del_lnk--> azuki bean<li><i>mungo</i> or <!--del_lnk--> urad bean<li><i>radiata</i> or <!--del_lnk--> mung bean<li><i>umbellatta</i> or <!--del_lnk--> rice bean<li><i>unguiculata</i> or <!--del_lnk--> cowpea (includes the <!--del_lnk--> black-eyed pea, <!--del_lnk--> yardlong bean and others)</ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Cicer</i><ul>
<li><i>arietinum</i> or <!--del_lnk--> chickpea</ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Pisum</i><ul>
<li><i>sativum</i> or <a href="../../wp/p/Pea.htm" title="Pea">pea</a></ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Lathyrus</i><li><i><!--del_lnk--> Lathyrus sativus</i> (Indian pea)<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Lathyrus tuberosus</i> (Tuberous pea)<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Lens</i><ul>
<li><i>culinaris</i> or <!--del_lnk--> lentil<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1338.jpg.htm" title="Lentils"><img alt="Lentils" height="101" longdesc="/wiki/Image:3_types_of_lentil.jpg" src="../../images/13/1338.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1338.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> Lentils</div>
</div>
</div>
</ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Lablab</i><ul>
<li><i>purpureus</i> or <!--del_lnk--> hyacinth bean</ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Phaseolus</i><ul>
<li><i>acutifolius</i> or <!--del_lnk--> tepary bean<li><i>coccineus</i> or <!--del_lnk--> runner bean<li><i>lunatus</i> or <!--del_lnk--> lima bean<li><i>vulgaris</i> or <!--del_lnk--> common bean (includes the pinto bean, kidney bean and many others)</ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Glycine</i><ul>
<li><i>max</i> or <a href="../../wp/s/Soybean.htm" title="Soybean">soybean</a></ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Psophocarpus</i><ul>
<li><i>tetragonolobus</i> or <!--del_lnk--> winged bean<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1339.jpg.htm" title="Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (winged bean)"><img alt="Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (winged bean)" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Psophocarpus_tetragonolobus1.jpg" src="../../images/13/1339.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1339.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div><i>Psophocarpus tetragonolobus</i> (winged bean)</div>
</div>
</div>
</ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Cajanus</i><ul>
<li><i>cajan</i> or <!--del_lnk--> pigeon pea</ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Stizolobium</i><ul>
<li><i>spp</i> or <!--del_lnk--> velvet bean</ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Cyamopsis</i><ul>
<li><i>tetragonoloba</i> or <!--del_lnk--> guar</ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Canavalia</i><ul>
<li><i>ensiformis</i> or <!--del_lnk--> jack bean</ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Macrotyloma</i><ul>
<li><i>M. uniflorum</i> or <!--del_lnk--> horse gram</ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Lupinus</i> or Lupin <ul>
<li><i><!--del_lnk--> L. mutabilis</i> or tarwi<li><i><!--del_lnk--> Erythrina</i> or <!--del_lnk--> Coral bean</ul>
</ul>
<p><a id="Cultural_aspects" name="Cultural_aspects"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Cultural aspects</span></h2>
<p>The following traditional uses of beans refer to the <a href="../../wp/v/Vicia_faba.htm" title="Vicia faba">broad bean</a>.<ul>
<li>In some folk legends, such as in <a href="../../wp/e/Estonia.htm" title="Estonia">Estonia</a> and the common <!--del_lnk--> Jack and the Beanstalk story, magical beans grow tall enough to bring the hero to the clouds. The <!--del_lnk--> Grimm Brothers collected a story in which a bean splits its sides laughing at the failure of others.</ul>
<ul>
<li>Dreaming of a bean is sometimes said to be a sign of impending conflict, though others said they caused bad dreams. </ul>
<ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Pliny the Elder claimed that beans act as a <!--del_lnk--> laxative. He may have been referring to the <!--del_lnk--> seeds of the castor oil plant, which contain oils used as laxatives in ancient India.</ul>
<ul>
<li>European folklore claims that planting beans on <!--del_lnk--> Good Friday or during the night-time is good luck.</ul>
<ul>
<li>"<!--del_lnk--> Beans Beans the Magical Fruit..." is a children's song about the flatulence often experienced after eating broad beans. The song is noteworthy for correctly identifying the bean as a fruit, not a vegetable.</ul>
<p><a id="Toxins" name="Toxins"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline">Toxins</span></h2>
<p>Some raw beans, for example <!--del_lnk--> kidney beans, contain harmful toxins (<!--del_lnk--> lectins) which need to be removed, usually by various methods of soaking and cooking. The soaking water from kidney beans should be discarded before boiling, and some authorities recommend changing the water during cooking as well. Cooking beans in a <!--del_lnk--> slow cooker, because of the lower temperatures often used, may not destroy toxins even though the beans do not smell or taste 'bad' (though this should not be a problem if the food reaches boiling and stays there for some time)<p><a id="Flatulence" name="Flatulence"></a><h2> <span class="mw-headline"><!--del_lnk--> Flatulence</span></h2>
