title: United States embargo against Cuba

text: Some religious leaders oppose the embargo for a variety of reasons, including humanitarian and economic restrictions the embargo imposes on Cubans. Pope John Paul II called for the end to the embargo during his 1979 pastoral visit to Mexico. Patriarch Bartholomew I called the embargo a "historic mistake" while visiting the island on January 25, 2004. Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Minister Louis Farrakhan have also publicly opposed the embargo. On May 15, 2002, former President Jimmy Carter spoke in Havana, calling for an end to the embargo, saying "Our two nations have been trapped in a destructive state of belligerence for 42 years, and it is time for us to change our relationship." The US bishops called for an end to the embargo on Cuba, after Pope Benedict XVI's 2012 visit to the island.


title: United States embargo against Cuba

text: Film director Michael Moore challenged the embargo by bringing 9/11 rescue workers in need of health care to Cuba to obtain subsidized health care.


title: United States embargo against Cuba

text: In June 2011, former Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern blamed "embittered Cuban exiles in Miami" for keeping the embargo alive. Before visiting Cuba, he said:


title: United States embargo against Cuba

text: Barack Obama discussed easing the embargo during his 2008 campaign for president of the U.S., though he promised to maintain it. In December 2014, he called the embargo a failure, asking the U.S. Congress to enact legislation to lift it entirely.


title: United States embargo against Cuba

text: A 2008 "USA Today"/Gallup Poll indicated that Americans believed that diplomatic relations "should" be re-established with Cuba, with 61% in favor and 31% opposed.


title: United States embargo against Cuba

text: In January 2012, an Angus Reid Public Opinion poll showed that 57% of Americans called for ending the travel ban that prevented most Americans from visiting Cuba, with 27% disagreeing and 16% not sure.


title: United States embargo against Cuba

text: The Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University has conducted thirteen polls (from 1991 to 2020) of Cuban Americans in Dade County, Florida In 1991, support for the embargo was 67.9% (5.5% don't know) shortly after the end of the Cold War, bottoming out at 31.6% (9.4% don't know) in 2016 during the Cuban thaw, and back up to 54% (8% don't know) in 2020 after the Trump administration reversed the thaw.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (; ) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Japan and Manchukuo in 1939. The conflict was named after the river Khalkhin Gol, which passes through the battlefield. In Japan, the decisive battle of the conflict is known as the after Nomonhan, a nearby village on the border between Mongolia and Manchuria. The battles resulted in the defeat of the Japanese Sixth Army.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: After the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in 1931, Japan turned its military interests to Soviet territories that bordered those areas. The first major Soviet-Japanese border incident, the Battle of Lake Khasan, occurred in 1938 in Primorye. Clashes between Japanese and Soviet forces occurred frequently along the border of Manchuria.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: In 1939, Manchuria was a puppet state of Japan known as Manchukuo, and Mongolia was a communist state allied with the Soviet Union, known as the Mongolian People's Republic. The Japanese maintained that the border between Manchukuo and Mongolia was the Khalkhin Gol (English "Khalkha River") which flows into Lake Buir. In contrast, the Mongolians and their Soviet allies maintained that the border ran some east of the river, just east of Nomonhan village.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The principal occupying army of Manchukuo was the Kwantung Army of Japan, consisting of some of the best Japanese units in 1939. However, the western region of Manchukuo was garrisoned by the relatively newly formed 23rd Infantry Division at Hailar under General Michitarō Komatsubara and included several Manchu army and border guard units all under the direct command of the Sixth Army. The 23rd was the newest and least experienced division in the entire Kwantung Army. In addition to this, the 23rd Division was equipped with outdated equipment. Japanese army experts rated the combat capability of the 23rd Division as "below medium", comparable to a garrison division on occupation duty in China.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The Soviet forces consisted of the 57th Special Corps, deployed from the Transbaikal Military District. They were responsible for defending the border between Siberia and Manchuria. The Mongolian troops mainly consisted of cavalry brigades and light artillery units, and proved to be effective and agile, but lacked armor and manpower in sufficient numbers.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: On 2 June 1939 Georgy Zhukov was told by Commissar of Defence Kliment Voroshilov that Stalin was dissatisfied with the local commander and he was to go to Mongolia, take command of the 57th Special Corps and eliminate Japanese provocations by inflicting a decisive reverse on the Imperial Japanese Army (when summoned to Moscow on 1 June he had feared he was to be arrested and interrogated by the NKVD).


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: In 1939, the Japanese Cabinet sent instructions to the Kwantung Army to strengthen and fortify Manchukuo's borders with Mongolia and the Soviet Union. Additionally, the Kwantung Army, which had long been stationed in Manchuria far from the Japanese Home Islands, had become largely autonomous and tended to act without approval from, or even against the direction of, the Japanese government.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The incident began on 11 May 1939. A Mongolian cavalry unit of some 70 to 90 men had entered the disputed area in search of grazing for their horses. On that day, Manchu cavalry attacked the Mongolians and drove them back across the river Khalkhin Gol. On 13 May, the Mongolian force returned in greater numbers and the Manchukoans failed to dislodge them.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: On 14 May, Lt. Col. Yaozo Azuma led the reconnaissance regiment of the 23rd Infantry Division, supported by the 64th Infantry Regiment of the same division, under Colonel Takemitsu Yamagata, into the territory and the Mongolians withdrew. Soviet and Mongolian troops returned to the disputed region, however, and Azuma's force again moved to evict them, but the Soviet-Mongolian forces surrounded Azuma's force on 28 May and destroyed it. The Azuma force suffered eight officers and 97 men killed and one officer and 33 men wounded, for 63% total casualties.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The commander of the Soviet forces and of the Far East Front was Komandarm Grigori Shtern from May 1938.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Both sides increased their forces in the area. Soon Japan had 30,000 men in the theater. The Soviets dispatched a new corps commander, Comcor Georgy Zhukov, who arrived on 5 June and brought more motorized and armored forces (I Army Group) to the combat zone. Accompanying Zhukov was Comcor Yakov Smushkevich with his aviation unit. J. Lkhagvasuren, Corps Commissar of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army, was appointed Zhukov's deputy.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: On 27 June the Japanese Army Air Force's 2nd Air Brigade struck the Soviet airbase at Tamsak-Bulak in Mongolia. The Japanese won this engagement, but the strike had been ordered by the Kwantung Army without obtaining permission from Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) headquarters in Tokyo. In an effort to prevent the incident from escalating, Tokyo promptly ordered the JAAF not to conduct any more air-strikes against Soviet airbases.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Throughout June there were reports of Soviet and Mongolian activity on both sides of the river near Nomonhan and small-scale attacks on isolated Manchukoan units. At the end of the month, the commander of the 23rd Japanese Infantry Division, Lt. Gen. Michitarō Komatsubara, received permission to "expel the invaders".


