Battle of Abu Hamed

The Battle of Abu Hamed occurred on 7 August 1897 between a flying column of Anglo-Egyptian soldiers under Major-General Sir Archibald Hunter and a garrison of Mahdist rebels led by Mohammed Zain. The battle was a victory for the Anglo-Egyptian forces, and secured for the British the strategically vital town of Abu Hamed, which was the terminus for trade and transportation across the Nubian Desert.
Abu Hamed was of critical importance to Lord Herbert Horatio Kitchener, leader of the Anglo-Egyptian campaign that commenced in March 1896 with the objective of destroying the Mahdist state that had occupied much of Sudan since the initial Mahdist rebellion broke out in 1881. The town was to be the railhead for Lord Kitchener’s supply railway through the vast and inhospitable Nubian Desert, allowing expeditionary forces to bypass a great stretch of the Nile on their way to Omdurman, the capital of Mahdist Sudan. However, the town was occupied by Mahdist forces, and construction of the desert railway could not safely proceed without their removal.
Accordingly, Kitchener ordered a flying column, led by Major-General Sir Archibald Hunter and composed of around three-thousand Egyptian soldiers, to march from Merowe to Abu Hamed with all possible speed. The flying column departed Merawi on 29 July 1897, and, marching north-east along the Nile for eight days, arrived at the town as dawn broke on August 7. Forming his battalions in a broad semi-circle that pitted Abu Hamed’s defenders against the river, Major-General Hunter ordered his troops to advance at approximately six-thirty that morning. In the action that followed, the outnumbered Mahdist riflemen were driven from their defensive positions through the town, while a small contingent of Mahdist cavalry fled south without engaging to report the loss. By seven-thirty, the battle was over, and Major-General Hunter ordered the news be delivered to Lord Kitchener.
Major-General Hunter's column lost eighty killed and wounded, while the quantity of Mahdist casualties is estimated to be between 250 and 850. The Mahdist commander, Mohammed Zain, was captured in the fighting. Soon after news of the victory spread, work on the desert railway was resumed and Abu Hamed reached on October 31, where Major-General Hunter and his column had remained. With the completion of the railway across the Nubian Desert, Kitchener's general advance into the heartland of Mahdist Sudan was guaranteed, and the greatest issue of Kitchener's campaign, supply, resolved.
Origins.
Background.
The Mahdist Rebellion broke out in 1881 when a religious leader, the self-proclaimed Mahdi, declared a jihad against the Egyptian government, which had been subject to increasingBritish control since the construction of the Suez Canal around a decade earlier. Leveraging widespread resentment towards European influence in Egypt and preaching renewal of the Islamic faith, the Mahdi began to accumulate followers and soon presented a serious threat to the government. Early Egyptian-led efforts to suppress the movement failed spectacularly, and their humiliating defeat at the hands of the outnumbered, outgunned, and undersupplied Mahdist force only increased their leader's fame and reputation.
By the time the British intervened directly in 1883, the Mahdi had set about conquering much of Sudan, at the time controlled by Egypt, and had won several critical victories that provided him great wealth and modern weaponry. Colonel William Hicks, a British officer, was appointed commander of eight thousand Egyptian soldiers and an extensive supply train, and was given the simple objective of crushing the insurrection. Colonel Hicks and nearly every man in his army was killed by an overwhelming Mahdist force at the Battle of El Obeid. After this defeat, and facing immense financial difficulties in Egypt, the British government decided not to pursue further offensive action and instead selected General Charles George Gordon to lead the evacuation effort, as thousands of civilians and pounds of equipment were to be withdrawn from outposts throughout Sudan.
Gordon, operating out of Khartoum, helped extricate many loyal civilians who remained in Sudan, but refused ultimately to abandon the city. Contrary to his orders, he retained a small force in Khartoum and determined to give battle with the Mahdi before relinquishing control. Accordingly, Mahdist forces besieged Khartoum in March 1884, isolating the city from the outside world and placing a dire timer upon Gordon to surrender. After much delay, the British government reluctantly dispatched a relief expedition under Sir Garnet Wolseley that would rapidly follow the Nile to Khartoum. Wolseley's column arrived on 28 January 1885, two days after Khartoum had fallen and General Charles Gordon's head delivered to the Mahdi.
The Mahdi died less than six months later, but not before establishing his Islamic state in Sudan and relocating its capital to Omdurman. A subordinate known as the Khalifa succeeded him after a violent power struggle, and prevented the collapse of the state following the Mahdi's death through ruthless and effective administration.
Kitchener's Expedition.
The British and Egyptian governments would not again attempt major intervention until 1896, whereupon the government in Britain was impelled to act by several factors. The Egyptian economy had improved since British administrators commandeered the country's finances. Public sentiment towards Mahdist Sudan had been stoked by several embellished accounts of the Mahdists' savagery and the desire to avenge General Charles Gordon. France, Britain's longtime competitor in the Scramble for Africa, was beginning to encroach upon the Nile river valley, alongside the Belgians. Finally, it was politically advantageous in Europe for Britain to distract the Khalifa from the Italians in Eritrea, who had been made vulnerable by a recent defeat at the hands of Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia. The government chose Herbert Horatio Kitchener to lead the new expedition, outfitting him with around ten-thousand soldiers and Britain's latest technology: Maxim guns, heavy artillery, and a small fleet of gunboats.
Kitchener's expedition embarked in March 1896, leaving Egypt behind and entering Mahdist Sudan later that month. His column advanced along the Nile, using the river for resupply and communication, while laying track around the unnavigable sections. However, the expedition could not proceed in this fashion all the way to Omdurman. The river travels far south to Ed Debba before bending steeply to the north-east up to Abu Hamed, where it pivots once more to the south and winds on past Khartoum. The section of the river from Merowe to Abu Hamed is made unnavigable by continuous cataracts, and the ground along its banks is unsuitable for railroads. These conditions did not render the approach impossible, only difficult, dangerous, and slow. Kitchener sought an alternative route, and settled on one widely thought to be infeasible: he determined to build a railway across the vast, dry, and scorching Nubian Desert that would connect Wady Halfa to Abu Hamed, a small town then under Mahdist control. Premier engineers in Britain deemed the railroad an impossibility for several reasons, foremost of which being the speculated lack of available water sources along 120 miles of the proposed 230 mile line. Kitchener disregarded this impediment and all others, ordering the well-known Lieutenant Percy Girouard to make preparations to begin construction. The capable engineer conducted extensive surveys of the proposed line, and found that, although the terrain was certainly difficult, and water fearfully sparse, the line was possible. The decision was made in December 1896, and work on the railway officially begun 1 January 1897.
Despite the immense difficulties involved in the development of such a railway, steady progress was made, and by 23 July 1897 the track stretched 103 miles into the desert. Here, however, progress was halted, for fear of coming within range of Mahdist raids from Abu Hamed. Work on the railway could not resume until the town had been taken; the entire campaign was stalled, awaiting the completion of the line to begin the general advance. As well, every delay offered greater chances for disaster; if the Mahdists were alerted to Kitchener's plans, the whole operation would be jeopardized and the catastrophic fate of General Gordon's expedition potentially repeated. In May a scouting mission under Captain Le Gallais had reconnoitered the area surrounding Abu Hamed, reporting that the town was weakly defended and the Mahdist presence throughout the area fairly slim, though the Khalifa's forces had been moving recently and no one could be sure reinforcements were not on the way. Kitchener had to act fast; in late July he informed the respected and accomplished Major-General Sir Archibald Hunter that he had been selected to lead the assault.
Major-General Hunter's Flying Column.
The plan was for Major-General Hunter and a flying column of crack troops to race with all possible speed from Merowe north-east to Abu Hamed, where they would surprise the numerically inferior Mahdist garrison and win control of the town. Speed was essential, for it was certain Hunter's column would be spotted by Mahdist scouts during the journey. If these scouts managed to send word and reinforce the town prior to Hunter's arrival, his column might find itself outmatched and forced to retreat.
The troops selected for the operation were among the best soldiers in Kitchener's army: the 3rd Egyptian, 9th Sudanese, 10th Sudanese, and 11th Sudanese Battalions, composing Lieutenant Hector Archibald MacDonald's brigade. Additionally, Hunter's column included an artillery battery, containing six Krupp twelve-pounders, two Maxim guns, and a pair of older British machine guns, a Gardner and a Nordenfelt. Finally, a single troop of cavalry was attached to the column along with a substantial supply of camels for transport and supply. The column had rations for eighteen days, and telegraph cable was supplied in the hope that constant communication could be ensured as the column made the 146 mile journey through the desert. Overall, the force numbered around 3600 soldiers.
Major-General Hunter's flying column set out from Kassinger, a small town a few miles north of Merowe, at five-thirty the evening of July 29, marching only at night so as to avoid both the heat of the sun and the eyes of any Mahdist lookouts. There was no road or path to follow, and the terrain upon which Hunter's flying column marched was nearly nontraversable; the route alternated between broken, rocky ground and ankle-high sand, ultimately proving extremely difficult to navigate in the dark of night. Added to these difficulties was the measure of speed imposed upon the column, as the mounted Major-General Hunter and Lieutenant MacDonald drove their units to their breaking points in order to preempt Mahdist reinforcements. The column advanced until midnight, completing a march of over sixteen miles. Sleeping during the day was made impossible by the sweltering heat; only when adequate shade was found in the barren desert could the exhausted men of Hunter's flying column rest.
The advance continued in this fashion until the village of El Kab was reached on August 4, where a shot fired at the column alerted Major-General Hunter that his presence was known to the Mahdists. Fully aware that reinforcements would be on their way to Abu Hamed, Major-General Hunter further increased his column's pace, despite the deaths of three soldiers of the 3rd Egyptian Battalion and the loss of fifty-eight stragglers at various points along the route. Hunter's forces were supplemented at Kuli by 150 Ababdeh friendlies on August 5. The night of August 6, the column marched another sixteen miles over exceptionally arduous terrain to Ginnifab, only two miles from Abu Hamed. Here half the 3rd Egyptian Battalion detached from the column to escort the supply train as it arrived and guard the reserve ammunition. After a two-hour rest from three-thirty to five-thirty, Major-General Hunter ordered his men to attention and began the final assault.
Battle.
The town of Abu Hamed was a small, inscrutable network of houses and alleyways on the bank of the Nile river, surrounded on three sides by a slightly elevated plateau. Three stone watchtowers stood nearby, from which Mahdist lookouts spotted Major-General Hunter's force advancing from the north. The reinforcements from Berber had not arrived in time, but the town's commander, Mohammed Zain, refused to flee. The garrison rushed to occupy the town's defenses; Mahdist riflemen took positions in the trenches in front of the town, melee infantry stationed themselves inside houses and throughout the streets, and a small band of cavalry stood by, ready to act. All told, the defense numbered between four hundred and one thousand soldiers.
Hunter's force advanced towards the town in a semi-circle formation, composed by the four battalions arranged from left to right in the following order: the 10th Sudanese, 9th Sudanese, the reduced 3rd Egyptian, and the 11th Sudanese. The artillery battery was with the 3rd Egyptian. The force reached the ridge of the plateau overlooking the town, about three hundred yards away, at a quarter past six. Major-General Hunter, finding the Mahdist garrison prepared for the assault and entrenched in their defenses, ordered the artillery to bombard their positions, which commenced at six-thirty. However, the artillery proved ineffective, as the guns were unable to strike within the narrow trenches or blast aside the cover behind which the Mahdist infantry waited. Hunter ceased the barrage, and ordered Lieutenant MacDonald to lead his brigade in a general advance. The command to fix bayonets was given, and the troops began an orderly advance across the three hundred yards that separated them from their objective. However, facing a line of Mahdist riflemen well-protected in their trenches, the soldiers of each advancing battalion were compelled to open fire without direct orders. The uncoordinated volleys of the advancing brigade were moderately effective against the Mahdist riflemen, who had not yet returned fire. When the battalions were about halfway across the three hundred yard stretch, their lines of fire began to converge due to their semi-circle formation, and the 10th Sudanese, on the left, was forced to halt to avoid coming under the fire of the rightmost 11th Sudanese.
The Mahdists in the trenches, equipped with outdated rifles and makeshift ammunition, designed to wait until Hunter's forces were well within range to open fire. The entrenched Mahdists weathered the continual barrage of the advancing forces until the distance shrunk to one hundred yards. Together, the Mahdist line erupted in rifle fire, hammering the advancing battalions and, in particular, the stationary 10th Sudanese. Two British officers, Brevet-Major Henry Sidney and Lieutenant Edward Fitzclarence, three Egyptian officers, and a dozen regular soldiers were killed in the volleys. Over fifty were wounded across the brigade. Following this exchange, the battalions abandoned their orderly approach and charged the trenches with their bayonets. A furious melee ensued, wherein soldiers of MacDonald's brigade poured into the trenches and through the town, engaging in vicious hand-to-hand combat with Mahdists wherever they were to be found in the winding alleyways and narrow houses of Abu Hamed. In several places artillery was used to dislodge particularly stalwart defenders, while the Mahdist cavalry, looking on as Hunter's battalions swept through the town, turned to flee south towards Berber.
By seven-thirty, the town was firmly in the hands of Major-General Hunter's force. Almost the entirety of the Mahdist garrison, excepting the cavalry, had been slain in desperate combats throughout the settlement. However, a few isolated pockets of Mahdist resistance remained in fortified houses, violently refusing to give up the fight. Six men sent to capture a Mahdist sniper's position in a small house near the river were each killed, forcing Hunter to invoke his artillery. The building was shelled to ruins, but the sniper survived, evidenced by the shooting of another soldier sent to locate his body. Finally, a second barrage of artillery blasted what remained of the structure and the rubble fell silent, though the sniper's body was never found. The local inhabitants had armed themselves with clubs and spears to defend themselves during the battle, but played little role in its outcome.
Aftermath.
Sources differ on the number of Mahdists killed in the battle, ranging between 250 and 850. On the Anglo-Egyptian side, twenty-three men were killed and sixty-one wounded. The 10th Sudanese Battalion alone accounted for sixteen of the twenty-three killed and thirty-four of the sixty-one wounded. The Mahdist commander, Mohammed Zain, was captured in battle and held prisoner. Major-General Hunter captured a substantial supply of weapons, camels, horses, and property from the town. After the battle, the soldiers of MacDonald's brigade were berated by their commander for opening fire during their advance across the three hundred yard gradient between the ridge of the plateau and the town's defenses. Lieutenant MacDonald had not ordered them to do so, and considered it flagrant insubordination that botched his plan for a 150 yard bayonet charge. Brevet-Major Henry Sidney and Lieutenant Edward Fitzclarence, great-grandson of King William IV, were the only two British officers killed in action throughout the entire campaign. The dead of Major-General Hunter's column were buried near the town, the British officers in decorated tombs and the rest in unmarked graves. There is a legend which holds that the tomb of Lieutenant Sidney, one of the two British officers killed during the battle, is vigilantly guarded every night by the ghosts of those killed in his battalion.
The news of Major-General Hunter's victory was delivered by riders and telegrams to the officials of Kitchener's army, though several sources report that Kitchener himself learned of the victory when the corpses of several Mahdist rebels floated by Merowe on the Nile, downstream from Abu Hamed. As soon as the news reached him, work on the desert railway was resumed, and the construction effort progressed rapidly, reaching Abu Hamed by 31 October 1897. The success of the desert railway was of unparalleled importance to Kitchener's campaign; his army's advance towards the Mahdist seat of power and the necessary maintenance of that army wholly relied upon the trains bearing water, supplies, and reinforcements that arrived on a daily basis. The capture of Abu Hamed allowed for the completion of this railway across the forbidding Nubian Desert and made Kitchener's approach possible.
When Major-General Hunter won Abu Hamed from its defenders, the Mahdist reinforcements he knew had been racing towards the town since his force was spotted on August 4 were less than twenty miles away. Running low on supplies and recognizing the severe exhaustion of his men, Hunter doubted his ability to hold the town in the likely event of a counter-attack from these approaching forces. However, the small troop of Mahdist cavalry that had fled the battle met the incoming detachment and informed them of the events, whereupon they immediately changed course due southwards in the opposite direction of Abu Hamed. The commanding Mahdist officer at Berber heard of the battle on August 9, and, facing incoming Anglo-Egyptian forces as well as violent internal division, decided to evacuate the city in late August. Major-General Hunter then left Abu Hamed, where he and his column had remained since the battle, and moved south to occupy the city and further advance the campaign.


