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Fire Cross 1914–1918
The 1914 – 1918 Fire Cross ( nl, Vuurkruis 1914–1918, french: Croix du Feu 1914–1918) was a Belgian military decoration awarded to all holders of the so-called "Fire Card" which was awarded to all who came under fire at the front during the First World War. The medal was established by royal decree on 6 February 1934. It could not be awarded posthumously. Award description The Fire Cross was a 44 mm wide by 54 mm high (including ribbon loop) bronze cross quadrate. Except for a 3 mm wide plain border, the cross arms were striated, horizontally for the lateral arms and vertically for the vertical arms on both the obverse and reverse. The 30 mm wide by 37 mm high central rectangle bore on its obverse, 5mm wide vertical laurel branches on either side, at center, the relief image of a deserted battlefield with at the forefront, the relief image of a World War 1 Belgian helmet over a bayonet, farther and on a slight elevation at left, a 75 mm h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Of Belgium
The national flag of Belgium ( nl, vlag van België, french: drapeau de la Belgique, german: Flagge Belgiens) is a tricolour consisting of three equal vertical bands displaying the national colours of Belgium: black, yellow, and red. The colours were taken from the coat of arms of the Duchy of Brabant, and the vertical design may be based on the flag of France. When flown, the black band is nearest the pole (at the hoist side). It has the unusual proportions of 1315. In 1830, the flag, at that time non-officially, consisted of three horizontal bands, with the colors red, yellow and black. On 23 January 1831, the National Congress enshrined the tricolor in the Constitution, but did not determine the direction and order of the color bands. As a result, the "official" flag was given vertical stripes with the colors black, yellow and red. Previous flags After the death of Charlemagne, the present-day territory of Belgium (except the County of Flanders) became part of Lotharingia, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howitzer
A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like other artillery equipment, are usually organized in a group called a battery. Howitzers, together with long-barreled guns, mortars, and rocket artillery, are the four basic types of modern artillery. Mortars fire at angles of elevation greater than 45°, and are useful for mountain warfare because the projectile could go over obstacles. Cannons fire at low angles of elevation (<45°), and the projectile lands much faster at its target than it would in the case of a mortar. But the cannon is not useful if there is an obstacle like a hill/wall in front of its target. Etymology The English word ''howitzer'' comes from the Czech word , from , 'crowd', and is in turn a borrowing from the Middle High German word or (mode ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1934 Establishments In Belgium
Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people. * January 26 – A 10-year German–Polish declaration of non-aggression is signed by Nazi Germany and the Second Polish Republic. * January 30 ** In Nazi Germany, the political power of federal states such as Prussia is substantially abolished, by the "Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich" (''Gesetz über den Neuaufbau des Reiches''). ** Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, signs the Gold Reserve Act: all gold held in the Federal Reserve is to be surrendered to the United States Department of the Treasury; immediately following, the President raises the statutory gold price from US$20.67 per ounce to $35. * February 6 – French pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Orders, Decorations And Medals Of The Kingdom Of Belgium
Belgium has established numerous orders of knighthood, decorations and medals since its creation in 1830. Below is a list of the main awards. Orders Order of Leopold Order of the Crown Order of Leopold II Order of the African Star Royal Order of the Lion War medals and decorations Belgian Revolution (1830–31) Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) World War I (1914–1918) World War II (1940–1945) Korean War (1950–1953) Current awards Military medals and decorations Civilian medals and decorations Commemorative medals Belgian Red Cross References * Quinot H., 1950, ''Recueil illustré des décorations belges et congolaises, 4e Edition.'' (Hasselt) * Cornet R., 1982, ''Recueil des dispositions légales et réglementaires régissant les ordres nationaux belges. 2e Ed. N.pl''., (Brussels) * Borné A.C., 1985, ''Distinctions honorifiques de la Belgique, 1830–1985'' (Brussels) * Van Hoorebeke, 2007, P., ''175 Ans de l'Ordre de Léopold et les Ordres Nationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aloïs Biebuyck
Aloïs Biebuyck ( 28 June 1860 – 28 January 1944) was a Belgian Lieutenant General who fought in the First World War. Aloïs lost both parents at a young age and was raised by his uncle in Brussels. He followed a military career and became a major in 1906 and a colonel in June 1914. In World War I, he defended with the 2nd Carabinier regiment the Nete River between Lier and Duffel. At the Battle of the Yser, he personally led the 3rd Carabinier regiment in a counteroffensive near Pervijze on 22 October 1914. He was hit by three bullets and transported to the hospital in Calais, where his son lieutenant Marcel Biebuyck died in his presence on 29 March 1915. After 7 months in hospital, Aloïs returned to the front on 14 May 1915. He was promoted to Major-General on 11 June 1915, Aide-de-camp of King Albert I on 1 August 1915, and Lieutenant-General on 30 March 1916. He became commander of the 6th Army division on 8 August 1917, and in the Fifth Battle of Ypres he led the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armand De Ceuninck
