History.

The Silverado nameplate made its debut for the 1975 model year, becoming the top trim level on all Chevrolet C/K trucks, slotted above Custom Deluxe, Scottsdale, and Cheyenne. At the same time, GMC C/K trucks used variations of the Sierra name (Sierra, Sierra Classic, Sierra Grande, and High Sierra). Today, Chevrolet still uses the CK and the CC in their current model codes.  For the

First generation Silverado / Second generation Sierra (1999–2007).

The GMT800 Silverado/Sierra 1500 and 2500 pickup trucks were released in August 1998 as 1999 models. The "classic" light-duty GMT400 C/K trucks were continued in production for that first year alongside the new models, and the Heavy-Duty GMT400 pickups (alongside the GMT400 SUVs) were continued until 2000, with the new GMT800 Silverado/Sierra HD (Heavy Duty) released a year later. A small refresh for 2003 models was introduced in 2002, bringing slight design changes and an upgrade to the audio and HVAC controls. The latter 2006 and 2007 GMT800 production units used the name "Classic" to denote the difference between the first and second generation trucks.

Development.

In January 1993, GM began development on the GMT800 pickup program with numerous teams coming together. By the end of 1994, a final design

Light duty.

There are a number of models of light-duty Silverados and Sierras, including the half-ton, SS, and Hybrid.  The light-duty trucks use the 1500 name. They are available in three cab lengths, 2-door standard/regular cab, 3 or 4-door extended cab, and front-hinged 4-door crew cab. Three cargo beds are available: a short box, standard box, and a long box. The short box is only available with the crew cab and extended cab.  For the first year, only the regular cab and a 3-door extended cab were available, along with the Vortec 4300 V6, Vortec 4800 V8, and the Vortec 5300 V8. In 2000, a driver's side door option became available for the extended cab, giving it four doors, and the crew-cab body was added to the lineup in 2004. Output on the 5.3 L engine also increased to and

2001 GMC Sierra C3/Denali.

GMC created an upscale version of its Sierra 1500 in 2001 called the Sierra C3. It used all-wheel drive with a 3.73 final drive gear ratio and included the 6.0 L "Vortec 6000" LQ4 V8 rated at at 5000 rpm and 370 lb•ft (502 N·m) of torque at 4000 rpm coupled to a 4L60E-HD four-speed automatic transmission along with other upscale equipment. For 2002, the name was changed to Sierra

Chevrolet Silverado SS.

Launched in early 2003, the Silverado SS is a high-performance pickup truck built by Chevrolet. It is based on the 1500 Silverado Extended Cab with Fleetside Box and features upgrades in the drive train and both exterior and interior appearance. It was equipped standard with the 6.0 liter Vortec High-Output V8 rated at at 5200 rpm and of torque at 4000 rpm coupled to a 4L65E four-speed automatic transmission. This was the same engine used for the second generation Cadillac Escalade. Chevrolet and GMC advertised this engine as the Vortec High Output and later as the "VortecMAX", while Cadillac calls it the "HO 6000". The SS debuted in 2003 with a standard All Wheel Drive

Intimidator SS.

In 2006, Chevrolet released a special edition Silverado SS under the name "Intimidator SS" (licensed by Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) to honor the late Dale Earnhardt. The truck came with several minor appearance upgrades (rear spoiler, embroidered headrests, Intimidator

Vortec High Output/Vortec Max.

The Vortec High Output option was first introduced in 2004 to a limited market (mainly consisting of Texas and several surrounding areas); it was available nationwide for MY 2005. It was available for both the Chevy and GMC 1500 series trucks. This special edition package (under option code B4V) included several options previously not found on the standard 1500 model, most notably the LQ9 6.0 L V-8 engine (the same used for the Silverado SS, the 2005-2006 GMC Denalis and the Cadillac Escalade). The LQ9 motor was rated at at 5200 rpm and of torque at 4000 rpm, which was the same specifications shared in the SS models. The B4V package could only be ordered on extended cab standard box 2WD trucks. They were all built at the Canadian assembly plant and were equipped with the Z60 High Performance suspension package, in addition to the M32 = 4L65E transmission, GT4 = 3.73 rear gear, and G80 Gov Lock as standard equipment. The 2004 models were equipped with the standard

Hybrid.

GM launched a hybrid version of the Silverado/Sierra in 2004, becoming the first ever GM hybrid passenger vehicle. Known within GM as the Parallel Hybrid Truck or PHT, it is not actually a parallel hybrid by the current definition, but a type of micro hybrid design. The electric motor housed within the transmission flywheel housing, serves only to provide engine cranking/starting, battery charging, and powering accessories. The engine automatically shuts down as the truck comes to a stop and uses 42 Volt electric power to the starter/generator unit to restart the engine as the brake pedal is released. Besides the typical 12 V automotive battery the PHT uses three additional 14 V valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries mounted under the rear seat to store and

Heavy duty.

The HD variant was a heavy-duty light truck. It was a strengthened version of the Silverado/Sierra light-duty, and was available in the 1500HD, 2500HD, and 3500HD models. The 1500HD, introduced in 2000, offered a Vortec 6000 V8 with at 5200 rpm and of torque at 4000 rpm with a Hydra-Matic 4L80E four-speed automatic transmission. The 2500HD also offered the LB7 Duramax V8 with at 3100 rpm and of torque at 1800 rpm, the LLY Duramax V8 with 310 hp (231 kW)

Second generation Silverado / Third generation Sierra (2007–2014).