2009 Thai political unrest

A series of political demonstrations and following unrest occurred in Thailand from 26 March to 14 April 2009 in Bangkok and Pattaya against the government of Abhisit Vejjajiva and the military crackdown that followed. Up to 100,000 people demonstrated in central Bangkok at the height of the protests.
Background.
On 17 December 2008, Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the Democrat Party, was named Prime Minister, after the Constitutional Court of Thailand banned then-Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from politics for five years.
In March 2009, Thaksin Shinawatra claimed via video broadcast that Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda had masterminded the 2006 military coup, and that Prem and fellow Privy Councilor members Surayud Chulanont and Chanchai Likhitjittha conspired with the military to ensure that Abhisit became Premier. Although there was no proof of Thaksin's charge and Abhisit denied the accusations, thousands of Shinawatra supporters protested in Bangkok in early April, demanding that Abhisit resign as prime minister and that Prem, Surayud, and Chanchai resign from the Privy Council. Thaksin then called for a "peoples revolution" to overcome the alleged aristocratic influences of the Abhisit government. The protests, led by the red-shirted National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), expanded to Pattaya, where the Fourth East Asia Summit was to be held. Violent clashes broke out between the UDD and blue-shirted government supporters affiliated with Newin Chidchob, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party. The protesters broke into the hotel and forced the summit to be cancelled, causing Abhisit to declare a state of emergency in the both Pattaya and Chonburi on 11 April.
Popular protests.
8 April.
The mass protest began with 100,000 demonstrators, supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, were at Government House and the nearby Royal Plaza by the evening.
Veera Musikapong, Jatuporn Prompan, Nattawut Saikua and Jakrapop Penkair leaders of the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) have bulletin "8 April: The Day for Fall of Aristocratic Polity" for Abhisit Vejjajiva resign from the Premiership and that Prem Tinsulanonda, Surayud Chulanont and Chanchai Likhitjittha resign from the Privy Council within 24 hours, otherwise it would announce raising the level of its anti-government protest.
On 04.45 p.m. UDD protesters marched from the residence of Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda to the Victory Monument, the city's largest traffic and transport hub, to join about hundred taxi drivers who parked their vehicles blocked roads around the area.
11 April.
The protests, led by the red-shirted National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) expanded to Pattaya, the site of an ASEAN summit. The taxi-drivers with their cabs, leading supporters of the UDD, were rallied, heading to Pattaya before dawn. Major roads, the gates to Pattaya were blocked. Violent clashes occurred between the UDD and government supporters wearing dark blue T-shirts in the afternoon as the protesters were heading to the site of the summit. There were reports of blue-shirts throwing bombs at the UDD. Since the police failed to halt the rallies, the masses eventually stormed the hotel, the summit building.
The protests caused the ASEAN summit to be cancelled. The security force escorted the foreign leaders, leaving from the hotel by the navy ships and helicopters. The prime minister Abhisit therefore declared a state of emergency in the areas of Pattaya and Chonburi. The protest eventually ended in the afternoon.
12 April.
Protesters returned to Bangkok after Arisman Pongreungrong, the protest leader was detained by the police for causing the cancellation of the ASEAN summit.
Suporn Attawong and protesters attempted on the Prime Minister's life and injured his secretary general, Niphon Promphan, and Promphan's driver.
13 April.
Thai soldiers in full combat kit fired live rounds and training rounds from automatic weapons to clear protesters from the Din Daeng intersection near the Victory Monument in central Bangkok, injuring at least 70 people. The Army later claimed that live rounds were only fired into the air while training rounds were fired at the crowd. Human Rights Watch confirmed that there are some cases where the Army fired live ammunition directly at protesters. Also on 13 April, Sean Boonpracong, the UDD's official international spokesman, gave a phone interview to Al-Jazeera English, admitting that some UDD protesters used hand guns during street protests though he claimed that the guns are used in defence of the military crackdown. The UDD claimed one protester injured from gunshot wounds sustained during the military's attack. However, the Army later claimed that the wound was not caused by an M-16, the standard Army rifle. Also on Monday the government ordered the blocking of satellite news station D Station, an affiliate of the UDD which, at the time, was broadcasting the clashes. Several UDD community radio stations were shut down and searched upon suspicion of being supporters of the UDD. Violent clashes at numerous locations in Bangkok continued while arrest warrants were issued for Thaksin and 13 protest leaders.
14 April.
Surrounded by the military, many protesters eventually gave in on 14 April 2009, ending the violence. As the troops encircled the major location of the demonstration, near the Government House, demonstrators agreed to end their activity. The government confirmed the peaceful measure towards the protesters, free transport were provided for taking the protesters back to their home in the provinces. The demonstration ended 'officially' and peacefully in around noon time.
Aftermath.
According to government figures, over 120 people were injured in the unrest, most of them UDD demonstrators. At least one UDD protester injured from gunshot wounds sustained during the military's attack in Din Daeng, although the Army claimed the wound was not caused by their standard firearm. The UDD claimed that at least 6 demonstrators were killed in the unrest and their bodies hauled away by the military, although the Army rejected the claim. The dead bodies of 2 UDD protesters were found floating in the Chao Phraya River, their hands tied behind their backs and their bodies badly beaten, although police had yet to conclude whether their murders were politically motivated. On 11 September 2009, The House-appointed committee in charge of investigating the unrest has completed its report saying no death inflicted by crowd control.
Abhisit aide Satit Wongnontaey claimed that Red-shirted protesters shot a person dead and injured two others when residents of the Nang Lerng Market came out to criticise the protesters. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration estimated that it had incurred 10 million Baht (approximately 300,000 USD) in property damages, including 31 damaged and burned buses. But, the Federation of Thai Tourism Industry estimated that the damage to the tourism industry could be as high as 200 billion Baht and resulting in 257,000 jobs lost.


