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Sir William Houston, 1st Baronet
General Sir William Houston, 1st Baronet KC (10 August 1766 – 8 April 1842) was a British Army officer and Governor of Gibraltar. Houston joined the army in 1781, and by the start of the French Revolutionary War was a captain. He fought in the Flanders campaign before being promoted to major in 1794. As a lieutenant-colonel he fought at the Capture of Minorca and at the sieges of Alexandria and Cairo. Promoted to colonel in 1802, Houston fought in the Walcheren Expedition of 1809 before being promoted to major-general. Houston initially commanded a brigade in the Peninsular War before becoming the first commander of 7th Division in 1811. He left his command later in the year because of illness, having commanded it at the battles of Sabugal and Fuentes de Oñoro and the siege of Badajoz. Houston saw no more active service in the Napoleonic Wars, with a series of staff positions culminating in him serving as acting Governor of Gibraltar in 1832. He died in 1842. Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carshalton
Carshalton () is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south-southwest of Charing Cross, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton Ponds in the middle of the village. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, Carshalton was in the administrative county of Surrey. Carshalton consists of a number of neighbourhoods. The main focal point, Carshalton Village, is visually scenic and picturesque. At its centre it has two adjoining ponds, which are overlooked by the Grade II listed All Saints Church on the south side and the Victorian Grove Park on the north side. The Grade II listed Honeywood Museum sits on the west side, a few yards from the water. There are a number of other listed buildings, as well as three conservation areas, including one in the village. In addition to Honeywood Museum, there are several other cultural features in Carshalton, including the Cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, it is considered to overlap with the Spanish War of Independence. The war started when the French and Spanish armies invaded and occupied Portugal in 1807 by transiting through Spain, and it escalated in 1808 after Napoleonic France occupied Spain, which had been its ally. Napoleon Bonaparte forced the abdications of Ferdinand VII and his father Charles IV and then installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne and promulgated the Bayonne Constitution. Most Spaniards rejected French rule and fought a bloody war to oust them. The war on the peninsula lasted until the Sixth Coalition defeated Napoleon in 1814, and is regarded as one of the first wars of national liberation. It is also significant for the emergence of larg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Fuentes De Oñoro
In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the British–Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida. A bloody stalemate was not the sort of battle that had been expected to follow André Masséna's expulsion from Portugal. His confidence and moral authority having been much boosted by Torres Vedras, the spring of 1811 found Wellington intending to move over to the offensive, for which policy he had received de facto authorisation from his political masters in London, where talks of major reductions in the size of the army employed in Portugal had been replaced by promises of major reinforcements. Supply difficulties, sickness amongst the troops and want of siege artillery ensured that in the short term no great strokes of strategy could be envisaged, but it was hoped that Almeida, Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz might be all recaptured, thereby opening the wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Sabugal
The Battle of Sabugal was an engagement of the Peninsular War which took place on 3 April 1811 between Anglo-Portuguese forces under Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) and French troops under the command of Marshal André Masséna. It was the last of many skirmishes between Masséna's retreating French forces and those of the Anglo-Portuguese under Wellington, who were pursuing him after the failed 1810 French invasion of Portugal. In poor weather, with heavy rain and fog, Allied forces succeeded in forcing the demoralized French force into retreat. The victory was lauded by the British; Sir Harry Smith, then a junior officer of the 95th Rifles and a participant in the battle, remarked "Oh, you Kings and usurpers should view these scenes and moderate ambition" while Wellesley later referred to the Light Division's action in the battle as "one of the most glorious that British troops were ever engaged in". Background By October 1810, Marshal Massena’s Fren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major General (United Kingdom)
Major general (Maj Gen) is a "two-star" rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. The rank was also briefly used by the Royal Air Force for a year and a half, from its creation to August 1919. In the British Army, a major general is the customary rank for the appointment of division commander. In the Royal Marines, the rank of major general is held by the Commandant General. A Major General is senior to a Brigadier but subordinate to lieutenant general. The rank is OF-7 on the NATO rank scale, equivalent to a rear admiral in the Royal Navy or an air vice-marshal in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. The rank insignia is the star (or 'pip') of the Order of the Bath, over a crossed sword and baton. In terms of orthography, compound ranks were invariably hyphenated, prior to about 1980. Nowadays the rank is almost equally invariably non-hyphenated. When written as a title, especially before a person's name, both words of the rank are alw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colonel (United Kingdom)
Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level. The insignia is two diamond-shaped pips (properly called "Bath Stars") below a crown. The crown has varied in the past with different monarchs; Elizabeth II's reign used St Edward's Crown. The rank is equivalent to captain in the Royal Navy and group captain in the Royal Air Force. Etymology The rank of colonel was popularized by the tercios that were employed in the Spanish Army during the 16th and 17th centuries. General Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba divided his troops in to ''coronelías'' (meaning "column of soldiers" from the Latin, ''columnella'' or "small column"). These units were led by a ''coronel''. This command structure and its titles were soon adopted as ''colonello'' in early modern Italian and in Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lieutenant Colonel (British Army And Royal Marines)
Lieutenant colonel (Lt Col), is a rank in the British Army and Royal Marines which is also used in many Commonwealth countries. The rank is superior to major, and subordinate to colonel. The comparable Royal Navy rank is commander, and the comparable rank in the Royal Air Force and many Commonwealth air forces is wing commander. The rank insignia in the British Army and Royal Marines, as well as many Commonwealth countries, is a crown above a four-pointed "Bath" star, also colloquially referred to as a "pip". The crown has varied in the past with different monarchs; the current one being the Crown of St Edward. Most other Commonwealth countries use the same insignia, or with the state emblem replacing the crown. In the modern British Armed forces, the established commander of a regiment or battalion is a lieutenant colonel. From 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force maintained the rank of lieutenant colonel. It was superseded by the rank of wing commander on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major (British Army And Royal Marines)
Major (Maj) is a military rank which is used by both the British Army and Royal Marines. The rank is superior to captain and subordinate to lieutenant colonel. The insignia for a major is a crown. The equivalent rank in the Royal Navy is lieutenant commander, and squadron leader in the Royal Air Force. History By the time of the Napoleonic wars, an infantry battalion usually had two majors, designated the "senior major" and the "junior major". The senior major effectively acted as second-in-command and the majors often commanded detachments of two or more companies split from the main body. The second-in-command of a battalion or regiment is still a major. File:British-Army-Maj(1856-1867)-Collar Insignia.svg, 1856 to 1867 major's collar rank insignia File:British-Army-Maj(1867-1880)-Collar Insignia.svg, 1867 to 1880 major's collar rank insignia File:British&Empire-Army-Maj(1881-1902).svg, 1881 to 1902 major's shoulder rank insignia During World War I, majors wore the follow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captain (British Army And Royal Marines)
Captain (Capt) is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines and in both services it ranks above lieutenant and below major with a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force. The rank of captain in the Royal Navy is considerably more senior (equivalent to the Army/RM rank of colonel) and the two ranks should not be confused. In the 21st-century British Army, captains are often appointed to be second-in-command (2IC) of a company or equivalent sized unit of up to 120 soldiers. History A rank of second captain existed in the Ordnance at the time of the Battle of Waterloo. From 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force maintained the junior officer rank of captain. RAF captains had a rank insignia based on the two bands of a naval lieutenant with the addition of an eagle and crown above the bands. It was superseded by the rank of flight lieutenant on the fol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Revolutionary War
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain, Habsburg monarchy, Austria, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia, Russian Empire, Russia, and several other monarchies. They are divided in two periods: the War of the First Coalition (1792–97) and the War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802). Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension. After a decade of constant warfare and aggressive diplomacy, France had conquered territories in the Italian Peninsula, the Low Countries and the Rhineland in Europe and abandoned Louisiana (New France), Louisiana in North America. French success in these conflicts ensured the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe. As early as 1791, the other monarchies of Europe looked with ou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Governor Of Gibraltar
The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ''de facto'' head of state. They are responsible for formally appointing the chief minister of Gibraltar, along with other members of the government of Gibraltar after a general election. The governor serves as commander-in-chief of Gibraltar's military forces and has sole responsibility for defence and security. Although recent appointments have all been former military personnel, most being former Royal Navy or Royal Marines flag officers, Sir James Dutton resigned from the role in 2015, complaining that it was "more representational and ceremonial than I had expected". The governor has his own flag in Gibraltar, the Union Flag defaced with the territory's coat of arms. However, at the governor's official residence ('' The Convent'') ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas, and 28,330 volunteer reserve personnel. The modern British Army traces back to 1707, with antecedents in the English Army and Scots Army that were created during the Restoration in 1660. The term ''British Army'' was adopted in 1707 after the Acts of Union between England and Scotland. Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the monarch as their commander-in-chief, but the Bill of Rights of 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for the Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army. Therefore, Parliament approves the army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years. The army is administered by the Ministry of Defence and commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. The Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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