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The Birtley Belgians
The Birtley Belgians emigrated from Belgium to Birtley in what is now Gateshead, Tyne & Wear but was then County Durham (Britain) during World War I to create an armaments factory. In the early stages of the War, British authorities realised that the national armaments production would not produce the number and quality needed to fight the German Imperial Army. A 1915 shell shortage was reported in the papers, and the ensuing crisis contributed to bringing down the government of H.H. Asquith. The new government commissioned armament factories throughout Britain, although the challenge of staffing these factories remained high. The British recruited Belgians, known for their excellent armament factories, to man the plant in Birtley. The Great War Despite long-term preparations for war, in 1914, the British army was ill-equipped to mount the extended and protracted war of defense in France. Half of the British army of 400,000 were billeted overseas at various garrisons through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birtley, Tyne And Wear
Birtley is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is situated to the south of Gateshead and is physically linked to Chester-le-Street across the county boundary. Until 1974, Birtley and the adjoining areas of Barley Mow, Vigo and Portobello were part of the old Chester-le-Street Rural District in County Durham. Since 1974, these neighbouring areas have been considered part of 'greater' Birtley. Birtley was a civil parish with a parish council (which also covered the adjoining neighbourhoods) until 1 April 2006, after a local referendum agreed to abolish it. The former parish had a population of 11,377 in 2001. The ward of Birtley in the Gateshead MBC had a population of 8,367 in the 2011 Census. Industry Birtley is the home of the Komatsu Limited, Komatsu Heavy Engineering Company, which operates from the previous premises of Birtley Iron Works (opened in 1827, which became premises of the Caterpillar Company in the 1960s). A 'CarCraft Hy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Munition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapons that create the effect on a target (e.g., bullets and warheads). The purpose of ammunition is to project a force against a selected target to have an effect (usually, but not always, lethal). An example of ammunition is the firearm cartridge, which includes all components required to deliver the weapon effect in a single package. Until the 20th century, black powder was the most common propellant used but has now been replaced in nearly all cases by modern compounds. Ammunition comes in a great range of sizes and types and is often designed to work only in specific weapons systems. However, there are internationally recognized standards for certain ammunition types (e.g., 5.56×45mm NATO) that enable their use across different weapon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charleroi, Belgium
Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.Statistics Belgium; ''Population de droit par commune au 1 janvier 2008'' (excel-file) Population of all municipalities in Belgium, as of 1 January 2008. Retrieved on 19 October 2008. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of with a total population of 522,522 by 1 January 2008, ranking it as the 5th most populous in |
Gilly, Belgium
Gilly (, wa, Djilî) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a municipality of its own before the fusion of the Belgian municipalities in 1977. It houses the base of Fédération des Patros, a youth organisation. During the 1980s and 1990s it was also the home of an international group of Christian missionaries working with Operation Mobilisation Operation Mobilisation is a Christian missionary organisation founded by George Verwer to mobilise young people to live and share the Gospel of Jesus. OM, (Operation Mobilisation) , started in Mexico and had spread to Europe and India by 1963. OM .... References External linksThe Gilly.be site Sub-municipalities of Charleroi Former municipalities of Hainaut (province) {{hainaut-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graham Spicer
Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan Graham, a Scottish clan * Graham baronets Fictional characters * Graham Aker, in the anime ''Gundam 00'' * Project Graham, what a human would look like to survive a car crash Places Canada * Graham, Sudbury District, Ontario * Graham Island, part of the Charlotte Island group in British Columbia * Graham Island (Nunavut), Arctic island in Nunavut United States * Graham, Alabama * Graham, Arizona * Graham, Florida * Graham, Georgia * Graham, Daviess County, Indiana * Graham, Fountain County, Indiana * Graham, Kentucky * Graham, Missouri * Graham, North Carolina * Graham, Oklahoma * Graham, Texas * Graham, Washington Elsewhere * Graham Land, Antarctica * Graham Island (Mediterranean Sea), British name for a submerged volcanic island in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Mines