List of governors of Portsmouth

The Governor of Portsmouth was the Constable of Portchester Castle from the 13th Century to the reign of Henry VIII. Since then Portsmouth had its own military Captain or Governor, who was based in the Square Tower built in Old Portsmouth in 1494 as part of the fortifications to protect the rapidly expanding naval port. The Coats of Arms of former Governors of Portsmouth are displayed on the walls of the Square Tower's Lower Hall. In 1540, the Hospital of St. Nicholas, suitably converted and modernised, became the military centre of the town. Its Domus Dei, now the roofless Royal Garrison Church, became the residence of the Captain or Governor. The Governorship was abolished in 1834.
The Lieutenant Governorship was vested in the General Officer Commanding South-West District from 1793 to 1865, in the General Officer Commanding Southern District from 1865 to 1903 and in the Officer Commanding Portsmouth Defences / Portsmouth Garrison from 1903 until that post was abolished in 1968.


Battle of the Lippe

The Battle of the Lippe was a cavalry action fought on 2 September 1595 on the banks of the Lippe river, in Germany, between a corps of Spanish cavalry led by Juan de Córdoba and a corps of Dutch cavalry, supported by English troops, led by Philip of Nassau. The Dutch statholder Maurice of Nassau, taking advantage of the fact that the bulk of the Spanish army was busied in operations in France, besieged the town of Groenlo in Gelderland, but the elderly governor of the citadel of Antwerp, Cristóbal de Mondragón, organized a relief army and forced Maurice to lift the siege. Mondragón next moved to Wesel, positioning his troops on the southern bank of the Lippe river to cover Rheinberg from a Dutch attack. Maurice aimed then, relying on his superior army, to entice Mondragón into a pitched battle, planning to use an ambush to draw the Spanish army into a trap. However, the plan was discovered by the Spanish commander, who organized a counter-ambush.
The Dutch intended to overtake a Spanish foraging convoy and deliver it into their camp in order to draw the Spanish army in pursuit to the banks of the Lippe, where Maurice was awaiting with the Dutch States Army in order of battle. However, Mondragón reinforced the escort of the convoy and hid a large force of cavalry in a wood nearby under his lieutenant Juan de Córdoba. Thanks to Mondragón's long experience, the Spanish routed the Dutch force and inflicted a number of casualties upon Philip of Nassau's men, including himself and several other high-ranking Dutch and English officers in the Dutch army.
Background.
In 1595, Henry IV of France declared war on Spain in response to Philip II's continued support of the Catholic League of France, and formed an alliance with Elizabeth I of England and the Dutch Republic, who were engaged in their own wars against the Spanish Crown. The Catholic Netherlands were, consequently, caught between two fronts, and French and Dutch forces even tried to create a corridor linking their respective states through the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The new Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands, the Count of Fuentes, directed his efforts against Picardy and Cambrésis, leaving a few troops to defend the loyal provinces from a Dutch attack.
In July, while Fuentes was busied in the siege of Doullens, Maurice of Nassau, statholder of the Dutch Republic, assembled a force of 6,000 infantry, some cavalry companies, and 16 artillery pieces of the Dutch States Army, and led them under the walls of Groenlo, a medium-sized town in the County of Zutphen. Its northern flank defended by the Slinge, a stream of the Berkel river, Groenlo was fortified with five bulwarks and garrisoned by 11 infantry companies from Count Herman van den Bergh's regiment numbering 600 troops under Jan van Stirum, a German officer, and four small artillery pieces.
On receiving news of the siege, Cristóbal de Mondragón, the elderly Spanish governor of Antwerp, whom Fuentes had left in command of the Spanish forces opposite to the Dutch, collected a little army gathering forces of several garrisons and marched to Groenlo through Brabant and Gelderland. Mondragón's force comprised two Spanish tercios (under Luis de Velasco and Antonio de Zúñiga), an Irish regiment under William Stanley, a Swiss regiment, and 1,300 cavalry under Juan de Córdoba, which, having crossed the Meuse at Venlo, were joined by Frederick van den Bergh's German regiment.
At over 80, Mondragón was still able to mount on horseback, though he had to be helped by two men and could only wear light armour. He first came to prominence at the Battle of Mühlberg, in 1547, and was one of the few Spanish officers of good fame in the rebel provinces, being portrayed in a positive light by contemporaneous Dutch authors such as Hugo Grotius and Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft. Mondragón planned not only to relieve Groenlo, but also to lure Maurice into a pitched battle. The Dutch general, however, on receiving news of his enemy's march, set fire to supplies, tools, and ammunitions gathered for the siege and retreated out of Groenlo. Mondragón could therefore resupply the town unmolested.
Prelude.
After Groenlo was secured, Mondragón marched south to Rheinberg to cover the town from a Dutch attack. He encamped his army near Wesel, at Dinslaken, while Maurice followed him and took up positions at Bislich, both armies being separated by the Lippe river. The Spanish position was strong; the rearguard and the left flank covered by the Rhine and the right flank by the Lippe and a range of moorland hills called Testerburg. For several weeks both armies looked at each other, often skirmishing when both cavalries sallied to forage. As time passed, the Spanish foragers were forced to look for victuals two or three leagues far away from their camp. Maurice took the opportunity to plan a mock ambush on Mondragón's foraging convoy aiming to lure him into a general action in which he could destroy the Spanish army. Mondragón also hoped to lure his enemy into a trap.
On 1 September, Maurice gave the command of the ambush to his favourite commander, his cousin Philip of Nassau. Maurice instructed him to cross the Lippe river the following day at dawn, hide in a wood next to which the Spanish convoy was expected to pass, and fall on its guard. Maurice's goal was to seize the foraging convoy, separate it from the escort, and lead it to the Dutch camp, thus forcing Mondragón to intervene with a larger force. Then, after the appearance of Mondragón with the main army, Nassau was to retreat to the Dutch camp, thus luring the Spanish army into an ambush. For his task, Nassau received the command of some 500 or 700 Dutch and English horsemen and was accompanied by his two brothers, Ernst Casimir and Ludwig Gunther, as well as several other Dutch officers, Count Ernst of Solms, Paul and Marcellus Bacx, and the English captains Nicholas Parker, Cutler and Robert Vere.
The Dutch intentions were anticipated by the Spanish. According to Joseph de La Pise, a French jurist hired by Maurice's half brother and successor Frederick Henry to write a history of the Princes of Orange, Mondragón had learned of the ambush from English soldiers who had deserted from the Dutch colours, but the Italian Jesuit Angello Gallucci claims that it was Spanish spies who informed Mondragón, who had used spies to gather information on the enemy since the siege of Zierikzee, in 1576. In any case, the Spanish general took measures to turn Nassau's surprise into a trap. The convoy, normally guarded by 300 infantry and 150 cavalry, was reinforced by 300 musketeers and a large force of cavalry under Mondragón's lieutenant, Juan de Córdoba.
Action.
On 2 September, at dawn, the Dutch force crossed the Lippe across a pontoon bridge. Maurice awaited them with 5,000 infantry and the rest of his cavalry arranged for the battle in the hills near Wesel, along the opposite riverbank. Philip of Nassau divided his troops into four squadrons: the first one of 125 men under the drossaard of Sallandt, the second one of 125 men under the Count of Kinsky, the third one, those in which Nassau and his brothers marched, of 150 soldiers under Lieutenant Balen, and the last, closing the way, of 120 men under the English captain Nicholas Parker. Having arrived at Krudenburg, Nassau sent 40 chosen men from the companies led by Balen to surprise the foraging horses. On finding a force much larger than they expected, the Dutch officers thought that something was wrong and sent a report back to Philip of Nassau. The Dutch commander, nevertheless, believed that it was only the convoy's escort and moved on with his troops and his entourage to attack the Spanish cavalry, aiming to prevent its escape.
The Dutch officers' report was not mistaken: early in the morning, two Spanish scouts had found the track of the Dutch force crossing the river, and Mondragón, anticipating them, had deployed his cavalry beyond a beechwood, the countryside southwards the Lippe being covered by small woods alternating with moorlands. Besides the troops guarding the convoy, Juan de Córdoba had the command of at least seven cavalry companies: those of Hendrik van den Bergh, Girolamo Caraffa, Carlo Maria Caracciolo, Paulo Emilio Martinengo, his own company, 's-Hertogenbosch lances under Adolf van den Bergh, and Sancho de Leyva's company. Other authors also list Alonso Mendo's company. Mondragón had informed the guard of the convoy of the Dutch intentions and encouraged the soldiers to hold their ground, promising them that he was behind them with the whole Spanish army to come in relief.
Commanding 75 lances from Kinsky's company, and followed by the bulk of his force, Nassau passed through a narrow path in a small forest, and, coming out to open field, was surprised by the Spanish troops, namely by those under Hendrik van den Bergh, followed by Carlo Maria Caracciolo and the 's-Hertogenbosch lances. Van den Bergh's harquebusiers, discovering the Dutch column emerging from the forest, fired a volley and, turning right, clashed with the Dutch scouts, starting the action. There was then a fierce fight. The Dutch troops were formed into eight squadrons, but caught by surprise in a narrow passage, the Dutch soldiers were unable to use their lances, so they were forced to defend themselves with swords and pistols. Philip of Nassau, his brothers, and their cousin Ernst von Solms were seriously wounded and dismounted at the beginning of the fight. Kinsky's and Balen's troops, coming in relief, were unable to rescue the wounded commanders, and some Dutch soldiers started to flee from the battlefield. Nicholas Parker, however, managed to collect the fugitives and, renewing the action, he put disorder into the Spanish cavalry. The encounter turned then into a general action out of the wood, in open ground.
At first the Dutch were winning the action, but after they put in disorder two or three Spanish squadrons, Paulo Emilio Martinengo charged ahead his company on their flank and in turn routed a Dutch squadron, which allowed Córdoba to regroup his troops and renew the attack, this time with success. Despite the stubborn resistance offered by the Dutch troops, they were finally broken and fled in a disorderly fashion, attempting to save themselves before the Lippe river. Córdoba sent his cavalry to follow them up, and they found that some of the Dutch soldiers, having been unable to find a good place to ford the river, had drowned. The Spanish captives were freed, and the spoils taken by the Dutch recovered.
Aftermath.
The battle is noted for the heavy death toll among the Dutch commanders. Philip of Nassau was mortally wounded at the beginning of the action, shot at point blank range through the body with an harquebus, his robes being set on fire. Robert Vere, brother of the English colonel Horace Vere, was slain by a lance thrust in the face. The drossaard of Zallandt and Count Ferdinand Kinsky were also killed. Count Ernst of Solms was seriously wounded and captured. Together with Philip, he was carried to Rheinberg, where both soldiers were visited by Mondragón and their Catholic cousins, the Van den Bergh brothers, and treated by the Spanish surgeons. Despite all the attentions, both Dutch commanders died of the wounds they had sustained; Nassau the night after the battle, and Solms three days later. Count Ernst Casimir was captured and ransomed for 10,000 florins. Mondragón dispatched him to Maurice of Nassau with the bodies of the dead counts, which were buried with honours at Arnhem.
As for the battle losses, sources vary. The Flemish Protestant Guillaume Baudart set Dutch losses at 88 horses, 83 prisoners and 24 killed. The Italian Cardinal Guido Bentivoglio claimed that more than 300 Dutch soldiers were slain as opposed to about 60 Spanish casualties. The Roman Jesuit Angelo Gallucci also wrote of 300 Dutch casualties. The Spanish soldier and writer Carlos Coloma set the Spanish loss as 19 men killed and claimed that the Dutch force lost three flags and about 400 serviceable horses. On the Spanish side the only soldiers of note among the casualties were Caraffa, Martinengo and Caracciolo, all of whom were wounded, but not mortally. Joseph de La Pise stated that the Dutch took seven Spanish prisoners and 15 horses. According to Antonio Carnero, accountant in the Spanish army, an envoy of the King of France to the Dutch camp was present at the battle and found later among the fatalities.
The English author Edward Grimeston wrote, in his book "A General History of the Netherlands", that the battle of the Lippe "was a pettie battaile of young and hot blouds, who prooved but bad Marchants that got nothing". Even though it was only a small battle, it was celebrated joyfully at the Spanish camp before Cambrai. Three salvos were fired upon the city by 87 artillery pieces and 6,000 muskets and arquebuses. The North-American historian John Lothrop Motley highlighted the key role played by the 91-year-old Mondragón in the Spanish victory:
The Spanish and Dutch armies spent 16 more days observing each other from their encampments, but no action of importance ensued. Maurice of Nassau laid a bridge over the Rhine and tried to take Meurs by surprise, but the enterprise was discovered. He also committed Count William Louis of Nassau-Dillenburg to intercept five Spanish companies sent by Mondragón to lodge in Twente, but the Spaniards managed to reach Enschede, leaving only a few chariots with supplies in Dutch hands. On 11 October, lacking of forage, Mondragón retired back to Brabant. Maurice aimed to cut off his retreat, but the Spaniard succeeded in bringing his troops to a secure position. Mondragón re-crossed the Meuse in November and distributed his troops in different towns. Before crossing the river the Swiss mercenaries were paid and licensed. On 4 January 1596, the elderly general died in the citadel of Antwerp. On his deathbed he wrote a letter to Philip II asking for the castellany of Antwerp for his son Alonso and a company of lances for his grandson Cristóbal, but both requests were denied.