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The Japanese planned a two-pronged assault. The first attack would be made by three regiments plus part of a fourth: the 71st and the 72nd Infantry Regiment (23rd Division), a battalion of the 64th Infantry Regiment and the 26th Infantry Regiment under Colonel Shinichiro Sumi (7th Infantry Division). This force would advance across the Khalkin Gol, destroy Soviet forces on Baintsagan Hill on the west bank, then make a left turn and advance south to the Kawatama Bridge. The second prong of the attack would be the task of the IJA 1st Tank Corps (1st TC) (Yasuoka Detachment), consisting of the 3rd and 4th Tank Regiments, plus a part of the 64th Infantry Regiment, a battalion from the 28th Infantry Regiment, detached from the 7th Infantry, 24th Engineer Regiment, and a battalion from the 13th Field-Artillery Regiment, all under the overall command of Lieutenant General Yasuoka Masaomi. This force would attack Soviet troops on the east bank of the Khalkhin Gol and north of the Holsten River. The two Japanese thrusts were to join on the wings.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The northern task force succeeded in crossing the Khalkhin Gol, driving the Soviets from Baintsagan Hill, and advancing south along the west bank. However, Zhukov, perceiving the threat, launched a counterattack with 450 tanks and armored cars. The tanks consisted of primarily BTs with a handful of T-26s, while the armored cars were BA-10s and BA-3/6s, which were similar in armor () and armament (main: gun 20K mod, secondary: two machine guns) to the Soviet light tanks. The Soviet armored force, despite being unsupported by infantry, attacked the Japanese on three sides and nearly encircled them. The Japanese force, further handicapped by having only one pontoon bridge across the river for supplies, was forced to withdraw, recrossing the river on 5 July. Meanwhile, the 1st Tank Corps of the Yasuoka Detachment (the southern task force) attacked on the night of 2 July, moving in the darkness to avoid the Soviet artillery on the high ground of the river's west bank. A pitched battle ensued in which the Yasuoka Detachment lost over half its armor, but still could not break through the Soviet forces on the east bank and reach the Kawatama Bridge. After a Soviet counterattack on 9 July threw the battered, depleted Yasuoka Detachment back, it was dissolved and Yasuoka was relieved.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The two armies continued to spar with each other over the next two weeks along a front running along the east bank of the Khalkhin Gol to its junction with the Holsten River. Zhukov, whose army was away from its base of supply, assembled a fleet of 2,600 trucks to supply his troops, while the Japanese suffered severe supply problems due to a lack of similar motor transport. On 23 July, the Japanese launched another large-scale assault, sending the 64th and 72nd Infantry Regiments against Soviet forces defending the Kawatama Bridge. Japanese artillery supported the attack with a massive barrage that consumed more than half of their ammunition stores over a period of two days. The attack made some progress but failed to break through Soviet lines and reach the bridge. The Japanese disengaged from the attack on 25 July due to mounting casualties and depleted artillery stores. By this point they had suffered over 5,000 casualties between late May and 25 July, with Soviet losses being much higher but more easily replaced. The battle drifted into a stalemate.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: With war apparently imminent in Europe, and to avoid fighting a two front war, Zhukov planned a major offensive on 20 August 1939 to clear the Japanese from the Khalkhin Gol region and to end the fighting. Zhukov, using a fleet of at least 4,000 trucks (IJA officers with hindsight disputed this, saying he instead used 10,000 to 20,000 motor vehicles) transporting supplies from the nearest base in Chita ( away) assembled a powerful armored force of three tank brigades (the 4th, 6th and 11th), and two mechanized brigades (the 7th and 8th, which were armored car units with attached infantry support). This force was allocated to the Soviet left and right wings. The entire Soviet force consisted of three rifle divisions, two tank divisions and two more tank brigades (in all, some 498 BT-5 and BT-7 tanks), two motorized infantry divisions, and over 550 fighters and bombers. The Mongolians committed two cavalry divisions.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: In comparison, at the point of contact, the Kwantung Army had only General Komatsubara's 23rd Infantry Division, which with various attached forces was equivalent to two light infantry divisions. Its headquarters had been at Hailar, over from the fighting. Japanese intelligence, despite demonstrating an ability to track the build-up of Zhukov's force accurately, failed to precipitate an appropriate response from below. Thus, when the Soviets finally did launch their offensive, Komatsubara was caught off-guard. To test the Japanese defences prior to their main assault on 20 August, the Soviets launched three aggressive probing assaults, one on 3 August and the others on 7/8 August. All three were disastrously thrown back, with around 1,000 combined dead and several tanks knocked out on the Soviet side compared to just 85 Japanese casualties. Moreover, the Japanese counterattacked and routed elements of the Mongolian 8th Cavalry Division, seizing a hilly sector of the battlefront. Despite the fact that no more major fighting would take place until 20 August, Japanese casualties continued to mount at a rate of 40 wounded per day. Kwantung Army staff officers were becoming increasingly worried over the disorganized state of the 6th Army's headquarters and supply elements. In addition, the growing casualty count meant that the already green 23rd Division would have to take, train, and assimilate new replacements "on the job". By contrast, Tokyo's oft-stated desire that it would not escalate the fighting at Khalkhin Gol proved immensely relieving to the Soviets, freed to hand-pick select units from across their entire military to be concentrated for a local offensive without fear of Japanese retaliation elsewhere.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Zhukov decided it was time to break the stalemate. At 05:45 on 20 August 1939, Soviet artillery and 557 aircraft attacked Japanese positions, the first fighter-bomber offensive in Soviet Air Force history. Approximately 50,000 Soviet and Mongolian soldiers of the 57th Special Corps attacked the east bank of the Khalkhin Gol. Three infantry divisions and a tank brigade crossed the river, supported by massed artillery and by the Soviet Air Force. Once the Japanese were pinned down by the attack of Soviet center units, Soviet armored units swept around the flanks and attacked the Japanese in the rear, achieving a classic double envelopment. When the Soviet wings linked up at Nomonhan village on 25 August, they trapped the Japanese 23rd Infantry Division. On 26 August, a Japanese counterattack to relieve the 23rd Division failed. On 27 August the 23rd Division attempted to break out of the encirclement, but also failed. When the surrounded forces refused to surrender, they were again hit with artillery and air attacks. By 31 August, Japanese forces on the Mongolian side of the border were destroyed, leaving remnants of the 23rd Division on the Manchurian side. The Soviets had achieved their objective.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The Soviet Union and Japan agreed to a cease-fire on 15 September; it took effect the following day at 1:10 pm.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Japanese records report 8,440 killed, 8,766 wounded, 162 aircraft lost in combat, and 42 tanks lost (of which 29 were later repaired and redeployed). Roughly 500 to 600 Japanese and Manchus were taken prisoner during the battles. Due to a military doctrine that prohibited surrender, the Japanese listed most of these men as killed in action, for the benefit of their families. Some sources put the Japanese casualties at 45,000 or more killed, with Soviet casualties of at least 17,000. However, these estimates for Japanese casualties are considered inaccurate as they exceed the total strength of the Japanese forces involved in the battle (estimated at 28,000–40,000 troops, despite Soviet claims that they were facing 75,000). According to the records of the Bureau 6A hospital, the Japanese casualties amounted to 7,696 killed, 8,647 wounded, 1,021 missing, and 2,350 sick, for a total of 19,714 personnel losses, including 2,895 Manchu casualties. The Kwantung Army headquarters and their records give a slightly different figure of 8,629 killed and 9,087 injured. The former Japanese Minister of Agriculture and Forestry estimated a total of 35,000 to 36,000 casualties The Soviets initially claimed to have inflicted 29,085 casualties on the Japanese, but later increased this to 61,000 for the official histories.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: In recent years, with the opening of the Soviet archives, a more accurate assessment of Soviet casualties has emerged from the work of Grigoriy Krivosheev, citing 7,974 killed and 15,251 wounded. In the newer, 2001 edition, the Soviet losses are given as 9,703 killed and missing (6,472 killed and died of wounds during evacuation, 1,152 died of wounds in hospitals, eight died of disease, 2,028 missing, 43 non-combat dead), 15,251 wounded, and a further 701 to 2,225 sick, totaling between 25,655 and 27,179 casualties. In addition to their personnel losses, the Soviets lost a large amount of materiel including 253 tanks, 250 aircraft (including 208 in combat), 96 artillery pieces, and 133 armored cars. Of the Soviet tank losses, 75–80% were destroyed by anti-tank guns, 15–20% by field artillery, 5–10% by infantry-thrown incendiary bombs, 2–3% by aircraft, and 2–3% by hand grenades and mines. The large number of Soviet armor casualties are reflected in the manpower losses for Soviet tank crews. A total of 1,559 Soviet "Tank Troops" were killed or wounded during the battles.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Mongolian casualties were 556–990, with at least 11 armored cars destroyed and 1,921 horses and camels lost.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Nomonhan was the first use of airpower on a massive scale in a high-intensity battle to obtain a specific military objective. The combatants remained at peace until August 1945, when the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Manchukuo and other territory after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Combat losses include aircraft shot down during aerial combat, written off due to combat damage or destroyed on the ground.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Non-combat losses include aircraft that were lost due to accidents, as well as write-offs of warplanes due to the end of their service life. Thus Soviet combat losses amount to 163 fighters, 44 bombers, and a reconnaissance aircraft, with further 385 fighters and 51 bombers requiring repairs due to combat damage. VVS (Soviet Air Forces) personnel losses were 88 killed in aerial combat, 11 killed by anti-aircraft artillery, 65 missing, six killed in air-strikes and four died of wounds (174 total) and 113 wounded. The Japanese combat losses were 97 fighters, 25 bombers and 41 other (mostly reconnaissance), while 128 fighters, 54 bombers and 38 other required repairs due to combat damage. The Japanese Air Force suffered 152 dead and 66 severely wounded.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Bomber sorties 2,015, fighter sorties 18,509; 7.62 mm machine gun rounds fired 1,065,323; cannon rounds expended 57,979; bombs dropped 78,360 (1,200 tons).


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Fighter/bomber sorties 10,000 (estimated); machine gun rounds fired 1.6 million; bombs dropped 970 tons.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: While this engagement is little known in the West, it played an important part in subsequent Japanese conduct in World War II. The battle earned the Kwantung Army the displeasure of officials in Tokyo, not so much due to its defeat, but because it was initiated and escalated without direct authorization from the Japanese government. This defeat combined with the Chinese resistance in the Second Sino-Japanese War, together with the signing of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact (which deprived the Army of the basis of its war policy against the USSR), moved the Imperial General Staff in Tokyo away from the policy of the North Strike Group favored by the Army, which wanted to seize Siberia for its resources as far as Lake Baikal.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Instead, support shifted to the South Strike Group, favored by the Navy, which wanted to seize the resources of Southeast Asia, especially the petroleum and mineral-rich Dutch East Indies. Masanobu Tsuji, the Japanese colonel who had helped instigate the Nomonhan incident, was one of the strongest proponents of the attack on Pearl Harbor. General Ryūkichi Tanaka, Chief of the Army Ministry's Military Service Bureau in 1941, testified after the war that "the most determined single protagonist in favor of war with the United States was Tsuji Masanobu". Tsuji later wrote that his experience of Soviet fire-power at Nomonhan convinced him not to attack the Soviet Union in 1941. On 24 June 1941, two days after the war on the Eastern Front broke out, the Japanese army and navy leaders adopted a resolution "not intervening in German Soviet war for the time being". In August 1941, Japan and the Soviet Union reaffirmed their neutrality pact.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The United States and Britain had imposed an oil embargo on Japan, threatening to stop the Japanese war effort, but the European colonial powers were weakening and suffering early defeats in the war with Germany; only the US Pacific Fleet stood in the way of seizing the oil-rich Dutch East Indies. Because of this, Japan's focus was ultimately directed to the south, leading to its decision to launch the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December of that year. Despite plans being carried out for a potential war against the USSR (particularly contingent on German advances towards Moscow), the Japanese would never launch an offensive against the Soviet Union. In 1941, the two countries signed agreements respecting the borders of Mongolia and Manchukuo and pledging neutrality towards each other. In the closing months of World War II, the Soviet Union would annul the Neutrality Pact and invade the Japanese territories in Manchuria, northern Korea, and the southern part of Sakhalin island.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The battle was the first victory for the soon-to-be-famous Soviet general Georgy Zhukov, earning him the first of his four Hero of the Soviet Union awards. The two other generals, Grigori Shtern and Yakov Smushkevich, had important roles and were also awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union. They would, however, both be executed in the 1941 Purges. Zhukov himself was promoted and transferred west to the Kiev district. The battle experience gained by Zhukov was put to good use in December 1941 at the Battle of Moscow. Zhukov was able to use this experience to launch the first successful Soviet counteroffensive against the German invasion of 1941. Many units of the Siberian and other trans-Ural armies were part of this attack, and the decision to move these divisions from Siberia was aided by the Soviet spy Richard Sorge in Tokyo, who alerted the Soviet government that the Japanese were looking south and were unlikely to launch another attack against Siberia in the immediate future. A year after defending Moscow against the advancing Germans, Zhukov planned and executed the Red Army's offensive at the Battle of Stalingrad, using a technique very similar to Khalkhin Gol, in which the Soviet forces held the enemy fixed in the center, built up an undetected mass force in the immediate rear area, and launched a pincer attack on the wings to trap the German army.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Following the battle, the Soviets generally found the results unsatisfactory, despite their victory. Though the Soviet forces in the Far East in 1939 were not plagued by fundamental issues to the same extent as those in Europe during the 1941 campaigns, their generals were still unimpressed by their army's performance. As noted by Pyotr Grigorenko, the Red Army went in with a very large advantage in technology, numbers and firepower, yet still suffered huge losses, which he blamed on poor leadership.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Although their victory and the subsequent negotiation of the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact secured the Far East for the duration of the Soviet-German War, the Red Army always remained cautious about the possibility of another, larger Japanese incursion as late as early 1944. In December 1943, when the American military mission proposed a logistics base be set up east of Lake Baikal, the Red Army authorities were according to Coox "shocked by the idea and literally turned white". Due to this caution, the Red Army kept a large force in the Far East even during the bleakest days of the war in Europe. For example, on July 1, 1942, Soviet forces in the Far East consisted of 1,446,012 troops, 11,759 artillery pieces, 2,589 tanks and self-propelled guns, and 3,178 combat aircraft. Despite this, the Soviet operations chief of the Far Eastern Front, General A. K. Kazakovtsev, was not confident in his army group's ability to stop an invasion if the Japanese committed to it (at least in 1941–1942), commenting: "If the Japanese enter the war on Hitler's side ... our cause is hopeless."


