|
11th (East Africa) Division
The 11th (East Africa) Infantry Division was a British infantry division consisting of troops from the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces which was formed in February 1943 during World War II. Consisting of East African troops, the division fought in the Burma campaign. Formation In 1943, the 11th (East Africa) Division was formed primarily of troops from British East Africa. The division should not be confused with the earlier 1st (African) Division, 11th (African) Division which was composed of brigades both from British East Africa and from Nigeria in British West Africa, fought in the East African Campaign (World War II), East African Campaign and was disbanded in late 1941. Combat history The Division was composed of troops from Kenya, Uganda, Nyasaland, Tanganyika Territory, Tanganyika, Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and from Belgian Congo. The 11th (East Africa) Division fought with the Fourteenth Army (United Kingdom), Fourteenth Army in Burma during the Burma Cam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Divisional Insignia Of The British Army
Formation signs at the division level were first introduced in the British Army in the First World War. They were intended (initially) as a security measure to avoid displaying the division's designation in the clear. They were used on vehicles, sign posts and notice boards and were increasingly, but not universally, worn on uniform as the War progressed. Discontinued by the regular army after 1918, only a few Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial divisions continued to wear them before 1939. Reintroduced officially in late 1940 in the Second World War, divisional formation signs were much more prevalent on uniforms and were taken up by many other formations, independent brigades, Higher Formation Insignia of the British Army, corps, armies, overseas and home commands, military districts and lines of communication areas. The sign could be based on many things, geometry (simple or more complex), heraldry, regional or historical associations, a pun, the role of the division or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Nyasaland
Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After the Federation was dissolved, Nyasaland became independent from Britain on 6 July 1964 and was renamed Malawi. Nyasaland's history was marked by the massive loss of African communal lands in the early colonial period. In January 1915, the Reverend John Chilembwe staged Chilembwe uprising, an attempted rebellion to protest against colonial forced labour and discrimination against Africans, among other grievances. Although the rebellion was unsuccessful, colonial authorities responded by reassessing some of their policies. Throughout the 1930s, a growing class of educated African elite, many educated in the United Kingdom, became increasingly politically active and vocal about gaining independence. They established associations and, after 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
King's African Rifles
The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces regiment raised from Britain's East African colonies in 1902. It primarily carried out internal security duties within these colonies along with military service elsewhere during the world wars and other conflicts, such as the Malayan Emergency and the Mau Mau uprising. The regiment's enlisted soldiers were drawn from the native Africans, while most officers were seconded from the British Army. During the 1960s, as part of the decolonisation of Africa, more African officers were commissioned into the regiment before it was gradually disbanded. KAR battalions would go on to form the core of newly established armed forces throughout East Africa. Uniforms Until independence, the parade uniform of the KAR comprised khaki drill, with tall fezzes and cummerbunds. The latter items were normally red, although there were some battalion distinctions with Nyasaland units, for example, wearing black fezzes. Prio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
William Dimoline
Major General William Alfred Dimoline, (6 July 1897 – 24 November 1965) was a senior British Army officer who saw service during the First and Second World Wars. His nickname was "Dimmy." Early career Dimoline was educated at Dean Close School, Cheltenham, where he was a member of the Officer Training Corps. Following the outbreak of the First World War, he was commissioned into the King's Regiment (Liverpool) (Territorial Force) as a second lieutenant in 1914. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1915, seconded to the Divisional Artillery Signals on 15 March 1917, and promoted to captain. In 1920 he was given a backdated regular army commission in the East Surrey Regiment from July 1916, as a second lieutenant, having transferred to the regiment as a lieutenant in 1918. He was awarded the Military Cross in January 1918. Between the world wars Dimoline transferred to the Royal Signal Corps. He commanded a Divisional Signal Company as an acting captain for a period up to 1922. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Robert Mansergh
General Sir Eric Carden Robert Mansergh, (12 May 1900 – 8 November 1970) was a senior British Army officer during and after the Second World War. Military career Robert Mansergh was born in Cape Colony and educated at the Rondebosch Boys' High School in Cape Town and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.Who Was Who, 1951–1970,pg 748 He was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery in 1920. He served with the British Military Mission to Iraq between 1931 and 1935, being awarded the Military Cross in 1932. During the Second World War, Mansergh served with the Royal Artillery in Eritrea, Abyssinia, the Western Desert of Libya, the Middle East, Persia, Iraq, Arakan, Assam and Burma. Having been promoted acting major general in 1944, he commanding the 11th (East Africa) Division and the 5th Indian Infantry Division. Promoted acting lieutenant general in 1946, Mansergh commanded the XV Indian Corps and was then appointed Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces in the Netherlan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Charles Christopher Fowkes