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 m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artillery Shells
A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Modern usage sometimes includes large solid kinetic projectiles that is properly termed shot. Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used. All explosive- and incendiary-filled projectiles, particularly for mortars, were originally called ''grenades'', derived from the French word for pomegranate, so called because of the similarity of shape and that the multi-seeded fruit resembles the powder-filled, fragmentizing bomb. Words cognate with ''grenade'' are still used for an artillery or mortar projectile in some European languages. Shells are usually large-caliber projectiles fired by artillery, armored fighting vehicles (e.g. tanks, assault guns, and mortar carriers), warships, and autocannons. The shape is ... [...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] |
Poudreries Réunies De Belgique
Poudreries Réunies de Belgique SA (or PRB) was one of Belgium's oldest and largest manufacturers of munitions, once the second-largest Belgium armaments manufacturer. The company indirectly started in 1778 in Wetteren as a gunpowder factory. By its 200th anniversary in 1979 it had 73 factories throughout the world, with the headquarters in Brussels. PRB finally became bankrupt in 1993 after being demilitarised in 1990 with parts sold to the Luchaire Defense SA, part of Giat Industries (now known as AFAIR Société Nouvelle PRB SA) History The history of PRB revolves around its production sites in Belgium. Production was located in 6 sites, Matagne, Clermont, Vivegnis (Wallonia), Mechelen, Kaulille and Balen, with mine related production at Matagne (components), Kaulille (explosives) and Balen (filling). * 1778, Jan-Frans Cooppal established a gunpowder factory at Wetteren. * 1796, Wetteren factory closed by French. * 1815, Wetteren factory restarted after Battle of Waterlo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sillon Industriel
The ''Sillon industriel'' (, "industrial furrow") is the former industrial backbone of Belgium. It runs across the region of Wallonia, passing from Dour, the region of Borinage, in the west, to Verviers in the east, passing along the way through Mons, La Louvière ( ''Centre''-region), Charleroi (''Pays Noir''), Namur, Huy, and Liège. It follows a continuous stretch of valleys of the rivers Haine, Sambre, Meuse and Vesdre, and has an area of roughly 1000 km². The strip is also known as the Sambre and Meuse valley, as those are the main rivers, or the Haine-Sambre-Meuse-Vesdre valley, which includes two smaller rivers. ( French: ''sillon Sambre-et-Meuse'' or ''sillon Haine-Sambre-Meuse-Vesdre''). It is also called the ''Dorsale wallonne'', meaning "Walloon ndustrialbackbone". It is less defined by physical geography, and is more a description of human geography and resources. As heavy industry is no longer the prevailing feature of the Belgian economy, it is now more c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgian Army
The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. Ranks in use by the Belgian Army are listed at Belgian military ranks. History Organisation 1870s According to the Law of 16 August 1873, the army was to consist of: Infantry *14 regiments of line infantry (three active battalions, one reserve and one company in each regiment depot) *3 regiments of Jäger (military), Jäger (three active battalions, one reserve and one company in each regiment depot) *1 regiment of grenadiers (three active battalions, one reserve and one company in each regiment depot) *1 regiment of Carabinier (four active battalions, 2 reserve and 1 depot company of deposit) *2 companies settled *1 discipline body *1 military school for children of servicemen Note: a battalion (864 men) consists of four c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Invasion Of Belgium (1914)
The German invasion of Belgium was a military campaign which began on 4 August 1914. Earlier, on 24 July, the Belgian government had announced that if war came it would uphold its neutrality. The Belgian government mobilised its armed forces on 31 July and a state of heightened alert () was proclaimed in Germany. On 2 August, the German government sent an ultimatum to Belgium, demanding passage through the country and German forces invaded Luxembourg. Two days later, the Belgian government refused the demands and the British government guaranteed military support to Belgium. The German government declared war on Belgium on 4 August; German troops crossed the border and began the Battle of Liège. German military operations in Belgium were intended to bring the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Armies into positions in Belgium from which they could invade France, which, after the fall of Liège on 7 August, led to sieges of Belgian fortresses along the river Meuse at Namur and the surrender of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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