title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Under the constitution, the President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. In reality, the Chancellor has the decision-making authority, exercised through the Minister for National Defence. The Chancellor also chairs the National Defence Council, which has as its members a vice-chairman, the minister for national defence, an appointee of this minister, the Chief of the General Staff, and a parliamentary representative. The minister for national defence, acting in co-operation with the minister for interior, coordinates the work of the four major committees under the National Defence Council: the Military Defence Committee; the Civil Defence Committee; the Economic Defence Committee; and the Psychological Defence Committee. The Chief of the General Staff acts as the senior military adviser to the Minister for National Defence, assists the minister in the exercise of his authority, and, as the head of the general staff, is responsible for planning. However, the army commander exercises direct operational control of the Bundesheer in both peacetime and wartime.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Article 79 of the constitution, as amended in 1985, states that the Army is entrusted with the military defence of the country. Insofar as the legally constituted civil authority requests its co-operation, the army is further charged with protecting constitutional institutions and their capacity to act, as well as the democratic freedoms of the inhabitants; maintaining order and security in the interior; and rendering aid in disasters and mishaps of extraordinary scope. In administering the armed forces, the Ministry for National Defence is organized into four principal sections and the inspectorate general: Section I deals with legal and legislative matters; Section II handles personnel and recruitment matters, including discipline and grievances; Section III is concerned with troop command, schools, and other facilities, and it also comprises departments G-1 through G-5 as well as a separate department for air operations; and Section IV deals with procurement and supply, quartermaster matters, armaments, and ordnance.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The general troop inspectorate is a separate section of the ministry with responsibility for co-ordination and fulfilment of the missions of the armed forces. It encompasses a general staff department, an attaché department, and planning and inspection groups.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The armed forces consist solely of the army, of which the air force is considered a constituent part. In 1993, the total active complement of the armed forces was 52,000, of whom 20,000 to 30,000 were conscripts undergoing training of six to eight months. The army had 46,000 personnel on active duty (including an estimated 19,500 conscripts), and the air force had 6,000 personnel (2,400 conscripts).


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: On 1 March 1978, the "Wehrgesetz 1978" became law, which encompassed the "Heeresgliederung 1978" plan to grow the Austrian Armed Forces to 384,000 (84,000 active, 300,000 militia) by the early 1990s to be able to fully employ the Austrian 's concept. A total of 30 new Landwehrstammregimenter were to be raised. On 6 October 1987, the Austrian government enacted the "Heeresgliederung 1987", which instructed the armed forces to stop the growth of the militia at 200,000. Afterwards only the militia's infantry grew, making 1988-1989 the timeframe Austria's armed forces reached their maximum strength. On 29 May 1990 the "Wehrgesetz 1978" was cancelled and the army began to shrink, which accelerated with the Gesamte Rechtsvorschrift für Wehrgesetz 1990, Fassung vom 31.12.1992.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: NATO's Central Army Group in Southern Germany was arrayed against attacks from East Germany and Czechoslovakia, with only the German Army's 10th Panzer Division available to cover the army group's Austrian flank. To strengthen the flank NATO would have deployed the French Army's II Corps, which would have required seven days for mobilization and approach. The arrival of Warsaw Pact forces in southern Bavaria within the first six days after the start of hostilities would have prompted NATO to use tactical nuclear weapons to block the enemy approach routes through Upper Austria. To prevent the use of tactical nuclear weapons on Austrian territory the Austrian military developed the Raumverteidigung (Area Defense) concept, which envisioned that Austrian forces would delay, harass and decimate Warsaw Pact forces with determined, sustained and costly resistance along their expected axis of advance.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The Austrian military assumed that Warsaw Pact forces would include Czechoslovak People's Army, Hungarian People's Army, and Soviet Army units. A mixed Czechoslovak-Soviet corps of three divisions was expected to mass in the Břeclav-Brno-Znojmo region and attack through the Weinviertel north of Vienna. The expected crossing of the Danube was expected to occur between Tulln and Krems, from where the enemy forces would have turned West to reach the Sankt Pölten area. In parallel the 5th Hungarian Army, consisting of Hungarian units, Soviet Central Group of Forces and Southern Group of Forces units, and Czechoslovak units based in Slovakia was expected to strike from Sopron through the Wiener Wald towards Sankt Pölten.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: After taking Sankt Pölten the Austrian armed forces expected the combined Warsaw Pact forces to strike West to take possession of the Linz-Steyr-Wels, supported by an advance of two Czechoslovak People's Army divisions through the Mühlviertel to the North of Linz. After taking possession of the Linz basin the Warsaw Pact attack would have continued into Bavaria. The Austrian military also expected an advance by up to three Hungarian People's Army divisions, supported by Romanian People's Army units, into Styria and across the Soboth Pass and Pack Saddle towards Klagenfurt and Villach, from where the Eastern forces could turn South towards the Italian Army's 5th Army Corps or West towards the Italian 4th Alpine Army Corps.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: While it was imagined that NATO troops could likewise use Austria as a stepping stone for invasions of the Warsaw Pact countries, such a scenario was considered highly unlikely, unrealistic and eventually remained theoretical in strategic realization.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: In 1978 the Austrian Armed Forces enacted its new concept of Raumverteidigung. The Raumverteidigung divided the entire nation into Key Zones (Schlüsselzonen), Area Security Zones (Raumsicherungszonen), and Subzones (Teilzonen). Key zones were set up in those areas of the national territory, which an aggressor had to take possession of in order to achieve his military goals. Area security zones were set up to deny an aggressor the possibility to bypass key zones and prevent the massing, movement, supply, and maintenance of enemy units. Operationally the aim was to block the direct march lines through layered defenses in the key zones and to prevent an aggressor from freely using the space in the area security zones through mobile warfare. Both types of zones were to be defended by militia formations.<ref name="Keusch/Halbartschlager"></ref>


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The four subzones formed the Central Area in Austria's mountainous interior, which was outside of the anticipated main axis of a Warsaw Pact advance. In the event of an attack and an occupation of most of Austria, one or more the sub zones would form the national territory, which would justify the continuation of Austria as a subject of international law. The central area was therefore of essential importance and had to be defended at its entrances. The Army Command and Austrian government would have retreat to a bunker complex in St Johann im Pongau in the central area. Furthermore the central area acted as main depot of Austria's war stocks. The capital Vienna would not have been defended and was therefore excluded from defense preparations.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Each key zone and area security zone, and Block Zone 33 were overseen during peacetime by a Landwehrstammregiment, which were tasked with training the militia forces needed for the defense of their assigned zone. The Landwehrstammregiments consisted of a staff company, training companies, a supply train, and mobilization depots. Some of the Landwehrstammregiment also trained and fielded an active Jäger battalion. In case of war the Landwehrstammregiments would have reformed as Landwehr Regiments with various types of militia battalions and companies, allowing the regiments to fight delaying actions from fortified positions as well has hit and run attacks on enemy formations trying to pass through their zone. The Landwehr regiments formed the area-bound Landwehr and fielded the following types of Landwehr units:


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Operationally the country was divided initially into three operational areas (Operationsraum), which were commanded by the Army Command.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The Air Division and army's support troops were under direct Army Command. In wartime the operational commands would command nine brigades, which formed the mobile Landwehr. The mobile Landwehr was the Austrian armed forces reserve, which once the intentions of the opponent were determined, could be used to counterattack enemy formations. The mobile Landwehr consisted of six light Jäger brigades, which would only be fully manned during wartime, and three Panzergrenadier brigades, equipped with main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, which were fully manned at all times. The staffs of the six Jäger brigades would have been formed upon war by the armed forces military commands, which in peacetime had territorial functions in the states. The three Panzergrenadier brigades were assigned to the 1st Panzergrenadier Division and based along the Danube valley from Vienna to Linz.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Each Austrian military command was numbered from 1 to 9, with all zones and units assigned to the command or part of the command starting with the same number. The only exception was the 9th Panzergrenadier Brigade, which carried the number of the Vorarlberg Military Command in the extreme West of the country, but was based near Vienna in the East of the country and manned by conscripts from Vienna. The Austrian military commands of the Raumverteidigung concept, their assigned number, zones and main units during peacetime were:


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Under the area defence strategy, which determined the army's structure until 1993, the army was divided into three principal elements: the standing alert force () of active units, including the 1st Panzergrenadier Division and the air division; the mobile militia (), organized as eight mechanized reserve brigades to be deployed to key danger spots in the event of mobilization; and the stationary militia () of twenty-six reserve infantry regiments organized for territorial defence. Both the mobile militia and the stationary militia were brought up to strength only in times of mobilization or during periods allotted for refresher training, usually three weeks in June. Training of conscripts was conducted by twenty-eight training and equipment-holding regiments (). On mobilization, these regiments would disband, with their cadre reassigned to lead reserve units or form replacement regiments and battalions.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: At the army level were a headquarters, guard, and special forces battalions and an artillery battalion at cadre strength. Two corps headquarters, one in the east at Graz and one in the west at Salzburg, would, on mobilization, command the provincially organized units in their respective zones. Each corps included artillery, antitank, antiaircraft, and engineering battalions, and a logistics regiment, all on a cadre basis.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Each of the nine provincial military commands supervised the training and maintenance activities of their training and equipment-holding regiments. On mobilization, these nine commands would convert to a divisional headquarters commanding mobile militia, stationary militia, and other independent units.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The only active units immediately available in an emergency were those of the standing alert force of some 15,000 career soldiers supplemented by eight-month conscripts. The force was organized as a mechanized division consisting of three armored infantry brigades. Each brigade was composed of one tank battalion, one mechanized infantry battalion, and one self-propelled artillery battalion. Two of the brigades had antitank battalions equipped with self-propelled weapons. The divisional headquarters was at Baden bei Wien near Vienna; the 3rd, 4th, and 9th Brigades were based in separate locations, also in the northeast of the country. 3rd Brigade was at Mautern an der Donau, 4th at Linz, and 9th Brigade at Götzendorf an der Leitha.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The New Army Structure—the reorganization plan announced in late 1991 and scheduled to be in place sometime in 1995—replaces the previous two-corps structure with one of three corps. The new corps is headquartered at Baden, with responsibility for the two northeastern provinces of Lower Austria and Upper Austria. Army headquarters will be eliminated, as will the divisional structure for the three standing brigades. The three corps—in effect, regional commands—will be directly subordinate to the general troop inspector. The three mechanized brigades will be placed directly under the new Third Corps at Baden, although in the future one brigade may be assigned to each of the three corps. The mobile militia will be reduced from eight to six mechanized brigades. Each of the nine provincial commands will have at least one militia regiment of two to six battalions as well as local defence companies.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Total personnel strength—both standing forces and reserves—is to be materially contracted under the new plan. The fully mobilized army will decline in strength from 200,000 to 120,000. The standing alert force will be reduced from 15,000 to 10,000. Reaction time is to be radically shortened so that part of the standing alert force can be deployed within hours to a crisis zone (for example, one adjacent to the border with Slovenia). A task force ready for immediate deployment will be maintained by one of the mechanized brigades on a rotational basis. Separate militia training companies to which all conscripts are assigned will be dismantled; in the future, conscripts will undergo basic training within their mobilization companies. Conscripts in the final stages of their training could supplement the standing forces by being poised for operational deployment at short notice.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Promotion is not based solely on merit but on position attained, level of education, and seniority. Officers with advanced degrees (for which study at the National Defence Academy qualifies) can expect to attain grade VIII before reaching the retirement age of sixty to sixty-five. Those with a baccalaureate degree can expect to reach grade VII (colonel), and those without university training will retire as captains or majors. Career NCOs form part of the same comprehensive personnel structure. It is common for NCOs to transfer at some stage in their careers to civilian status at the equivalent grade, either in the Ministry for National Defence or in the police or prison services after further training.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Austria's air force () has as its missions the defence of Austrian airspace, tactical support of Austrian ground forces, reconnaissance and military transport, and search-and-rescue support when requested by civil authorities.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Until 1985, when the first of twenty-four Saab 35 Draken were delivered, the country had remained essentially without the capacity to contest violations of its airspace. The Drakens, reconditioned after having served the Swedish Air Force since the early 1960s, were armed, in accordance with the restrictions on missiles in the State Treaty of 1955, only with a cannon. However, following Austria's revised interpretation of its obligations under the treaty, a decision was made in 1993 to procure AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. The first of these missiles were purchased from Swedish air force inventory, while later a higher performance model was acquired directly from the United States, with deliveries commencing in 1995. French Mistral surface-to-air missiles systems were purchased to add ground-based protection against air attack. The first of the systems arrived in Austria in 1993; final deliveries concluded in 1996.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The Drakens were retired in 2005 and 12 F-5E Tiger II were leased from Switzerland to avoid a gap in the Austrian air defence capabilities until the first Austrian Eurofighter Typhoon units became operational in 2007. Besides one squadron of 15 Eurofighter Typhoons, the air force has a squadron with 28 Saab 105 trainers, which double as reconnaissance and close air support planes.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The helicopter fleet includes 23 AB 212 helicopters used as light transport. 24 French Alouette III are in service as search-and-rescue helicopters. Furthermore, the air force fields 10 OH-58B Kiowa as light scout helicopters. After Austria had to request assistance from the United States Army, Swiss Air Force, French Air Force, and German Bundeswehr to evacuate survivors after the 1999 Galtür Avalanche a decision was taken to equip the Austrian Air Force with medium-sized transport helicopters. Thus in 2002 Austria acquired 9 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. In 2003 the air force received 3 C-130K Hercules transport aircraft to support the armed forces in their UN peacekeeping and humanitarian activities.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The Jagdkommando (lit. "Hunting Command") is the Austrian Armed Forces' Special Operations group. The duties of this elite unit match those of its foreign counterparts, such as the United States Army Special Forces and British Special Air Service being amongst others counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency. Jagdkommando soldiers are highly trained professionals whose thorough and rigorous training enables them to take over when tasks or situations outgrow the capabilities and specialization of conventional units.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Until 1971, Austrian males were obligated to serve nine months in the armed forces, followed by four days of active service every two years for training and inspection. In 1971 the period of initial service was reduced to six months, followed by a total of sixty days of refresher training in the reserves. In the early 1990s, about 45,000 conscripts completed their initial military training every year, and 80,000 reservists participated in some form of exercises each year.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Reducing the mobilization strength of the army to 120,000 under the New Army Structure plan is to be accomplished in part by limiting initial training of recruits to six months, followed by reducing the period allotted for refresher training from twenty years to ten years. Each reservist is to receive training over a twelve-day period every second year during his first ten years of reserve duty, generally not extending beyond the time he reaches his mid-thirties. The reduced need for conscripts corresponds to a lower pool of young men because of a declining birth rate. The availability of about 40,000 fit trainees annually in 1993 was expected to fall to barely 30,000 by 2000 and to 26,000 by 2015.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: In 2006 conscription was reduced to six months total. Mandatory reserve training was abolished. Since then the army reserve battalions (Miliz) are suffering from a lack of new reservists and are therefore overaging.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Under a 1974 law, conscientious objectors can be assigned work as medical orderlies, or other occupations in lieu of military service. Exemptions from service are liberally granted—in 1992 about 12,000 persons were exempted, a great increase over the 1991 total of 4,500. The increase occurred after a new law, valid only for 1992 and 1993, no longer required young men to present their objections to the military in a credible way. Previously, that had not been the case. In 1990, for example, two young men rejected by the alternate service commission on the grounds that they did not present their beliefs in a credible manner were sentenced to prison terms of three months and one month, respectively.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Conscripts may attain the rank of private first class by the completion of initial training. Those with leadership potential may serve a longer period to obtain noncommissioned officer (NCO) status in the militia. Those volunteering for the career service can, after three to four years, apply to attend the NCO academy and later a senior NCO course to qualify as warrant officers. Both regular and militia officer candidates undergo a one-year program of basic training. After a further three years, regular officer candidates attending the military academy at Wiener Neustadt and militia officer candidates undergoing periodic intensified refresher training qualify as second lieutenants. The reserve obligation of conscripts generally ends by the time they reach their mid-thirties; NCOs and officers usually end their reserve status at a later age depending on their rank and specialization. By the early 1990s, some 1.3 million men had completed their initial service and refresher training obligations and had no further active-duty commitment.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The military personnel system is an integral part of a comprehensive civil service system. The nine officer ranks from officer candidate through general correspond to grades I through IX of the civil service system. The highest grade, IX, may be occupied by a section chief (undersecretary), a career ambassador, or a three-star general. A grade VIII position may be held by a departmental counselor, a career minister, or a brigadier general. Salary levels are the same for both civil and military personnel in the equivalent grades, although various allowances may be added, such as flight pay or hazardous-duty pay.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The system of promotion in the Austrian military, which offers no incentive for early retirement, means that the military is top-heavy with senior officers. The New Army Structure, which is intended to result in many fewer active-duty and reserve commands, compounds the difficulty. Personnel changes can be implemented only gradually, as the surplus of officers shrinks by attrition. In 1991, the army had four officers of general rank, fifty-nine at the rank of brigadier general (one star), 155 colonels, and 254 lieutenant colonels. The education of career officers is conducted at the Maria Theresia Military Academy at Wiener Neustadt, forty-five kilometres south of Vienna, which was founded in 1752. Young men who have completed their university entrance requirements are eligible to compete for places. The three-year course graduated 212 students in 1990. At the National Defence Academy in Vienna, which has a curriculum comparable to those of the National Defence University and the Army War College in the United States, operational and troop commanders of field-grade rank study for three years in preparation for general staff and command positions. The NCO school is located at Enns near Linz. Troop schools provide continuous specialized courses for officers and NCOs in artillery, air defence, armour, combat engineering, communications, and the like.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Women have been accepted for service in the Austrian armed forces since 1998. All service branches are open for female volunteers. In a public opinion survey in 1988, about 66 percent of those polled approved of opening the military to voluntary service by women; only nine percent favoured obligatory service.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Since 2019 the new service uniform with a six colour camouflage pattern is issued, but the old service uniform in olive is still widespread and will be taken out of service very slowly. The dress uniform is grey; for formal occasions a white uniform may be worn. The air force uniform is identical, with the addition of wings worn on the right jacket breast—gold for officers and silver for enlisted personnel. Branches of service are identified by beret colours: scarlet for the honour Guard; green for infantry; black for armour; cherry for airborne; and dark blue for quartermaster. Insignia of rank are worn on the jacket lapel of the dress uniform (silver stars on a green or gold shield) and on the epaulets of the field uniform (white, silver or gold stars on an olive drab field).