Major-General Charles Christopher Fowkes (4 December 1894 – 1 July 1966) was an officer in the British Army during the Second World War. His nickname was "Fluffy." Military career Fowkes was born in Lewisham, Kent, England, in 1894. He was educated at Dulwich College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned in the South Wales Borderers, at the start of the First World War. He won the Military Cross in 1918 and was wounded four times throughout the war. The citation for his MC, appearing in ''The London Gazette'' in September 1918, reads as follows: He then served in North Russia during the Russian Civil War. Fowkes was highly critical of fascism; during the 1930s he criticised both Hitler's Nazi government and Mussolini's Fascist regime in Italy.Mead, Richard (2007). Churchill's Lions: a biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II. Stroud (UK) Brigadier Fowkes participated in the East African Campaign commanding 22nd (East Africa) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Battle Of Meiktila And Mandalay
The concurrent Battle of Meiktila and Battle of Mandalay were decisive engagements near the end of the Burma campaign during World War II. Collectively, they are sometimes referred to as the Battle of Central Burma. Despite logistical difficulties, the Allies were able to deploy large armoured and mechanised forces in Central Burma, and also possessed air supremacy. Most of the Japanese forces in Burma were destroyed during the battles, allowing the Allies to later recapture the capital, Yangon, Rangoon, and reoccupy most of the country with little organised opposition. Background Japanese situation In 1944, the Japanese had sustained several defeats in the mountainous frontier regions of Burma and India. In particular, at the Battle of Imphal and Battle of Kohima, the Japanese Fifteenth Army had suffered disastrous losses, mainly resulting from disease and starvation. The heavy Japanese defeat prompted them to make sweeping changes among their commanders and senior staff office ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Chindwin River
The Chindwin River (), also known as the Ningthi River (), is a river in Myanmar and is the largest tributary of the Irrawaddy River. Sources The Chindwin originates in the broad Hukawng Valley of Kachin State of Burma, roughly , where the Tanai, the Tabye, the Tawan, and the Taron (also known as Turong or Towang) rivers meet. The headwaters of the Tanai are at on the Shwedaunggyi peak of the Kumon range, north of Mogaung. It flows due north until it reaches the Hukawng Valley. In 2004, the government established the world's largest tiger preserve in the Hukawng Valley, the Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, with an area of approximately ; later, the Sanctuary was extended to , making it the largest protected area in mainland Southeast Asia. The river then turns to the west and flows through the middle of the plain, joined by the Tabye, the Tawan, and the Taron rivers from the right bank. These rivers drain the mountain ranges to the north and northeast of the Hukawng valley. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Battle Of Imphal
The Battle of Imphal () took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in Northeast India from March until July 1944. Empire of Japan, Japanese armies attempted to destroy the Allied forces at Imphal and invade British Raj, India, but were driven back into Burma with heavy losses. Together with the simultaneous Battle of Kohima on the road by which the encircled Allied forces at Imphal were relieved, the battle was the turning point of the Burma campaign, part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. The Japanese defeat at Battle of Kohima, Kohima and Imphal was the largest up until that time,Bond, Tachikawa p. 122 with many of the Japanese deaths resulting from starvation, disease and exhaustion suffered during their retreat. According to voting in a contest run by the British National Army Museum, the Battle of Imphal was bestowed as Britain's Greatest Battle in 2013. Situation Background In March 1943, the Japanese command i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has a population of about 55 million. It is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (formerly Rangoon). Early civilisations in the area included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Myanmar and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Myanmar. In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley, and following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language and culture and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell to Mongol invas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colonization of the Congo Basin, Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century. Leopold II of the Belgians, King Leopold II of the Belgians attempted to persuade the Federal Government of Belgium, Belgian government to support colonial expansion around the then-largely unexploited Congo Basin. Their ambivalence resulted in Leopold establishing a colony himself. With support from a number of Berlin Conference, Western countries, Leopold achieved international recognition of the Congo Free State in 1885. By the turn of the century, the violence used by Free State officials against indigenous Congolese and a ruthless system of economic exploitation led to intense diplomatic pressure on Belgium to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