<p>Many edible beans, including broad beans and soybeans, contain <!--del_lnk--> oligosaccharides, a type of sugar molecule also found in <!--del_lnk--> cabbage. An anti-oligosaccharide <!--del_lnk--> enzyme is necessary to properly digest these sugar molecules. As a normal human digestive tract does not contain any anti-oligosaccharide enzymes, consumed oligosaccharides are typically digested by bacteria in the large intestine. This digestion process produces flatulence-causing gasses as a byproduct.<p>Some species of <!--del_lnk--> mold produce alpha-galactosidase, an anti-oligosaccharide enzyme, which humans can take to facilitate digestion of oligosaccharides in the small intestine. This enzyme, currently sold in the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United states">U.S.</a> under the brand-name <!--del_lnk--> Beano, can be added to food or consumed separately.<p><a id="See_also" name="See_also"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bean"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Seed', 'Soybean', 'Pea', 'Soybean', 'Peanut', 'Vicia faba', 'Pea', 'Soybean', 'Vicia faba', 'Estonia', 'United states']
|
Bear
|
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html dir="ltr" lang="en" xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type" />
<meta content="Bear,1980 Summer Olympics,ABC islands (Alaska),Agriotherium,Ailuridae,Ailuropoda,Ailurus,Ainu people,Alaska,American black bear,Animal" name="keywords" />
<link href="../../favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" />
<link href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm" rel="copyright" />
<title>Bear</title>
<style media="screen,projection" type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/ @import "../../css/wp-monobook-main.css"; /*]]>*/</style>
<link href="../../css/wp-commonPrint.css" media="print" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<!--[if lt IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE50Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 5.5000]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE55Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 6]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE60Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if IE 7]><style type="text/css">@import "../../css/IE70Fixes.css";</style><![endif]-->
<!--[if lt IE 7]><script type="text/javascript" src="../../js/IEFixes.js"></script>
<meta http-equiv="imagetoolbar" content="no" /><![endif]-->
<script type="text/javascript">
var skin = "monobook";
var stylepath = "/skins-1.5";
var wgArticlePath = "/wiki/$1";
var wgScriptPath = "/w";
var wgServer = "http://en.wikipedia.org";
var wgCanonicalNamespace = "";
var wgNamespaceNumber = 0;
var wgPageName = "Bear";
var wgTitle = "Bear";
var wgArticleId = 4400;
var wgIsArticle = true;
var wgUserName = null;
var wgUserLanguage = "en";
var wgContentLanguage = "en";
</script>
<script src="../../js/wikibits.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- wikibits js --></script>
<script src="../../js/wp.js" type="text/javascript"><!-- site js --></script>
<style type="text/css">/*<![CDATA[*/
@import "../../css/wp-common.css";
@import "../../css/wp-monobook.css";
@import "../../css/wp.css";
/*]]>*/</style>
<!-- Head Scripts -->
</head>
<body class="mediawiki ns-0 ltr page-Bear">
<div id="globalWrapper">
<div id="column-content">
<div id="content"><a id="top" name="top"></a><h1 class="firstHeading">Bear</h1>
<div id="bodyContent">
<h3 id="siteSub"><a href="../../index.htm">2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection</a>. Related subjects: <a href="../index/subject.Science.Biology.Mammals.htm">Mammals</a></h3>
<!-- start content -->
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" style="position:relative; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; float:right; background:white; clear:right; width:200px;">
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><span style="position:relative; float:right; font-size:70%;"><!--del_lnk--> i</span><b>Bear</b><br />
<center><small>Fossil range: Early <a href="../../wp/m/Miocene.htm" title="Miocene">Miocene</a> - Recent</small></center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td><a class="image" href="../../images/13/1340.jpg.htm" title="Kodiak Brown Bear"><img alt="Kodiak Brown Bear" height="156" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Kodiak_Brown_Bear.jpg" src="../../images/13/1340.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align:center"><small><i>Kodiak <!--del_lnk--> Brown Bear</i></small></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<th style="background: pink;"><b><a href="../../wp/s/Scientific_classification.htm" title="Scientific classification">Scientific classification</a></b></th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align:center;">