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: The Austrian military has a wide variety of equipment. Recently, Austria has spent considerable amounts of money modernizing its military arsenal. Leopard 2 main battle tanks, Ulan and Pandur infantry fighting vehicles, C-130 Hercules transport planes, S-70 Black Hawk utility helicopters, and Eurofighter Typhoon multi-purpose combat aircraft have been purchased, along with new helicopters to replace the inadequate ones used after the 1999 Galtür Avalanche.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Of the eight enlisted ranks, only a sergeant (Wachtmeister) or above is considered an NCO. There are two warrant officer ranks—Offiziersstellvertreter and Vizeleutnant. The lowest commissioned rank of officer candidate (Fähnrich)—is held by cadets at the military academy and by reserve officers in training for the rank second lieutenant. To maintain conformity with grade levels in the civil service, there are only two ranks of general in the personnel system—brigadier general (one star) and general lieutenant (three stars). However, the ranks of major general (two stars) and full general (equivalent to four stars) are accorded to officers holding particular military commands.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Some of the traditions of the old Austro-Hungarian Army continue to be carried on in . For example, the most famous regiment in the Bundesheer is the "Hoch und Deutschmeister Regiment", now known as Jägerbataillon Wien 1 based in "Maria Theresien Kaserne", named after Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. Also nearly every other regiment of the Bundesheer carries on traditions of the famous Austro-Hungarian regiments like "Kaiserjäger", "Rainer", etc.


title: Austrian Armed Forces

text: Austria took first place in the Strong Europe Tank Challenge 2017 as six nations and partner nations battled it out in Grafenwoehr, Germany. The Austrian tankers defeated teams from France, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and from the United States in the exercise. The Austrian soldiers used Leopard 2A4 tanks during the competition.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: A Farewell to Kings is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in September 1977 by Anthem Records. After touring their previous album "2112" (1976), which saw the group reach a new critical and commercial peak, they started work on a follow-up. They decided to record at Rockfield Studios in Wales, the first time Rush recorded an album outside of Toronto. The band expanded their sound with each member playing new instruments that he had not previously used, and recorded a mix of concise and long songs.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: "A Farewell to Kings" reached No. 11 in Canada and helped the group to continue to expand its audience internationally, reaching inside the top-40 in the UK and the US for the first time. "Closer to the Heart" was released as the album's first single, which reached No. 36 in the UK. Rush toured in support of the album from August 1977 to June 1978. The tour saw the band headline major venues across Canada and play in the UK.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: In June 1977 Rush ended their sixteen-month tour in support of their previous album, "2112" (1976). They decided not to take a break and started on a follow-up straight away. Later that month, they retreated to Rockfield Studios in Rockfield, Monmouthshire in Wales to record. This marked the first time that Rush recorded an album outside of Toronto, and Neil Peart recalled the decision to pick a studio suitable enough as "extremely difficult". After longtime Rush producer Terry Brown did some research, he became excited about working in Rockfield and the group chose it. Peart later wrote that the seclusion and the "mellow" atmosphere at the studio created a productive environment for the group to work in, which gave them the opportunity to record outdoors.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: The album was recorded in three weeks, followed by two weeks of mixing at Advision Studios in London. Peart said that "2112" made the band sound confined in their sound, so for "A Farewell to Kings", the group decided to write material that featured instruments they could play naturally as well as new ones, thus allowing them to play multiple instruments when performing on stage. As a result, "A Farewell to Kings" features Peart playing orchestra bells, tubular bells, chimes, and other percussion; Geddy Lee playing double neck bass (a Rickenbacker 4080) and Minimoog; and Alex Lifeson on new guitars and for the first time, a Moog Taurus bass pedal synthesizer (used by both Lee and Lifeson). Prior to recording, Rush completed a short tour in 1977 which saw the group perform "Xanadu" prior to recording. Apart from early ideas for "Closer to the Heart", the majority of the album was developed in the studio.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: In 2017, Lee considered the album as a particularly important one in regard to his musical development. "I learned a lot; I was learning a lot. I was always challenged and I was very stimulated and the end result was "A Farewell to Kings", so I guess it was a pivotal record in that regard." "A Farewell to Kings" was the first Rush album where synthesizers were an integral part of their sound.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: "A Farewell to Kings" features birds chirping that were recorded outside the studio. The title originated from an idea Peart had a year before Rush started work on the album, and recalled Lee and Rush manager Ray Danniels pushing him to work it into a song and make it the album's title. The track became one of the band's favourite because, as Peart wrote, "it seems to encapsulate everything that we want Rush to represent."


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: "Xanadu" opens with birdsong that was also featured on the opening track. It is a fantasy-inspired song that Peart described as "the most complex and multi-textured piece we have ever attempted" at the time of recording. The opening line is taken from the poem "Kubla Khan" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Initially, Peart had an idea based on "Citizen Kane" before he found Coleridge's poem, the lines of which "etched like a burning image in my head." On the day of recording the song, Rush initially played a run-through of the track to gauge the balance and tone that the microphones were picking up. They performed it a second time once the equipment was set up, and the take was used for the album.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: "Closer to the Heart" was the first song Rush developed for "A Farewell to Kings" and for a time, was the album's early title. In a lyrical sense, Peart noted that as "A Farewell to Kings" deals with the idea of problems, "Closer to the Heart" addresses solutions. It is based on a verse by Peter Talbot, a friend of the group from Seattle who, in addition to being a writer, worked in the media.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: "Cinderella Man" features lyrics written by Lee with assistance from Lifeson, and based on Lee's thoughts and feelings from the romantic comedy film "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" (1936), a favourite of his.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage" is a ten-minute science-fiction song in four distinct sections. The story takes place in outer space in the centre of a black hole named Cygnus X-1, where the character decides to take a closer look in his spaceship, the Rocinante. Peart was inspired by an article about black holes and their origin in "Time" magazine and went about researching the topic further. The song's arrangement was almost entirely devised by the time Rush had moved into Rockfield Studios. Lee thought that the science-fiction genre presented limitless ideas which gave the band the excuse to "use all your goofy, weird sounds because that's what’s happening out in space." In the tourbook for "A Farewell to Kings", Peart wrote that the group had already decided to conclude the story on their next album, which became "Hemispheres" (1978). It opens with the six-part sequel, "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres", forming a song series with a combined length of 28 minutes.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: The cover was designed by longtime Rush collaborator Hugh Syme. He started on the design after Rush had begun recording the album. It features a composite photograph of a Buffalo, NY demolition site with the Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto in the background, while the foreground depicts a retouched human figure that resembles a "grotesque puppet", all of which represents themes addressed in the title track.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: "A Farewell to Kings" was released in September 1977. In the UK, Phonogram Inc. prepared an extensive advertising campaign for the album to increase the band's profile in the territory.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: In November 1977, "A Farewell to Kings" was one of three Rush albums to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 500,000 copies. The others were "2112" and "All the World's a Stage".


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: On release, "Billboard" wrote that "this trio has abated its heavy metal thunder somewhat for a lavishly orchestrated extravaganza that has a rock opera feel to it".


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: AllMusic's Greg Prato gave the album four out of five stars, saying they "had improved their songwriting and strengthened their focus and musical approach". He took notice of the synthesizers that were creeping into the arrangements, "a direction the band would continue to pursue on future releases". He said "Xanadu" "remains an outstanding accomplishment all these years later".


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: Conversely, "Village Voice" critic Robert Christgau gave the record a D rating, calling Rush "the most obnoxious band currently making a killing on the zonked teen circuit", comparing them to bands such as Angel, Kansas, and Uriah Heep, "with vocals revved up an octave. Or two."


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: In the "Q" & "Mojo" 2005 Classic Special Edition "Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock", the album came in sixth in a list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: In 2021, American funk metal band Primus embarked on their "A Tribute to Kings" Tour. At each show, Primus played their original material in the first set before covering the entire "A Farewell to Kings" album in their second set. The first leg began August 10, 2021 in Boise, Idaho, and ended October 25 in Phoenix, Arizona. The second leg began April 15, 2022 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was finished June 25, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: Rush toured in support of the album from August 1977 to June 1978. Early into the tour, Rush headlined a sold out gig at the Exhibition Stadium in Toronto in August 1977 that was attended by over 22,000 people. In late 1977, tickets for a 16-date leg across the UK from February 1978 were announced which quickly sold out.


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: "N.B. All tracks recorded live February 20, 1978 at the Hammersmith Odeon, London; mixed by Terry Brown June/July 2017"


title: A Farewell to Kings

text: "N.B. Tracks 1-8 recorded live February 20, 1978 at the Hammersmith Odeon, London; mixed by Terry Brown June/July 2017"


title: Grenadier

text: A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word "grenade") was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from among the strongest and largest soldiers. By the 18th century, the grenadier dedicated to throwing hand grenades had become a less necessary specialist, yet in battle, the grenadiers were the physically robust soldiers who led assaults, such as storming fortifications in the course of siege warfare.


title: Grenadier

text: Certain countries such as France (Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale) and Argentina (Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers) established units of Horse Grenadiers and for a time the British Army had Horse Grenadier Guards. Like their infantry grenadier counterparts, these horse-mounted soldiers were chosen for their size and strength (heavy cavalry).


title: Grenadier

text: Today, the term is also used to describe a soldier armed with a grenade launcher, a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. These soldiers operate as part of a fireteam.


title: Grenadier

text: The concept of troops being equipped with grenades dates back to the military of the Ming dynasty, when Chinese soldiers stationed on the Great Wall used thunder crash bombs. The earliest references to soldiers using grenades in European armies dates back to the early modern era in the Austrian and Spanish armies. References to grenade-throwing troops also appear in England during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and it was during the reign of King Louis XIV that companies of soldiers serving as grenadiers were first introduced into the French Royal Army. According to René Chartrand, Jean Martinet formed a grenadier company in the "Régiment du Roi" in 1667.


title: Grenadier

text: The infantry of the Dutch States Army, influenced by their French invaders, adopted grenadiers in 1672. By 1678 six men in each company were trained to throw hand grenades, developed by the Dutch master fireworker Johan van Haren.