The all-new GMT900 generation of the Silverado/Sierra arrived in the last quarter of 2006 as a 2007 model. It features a redesigned exterior, interior, frame, and suspension as well as power increases on certain engines. It takes styling cues from the 2007 GMT900 SUVs and the Chevrolet Colorado pickups. Like the GMT900 SUVs, these pickups also have greatly improved aerodynamics over their predecessors like steeply raked windshields and tighter panel gaps which improve fuel economy. The GMT800 models were continued through 2007 badged as "Classic", just as the GMT400 models continued for two years after the GMT800's introduction.  The new Silverado earned the "North American Truck of the Year" award for 2007 and was "Motor Trend" magazine's Truck of the Year for 2007. Like its predecessors, the new Silverado offers buyers a choice of two-door regular cabs, four-door extended cabs (with front-opening rear doors that now open 170 degrees similar to the Nissan Titan) and four-door crew cabs. GM also offers the trucks in the traditional two- and four-wheel-drive configurations.  For the 2007 model year, the Sierra Denali shares the same billet grille from the other Denali models, and also has the same dash as the 2007 SUV's. The 2007 Sierra Denali was initially the only half-ton pickup that had a 6.2L engine with and of torque coupled to a six-speed transmission. This truck is also an optional all-wheel-drive vehicle and goes in 6.3 seconds.  The Generation III small block V8 engines offered in the GMT800 trucks were replaced in the GMT900 series by the Generation IV small block V8 engine family, featuring upgrades such as increased power and Active Fuel Management on the 5.3 L and 6.0 L V8s. A new high performance 6.2 liter V8 (with and of torque) was introduced with the 2007 Cadillac Escalade and 2007 GMC Denali line, and was made available in the Silverado 1500 for MY 2009.  After skipping the 2008 model year, with 2007 being the last for the GMT800 hybrid line, a two-mode hybrid model was introduced in late 2008 as a 2009 model. General Motors discontinued the Silverado Hybrid due to poor sales along with the GMC Sierra Hybrid, Chevy Avalanche, Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, GMC Yukon Hybrid, Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, and Cadillac Escalade EXT after the 2013 model year even though it was the one of the two first hybrid pickup trucks ever manufactured. Available in either two- or four-wheel-drive, the Sierra 1500 Hybrid is powered by a 6.0-liter V8. It's joined by two 60-kilowatt electric motors supplied by a nickel–metal hydride battery pack under the rear seat. On its own, the V8 is rated at 332 horsepower and 367 pound-feet of torque. GM engineers say that combined output with the electric motors is 379 hp. The unique transmission houses the electric motors along with three different planetary gear sets and four traditional clutches.  There were two dash options offered in this model Silverado and Sierra: a luxury-inspired dash that closely mimics the dash in their GMT900 SUVs, and a more traditional upright dash to make room for a passenger seat in place of a center console.  As of 2008, GM full-size trucks were no longer sold in United States and Canada with manual transmissions; they were only offered in Mexico in the Silverado 1500 V6 engine and Silverado 3500.  All Silverado & Sierra 1/2-ton models received a revised bumper and shortened front fascia for the 2009 model year, and extended and crew cab models equipped with the Vortec 5300 V8 received a new six-speed 6L80 automatic transmission. The Vortec 6200 V8 was made available for LTZ and SLT models. Bluetooth was added to the equipment list, becoming standard on Denali, SLT, and LTZ and optional on SLE and LT, as was an optional rear vision camera. An integrated trailer brake controller, first available on the Silverado and Sierra HD for 2007, is now an option on 1500 series trucks. The XFE package was new for 2009, available only on Silverado 1500 Crew Cab LT 2 wheel drive models, it included the 5.3L Vortec V8, soft tonneau cover, aluminum wheels, and low rolling resistance tires.  A refresh followed with all 2010 models, including new interior door panels (which moved the handle forward and added an additional cup holder) and a six-speed automatic transmission on regular cab models with the 5.3L V8 was also made standard. The Vortec 6200 V8 was given wider availability, now being optional on LT and SLE extended and crew cabs, completely supplanting the light duty Vortec 6000 V8 in the process. The new Z71 Appearance Package was optional on LT and LTZ, it included: body-color grille and front fascia, body color door handles and mirror caps, unique Z71 box side decals, chrome sill plates, and a unique Z71 gauge cluster. Two new exterior colors were added: Taupe Gray Metallic and Sheer Silver Metallic.  For 2012, the Sierra and Silverado 1500 received another refresh. This time the Silverado was given new grille and front fascia treatments for both LT and LTZ models. A newly redesigned touch-screen navigation radio was optional on LTZ, SLT, and Denali. Trailer sway control and hill start assist are now standard on all models. Cooled seats were made optional on LTZ and SLT and the woodgrain trim was replaced with brushed aluminum.  The 8.1 L big-block V8 is no longer offered on the Heavy Duty models, and no replacement has been announced. The 6L90 6-speed automatic transmission is standard in all Heavy Duty models. The Allison 1000 transmission is paired with the optional Duramax V8 diesel.  As of 2011 the GMC and Chevrolet Heavy Duty models have being upgraded with a new fully boxed high strength steel frame from front to rear improving stiffness by 92% with bigger rear springs, larger engine and transmission mounts and new hydraulic body mounts to improve the ride. The front suspension incorporates new upper and lower control arms and new torsion bars tailored to one of five different gross axle weight ratings. Upper control arms are constructed from forged steel that is both stronger and lighter than the previous arms, while the new lower arms are cast iron to maximize load capacity. Using a unique torsion bar for each gross weight rating allows for better control over vehicle height, resulting in improved handling and better alignment for reduced tire wear. These improvements allow for up to a 6,000 pound front axle weight rating, allowing all 4wd trucks to accommodate a snow plow.  Additional front suspension enhancements come from new urethane bump stops, two per side. The upper shock mount has been changed from a single stem mount to a two-bolt design to eliminate the possibility of squeaks and thumps.  The rear suspension design uses asymmetrical leaf springs that are wider and capable of greater load handling. The design features 3-inch wide leaves, with front and rear spring sections of different lengths to reduce the twisting that can result in axle hop and loss of traction. The 2500HD uses a two-stage design with a rating of, and 3500HD models have a three-stage design with and ratings on single and dual-wheel models, respectively.

Third generation Silverado / Fourth generation Sierra (2014–2019).

On December 13, 2012, the redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Silverado, along with the related 2014 GMC Sierra were introduced in Detroit, Michigan, later making their public debut at the North American International Auto Show. GM dropped the 900 platform and changed to K2XX. The third generation Silverado 1500 has three gas engine options: 4.3 L EcoTec3 V6, 5.3 L EcoTec3 V8, or 6.2 L EcoTec3 V8. Chevrolet's MyLink touch-screen multimedia interface system will be available on most models. It will have A2DP stereo streaming technologies, Bluetooth hands-free telephone, USB hookups, and an input for an Apple iPod or iPhone. When connected via the USB port, an iPhone 4/4S, iPhone 5/iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, or iPhone 6 Plus will be able to stream music from Pandora Radio. A Bose premium audio system, as well as a Bose surround sound audio system will be available on most models. OnStar will be standard on all models.  Underneath, the Silverado rides on a fully boxed high strength steel frame with hydroforming technology; truck cab's frame is built with high strength steel as well. The third generation Silverado uses aluminum on the hood, for the engine block and for the control arms in order to save mass. The truck's bed is made of roll-formed steel instead of stamped steel used by other manufacturers in order to save weight and gain strength. The third generation Silverado introduced the upmarket High Country edition which includes saddle brown leather interior, which is Chevrolet's first entry into the luxury market. A revised front end features styling cues from the 1980s-era Chevrolet C-Series Trucks, and, on Z-71 models, a Z-71 badge was added to the front grille. The first production Silverado completed assembly on April 29, 2013. The Silverado 1500 went on sale in May 2013 as a 2014 model, with the Silverado HD Series being available in early 2014 for the 2015 model year. On January 10, 2014 a recall was issued for 370,000 Silverado and Sierra pickups due to a fire risk.  The American model version of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500/2500HD/3500HD and the 2015 Chevrolet Silverado High Country was introduced to the Philippines market by Chevrolet Motorama Show late November 2014 as a MY2015, along with the MY2015 Chevrolet Suburban, 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe, 2015 Chevrolet Impala, 2015 Chevrolet Express Van, 2015 Chevrolet Trax and 2015 Chevrolet Colorado.  On January 14, 2014, The Silverado, along with the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, received the 2014 North American International Auto Show's Car and Truck of the Year awards.  For 2018, this generation of Silverado was officially exported to Australia and converted to the right-hand-drive and Australian Design Rules (ADR) by General Motors Australian subsidiary, Holden Special Vehicles (HSV). In the past, several independent specialists imported and converted Silverado and GMC Sierra for Australian and right-hand-drive markets. The 2500HD and 3500HD were fitted with 6.6-litre Duramax diesel V8, the sole engine choice for Australia. No 1500 version was offered.

Fourth generation Silverado / Fifth generation Sierra (2019–present).

On December 16, 2017, Chevrolet unveiled the all-new, fourth-generation 2019 Silverado 1500 at its Chevy Truck Centennial Celebration Weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The reveal of the all-new Silverado was not expected until early 2018. For its debut, the Silverado 1500 was airlifted via helicopter onto a stage, where it was introduced to a crowd of Chevrolet truck owners and enthusiasts, as well as to the automotive press. Chevrolet NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr also spoke at the event. In addition to the reveal of the 2019 Silverado 1500, multiple Chevrolet trucks of different generations were on display as well.  The model shown at the reveal was the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT Trail Boss, which is a factory-modified version of the Silverado 1500 LT Z71. Distinguishing features of the Trail Boss from other Silverado 1500 trim levels are its gloss black front fascia, black rear step bumper, black Chevrolet "bow-tie" emblems on the front grille and rear tailgate, gloss black-finished aluminum-alloy wheels, large off-road tires, altered suspension, "Trail Boss" decals on the sides of the pickup box, front bumper-mounted center fog lamps, "Z71" emblems on each front fender, and red-painted front tow hooks.  The formal unveiling of the Silverado 1500 took place at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan on January 13, 2018 exactly 100 years after Chevrolet delivered its first trucks to customers on January 13, 1918. The model was unveiled as a Silverado LT Trail Boss 4X4 model.  Sales to customers began in August 2018 as an early 2019 model year vehicle with a base price of $32,200 MSRP.  The Silverado 1500 features a more sculpted exterior design, with front headlamps that integrate into the front grille, which also incorporate LED Daytime Running Accent Lamps (DRL's).  Silverado 1500 has been launched in Australia for the first time for 2020 model year. Holden Special Vehicles (to be renamed as General Motors Specialty Vehicles for 2021) has started the conversion to right-hand-drive and Australian Design Rules. The 6.2-litre V8 engine is the sole engine choice at the launch.

Trims.

The Silverado 1500 will be available in eight distinct trim levels: WT, Custom, Custom Trail Boss, LT, RST, LT Trail Boss, LTZ, and High Country. Two more Silverado trims were exhibited at SEMA 2018 with the High Country and LTZ. They include the RST Off Road and RST Street which will be added into the Silverado trim lineup.  All trim levels include a next-generation touchscreen

Engines.