<td>
<table cellpadding="2" style="margin:0 auto; text-align:left; background:white;">
<tr valign="top">
<td>Kingdom:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/a/Animal.htm" title="Animal">Animalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Phylum:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/c/Chordate.htm" title="Chordate">Chordata</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Class:</td>
<td><a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">Mammalia</a><br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Order:</td>
<td><!--del_lnk--> Carnivora<br />
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td>Family:</td>
<td><b>Ursidae</b><br /><small><!--del_lnk--> G. Fischer de Waldheim, 1817</small></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="pink">
<th>
<center>Genera</center>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0 .5em;">
<p><i><!--del_lnk--> Ailuropoda</i><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Ailurus</i><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Helarctos</i><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Melursus</i><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Ursus</i><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Tremarctos</i><br /><i><!--del_lnk--> Arctodus</i> (extinct)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>A <b>bear</b> is a large <a href="../../wp/m/Mammal.htm" title="Mammal">mammal</a> in the family <b>Ursidae</b> of the order <!--del_lnk--> Carnivora. The adjective "<i><b>ursine</b></i>" is used to describe things of a bear-like nature. The <!--del_lnk--> collective noun for a group of them is a <i>sleuth</i>.<p>
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); }
//]]>
</script><a id="Etymology" name="Etymology"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Etymology</span></h2>
<p>Modern English "<i>bear</i>" derives from <!--del_lnk--> Old English "<i>bera</i>", which itself derives from <!--del_lnk--> Proto-Germanic "<i>*beron</i>" meaning "<i>the brown one</i>". (Compare <!--del_lnk--> Old Norse "<i>björn</i>", <a href="../../wp/d/Dutch_language.htm" title="Dutch language">Dutch</a> "<i>beer</i>" and <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a> "<i>Bär</i>" all meaning "<i>bear</i>").<p>Both <!--del_lnk--> Greek ("<i>arktos</i>") and <a href="../../wp/l/Latin.htm" title="Latin">Latin</a> ("<i>ursus</i>") have retained the <!--del_lnk--> Proto-Indo-European root word for "bear" ("<i>*rtko</i>") but it was ritually replaced in the northern branches of the <!--del_lnk--> Indo-European languages (The <!--del_lnk--> Germanic, <!--del_lnk--> Baltic, <!--del_lnk--> Celtic and <!--del_lnk--> Slavic branches) because of the hunters' <!--del_lnk--> taboo on the names of wild animals. For example the <!--del_lnk--> Irish word for "<i>bear</i>" translated means "<i>the good calf</i>", in <!--del_lnk--> Welsh it translates as "<i>honey-pig</i>", in <!--del_lnk--> Lithuanian it means "<i>the licker</i>" and <a href="../../wp/r/Russian_language.htm" title="Russian language">Russian</a> "<i>медведь</i>" literally means "<i>one who leads to honey</i>".<p><a id="Physical_attributes" name="Physical_attributes"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Physical attributes</span></h2>
<p>Common characteristics of bears include a short tail, acute senses of smell and hearing, five non-retractable claws per paw, and long, dense, shaggy fur.<p>Bears have large bodies and powerful limbs. They are capable of standing up on their hind legs. They have broad paws, long snouts, and round ears. Their teeth are bared for defense and used as tools, depending on the diet of the bear. Their claws are used for ripping, digging, and catching. Black bears, and likely other bears, have colour vision to help them identify fruits and nuts.<p>Depending on the species, bears can have 32 to 42 teeth. Bear teeth are not specialized for killing their prey like those of cats. Normal canine teeth in a carnivore are generally large and pointed used for killing prey, while bears' canine teeth are relatively small and typically used in defense or as tools. Bears' molar teeth are broad, flat and are used to shred and grind plant food into small digestible pieces.<p>Bears have four limbs that end in paws. Each paw has five long, sharp claws that are unretractible, unlike cats. These claws can be used to climb trees, rip open termite nests and beehives, dig up roots, or catch prey, depending on the species. While most carnivores tend to walk on their toes in a way that is adapted for speed, bears have a <!--del_lnk--> plantigrade stance. They walk with their weight on the soles of their feet, with the heel touching the ground, while the claws of the arm are used more for balance. Although slower than most carnivores, a running bear can reach speeds of up to 50 km/h (30 mph).