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Fort Napoleon, Ostend
Fort Napoleon in Ostend is a polygonal fort built in the Napoleonic era. It has recently been restored and is open to the public. France had occupied the Austrian Netherlands (a territory roughly corresponding to the borders of modern Belgium) during 1792 and 1793 in the Flanders Campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars. During the War of the Fifth Coalition, Napoleon Bonaparte expected a British assault from the sea on the port of Ostend, and the fort was constructed in the sand dunes close to the mouth of the harbour in 1811. The British attack never materialised and the fort was used as for troop accommodation and as an arsenal until the end of the French occupation in 1814 when it was abandoned. During World War I, the fort was used as accommodation for a German headquarters, and decorated with murals by German soldier Heinrich Otto Pieper. The heavy coastal artillery battery "Hindenburg" was stationed nearby; it had been transferred there from Fort Heppen, Wilhelmshaven i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Flanders
) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map = Provincie West-Vlaanderen in Belgium.svg , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Region , subdivision_name1 = , seat_type = Capital , seat = Bruges , leader_title = Governor , leader_name = Carl Decaluwé , area_total_km2 = 3197 , area_footnotes = , population_footnotes = , population_total = 1195796 , population_as_of = 1 January 2019 , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec2 = HDI (2019) , blank_info_sec2 = 0.935 · 5th of 11 , website = West Flanders ( nl, West-Vlaanderen ; vls, West Vlo ... [...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 Ferdin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