The all-new 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (and its twin, the GMC Sierra 1500) offers a choice of six different engine options, dependent upon trim level. The base engine on lower trim levels is the 285-horsepower, 4.3L EcoTec3 FlexFuel-Capable V6 gasoline engine. Standard on mid-level trims is an all-new, 310-horsepower, 2.7L Turbocharged Inline Four Cylinder (I4) gasoline engine that is the smallest engine available on a half-ton pickup, and features cylinder deactivation for improved fuel economy. Optional on most trim levels is the 355-horsepower, 5.3L EcoTec3 V8 gasoline engine, which is optionally FlexFuel-Capable, and features either a carryover Active Fuel Management (AFM) system, or a brand new Dynamic Fuel Management system (DFM), which now can shut off

Infotainment system.

Standard features include a next-generation infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Waze mobile app can now be compatible in its infotainment system through the use of CarPlay.  A seven-inch infotainment system is standard on Chevrolet Silverado 1500 W/T, Custom, and Custom Trail Boss models, as well as the GMC Sierra

Payload and towing.

Crew cab Silverado models increase in payload up to 14 percent, or 340 pounds.  Trailering

Safety.

Advanced, active safety features

Variants.

Chevrolet Silverado HD.

Chevrolet released three all-new 2020 Silverado models, including the Silverado 2500 HD and 3500 HD, in 2019. Chevrolet debuted the truck at GM's Flint, Michigan plant on February 5, 2019. The trucks are expected to arrive at dealerships in late summer of 2019, according to GM.

Payload and Towing.

The 2020 Silverado 3500 HD can tow up to in a regular cab dual rear wheel configuration with diesel engine.

GMC Sierra.

The fifth-generation GMC Sierra was unveiled in Detroit on March 1, 2018. The Sierra 1500 will differentiate itself from its Chevrolet Silverado 1500 counterpart by offering unique features, such as a two-piece tailgate, a pickup bed constructed from carbon fiber, a 3" x 7" multi-color Heads-Up Display, a rear-view mirror backup camera system, and a luxury Denali trim level. The Sierra 1500 will also feature its own distinct exterior styling, though interior styling will be similar to that of the Chevrolet Silverado 1500.  There are 6 functions of GMC Sierra's Multi-Pro Tailgate including a primary tailgate load stop for large items. Its inner tailgate can be a load stopper, a full-width step, and a work area by dropping down the load stop or provide easy access to the bed just by folding

Regular Cab.

Initially unavailable at launch, the all-new 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 regular cab configuration went on sale in early 2019. Only available with an pickup box, with a choice of two-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive and the 4.3L EcoTec3 V6 or 5.3L V8 gasoline engines, the regular cab is exclusively available in W/T trim (1WT) for Silverado 1500, or Sierra (1SA) trim for Sierra 1500. The regular cab option is unavailable in other trim levels in the United States and Canada, as these trucks will appeal mainly towards fleet

Medium duty version (4500HD, 5500HD, 6500HD and International CV).

Chevrolet introduced a medium duty version of its Silverado, the Silverado 4500HD, 5500HD, and 6500HD, which will replace the discontinued Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick medium-duty trucks. The truck was unveiled at the 2018 Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, Indiana in March 2018, joining the Chevrolet 4500HD/XD and 5500HD/XD cabover trucks. It competes against the Ford Super Duty F-450 and F-550 and Ram 4500 and 5500. Chevrolet also plans to make the vehicles available for sale at least 160 selected dealerships, including the 240 that specializes in fleet and commercial truck sales.  GMC has confirmed

Military applications.

LSSV.

When production of the CUCV II ended in 2000, GM redesigned it to coincide with civilian truck offerings. The CUCV nomenclature was changed to Light Service Support Vehicle (LSSV) in 2001. In 2005, LSSV production switched to AM General, a unit of MacAndrews and Forbes Holdings. The LSSV is a GM-built Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, Chevrolet Tahoe, or Chevrolet Suburban that is powered by a Duramax 6.6 liter turbo diesel engine. The various Silverados, Tahoes, and Suburbans that are used provide numerous platforms for different kinds of vehicles. As GM has redesigned

ZH2.

General Motors relaunched GM Defense division in 2018 offering the ZH2 Silverado, an advanced technology Chevrolet Silverado with

Motorsport.

Chevrolet is represented in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series by the Silverado. As of the 2016 season, 19 full-time teams use the Silverado. Chevrolet has won the Truck Series Manufacturers Championship eight times

World markets.

As of 2015, the Chevrolet Silverado is sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, and the Middle East (except Iran), and the GMC Sierra is sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East (except Israel and Iran). More recently, the Chevrolet Silverado now sold in Paraguay.  GM has also announced plans to introduce the Silverado, along with the smaller Colorado, to China.  Chevrolet started selling the Silverado in Oceania in 2018 via Holden Special Vehicles (a former subsidiary of GM's now-defunct Holden brand) but will retain the Chevrolet badge. The vehicles are sold Right Hand Drive versions for that region.  There is a small gray market for both the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks in some parts of the world, mostly in Scandinavian countries and Germany.

The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from the top trim level from the Chevrolet C/K series, the Silverado is offered as a series of full-size pickup trucks, chassis cab trucks, and medium-duty trucks. The fourth generation of the model line was introduced for the 2019 model year.

Der Chevrolet Silverado ist ein Pick-up-Modell des US-amerikanischen Autoherstellers General Motors. Auch in den aktuellen Modellen weist er die typischen Stilmerkmale amerikanischer Pick-up-Trucks auf: eine große Fahrerkabine, optional mit zweiter Sitzbank, starken Motorisierungen, einer offenen Ladefläche und Leiterrahmen. Die Modellversion mit zweiter Sitzbank (Doppelkabine) ist sowohl zwei- als auch viertürig erhältlich.


Background.

Turkey's rejection of the terms of the Constantinople Conference (1876-1877) led to the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. This concluded with the Treaty of San Stefano and the subsequent Treaty of Berlin in 1878 which established an independent Bulgarian principality. The original treaty signed by Russia and Turkey at San Stefano created a greater pro-Russian Bulgaria out of the defeated Ottoman lands. This appeared to contravene earlier secret Russian undertakings both in Reichstadt on July 8, 1876 and later in Budapest between Count Andrassy and the Russian Envoy, Eugene Novikov, (Budapest Convention, 15 January, 18 March 1877). These treaties agreed that in the eventuality of war and a Russian victory that they would not create any large Slavic states. Russia had also traded Austrian neutrality for Bosnia-Herzegovina.  This enlargement of the Russian sphere of influence angered the other Balkan states and alarmed the other great powers who initially threatened war with Russia and then convened the Berlin conference at the behest of Austria's foreign minister Gyula Andrassy to dismantle and rework the provisions of San Stefano. The treaty which also established international recognition of the neighbouring former Ottoman vassal states of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro broke up this 'Greater Bulgaria' into a northern principality of Bulgaria and two southern territories under Ottoman control, Macedonia and autonomous Eastern Rumelia. Bosnia and Herzegovina were transferred to Austria-Hungary. Unfortunately the Treaty solved little. It satisfied Britain and Austria-Hungary, but only at the expense of Russia and the peoples of the Balkan states, making further crises inevitable. Consequently, the future of the Balkan lands was now perceived as a matter for the disposal of the European Great Powers. These events significantly impacted the dynastic relations between Germany and Russia. Consequently, to counterbalance Russian influence and perceived panslavic expansion in the Balkans, Germany and Austria-Hungary concluded a Dual Alliance ("Zweibund") in 1879.

Bulgarian unification and Serbo-Bulgarian War.

In September 18, 1885, a rebellion and coup in the Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia, aided by the Bulgarians, saw the people proclaim a union with the new (1878) state of Bulgaria, in violation of the Berlin Treaty of 1878. The union caused consternation amongst the Great European Powers since it altered the power balance in the repeatedly unstable Balkans, and risked Ottoman retaliation and Russian intervention on behalf of Bulgaria. However tension between Alexander III, the Tsar of Russia and the German born Knyaz (Prince) Alexander I of Bulgaria led to the Russians standing aside, withdrawing their troops from Bulgaria and advocating a conference in Constantinople. While the other great powers in general supported Russia's unexpected position, Greece and Serbia did not.  Serbia had signed a secret treaty with Austria-Hungary in 1881, and feeling sure that Austria would support them made territorial demands on its western border with Bulgaria, and on being rebuffed declared war on November 14. However, by November 28 Serbia had been defeated by Bulgaria. Further humiliation of Serbia was only prevented by Austrian intervention. Subsequently, there was a Russophile coup against Alexander I in 1886 who was replaced by the Austriophile (he was the Austrian Emperor's nephew and an officer in the Austrian army) Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1887–1918). The relations between the young Bulgarian state and Russia deteriorated.