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The Japanese similarly considered the result not a failing of tactics, but one that simply highlighted a need to address the material disparity between themselves and their neighbours. They made several reforms as a result of this battle: Tank production was increased from 500 annually to 1,200 in 1939. A mechanized headquarters was established in early 1941, and the new Type 1 47 mm anti-tank gun was introduced as a response to the Soviet 45 mm. These cannons were mounted on Type 97 Chi-Ha tanks, resulting in the Type 97 ShinHoTo Chi-Ha ("New Turret") variant, which became the IJA's standard medium tank by 1942. IGHQ also dispatched General Tomoyuki Yamashita to Germany in order to learn more about tank tactics, following the crushingly one-sided Battle of France and the signing of the Tripartite Pact. He returned with a report where he stressed the need for mechanization and more medium tanks. Accordingly, plans were put underway for the formation of 10 new armoured divisions in the near future.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Despite all of the above, Japanese industry was not productive enough to keep up with either the United States or the Soviet Union, and Yamashita warned against going to war with them for this reason. His recommendations were not taken to heart, and Japanese militarists eventually successfully pushed for war with the United States. In spite of their recent experience and military improvements, the Japanese would generally continue to underestimate their adversaries, emphasizing the courage and determination of the individual soldier as a way to make up for their lack of numbers and smaller industrial base. To varying degrees, the basic problems that faced them at Khalkhin Gol would haunt them again when the Americans and British recovered from their defeats of late 1941 and early 1942 and turned to the conquest of the Japanese Empire.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: Also, events exposed a severe lack of procedures for emergency staunching of bleeding. The original Japanese doctrine explicitly forbade first aid to fellow soldiers without prior orders from an officer, and first-aid training was lacking. As result, a large proportion of Japanese dead was due to hemorrhaging from untreated wounds. Furthermore, up to 30% of the total casualties were due to dysentery, which the Japanese believed was delivered by Soviet biological-warfare aerial bombs. To reduce susceptibility to diseases, future Japanese divisions would commonly include specialized Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Departments. Finally, the Japanese food rations were found to be unsatisfactory, both in packing and in nutritional value.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: After the Second World War, at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, fourteen Japanese were charged by delegates of the conquering Soviet Union, with having "initiated a war of aggression ... against the Mongolian People's Republic in the area of the Khalkhin-Gol River" and also with having waged a war "in violation of international law" against the USSR. Kenji Doihara, Hiranuma Kiichirō and Seishirō Itagaki were convicted on these charges.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The anniversary of the battle was first celebrated in 1969, on the occasion of its 30th anniversary. After its 50th anniversary, in 1989, it dwindled in importance, going down to the level of academic debates and lectures. Only recently has the anniversary made a resurgence as an important event in Mongolian history.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: The Mongolian town of Choibalsan, in the Dornod Province where the battle was fought, is the location of the "G. K. Zhukov Museum", dedicated to Zhukov and the 1939 battle. Ulaanbaatar also has a "G. K. Zhukov Museum" with information about the battle. The latter museum was opened on 19 August 1979 in the presence of Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal and Zhukov's three daughters. During the 70th, 75th and 80th anniversaries of the battle in 2009, 2014 and 2019, respectively, the President of Russia has taken part in the celebrations alongside the President of Mongolia and Soviet and Mongolian veterans, with the celebration often coinciding with a state visit.


title: Battles of Khalkhin Gol

text: On the 80th anniversary, in 2019, a military parade was held in Choibalsan on Independence Square, which featured tactical formations of the Russian Armed Forces' Eastern Military District and the Mongolian Armed Forces, all of whom were participants in the joint Russian-Mongolian military exercises "Selenga-2019" the previous month. Parades were held in the federal subjects of Russia that surround and have a close relationship with Mongolia, such as Buryatia, Yakutia and the Altai Republic. In the Buryat capital of Ulan-Ude, a parade was held in the capital. In addition, a concert on Sükhbaatar Square took place on 28 August, during which the Russian Alexandrov Ensemble together with the Mongolian singers gave a performance.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Super Bowl XXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1991 season. The Redskins defeated the Bills by a score of 37–24, becoming the fourth team after the Pittsburgh Steelers, the now Las Vegas Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers to win three Super Bowls. The Bills became the third team, after the Minnesota Vikings (Super Bowls VIII and IX) and the Denver Broncos (Super Bowls XXI and XXII) to lose back-to-back Super Bowls. The game was played on January 26, 1992, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the first time the city played host to a Super Bowl.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Both teams finished the regular season with the best record in their respective conference. The Redskins posted a 14–2 regular season record, and led the league during the regular season with 485 points. Washington head coach Joe Gibbs entered the game seeking his third Super Bowl victory with the team, but with his third starting Super Bowl quarterback, Mark Rypien. The Bills finished the regular season with a 13–3 record and advanced to their second consecutive Super Bowl, largely through the play of quarterback Jim Kelly and their "K-Gun" no-huddle offense. However, their defense ranked second to last in the league in total yards allowed.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Early in the second quarter, the Redskins jumped out to a 17–0 lead from which the Bills could not recover. Washington also sacked Kelly four times and intercepted him four times. Rypien, who completed 18 of 33 passes for 292 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, was named Super Bowl MVP.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The telecast of the game on CBS was seen by an estimated 79.6 million viewers. This was the first time that a major television network successfully scheduled Super Bowl counterprogramming: Fox aired a special live football-themed episode of its popular sketch comedy show "In Living Color" during the halftime show.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXVI to Minneapolis during their May 24, 1989, meeting in New Orleans. Indianapolis, Pontiac and Seattle also made bids for the game. Indianapolis' unsuccessful bid had seen the city offer the league perks such as free suites at and free limousine rides to the 1992 Indianapolis 500.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Super Bowl XXVI became the second Super Bowl to be played in a cold, winter climate city. The first one was Super Bowl XVI on January 24, 1982, at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Temperatures in Minneapolis on game day were a high of and low of , about above average.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The Metrodome also hosted the 1992 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four, making it the only stadium to host both events in the same calendar year. It also hosted the 1991 World Series as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Atlanta Braves. Minneapolis is the only city, and the Metrodome is the only venue, to host all three events in a 12-month span (all three of these events aired on CBS, who would go on to purchase their Twin Cities affiliate, WCCO-TV, later in the year). The attendance mark of 63,130 was third lowest (and the second lowest post-merger attendance) only to Super Bowl LV's attendance of 25,000 and the first Super Bowl's attendance of 61,946, and the Metrodome was the smallest stadium to ever host the Super Bowl. To date, this and Super Bowl LII are the northernmost Super Bowls ever played.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Washington entered Super Bowl XXVI leading the league during the regular season in scoring with 485 points, while allowing the second-fewest points (224). The team was led by Mark Rypien, head coach Joe Gibbs' third different starting Super Bowl quarterback. Rypien led the NFC during the regular season in passing yards (3,564) and touchdown passes (28). With 249 out of 421 completions and only 11 interceptions, he earned the second-highest passer rating in the league (97.9).


