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Action At Bir El Gubi (December 1941)
The Action at Bir el Gubi (December 1941) was fought near Bir el Gubi, Libya, between 3 and 7 December 1941, between Italian (later reinforced by German) and Commonwealth forces. It followed the Action at Bir el Gubi (November 1941) a failed Allied attempt to capture Bir el Gubi two weeks' previous. Bir el Gubi was a tactical position whose fall would have allowed the Allies to outflank the German-Italian forces in Cyrenaica. The battle was part of Operation Crusader. Background On 18 November, north of Bir el Gubi, Commonwealth forces started a new offensive, Operation Crusader. On 19 November the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete" repulsed in the Action at Bir el Gubi (November 1941) a British attack and on 23 November a great tank battle, ''Totensonntag'' ("Sunday of the Dead" in German), took place in the desert. The Battalion Group "Giovani Fascisti" and some Bersaglieri units took position in Bir el Gubi. A tank company of the I Battalion of the 32nd Tank Infantry Regimen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Crusader
Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941) was a military operation of the Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War by the British Eighth Army (United Kingdom), Eighth Army (with Commonwealth, Indian and Allied contingents) against the Axis forces (German and Italian) in North Africa commanded by Erwin Rommel. The operation was intended to bypass Axis defences on the Egyptian–Libyan frontier, defeat the Axis armoured forces and relieve the 1941 Siege of Tobruk. On 18 November 1941, the Eighth Army launched a surprise attack. From 18 to 22 November, the dispersal of British armoured units led to them suffering 530 tank losses and inflicted Axis losses of about 100 tanks. On 23 November, the 5th South African Brigade was destroyed at Sidi Rezegh ( ) but inflicted many German tank casualties. On 24 November Rommel ordered the "dash to the wire" and caused chaos in the British rear echelons but allowed the British armoured forces to recover. On 27 November, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
32nd Tank Infantry Regiment
The 32nd Tank Regiment ( it, 32° Reggimento Carri) is a tank regiment of the Italian Army based in Tauriano in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Originally the regiment, like all Italian tank units, was part of the infantry, but since 1 June 1999 it is part of the cavalry. Operationally the regiment is assigned to the 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete". History Formation The regiment was formed on 15 September 1936 in Verona as 2nd Tank Regiment (Italy), 2nd Tank Infantry Regiment with four battalions: IV, V, and XI assault tanks battalions and the III Breach Tanks Battalion. The assault tanks battalions fielded L3/35 tankettes, while the breach tanks battalion fielded Fiat 3000 light tanks. Its structure at its foundation was as follows: * 2nd Tank Infantry Regiment, in Verona ** IV Assault Tanks Battalion "Monti", in Bolzano (L3/35 tankettes) ** V Assault Tanks Battalion "Venezian", in Trieste (L3/35 tankettes) ** XI Assault Tanks Battalion "Gregorutti", in Udine (L3/35 tankettes) ** I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4th Indian Infantry Division
The 4th Indian Infantry Division, also known as the Red Eagle Division, is an infantry division of the Indian Army. This division of the British Indian Army was formed in Egypt in 1939 during the Second World War. During the Second World War, it took part in campaigns in East Africa (Eritrea and Sudan), Syria, North Africa and Italy. Post independence, the division is part of the I Corps and headquartered at Prayagraj. History North Africa During the war, the 4th Indian Division was in the vanguard of nine campaigns in the Mediterranean theatre. Major-General The Hon. P. Gerald Scarlett appears to have been the division's first commander, from October 1939 to January 1940. The British 14th Infantry Brigade was attached to the division from 1 June to 20 July 1940; the British 16th Infantry Brigade was attached from 9 September 1940 to 14 December 1940. In the first of Archibald Wavell's operations in Egypt, as part of the Western Desert Force, it took part in Operation Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neil Ritchie
General Sir Neil Methuen Ritchie, (29 July 1897 – 11 December 1983) was a British Army officer who saw service during both the world wars. He is most notable during the Second World War for commanding the British Eighth Army in the North African campaign from November 1941 until being dismissed in June 1942. Despite this, his career did not end. Ritchie later commanded XII Corps throughout the campaign in Northwest Europe, from June 1944 until Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) in May 1945. Origins Born near the Essequibo River in British Guiana on 29 July 1897, he was the second son of a Scottish planter, Dugald MacDougall Ritchie (1861-1925), and his wife Anna Catherine Leggatt (1860-1946), daughter of an English farmer. His elder brother was Alan MacDougall Ritchie, later a brigadier in the British Army, and he had two sisters. Early life and First World War After growing up in Malaya, he went to England and was educated at Lancing College and the Royal Military College, S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and a sight. They launch explosive shells (technically called bombs) in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. Mortars are typically used as indirect fire weapons for close fire support with a variety of ammunition. History Mortars have been used for hundreds of years. The earliest mortars were used in Korea in a 1413 naval battle when Korean gunsmiths developed the ''wan'gu'' (gourd-shaped mortar) (완구, 碗口). The earliest version of the ''wan'gu'' dates back to 1407. Choi Hae-san (최해산, 崔海山) (1380–1443), the son of Choe Mu-seon (최무선, 崔茂宣) (1325–1395), is generally credited with inventing the ''wan'gu''. In the Ming dynasty, general Qi Jiguang recorded the use of a mini cannon called the Hu dun pao that was simi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solothurn S-18/100