Effects on the Great Powers.

The events in the Balkans were in a way proxy events for their supporters, Russia and Austria-Hungary, effectively dissolving (1887) the fragile alliance between Germany, Austria and Russia known as the League of Three Emperors ("Dreikaiserabkommen") 1873–1878, which had been revived on June 18, 1881. The league provided for mutual aid in the event of an attack on a member and benign neutrality in the event of one of them being involved in conflict outside the League. The terms also provided for consultation on any proposed Balkan operations. This offered Germany Russian neutrality in the event of a further war with France, and Russia the neutrality of Germany and Austria in the event of war with Britain or Turkey. The protocol was secret, and was renewed in 1884. It stated, "inter alia": „"4. Die drei Mächte werden sich der etwaigen Vereinigung Bulgariens und Ostrumeliens in den Gebietsgrenzen, die durch den Berliner Vertrag angewiesen sind, nicht widersetzen, wenn diese Frage sich durch die Macht der Dinge erheben sollte."“  When this eventually occurred, the situation was more complicated. Prince Alexander of Battenberg had been elected in 1879 as Prince of Bulgaria at the request of the Russian Tsar, his uncle, Alexander II. Prince Alexander found himself obliged to support the nationalist movement for re-unification despite the advice of the Russian ministers and advisers, but with the apparent support of the British Prime Minister, Gladstone, an opponent of Russia's position. Russia then withdrew its ministers and advisers from Bulgaria.  Another complication was the role of King Milan of Serbia, an ally of Austria, another opponent of Russia in the Balkans. The King sought territorial compensation from Bulgaria. When he did not receive it, he declared war in 1885. Defeated, Serbia saw Bulgarian troops reach Belgrade before Austria intervened. The subsequent Treaty of Bucharest in March 1886 essentially restored the status quo.  The Great Powers and the Porte finally accepted the Unification of Bulgaria through the Tophane Agreement in 1886. Russia, however, was not satisfied and the Russian Tsar, Alexander III, refused to recognise Prince Alexander as ruler of the new enlarged Bulgaria. Subsequently, a Russian backed coup, involving a group pro-Russian officers, forced Prince Alexander to abdicate on 9 August 1886. He was then exiled to Russia. When, in a counter-coup, Prince Alexander I returned to the Bulgarian throne, Russia broke off diplomatic relations with Bulgaria.  The Great Powers which were in a constant fear of war between them continued with a series of complicated agreements and alliances, many of which were secret, as deterrents to each other's actions, largely at the behest of Bismarck. These included the Triple Alliance which replaced the Dual Alliance in 1882 by including Italy, two Mediterranean Agreements ("Mittelmeerentente") in 1887 and the Reinsurance Treaty (1887). Finally publication of the terms of the 1879 treaty persuaded Russia that further action was not in its interests and withdrew from involvement in Bulgaria, and the fear of war dissipated. Bismarck's strategy though arcane was largely successful in averting war during his time in office (1871–1890). Unfortunately these arrangements which were heavily dependent on Bismarck, failed to provide long term solutions.

The Bulgarian Crisis ("Българска криза") refers to a series of events in the Balkans between 1885 and 1888 which impacted on the balance of power between the Great Powers and conflict between the Austro-Hungarians and the Russians. It was an episode in the continuing Balkan Crisis as vassal states struggled for independence from the Ottoman Empire but achieved a mosaic of nascent nation states ("Balkanisation") and featured unstable alliances that frequently led to war, and eventually to the First World War.

Als Bulgarische Krise () wird eine Kette von Ereignissen der Geschichte Bulgariens im Zeitraum von 1885 bis 1888 bezeichnet, die das Gleichgewicht im Bündnissystem der europäischen Großmächte zerstörten und zu seinem Umbau führten. Die Krise begann mit der Annexion Ostrumeliens durch das Fürstentum Bulgarien im September 1885, nachdem ein von Ostrumelien ausgehender Aufstand die Vereinigung mit Bulgarien gefordert hatte. Diese Annexion war Anlass für den Serbisch-Bulgarischen Krieg 1885, auf den der Putsch von 1886 gegen Fürst Alexander I. folgte und schließlich die Wahl des proösterreichischen Prinzen von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry, Ferdinand I., zum Fürsten von Bulgarien.


Geographical location.

To the south west Malwa plateau, the dissected hill tracts culminate in the Mathwar hills, located in Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh. Below these hills Narmada river flows through a long, terrific gorge. This gorge extends into Gujarat where the river is tapped by the Sardar Sarovar dam.

Narmada Canal.

The dam irrigates of land spread over 12 districts, 62 talukas, and 3,393 villages (75% of which is drought-prone areas) in Gujarat and in the arid areas of Barmer and Jalore districts of Rajasthan. The dam also provides flood protection to riverine reaches measuring covering 210 villages and Bharuch city and a population of 400,000 in Gujarat. Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation is a major program to help irrigate a lot of regions using the canal's water.

Solar power generation.

In 2011, the government of Gujarat announced plans to generate solar power by placing solar panels over the canal, making it beneficial for the surrounding villages to get power and also help to reduce the evaporation of water. The first phase consists of placing panels along a 25 km length of the canal, with capacity for up to, 25 MW of power.

Controversy.

The dam is one of India's most controversial, and its environmental impact and net costs and benefits are widely debated. The World Bank was initially funding SSD, but withdrew in 1994 at the request of the Government of India when the state governments were unable to comply with the loan's environmental and other requirements. The Narmada Dam has been the centre of controversy and protests since the late 1980s.  One such protest takes centre stage in the Spanner Films documentary "Drowned Out" (2002), which follows one tribal family who decide to stay at home and drown rather than make way for the Narmada Dam. An earlier documentary film is called "A Narmada Diary" (1995) by Anand Patwardhan and Simantini Dhuru. The efforts of Narmada Bachao Andolan ("Save Narmada Movement") to seek "social and environmental justice" for those most directly affected by the Sardar Sarovar Dam construction feature prominently in this film. It received the (Filmfare Award for Best Documentary-1996).  The figurehead of much of the protest is Medha Patkar, the leader of the NBA The movement was cemented in 1989, and received the Right Livelihood Award in 1991.  In an opinion piece in "The Guardian", the campaign led by the NBA activists was accused of holding up the project's completion and of even physically attacking local people who accepted compensation for moving.  Support for the protests also came from Indian author Arundhati Roy, who wrote "The Greater Common Good", an essay reprinted in her book "The Cost of Living", in protest of the Narmada Dam Project. In the essay, Roy states:Big Dams are to a Nation's "Development" what Nuclear Bombs are to its Military Arsenal. They are both weapons of mass destruction. They're both weapons Governments use to control their own people. Both Twentieth Century emblems that mark a point in time when human intelligence has outstripped its own instinct for survival. They're both malignant indications of civilisation turning upon itself. They represent the severing of the link, not just the link—the understanding—between human beings and the planet they live on. They scramble the intelligence that connects eggs to hens, milk to cows, food to forests, water to rivers, air to life and the earth to human existence.

Height increases.

Report of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

The Second Interim Report of the Experts' Committee set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of the Government of India to assess the planning and implementation of environmental safeguards with respect to the Sardar Sarovar (SSP) and Indira Sagar projects (ISP) on the Narmada River. The report covers the status of compliances on catchment area treatment (CAT), flora and fauna and carrying capacity upstream, command area development (CAD), compensatory afforestation and human health aspects in project impact areas. Construction, on the other hand, has been proceeding apace: the ISP is complete and the SSP nearing completion. The report recommends that no further reservoir-filling be done at either SSP or ISP; that no further work be done on canal construction; and that even irrigation from the existing network be stopped forthwith until failures of compliance on the various environmental parameters have been fully remedied.