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Rypien had several great targets to whom he could throw. Wide receiver Gary Clark was the main deep threat on the team, catching 70 passes for 1,340 yards and 10 touchdowns. On the other side of the field, wide receiver Art Monk, playing in his 12th NFL season, was just as reliable, catching 71 passes for 1,049 yards and 8 touchdowns. Monk's 71 receptions in 1991 gave him a career total of 801, just 18 behind the all-time record held by Steve Largent. Wide receiver Ricky Sanders was also a big element of the passing game, catching 45 passes for 580 yards and 5 touchdowns.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The Redskins' primary weapon in the backfield was running back Earnest Byner, who ranked 5th in the NFL with 1,048 rushing yards, while also catching 34 passes for 308 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns. Rookie running back Ricky Ervins was also a major asset to the running attack, rushing 145 times for 680 yards for an average of 4.7 yards per carry, while also catching 16 passes for 181 yards. And when Washington was near the goal line, they usually relied on fullback Gerald Riggs, who rushed for 248 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. The Redskins' offensive line, known as "The Hogs", was led by Pro Bowl tackle Jim Lachey and guard Mark Schlereth, along with four-time Pro Bowl veterans Russ Grimm and Joe Jacoby. The Hogs allowed the fewest sacks in the league with just 9, 10 sacks less than the team that allowed the second-fewest. Even Washington's special teams unit was a big threat. Running back Brian Mitchell led the NFL in punt return yards (600) and punt return touchdowns (2) with a 13.3 yards per return average, while also gaining 583 yards returning kickoffs.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Washington's defense, which ranked third in the NFL in fewest yards allowed (4,638), was led by All-Pro defensive back Darrell Green, who was one of the fastest players in the NFL, and Pro Bowl linebacker Wilber Marshall. Green and Marshall recorded 5 interceptions each, with Marshall recording 75 return yards and a touchdown, while also compiling 5.5 sacks and forcing 4 fumbles. Safety Brad Edwards was also a big factor in the secondary, recording four interceptions. Up front, their line was anchored by defensive end Charles Mann, who recorded 11 of Washington's 50 sacks, and recovered a fumble. Defensive end Fred Stokes also made a big impact with 6.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and an interception.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The Redskins stormed to a league-best 14–2 regular season record. After crushing the Detroit Lions 45–0 on opening day, they recorded 11 consecutive wins before suffering their first loss to the Dallas Cowboys, 24–21. Their only other defeat was a meaningless loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the final game of the regular season in which they rested most of their starters because they had already clinched the #1 NFC playoff seed.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The Bills' no-huddle "K-Gun" offense once again dominated the league by gaining an NFL-leading 6,525 yards and scoring 458 points, second only to Washington. The leaders of the offense, quarterback Jim Kelly and running back Thurman Thomas, both had the best seasons of their careers. Kelly completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 3,844 yards and a league-leading 33 touchdowns, with only 17 interceptions, to give him a 97.6 passer rating. Thomas rushed for 1,407 yards, caught 62 passes for 620 yards, and scored 12 touchdowns to earn him both the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award and the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. With 2,067 yards from scrimmage, Thomas led the league in that category for the third consecutive season. Just like Washington, Buffalo had more than one threat in their backfield. Running back Kenneth Davis emerged as a big threat, rushing for 624 yards, catching 20 passes for 118 yards, and scoring 5 touchdowns.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The Bills also had several major weapons in their passing game. Wide receiver Andre Reed led the team with 81 receptions for 1,113 yards and 10 touchdowns, and also rushed 12 times for 136 yards. On the other side of the field, veteran wide receiver James Lofton recorded 57 receptions for 1,072 yards and 8 touchdowns to earn his 8th Pro Bowl appearance and finished the year just 55 yards short of the all-time receiving yardage record, held by Steve Largent (13,089 yards). Pro Bowl tight end Keith McKeller was also a big contributor with 44 receptions for 434 yards, while receiver Don Beebe had 32 catches, 414 yards, and 6 touchdowns. Once again, the Bills' offensive line was led by center Kent Hull, along with left tackle Will Wolford and Pro Bowl left guard Jim Ritcher.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: But the Bills had big problems on their defense. Buffalo ranked just 27th (out of 28 teams) in yards allowed, 19th in points allowed, and recorded only 31 sacks. A reason for this was that defensive linemen Bruce Smith and Jeff Wright had missed most of the season with injuries. One of the few bright spots on the Bills' defense was Pro Bowl linebacker Cornelius Bennett, who recorded 78 tackles, 9 sacks, and 2 fumble recoveries. Another Pro Bowl linebacker, Darryl Talley, led the team with 90 tackles and 5 interceptions, while also recovering 2 fumbles. Cornerback Nate Odomes was the leader of the secondary with 5 interceptions, which he returned for 120 yards and a touchdown, along with 66 tackles and a fumble recovery.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Despite their defensive problems, the Bills finished the season with an AFC-best 13–3 regular season record.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The Redskins first defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 24–7, in a rain-soaked playoff game that was closer than their 56–17 regular season win over Atlanta. Rypien had 442 passing yards and 6 touchdowns in the earlier game, but could only complete 14 out of 28 passes for 170 yards and no touchdowns in the rematch. Still, Washington dominated the Falcons again by forcing 6 turnovers and rushing for 162 yards. The Redskins held the ball for over 36 minutes while running back Ricky Ervins recorded 104 rushing yards and a touchdown.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Then Washington crushed the Detroit Lions 41–10 in the NFC Championship Game. The Lions posted a 12–4 regular season record and were coming off a 38–6 playoff blowout over the Dallas Cowboys. Many sports writers predicted that the NFC Championship Game would be much closer than the Redskins' win over the Lions in the season opening game because Detroit's future Hall of Fame running back, Barry Sanders, did not play in it due to injury. He had recorded 1,548 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in the remaining 15 games of the season, and 99 combined rushing and receiving yards against Dallas in the playoffs. However, the Redskins crushed Detroit in this game as well, quickly forcing two Lions turnovers and building up a 10–0 lead before the game was five minutes old. The Redskins scored 41 points off of two touchdown runs by Riggs, two field goals from kicker Chip Lohmiller, a pair of touchdown passes from Rypien to Monk and Clark, and Green's 32-yard 4th-quarter interception return for a touchdown. Sanders was held to just 59 total yards, and linebacker Wilber Marshall sacked Lions quarterback Erik Kramer three times.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Meanwhile, the Bills first defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 37–14, avenging a 33–6 Monday night loss during the regular season, in which the Chiefs recorded six sacks, recovered five fumbles, and gained 239 rushing yards, with running backs Harvey Williams and Christian Okoye recording over 100 rushing yards each. During this playoff game, the Bills jumped to a 24–0 lead in the 3rd quarter, with Kelly throwing three touchdown passes, the first two to Reed and the third to Lofton. The Bills also got a big performance out of Thomas, who rushed for over 100 yards, and kicker Scott Norwood, who made three field goals. Meanwhile, unconcerned with Kansas City's weak passing game, Buffalo played Bennett and Talley close to the line of scrimmage on nearly every play to stuff the run. Both players combined for 13 tackles, while the Bills' defense held Kansas City to 77 yards on the ground. Chiefs running back Barry Word, who became their primary rusher since the Monday Night game and rushed for over 100 yards in each of Kansas City's previous three games, was limited to just 50 yards. In addition, Buffalo's defense knocked Chiefs quarterback Steve DeBerg out of the game and intercepted backup quarterback Mark Vlasic four times.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Buffalo then played against the Denver Broncos, who were coming off a 26–24 win over the Houston Oilers, in which quarterback John Elway led them on an 87-yard drive to set up kicker David Treadwell's game-winning field goal with only 16 seconds left. It was predicted that this AFC Championship Game would be a shootout between the Bills' powerful offense and the superb postseason play of Elway. But neither Elway nor the Bills' offense had much success in the 10–7 Bills victory in a game totally dominated by defense. Bennett, who spent almost as much time in the Denver backfield as Elway, had another great game, constantly pressuring Elway, sharing one sack, and tackling Denver rushers behind the line of scrimmage three times. Bills linebacker Carlton Bailey also made a big impact late in the 3rd quarter, intercepting a screen pass from Elway and returning it 11 yards for Buffalo's only touchdown of the game. After backup quarterback Gary Kubiak scored Denver's only touchdown with less than two minutes to go, the Bills then clinched the victory when defensive back Kirby Jackson forced and recovered a fumble from running back Steve Sewell on Denver's final drive of the game. Treadwell's three missed field goals were a large factor in the final outcome of the defensive struggle.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: During the week leading to Super Bowl XXVI, it seemed most of the pressure was on the Bills. The AFC Championship Game appeared to be the best defensive effort by Buffalo all season, as they held the Broncos to only a touchdown, while also limiting Elway to just 11 of 21 completions for 121 yards and no touchdowns, with one interception. But the Bills' high-powered offense was completely shut down, limited to just a single field goal for the entire game. In addition, the Bills could have easily been eliminated by the Broncos, had Treadwell not missed three field goal attempts, two of which hit the uprights. The performance also gave an opportunity for Gibbs and the Redskins' coaches to devise a strong game plan to exploit their Super Bowl opponent's weaknesses.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: "Denver was successful being aggressive. That may have aided us a little bit in our thinking," said Redskins defensive coordinator Richie Petitibon. "Looking at them before they had played Denver, we kind of thought you had to put pressure on this guy (Jim Kelly). We attacked the line of scrimmage more than usual. We wanted to blitz to stop the run early in the game. It's sometimes tough to pick up blitzes against the running game."


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Redskins linebacker Matt Millen was bidding to become the first player to play in a Super Bowl victory for three different franchises (he played in Super Bowl XV and Super Bowl XVIII with the Raiders, and Super Bowl XXIV with the 49ers). However, Millen was deactivated for the game and watched from the Redskins sideline. He retired from the NFL shortly after the game to pursue a career in broadcasting (and later as a team executive).


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: During the CBS telecast, it was mentioned that Leonard Smith (the Bills' regular starting strong safety) couldn't play as a result of an infection in his knee.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Bills defensive line coach Chuck Dickerson mocked the Washington Redskins' famed offensive line, "The Hogs" in a television interview. Dickerson said Redskins tackle Joe Jacoby was "a Neanderthal – he slobbers a lot, he probably kicks dogs in his neighborhood." He also said tackle Jim Lachey "has bad breath. Players will fall down without him even touching them." Redskins coach Joe Gibbs got his hands on some tapes of Dickerson and played them at a team meeting on the night before the game. (Levy fired Dickerson three days after the game.)


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: As the designated home team in the annual rotation between AFC and NFC teams, the Bills elected to wear their home blue uniforms with white pants; the Redskins therefore wore white uniforms with burgundy pants, which was their own home preference at the time.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: This was Jerry Markbreit's third Super Bowl as the game's referee (having previously officiated Super Bowls XVII and XXI) tying the record set by Norm Schachter (I, V, and X), Jim Tunney (VI, XI, and XII), and Pat Haggerty (XIII, XVI, and XIX).


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Off the field, Super Bowl XXVI was also the site of a protest led by the American Indian Movement. Attended by about 2,000 protestors, the demonstration was intended to pressure Redskins management into changing the team's name, which some found offensive. The team would remove the name Redskins in the 2020 season, thus making Super Bowl XXVI the last Super Bowl appearance for Washington under the franchise's old nickname (should Washington advance to any future Super Bowls, it will be as the Washington Commanders).