The Solothurn S-18/100 20 mm anti-tank cannon was a German and Swiss anti-tank rifle used during the Second World War. It had a semi-automatic action in a bullpup configuration. As a result of its large, powerful ammunition, the gun had a tremendous recoil, and its size made portability difficult. The feed was either from a five or (more usually) ten-round magazine that was attached horizontally to the left side of the gun. The gun used 20×105mm belted-case ammunition which it shared with the S 18-350 aircraft cannon that was developed from the rifle. A Finnish source gives armour penetration of the gun (probably achieved with the Hungarian APHE-T round, since it was the only type used in Finland) as 20mm at a 60-degree angle at 100-metre distance, decreasing to 16mm at 500 metres. A variant of this design, the Solothurn-Arsenal, was manufactured without license in Estonia before WW2; however only 20 were produced prior to Soviet occupation. In March 1940, with funds colle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-tank Rifle
An anti-tank rifle is an anti-materiel rifle designed to penetrate the vehicle armor, armor of armored fighting vehicles, most commonly tanks, armored personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles. The term is usually used for weapons that can be carried and used by one person, but is sometimes used for larger weapons. The usefulness of rifles for this purpose ran from the introduction of tanks in World War I until the Korean War. While medium and heavy tank armor became too thick to be penetrated by rigid projectiles from rifles that could be carried by a single soldier, anti-tank rifles continued to be used against other "soft" targets, though recoilless rifles and rocket-propelled grenades such as the bazooka were also introduced for infantry close-layer defense against tanks. History The tug of war between armour and projectiles had been developing for a long while among naval vessels, since the advent of the Ironclad warship, Ironclad. It wasn't until soldiers met armo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water for hydroelectric power plants, crop irrigation, and suitable conditions for many types of ecosystems. The major cause of rain production is moisture moving along three-dimensional zones of temperature and moisture contrasts known as weather fronts. If enough moisture and upward motion is present, precipitation falls from convective clouds (those with strong upward vertical motion) such as cumulonimbus (thunder clouds) which can organize into narrow rainbands. In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation which forces moist air to condense and fall out as rainfall along the sides of mountains. On the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbed Wire
A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is the construction of inexpensive fences, and it is also used as a security measure atop walls surrounding property. As a wire obstacle, it is a major feature of the fortifications in trench warfare. A person or animal trying to pass through or over barbed wire will suffer discomfort and possibly injury. Barbed wire fencing requires only fence posts, wire, and fixing devices such as staples. It is simple to construct and quick to erect, even by an unskilled person. The first patent in the United States for barbed wire was issued in 1867 to Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio, who is regarded as the inventor. Joseph F. Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois, received a patent for the modern invention in 1874 after he made his own modifications to previous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-tank Gun
An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns was prompted by the appearance of tanks during World War I. To destroy hostile tanks, artillerymen often used field guns depressed to fire directly at their targets, but this practice expended too much valuable ammunition and was of increasingly limited effectiveness as tank armor became thicker. The first dedicated anti-tank artillery began appearing in the 1920s, and by World War II was a common appearance in many European armies. To penetrate armor, they fired specialized ammunition from longer barrels to achieve a higher muzzle velocity than field guns. Most anti-tank guns were developed in the 1930s as improvements in tanks were noted, and nearly every major arms manufacturer produced one type or another. Anti-tank guns deployed during World War II were often manne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machine Gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) are typically designed more for firing short bursts rather than continuous firepower, and are not considered true machine guns. As a class of military kinetic projectile weapon, machine guns are designed to be mainly used as infantry support weapons and generally used when attached to a bipod or tripod, a fixed mount or a heavy weapons platform for stability against recoils. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, features not normally found on other infantry firearms. Machine guns can be further categorized as light machine guns, medium machine guns, heavy machine guns, general purpose machine guns and squad automatic weapons. Similar automatic firearms of caliber or more are classified as autocannons, rat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medium Tank
A medium tank is a classification of tanks, particularly prevalent during World War II which represented a compromise between the mobility oriented light tanks and the armour and armament oriented heavy tanks. A medium tank's classification is not actually based on weight, but off of tactical usage and intended purpose; for instance the German Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank has a mass similar to contemporary Allied heavy tanks. The most widely produced, cost effective and successful tanks of World War II (the German Panzer IV, the Soviet T-34, and the American M4 Sherman) were all medium tank designs. Many of the medium tank lines became what are called main battle tanks in most countries. History The first tanks to carry the name "Medium" appeared in the First World War with the British Medium Mark A Whippet. It was smaller, lighter and faster than the British heavy tanks of the time and only carried machine guns. The medium tank doctrine came into use in the interwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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