The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Narmada river in Kevadiya near Navagam, Gujarat in India. Four Indian states, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, receive water and electricity supplied from the dam. The foundation stone of the project was laid out by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 5 April 1961. The project took form in 1979 as part of a development scheme funded by the World Bank through their International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to increase irrigation and produce hydroelectricity, using a loan of US$200 million. The construction for dam begun in 1987, but the project was stalled by the Supreme Court of India in 1995 in the backdrop of Narmada Bachao Andolan over concerns of displacement of people. In 2000–01 the project was revived but with a lower height of 110.64 metres under directions from SC, which was later increased in 2006 to 121.92 meters and 138.98 meters in 2017. The water level in the Sardar Sarovar Dam at Kevadia in Narmada district reached its highest capacity at 138.68 metres on 15 September 2019.

Die Sardar-Sarovar-Talsperre ist eine Talsperre am Fluss Narmada im indischen Bundesstaat Gujarat. Die Talsperre war seit 1961, als der Grundstein gelegt wurde, in Bau. Die Fertigstellung verzögerte sich durch Proteste und Gerichtsprozesse. Die Talsperre wurde am 17. September 2017 durch Premierminister Narendra Modi eingeweiht.


Background.

Prior to 1815, the area now known as "Jammu and Kashmir" comprised 22 small independent states (16 Hindu and six Muslim) carved out of territories controlled by the Amir (King) of Afghanistan, combined with those of local small rulers. These were collectively referred to as the "Punjab Hill States". These small states, ruled by Rajput kings, were variously independent, vassals of the Mughal Empire since the time of Emperor Akbar or sometimes controlled from Kangra state in the Himachal area. Following the decline of the Mughals, turbulence in Kangra and invasions of Gorkhas, the hill states fell successively under the control of the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh.  The First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–46) was fought between the Sikh Empire, which asserted sovereignty over Kashmir, and the East India Company. In the Treaty of Lahore of 1846, the Sikhs were made to surrender the valuable region (the Jullundur Doab) between the Beas River and the Sutlej River and required to pay an indemnity of 1.2 million rupees. Because they could not readily raise this sum, the East India Company allowed the Dogra ruler Gulab Singh to acquire Kashmir from the Sikh kingdom in exchange for making a payment of 750,000 rupees to the Company. Gulab Singh became the first Maharaja of the newly formed princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, founding a dynasty, that was to rule the state, the second-largest principality during the British Raj, until India gained its independence in 1947.

Partition of India.

The years 1946–1947 saw the rise of All-India Muslim League and Muslim nationalism, demanding a separate state for India's Muslims. The demand took a violent turn on the Direct Action Day (16 August 1946) and inter-communal violence between Hindus and Muslims became endemic. Consequently, a decision was taken on 3 June 1947 to divide British India into two separate states, the Dominion of Pakistan comprising the Muslim majority areas and the Dominion of India comprising the rest. The two provinces Punjab and Bengal with large Muslim-majority areas were to be divided between the two dominions. An estimated 11 million people eventually migrated between the two parts of Punjab, and possibly 1 million perished in the inter-communal violence. Jammu and Kashmir, being adjacent to the Punjab province, was directly affected by the happenings in Punjab. The original target date for the transfer of power to the new dominions was June 1948. However, fearing the rise of inter-communal violence, the British Viceroy Lord Mountbatten advanced the date to 15 August 1947. This gave only 6 weeks to complete all the arrangements for partition. Mountbatten's original plan was to stay on the joint Governor General for both the dominions till June 1948. However, this was not accepted by the Pakistani leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah. In the event, Mountbatten stayed on as the Governor General of India, whereas Pakistan chose Jinnah as its Governor General. It was envisaged that the nationalisation of the armed forces could not be completed by 15 August. Hence British officers stayed on after the transfer of power. The service chiefs were appointed by the Dominion governments and were responsible to them. The overall administrative control, but not operational control, was vested with Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck, who was titled the 'Supreme Commander', answerable to a newly formed Joint Defence Council of the two dominions. India appointed General Rob Lockhart as its Army chief and Pakistan appointed General Frank Messervy.  The presence of the British commanding officers on both sides made the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 a strange war. The two commanding officers were in daily telephone contact and adopted mutually defensive positions. The attitude was that "you can hit them so hard but not too hard, otherwise there will be all kinds of repercussions." Both Lockhart and Messervy were replaced in the course of war, and their successors Roy Bucher and Douglas Gracey tried to exercise restraint on their respective governments. Roy Bucher was apparently successful in doing so in India, but Gracey yielded and let British officers be used in operational roles on the side of Pakistan. One British officer even died in action.

Developments in Jammu and Kashmir (August–October 1947).

With the independence of the Dominions, the British Paramountcy over the princely states came to an end. The rulers of the states were advised to join one of the two dominions by executing an Instrument of Accession. Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, along with his prime minister Ram Chandra Kak, decided not to accede to either dominion. The reasons cited were that the Muslim majority population of the State would not be comfortable with joining India, and that the Hindu and Sikh minorities would become vulnerable if the state joined Pakistan.  In 1947, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir had a wide range of ethnic and religious communities. The Kashmir province consisting of the Kashmir Valley and the Muzaffarabad district had a majority Muslim population (over 90%). The Jammu province, consisting of 5 districts, had a roughly equal division of Hindus and Muslims in the eastern districts (Udhampur, Jammu and Reasi) and Muslim majority in the western districts (Mirpur and Poonch). The mountainous Ladakh district ("wazarat") in the east had a significant Buddhist presence with a Muslim majority in Baltistan. The Gilgit Agency in the north was overwhelmingly Muslim and was directly governed by the British under an agreement with the Maharaja. Shortly before the transfer of power, the British returned the Gilgit Agency to the Maharaja, who appointed a Dogra governor for the district and a British commander for the local forces. The predominant political movement in the Kashmir Valley, the National Conference led by Sheikh Abdullah, believed in secular politics. It was allied with the Indian National Congress and was believed to favour joining India. On the other hand, the Muslims of the Jammu province supported the Muslim Conference, which was allied to the All-India Muslim League and favoured joining Pakistan. The Hindus of the Jammu province favoured an outright merger with India. In the midst of all the diverging views, the Maharaja's decision to remain independent was apparently a judicious one.

Operation Gulmarg plan.

According to Indian military sources, the Pakistani Army prepared a plan called Operation Gulmarg and put it into action as early as 20 August, a few days after Pakistan's independence. The plan got accidentally revealed to an Indian officer, Major O. S. Kalkat serving with the Bannu Brigade. According to the plan, 20 "lashkars" (tribal militias), each consisting of 1000 Pashtun tribesmen, were to be recruited from among various Pashtun tribes, and armed at the brigade headquarters at Bannu, Wanna, Peshawar, Kohat, Thall and Nowshera by the first week of September. They were expected to reach the launching point of Abbottabad on 18 October, and cross into Jammu and Kashmir on 22 October. Ten lashkars were expected to attack the Kashmir Valley through Muzaffarabad and another ten lashkars were expected to join the rebels in Poonch, Bhimber and Rawalakot with a view to advance to Jammu. Detailed arrangements for the military leadership and armaments were described in the plan.  The regimental records show that, by the last week of August, the Prince Albert Victor's Own Cavalry (PAVO Cavalry) regiment was briefed about the invasion plan. Colonel Sher Khan, the Director of Military Intelligence, was in charge of the briefing, along with Colonels Akbar Khan and Khanzadah. The Cavalry regiment was tasked with procuring arms and ammunition for the 'freedom fighters' and establishing three wings of the insurgent forces: the South Wing commanded by General Kiani, a Central Wing based at Rawalpindi and a North Wing based at Abbottabad. By 1 October, the Cavalry regiment completed the task of arming the insurgent forces. "Throughout the war there was no shortage of small arms, ammunitions, or explosives at any time." The regiment was also told to be on stand by for induction into fighting at an appropriate time.  Scholars have noted considerable movement of Pashtun tribes during September–October. By 13 September, armed Pashtuns drifted into Lahore and Rawalpindi. The Deputy Commissioner of Dera Ismail Khan noted a scheme to send tribesmen from Malakand to Sialkot, in lorries provided by the Pakistan Government. Preparations for attacking Kashmir were also noted in the princely states of Swat, Dir, and Chitral. Scholar Robin James Moore states there is "little doubt" that Pashtuns were involved in border raids all along the Punjab border from the Indus to the Ravi.  Pakistani sources deny the existence of any plan called Operation Gulmarg. However, Shuja Nawaz does list 22 Pashtun tribes involved in the invasion of Kashmir on 22 October.

Rebellion in Poonch.