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The game was broadcast in the United States by CBS and featured the broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Pat Summerall and color commentator John Madden for the fifth time. Lesley Visser, Jim Gray, and Pat O'Brien reported on the sidelines; Visser would later preside over the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy to the Redskins, becoming the first woman to do so. "The Super Bowl Today" was hosted by Greg Gumbel and Terry Bradshaw with Randy Cross and Dan Fouts contributing team reports, and Visser, Madden, Jim Gray, Bernard Goldberg and Mike Francesa (among others) contributing feature segments.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: This would be the last Super Bowl to air on CBS until Super Bowl XXXV at the end of the 2000 season. CBS lost the NFC package to Fox following the 1993 season, leaving the network without the NFL until it acquired the AFC package from NBC for the 1998 season. Super Bowl XXVI was not originally in CBS' rotation; since it had just broadcast Super Bowl XXIV two years earlier. CBS would have received Super Bowl XXVII as part of the rotation while NBC would have aired Super Bowl XXVI. Instead, the NFL made an exception for CBS, which had acquired the rights to the 1992 Winter Olympics (which started 13 days later), and allowed the network to air the Super Bowl as a lead-in program for its Olympics coverage.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: For this game, as they had done for Super Bowl XXIV, CBS debuted a new theme and opening for its NFL coverage. Composed by Frankie Vinci, the theme was used for the next two seasons on television and on CBS Radio after that; several remixes of the song were used from the time CBS resumed covering NFL games in 1998 until the end of the 2002 season; after that, CBS began using an E.S. Posthumus composition and has used it ever since.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: In addition to the new theme, CBS also rolled out a new network-wide graphics package for its sports coverage. With a few minor tweaks, the red, white, and blue graphic displays stayed in place until 1996, when CBS rolled out a new orange and yellow package.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Super Bowl XXVI was telecast in over 100 countries around the world, including Australia (Network Ten), Canada (CTV), Mexico (Canal 13) and the United Kingdom (Channel 4).


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: "Willing and Able" by Prince was used in a video montage during the closing credits of CBS' coverage.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Following the game was a "60 Minutes" interview with future President Bill and Hillary Clinton and an episode of "48 Hours". Super Bowl XXVI was featured in the episode of "The Simpsons" entitled "Lisa the Greek", which aired three days prior to the game and correctly predicted that Washington would win.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Also, this game was part of a broadcasting service test commissioned by the U.S. Navy. The ships participating were the USS "America"; USS "Concord"; USS "Eisenhower"; USS "Inchon"; USS "Monterey"; USS "Normandy" and the USS "Sierra".


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Boxer Muhammad Ali and pop singer Tony Bennett (a big Bills fan) were in attendance for the game. Ali appeared in a Luxury Box signing autographs for kids, while Bennett was shown sitting in the stands.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The pregame show featured local Minnesota youth including the Metropolitan Boys Choir, the Minnesota Youth Symphonies, and local marching bands.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Singer Harry Connick Jr. later sang the national anthem. For the first time in Super Bowl History, the anthem was also performed in sign language, with Lori Hilary signing the anthem for the deaf fans. The coin toss ceremony featured Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Noll. Noll, former Steelers Hall of Fame head coach who had retired a month earlier after 23 seasons, conducted the coin toss. Noll's Steelers had lost to both of these teams earlier in the season by large margins (52–34 to Buffalo and 41–14 to Washington).


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: STS-42, a Space Shuttle mission, was in orbit during the game. A live downlink between the Metrodome and "Discovery" happened during the pregame show. Three of the mission's seven crew members demonstrated a 'human coin toss' in space.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Buffalo head coach Marv Levy stated his famous phrase "Where else would you rather be?" to his players moments before kickoff, as shown on NFL Films highlights.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The halftime show was titled "Winter Magic", and featured a celebration to the winter season and the Winter Olympics. The halftime show was produced by Timberline Productions.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Nearly 2,000 performers were involved in the show. The show featured drill teams, professional dancers (including ballroom dancing couples), the 60-piece Minnesota Youth Symphonies, color guards and drill teams from area high schools, and rollerbladers. In addition, Pride of Minnesota marching band performed, former Olympic champions Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill skated. Singer Gloria Estefan performed during the show's finale.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The performance began with a 30-second overture, leading into an introduction by Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill, welcoming viewers to Minnesota, “where winter’s the hottest time of the year.” This was followed by the original composition "Winter Magic". Performers on the field spelled out the word "winter" followed by the word "magic". This was followed by "Walking in a Winter Wonderland", followed by a rendition of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy".


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: This was followed by "Frosty", an original composition involving rapping based on the character described in the song Frosty the Snowman. During this performance two 30-foot inflatable snowman figures were inflated, and dancing snowman figures were also utilized. The University of Minnesota Marching Band took the field during this song.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: This was followed by a salute to the 1992 Winter Olympics athletes, with Brian Boitano and Dorothy Hamill skating to the song "One Moment in Time", on sheets of Teflon that were embedded on the tops of large platforms that were placed on the field for the show. After they finished their skating performance, the tribute to Olympians continued to the song "Don't Stop Me Now". Members of the 1980 United States Men's Olympic Ice Hockey Team took stage for this tribute, holding sparklers. Rollerbladers also took part in this segment of the performance. Boitano and Hamill left the field on a snowmobile.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Gloria Estefan then took the stage, and performed her songs "Live for Loving You" and "Get on Your Feet". The show then concluded with a reprise of the "Winter Magic" song. Estefan would later perform at the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXIII which was held in her hometown of Miami.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: To compete with the halftime show, Fox decided to broadcast a special live episode of "In Living Color" and was able to attract and keep Super Bowl viewers. As a result, in order to maintain Super Bowl viewership, it was decided that Michael Jackson would perform at halftime during Super Bowl XXVII, followed by more big-name talent during subsequent Super Bowl halftimes.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Both teams entered the game as the two highest scoring teams in the league, but after the end of the first quarter, both of them would be scoreless.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The miscues began right from the start. First, the opening kickoff had to be redone because Bills kicker Brad Daluiso kicked the ball before referee Jerry Markbreit signaled to begin play. Then after Washington was forced to punt, Bills running back Thurman Thomas missed the first two plays of Buffalo's first drive because he misplaced his helmet.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Later in the first quarter, Washington drove 89 yards and appeared to score a touchdown on a third-down pass from quarterback Mark Rypien to wide receiver Art Monk (who had already caught three passes for 67 yards on the drive). But instant replay ruled that Monk's foot was out of bounds when he caught the ball (the first time a touchdown was overruled by instant replay in a Super Bowl). The Redskins tried to salvage the drive with a field goal attempt, but holder Jeff Rutledge fumbled the snap.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: On Buffalo's first play after the botched field goal attempt, Bills quarterback Jim Kelly gave Washington another chance to score by throwing an interception to Redskins safety Brad Edwards, who returned it 21 yards to the Bills 12-yard line. But Rypien promptly gave it back to the Bills by throwing an interception to Kirby Jackson on the third play of the Redskins' next drive.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: In the second quarter, the Redskins began to take over the game. First, a 41-yard completion from Rypien to wide receiver Ricky Sanders and a 19-yard run by Earnest Byner set up Chip Lohmiller's 34-yard field goal to give Washington a 3–0 lead. The Redskins' defense then forced Buffalo to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and punter Chris Mohr's 23-yard punt sailed out of bounds at the Washington 49-yard line. The Redskins then drove 51 yards in 5 plays capped by Byner's 10-yard touchdown reception. Then, on the Bills next drive, Washington defensive back Darrell Green intercepted a pass from Kelly at the Redskins 45-yard line. Three plays later, Rypien completed a 34-yard pass to wide receiver Gary Clark to the Buffalo 15-yard line. A 14-yard run by Ricky Ervins then set up fullback Gerald Riggs' 1-yard touchdown run to expand the Redskins' lead to 17–0.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The Bills had a chance to drive for a score late in the second quarter. With 1:46 left in the half, Bills special teams expert Steve Tasker downed Mohr's 48-yard punt at the Redskins 1-yard line. Washington gained zero net yards during the possession, and Buffalo got the ball back after Cliff Hicks returned Kelly Goodburn's 42-yard punt 2 yards to the Redskins 41-yard line. From there, Kelly completed a 21-yard pass to tight end Keith McKeller to the 20-yard line. But after an incomplete pass and an 8-yard sack by linebacker Wilber Marshall, Edwards broke up a third-down pass intended for Andre Reed in which Edwards hit Reed before the ball got to him; however, no flag for pass interference was thrown. In disgust, Reed threw his helmet to the ground, drawing a mandatory 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that took the Bills out of field goal range and forced them to punt. As the teams ran off the field at halftime, Marv Levy confronted field judge Ed Merrifield, who Levy thought missed the pass interference call and then threw the unsportsmanlike conduct flag against Reed.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The Bills became the ninth team to go scoreless in the 1st half of a Super Bowl, after the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III; the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX, and XI; the Redskins in Super Bowl VII, the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII; and the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XVI. All eight of the previous teams ended up losing the game.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The Redskins then increased their lead to 24–0 just 16 seconds into the second half after linebacker Kurt Gouveia intercepted Kelly's pass on the first play of the third quarter and returned it 23 yards to the Bills' 2-yard line. The blitz that forced Kelly's rushed throw and led to the turnover had been drawn up by the Redskins' defensive coaches on the pregame bus ride to the Metrodome, as they came up with an idea to use their superior speed rushers against the powerful but not-that-mobile interior Bills' offensive line. One play later, Riggs scored his second touchdown of the game. The Redskins' 24–0 lead midway through the 3rd quarter tied the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VIII for the largest shutout lead in Super Bowl history. It was broken by the Seattle Seahawks' 36–0 lead in Super Bowl XLVIII.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The Bills finally got some momentum going with their next few drives. First, they drove 77 yards to the Redskins 3-yard line, aided by a 43-yard completion from Kelly to receiver Don Beebe. Washington kept Buffalo out of the end zone, but Scott Norwood kicked a 21-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 24–3. Then, aided by a 29-yard pass interference penalty on Redskins cornerback Martin Mayhew in the end zone, the Bills drove 56 yards in 6 plays and finally scored a touchdown on their next drive with a 1-yard run by Thomas to make the score 24–10.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: However, Buffalo's hopes of a comeback faded when Washington advanced 79 yards in 11 plays on the ensuing drive, scoring on Clark's 30-yard touchdown reception to give the Redskins a 31–10 lead with 1:24 left in the third quarter. Three plays after receiving the ensuing kickoff, Kelly fumbled the ball while being sacked by cornerback Alvoid Mays, and it was recovered by defensive end Fred Stokes.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: After the turnover, Washington drove to the Bills 7-yard line and increased their lead to 34–10 with Lohmiller's 25-yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: On the Bills' ensuing drive, Kelly was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Stokes, threw an incomplete pass, and then threw his second interception of the game to Edwards, who returned it 35 yards to Buffalo's 33-yard line. Five plays later, Lohmiller kicked his third field goal with 11:36 left in the game to increase Washington's lead to 37–10. With the game almost completely out of reach, the Bills managed to respond with a 15-play, 79-yard drive to cut the score to 37–17 on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to tight end Pete Metzelaars. Then, after recovering an onside kick, the Bills drove 50 yards and scored another touchdown with Beebe's 4-yard reception to make the score 37–24. But the Bills' second onside kick attempt was unsuccessful, and the Redskins were able to run out the clock. From there, the Bills attempted one final pass play before time expired.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Kelly completed 28 of a Super Bowl–record 58 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked four times, intercepted four times, and lost a fumble. Thomas ran for only 13 yards on 10 carries and was limited to 27 yards on four receptions. James Lofton was the top receiver for the Bills with 7 catches for 92 yards, but Reed was limited to just 5 catches for 31 yards. Clark had seven catches for 114 yards and a touchdown and Monk added seven for 113 yards (Clark and Monk became the third pair of teammates to each have 100 yards receiving in a Super Bowl; they joined the Steelers' John Stallworth and Lynn Swann, who did it in Super Bowl XIII and the Bengals' Cris Collinsworth and Dan Ross, who did it in Super Bowl XVI).


