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North Head, New Zealand
North Head (; officially Maungauika and sometimes referred to as Maungauika / North Head) is a volcano and Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountain) forming a headland at the east end of the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, in the suburb of Devonport. Known for its sweeping views over the harbour and the Hauraki Gulf, since 1885 the head was mainly used by the military as a coastal defence installation, which left a network of accessible old bunkers and tunnels as its legacy, forming part of the attraction. The site was protected as part of Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park in 1972 and listed as a Category I historic place in 2001. As part of a 2014 Treaty of Waitangi claim settlement the volcanic cone was officially named Maungauika and the reserve unofficially renamed Maungauika / North Head Historic Reserve. Etymology Maungauika in the Māori language means "The Mountain of Uika", referring to a Tāmaki Māori ancestor thought to have lived here 800 years ago. History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rangitoto Island
Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand. The wide island is a symmetrical shield volcano cone, reaching a height of . Rangitoto is the youngest and largest of the approximately 50 volcanoes of the Auckland volcanic field, with its present form related to an eruption about 600 years ago and covering an area of . It is separated from the mainland of Auckland's North Shore by the Rangitoto Channel. Since World War II, it has been linked by a causeway to the much older, non-volcanic Motutapu Island. is Māori for 'Bloody Sky',What happened to local Maori? (from the Rangitoto page on the GNS Science website) with the name coming from the full phrase ("The days of the bleeding of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takapuna
Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it was the seat of the North Shore City Council before amalgamation into Auckland Council in 2010 and contains substantial shopping and entertainment areas, acting as a CBD for the North Shore. History The Māori place name Takapuna originally referred to a freshwater spring that flowed from the base of North Head into a swamp behind Cheltenham Beach. In 1841 the wife of Eruera Maihi Patuone sold 9500 acres of Auckland's North Shore to the Crown. Referred to as Takapuna Parish, the North Shore was surveyed and subdivided in 1844. In 1851 Governor Grey gifted back to Patuone 110 acres between the inlet beside Barry's Point Road and Takapuna Beach to use until his death (1872). This area included a Māori settlement known as Waiwhararik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Field Gun
A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artillery), as opposed to guns installed in a fort ( garrison artillery or coastal artillery), or to siege cannons and mortars which are too large to be moved quickly, and would be used only in a prolonged siege. Perhaps the most famous use of the field gun in terms of advanced tactics was Napoleon Bonaparte's use of very large wheels on the guns that allowed them to be moved quickly even during a battle. By moving the guns from point-to-point during a battle, enemy formations could be broken up to be handled by the infantry or cavalry wherever they were massing, dramatically increasing the overall effectiveness of the attack. World War I As the evolution of artillery continued, almost all guns of any size became capable of being moved at so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bastion Point
Takaparawhau / Bastion Point is a coastal piece of land in Ōrākei, Auckland, New Zealand, overlooking the Waitematā Harbour. The area is significant in New Zealand history as the site of protests in the late 1970s by Māori against forced land alienation by Pākehā (European settlers).Police cordon At Bastion Point (3rd of 3) (from Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Accessed 31 July 2008.) Takaparawhau is now the site of the private Ōrākei , the public Michael Joseph Savage Memorial, and privately-owned reserve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minefield
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automatically by way of pressure when a target steps on it or drives over it, although other detonation mechanisms are also sometimes used. A land mine may cause damage by direct blast effect, by fragments that are thrown by the blast, or by both. Landmines are typically laid throughout an area, creating a ''minefield'' which is dangerous to cross. The use of land mines is controversial because of their potential as indiscriminate weapons. They can remain dangerous many years after a conflict has ended, harming civilians and the economy. Seventy-eight countries are contaminated with land mines and 15,000–20,000 people are killed every year while many more are injured. Approximately 80% of land mine casualties are civilians, with children as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Searchlight
A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction. It is usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about. Military use The first use of searchlights using carbon arc technology occurred during the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The Royal Navy used searchlights in 1882 to dazzle and prevent Egyptian forces from manning artillery batteries at Alexandria. Later that same year, the French and British forces landed troops under searchlights. By 1907 the value of searchlights had become widely recognized. One recent use was to assist attacks by torpedo boats by dazzling gun crews on the ships being attacked. Other uses included detecting enemy ships at greater distances, as signaling devices, and to assist landing parties. Searchlights were also used by battles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disappearing Gun
A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate backwards and down behind a parapet, or into a pit protected by a wall, after it was fired; a small number were simply barbette mounts on a retractable platform. Either way, retraction lowered the gun from view and direct fire by the enemy while it was being reloaded. It also made reloading easier, since it lowered the breech to a level just above the loading platform, and shells could be rolled right up to the open breech for loading and ramming. Other benefits over non-disappearing types were a higher rate of repetitive fire and less fatigue for the gun crew. Some disappearing carriages were complicated mechanisms, protection from aircraft observation and attack was difficult, and almost all restricted the elevation of the gun. With a few ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong
William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, (26 November 1810 – 27 December 1900) was an English engineer and industrialist who founded the Armstrong Whitworth manufacturing concern on Tyneside. He was also an eminent scientist, inventor and philanthropist. In collaboration with the architect Richard Norman Shaw, he built Cragside in Northumberland, the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity. He is regarded as the inventor of modern artillery. Armstrong was knighted in 1859 after giving his gun patents to the government. In 1887, in Queen Victoria's golden jubilee year, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Armstrong of Cragside. Early life Armstrong was born in Newcastle upon Tyne at 9 Pleasant Row, Shieldfield, about a mile from the city centre. Although the house in which he was born no longer exists, an inscribed granite tablet marks the site where it stood. At that time the area, next to thPandon Dene was rural. His father, also called William, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Observation Post
An observation post (commonly abbreviated OP), temporary or fixed, is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements, to warn of approaching soldiers (such as in trench warfare), or to direct fire. In strict military terminology, an observation post is ''any'' preselected position from which observations are to be made - this may include very temporary installations such as a vehicle parked as a roadside checkpoint, or even an airborne aircraft. (from a DoD news briefing. Accessed 2008-06-21.) Operation When selecting a (temporary) observation post, trained troops are to avoid ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panjdeh Incident
The Panjdeh Incident (known in Russian historiography as the Battle of Kushka) was an armed engagement between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the Russian Empire in 1885 that led to a diplomatic crisis between the British Empire and the Russian Empire regarding the Russian expansion south-eastwards towards the Emirate of Afghanistan and the British Raj (India). After nearly completing the Russian conquest of Central Asia ( Russian Turkestan), the Russians captured an Afghan border fort, threatening British interests in the area. Seeing this as a threat to India, Britain prepared for war but both sides backed down and the matter was settled diplomatically. The incident halted further Russian expansion in Asia, except for the Pamir Mountains, and resulted in the definition of the north-western border of Afghanistan. Background After the Battle of Geok Tepe in January 1881 and the annexation of Merv in March 1884, Russia held most of what is now Turkmenistan. To the south of Merv, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand Army
, image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = , type = Army , role = Land warfare , website = https://www.nzdf.mil.nz/army/ , size = * 4,519 active personnel * 2,065 reserve , command_structure = , garrison = Wellington , garrison_label = , nickname = , patron = , motto = , colours = Red and black , colors_label = , march = , mascot = , equipment = List of equipment of the New Zealand Army , equipment_label = , battles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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