Sometime in August 1947, the first signs of trouble broke out in Poonch, about which diverging views have been received. Poonch was originally an internal "jagir" (autonomous principality), governed by an alternative family line of Maharaja Hari Singh. The taxation is said to have been heavy. The Muslims of Poonch had long campaigned for the principality to be absorbed into the Punjab province of British India. In 1938, a notable disturbance occurred for religious reasons, but a settlement was reached. During the Second World War, over 60,000 men from Poonch and Mirpur districts enrolled in the British Indian Army. After the war, they were discharged with arms, which is said to have alarmed the Maharaja. In June, Poonchis launched a 'No Tax' campaign. In July, the Maharaja ordered that all the soldiers in the region be disarmed. The absence of employment prospects coupled with high taxation drove the Poonchis to rebellion. The "gathering head of steam", states scholar Srinath Raghavan, was utilised by the local Muslim Conference led by Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan (Sardar Ibrahim) to further their campaign for accession to Pakistan.  According to state government sources, the rebellious militias gathered in the Naoshera-Islamabad area, attacking the state troops and their supply trucks. A battalion of state troops was dispatched, which cleared the roads and dispersed the militias. By September, order was reestablished. The Muslim Conference sources, on the other hand, narrate that hundreds of people were killed in Bagh during flag hoisting around 15 August and that the Maharaja unleased a'reign of terror' on 24 August. Local Muslims also told Richard Symonds, a British Quaker social worker, that the army fired on crowds, and burnt houses and villages indiscriminately. According to the Assistant British High Commissioner in Pakistan, H. S. Stephenson, "the Poonch affair... was greatly exaggerated".

Pakistan's preparations, Maharaja's manoeuvring.

Scholar Prem Shankar Jha states that the Maharaja had decided, as early as April 1947, that he would accede to India if it was not possible to stay independent. The rebellion in Poonch possibly unnerved the Maharaja. Accordingly, on 11 August, he dismissed his pro-Pakistan Prime Minister, Ram Chandra Kak, and appointed retired Major Janak Singh in his place. On 25 August, he sent an invitation to Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan of the Punjab High Court to come as the Prime Minister. On the same day, the Muslim Conference wrote to the Pakistani Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan warning him that "if, God forbid, the Pakistan Government or the Muslim League do not act, Kashmir might be lost to them". This set the ball rolling in Pakistan. Liaquat Ali Khan sent a Punjab politician Mian Iftikharuddin to explore the possibility of organising a revolt in Kashmir. Meanwhile, Pakistan cut off essential supplies to the state, such as petrol, sugar and salt. It also stopped trade in timber and other products, and suspended train services to Jammu. Iftikharuddin returned in mid-September to report that the National Conference held strong in the Kashmir Valley and ruled out the possibility of a revolt. Meanwhile, Sardar Ibrahim had escaped to West Punjab, along with dozens of rebels, and established a base in Murree. From there, the rebels attempted to acquire arms and ammunition for the rebellion and smuggle them into Kashmir. Colonel Akbar Khan, one of a handful of high-ranking officers in the Pakistani Army, with a keen interest in Kashmir, arrived in Murree, and got enmeshed in these efforts. He arranged 4,000 rifles for the rebellion by diverting them from the Army stores. He also wrote out a draft plan titled "Armed Revolt inside Kashmir" and gave it to Mian Iftikharuddin to be passed on to the Pakistan's Prime Minister.  On 12 September, the Prime Minister held a meeting with Mian Iftikharuddin, Colonel Akbar Khan and another Punjab politician Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan. Hayat Khan had a separate plan, involving the Muslim League National Guard and the militant Pashtun tribes from the Frontier regions. The Prime Minister approved both the plans, and despatched Khurshid Anwar, the head of the Muslim League National Guard, to mobilise the Frontier tribes. The Maharaja was increasingly driven to the wall with the rebellion in the western districts and the Pakistani blockade. He managed to persuade Justice Mahajan to accept the post of Prime Minister (but not to arrive for another month, for procedural reasons). He sent word to the Indian leaders through Mahajan that he was willing to accede to India but needed more time to implement political reforms. However, it was India's position that it would not accept accession from the Maharaja unless it had the people's support. The Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru demanded that Sheikh Abdullah should be released from prison and involved in the state's government. Accession could only be contemplated afterwards. Following further negotiations, Sheikh Abdullah was released on 29 September.  Nehru, foreseeing a number of disputes over princely states, formulated a policy that states  The policy was communicated to Liaquat Ali Khan on 1 October at a meeting of the Joint Defence Council. Khan's eyes are said to have "sparkled" at the proposal. However, he made no response.

Operations in Poonch and Mirpur.

Armed rebellion started in the Poonch district at the beginning of October 1947. The fighting elements consisted of "bands of deserters from the State Army, serving soldiers of the Pakistan Army on leave, ex-servicemen, and other volunteers who had risen spontaneously." The first clash is said to have occurred at Thorar (near Rawalakot) on 3–4 October 1947. The rebels quickly gained control of almost the entire Poonch district. The State Forces garrison at the Poonch city came under heavy siege.  In the Mirpur district, the border posts at Saligram and Owen Pattan on the Jhelum river were captured by rebels around 8 October. Sehnsa and Throchi were abandoned by State Forces after attack.  Radio communications between the fighting units were operated by the Pakistan Army. Even though the Indian Navy intercepted the communications, lacking intelligence in Jammu and Kashmir, it was unable to determine immediately where the fighting was taking place.

Accession of Kashmir.

Following the Muslim revolution in the Poonch and Mirpur area and Pakistani backed Pashtun tribal intervention from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa aimed at supporting the revolution, the Maharaja asked for Indian military assistance. Mountbatten urged him to accede to India to complete the legal formalities, although Mountbatten's insistence on accession before assistance has been questioned. The Maharaja complied, and the Government of India recognised the accession of the princely state to India. However, Nehru, according to his biographer Sarvepalli Gopal, did not give any importance to Mountbatten's insistence that there be a temporary accession. Neither did Sardar Patel. Indian troops were sent to the state to defend it. The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference volunteers aided the Indian Army in its campaign to drive out the Pathan invaders.  Pakistan refused to recognise the accession of Kashmir to India, claiming that it was obtained by "fraud and violence." Governor General Mohammad Ali Jinnah ordered its Army Chief General Douglas Gracey to move Pakistani troops to Kashmir at once. However, the Indian and Pakistani forces were still under a joint command, and Field Marshal Auchinleck prevailed upon him to withdraw the order. With its accession to India, Kashmir became legally Indian territory, and the British officers could not a play any role in an inter-Dominion war. The Pakistan army made available arms, ammunition and supplies to the rebel forces who were dubbed the 'Azad Army'. Pakistani army officers 'conveniently' on leave and the former officers of the Indian National Army were recruited to command the forces. In May 1948, the Pakistani army officially entered the conflict, in theory to defend the Pakistan borders, but it made plans to push towards Jammu and cut the lines of communications of the Indian forces in the Mehndar Valley. In Gilgit, the force of Gilgit Scouts under the command of a British officer Major William Brown mutinied and overthrew the governor Ghansara Singh. Brown prevailed on the forces to declare accession to Pakistan. They are also believed to have received assistance from the Chitral Scouts and the Chitral State Bodyguard's of the state of Chitral, one of the princely states of Pakistan, which had acceded to Pakistan on 6 October 1947.  India claimed that the accession had the people's support through the support of the National Conference, the most popular organisation in the state. Historians have questioned the representativeness of the National Conference and the clarity of its leaderships' goals. They observe that while many Kashmiris supported Sheikh Abdullah and the National Conference at the state level, they also supported Jinnah and the Muslim League at the all-India level.

Stages of the war.

Initial invasion.

The first clash occurred at Thorar on 3–4 October 1947. On 22 October another attack was launched in the Muzaffarabad sector. The state forces stationed in the border regions around Muzaffarabad and Domel were quickly defeated by tribal forces (some Muslim state forces mutinied and joined them) and the way to the capital was open. Among the raiders, there were many active Pakistani Army soldiers disguised as tribals. They were also provided logistical help by the Pakistan Army. Rather than advancing toward Srinagar before state forces could regroup or be reinforced, the invading forces remained in the captured cities in the border region engaging in looting and other crimes against their inhabitants. In the Poonch valley, the state forces retreated into towns where they were besieged.

Indian operation in the Kashmir Valley.