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: Ervins was the top rusher of the game with 72 yards. Byner recorded 49 rushing yards, and 3 receptions for 24 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Edwards recorded four tackles, broke up five passes, and returned two interceptions for 56 yards. The Redskins amassed 417 yards of total offense while limiting the explosive Bills to 283, with just 43 rushing yards.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The two teams combined for the most points in a 3rd quarter in Super Bowl history (24 total points: 14 for Washington and 10 for Buffalo) and the most combined in a second half (44 total points: 24 for Buffalo and 20 for Washington).


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: With the win, the Redskins became the first team, and Joe Gibbs the first coach, to win a Super Bowl with three different quarterbacks. Two other teams have since duplicated this feat: the New York Giants (Phil Simms in Super Bowl XXI, Jeff Hostetler in Super Bowl XXV, and Eli Manning in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI) and the Green Bay Packers (Bart Starr in the first two Super Bowls, Brett Favre in Super Bowl XXXI, and Aaron Rodgers in Super Bowl XLV).


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: This was the last major professional championship won by a D.C.-based team until the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018. This was also the last game for Washington guard Russ Grimm.


title: Super Bowl XXVI

text: The following records were set in Super Bowl XXVI, according to the official NFL.com boxscore and the ProFootball reference.com game summary.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: In mathematics, the inverse trigonometric functions (occasionally also called arcus functions, antitrigonometric functions or cyclometric functions) are the inverse functions of the trigonometric functions (with suitably restricted domains). Specifically, they are the inverses of the sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, secant, and cosecant functions, and are used to obtain an angle from any of the angle's trigonometric ratios. Inverse trigonometric functions are widely used in engineering, navigation, physics, and geometry.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: Several notations for the inverse trigonometric functions exist. The most common convention is to name inverse trigonometric functions using an arc- prefix: , , , etc. (This convention is used throughout this article.) This notation arises from the following geometric relationships:


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: when measuring in radians, an angle of "θ" radians will correspond to an arc whose length is "rθ", where "r" is the radius of the circle. Thus in the unit circle, "the arc whose cosine is "x"" is the same as "the angle whose cosine is "x"", because the length of the arc of the circle in radii is the same as the measurement of the angle in radians. In computer programming languages, the inverse trigonometric functions are often called by the abbreviated forms asin, acos, atan.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: The notations , , , etc., as introduced by John Herschel in 1813, are often used as well in English-language sources, much more than the also established , , ,—conventions consistent with the notation of an inverse function, that is useful e.g. to define the multivalued version of each inverse trigonometric function: e.g. formula_1. However, this might appear to conflict logically with the common semantics for expressions such as (although only , without parentheses, is the really common one), which refer to numeric power rather than function composition, and therefore may result in confusion between multiplicative inverse or reciprocal and compositional inverse. The confusion is somewhat mitigated by the fact that each of the reciprocal trigonometric functions has its own name—for example, = . Nevertheless, certain authors advise against using it for its ambiguity. Another precarious convention used by a tiny number of authors is to use an uppercase first letter, along with a superscript: , , , etc. Although its intention is to avoid confusion with the multiplicative inverse, which should be represented by , , etc., or, better, by , , etc., it in turn creates yet another major source of ambiguity: especially in light of the fact that many popular high-level programming languages (e.g. Wolfram's Mathematica, and University of Sydney's MAGMA) use those very same capitalised representations for the standard trig functions; whereas others (Python (ie SymPy and NumPy), Matlab, MAPLE etc) use lower-case.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: Since none of the six trigonometric functions are one-to-one, they must be restricted in order to have inverse functions. Therefore, the result ranges of the inverse functions are proper (i.e. strict) subsets of the domains of the original functions.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: For example, using in the sense of multivalued functions, just as the square root function formula_2 could be defined from formula_3 the function formula_4 is defined so that formula_5 For a given real number formula_6 with formula_7 there are multiple (in fact, countably infinitely many) numbers formula_8 such that formula_9; for example, formula_10 but also formula_11 formula_12 etc. When only one value is desired, the function may be restricted to its principal branch. With this restriction, for each formula_13 in the domain, the expression formula_14 will evaluate only to a single value, called its principal value. These properties apply to all the inverse trigonometric functions.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: Note: Some authors define the range of arcsecant to be formula_15, because the tangent function is nonnegative on this domain. This makes some computations more consistent. For example, using this range, formula_16 whereas with the range formula_17, we would have to write formula_18 since tangent is nonnegative on formula_19 but nonpositive on formula_20 For a similar reason, the same authors define the range of arccosecant to be formula_21 or formula_22


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: If formula_13 is allowed to be a complex number, then the range of formula_8 applies only to its real part.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: Each of the trigonometric functions is periodic in the real part of its argument, running through all its values twice in each interval of formula_25:


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: The following table shows how inverse trigonometric functions may be used to solve equalities involving the six standard trigonometric functions.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: It is assumed that the given values formula_44 formula_45 formula_46 formula_6 and formula_8 all lie within appropriate ranges so that the relevant expressions below are well-defined.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: The symbol formula_51 is logical equality. The expression "LHS formula_51 RHS" indicates that (a) the left hand side (i.e. LHS) and right hand side (i.e. RHS) are true, or else (b) the left hand side and right hand side are false; there is option (c) (e.g. it is possible for the LHS statement to be true and also simultaneously for the RHS statement to false), because otherwise "LHS formula_51 RHS" would not have been written (see this footnote for an example illustrating this concept).


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: For example, if formula_54 then formula_55 for some formula_56 While if formula_57 then formula_58 for some formula_59 where formula_27 will be even if formula_61 and it will be odd if formula_62 The equations formula_63 and formula_64 have the same solutions as formula_54 and formula_66 respectively. In all equations above for those just solved (i.e. except for formula_67/formula_64 and formula_69/formula_70), the integer formula_27 in the solution's formula is uniquely determined by formula_72 (for fixed formula_73 and formula_8).


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: The solutions to formula_76 and formula_77 involve the "plus or minus" symbol formula_78 whose meaning is now clarified. Only the solution to formula_76 will be discussed since the discussion for formula_77 is the same.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: We are given formula_13 between formula_82 and we know that there is an angle formula_72 in some interval that satisfies formula_84 We want to find this formula_85 The table above indicates that the solution is


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: As mentioned above, if formula_91 (which by definition only happens when formula_92) then both statements (1) and (2) hold, although with different values for the integer formula_27: if formula_94 is the integer from statement (1), meaning that formula_95 holds, then the integer formula_27 for statement (2) is formula_97 (because formula_98).


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: If formula_102 (which by definition only happens when formula_103) then formula_104 (because formula_105 and formula_106 so in both cases formula_107 is equal to formula_108) and so the statements (1) and (2) happen to be identical in this particular case (and so both hold).


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: Having considered the cases formula_102 and formula_110 we now focus on the case where formula_111 and formula_112 So assume this from now on. The solution to formula_76 is still


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: which as before is shorthand for saying that one of statements (1) and (2) is true. However this time, because formula_111 and formula_116 statements (1) and (2) are different and furthermore, "exactly one" of the two equalities holds (not both). Additional information about formula_72 is needed to determine which one holds. For example, suppose that formula_118 and that that is known about formula_72 is that formula_120 (and nothing more is known). Then


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: and moreover, in this particular case formula_122 (for both the formula_123 case and the formula_124 case) and so consequently,


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: This means that formula_72 could be either formula_127 or formula_128 Without additional information it is not possible to determine which of these values formula_72 has.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: An example of some additional information that could determine the value of formula_72 would be knowing that the angle is above the formula_13-axis (in which case formula_132) or alternatively, knowing that it is below the formula_13-axis (in which case formula_134).


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: where swapping formula_136 swapping formula_137 and swapping formula_138 gives the analogous equations for formula_139 respectively.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: So for example, by using the equality formula_140 the equation formula_76 can be transformed into formula_142 which allows for the solution to the equation formula_143 (where formula_144) to be used; that solution being:


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: where using the fact that formula_147 and substituting formula_148 proves that another solution to formula_149 is:


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: The substitution formula_151 may be used express the right hand side of the above formula in terms of formula_152 instead of formula_153


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: Trigonometric functions of inverse trigonometric functions are tabulated below. A quick way to derive them is by considering the geometry of a right-angled triangle, with one side of length 1 and another side of length formula_6 then applying the Pythagorean theorem and definitions of the trigonometric ratios. Purely algebraic derivations are longer. It is worth noting that for arcsecant and arccosecant, the diagram assumes that formula_13 is positive, and thus the result has to be corrected through the use of absolute values and the signum (sgn) operation.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: Whenever the square root of a complex number is used here, we choose the root with the positive real part (or positive imaginary part if the square was negative real).