title: Grenadier

text: In May 1677 the English Army ordered that two soldiers of every Guards Regiment were to be trained as grenadiers; in April 1678 it was ordered that a company of grenadiers be added to the senior eight regiments of foot of the army. On 29 June of that year the diarist John Evelyn saw them drilling at an encampment at Hounslow, near London:


title: Grenadier

text: The first grenades were small iron spheres filled with gunpowder fused with a length of slow-match, roughly the size of a tennis ball. The grenadiers had to be tall and strong enough to hurl these heavy objects far enough so as not to harm themselves or their comrades, and disciplined enough to stand at the forefront of the fight, light the fuse and throw at the appropriate moment to minimize the ability of an enemy to throw the grenade back. Understandably, such requirements led to grenadiers being regarded as an elite fighting force.


title: Grenadier

text: The wide hats with broad brims characteristic of infantry during the late 17th century were in some armies discarded and replaced with caps. This was originally to allow the grenadier to sling his musket over his back with greater ease while throwing grenades (initially, only these troops were provided with slings). It has been suggested that a brimless hat also permitted the grenadier greater ease in throwing the grenade overhand. However Preben Kannik, former Curator of the Danish Army Museum, definitely states that grenades were thrown underarm and that it was the slinging of firearms that required the special headdresses typical of early grenadiers.


title: Grenadier

text: By 1700, grenadiers in the English and other armies had adopted a cap in the shape of a bishop's mitre, usually decorated with the regimental insignia in embroidered cloth. In addition to grenades, they were equipped with Flintlock muskets. Attached to the shoulder belt was a brass 'match case' that housed the slow match used to ignite the grenade fuse, a feature that was retained in later grenadier uniforms.


title: Grenadier

text: Grenade usage declined in the 18th century, a fact that can be attributed to the improved effectiveness of infantry line tactics and flintlock technology. However, the need for elite assault troops remained, and the existing grenadier companies were used for this purpose. As noted, above average physical size had been considered important for the original grenadiers and, in principle, height and strength remained the basis of selection for these picked companies. In the British regiments of foot during the 18th century the preference was, however, to draw on steady veterans for appointment to individual vacancies in a grenadier company (one of the ten companies comprising each regiment). The traditional criterion of size was only resorted to when newly raised regiments required a quick sorting of a mass of new recruits. Transferral to a grenadier company generally meant both enhanced status and an increase in pay.


title: Grenadier

text: Whether for reasons of appearance or reputation, grenadiers tended to be the showpiece troops of their respective armies. In the Spanish Army of the early 19th century, for example, grenadier companies were excused routine duties such as town patrols but were expected to provide guards at the headquarters and residences of senior officers. When a regiment was in line formation the grenadier company always formed on the right flank. In the British Army, when Trooping the Colour, "The British Grenadiers" march is played no matter which regiment is on the parade ground, as the colour party stands at the right-hand end of the line, as every regiment formerly had a company of grenadiers at the right of their formation.


title: Grenadier

text: As noted above, grenadiers were distinguished by their headgear from the ordinary musketeers (or "Hatmen") in each regiment of foot. While there were some exceptions, the most typical grenadier headdress was either the mitre cap or the bearskin. Both began to appear in various armies during the second half of the 17th century because grenadiers were impeded by the wide brimmed infantry hats of the period when slinging their firearms while throwing grenades.


title: Grenadier

text: The cloth caps worn by the original grenadiers in European armies during the 17th century were frequently trimmed with fur. This fell out of fashion in many armies until the mid-18th century when grenadiers in the British, Spanish and French armies began wearing high fur-trimmed caps with crowns of coloured cloth and, in some cases, ornamental front plates. This added to the apparent height and impressive appearance of these troops both on the parade ground and the battlefield.


title: Grenadier

text: The mitre cap, whether in stiffened cloth or metal, had become the distinguishing feature of the grenadier in the armies of Britain, Russia, Prussia and most German states during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Spanish and Austrian grenadiers favoured high fur hats with long coloured cloth 'hoods' (""bags""). The mitre was gradually replaced by bearskin caps in other armies and by 1914 it only survived in the 1st Foot Guards and the 1st (Emperor Alexander) Guards Grenadiers of the Prussian Imperial Guard, plus the Russian Pavlovsky Guard. Russian grenadiers had worn their brass fronted mitre hats on active service until 1807 and some of these preserved for parade wear by the Pavlovsky Guards until 1914 still had dents or holes from musket balls. Some have survived for display in museums and collections.


title: Grenadier

text: While Northern-European armies such as Britain, Russia, Sweden and various German states (perhaps most famously Prussia) wore the mitre cap, southern countries such as France, Spain, Austria, Portugal and various Italian states preferred the bearskin. By 1768 Britain had adopted the bearskin.


title: Grenadier

text: The shape and appearance of fur caps differed according to period and country. While France used smaller bearskins, Spain preferred towering caps with long flowing bags. Britain initially favoured tall cloth mitres with lacing and braiding, while Russia would sport equally tall leather helmets with brass front-plates. The first grenadier headdresses were fairly low, and in the case of Spain and Austria sometimes contained elements from both mitres and bearskins. Until the mid-18th century French grenadiers wore tricorne hats, rather than either the mitre or fur cap. Grenadier caps gradually increased in size and decoration, with added devices such as pompoms, cords, badges, front-plates, plumes, braiding as well as various national heraldic emblems.


title: Grenadier

text: During the Napoleonic Wars, both mitres and fur caps fell out of use in favour of the shako. Two notable exceptions were the grenadier companies and Imperial Guard regiments of the French Grande Armée, plus those of the Austrian Army. After the Battle of Friedland in 1807, because of their distinguished performance, Russia's Pavlovsk Regiment were allowed to keep their mitre caps and were admitted to the Imperial Guard.


title: Grenadier

text: During the Napoleonic Wars, British grenadiers had usually worn the bearskin cap only for full dress when on home service, since the fur was found to deteriorate rapidly during campaigning overseas. Following their role in the defeat of the French Imperial Guard at the Battle of Waterloo, the 1st Foot Guards was renamed the 1st (or Grenadier) Regiment of Foot Guards and all companies of the regiment adopted the bearskin. In 1831, it was ordered that all three Foot Guards should wear the bearskin cap, by then resembling the modern headress in shape and size. The grenadier companies of line infantry regiments meanwhile retained the bearskin cap for parade dress until it was abolished in 1842. During the Crimean War, the Foot Guard regiments wore their bearskins in the field, the only time the celebrated Guards' headdress was worn in action.


title: Grenadier

text: From the 17th Century to the mid 19th centuries the "Foot" or infantry regiments of the British and several other armies comprised ten companies; eight of them "Battalion" or "Centre" companies, and two "Flank Companies" consisting of one Grenadier and one Light or Light Infantry Company. In the United States an Act of Congress made on 8 May 1792 directed that for every infantry battalion there should be one company of grenadiers, riflemen, or light infantry.


title: Grenadier

text: On occasion the grenadier and light companies could be "brigaded" together into separate grenadier and light infantry battalions for assaults or skirmishing respectively.


title: Grenadier

text: Each of the line infantry regiments of the Austrian Army of this period included a grenadier division of two companies, separate from the fusilier companies which made up the bulk of the unit. The grenadier companies were frequently detached from the parent regiment and grouped into composite grenadier battalions for a particular campaign or purpose.


title: Grenadier

text: The Russian Imperial Army of the 18th century followed a different line of development. Prior to 1731 grenadiers made up five separate regiments. These were disbanded prior to the outbreak of war with Turkey and picked infantrymen were transferred to one of two grenadier companies incorporated in each (two-battalion) line infantry regiment. In 1756 each of these grenadier companies was brought together in four permanent grenadier regiments. This policy of maintaining a separate corps of grenadiers continued until the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Palace Grenadiers was a ceremonial company selected from distinguished veterans, in existence from 1827 to 1917 with the primary role of guarding the Winter Palace.


title: Grenadier

text: With the standardisation of training and tactics, the need for separate grenadier companies at regimental level had passed by the mid-19th century and the British, French and Austrian armies phased out these sub-units between 1850 and 1862.


title: Grenadier

text: The term grenadier was retained or adopted by various elite infantry units, including the Prussian Potsdam Grenadiers; the (Grenadiers of Sardinia) in Italy; France's Foot Grenadiers, Fusilier-Grenadiers, Tirailleur-Grenadiers and ; the Russian Empire's Imperial Guard; Britain's Grenadier Guards and the 101st Grenadiers. The latter was part of the British Indian Army and claimed to be the first and oldest grenadier regiment (as opposed to grenadier companies) in the British Empire. In 1747 the grenadier companies of a number of disbanded French infantry regiments were brought together to form a single permanent unit - the .


title: Grenadier

text: During the American Revolution of 1775–1783, the Connecticut 1st Company Governor's Guards and the 11th Regiment of Connecticut Militia had grenadier companies.


title: Grenadier

text: New York City also had a Grenadier unit, as did South Carolina – the elite 1st South Carolina Regiment, raised and commanded by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.


title: Grenadier

text: In Mexico Antonio López de Santa Anna created the Grenadier Guards of the Supreme Power on 7 December 1841. The formation remained in service until 1847.


title: Grenadier

text: A Toronto militia unit was renamed the 10th Royal Grenadiers in 1881, then later became the Royal Regiment of Canada.


title: Grenadier

text: In 1914 the Imperial German and Russian Armies still included a number of grenadier regiments. In the Russian Army these comprised the Grenadier Guards Regiment ("L-G Grenadierski Polk") as well as the Grenadier Corps of sixteen regiments (plus an independent reinforced company of Palace Grenadiers, guarding the St. Petersburg Imperial residences). Five regiments of the Prussian Guard were designated as "Garde-Grenadiers" and there were an additional fourteen regiment of grenadiers amongst the line infantry of the German Empire. In both the Russian and German armies the grenadier regiments were considered as a historic elite; distinguished by features such as plumed helmets in full dress, distinctive facings (yellow for all Russian grenadiers) or special braiding. Their role and training however no longer differed from that of the rest of the infantry.