Israeli consulate attack in Berlin

The attack on the Israeli consulate in Berlin was perpetrated by PKK supporters on the Israeli consulate in Berlin, Germany, on 17 February 1999. Three people were killed and 14 were injured after security forces at the consulate opened fire on the PKK supporters.
Background.
In October 1998 Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the PKK, was forced to leave Syria for Moscow, Russia, where he was not allowed to stay, before flying to Rome, Italy. The Italian government did not want to allow Öcalan to stay, however they were legally not permitted to extradite him to Turkey, where he could face the death penalty. After being denied entrance to Germany, the Netherlands and France, Öcalan went to Greece on 1 February 1999. He was captured on 15 February 1999, while being transferred from the Greek embassy to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, in an operation by the Millî İstihbarat Teşkilâtı, with alleged help of the CIA or Mossad.
Attack.
Worldwide protests broke out after the news of Öcalan's capture, which took place in Kenya by Turkish intelligence, with cooperation of Greece. 55 to 200 PKK supporters armed with iron bars stormed the Israeli consulate in Berlin on 17 February, accusing the Mossad of allegedly helping the Turkish government in kidnapping Öcalan. When the protesters managed to break through police ranks and enter the consulate building, Israeli security opened fire on the attackers, killing three and injuring 14. Later, German police arrested 30 PKK supporters and cordoned off all area as helicopters circled over consulate building.
Aftermath.
Benjamin Netanyahu defended the actions of defense forces, saying that protesters attempted to take a weapon from one of the security forces. Israel increased the guard on all its missions abroad.