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: Often, the hypotenuse is unknown and would need to be calculated before using arcsine or arccosine using the Pythagorean Theorem: formula_169 where formula_170 is the length of the hypotenuse. Arctangent comes in handy in this situation, as the length of the hypotenuse is not needed.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: For example, suppose a roof drops 8 feet as it runs out 20 feet. The roof makes an angle "θ" with the horizontal, where "θ" may be computed as follows:


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: The two-argument atan2 function computes the arctangent of "y" / "x" given "y" and "x", but with a range of (−, ]. In other words, atan2("y", "x") is the angle between the positive "x"-axis of a plane and the point ("x", "y") on it, with positive sign for counter-clockwise angles (upper half-plane, "y" > 0), and negative sign for clockwise angles (lower half-plane, "y" < 0). It was first introduced in many computer programming languages, but it is now also common in other fields of science and engineering.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: In terms of the standard arctan function, that is with range of (−, ), it can be expressed as follows:


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: This limited version of the function above may also be defined using the tangent half-angle formulae as follows:


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: provided that either "x" > 0 or "y" ≠ 0. However this fails if given x ≤ 0 and y = 0 so the expression is unsuitable for computational use.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: The above argument order ("y", "x") seems to be the most common, and in particular is used in ISO standards such as the C programming language, but a few authors may use the opposite convention ("x", "y") so some caution is warranted. These variations are detailed at atan2.


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: In many applications the solution formula_8 of the equation formula_176 is to come as close as possible to a given value formula_177. The adequate solution is produced by the parameter modified arctangent function


title: Inverse trigonometric functions

text: For angles near 0 and , arccosine is ill-conditioned and will thus calculate the angle with reduced accuracy in a computer implementation (due to the limited number of digits). Similarly, arcsine is inaccurate for angles near −/2 and /2.


title: Kerry Godliman

text: Kerry Anna Godliman (born November 1973) is an English actor and comedian best known for her roles in "Derek", "Bad Move" and "After Life".


title: Kerry Godliman

text: In the first decade of the 2000s, Godliman appeared in a variety of television productions, including "Spoons", "Law of the Playground", "Rush Hour", "Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow", and "Home Time". She played Hannah in Ricky Gervais's Channel 4 sitcom "Derek", Belinda Dawes in "Our Girl", and Liz Carter in "Carters Get Rich".


title: Kerry Godliman

text: In 2017, Godliman landed the role of Nicky in the ITV sitcom "Bad Move" and in 2018, she played Peggy Aytean in the Channel 4 computer game series "Rob Beckett's Playing for Time". The same year, she won the seventh series of Dave's comedy game show "Taskmaster", beating James Acaster, Jessica Knappett, Phil Wang, and Rhod Gilbert. Between 2017 and 2019, she made a number of appearances on the celebrity panel show "Mock the Week".


title: Kerry Godliman

text: In 2019, Godliman starred as Lisa in Ricky Gervais's black comedy series "After Life". She reprised her role in series two and three, in 2020 and 2022, respectively. A year later, she played ex-MP Stella Maitland in the Channel 4 four-part drama series "Adult Material".


title: Kerry Godliman

text: Godliman has appeared on BBC Radio 4's "At the Fringe". From the end of April 2013, she also had her own four-part series on Radio 4, "Kerry's List". In August 2014, she made her first appearance on the long-running BBC Radio 4 quiz "Just a Minute". In 2017, she starred alongside Stephanie Cole in an episode of "John Finnemore's Double Acts" on Radio 4 and (with Marcus Brigstocke) in "The Wilsons Save the World".


title: Kerry Godliman

text: She also starred as a guest on the satirical radio show "The Now Show" to reflect on International Women's Day on 10 March 2017, and took part in episodes 3 and 4 of "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue", series 70, that were recorded in Woking. She has appeared on "The News Quiz".


title: Kerry Godliman

text: Godliman has performed as a stand-up comedian throughout her career, including several appearances on "Live at the Apollo", and she tours extensively in this capacity. In January 2022, she performed her show "Bosh" at Blackheath Halls, London. In a review for "The Guardian", writer Brian Logan praised the show, rating it 3/5 stars, and stating that the performance is filled with "vigour, charm and plenty [of] good gags". Godliman's tour is expected to last several months across the UK.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: Herman's Hermits are an English beat, rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, the Hermits charted with number ones in the UK and in America, where they ranked as one of the most successful acts in the Beatles-led British Invasion. They also appeared in four films, two of them vehicles for the band.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: Their chart debut was a cover of Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "I'm into Something Good" (a then recent US Top 40 hit for Earl-Jean). In September 1964 it replaced the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" at number one in the UK singles chart and in December reached no. 13 in the US. The Hermits never topped the British charts again, but in America in 1965—when "Billboard" magazine ranked them America's top singles act of the year (with the Beatles at no. 2)—they topped the Hot 100 with two non-UK releases: "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "I’m Henry VIII, I Am” (a cover of the 1910 Cockney-style music hall song "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am"). The no. 12 debut of "Mrs. Brown" on the Hot 100 in April 1965 was the decade's third highest (behind the Beatles' "Hey Jude" and "Get Back").


title: Herman's Hermits

text: Between late 1964 and early 1968 Herman's Hermits never failed to reach the Top 40 in the States. Six of their 11 US Top Tens were not released as A-side singles in their native UK, including the two afore-mentioned number ones plus "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" (no. 2), "Listen People" (no. 3), a cover of Noel Gay's 1937 song "Leaning on a Lamp-post" (no. 9, under the title "Leaning on the Lamp Post") and their version of Ray Davies's "Dandy" (no. 5). Conversely they hit big in Britain between 1968 and 1970 with several major hits which failed to register in America, among them the four Top Tens "Sunshine Girl" (no. 8), "Something's Happening" (no. 6), "My Sentimental Friend" (no. 2) and "Years May Come, Years May Go" (no. 7). Their final UK hit, "Lady Barbara" (no. 13), released in the autumn of 1970, was credited to 'Peter Noone & Herman's Hermits'.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: Signature transatlantic Herman's Hermits chart hits include "I'm into Something Good" (1964), their covers of both "Silhouettes" and "Wonderful World" plus "Just a Little Bit Better" (all 1965), "A Must to Avoid" (1965/66), "This Door Swings Both Ways" (1966), "East West" (1966/67), "No Milk Today" (UK 1966/US 1967), "There's a Kind of Hush" (1967) and "I Can Take or Leave Your Loving" (1968).