title: Grenadier

text: Today, regiments using the name grenadiers are effectively indistinguishable from other infantry, especially when hand grenades, RPGs, and other types of explosive arms have become standard-issue weaponry; however, such regiments retain at least the tradition of their elite past. Grenadier can also refer to soldiers utilizing grenade launchers, including those mounted on rifles. During World War I a proposal to designate specialist grenade launching units in the British Army as grenadiers was vetoed by the Grenadier Guards who considered that they now had exclusive rights to the ancient distinction, and the term "bomber" was substituted.


title: Grenadier

text: During World War I, German troops referred to as assault pioneers, who were early combat engineers or sappers and stormtroopers began using two types of hand grenades in trench warfare operations against the French to clear opposing trenches of troops. The more effective of the two was the so-called "potato masher" "Stielhandgranate", which were stick grenades.


title: Grenadier

text: The term "Panzergrenadier" was adopted in the German "Wehrmacht" to describe mechanized heavy infantry elements whose greater protection and mobility allowed them to keep pace with (and provide intimate protection to) armoured units and formations. This designation reflects the traditional role of grenadiers as shock troops. The term in today's "Bundeswehr" refer to mechanized infantry.


title: Grenadier

text: When parachute units were first created in the United States Army, the Air Corps desired them to be under their control and to be designated "air grenadiers".


title: Grenadier

text: The last known unit to serve as grenadiers, and employing grenades as their weapons, was a special "Grenadier brigade" formed by the Red Army within the 4th Army during the Tikhvin defensive operation in October 1941. It was a measure taken because of lack of firearms, and the commander of the brigade was appropriately General Major G.T. Timofeyev who had served in one of the Russian Imperial Army's grenadier regiments during the First World War.


title: Grenadier

text: In the Vietnam War US squads usually had at least one soldier whose role was that of a grenadier. He was usually armed with an M79 grenade launcher, although towards the end of the war it was replaced with an XM148 grenade launcher underslinging an M16 rifle in very small numbers. In infantry squads the grenadier was dedicated to his weapon, meaning that he usually carried only the M79 and an M1911 pistol. In some cases, grenadiers were not even issued this sidearm. The M79 was designed to bridge the gap between the maximum throwing range of a grenade and the minimum distance of mortar fire. It also allowed the use of various rounds, notably high explosive, buckshot, flechette, smoke grenades and parachute flares. US squads have continued the concept of the grenadier armed with an M203 or M320 Grenade Launcher Module attached to an M16 or M4.


title: Grenadier

text: The Argentine Army still maintains a prestigious unit known as the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers ("Regimiento de Granaderos a Caballo")--actually a squadron-strength formation—which serves as the Presidential ceremonial escort and guard unit. The regiment was founded in 1903 as a recreation of a unit which existed from 1813 to 1826 under the leadership of national hero General José de San Martín.


title: Grenadier

text: Unlike most other units which carried the title of "grenadiers", the Argentine Grenadiers are a cavalry unit, and continue to mount horses for ceremonial purposes, as well as carrying lances and cavalry sabers.


title: Grenadier

text: The Belgian Land Component retains two regiments of grenadiers based in Brussels. First raised in 1837 from companies drawn from the line infantry of the newly independent kingdom, these troops served with distinction in both World Wars. In peacetime they had a ceremonial role which corresponded to that of royal guards in other armies. In 1960 the historic blue and red full dress worn prior to World War I was reintroduced for limited wear, although the tall bearskin headdress is now made of synthetic material.


title: Grenadier

text: The Canadian Grenadier Guards is one of the longest serving units in the Canadian Army's Primary Reserve. It still continues today, both in its reserve role and as a ceremonial guard at the National War Memorial, Rideau Hall, and other places of symbolic importance.


title: Grenadier

text: The 10th Royal Grenadiers (later The Royal Grenadiers) of Toronto later became the Royal Regiment of Canada with tradition surviving in a grenadier company.


title: Grenadier

text: The Winnipeg Grenadiers was one of the 2 Canadian infantry regiments of C Force that took part in the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941. The regiment is currently on the Supplementary Order of Battle.


title: Grenadier

text: The same case of the Mounted Grenadier Regiment in Argentina also applies to its western neighbor Chile. The Presidential Horse Guards Cavalry Regiment "Grenadiers" ("Regimiento Escolta Presidencial n.1 "Granaderos"") of the Chilean Army is active since 1827, has fought in every major battle of the Chilean Army in the 19th century and since 1840 and 1907 has served as the Escort Regiment to the President of Chile in every important national occasion. This regiment is named after General Manuel Bulnes Prieto, the founding patron of the regiment, who led the Chilean Army to victory in the War of the Peru-Bolivia Confederation in the crucial Battle of Yungay in 1839, which signaled the confederation's demise.


title: Grenadier

text: The Chilean Grenadiers' uniforms, until 2011, were similar to the full "Feldgrau" uniforms of the Chilean Army, but adapted for the cavalry, and like their Argentine counterparts, carry lances but not cavalry sabers, which are reserved for officers and the mounted colors guard escort. Starting 2011, they wear a cavalry light blue full dress uniform with Pickelhaubes for all ranks.


title: Grenadier

text: The "Tarqui Grenadiers" serve as the Presidential Escort Squadron for the President of Ecuador. The unit stands guard at Quito's Carondelet Palace and retains the uniform worn during the Battle of Tarqui of 1829, reporting as part of the Ecuadorian Army.


title: Grenadier

text: While the French army has not included any grenadiers since 1870, the grenade badge is still a distinctive mark of the Foreign Legion, the National Gendarmerie and the French Customs which was a military unit until 1940.


title: Grenadier

text: The oldest grenadier regiment of the armies in the Commonwealth belongs to the Indian Army. The concept of 'Grenadiers' evolved from the practice of selecting the bravest and strongest men for the most dangerous tasks in combat. The Grenadiers have the longest unbroken record of existence in the Indian Army.


title: Grenadier

text: The Granatieri di Sardegna Mechanized Brigade ("Reggimento Granatieri di Sardegna") is currently part of the mechanized infantry brigade with the same name in the Italian Army. This unit traces its history back to a guards regiment raised in 1659 and is made up predominantly of one year volunteers. Historically, as the senior regiment in the Piedmontese and Italian armies the Grenadiers of Sardinia took the tallest recruits of each intake. On ceremonial occasions the Italian Grenadiers parade in their 19th century blue uniforms and fur headdresses. The 1st Grenadiers of Sardinia regiment is currently (2010) the only infantry regiment of the Italian Army with two battalions (1st "Assietta" and 2nd "Cengio" Grenadiers battalions), and it is likely that in 2020 its 2nd Battalion will be detached to re-activate the 2nd Sardinia Grenadiers Regiment.


title: Grenadier

text: In Mexico, Grenadiers ("Granaderos") are armored specialist police units used for anti-riot duties and other security roles. The National Guard maintains regional grenadier companies for public security duties, while performing law enforcement and wearing NG uniforms.


title: Grenadier

text: The Royal Netherlands Army maintains a regiment of Guard Grenadiers who retain the bearskin headdress of the early 19th century. This regiment has been amalgamated with the Jager Guards to form the ""Garderegiment Grenadiers en Jagers"" Two of its companies are Jagers (riflemen), the other two are grenadiers; it wears the maroon beret and is an air assault and airborne forces trained unit.


title: Grenadier

text: In the Norwegian Army and Air Force, grenadier () is used as a rank, the lowest enlisted below sergeant, to distinguish professional soldiers from conscripts. The grenadiers are employed for positions requiring more experience and/or professional presence. Fully professionalised units, such as the Telemark Battalion, serve in international operations. Professional enlisted personnel in the Navy has the equivalent rank (able seaman).


title: Grenadier

text: There is one company of the 1st King's Immemorial Infantry Regiment which during ceremonies is authorized to use grenadier uniforms of the Charles III period.


title: Grenadier

text: The Grenadier Company is the honor guard of the Swedish Army's Life Guards for state ceremonies. Their uniform includes bearskin hats, and white baldrics (cross belts) that originally carried the fuses used to light grenades. The grenadiers bear the King's own Life Company banner, which was presented to the unit in 1868 by Charles XV's consort, Queen Louise.


title: Grenadier

text: In the military of Switzerland, the Grenadiers form well trained mechanized infantry units. They are used for especially challenging operations and are initially trained in Isone, a secluded, mountainous region in the South of Switzerland. The Swiss Kommando Spezialkräfte specialize in urban warfare, guerrilla warfare, anti-terrorist operations, commando tactics, sniper missions, hand-to-hand combat, and other special operations.


title: Grenadier

text: The Grenadier Guards are the most senior of the five prestigious regiments of Foot Guards, each of which retains the bearskin headdress originally associated with grenadiers.


title: Grenadier

text: Although the Coldstream Guards can trace their origins to an earlier date (1650) than that of the Grenadier Guards (1656), they are officially recognized as second in seniority since having been formed initially to serve the Commonwealth, their service to the Crown only dates from the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660.


title: Grenadier

text: The United States Army rifle squad consists of two fireteams of four soldiers each, with the designated grenadier being equipped with an M4/M16 with the M203 grenade launcher (or newer M320) slung under the barrel and providing limited high-angle fire over 'dead space'.


title: Grenadier

text: The United States Marine Corps rifle squad consists of three four-man fireteams including a team leader who also works as the M203 grenadier. During the Vietnam War there was one grenadier in the squad armed with an M79 grenade launcher.