<p>A bear's fur is often long and shaggy. Fur colour varies among species, ranging from white, blonde or cream, black and white, to all black or all brown. Colors of a bear's fur can also vary within species. For example, <!--del_lnk--> American black bears may be black, brown, reddish-brown, or bluish-black. Several species, such as the <!--del_lnk--> sun bear and <!--del_lnk--> spectacled bear have a light-colored chest with facial markings.<p>In all bear species, males are larger than females, but the difference between sexes varies and is greatest in the largest species. Large male <!--del_lnk--> polar bears may weigh twice as much as females, while smaller male and female bears are much more similar in weight. A bear's life span seems to last about 25 to 40 years. Bears living in the wild tend to die younger than their zoo-counterparts.<p><a id="Habitats" name="Habitats"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Habitats</span></h2>
<p>Bears live in a variety of habitats from the tropics to the <a href="../../wp/a/Arctic.htm" title="Arctic">Arctic</a> and from <a href="../../wp/f/Forest.htm" title="Forest">forests</a> to snowfields. They are mainly <!--del_lnk--> omnivorous, although some have a more specialised diet, such as polar bears. They eat lichens, roots, nuts, and berries. They can also go to a <a href="../../wp/r/River.htm" title="River">river</a> or other body of water to capture fish. Bears will commonly travel far for food. Hunting times are usually in the dusk or the dawn except when humans are nearby.<p><a id="Behavior" name="Behavior"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Behaviour</span></h2>
<p>Bears generally lead solitary lives, except for mothers attending her cubs, or males and females during mating season. Bears form temporary groups only when food is plentiful in a small area. <!--del_lnk--> Alaskan <!--del_lnk--> brown bears group in the same area to feed on <!--del_lnk--> salmon during the annual salmon runs, when the fish swim upriver to reach their spawning grounds. Other bears may live alone but exist in a social network. A male and female may live in an overlapping home range, each defending their range from other bears of the same sex. Male young usually leave their mothers to live in other areas, but females often live in an area that overlaps that of their mother.<p>Bears travel over large territories in search of food, remembering the details of the landscape they cover. They use their excellent memories to return to locations where food was plentiful in past years or seasons. Most bears are able to climb trees to chase prey or gain access to additional vegetation. The only exceptions are polar bears and large adult <!--del_lnk--> brown bears, whose heavy weight makes it difficult to climb trees.<p>Some of the larger species, such as the <!--del_lnk--> polar bear and the <!--del_lnk--> grizzly bear, are dangerous to humans, especially in areas where they have become used to people. For the most part, bears are shy and are easily frightened of humans. They will, however, defend their cubs ferociously if a situation calls for it.<p><a id="Reproductive_behavior" name="Reproductive_behavior"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Reproductive behaviour</span></h3>
<p>The bear's courtship period is very brief. Bears reproduce seasonally, usually after a period of inactivity similar to hibernation. Cubs are born toothless, blind, and bald. The cubs of brown bears, usually born in litters of 1–3, will typically stay with the mother for two full seasons. They feed on their mother's milk through the duration of their relationship with their mother, although as the cubs continue to grow, nursing becomes less frequent and learn to begin hunting with the mother. They will remain with the mother for approximately three years, until she enters the next cycle of estrus and drives the cubs off. Bears will reach sexual maturity in five to seven years. Bears are generally solitary creatures and will not stay close together for long periods of time. Exception have been regularly observed; siblings recently on their own, and subadult bears of similar age and status will oftentimes spend significant amounts of time in informal social groups.<p><a id="Bear.2Fhuman_interaction" name="Bear.2Fhuman_interaction"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Bear/human interaction</span></h3>