Armand Léopold Théodore, Baron de Ceuninck (27 May 1858 – 12 April 1935) was the Minister of War of Belgium, serving in the last year of World War I. Biography He entered the army in 1871, became an artillery sergeant in 1874, then entered the artillery and engineering section of the Royal Military College. A sub-lieutenant of artillery in 1880, he was named General-staff adjutant (''adjoint d'état-major'') and, in 1893, passed out as captain in the cadre spécial d'état-major. At the outbreak of World War I he was staff colonel and head of the staff section of the army. In this position he assumed the heavy yet delicate task imposed by mobilisation and the putting of the army on a war footing. Promoted to major-general on 6 September 1914, he was placed at the head of the 18th Mixed Brigade (Grenadiers), of which he took command on 9 September at the moment when the unit was conducting operations around Antwerp. He took an active part in operations, and confirmed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Van Strydonck De Burkel
Lieutenant-general BEM Victor Jean Clement, ''Baron'' van Strydonck de Burkel (16 July 1876, Antwerp – 4 August 1961, Etterbeek) was a general of the Belgian Army and the primary architect of the formation of the Free Belgian Forces after Belgium's official surrender on May 28, 1940 in World War II. Military career First World War and Interwar In 1918, as an officer in the 1st Regiment of Guides, Victor van Strydonck commanded the last cavalry charge in western Europe, the successful Charge of Burkel. For his role in the charge, van Strydonck was made a baron and given the title "de Burkel" in 1937 after the location of the battle. A cavalry officer, van Strydonck de Burkel commanded the Cavalry School (1920–1923) and the 1st Cavalry Division (1928–1933), served as the inspector-general of the Belgian Gendarmerie (1933–1939), and was the commander of the Cavalry Corps (1933–1939) prior to World War II. In 1938, Van Strydonck announced his retirement from the army b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-Baptiste Piron
Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Piron (10 April 1896 – 4 September 1974) was a Belgian military officer, best known for his role in the Free Belgian forces during World War II as commander of the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade, widely known as the "Piron Brigade", between 1942 and 1944. Piron entered the Belgian Army and served during World War I as both a junior infantry officer and, briefly, in the Belgian Air Force. He rose through the ranks during the interwar period and held the rank of major at the time of the German invasion of Belgium in World WarII. He subsequently escaped from German-occupied Belgium and reached the United Kingdom, where he led a re-organisation of the Free Belgian military. Promoted to the head of the 1stBelgian Infantry Brigade, he led the unit from 1942 to 1944, including on the Western Front in late 1944. He commanded the Belgian army of occupation in Germany in 1946–1947 and was aide de camp to Prince-Regent Charles and, later, to Ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willy Coppens
Willy Omer François Jean baron Coppens de Houthulst (6 July 1892 – 21 December 1986) was Belgium's leading fighter ace and the champion "balloon buster" of World War I. He was credited with 37 confirmed victories and six probables. Early life Coppens was born in Watermael-Boitsfort, son of Omer Coppens, a Belgian impressionistic painter who studied in the Royal Academy of Ghent. He was conscripted into the army in 1912, to serve with the ''Premiere Regiment Grenadiers''. World War I In 1914, following the German invasion of Belgium, Coppens transferred to The Motor Machine Gun Corps. On 6 September 1915, he signed up for flight training in the Compagnie des Aviateurs. Ultimately, due to insufficiencies in Belgian training, he took eight weeks of leave to train to fly. He and 39 other Belgians learned to fly on their own expense in Britain. He received his pilot's certificate on 9 December 1915. After this training in Britain he had further training at the Farman Scho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the Roman Republic it became the dominant language in the Italian region and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire. Even after the fall of Western Rome, Latin remained the common language of international communication, science, scholarship and academia in Europe until well into the 18th century, when other regional vernaculars (including its own descendants, the Romance languages) supplanted it in common academic and political usage, and it eventually became a dead language in the modern linguistic definition. Latin is a highly inflected language, with three distinct genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), six or seven noun cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative, and vocative), five declensions, four verb conjuga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Obverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' means the front face of the object and ''reverse'' means the back face. The obverse of a coin is commonly called ''heads'', because it often depicts the head of a prominent person, and the reverse ''tails''. In numismatics, the abbreviation ''obv.'' is used for ''obverse'',David Sear. ''Greek Imperial Coins and Their Values.'' Spink Books, 1982. p. xxxv. while ℞, )(Jonathan Edwards. ''Catalogue of the Greek and Roman Coins in the Numismatic Collection of Yale College, Volume 2.'' Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1880. p. 228. and rev.Allen G. Berman. ''Warman's Coins And Paper Money: Identification and Price Guide.'' Penguin, 2008. are used for reverse. In fields of scholarship outside numismatics, the term ''front'' is more commo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