title: Grenadier

text: Bombaši (Serbian Cyrillic: бомбаши; "bombardiers" or "bombers") is the name widely used for the Yugoslav Partisan volunteer grenadiers, who had a significant importance in operations during World War II and are regarded as particularly heroic.[1]


title: Electronic symbol

text: An electronic symbol is a pictogram used to represent various electrical and electronic devices or functions, such as wires, batteries, resistors, and transistors, in a schematic diagram of an electrical or electronic circuit. These symbols are largely standardized internationally today, but may vary from country to country, or engineering discipline, based on traditional conventions.


title: Electronic symbol

text: The graphic symbols used for electrical components in circuit diagrams are covered by national and international standards, in particular:


title: Electronic symbol

text: Symbols usage is sometimes unique to engineering disciplines, and national or local variations to international standards exist. For example, lighting and power symbols used as part of architectural drawings may be different from symbols for devices used in electronics.


title: Electronic symbol

text: It is very common for potentiometer and rheostat symbols to be used for many types of variable resistors, including trimmers.


title: Electronic symbol

text: Optionally, the triangle in these symbols may be filled in. Note: The words anode and cathode typically aren't part of the diode symbols.


title: Electronic symbol

text: There are many ways to draw a single-phase bridge rectifier symbol. Some show the internal diode circuit, some don't.


title: Electronic symbol

text: Optionally, transistor symbols may include a circle. Note: The pin letters B/C/E and G/D/S aren't part of the transistor symbols.


title: Electronic symbol

text: For the symbols below: A and B are inputs, Q is output. Note: These letters are not part of the symbols.


title: Electronic symbol

text: There are variations of these logic gate symbols. Depending on the IC, the two-input gates below may have: 1) two or more inputs; 2) infrequently some have a second inverted output too.


title: Electronic symbol

text: The above logic symbols may have additional I/O variations too: 1) schmitt trigger inputs, 2) tri-state outputs, 3) open-collector or open-drain outputs (not shown).


title: Electronic symbol

text: For the symbols below: Q is output, is inverted output, E is enable input, internal triangle shape is clock input, S is Set, R is Reset (some datasheets use clear (CLR) instead of reset along the bottom).


title: Electronic symbol

text: There are variations of these flip-flop symbols. Depending on the IC, a flip-flop may have: 1) one or both outputs (Q only, only, both Q & ); 2) one or both forced inputs along top & bottom (R only, S only, both R & S); 3) some inputs may be inverted.


title: Electronic symbol

text: The shape of some electronic symbols have changed over time. The following historical electronic symbols can be found in old electronic books / magazines / schematics, and now considered obsolete.


title: The King's Avatar (2019 TV series)

text: The King's Avatar () is a 2019 Chinese live-action streaming television series based on the web novel of the same name by Hu Dielan. It stars Yang Yang as the main character. It premiered on Tencent Video on July 24, 2019.


title: The King's Avatar (2019 TV series)

text: The series depicts a fictional esports scene in China where the story revolves around a multiplayer online video game called "Glory". It chronicles the fall and rise of Ye Xiu, a top-tier player of Glory.


title: The King's Avatar (2019 TV series)

text: The live-action series was first announced in February 2017 via a production conference held by Linmon Pictures; and would be co-produced with Tencent Penguin Pictures. The author of the novel Hu Dielan was invited to be the overall planner of the series.


title: The King's Avatar (2019 TV series)

text: On June 13, 2017, Yang Yang was announced as the lead actor in a press conference. In November, Song Zu'er was announced as the female lead Su Mucheng, but backed out in March 2018 due to scheduling conflicts.


title: The King's Avatar (2019 TV series)

text: The series began filming in April 2018, and wrapped up in September 2018. A Dungeon Fighter Online professional player was engaged to serve as instructor to the cast. The production embraces a number of technological advances, e.g. motion capture, face capture, and their integration with virtual shooting using Unreal engine for real-time preview.


title: The King's Avatar (2019 TV series)

text: The series was an instant hit among young audiences due to its fresh storyline centered around esports, as well as the stunning visual effects. It won praise from "People's Daily" as well as several industry professionals for its spiritual focus and creative value.


title: The King's Avatar (2019 TV series)

text: It attracted more than 3 billion views on Tencent Video, and more than ten million views on overseas market platforms such as WeTV and YouTube.


title: Carmine

text: Carmine ()also called cochineal (when it is extracted from the cochineal insect), cochineal extract, crimson lake, or carmine lake is a pigment of a bright-red color obtained from the aluminium complex derived from carminic acid. Specific code names for the pigment include natural red 4, C.I. 75470, or E120. "Carmine" is also a general term for a particularly deep-red color.


title: Carmine

text: The English word "carmine" is derived from the French word "carmin" (12th century), from Medieval Latin "carminium", from Persian "qirmiz" ("crimson"), which itself derives from Middle Persian "carmir" ("red, crimson"). The Persian term "carmir" is likely cognate with Sanskrit "krimiga" ("insect-produced"), from "krmi" ("worm, insect"). The Persian word for "worm, insect" is "kirm", and in Iran (Persia) the red colorant carmine was extracted from the bodies of dead female insects such as "Kermes vermilio" and cochineal. The form of the term may also have been influenced in Latin by "minium" ("red lead, cinnabar"), said to be of Iberian origin. The word "carmine" has been used as a color name as early as 1799. It is a popular food color, used in yogurt, candy, gelatin, meat, and beverages including fruit juices.


title: Carmine

text: The pigment is produced from carminic acid, which is extracted from some scale insects such as the cochineal scale ("Dactylopius coccus"), and certain "Porphyrophora" species (Armenian cochineal and Polish cochineal). Carmine is a colorant used in the manufacture of artificial flowers, paints, crimson ink, rouge and other cosmetics, and some medications.


title: Carmine

text: To prepare carmine, the powdered scale insect bodies are boiled in an ammonia or sodium carbonate solution. After separating the insoluble matter, the extract is treated with alum to precipitate the red solid. This precipitate is called "carmine lake" or "crimson lake". Purity of color is ensured by the absence of iron. Stannous chloride, citric acid, borax, or gelatin may be added to modify the precipitation. The traditional crimson color is affected not only by carminic acid but also by choice of its chelating metal salt ion. For shades of purple, lime is added to the alum.


title: Carmine

text: As confirmed by reflectance spectroscopy, carmine reflects mostly red light, i.e., wavelengths longer than about 603 nm.


title: Carmine

text: Carmine can be used in histology, as "Best's carmine" to stain glycogen, "mucicarmine" to stain acidic mucopolysaccharides, and "carmalum" to stain cell nuclei. In these applications, it is applied together with a mordant, usually an Al(III) salt.


title: Carmine

text: Carmine was used in dyeing textiles and in painting since antiquity. It is not very stable in oil paint, and its use ceased after new and better red pigments became available. Jacopo Tintoretto used carmine in several of his paintings, including "Portrait of Vincenzo Morosini" and "Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciples".


title: Carmine

text: In January 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) evaluated a proposal that would require food products containing carmine to list it by name on the ingredient label. It was also announced that the FDA will separately review the ingredient labels of prescription drugs that contain colorings derived from carmine. A request from the Center for Science in the Public Interest urging the FDA to require ingredient labels to explicitly state that carmine is derived from insects and may cause severe allergic reactions and anaphylactic shock was declined by the FDA. Food industries were aggressively opposed to the idea of writing "insect-based" on the label, and the FDA agreed to allow "cochineal extract" or "carmine".


title: Carmine

text: In the European Union (EU), the use of carmine in foods is regulated under the European Commission's directives governing food additives in general and food dyes in particular and listed under the names "Cochineal", "Carminic acid", "Carmines" and "Natural Red 4" as additive E 120 in the list of EU-approved food additives. The directive governing food dyes approves the use of carmine for certain groups of foods only and specifies a maximum amount which is permitted or restricts it to the quantum satis.


title: Carmine

text: The EU-Directive 2000/13/EC on food labeling mandates that carmines (like all food additives) must be included in the list of ingredients of a food product with its additive category and listed name or additive number, that is either as "Food colour carmines" or as "Food colour E 120" in the local language(s) of the market(s) the product is sold in.


title: Carmine

text: , EFSA has changed the way they allow use of Carmine E120 for pharmaceutical products. The EFSA had raised concerns over the increasing number of allergic reactions to carmine derived from insects (E120.360), when used within the "British Pharmacopoeia". Pharmaceutical products which had previously contained insect-derived carmine, have been replaced with a synthesized version of the food colorant. Internal studies have shown that the new formulations of popular anti-nausea and weight-gain liquid medication had a significantly lower risk in terms of allergic reactions. The new formulation is known to be of plant origin, using calcium oxide to gauge color depth.


title: Gavin Bazunu

text: Gavin Okeroghene Bazunu (born 20 February 2002) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Southampton and the Republic of Ireland national team.


title: Gavin Bazunu

text: Bazunu started his career at Shamrock Rovers, making his first team debut in June 2018 at the age of 16, before joining Manchester City in February 2019. He spent the 2020–21 season on loan at Rochdale and the 2021–22 season on loan at Portsmouth.


title: Gavin Bazunu

text: Having come through the academy at Shamrock Rovers, Bazunu made his debut for Rovers' first team on 9 June 2018 in a 5–0 win at home to Bray Wanderers, at the age of 16. Manager Stephen Bradley stated that despite not wanting to 'throw [young goalkeepers] in that early', Bazunu was 'ready' for his first-team debut. He made three further appearances for Shamrock Rovers in the 2018 League of Ireland Premier Division. These included a penalty save at Cork City which meant he kept four clean sheets out of four in the league. Bazunu also made two appearances in the 2018-19 UEFA Europa League.