After the accession, India airlifted troops and equipment to Srinagar under the command of Lt. Col. Dewan Ranjit Rai, where they reinforced the princely state forces, established a defence perimeter and defeated the tribal forces on the outskirts of the city. Initial defense operations included the notable defense of Badgam holding both the capital and airfield overnight against extreme odds. The successful defence included an outflanking manoeuvre by Indian armoured cars during the Battle of Shalateng. The defeated tribal forces were pursued as far as Baramulla and Uri and these towns, too, were recaptured.  In the Poonch valley, tribal forces continued to besiege state forces.  In Gilgit, the state paramilitary forces, called the Gilgit Scouts, joined the invading tribal forces, who thereby obtained control of this northern region of the state. The tribal forces were also joined by troops from Chitral, whose ruler, Muzaffar ul-Mulk the Mehtar of Chitral, had acceded to Pakistan.

Attempted link-up at Poonch and fall of Mirpur.

Indian forces ceased pursuit of tribal forces after recapturing Uri and Baramula, and sent a relief column southwards, in an attempt to relieve Poonch. Although the relief column eventually reached Poonch, the siege could not be lifted. A second relief column reached Kotli, and evacuated the garrisons of that town and others but were forced to abandon it being too weak to defend it. Meanwhile, Mirpur was captured by the tribal forces on 25 November 1947 with the help of Pakistan's PAVO Cavalry. This led to the 1947 Mirpur massacre where Hindu women were reportedly abducted by tribal forces and taken into Pakistan. They were sold in the brothels of Rawalpindi. Around 400 women jumped into wells in Mirpur committing suicide to escape from being abducted.

Fall of Jhanger and attacks on Naoshera and Uri.

The tribal forces attacked and captured Jhanger. They then attacked Naoshera unsuccessfully, and made a series of unsuccessful attacks on Uri. In the south a minor Indian attack secured Chamb. By this stage of the war the front line began to stabilise as more Indian troops became available.

Operation Vijay: counterattack to Jhanger.

The Indian forces launched a counterattack in the south recapturing Jhanger and Rajauri. In the Kashmir Valley the tribal forces continued attacking the Uri garrison. In the north Skardu was brought under siege by the Gilgit Scouts.

Indian spring offensive.

The Indians held onto Jhanger against numerous counterattacks, who were increasingly supported by regular Pakistani Forces. In the Kashmir Valley the Indians attacked, recapturing Tithwail. The Gilgit scouts made good progress in the High Himalayas sector, infiltrating troops to bring Leh under siege, capturing Kargil and defeating a relief column heading for Skardu.

Operations Gulab and Eraze.

The Indians continued to attack in the Kashmir Valley sector driving north to capture Keran and Gurais (Operation Eraze). They also repelled a counterattack aimed at Tithwal. In the Jammu region, the forces besieged in Poonch broke out and temporarily linked up with the outside world again. The Kashmir State army was able to defend Skardu from the Gilgit Scouts impeding their advance down the Indus valley towards Leh. In August the Chitral Scouts and Chitral Bodyguard under Mata ul-Mulk besieged Skardu and with the help of artillery were able to take Skardu. This freed the Gilgit Scouts to push further into Ladakh.

Operation Bison.

During this time the front began to settle down. The siege of Poonch continued. An unsuccessful attack was launched by 77 Parachute Brigade (Brig Atal) to capture Zoji La pass. Operation Duck, the earlier epithet for this assault, was renamed as Operation Bison by Cariappa. M5 Stuart light tanks of 7 Cavalry were moved in dismantled conditions through Srinagar and winched across bridges while two field companies of the Madras Sappers converted the mule track across Zoji La into a jeep track. The surprise attack on 1 November by the brigade with armour supported by two regiments of 25 pounders and a regiment of 3.7-inch guns, forced the pass and pushed the tribal and Pakistani forces back to Matayan and later Dras. The brigade linked up on 24 November at Kargil with Indian troops advancing from Leh while their opponents eventually withdrew northwards toward Skardu. The Pakistani attacked the Skardu on 10 February 1948 which was repulsed by the Indian soldiers. Thereafter, the Skardu Garrison was subjected to continuous attacks by the Pakistan Army for the next three months and each time, their attack was repulsed by the Colonel Sher Jung Thapa and his men. Thapa held the Skardu with hardly 250 men for whole six long months without any reinforcement and replenishment. On 14 August Indian General Sher Jung Thapa had to surrender Skardu to the Pakistani Army. and raiders after a year long siege.

Operation Easy; Poonch link-up.

The Indians now started to get the upper hand in all sectors. Poonch was finally relieved after a siege of over a year. The Gilgit forces in the High Himalayas, who had previously made good progress, were finally defeated. The Indians pursued as far as Kargil before being forced to halt due to supply problems. The Zoji La pass was forced by using tanks (which had not been thought possible at that altitude) and Dras was recaptured.

Moves up to cease-fire.

After protracted negotiations, both countries agreed to a cease-fire. The terms of the cease-fire, laid out in a UN Commission resolution on 13 August 1948, were adopted by the Commission on 5 January 1949. This required Pakistan to withdraw its forces, both regular and irregular, while allowing India to maintain minimal forces within the state to preserve law and order. Upon compliance with these conditions, a plebiscite was to be held to determine the future of the territory.  Indian losses in the war totaled 1,104 killed and 3,154 wounded; Pakistani, about 6,000 killed and 14,000 wounded. India gained control of about two-thirds of Kashmir; Pakistan, the remaining one-third. Most neutral assessments agree that India emerged victorious from the war, as it successfully defended most of the contested territory, including the Kashmir valley, Jammu, and Ladakh.

Military awards.

Battle honours.

After the war, a total of number of 11 battle honours and one theatre honour were awarded to units of the Indian Army, the notable amongst which are:

Gallantry awards.

For bravery, a number of soldiers and officers were awarded the highest gallantry award of their respective countries. Following is a list of the recipients of the Indian award Param Vir Chakra, and the Pakistani award Nishan-E-Haider:

The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, sometimes known as the First Kashmir War, was fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four Indo-Pakistan Wars fought between the two newly independent nations. Pakistan precipitated the war a few weeks after independence by launching tribal "lashkar" (militia) from Waziristan, in an effort to capture Kashmir, the future of which hung in the balance. The inconclusive result of the war still affects the geopolitics of both countries.

Der Erste Indisch-Pakistanische Krieg, auch "Erster Kaschmirkrieg", war die erste kriegerische Auseinandersetzung der südasiatischen Staaten Indien und Pakistan um die von beiden Seiten beanspruchte Region Kaschmir, die nach der Teilung Indiens formal einen unabhängigen Staat bildete. Er begann im Oktober 1947 mit dem Eindringen paschtunischer Freischärler in den formal unabhängigen Staat Kaschmir und endete im Januar 1949 mit der "De-facto"-Zweiteilung Kaschmirs in einen indisch und einen pakistanisch verwalteten Teil.


Orbit and classification.

"Spiraea" orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 3.2–3.6 AU once every 6 years and 4 months (2,318 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.06 and an inclination of 1° with respect to the ecliptic. With these orbital parameters, it belongs to the Cybele asteroids, a dynamical group near the 4:7 resonance with Jupiter and named after one of the largest asteroids, 65 Cybele. It is, however, a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method (Nesvorny, Novakovic, Knezevic and Milani) to its proper orbital elements.  The body's observation arc begins with its identification as at Uccle Observatory in February 1934, almost six years after its official discovery observation at Heidelberg.

Physical characteristics.

"Spiraea" is an assumed carbonaceous C-type asteroid.

Rotation period.

In December 2014, a fragmentary rotational lightcurve of "Spiraea" was obtained from photometric observations in the R-band by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 7.01 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.03 magnitude ().

Diameter and albedo.

According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, "Spiraea" measures between 35.178 and 40.52 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.05 and 0.091.  The "Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link" assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 32.78 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.15.

Naming.

This minor planet was named after "Spiraea", a genus of shrubs of the rose family (Rosaceae), with small white or pink flowers. The official naming citation was mentioned in "The Names of the Minor Planets" by Paul Herget in 1955 ().

Reinmuth's flowers.

Due to his many discoveries, Karl Reinmuth submitted a large list of 66 newly named asteroids in the early 1930s. The list covered his discoveries with numbers between and. This list also contained a sequence of 28 asteroids, starting with 1054 Forsytia, that were all named after plants, in particular flowering plants "(also see list of minor planets named after animals and plants)".