<p>Despite their large size, bears, like many other forest animals, are adept at moving through wooded or rugged terrain while barely making any noise. They will also exist in surprisingly close proximity with humans.<p>Bears will generally avoid contact with humans, and are usually aware of a human's presence long before the human is aware of the bear. As a result, encounters are typically avoidable and rare. However, bears are opportunistic feeders, and will generally take food where it is available. When humans provide feeding opportunities, such as left out garbage, food stored outside, or deliberate feeding, the chance of confrontation escalates. As a bear begins to associate human presence with food, it may lose its shyness and the hazard it poses to humans will become unbearable. Conflicts may also arise in situations where the bear regards a human as an immediate threat to itself, its cubs, or food cache (which is one reason that found animal carcasses should be avoided). In a chance encounter with a bear, the best course of action is usually to back away slowly in the direction that you came, speaking in a loud, calm tone to make sure the bear is aware of your presence and will not be caught off guard. The bear will rarely become aggressive and bear towards you. In order to protect yourself, some suggest passively lying on the ground and waiting for the bear to lose interest. Another approach is to constantly maintain an obstacle between you and the bear, such as a thick tree or boulder. A person is much more agile and quick than a bear allowing him or her to respond to a bear's clockwise or counter-clockwise movement around the obstacle and move accordingly. The bear's frustration will eventually cause disinterest. One can then move away from the bear to a new obstacle and continue this until he or she has created a safe distance from the bear. When encountering a bear, one should never look directly into the bear's eyes. This action can be misconstrued by many wild animals as an aggressive act.<p><a id="Other" name="Other"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Other</span></h2>
<p>Many bears of northern regions are assumed to <!--del_lnk--> hibernate in the winter. In medieval times it was believed that they died and were reborn in the spring. While many bear species do go into a physiological state called hibernation or winter sleep, it is not true hibernation. In true hibernators, body temperatures drop to near ambient and heart rate slows drastically, but the animals periodically rouse themselves to urinate or defecate and to eat from stored food. The body temperature of bears, on the other hand, drops only a few degrees from normal and heart rate slows only slightly. They do not wake normally during this "hibernation", and therefore do not eat, drink, urinate or defecate the entire period. Higher body heat and being easily roused may be adaptations, because females bear cubs during this winter sleep.<p>Laws have been passed in many areas of the world to protect bears from hunters or <!--del_lnk--> habitat destruction. Bears in captivity have been forced to be trained to dance, box, or ride <a href="../../wp/b/Bicycle.htm" title="Bicycle">bicycles</a>; however, this use of the animals became controversial in the late 20th century. In cartoons, circus bears are frequently depicted riding <!--del_lnk--> unicycles.<p>The brown bear is <a href="../../wp/f/Finland.htm" title="Finland">Finland</a>'s national animal. In the <a href="../../wp/u/United_States.htm" title="United States">United States</a>, the <!--del_lnk--> black bear is the <!--del_lnk--> state animal of <!--del_lnk--> Louisiana, <!--del_lnk--> New Mexico, and <a href="../../wp/w/West_Virginia.htm" title="West Virginia">West Virginia</a>; the <!--del_lnk--> grizzly bear is the state animal of both <!--del_lnk--> Montana and <a href="../../wp/c/California.htm" title="California">California</a>.<p><!--del_lnk--> Kodiak bears are the largest type, and in fact one of the largest extant carnivores, though <!--del_lnk--> polar bears are the heaviest. <!--del_lnk--> Sun bears are the smallest, only the size of a large <a href="../../wp/d/Dog.htm" title="Dog">dog</a>. The <!--del_lnk--> constellations <!--del_lnk--> Ursa Major and <!--del_lnk--> Ursa Minor represent bears.<p><a id="Bears_as_food_and_medicine" name="Bears_as_food_and_medicine"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Bears as food and medicine</span></h2>
<p>Many people enjoy hunting bears and eating them. Their meat is dark and stringy, like a tough cut of beef. In Cantonese cuisine, bear paws are considered a delicacy. The peoples of China, Japan, and Korea use bears' body parts and secretions (notably their gallbladders and bile) as part of traditional Chinese medicine. Thousands of <!--del_lnk--> bile bears are farmed for their bile in China, Vietnam, and Korea.<p><a id="Classification" name="Classification"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Classification</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1341.jpg.htm" title="A Syrian (Brown) Bear in the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo"><img alt="A Syrian (Brown) Bear in the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo" height="135" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Brown-bear-biblica-zoo.jpg" src="../../images/13/1341.jpg" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/13/1341.jpg.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> A Syrian (Brown) Bear in the <!--del_lnk--> Jerusalem Biblical Zoo</div>
</div>
</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Family Ursidae</b><ul>
<li><b>Subfamily Ailuropodinae</b><ul>