title: Gavin Bazunu

text: On 6 September 2018, it was announced that Bazunu had joined Premier League club Manchester City for an undisclosed fee reported to be £420,000, though a joining date had not been set, with Bazunu wishing to complete his education in the Irish education system. The following month, it was announced he has signed a pre-contract agreement with Manchester City, with it initially agreed he would join the club in summer 2019, before it was moved forward to February 2019. He made his debut for Manchester City's under-18 side on 9 February 2019 against Stoke City U18.


title: Gavin Bazunu

text: Bazunu was named in Manchester City's UEFA Champions League squad for a Round of 16 second leg match against Real Madrid in August 2020.


title: Gavin Bazunu

text: He signed a contract extension with Manchester City until 2024 and joined League One side Rochdale on a season-long loan later that month. He started and kept a clean sheet on his debut for Rochdale on 5 September 2020 in a 1–0 EFL Cup victory away to Huddersfield Town, and made his first league appearance the following week in a 3–1 defeat at Swindon Town.


title: Gavin Bazunu

text: On 1 July 2021, he moved on loan to Portsmouth for the 2021–22 season. He was named as the club's Players' Player and Player of the Season.


title: Gavin Bazunu

text: On 17 June 2022, Bazunu joined Southampton on a five-year contract for a reported fee of £12 million.


title: Gavin Bazunu

text: In March 2021, he was called into the senior Republic of Ireland team for the first time, for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He made his senior debut in a 1–0 defeat on 27 March 2021 against Luxembourg.


title: Province

text: A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman "provincia", which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term "province" has since been adopted by many countries. In some countries with no actual provinces, "the provinces" is a metaphorical term meaning "outside the capital city".


title: Province

text: While some provinces were produced artificially by colonial powers, others were formed around local groups with their own ethnic identities. Many have their own powers independent of central or federal authority, especially in Canada and Pakistan. In other countries, like China or France, provinces are the creation of central government, with very little autonomy.


title: Province

text: The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French , which itself comes from the Latin word , which referred to the sphere of authority of a magistrate, in particular, to a foreign territory.


title: Province

text: A popular etymology is from Latin ("on behalf of") and ("to triumph" or "to take control of"). Thus a "province" would be a territory or function that a Roman magistrate held control of on behalf of his government. In fact, the word "province" is an ancient term from public law, which means: "office belonging to a magistrate". This agrees with the Latin term's earlier usage as a generic term for a jurisdiction under Roman law.


title: Province

text: In France, the expression still means "outside the Paris region". Equivalent expressions are used in Peru (, "outside the city of Lima"), Mexico (, "lands outside Mexico City"), Romania (, "outside the Bucharest region"), Poland (, "provincial"), Bulgaria (, , "in the provinces" and , , "provincial") and the Philippines (, "from outside Metro Manila", , "in the provinces", or "in the countryside"). Similarly, in Australia "provincial" refers to parts of a state outside of the state capital.


title: Province

text: Before the French Revolution, France comprised a variety of jurisdictions (built around the early Capetian royal demesne), some being considered "provinces", though the term was also used colloquially for territories as small as a manor (). Most commonly referred to as "provinces", however, were the , generally former medieval feudal principalities, or agglomerations of such. Today the expression is regularly replaced in the media by the more politically correct , now being the term officially used for the secondary level of government.


title: Province

text: For the United Kingdom use of the word is often pejorative, assuming a stereotype of the denizens of the provinces to be less culturally aware than those in the capital.


title: Province

text: The historic European provinces—built up of many small regions, called by the French and "cantons" by the Swiss, each with a local cultural identity and focused upon a market town—have been depicted by Fernand Braudel as the optimum-size political unit in pre-industrial Early Modern Europe. He asks, "Was the province not its inhabitants' true 'fatherland'?" Even centrally-organized France, an early nation-state, could collapse into autonomous provincial worlds under pressure, as during the sustained crisis of the French Wars of Religion (1562–98).


title: Province

text: The British colonies in North America were often named provinces. Most (but not all) of the thirteen colonies that eventually formed the United States were called provinces. All declared themselves "states" when they became independent. The Connecticut Colony, the Delaware Colony, Rhode Island and the Colony of Virginia never used the title "province". The British colonies further north, which remained loyal to Britain and later confederated to form the original Canada, retained the title of "province" and are still known as such to the present day.


title: Province

text: To 19th- and 20th-century historians, in Europe, centralized government was a sign of modernity and political maturity. In the late 20th century, as the European Union drew nation-states closer together, centripetal forces seemed simultaneously to move countries toward more flexible systems of more localized, provincial governing entities under the overall European Union umbrella. Spain after Francisco Franco has been a "State of Autonomies", formally unitary but in fact functioning as a federation of Autonomous Communities, each exercising different powers. (See Politics of Spain.)


title: Province

text: While Serbia, the rump of former Yugoslavia, fought the separatists in the province of Kosovo, the United Kingdom, under the political principle of "devolution", produced (1998) local parliaments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In ancient India, unlike the Mauryas, the Gupta Empire gave local areas a great deal of independence and divided the empire into 26 large provinces, styled as Bhukti, Pradesha and Bhoga.


title: Province

text: In many federations and confederations, the province or state is not clearly subordinate to the national or central government. Rather, it is considered to be sovereign in regard to its particular set of constitutional functions. The central- and provincial-government functions, or areas of jurisdiction, are identified in a constitution. Those that are not specifically identified are called "residual powers". In a decentralized federal system (such as the United States and Australia) these residual powers lie at the provincial or state level, whereas in a centralized federal system (such as Canada) they are retained at the federal level.


title: Province

text: Some of the enumerated powers can be quite important. For example, Canadian provinces are sovereign in regard to such important matters as property, civil rights, education, social welfare and medical services. The growth of the modern welfare state has resulted in these functions, assigned to the provinces, becoming more important compared to those assigned to the federal government and thus provincial governments have become more important than the Fathers of Confederation originally intended.


title: Province

text: Canada's status as a federation of provinces under the Dominion of the British Empire rather than an independent country also had certain legal implications. Provinces could appeal court rulings over the heads of the Supreme Court of Canada to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. As well, provinces could bypass the Supreme Court and go directly to London from any Provincial Court. The Canadian Supreme Court tended to support the view that the Canadian Constitution was intended to create a powerful central government, but the Privy Council in London held the distinctly opposite view that the Constitution provided for stronger provincial powers. This provided an opportunity for forum shopping for provinces who opposed federal laws. Until appeals from Canada to the Privy Council were abolished in 1949, in legal disputes the provincial governments tended to win powers at the expense of the federal government.


title: Province

text: In addition, while the Canadian federal government has unlimited taxing power while province governments are restricted to imposing direct taxes, the Canadian government introduced an income tax during World War I, and since it is a direct tax it also became a major revenue generator for provinces. In most provinces, the federal government now collects income tax for both levels of government and transfers to the provincial governments whatever surcharge they ask for. The sales tax also become a major revenue generator for provinces, so in 1991 the Canadian government introduced a Goods and Services Tax (GST) to share the revenues, which proved unpopular both with provincial governments and taxpayers. The Canadian government has tried to harmonize the two levels of sales taxes, but three provinces continue to impose a separate sales tax (British Columbia after harmonizing it, and shortly thereafter de-harmonizing it after it was struck down by a referendum), while the province of Alberta still does not impose a provincial sales tax.


title: Province

text: The evolution of federations has created an inevitable tug-of-war between concepts of federal supremacy versus states' and provinces' rights. The historic division of responsibility in federal constitutions is inevitably subject to multiple overlaps. For example, when central governments, responsible for foreign policy, enter into international agreements in areas where the state or province is sovereign, such as the environment or health standards, agreements made at the national level can create jurisdictional overlap and conflicting laws. This overlap creates the potential for internal disputes that lead to constitutional amendments and judicial decisions that alter the balance of powers.


title: Province

text: Though foreign affairs do not usually fall under a province's or a federal state's competency, some states allow them to legally conduct international relations on their own in matters of their constitutional prerogative and essential interest. Sub-national authorities have a growing interest in paradiplomacy, be it performed under a legal framework or as a trend informally admitted as legitimate by the central authorities.


title: Province

text: In unitary states such as France and China, provinces are subordinate to the national, central government. In theory, the central government can create or abolish provinces within its jurisdiction. On the other hand, although Canada is now considered a federal state and not a confederation, in practice it is among the world's more decentralized federations. Canadian Confederation and the Constitution Act, 1867 conferred considerable power on the provincial governments which they often use to pursue their own goals independently of the federal government.


title: Province

text: In Canada, local governments have been called "creatures of the province" because the authority of a local government derives solely from the provincial government. Provinces can create, merge, and dissolve local governments without the consent of the federal government or the people in the affected locality. Alberta in particular dissolved and merged hundreds of local governments during the 1940s and 1950s as a consequence of the Great Depression. Other provinces have arbitrarily merged and annexed independent suburbs to major Canadian cities such as Toronto or Montreal without the approval of local voters.


title: Province

text: Not all first-level political entities are termed "provinces." In Arab countries, the first administrative level of government—called a "muhafazah"—is usually translated as a "governorate." In Poland, the equivalent of "province" is ""województwo"," sometimes rendered in English as "voivodeship."


