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Operation Ambassador
Operation Ambassador was an operation carried out by British Commandos on 14–15 July 1940 within the context of the Second World War. It was the second raid by the newly formed British Commandos and was focused upon the German-occupied Channel island of Guernsey. The raiding party consisted of 40 men from the newly formed No. 3 Commando under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Durnford-Slater,Some sources state that Durnford-Slater was a major at the time, however, the discrepancy seems to stem from the fact that his rank of lieutenant colonel was a brevet rank, while he held an acting rank of major and substantive rank of captain. Durnford-Slater 2002, p. ix. and 100 men of No.11 Independent Company under Major Ronnie Tod.There is a minor discrepancy in the sources. Most sources state 140 men, but Chappell states that this number was actually 139 men in total, with 40 men from No. 3 Commando and presumably only 99 men from No. 11 Ind Coy. Chappell 1996, p. 5. Due to a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, massa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Niven
James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles included Squadron Leader Peter Carter in '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946), Phileas Fogg in '' Around the World in 80 Days'' (1956), Sir Charles Lytton ("the Phantom") in '' The Pink Panther'' (1963), and James Bond in '' Casino Royale'' (1967). Born in London, Niven attended Heatherdown Preparatory School and Stowe School before gaining a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. After Sandhurst, he joined the British Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry. Upon developing an interest in acting, he found a role as an extra in the British film ''There Goes the Bride'' (1932). Bored with the peacetime army, he resigned his commission in 1933, relocated to New York, then travelled to Hol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sark
Sark (french: link=no, Sercq, ; Sercquiais: or ) is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population of about 500. Sark (including the nearby island of Brecqhou) has an area of . Little Sark is a peninsula joined by a natural but high and very narrow isthmus to the rest of Sark Island. Sark is one of the few remaining places in the world where cars are banned from roads and only tractors, bicycles and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed. In 2011, Sark was designated as a Dark Sky Community and the first Dark Sky Island in the world. Geography and geology Sark consists of two main parts, Greater Sark, located at about , and Little Sark to the south. They are connected by a narrow isthmus called La Coupée which is long and has a drop of on each side. Protective ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerbourg Point
Jerbourg Point or the Jerbourg Peninsula is the southeastern point of the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy, lying within St Martin Parish. It marks the end of the east coast cliffs and beginning of the south coast cliffs. It provides scenic views of the Little Russel and the various islands. History People have lived on this point since Neolithic times and further during the Bronze Age and Medieval age. It thus has a long history of habitation and defence system establishment, in the form of mounds and ditches, given its strategic location. Along the narrowest part of Jerbourg promontory's isthmus, there are earthworks fashioned as a defensible camp or fort. According to Gustave Jules Dupont in ''Histoire du Cotentin et de ses îles'' (1870), "they begin on the west side at the summit of the cliff at the head of the path from Petit Port... " Of the three embankments, the outer ones are the deepest, measuring approximately . The embankm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and numerous other air forces before, during, and after the Second World War. Initially known as the ''Avro 652A'', the Anson was developed during the mid-1930s from the earlier Avro 652 airliner in response to a request for tenders issued by the British Air Ministry for a maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Having suitably impressed the Ministry, a single prototype was ordered, which conducted its maiden flight on 24 March 1935. Following an evaluation in which the Type 652A bettered the competing de Havilland DH.89, it was selected as the winner, leading to Air Ministry Specification 18/35 being written around the type and an initial order for 174 aircraft being ordered in July 1935. The Type 652A was promptly named after British ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
S-class Destroyer (1917)
The S class (initially known as the Modified ''Trenchant'' classMarch, ''op. cit.'' p.215.) was a class of 67 destroyers ordered for the Royal Navy in 1917 under the 11th and 12th Emergency War Programmes. They saw active service in the last months of the First World War and in the Russian and Irish Civil Wars during the early 1920s. Most were relegated to the reserve by the mid-1920s and subsequently scrapped under the terms of the London Naval Treaty. Eleven survivors saw much action during the Second World War. Background In early 1917, the First World War had been going on for two and a half years. Despite the disappointing outcome of the Battle of Jutland the previous year, the British Grand Fleet, consisting of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers and based in northern Scotland, was successfully confining the German surface navy to the German Bight, while enforcing a blockade of German maritime trade with the wider world. In southern North Sea, the Harwich Force ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the name of the contingent of the British Army sent to France in 1939 after Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany on 3 September, beginning the Second World War. The BEF existed from 2 September 1939 when the BEF GHQ was formed until 31 May 1940, when GHQ closed down and its troops reverted to the command of Home Forces. During the 1930s, the British government had planned to deter war by abolishing the Ten Year Rule and rearming from the very low level of readiness of the early 1930s. The bulk of the extra money went to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force but plans were made to re-equip a small number of Army and Territorial Army divisions for service overseas. General Lord Gort was appointed to the command of the BEF on 3 September 1939 and the BEF began moving to France on 4 September 1939. The BEF assembled along the Belgian–French border. The BEF took their post to the left of the French First Army under the co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thompson Sub Machine Gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United States Army Brigadier general John T. Thompson in 1918. It was originally designed to break the stalemate of trench warfare of World War I, but was not finished until after the war ended. The Thompson saw early use by the United States Marine Corps during the Banana Wars, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Irish Republican Army, the Republic of China, and the FBI (following the Kansas City Massacre). The weapon was also sold to the general public. Because it could be obtained so easily, the Thompson became notorious during the Prohibition era as the signature weapon of various organized crime syndicates in the United States in the 1920s. It was a common sight in the media at the time, and was used by both law enforcement off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bren Light Machine Gun
The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used in the Korean War and saw service throughout the latter half of the 20th century, including the 1982 Falklands War. Although fitted with a bipod, it could also be mounted on a tripod or be vehicle-mounted. The Bren gun was a licensed version of the Czechoslovak ZGB 33 light machine gun which, in turn, was a modified version of the ZB vz. 26, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s. The later Bren gun featured a distinctive top-mounted curved box magazine, conical flash hider, and quick change barrel. The name ''Bren'' was derived from Brno, the Czechoslovak city in Moravia, where the Zb vz. 26 was designed (in the Zbrojovka Brno Factory) and Enfield, site of the British Royal Small Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a city * Royal, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Royal, Nebraska, a village * Royal, Franklin County, North Carolina, an unincorporated area * Royal, Utah, a ghost town * Royal, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Royal Gorge, on the Arkansas River in Colorado * Royal Township (other) Elsewhere * Mount Royal, a hill in Montreal, Canada * Royal Canal, Dublin, Ireland * Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Royal'' (Jesse Royal album), a 2021 reggae album * ''The Royal'', a British medical drama television series * ''The Royal Magazine'', a monthly British literary magazine published between 1898 and 1939 * ''Royal'' (Indian magazine), a men's lifestyle bimonthly * Royal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Peter Port
St. Peter Port (french: Saint-Pierre Port) is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2019 was 18,958. St. Peter Port is a small town (commonly referred to by locals as just "town") consisting mostly of steep narrow streets and steps on the overlooking slopes. It is known that a trading post/town existed here before Roman times with a pre-Christian name which has not survived. The parish covers an area of 6.5 km2. The postal code for addresses in the parish starts with GY1. People from St. Peter Port, were nicknamed "les Villais" (the townspeople) or "cllichards" in Guernésiais. Geography St. Peter Port is on the east coast of Guernsey overlooking Herm and tiny Jethou, a further channel separates Sark and surrounding islets such as Brecqhou; exceptionally Normandy's long Cotentin Peninsula and, to the south-east, Jersey are visibl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