Stolen Valor Act of 2005

The Stolen Valor Act of 2005, signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 20, 2006, was a U.S. law that broadened the provisions of previous U.S. law addressing the unauthorized wear, manufacture, or sale of any military decorations and medals. The law made it a federal misdemeanor to falsely represent oneself as having received any U.S. military decoration or medal. If convicted, defendants might have been imprisoned for up to six months, unless the decoration lied about is the Medal of Honor, in which case imprisonment could have been up to one year. In "United States v. Alvarez" (2012), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Stolen Valor Act was an unconstitutional abridgment of the freedom of speech under the First Amendment, striking down the law in a 6to3 decision.
Description.
The Act was first introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 19, 2005, by Representative John Salazar, a Democrat from Colorado, as H.R. 3352. It was introduced in the Senate by Senator Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota, on November 10, 2005, as S. 1998. The Senate version was passed unanimously on September 7, 2006. The House passed the Senate version, S. 1998, on December 6, 2006.
The purpose of the Act was to strengthen the provisions of federal law (18 U.S.C. § 704) by broadening its scope and strengthening penalties. Specific new provisions in the Act included:
The Act made it illegal for unauthorized persons to wear, buy, sell, barter, trade, or manufacture "any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces." In the 18 months after the act was enacted, the "Chicago Tribune" estimated there were twenty prosecutions. The number increased as awareness of the law spread.
The Act was passed to address the issue of persons claiming to have been awarded military awards to which they were not entitled and exploiting their deception for personal gain. For example, as of June 2, 2006, there were only 120 living Medal of Honor recipients, but there were far more known imposters. There were also large numbers of people fraudulently claiming to be Navy SEALS and Army Special Forces, among others.
The Orders and Medals Society of America (OMSA), an organization of collectors, opposed the version of the bill that passed. OMSA was concerned about the changes to 18 USC that in its judgment implied that any movement or exchange of medals was illegal.
Legal challenges.
"United States v. Strandlof".
Rick Strandlof, founder of Colorado Veterans Alliance, was accused of seeking to raise funds for that organization by posing as Marine Captain "Rick Duncan" and claiming to have received a Silver Star and Purple Heart in the Iraq War. In January 2010, he challenged the constitutionality of the Stolen Valor Act in U.S. District Court in Denver, Colorado. Strandlof's attorney believed the law was too vague and that "protecting the reputation of military decorations is insufficient to survive [strict scrutiny]", a level of judicial review that requires the government to justify any limitation it places on free speech. The Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based civil liberties group, joined in the case on January 20, 2010. "Such expression remains within the presumptive protection afforded pure speech by the First Amendment," the Institute's attorney wrote. "As such, the Stolen Valor Act is an unconstitutional restraint on the freedom of speech."
On July 16, 2010, a federal judge in Denver ruled the Stolen Valor Act is "facially unconstitutional" because it violates free speech and dismissed the criminal case against Strandlof who lied about being an Iraq war veteran. Strandlof, 32, was charged with five misdemeanors related to violating the Act – specifically, making false claims about receiving military decorations.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Blackburn issued his decision rejecting the prosecution's argument that lying about having military medals dilutes their meaning and significance. "This wholly unsubstantiated assertion is, frankly, shocking and, indeed, unintentionally insulting to the profound sacrifices of military personnel the Stolen Valor Act purports to honor," Blackburn wrote. "To suggest that the battlefield heroism of our servicemen and women is motivated in any way, let alone in a compelling way, by considerations of whether a medal may be awarded simply defies my comprehension." Attorney Chris Beall, who filed an "amicus curiae" brief on behalf of the ACLU of Colorado, said the decision is remarkable. "The First Amendment protects speech we don't like," he said. "We don't need the First Amendment for speech people like. The government cannot criminalize a statement simply because it is false, no matter how important the statement is." Beall points out Strandlof wasn't charged with stealing money meant for the veterans group, adding that laws are already in place for those crimes. "That's plain-old, regular-vanilla everyday fraud, and we do prosecute that every day," he said. "Congress does not need a special statute to prevent people from using false claims of valor in order to prevent fraud." John Wagner, executive director of the Warrior Legacy Foundation, a veterans group that lobbied for Strandlof's prosecution, said he will push for an appeal. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Denver said prosecutors are reviewing the decision and haven't decided whether to appeal. The spokesman said that decision would be made by the U.S. Justice Department in Washington and prosecutors in Denver.
On January 27, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit overruled the district court and reinstated the charges against Strandlof. Two judges on the three-judge panel held that false statements are not worthy of constitutional protection. In dissent, Judge Jerome Holmes wrote that the majority was reading language into the act to justify upholding it. On July 2, 2012, the Tenth Circuit vacated its previous opinion, writing, "In light of "United States v. Alvarez", we vacate both the opinion and the judgment issued on January 27, 2012."
"United States v. Alvarez".
Initially the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided "Alvarez" on August 17, 2010, ruling the Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional. Specifically, in the 2–1 decision, Judge Milan Smith stated for the court that lies not within traditionally unprotected subsets of false facts are subject to First Amendment protection, the Stolen Valor Act is not subject to defamation law precedent, and there's no compelling reason for government interest in banning such lies.
"The right to speak and write whatever one chooses – including, to some degree, worthless, offensive and demonstrable untruths – without cowering in fear of a powerful government is, in our view, an essential component of the protection afforded by the First Amendment," Judge Smith wrote. If lying about a medal can be classified as a crime, Smith said, so many everyday lies could become criminal acts, such as lying about one's age, misrepresenting one's financial status on Facebook, or telling one's mother falsehoods about drinking, smoking, or sex.
On March 21, 2011, a majority of judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit refused to rehear the "Alvarez" case en banc. In the order refusing to hear the case en banc, Judge Alex Kozinski issued a lengthy concurrence, responding to critics of the decision and asserting that the First Amendment covers most varieties of lying and misrepresentation, where not otherwise unprotected by the First Amendment under the traditional view. The traditional view holds that only certain varieties of speech are exempt from standard constitutional scrutiny such as fraud, fighting words, defamation, incitement (including to a “clear and present danger”), and speech attendant to the commission of a crime. Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain dissented from the denial of rehearing arguing that false representations are not per se entitled to First Amendment protection.
On October 17, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider the validity of the law. On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court found the law unconstitutional in a 6to3 decision, with Justices Scalia, Thomas and Alito dissenting. In "United States v. Alvarez" the majority held that the Stolen Valor Act was an unconstitutional abridgment of the freedom of speech under the First Amendment.
Legacy.
Following the Supreme Court decision, the U.S. Department of Defense announced they would unveil a new website, valor.defense.gov, which would provide a public record of medal recipients. That site was unveiled on July 25, 2012. Additionally, in response Representative Joe Heck sponsored the Stolen Valor Act of 2012 to criminalize profiting by falsely claiming to have received a military medal for serving in combat, which passed with a vote of 410 to 3; a companion bill was sponsored by Senator Jim Webb, which passed as an amendment of the defense authorization bill. In the 113th Congress Representative Heck reintroduced the modified act, receiving 65 cosponsors.
The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 was signed by President Barack Obama on June 3, 2013. The Act makes it a federal crime to fraudulently claim to be a recipient of certain military decorations or medals in order to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit.


Battle of Blaauwberg

The Battle of Blaauwberg, also known as the Battle of Cape Town, fought near Cape Town on Wednesday 8 January 1806, was a small but significant military engagement. After a British victory, peace was made under the Treaty Tree in Woodstock. It established British rule in South Africa, which was to have many ramifications for the region during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A bi-centennial commemoration was held in January 2006.
Background.
The battle was an incident in Europe's Napoleonic Wars. At that time, the Cape Colony belonged to the Batavian Republic, a French vassal. Because the sea route around the Cape was important to the British, they decided to seize the colony in order to prevent it—and the sea route—from also coming under French control. A British fleet was despatched to the Cape in July 1805, to forestall French troopships which Napoleon had sent to reinforce the Cape garrison.
The colony was governed by Lieutenant General Jan Willem Janssens, who was also commander-in-chief of its military forces. The forces were small and of poor quality, and included foreign units hired by the Batavian government. They were backed up by local militia units.
Events.
The first British warship reached the Cape on Christmas Eve 1805, and attacked two supply ships off the Cape Peninsula. Janssens placed his garrison on alert. When the main fleet sailed into Table Bay on 4 January 1806, he mobilised the garrison, declared martial law, and called up the militia.
After a delay caused by rough seas, two British infantry brigades, under the command of Lt Gen Sir David Baird, landed at Melkbosstrand, north of Cape Town, on 6 and 7 January. Janssens moved his forces to intercept them. He had decided that "victory could be considered impossible, but the honour of the fatherland demanded a fight". His intention was to attack the British on the beach and then to withdraw to the interior, where he hoped to hold out until the French troopships arrived.
However, on the morning of 8 January, while Janssens's columns were still slowly moving through the veld, Baird's brigades began their march to Cape Town, and reached the slopes of the Blaauwberg mountain (now spelled "Blouberg"), a few kilometres ahead of Janssens. Janssens halted and formed a line across the veld.
The battle began at sunrise, with exchanges of artillery fire. These were followed by an advance by Janssens's militia cavalry, and volleys of musket fire from both sides. One of Janssens's hired foreign units, in the centre of his line, turned and ran from the field. A British bayonet charge disposed of the units on Janssens's right flank, and he ordered his remaining troops to withdraw.
Janssens began the battle with 2,049 troops, and lost 353 in casualties and desertions. Baird began the battle with 5,399 men, and had 212 casualties.
From Blaauwberg, Janssens moved inland to a farm in the Tygerberg area, and from there his troops moved to the Elands Kloof in the Hottentots Holland Mountains, about 50 km from Cape Town.
The British forces reached the outskirts of Cape Town on 9 January. To spare the town and its civilian population from attack, the commandant of Cape Town, Lieutenant-Colonel Hieronymus Casimir von Prophalow, sent out a white flag. He handed over the outer fortifications to Baird, and terms of surrender were negotiated later in the day.
The formal Articles of Capitulation for the town and the Cape Peninsula were signed the following afternoon, 10 January, at a cottage at Papendorp (now the suburb of Woodstock) which became known as "Treaty Cottage." Although the cottage has long since been demolished, Treaty Street still commemorates the event. The tree under which they signed remains to this day.
However, the Batavian Governor of the Cape, General Janssens, had not yet surrendered himself and his remaining troops and was following his plan to hold out for as long as he could, in the hope that the French troopships for which he had been waiting for months would arrive and save him. He had only 1,238 men with him, and 211 deserted in the days that followed.
Janssens held out in the mountains for a further week. Baird sent Brigadier General William Beresford to negotiate with him, and the two generals conferred at a farm belonging to Gerhard Croeser near the Hottentots-Holland Mountains on 16 January without reaching agreement. After further consideration, and consultation with his senior officers and advisers, Janssens decided that "the bitter cup must be drunk to the bottom". He agreed to capitulate, and the final Articles of Capitulation were signed on 18 January.
Uncertainty reigns as to where the Articles of Capitulation were signed. For many years it has been claimed that it was the Goedeverwachting estate (where a copy of the treaty is on display), but more recent research, published in Dr Krynauw's book "Beslissing by Blaauwberg" suggests that Croeser's farm (now the Somerset West golf course) may have been the venue. An article published in the 1820s by the then resident clergyman of the Stellenbosch district, Dr Borcherds, also points towards Croeser's farm.
The terms of the capitulation were reasonably favourable to the Batavian soldiers and citizens of the Cape. Janssens and the Batavian officials and troops were sent back to the Netherlands in March.
The British forces occupied the Cape until 13 August 1814, when the Netherlands ceded the colony to Britain as a permanent possession. It remained a British colony until it was incorporated into the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910.
Articles of Capitulation.
Summary of the Articles of Capitulation signed by Lt Col Von Prophalow, Maj Gen Baird and Cdre Popham on 10 January 1806:
Summary of the Articles of Capitulation signed by Lt Gen Janssens and Brig Gen Beresford on 18 January 1806 and ratified by Maj Gen Baird on 19 January:


Henry Barracks, Puerto Rico

Henry Barracks was a United States Army base located in Cayey, Puerto Rico named after the 3rd Military Governor of Puerto Rico and Medal of Honor recipient Major General Guy V.Henry.
History.
This base in the Central Mountain range of Puerto Rico located 25 miles (40 km) from San Juan, Puerto Rico was under control of the Spanish army until United States Armed Forces Troops took over the base in 1898 during the Spanish–American War and became a Puerto Rico Voluntary Regiment Post. 1908 became a United States Army infantry base for the 65th Infantry Regiment and renamed Henry Barracks after the 3rd Military Governor of Puerto Rico and Medal of Honor recipient Major General Guy Vernor Henry.
In the beginning the base consisted of 439.92 acres of land situated in the east side of the town of Cayey. The property was divided into three encampments: the Spanish Camp- Campamento Español also known as Hospital Hill (15 acres), the Henry Barracks main post in the northern part consisted of 372 acres and the home for the third Battalion of the 65th Infantry Regiment, and the United States Navy Cayey Naval Radio Station (67 acres).
By 1920 Henry Barracks became a sub-post attached to Fort Brooke in San Juan where the 65th Infantry First Battalion where posted.
Some units from the 65th Infantry were mobilized to World War II and the Korean War from Henry Barracks. A large number of soldiers from the 65th Infantry were native Puerto Ricans.
In 1928 Hurricane San Felipe hit Puerto Rico and destroyed many of the base wooden structures. The Navy left Cayey as a result of the damage from Hurricane San Felipe and moved to Naval Air Station Isla Grande in San Juan. All the land held by the Navy to include Magazine Hill (El Polvorin) were absorbed by the U. S. Army. In 1929 new permanent buildings were constructed at the Henry Barracks.
After the Korean War the U.S. Army brought in troops not native to Puerto Rico. They were called "Continentals" by the locals from Cayey Puerto Rico. By that time the combat troops stationed at Henry Barracks consisted of an artillery battalion and a heavy mortar company.
Base Closing.
In 1953, the U.S. Army reached the conclusion that Henry Barracks would be closed in the near future. A full complement of the Army phased out its presence at the post in 1965 when the base was transferred to the General Services Administration for decommission. Burials ceased at the Henry Barracks military cemetery in 1965 and the graves were moved to the Puerto Rico National Cemetery. Most of the land and buildings were transferred to the University of Puerto Rico and opened the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey campus in 1967 while other facilities were transferred to the municipality of Cayey, Puerto Rico.
Most of the land and buildings that was transferred to the municipality of Cayey were turned into sports facilities.
National Guard.
The Military keep one parcel from the Henry Barracks army base for the Puerto Rico National Guard 1st Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment Headquarters and Headquarters Company, and the 105th Forward Support Company. A heliport, maintenance shop, administration offices and a NGX PX are some of the facilities at the National Guard post use mostly for monthly drills.
Army ROTC.
The University of Puerto Rico at Cayey hosted the U.S. Army Reserve Officers Training Course ROTC program at a site in the former Herry Barracks base. The Army ROTC had an office, several classrooms, an obstacle course and a rappeling tower. After many years in operations the Army ROTC left the UPR Cayey campus in 1997.
Tribute.
A monument to honor Military Veterans from Cayey stands near the Herry Barracks housing area and of the main roads of the former Army base was renamed Avenida Los Veteranos (Veterans Avenue).
See also.
Other military articles related to Puerto Rico:


Olivier de Puymanel

Victor Olivier de Puymanel (1768 in Carpentras - 1799 in Malacca), Nguyễn Văn Tín (阮文信) or Ông Tín in Vietnamese, was a French construction officer and a French Navy volunteer and adventurer who had an important role in Vietnam in the 18th and 19th century. He played a key role in the modernization of the army of Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (the future Emperor Gia Long).
Olivier de Puymanel was second-class volunteer on board the French warship "Dryade". In 1788 he deserted his ship while in Pulo Condor. He soon entered into the service of the Vietnamese prince Nguyễn Phúc Ánh at the instigation of Pigneau de Behaine, who was setting up a force of French volunteers to help the latter regain the throne.
Olivier de Puymanel supervised the construction of the Citadel of Saigon, according to the design of the French engineer in Vietnam Théodore Lebrun.
He also trained Vietnamese troops in the modern use of artillery, and implemented European infantry methods in the Vietnamese army of Nguyễn Phúc Ánh. In 1792, Olivier de Puymanel was commanding an army of 600 men who had been trained with European techniques.
Puymanel built a fortress in Duyên Khanh, near Nha Trang, where he defended the city against Tây Sơn forces, together with Pigneau de Behaine and Prince Cảnh. In 1795, Puymanel engineered the campaign to take Nha Trang.
Puymanel is said to have trained the 50,000 men of Nguyen's army, while Dayot was in charge of the Navy. The results of these French efforts at the modernization of Vietnamese forces were attested by John Crawfurd, who visited Huế in 1822:
Olivier de Puymanel also worked on the cartography of the Vietnamese coast, together with Jean-Marie Dayot, another French officer in the service of Nguyễn Phúc Ánh.
Pigneau de Behaine and Puymanel seem to have disliked each other, and Pigneau was rather unimpressed with Puymanel's drinking habits and reliance on Saigon prostitutes.


Union Defence Force (South Africa)

The Union Defence Force (UDF) was the military of South Africa from 1 July 1912, when the Defence Act (No 13 of 1912) took effect, two years after the creation of the Union of South Africa, until 1957 when it was reorganised and renamed the South African Defence Force.
History of the UDF.
Establishment.
After the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, General Jan Smuts, the Union's first Minister of Defence, placed a high priority on creating a unified military out of the separate armies of the union's four provinces. The South African Defence Act (Act 13 of 1912) made provision for a UDF that would be composed of a Permanent Force (or standing army) of career soldiers, an Active Citizen Force (ACF) of temporary conscripts, a Coast Garrison Force and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (South African Division) (RNVR(SA)), as well as any other defence arm that might in future be established to meet the defence requirements of the Union of South Africa. The 1912 law also obligated all white males between seventeen and sixty years of age to serve in the military, but this was not strictly enforced as there were a large number of volunteers. Instead, half of the white males aged from 17 to 25 were drafted by lots into the ACF.
Permanent Force.
Initially, the Permanent Force consisted of five regular mounted regiments and a small artillery section as well as a headquarters, instructional and administrative staff. Provision was also made for a Coastal Defence Corps, South African Aviation Corps (SAAC) – part of the ACF and School Cadet Corps. No provision was made for an overall commander, instead the commanders of the Citizen Force, Cadet Corps and Permanent Force reported directly to the Minister of Defence.
Headquarters.
On 1 July 1912 the Headquarters of the UDF was established in Pretoria. Headquarters comprised three sections: Secretariat, General Staff and an Administrative section. A Medical Services Section was added in December 1913, and during 1916 the Administrative Section became the Quartermaster-General's Section.
Brigadier General Christian Frederick Beyers was appointed Commandant General of the Citizen Force, Brigadier General Henry Lukin became Inspector General of the Permanent Force and Colonel Percival Scott Beves became Commandant of Cadets. They reported directly to the Minister of Defence.
C.F. Beyers resigned his post in September 1914 and the role was taken over by the Minister of Defence
The titles of the officers in charge of these sections were changed on 1 July 1915. The Head of the General Staff became Chief Staff Officer, General Staff and Adjutant-General. The Head of the Administrative section became Quartermaster General. In July 1917 the General Staff post was again renamed to Chief of the General Staff and Adjutant-General.
In May 1918 the co-ordination of all military staff work at HQ and the issue of all military orders was vested in the Chief of the General Staff, as well as the responsibilities of Commandant of Cadets and the role of Adjutant-General was split off. There were 4 sections under the CGS – General Staff section, Adjudant General, Medical Services and Quartermaster General. Andries Brink was appointed Chief of the General Staff in 1920. The posts of Chief of the General Staff and Secretary of Defence were combined on 30 September 1922, following the retirement of Sir Roland Bourne
Creation of the Services.
The South African Army was created first by merging the existing military structures of the former British colonies and Boer Republics that had become the four provinces of the Union. The formation of the South African Air Force followed in 1920. The South African Naval Service was created in 1922, following the donation of HMS "Thames" which became the South African Training Ship "General Botha".
1922 re-organisation.
The SA Defence Act Amendment Act, No. 22 of 1922 re-organised the Permanent Force. From 1 February 1923 the Permanent Force consisted of the Staff Corps, Instructional Corps, Naval Service, Field Artillery, 1st Regiment, Mounted Riflemen, the Permanent Garrison Artillery, the Engineer Corps, the Air Force, SA Service Corps, SA Medical Corps, Ordnance Corps, Veterinary Corps and the Administrative, Pay and Clerical Corps.
1926 to 1934.
To save money another reorganisation took place in 1926. The last regiment of the SA Mounted Riflemen was disbanded as was the Brigade HQ of the SA Field Artillery. The Great Depression put pressure on the Budget and 56 Citizen Force units were disbanded and the number of military districts was reduced from 16 to 6 The Special Service Battalion was started as a way of creating work for young people who could not find employment. A drastic move was the disbanding of the Naval Service
In 1933 Oswald Pirow became Minister of Defence, General Brink was appointed GOC of the UDF as well as the Secretary of Defence and Pierre van Ryneveld became Chief of the General Staff. In addition the 6 military districts were redesignated "Commands".
Pirow's Five Year expansion plan.
As the economy improved Minister Pirow put forward a plan to expand and reorganise the Defence Force. The Air Force would be increased to 7 squadrons, with new bases being built at Waterkloof, Bloemfontein, Durban and Youngsfield. However, by the start of World War II this had not materialised.
The Active Citizen Force units would increase from 8 to 24, 12 based in urban areas and 12 based in the countryside
Wars and other actions.
In 1913 and 1914, the new 23,400-member Citizen Force was called on to suppress several industrial strikes on the Witwatersrand.
The UDF participated in the First World War, The Second World War, the Berlin Airlift and the Korean War.
World War I.
The Union Defence Force saw action in a number areas in the First World War. In Africa the Army invaded German South-West Africa, later known as South West Africa, and now known as Namibia. The South Africans expelled German forces and gained control of the German colony. As part of the Allies' East African Campaign an expedition under General Jan Smuts was dispatched to German East Africa (later known as Tanganyika). The objective was to fight German forces in that colony and to try to capture the elusive German General von Lettow-Vorbeck. Ultimately, Lettow-Vorbeck fought his tiny force out of German East Africa into Mozambique and then Northern Rhodesia, where he accepted a cease-fire three days after the end of the war.
In Europe the 1st South African Infantry Brigade were shipped to France to fight on the Western Front. In addition to 5 batteries of Heavy Artillery, a Field Ambulance, a Royal Engineers Signal Company and a General Hospital were raised and sent to the front.
The Battle of Delville Wood in 1916 was the most costly battle fought by the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force.
South Africans also saw action in the Middle East, with the Cape Corps deploying as part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Palestine.
Military contributions and casualties.
With a population of roughly 6 million, between 1914 - 1918, over 250,000 South Africans of all races voluntarily served their country. It is likely that around 50% of white men of military age served during the war, more than 146,000 whites. 83,000 Blacks and 2,500 Coloureds and Asians also served in either German South-West Africa, East Africa, the Middle East, or on the Western Front in Europe. Over 7,000 South Africans were killed, and nearly 12,000 were wounded during the course of the war. Eight South Africans won the Victoria Cross for gallantry, the Empire’s highest and prestigious military medal. The Battle of Delville Wood and the sinking of the SS "Mendi" being the greatest single incidents of loss of life.
World War II.
South Africa and its military forces contributed in many theaters of war. South Africa's contribution consisted mainly of supplying troops, airmen and material for the North African campaign (the Desert War) and the Italian Campaign as well as to Allied ships that docked at its crucial ports adjoining the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean that converge at the tip of Southern Africa. Numerous volunteers also flew for the Royal Air Force.
Of the 334,000 men volunteered for full-time service in the South African Army during the war (including some 211,000 whites, 77,000 blacks and 46,000 coloureds and Indians), nearly 9,000 were killed in action.
Korean War.
In the 1950s, 2 Squadron ("The Flying Cheetahs") of the SAAF served as South Africa's primary contribution to the United Nations Command. Over 200 officers and some 545 airmen in the South African Air Force saw action over Korea between 1950 and 1953. Also represented were 38 different ranks from other branches of the UDF.
South Africa suffered 34 dead or missing in action during the Korean War. Eight pilots either shot down by communist forces or forced to land their aircraft behind enemy lines were taken prisoner.


Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Arlington)

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a monument dedicated to deceased U.S. service members whose remains have not been identified. It is located in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, United States. The World War I "Unknown" is a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the Victoria Cross, and several other foreign nations' highest service awards. The U.S. Unknowns who were interred are also recipients of the Medal of Honor, presented by U.S. presidents who presided over their funerals. The monument has no officially designated name.
Tomb of 1921.
On March 4, 1921, the United States Congress approved the burial of an unidentified American serviceman from World War I in the plaza of the new Memorial Amphitheater. On November 11, 1921, the unknown soldier brought back from France was interred below a three-level marble tomb. The bottom two levels are six granite sections each and the top at least nine blocks with a rectangular opening in the center of each level through which the unknown remains were placed through the tomb and into the ground below. A stone slab, rather than marble, covers the rectangular opening.
Tomb of 1931.
Since 1921 the intent was to place a superstructure on top of the Tomb, but it was not until July 3, 1926, that Congress authorized the completion of the Tomb and the expenditure of $50,000 (with a completed cost of $48,000). A design competition was held and won by architect Lorimer Rich and sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones. An appropriation from Congress for the work was secured and on December 21, 1929, a contract for completion of the Tomb itself was entered into. The Tomb would consist of seven pieces of marble in four levels (cap, die, base and sub-base) of which the die is the largest block with the sculpting on all four sides.
Quarrying the Yule marble (3.9 miles south of Marble, Colorado by the Vermont Marble Company) was a one-year process beginning in 1930. The cap was quarried on the first attempt but the base required three tries. The large middle block also required three tries. In late January 1931, the 56 ton middle block was lifted out of the quarry. The quarrying involved 75 men. When the block was separated from the mountain inside the quarry it weighed 124 tons. A wire saw was then brought into the quarry to cut the block down to 56 tons.
On February 3, the block reached the marble mill site (in the town of Marble) after a four-day trip from the quarry. Here it was crated, then shipped to Vermont on February 8. The block was sawn to final size in West Rutland, Vermont, and fabricated by craftsmen in Proctor, Vermont, before it was shipped by train to Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. By September, all 7 blocks were on the grounds of the Tomb site, at Arlington.
Assembly began in September 1931. An imperfection was found in the base, requiring three more quarryings. By the end of December 1931, the assembly was completed. Finishing work followed with the carvings on the die block by the Piccirilli Brothers under the direction of the sculptor Thomas Jones. (The brothers also carved the Lincoln statue for the Lincoln Memorial, among others). The Tomb was completed without formal ceremony on April 9, 1932.
The Tomb was placed at the head of the grave of the World War I Unknown. West of this grave are the crypts of Unknowns from World War II (south) and Korea (north). Between the two lies a crypt that once contained an Unknown from Vietnam (middle). His remains were positively identified in 1998 through DNA testing as First Lieutenant Michael Blassie, United States Air Force and were removed. Those three graves are marked with white marble slabs flush with the plaza.
The Tomb has a flat-faced form and is relieved at the corners and along the sides by neo-classical pilasters set into the surface with objects and inscription carved into the sides. The 1931 symbolism of the objects on the north, south and east sides changed over time.
Tomb Dimensions
as of 2004 (xxx)* 1931 die block dimension coming out of the quarry.
The Unknown of World War I.
On Memorial Day, 1921, four unknown servicemen were exhumed from four World War I American cemeteries in France, Aisne-Maine, Meuse-Argonne, Somme, and St. Mihiel. U.S. Army Sgt. Edward F. Younger, who was wounded in combat, highly decorated for valor and received the Distinguished Service Cross selected the Unknown of World War I from four identical caskets at the city hall in Châlons-en-Champagne, France, on October 24, 1921. Younger selected the World War I Unknown by placing a spray of white roses on one of the caskets. He chose the third casket from the left. The chosen Unknown was transported to the United States aboard . Those remaining were interred in the Meuse Argonne Cemetery, France.
The World War I Unknown lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda from his arrival in the United States until Armistice Day, 1921. On November 11, 1921, President Warren G. Harding officiated at the interment ceremonies at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. During the ceremony, the World War I Unknown was awarded the Victoria Cross by Admiral of the Fleet Lord Beatty, on behalf of King George V of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom Victoria Cross was placed with the soldier. Earlier, on March 4, 1921, the British Unknown Warrior was conferred the U.S. Medal of Honor by General of the Armies John Pershing. In 1928, the Unknown Soldier was presented the Silver Buffalo Award for distinguished service to America's youth by the Boy Scouts of America.
The Unknowns of World War II and Korea.
On August 3, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower (a general during WWII) signed a bill to select and pay tribute to the Unknowns of World War II and the Korean War. The selection ceremonies and the interment of these Unknowns took place in 1958. The World War II Unknown was selected from remains exhumed from cemeteries in Europe, Africa, Hawaii, and the Philippines.
Two Unknowns from World War II, one from the European Theater and one from the Pacific Theater, were placed in identical caskets and taken aboard , a guided-missile cruiser resting off the Virginia Capes, and placed on either side of the Korean unknown. Navy Hospital Corpsman 1st Class William R. Charette, then the U.S. Navy's only active-duty Medal of Honor recipient who was an enlisted man, selected the right-hand casket as the World War II Unknown. The casket of the remaining WWII unknown received a solemn burial at sea.
The Korean unknown had been selected from four unknown Americans who died in the Korean War that were disinterred from the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii. Army Master Sergeant Ned Lyle made the final selection. The unselected unknowns were re-interred there.
The caskets of the WWII & Korean unknowns arrived in Washington on May 28, 1958, where they lay in the Capitol Rotunda until the morning of May 30, when they were carried on caissons to Arlington National Cemetery. President Eisenhower awarded each the Medal of Honor, and the Unknowns of World War II and the Korean War were interred in the plaza beside their World War I comrade.
The Unknown of Vietnam.
The Vietnam Unknown service member was originally designated by Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Allan Jay Kellogg, Jr., during a ceremony at Pearl Harbor.
Each branch of the Armed Services took part in the transportation to honor the unknown. The Marines from Marine Barracks Hawaii consisted of an Honor Guard of 9 enlisted men and Lt. Denis Muller. The designated Vietnam Unknown was transported aboard , where the Marines stood guard over the casket during the voyage to Naval Air Station Alameda, California. At Travis, the debarkation ceremony turned the remains over to the USAF on May 24. The next day, the remains of the Unknown were flown from Travis Air Force Base, California, arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Once there the remains were turned over to the US Army, where the remains were taken to Fort McNair for placement upon the horse-drawn wagon which later carried the Unknown to the Capital Rotunda for display before interment. While on display for public viewing, all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces stood in honor, guarding the casket of the Unknown for two weeks.
Many Vietnam veterans and President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan visited the Vietnam Unknown in the U.S. Capitol. An Army caisson carried the Vietnam Unknown from the Capitol to the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 28, 1984.
President Reagan presided over the funeral, and presented the Medal of Honor to the Vietnam Unknown, and also acted as next of kin by accepting the interment flag at the end of the ceremony. The interment flags of all Unknowns at the Tomb of the Unknowns are on view in the Memorial Display Room.
Identification of the Unknown.
In 1994, Ted Sampley, a POW/MIA activist, determined that the remains of the Vietnam Unknown were likely those of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, who was shot down near An Lộc, Vietnam, in 1972. Sampley published an article in his newsletter and contacted Blassie's family, who attempted to pursue the case with the Air Force's casualty office without result. In January 1998, CBS News broadcast a report based on Sampley's investigation which brought political pressure to support the identification of the remains. The body was exhumed on May 14, 1998. Based on mitochondrial DNA testing, Department of Defense scientists confirmed the remains were those of Blassie. The identification was announced on June 30, 1998, and on July 10, Blassie's remains arrived home to his family in St. Louis, Missouri; he was reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on July 11.
Redesignation of the crypt.
The slab over the crypt that once held the remains of the Vietnam Unknown has since been replaced. The original inscription of "Vietnam" has been changed to "Honoring and Keeping Faith with America's Missing Servicemen" as a reminder of the commitment of the Armed Forces to the fullest possible accounting of missing service members. It was decided that the crypt would remain vacant.
Tomb Guards.
The tomb guards are soldiers of the United States Army. The first military guards were troopers from the 3rd Cavalry, "Brave Rifles", who were posted nearby on Fort Myer. Since April 6, 1948, (known then as "Army Day"), when the regiment was reactivated, it has been guarded by soldiers from 3rd Infantry Regiment, "The Old Guard". The Old Guard is also posted to Fort Myer, Virginia, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery. It is considered one of the highest honors to serve as a Sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Fewer than 20 percent of all volunteers are accepted for training and of those only a fraction pass training to become full-fledged Tomb Guards. This attrition rate has made the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Guard Identification Badge the third least-awarded qualification badge of the United States Army; as of July 4, 2020, they number 683, including 23 which have been revoked and 7 "administrative errors", it is preceded by the 15 Military Horseman Identification Badges and the 17 Astronaut Badges.
The soldier "walking the mat" does not wear rank insignia, so as not to outrank the Unknowns, whatever their ranks may have been. Non-commissioned officers (usually the Relief Commander and Assistant Relief Commanders), do wear insignia of their rank when changing the guard only. They have a separate uniform (without rank) that is worn when they actually guard the Unknowns or are "posted."
The duties of the sentinels are not purely ceremonial. The sentinels will confront people who cross the barriers at the tomb or whom they perceive to be disrespectful or excessively loud.
Weapons.
Over the years there have been several different types of weapons used by the tomb guards. The changes in weapons reflect the changes in the Army, including the M1903 Springfield rifle, M1 Garand and M14 rifles, and the M1911, M9 and M17 pistols. Tomb guards currently carry M14 rifles, which are affixed to ceremonial rifle stocks. These rifles are cleaned daily and kept ready for use at all times.