title: Province

text: Historically, New Zealand was divided into provinces, each with its own Superintendent and Provincial Council, and with considerable responsibilities conferred on them. However, the colony (as it then was) never developed into a federation; instead, the provinces were abolished in 1876. The old provincial boundaries continue to be used to determine the application of certain public holidays. Over the years, when the central Government has created special-purpose agencies at a sub-national level, these have often tended to follow or approximate the old provincial boundaries. Current examples include the 16 Regions into which New Zealand is divided, and also the 21 District Health Boards. Sometimes the term "the provinces" is used to refer collectively to rural and regional parts of New Zealand, that is, those parts of the country lying outside some or all of the "main centres"—Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin.


title: Province

text: In many countries, a province is a relatively small non-constituent level of sub-national government, such as a county in the United Kingdom. In China, a province is a sub-national region within a unitary state; this means that a province can be created or abolished by the national people's congress.


title: Province

text: In some nations, a province (or its equivalent) is a first-level administrative unit of sub-national government—as in the Netherlands—and a large constituent autonomous area, as in Argentina, Canada, South Africa, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It can also be a constituent element of a federation, confederation, or republic. For example, in the United States, no state may secede from the federal Union without the permission of the federal government.


title: Province

text: In other nations—such as Belgium, Chile, Italy, Peru, the Philippines, and Spain—a province is a second-level administrative sub-division of a region (which is the first-order administrative sub-division of the nation). Italian provinces are mainly named after their principal town and comprise several administrative sub-divisions called "comuni" (communes). In Chile, they are referred to as "comunas". Chile has 15 regions, subdivided into 53 provinces, of which each is run by a governor appointed by the president. Italy has 20 regions, subdivided into 14 metropolitan cities and 96 provinces. Peru has 25 regions, subdivided into 194 provinces. Spain has 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities, subdivided into 50 provinces.


title: Province

text: The island of Ireland is divided into four historic provinces (see Provinces of Ireland), each of which is sub-divided into counties. These provinces are Connacht (in the west), Leinster (in the east), Munster (in the south) and, Ulster (in the north). Nowadays these provinces have little or no administrative function, though they do have sporting significance.


title: Province

text: Similarly, some overseas parts of the British Empire bore the colonial title of "province" (in a more Roman sense), such as the Province of Canada and the Province of South Australia (the latter, to distinguish it from the penal "colonies" elsewhere in Australia). Likewise, prior to the American Revolution, most of the original Thirteen Colonies in British America were provinces as well, such as the Province of Georgia and the Province of New Hampshire.


title: Province

text: The constituent entities of Canada are known as provinces. Prior to confederation, the term province was used in reference to several British colonies situated in Canada; such as the colonial Province of Quebec. In 1791, Quebec split into two separate colonies, the provinces of Lower Canada, and Upper Canada. The two colonies were later merged in 1841 to form the Province of Canada. From its separation from Nova Scotia in the 18th century, New Brunswick was known as His/Her Majesty's Province of New Brunswick. After Canadian confederation in 1867, the term "provinces" continued to be used, in reference to the sub-national governments of Canada.


title: Province

text: Because Canada is the second-largest country in the world by area, but has only 10 provinces, most Canadian provinces are very large—six of its ten provinces are larger than any country in Europe except Russia, and its largest province Quebec——is almost two and a half times as large as France—. Six provinces, including five of the oldest Canadian provinces—Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island—have "counties" as administrative sub-divisions. The actual local government form can vary widely. In New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and in 9 of the 18 counties of Nova Scotia, county government has been abolished and has been superseded by another form of local government. New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island also have parishes within counties. Since the Canadian Constitution assigns local government to provincial jurisdiction, the various provinces can create, dissolve, and reorganize local governments freely and they have been described as "creatures of the province".


title: Province

text: The Western provinces have more varied types of administrative sub-divisions than the Eastern provinces. The province of British Columbia has "regional districts" which function as county-equivalents. Manitoba and Saskatchewan are divided into rural municipalities.


title: Province

text: Alberta is also divided into counties, albeit they are officially classified as "municipal districts" by the province, though in regular everyday parlance these entities are referred to as a "county". The province of Alberta has some unique local governance schemes formed in response to local conditions. For instance, Sherwood Park is an unincorporated "urban service area" of 65,465 within Strathcona County, which has most of the oil refining capacity in Western Canada; Fort McMurray was once a city but dissolved itself and became an "urban service area" of 70,964 people within the Regional Municipality (R.M.) of Wood Buffalo, which has several multibillion-dollar oil sands plants; and Lloydminster, a city of 31,483 which sits directly astride the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. Unlike most such cases, Lloydminster is not a pair of twin cities on opposite sides of a border, but is actually incorporated by both provinces as a single city with a single municipal administration. The residents objected to the federal government splitting the city in two when it created the two provinces, so the two provinces reunified it by declaring it to be a single city in two provinces, thereby bypassing the limitations of federal boundaries.


title: Province

text: The term "province" is sometimes used to refer to the historic governorates ("guberniyas") of Russia. This terms also refers to the "provinces" (), which were introduced as the subdivisions of the governorates in 1719 and existed until 1775. In modern parlance, the term is commonly used to refer to the oblasts and krais of Russia.


title: Little People, Big World

text: Little People, Big World is an American reality television series that premiered on March 4, 2006, and airs on TLC. The series chronicles the lives of the six-member Roloff family farm near Portland, Oregon. Many of the episodes focus on the parents, Matt and Amy, and one of their children, Zach, who has dwarfism.


title: Little People, Big World

text: On August 26, 2010, TLC announced that the sixth season would be the last for the show. However, the show was never canceled and remains on the air to this day.


title: Little People, Big World

text: After its original final season, TLC aired several specials: "Conquering Mount St. Helens", "Breaking Down the Walls", and "Welcome to the Jungle". On October 5, 2012, TLC announced a spin-off series – "". It chronicles Matt and Amy as they jump-start their wedding business on the farm. The series premiered on November 13, 2012, and ran for six episodes.


title: Little People, Big World

text: In 2010, Amy Roloff commented on the beginnings of the show: "TLC came to us about five or six years ago, and so we suddenly realized we were given a great opportunity to educate people about dwarfism. When it was offered that we do a show about our lives, my husband and I were like, "Wow, nothing like this has even been on the air." Nothing had depicted dwarfism in an everyday way. Lo and behold, a few episodes turned into six seasons. And here we are."


title: Little People, Big World

text: The show follows the daily lives of the Roloff family — parents Matt and Amy, and their four children: Zach, Jeremy, Molly, and Jacob. Matt, Amy, and Zach have dwarfism, while Jeremy, Molly, and Jacob are of average height. Zach and Jeremy are fraternal twins; although Jeremy is of average height, his brother Zach is a little person (4'4", or 132 cm).


title: Little People, Big World

text: The family lives on the Roloff Farms, located north of Hillsboro in Helvetia, Oregon, a suburb of Portland. Although crops of pumpkins are grown and sold by the family, much of the farm has been converted into a series of playground set pieces for the Roloff children. They were designed by Matt, who spent most of his childhood in the hospital. He has tried to make his children's lives the best possible.


title: Little People, Big World

text: Episodes of the show typically showcase one or more members of the Roloff family engaging in everyday activities such as shopping, athletics, and dealing with household finances. The drama of the show arises because many of these activities are made more challenging due to the height of the little people in the family, as Matt and Amy are 4'1" (124 cm) and Zach is 4'4" (132 cm).


title: Little People, Big World

text: The first season of "Little People, Big World" generated adequate ratings for TLC (especially in the 18–49 demographic), leading to the show's renewal for a second season. Critical reviews of the series have been generally positive, citing the show's positive portrayal of little people. Conversely, other reviews have claimed that the show has a voyeuristic bend to it (albeit a nonsexual one), but allows the viewer to feel good about watching because it is not outwardly or overtly exploitive.


title: Little People, Big World

text: The September 30, 2014, finale of "Little People, Big World"s eighth season broke series records; 2.3 million total viewers tuned in to watch Jeremy Roloff marry his long-time girlfriend, Audrey Botti. The finale was the highest-rated episode in six years among women 25–54 and was number one on cable in the 10:00 pm timeslot among women 18–49 and women 18–34. The wedding finale capped the series' highest-rated season, in which it averaged 1.9 million viewers per episode.


title: Little People, Big World

text: Since the show began airing, Roloff Farms has become an extremely popular tourist destination. While the farm and its many attractions have long been available for public viewing during pumpkin season (October), it began receiving far more visitors than can be accommodated. During the 2006 season, more than 30,000 people arrived to buy pumpkins and tour the farm, which only had space for a few hundred vehicles. The farm was shut down temporarily by Washington County deputies on one Saturday in October 2006, due to massive traffic. Area residents have complained about the gridlock caused by the visitors, as well as about the increased media scrutiny the show has brought.


title: Little People, Big World

text: The Roloffs receive a large amount of correspondence. One report said as many as a dozen emails per minute arrive from supporters, however, the family did not confirm it. The increased exposure, however, has led to safety concerns for the family, who now deal with trespassers and fans. They have since installed a security gate on their property.


title: Little People, Big World

text: In 2007, Matt Roloff was arrested on DUI charges. While he was found not guilty of the DUI, he was found guilty of refusing to submit to a blood alcohol test. As a result of his refusal, his driver's license was suspended for three years, because he had previously admitted guilt in a drunken-driving diversion program that he completed in 2003.


title: Little People, Big World

text: In 2020, Jacob Roloff claimed that he was groomed and molested by former producer Chris Cardamone during the production of the series between 2007 and 2010, when Roloff was between the ages of 10 and 13 years old. While Roloff did not divulge details of the abuse, he emphasized that "all fault lies with the predator" and that "no fault lies with any of my family members." TLC responded to the allegations by saying "We are saddened and troubled by this very serious allegation, and TLC will work cooperatively with the authorities. Our main focus remains on supporting the Roloff family during this very difficult time.”