<li><a href="../../wp/g/Giant_Panda.htm" title="Giant Panda">Giant Panda</a>, <i>Ailuropoda melanoleuca</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Dwarf Panda, <i>Ailuropoda minor</i> (extinct)</ul>
<li><b>Subfamily Tremarctinae</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Spectacled Bear, <i>Tremarctos ornatus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Florida Cave Bear, <i>Tremarctos floridanus</i> (extinct)<li><!--del_lnk--> Giant Short-Faced Bear, <i>Arctodus simus</i> (extinct)<li><!--del_lnk--> Short-Faced Bear, <i>Arctodus pristinus</i> (extinct)<li><!--del_lnk--> Brazilian Short-Faced Bear, <i>Arctotherium brasilense</i> (extinct)<li><!--del_lnk--> Argentine Short-Faced Bear, <i>Arctotherium latidens</i> (extinct)</ul>
<li><b>Subfamily Ursinae</b><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Brown Bear, <i>Ursus arctos</i><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Subspecies <!--del_lnk--> Syrian (Brown) Bear <i>Ursus arctos syriacus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Subspecies <!--del_lnk--> Grizzly Bear, <i>Ursus arctos horribilis</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Subspecies <!--del_lnk--> Kodiak Bear, <i>Ursus arctos middendorffi</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Subspecies <!--del_lnk--> Himalayan Brown Bear, <i>Ursus arctos isabellinus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Subspecies <!--del_lnk--> Bergman's Bear, <i>Ursus arctos piscator</i> (extinct)</ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> MacFarlane's Bear, <i>Ursus inopinatus</i> (extinct)<li><!--del_lnk--> American Black Bear, <i>Ursus americanus</i><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Subspecies <!--del_lnk--> Kermode Bear, <i>Ursus americanus kermodie</i></ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Polar Bear, <i>Ursus maritimus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Asiatic Black Bear, <i>Ursus thibetanus</i>, or <i>Selenarctos tibetanus</i><ul>
<li><i>Ursus thibetanus formosanus</i>, or <i>Selenarctos tibetanus formosanus</i><li><i>Ursus thibetanus gedrosianus</i>, or <i>Selenarctos tibetanus gedrosianus</i><li><i>Ursus thibetanus japonica</i>, or <i>Selenarctos tibetanus japonica</i><li><i>Ursus thibetanus laniger</i>, or <i>Selenarctos tibetanus laniger</i><li><i>Ursus thibetanus mupinensis</i>, or <i>Selenarctos tibetanus mupinensis</i><li><i>Ursus thibetanus thibetanus</i>, or <i>Selenarctos tibetanus thibetanus</i><li><i>Ursus thibetanus ussuricu</i>, or <i>Selenarctos tibetanus ussuricu</i></ul>
<dl>
<dd>Asiatic black bears might be classified as genus <i>Selenarctos</i>.</dl>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Auvergne Bear, <i>Ursus minimus</i> (extinct)<li><!--del_lnk--> Etruscan Bear, <i>Ursus etruscus</i> (extinct)<li><!--del_lnk--> European Cave Bear, <i>Ursus spelaeus</i> (extinct)<li><!--del_lnk--> Atlas Bear, <i>Ursus crowtheri</i> (extinct)<li><!--del_lnk--> Sloth Bear, <i>Melursus (Ursus) ursinus</i><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Subspecies <!--del_lnk--> Sri Lankan Sloth Bear <i>Melursus (Ursus) ursinus inornatus</i><li><!--del_lnk--> Subspecies <!--del_lnk--> Indian Sloth Bear <i>Melursus (Ursus) ursinus ursinus</i></ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Sun Bear, <i>Helarctos malayanus</i><ul>
<li><!--del_lnk--> Subspecies <!--del_lnk--> Borneo Sun Bear <i>Helarctos (Ursus) malayanus euryspilus</i></ul>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<p>The genera <i>Melursus</i> and <i>Helarctos</i> are included in the genus <i>Ursus</i>. The Asiatic Black Bear and the Polar Bear used to be placed in their own genera, <i>Selenarctos</i> and <i>Thalarctos</i>.<p>A number of hybrids have been bred between American Black, Brown and Polar Bears (see <!--del_lnk--> Ursinae hybrids).<p><a id="Evolutionary_relationships" name="Evolutionary_relationships"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Evolutionary relationships</span></h2>
<p>Bears are members of the order <!--del_lnk--> Carnivora, suborder <!--del_lnk--> Caniformia, and family <!--del_lnk--> Ursidae. Other members of the <!--del_lnk--> Caniformia include wolves and other dog-like mammals (family <!--del_lnk--> Canidae), weasels, badgers and allies (family <!--del_lnk--> Mustelidae), <!--del_lnk--> raccoons (family <!--del_lnk--> Procyonidae), and walruses (family <!--del_lnk--> Odobenidae), seals (family <!--del_lnk--> Phocidae), and sea lions (family <!--del_lnk--> Otariidae). Although bears are often described as having evolved from a dog-like ancestor, their closest living relatives are the <!--del_lnk--> pinnipeds (walruses, seals, and sea lions).<p>The origins of the bears can be traced back to the raccoon-sized, dog-like <i><!--del_lnk--> Cephalogale</i> from the middle <a href="../../wp/o/Oligocene.htm" title="Oligocene">Oligocene</a> and early <a href="../../wp/m/Miocene.htm" title="Miocene">Miocene</a> (approximately 20-30 million years ago) of Europe. <i>Cephalogale</i> gave rise to a lineage of early bears, the genus <i><!