title: Herman's Hermits

text: The band's US records were released by MGM Records, which often showcased its musical performers in MGM films. On screen the Hermits featured opposite Connie Francis in "When the Boys Meet the Girls" (1965) and starred outright in "Hold On!" (1966) — featuring one song performed by co-star Shelley Fabares and nine by the Hermits including the title track — and "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" (1968). They also appeared in the 1965 British music revue film "Pop Gear". Peter Noone left the band in 1971, but Herman's Hermits reunited in 1973 to headline a British invasion tour of the US which culminated in a performance at Madison Square Garden and an appearance on "The Midnight Special". A later lineup, which returned only lead guitarist Derek Leckenby and drummer Barry Whitwam, opened for the Monkees on their 1980s reunion tours of the US. The band continues to tour today, with Whitwam as the only remaining member from the original lineup.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: Herman's Hermits was formed from two different local bands. Keith Hopwood (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Karl Green (lead guitar, backing vocals), Alan Wrigley (bass), Steve Titterington (drums) and Peter Noone (lead vocals) came from the Heartbeats where Hopwood had replaced rhythm guitarist Alan Chadwick. The second-youngest member of a young group (four months older than Karl Green who was originally in the Balmains), 15-year-old Noone was already an experienced actor on the popular British TV soap opera "Coronation Street". Derek "Lek" Leckenby (lead guitar) and Barry Whitwam (drums) (born Jan Barry Whitwam) joined later from another local group, the Wailers. Whitwam replaced Titterington on drums, Green switched to bass guitar (replacing Wrigley) and Leckenby took over for Green as lead guitarist. After Leckenby joined the band, the group made a deal with producer Mickie Most and signed with EMI's Columbia label in Europe and MGM Records in the United States.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: The band's name came from a resemblance, noted by a publican in Manchester, England, between Noone and Sherman from the "Rocky and Bullwinkle" cartoons. Sherman was shortened to Herman and then became Herman and His Hermits, which was soon shortened to Herman's Hermits.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: Harvey Lisberg discovered them and signed on as their manager. He sent a plane ticket to London record producer Mickie Most so that he could fly to see the band play in Bolton. Most, already a success with the Animals, became the group's producer and controlled the band's output. He emphasised a simple and non-threatening clean-cut image.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: The band played on most of its singles, including "I'm into Something Good", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter", "I'm Henry the Eighth and I'm Henry VIII, I Am" (said at the time to be "the fastest-selling song in history"), "A Must to Avoid", "Listen People", "You Won't Be Leaving" and "Leaning on a Lamp Post". Leckenby soloed on "Henry" and Hopwood played rhythm guitar on "Mrs. Brown". Despite the group's competent musicianship, some subsequent singles employed session musicians – including Big Jim Sullivan, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Vic Flick and Bobby Graham – with contributions from the band, although the role of session players on Herman's Hermits records has been exaggerated in the rock media and in liner notes on the 2004 ABKCO Records compilation "Retrospective" (which does not credit the Hermits' playing). Mickie Most used session musicians on many records he produced; this was industry practice at the time. Even respected groups such as the Yardbirds were required by Most to use session musicians (except Jimmy Page) on their Most-produced recordings.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: Continuing acrimony among former members of Herman's Hermits has increased the amount of disinformation about the group's role on their records; the late Derek Leckenby, in particular, was a skilled guitarist. Mickie Most commented on the VH1 "My Generation: Herman's Hermits" episode that the Hermits "played on a lot of their records, and some they didn't." The group played on all their UK and US no. 1 hits ("I'm into Something Good", "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am"), on most of their US Top Ten singles, on a number of other singles and on most album cuts. According to Peter Noone, Leckenby played the muted lead on "This Door Swings Both Ways". The riff in "Silhouettes" variously has been credited to Jimmy Page, Big Jim Sullivan and Vic Flick; however, according to Keith Hopwood and Karl Green, Leckenby replaced Flick in the studio and played the signature riff under Most's direction. According to Hopwood, Green and Noone, Jimmy Page played on the single "Wonderful World" (although Big Jim Sullivan lists the song as part of a session he played); both may have added to the backing track. Several writers have claimed that session players played on "I'm into Something Good"; according to the surviving band members, the song was recorded on a two-track recorder, with only a piano player in addition to the Hermits.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: Karl Green has noted that he preferred harder rock, but was grateful for the hand he was dealt. Many of the band's singles and album tracks were written by some of the top songwriters of the day, but Noone, Leckenby, Hopwood and Green contributed lesser-known songs such as "My Reservation's Been Confirmed", "Take Love, Give Love", "Marcel's", "For Love", "Tell Me Baby", "Busy Line", Moonshine Man", "I Know Why" and "Gaslight Street". "I Know Why" enjoyed a limited A-side release.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: The band's debut hit "I'm into Something Good" was written by iconic New York songwriting duo Gerry Goffin (lyrics) and Carole King (music). Ray Davies of the Kinks wrote "Dandy"  – a 1966 US no. 5 hit for the Hermits – and Graham Gouldman wrote three of their 1966 hits: "Listen People", "No Milk Today" and "East West", the latter of which was covered in 1989 by singer and Hermits fan Morrissey. P. F. Sloan ("Eve of Destruction") wrote the title track of the Hermits' soundtrack to the 1966 film "Hold On!". Sloan and regular collaborator Steve Barri—whose songs include "Let Me Be", "You Baby" and "Secret Agent Man"—also co-wrote "Where Were You When I Needed You", "All the Things I Do for You Baby" and the Top Ten hit "A Must to Avoid", all recorded by Herman's Hermits.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: In November 1966 in the UK, after two consecutive Top 20 hits, the Hermits returned to the Top Ten with "No Milk Today", backed with "My Reservation's Been Confirmed". For the US release of "No Milk Today" in 1967, MGM backed it with "There's a Kind of Hush". The latter climbed to no. 4 in March 1967. "No Milk Today" peaked at no. 35, though it was linked to "Hush" on local charts across the country. "No Milk Today" also scored in its own right including success on San Francisco Top 40 station KFRC, where in April 1967 it reached no. 1, ranking 6 for the year.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: In 1966 the group was nominated for three Grammy awards including Best New Artist of 1965—they lost to singer Tom Jones—and two for their chart-topper "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter": Best Performance by a Vocal Group and Best Contemporary (R&R) Performance – Group (Vocal or Instrumental). According to Noone and Hopwood, "Mrs. Brown" was recorded as an afterthought in two takes – using two microphones, with Hopwood on guitar, Green on bass guitar and Whitwam on drums. Noone and the band deliberately emphasised their English accents on the record, never intended to be a single. Hopwood recalls playing a Gretsch Country Gentleman guitar in the studio, with its strings muted to create the distinctive sound. When playing the song live, Hopwood often used a Rickenbacker guitar with a rag tied around the bridge to duplicate the sound, which can be seen clearly in old performance clips.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: In America the group appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Dean Martin Show" and "The Jackie Gleason Show".


title: Herman's Hermits

text: The 1967 album "Blaze" received critical acclaim, but barely made the Top 100 in the US and was not released in the UK. Highlights, according to some, included original songs by Leckenby, Whitwam, Hopwood, Green and Noone, including "Ace King Queen Jack" and the psychedelic "Moonshine Man".


title: Herman's Hermits

text: When Noone left the group in 1971, the Hermits continued, first with singer Pete Cowap. They signed with RCA Records in the UK and, as "The Hermits", recorded two singles at Strawberry Studios and an unreleased album (under the name "Sourmash") produced by Eric Stewart. The group subsequently cut one-off singles for Private Stock, Buddah and Roulette in respectively 1975, 1976 and 1977, without significant success. Noone did return to front Herman's Hermits during a 1973–1974 U.S. multi-artist tour of "British Invasion" acts, after which Whitwam, Leckenby and Green (who assumed lead vocal duties until his 1980 retirement) continued to tour with newer members, including Rod Gerrard (formerly with Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders and Salford Jets).


title: Herman's Hermits

text: Hopwood and Leckenby eventually started a music company, Pluto Music, which is still in business as of 2019 working primarily on commercial and animation soundtracks. Hopwood has since become a composer of scores for film and television. Green has become a manager of sound systems for concert venues along London's South Bank.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: Leckenby died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1994, leaving Whitwam as the only original member of the band. The band's current lineup consists of Whitwam, lead singer and bassist Geoff Foot, guitarist Paul Cornwell and keyboardist Tony Hancox. Noone continues to play solo shows billed as "Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone". Legal disputes between Whitwam and Noone have forced the former to rename the band "Herman's Hermits starring Barry Whitwam" when they tour in North America, but they remain billed as "Herman's Hermits" worldwide.


title: Herman's Hermits

text: The Sourmash album from 1972 was finally released in 2000 under the title "A Whale of a Tale! And Others".


title: Samantha Bond

text: Samantha Jane Bond (born 27 November 1961) is an English actress, who is best known for playing Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan years, and for her role on "Downton Abbey" as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund Painswick, sister of Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham. She is also known for originating the role of "Miz Liz" Probert in the "Rumpole of the Bailey" series. Bond is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. In her television career, she is known for her role as "Auntie Angela" in the sitcom "Outnumbered" and the villain Mrs Wormwood in the CBBC "Doctor Who" spin-off, "The Sarah Jane Adventures".


title: Samantha Bond

text: Samantha Bond is the daughter of actor Philip Bond and TV producer Pat Sandys, and is the sister of the actress Abigail Bond and the journalist Matthew Bond. Bond's paternal grandparents were Welsh. She was brought up in London, in homes in Barnes and St Margarets. She attended the Godolphin and Latymer School, and studied acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.


title: Samantha Bond

text: Bond's first acting role came as a student at age 21, in the original stage production of "Daisy Pulls It Off", Denise Deegan's play about a girls school, which opened at Southampton's Nuffield Theatre in 1983. Her earliest television roles took place the same year: she played Maria Rushworth (née Bertram) in the BBC mini-series adaptation of Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park", and Rumpole's pupil in chambers "Miz Liz" Probert in the fourth series of "Rumpole of the Bailey". In 1985, she appeared as Julia Simmons in the BBC's televised adaptation of Agatha Christie's crime novel "A Murder is Announced", part of the Miss Marple series.


title: Samantha Bond

text: Bond's work with the Royal Shakespeare Company (the RSC) began in 1987, when she performed in three of the company's stage productions: "Les Liaisons Dangereuses", "Hero and Leander", and "Lorca's Women". In 1992, the RSC cast her as Rosalind in Shakespeare's "As You Like It", which she performed in their Stratford-upon-Avon and London theatres, and as Hermione in "The Winter's Tale", also at the company's two theatres. She then toured with the RSC as Hermione in 1993.


title: Samantha Bond

text: Bond starred as the titular Amy in the Royal National Theatre's West End production of David Hare's play "Amy's View", opposite Judi Dench, in 1997 and into early 1998. Later in 1998, she co-starred in playwright Shelagh Stephenson's "The Memory of Water", also in the West End.


title: Samantha Bond

text: In 1999, Bond and Dench reprised their roles in "Amy's View" on Broadway for a limited run at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Their performances garnered Bond a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play, and Dench the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play. Hare received a special citation from the New York Drama Critics' Circle.


title: Samantha Bond

text: Bond revisited "The Memory of Water", making her directorial debut on a short touring production of the play in 2000, the same year it won an Olivier award for Best New Comedy. She also performed in numerous stage productions during the 2000s, among them:


title: Samantha Bond

text: Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in 2001, as Hippolyta and Titania, again for the RSC; Donald Margulies's Pulitzer prize-winning "Dinner with Friends", as Karen, opposite her "Downton Abbey" co-star Elizabeth McGovern and directed by McGovern's husband Simon Curtis, in 2001; "The Vagina Monologues" in 2002; and in Shakespeare's "Macbeth", as Lady Macbeth opposite Sean Bean in the title role, on tour in 2002 and 2003.


title: Samantha Bond

text: Other stage performances include Oscar Wilde's "A Woman of No Importance" in 2003; "The Rubenstein Kiss" in 2005; Michael Frayn's "Donkey's Years" at London's Comedy Theatre in 2006; and David Leveaux's West End revival of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" at the Duke of York's Theatre, in 2009 as Hannah, alongside another "Downton Abbey" co-star, Dan Stevens.


title: Samantha Bond

text: The next decade brought Bond onstage in Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband", as Mrs. Cheveley opposite her real-life actor husband Alexander Hanson as Mr. Cheveley, in 2010–2011, and as Nell in Passion Play by Peter Nichols in 2013. In 2014, Bond acted and sang in the West End musical production of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", playing the role of Muriel Eubanks. Bond stated in an interview that she hadn't sung on stage in over 30 years and had many moments during rehearsals where she turned her back toward anyone listening to her sing and frequently shook "with terror" at the prospect. In a Radio Times review of the play, the critic described Bond as "stage royalty" and "hilarious." In October and November 2017, Bond appeared in the English language premiere of Florian Zeller's modern French farce, "The Lie", once again alongside her husband, Alexander Hanson, at an Off-West End theatre called the Menier Chocolate Factory.


title: Samantha Bond

text: In 1989, Bond starred as Mary MacKenzie, a young Scottish woman, in the television adaptation of Oswald Wynd's novel "The Ginger Tree", and was featured in "Erik the Viking", an independent fantasy film with Tim Robbins in the title role.