Walking the mat.
There is a meticulous routine that the guard follows when watching over the graves. The tomb guard:
After each turn, the guard executes a sharp "shoulder-arms" movement to place the weapon on the shoulder closest to the visitors to signify that the guard stands between the Tomb and any possible threat.
Out of respect for the interred, the sentinels command silence at the tombs. If the guard walking the mat must vocally confront a disturbance from spectators, or a threat, the routine is interrupted, and remains so until the disturbance is under control. The sentinel will exit the mat, place the weapon in port arms position, and confront the disturbance. Once under control, the sentinel then walks on the pavement to the other side of the mat, turns to shoulder arms, and resumes the routine from the point of interruption.
Twenty-one was chosen because it symbolizes the highest military honor that can be bestowed—the 21-gun salute.
The mat is usually replaced twice per year: before Memorial Day and before Veterans Day. This is required because of the wear on the rubber mat by the special shoes worn by tomb guards. The sentinels have metal plates built into the soles and inner parts of their shoes to allow for a more rugged sole and to give the signature click of the heel during maneuvers. The sentinels wear sunglasses because of the bright reflection from the marble surrounding the Tomb and the Memorial Amphitheater.
On the ground not covered by the mat, a rust pattern in the tile can be seen that corresponds to the precise steps taken during the changing of the guard. The metal from the guards' boots causes the brown rust markings on the stone. On the mat itself, footprints caused by standing guard are also visible.
Changing of the Guard.
While Arlington National Cemetery is open, during the day in summer months from April 1 to September 30, the guard is changed every half hour. During the winter months, from October 1 to March 31, the guard is changed every hour. After the cemetery closes to the public (7 p.m. to 8 a.m. April through September, and 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. October through March), the guard is changed every 2 hours. The ceremony can be witnessed by the public whenever Arlington National Cemetery is open.
The guard change is very symbolic, but also conducted in accordance with Army regulations. The relief commander or assistant relief commander, along with the oncoming guard, are both required for a guard change to take place. The relief commander orders the guard being relieved to "pass on your orders" to the oncoming guard. The guard being relieved will say to the oncoming guard, "Post and orders remain as directed." The oncoming guard's response is always "Orders acknowledged." During changes when the public is witnessing the ceremony, the commander will inform the public that the ceremony is about to take place and that those in attendance should remain "silent and standing" throughout the entire event. In some occurrences, the public is also asked to refrain from taking flash pictures (mostly during inclement weather).
Dedication.
A civilian guard was first posted at the Tomb on November 17, 1925, to prevent, among other things, families from picnicking on the flat marble slab with views of the city. A military guard was first posted on March 25, 1926. The first 24-hour guard was posted on midnight, July 2, 1937. The Tomb of the Unknowns has been guarded continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, since that time. Inclement weather, terrorist attacks, et cetera, do not cause the watch to cease.
Since 1948, the tomb guards, a special platoon within the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) work on a team rotation of 24 hours on, 24 hours off, for five days, taking the following four days off. A guard takes an average of six hours to prepare his uniform—heavy wool, regardless of the time of year—for the next day's work. In addition to preparing the uniform, guards also conduct physical training, tomb guard training, participate in field exercises, cut their hair before the next work day, and at times are involved in regimental functions as well. Tomb guards are required to memorize 35 pages of information about Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, including the locations of nearly 300 graves and who is buried in each one.
A special Army decoration, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Guard Identification Badge, is authorized for wear after passing a detailed test of 100 questions (from a pool of more than 300), a uniform test with two gigs (errors) or fewer (measured to the 1/64"), and a test on the guard-changing sequence. After serving honorably for a period of nine months, and having passed the sequence of tests, a tomb guard is permanently awarded the Badge. Since the first award on February 7, 1958, fewer than 650 soldiers have completed training and been awarded this badge, including four women. A small number of tomb guard Identification Badges have also been retroactively awarded to soldiers who served as Guards before 1959. The Tomb Guard Identification Badge is the only badge awarded by the United States Army that can be revoked after a soldier has left the military. The Regimental Commander of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment has the authority to revoke a badge from any Guard (past or present) for any act that would bring discredit upon the Tomb of the Unknowns.
The badge was designed in 1956 and first issued to members of the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns on February 7, 1958. The badge was first issued only as a temporary wear item, meaning the soldiers could only wear the badge during their tenure as members of the honor guard. Upon leaving the duty, the badge was returned and reissued to incoming soldiers. In 1963, a regulation was enacted that allowed the badge to be worn as a permanent part of the military uniform, even after the soldier's completion of duty at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
In keeping with the dedication, Tomb Guards have made, this year (2021) serves as a centennial commemoration for The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. "For nearly 100 years, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (TUS) has served as the heart of Arlington National Cemetery. It is a people’s memorial that inspires reflection on service, valor, sacrifice and mourning. As a sacred memorial site and the grave of three unknown American service members, the Tomb connects visitors with the legacy of the U.S. armed forces throughout the nation’s history.
“As the stewards of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, it’s our honor to lead the centennial commemoration of this site,” said Karen Durham-Aguilera, Executive Director, Army National Military Cemeteries and Arlington National Cemetery. “In collaboration with other governmental and non-governmental organizations, ANC is using this centennial commemoration to explore and share with the public the history, meaning and evolution of the Tomb.”
Throughout this year, the cemetery will hold events leading up to the centennial ceremony on November 11, 2021. The public will be able to experience and participate in the commemorative events in many ways, both at the cemetery and virtually."
Similar tomb guards.
The tomb guards have often been replicated by other organizations:
Damage and repair to the Tomb Monument.
Cracking and weathering are causing concerns for the long-term preservation of the Tomb Monument. A November 1963 report first recorded horizontal cracking of the monument's marble die block. Though this was the first time that the damage was documented, the report made it clear that the cracks had become visible some time before that date.
In 1963–1964, there were two cracks—referred to as "primary" and "secondary"—extending approximately around the die block. By 1974, they had extended to . They grew another over the next 15 years. Inspection has determined that the cracks have increased horizontally since 1990. Analysis also indicates that the cracks are not surficial but extend partially through the block and will eventually extend all the way through.
The 1990 report documented deterioration of the marble's surface. As much as of the marble surface has been lost through weathering. The study projected that before 2010, the Tomb Monument will have been weathered enough to have a negative effect on the experience of the visitors and concludes the only solutions are to enclose or replace the monument.
Several options have been considered to deal with the damage. Officials at Arlington National Cemetery determined that proper repair can return the Tomb Monument to an acceptable appearance. However, because the cracks will continue to lengthen and widen, continuous grouting, regrouting, touch-up, monitoring, and maintenance would be required. Therefore, a report commissioned by Arlington National Cemetery and published in June 2006 confirmed the Cemetery's conclusion that "replacement of the three pieces of the Tomb Monument is the preferred alternative". A final decision was scheduled to be made on September 30, 2007.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation objects to the plan to replace the authentic Tomb Monument. The Trust expressed concern that Arlington National Cemetery seeks to replace the existing monument with marble from the original quarry, which experts agree is likely to eventually crack.
The Trust has observed that the Cemetery's own 1990 report recommended that the monument be repaired and that the Cemetery, in fact, commissioned Oehrlein Architects to repair the stone. In 2007, Mary Oehrlein informed Congressional staff members that: "The existing monument can easily be repaired, as was done 17 years ago, using conventional conservation methods to re-grout the cracks. Once repaired, the fault lines would be virtually invisible from the public viewing areas."
On September 26, 2007, U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka announced that an amendment crafted together with Senator Jim Webb will be added to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (H.R. 1585) that would require a report on the plans of the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to replace the monument at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The secretaries would be required to advise Congress on the current efforts to maintain and preserve the monument. Additionally, they would have to provide an assessment on the feasibility and advisability of repairing rather than replacing the Tomb Monument. Finally, if the secretaries choose replacement, they would have to report those plans and detail how they intend to dispose of the current monument. Once the report is provided, the secretaries are prevented from taking action to replace the monument for at least 180 days. The Akaka-Webb amendment was included in the bill by unanimous consent of the Senate. An amendment to the Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Authorization Bill authorized a review of the monument's condition. The bill also authorized repair, but not replacement, of the monument. Final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2008 (H.R. 4986) was signed by President Bush on January 28, 2008.
In 2003 John Haines, a retired car dealer, offered to donate a large slab of marble to the Arlington National Cemetery to replace the existing marble. Haines paid $31,000 for the marble slab. The marble was not removed from the quarry, however, because imperfections were found and the block was rejected.
In June 2009 Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that the monument was to be repaired, not replaced. In 2010, the cracks were filled but the repairs lasted only a few months. As of June 2011, the cemetery was struggling to repair the cracks in the monument, one of which measured long, with another at . In September 2011, the cracks were filled again and on October 21, 2011, inspection by the Corps of Engineers and other experts pronounced the repairs a success.