--del_lnk--> Ursavus</i>. This genus radiated in Asia and ultimately gave rise to the first true bears (genus <i>Ursus</i>) in Europe, 5 million years ago. Extinct bear genera include <i><!--del_lnk--> Arctodus</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Agriarctos</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Agriotherium</i>, <i><!--del_lnk--> Plionarctos</i> and <i><!--del_lnk--> Indarctos</i>.<p>Although there has previously been much discussion as to whether the <a href="../../wp/g/Giant_Panda.htm" title="Giant Panda">Giant Panda</a> belongs to the bear family or the <!--del_lnk--> raccoon family, recent <a href="../../wp/d/DNA.htm" title="DNA">DNA</a> analyses have shown that the Giant Panda is a member of the Family <!--del_lnk--> Ursidae and as such is more closely related to other bears. The status of the <a href="../../wp/r/Red_Panda.htm" title="Red Panda">Red Panda</a> remains uncertain, but many experts, including <!--del_lnk--> Wilson and <!--del_lnk--> Reeder, classify it as a member of the bear family. Others place it with the racoons in <!--del_lnk--> Procyonidae or in its own family, the <!--del_lnk--> Ailuridae. The many similarities between the two pandas are thought to represent <!--del_lnk--> convergent evolution for feeding primarily on bamboo.<p>There is also evidence that, unlike their neighbors elsewhere, the <!--del_lnk--> Brown Bears of Alaska's <!--del_lnk--> ABC islands are more closely related to <!--del_lnk--> Polar Bears than they are to other Brown Bears in the world. Researchers Gerald Shields and Sandra Talbot of the <!--del_lnk--> University of Alaska Fairbanks Institute of Arctic <a href="../../wp/b/Biology.htm" title="Biology">Biology</a> studied the <a href="../../wp/d/DNA.htm" title="DNA">DNA</a> of several samples of the species and found that their DNA is different from that of other Brown Bears. The researchers discovered that their DNA was unique compared to Brown Bears anywhere else in the world. The discovery has shown that while all other Brown Bears share a Brown Bear as their closest relative, those of Alaska's ABC Islands differ and share their closest relation with the Polar Bear.<!--del_lnk--> There is also supposed to be a very rare large bear in China called the Blue Bear, which presumably is a type of black bear. This animal has never been photographed.<p><a id="Bears_in_mythology" name="Bears_in_mythology"></a><h2><span class="mw-headline">Bears in mythology</span></h2>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width:182px;"><a class="internal" href="../../images/107/10771.png.htm" title="The saddled "bear of St Corbinian" the emblem of Freising, here incorporated in the arms of Pope Benedict XVI"><img alt="The saddled "bear of St Corbinian" the emblem of Freising, here incorporated in the arms of Pope Benedict XVI" height="240" longdesc="/wiki/Image:BXVI_CoA_like_gfx_PioM.svg" src="../../images/13/1342.png" width="180" /></a><div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify" style="float:right"><a class="internal" href="../../images/107/10771.png.htm" title="Enlarge"><img alt="Enlarge" height="11" src="../../images/0/1.png" width="15" /></a></div> The saddled "bear of St <!--del_lnk--> Corbinian" the emblem of <!--del_lnk--> Freising, here incorporated in the arms of <a href="../../wp/p/Pope_Benedict_XVI.htm" title="Pope Benedict XVI">Pope Benedict XVI</a></div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Some evidence has been brought to bear of prehistoric <!--del_lnk--> bear worship, see <a href="../../wp/a/Arctic.htm" title="Arctic">Arctic</a>, <!--del_lnk--> Arcturus, <!--del_lnk--> Great Bear, <!--del_lnk--> Berserker, <!--del_lnk--> Kalevala. Anthropologists such as <!--del_lnk--> Joseph Campbell have regarded this as a common feature in most of the <a href="../../wp/f/Fishing.htm" title="Fishing">fishing</a> and <!--del_lnk--> hunting-<a href="../../wp/t/Tribe.htm" title="Tribe">tribes</a>. The prehistoric Finns, along with most <!--del_lnk--> Finno-Ugric peoples, considered the bear as the spirit of one's forefathers. This is why the bear was a greatly respected animal, with several euphemistic names. There has been evidence about early bear worship in China and among the <!--del_lnk--> Ainu culture as well. In the <!--del_lnk--> Korean mythology, <!--del_lnk--> Korean people identifies bear as their ancestor and symbolic animal; also several other <!--del_lnk--> Tungusic people consider bear as their ancestor animal.<p>In addition, the <!--del_lnk--> Proto-Indo-European word for bear, <i>*hr̥ktos</i> (ancestral to the Greek <i>arktos</i>, Latin <i>ursus</i>, Welsh <i>arth</i> (c.f. <!--del_lnk--> Arthur), Sanskrit <i>*ṛkṣa</i>, Hittite <i>hartagga</i>) seems to have been subject to <!--del_lnk--> taboo deformation or replacement (as was the word for <!--del_lnk--> wolf, <i>wlk<sup>w</sup>os</i>), resulting in the use of numerous unrelated words with meanings like "brown one" (English <i>bruin</i>) and "honey-eater" (Slavic <i>medved</i>). Thus four separate Indo-European language groups do not share the same PIE root. In the Finnish countryside, the word for "bear" remains taboo to this day. The theory of the bear taboo is taught to almost all beginning students of Indo-European and historical linguistics; the putative original PIE word for bear is itself descriptive, because a cognate word in Sanskrit is <i>rakshas</i>, meaning "harm, injury" <!--del_lnk--> .<p><a id="Bears_as_symbols_and_totems" name="Bears_as_symbols_and_totems"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Bears as symbols and totems</span></h3>
<p>Numerous cities around the world have adopted the bear as a symbol, notably the <a href="../../wp/s/Switzerland.htm" title="Switzerland">Swiss</a> capital <!--del_lnk--> Bern, which takes its name from the <a href="../../wp/g/German_language.htm" title="German language">German</a> for bear, <i>bär</i>. The bear is also the name-emblem of <a href="../../wp/b/Berlin.htm" title="Berlin">Berlin</a> <i>bärlein</i> meaning small bear. Bears are a common symbol of <a href="../../wp/h/Heraldry.htm" title="Heraldry">heraldry</a> (e.g. <!--del_lnk--> Rawa Coat of Arms, <!--del_lnk--> Bernhardt coat of arms). In the arms of the bishopric of Freising (<i>illustration, right</i>) the bear is the dangerous totem animal tamed by Saint <!--del_lnk--> Corbinian and made to carry his civilized baggage over the mountains: the allegory of the civilizing influence of Christianity is inescapable. A bear also features prominently in the legend of Saint <!--del_lnk--> Romedius, who is also said to have tamed one of these animals and had the same bear carry him from his hermitage in the mountains to the city of <!--del_lnk--> Trento.<p>The bear is a common national symbol for Russia (as well as the Soviet Union) and even Germany. It was used in the Ronald Reagan political ad "Bear in the woods." A subspecies of <!--del_lnk--> Grizzly Bear is featured on the <!--del_lnk--> Flag of California, first flown in 1846 during the <!--del_lnk--> Bear Flag Revolt. Also, the bear, the <!--del_lnk--> bruin, or specific types of bears are popular <!--del_lnk--> nicknames or <!--del_lnk--> mascots, e.g. for sports teams (Chicago Bears,Boston Bruins); and a bear cub was <!--del_lnk--> mascot of the <!--del_lnk--> 1980 Summer Olympics.<p><a id="Bears_in_figures_of_speech" name="Bears_in_figures_of_speech"></a><h3><span class="mw-headline">Bears in figures of speech</span></h3>
<p>The physical attributes and behaviors of bears are commonly used in figures of speech in English. In the <!--del_lnk--> stock market, a <i><!--del_lnk--> bear market</i> is a period of declining prices. Pessimistic forecasting or negative activity is said to be <i>bearish</i> (due to the stereotypical posture of bears looking downwards), and one who expresses bearish sentiment is a <i>bear</i>. Its opposite is a <i>bull market</i>, and <i>bullish</i> sentiment from <i>bulls</i>. In <!--del_lnk--> CB slang, "bear" (or "smokey", in reference to <!--del_lnk--> Smokey Bear) is a nickname for <!--del_lnk--> highway patrol. In <!--del_lnk--> gay slang, the term "<!--del_lnk--> bear" refers to male individuals who possess physical attributes much like a bear, such as a heavy build, abundant body hair, and commonly facial hair. To "try like a bear" means to try your hardest to catch the attention of a certain lady. The harder you try, the better the bear you are. A <i><!--del_lnk--> bear hug</i> is typically a tight <!--del_lnk--> hug that involves wrapping one's arms around another person, often leaving that person's arms immobile. The Chicago Bears, a United States football team, are often referred to as "The Monsters of the Midway," a term that alludes to imagery of bears as monsters, or frightening creatures.<p><a id="Further_reading" name="Further_reading"></a><div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<!--del_lnk--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear"</div>
<!-- end content -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- end of the left (by default at least) column -->
<div class="visualClear">
</div>
<div id="footer">
<div class="center"> This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details of authors and sources) and is available under the <nobr><a href="../../wp/w/Wikipedia_Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License.htm">GNU Free Documentation License</a></nobr>. See also our <b><a href="../../disclaimer.htm">Disclaimer</a></b>. </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">if (window.runOnloadHook) runOnloadHook();</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
|
['Miocene', 'Scientific classification', 'Animal', 'Chordate', 'Mammal', 'Mammal', 'Dutch language', 'German language', 'Latin', 'Russian language', 'Arctic', 'Forest', 'River', 'Bicycle', 'Finland', 'United States', 'West Virginia', 'California', 'Dog', 'Giant Panda', 'Oligocene', 'Miocene', 'Giant Panda', 'DNA', 'Red Panda', 'Biology', 'DNA', 'Pope Benedict XVI', 'Arctic', 'Fishing', 'Tribe', 'Switzerland', 'German language', 'Berlin', 'Heraldry']
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.