1091 Spiraea, provisional designation, is a carbonaceous Cybele asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 36 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 26 February 1928, by astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany. The asteroid was named after "Spiraea", a genus of plants.

(1091) Spiraea ist ein Asteroid des Hauptgürtels, der am 26. Februar 1928 vom deutschen Astronomen Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth in Heidelberg entdeckt wurde.


Safety.

Electrostimulation, in general, can cause tissue damage or even death if misused. The most common problems arising from electrostimulation tend to be burns from lack of sufficiently wide surface contact, i.e. bad contact, between the electrode and the skin's surface. Even at relatively low current and voltage, there is also risk of interference with normal heart function (potentially including cardiac arrest), and this risk is higher for those who use an artificial pacemaker or similar device or who have heart conditions. Because of this, it is not advisable to place the electrical contacts in such a way that current passes through the chest cavity.  The international standard on the basic safety of medical nerve and muscle stimulators advises "that stimulation should not be applied across or through the head, directly on the eyes, covering the mouth, on the front of the neck, (especially the carotid sinus), or from electrodes placed on the chest and the upper back or crossing over the heart". The standard also notes that "any electrodes that have current densities exceeding 2 mA/cm2 may require the special attention of the operator". It imposes the following limits on the output parameters of stimulators (for therapeutic purposes):  Erotic electrostimulation devices should avoid DC currents entirely, in order to avoid electrolytic effects. This is usually achieved through “biphasic” waveforms, in which each positive current pulse is followed by an equivalent negative current pulse. Devices with multiple channels (e.g. for several users or body regions) should have a small pulse isolation transformer for galvanic isolation in each channel, such that currents cannot flow across the body between channels. Pulse frequency, duration and amplitude should be selected to achieve the desired stimulation with the least amount of power delivered into the body, for example avoiding current during the refractory period after each action potential, where neurons do not respond to stimuli. Typical erotic electrostimulation devices use pulse frequencies in the range 300–3000 Hz, where skin nerves are most sensitive.  A few cases of accidental death as a result of autoerotic electrostimulation have been reported in the forensic science literature; the cases reported involved mains-powered, self-made devices, with current passing through the chest intentionally (usually via nipple stimulation) or unintentionally (for instance, touching an energized part with a hand). In one case reported in the press, a man from York, Pennsylvania was sentenced to 20–40 years in prison for third-degree murder and reckless endangerment after killing his wife with electrostimulation to her nipples directly from a power strip plugged into the mains.

History.

The use of electricity for entertainment purposes dates back at least as early as the 1740s. In the 1830s, insertable electrode attachments for small magnetos could be purchased. Later in the 1800s, various electric belts (some complete with "suspensory sack") were advertised as cures for impotence. In the 1920s, the American Medical Association investigated such devices, and concluded that they provided "more or less mechanical masturbation".  Modern electrostimulation first became recognized during the 1950s with the introduction of a device called the "Relax-A-Cizor", which was originally designed to stimulate the muscles of a relaxing subject using electric currents as a means of "passive exercise". Such power sources are still in medical use today and are known as EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) units. Some people soon found alternative uses for the Relax-A-Cizors by placing the contacts on sexual parts of the body.  By the 1970s, medical TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) units were also being used for electrostimulation. In the 1980s the first devices manufactured specifically for erotic electrostimulation became available, in particular the Titillator and the Pleasure Box, later known as the PES Power Box.  In the 1970s, experimenters noticed that bare speaker wires could deliver a jolt and began using recorded and live sound for electrostimulation. At that time, there were no professionally made attachments for such play, so people built their own out of copper plumbing parts and other metal pieces with attention to resistors placed in series with the human parts to control the current for safety. Although early e-stim units used only a simple, pulsed, sinusoidal wave, newer units use more complex wave forms and also allow for the use of ambient sound or prerecorded wave forms like music or specially designed computer files for specific types of stimulation. There are now sites dedicated to the creation of MP3 files specifically for erotic journeys or symphonies, which can include such routines as rewards, punishments, very strong, and pleasantly soft portions.

Types of power sources.

Medical power sources.

There are repackaged TENS and EMS units marketed as erotic electrostimulation power sources. EMS units are designed to cause muscle contraction.

Body toning and massage units.

An increasing number of "body toner" or "electromassage"-type power sources are being marketed directly to consumers. Though lacking in options compared to the more expensive specialized units, these have proven to be an inexpensive method for entry level practice.

Homemade power sources.

Some people craft "homemade" electrostimulation power sources, or adapt or modify commercial products (such as a Hifi or DVD system) that were never intended for electrostimulation of the human body. These can be dangerous practices; such improvised devices not specifically designed for use on the human body can easily cause injury. The risk is mostly twofold. First the device can supply too much power. Second the insulation of most devices is not suited for medical equipment. For example, a transient over-voltage on the mains input can damage the isolation of the transformer, resulting in the output terminals becoming live.

Erotic electrostimulation power sources.

Erotic electrostimulation power sources are specifically designed and manufactured for erotic use on the human body. The first analog devices became popular during the mid-1980s, and during the late 1990s digital devices also became available. Both types usually allow for adjustments of frequency and power output levels, some with complex preset "programs" and computer controls. The setups usually consist of a "box" and electrodes connected by wiring. Many of the boxes are portable and can be powered by batteries or come with built-in rechargeable batteries. Some units can be connected to remote operators via an Internet-connected computer or controlled via radio frequency key fobs. Units which can be powered by a 9 volt battery are preferable to those plugged into mains as they reduce the risk of accidental injury.

Other methods.

There are other medical methods that have led to patent filings, such as the discovery that placing electrodes in the spinal cord can induce pleasurable feelings leading to orgasm. There are also various apparatuses, with external or internal stimulation.  Other kinds of apparatus use interferential currents with four surface electrodes to replace the internal electrodes.

Electrodes.

An electrode is used to deliver the actual electrostimulation to the body. The image of the woman receiving electrostimulation shows a deprecated practice. Placing electrodes anywhere on the chest is risking current passing through the heart, which risks cardiac arrhythmia or arrest. The general rule for electrostimulation is 'only below the waist'.  For erotic electrostimulation, these are typically items designed to be applied to the genitals such as vaginal plugs and shields, anal plugs, probes to directly stimulate the prostate, testicle rings, CBT boards, cock rings, urethral probes, and other items for penile application. The pads used with TENS units are also used in the sexual application of electrostimulation. There are also electrified nipple and breast electrodes available, but while there is disagreement within the e-stim community about their safety the most commonly held consensus is 'only below the waist'. Still, the right-lateral of the body, the breast, is much less dangerous than left one, due the proximity of the left breast to the heart and its nerves, and so possibly colliding with the natural electro-impulse control of the heartbeat.  The electrodes can be made of metals such as gold, silver, aluminum, and stainless steel. There are also electrodes made out of conductive silicone. Conductive rubber is a cheap, flexible and efficient option.

Violet wands.

Violet wands were originally electric and neon testers, but are now split into two types: mechanical (Tesla Coil), and solid-state wands. They are used for the application of low current, high voltage (min 35 kV to max 65 kV typically), high-frequency electricity to the body, as such they are most commonly used in BDSM though erotic sensation play. Violet wands can deliver a variety of sharp, cutting, or piercing type sensations.  A violet wand typically consists of a hand-held "wand" made of plastic case which encases the mechanical (Tesla coil) or solid state components; a power cable, a collet (7/16" in the United States, 11 mm in Europe), and a cone. The collet is inside the cone end of the violet wand and is where glass and metal probes are inserted to be used with the wand. The cone is there to prevent sparks jumping from the collet directly to subject. Violet wands can be used anywhere on the body but should not be used around the eyes.

Lubrication.

Electroconductive gels play an important role in the success of erotic electrostimulation since without it, there is a greater risk of high-current skin burning. Water-based lubricants are generally recommended. Typically it is recommended to avoid any lubricant that contains silicone since it is an insulator and hence reduces conductivity. Practitioners of electrostimulation select lubricants for compatibility with the material of the electrodes, as well as for desirable conductive properties, which can maximize the strength and quality of the signal.

Erotic electrostimulation (abbreviated e-stim and also known as electrosex) is a sexual practice involving the application of electrical stimulation to the nerves of the body, with particular emphasis on the genitals, using a power source (such as a TENS, EMS, violet wands, or made-for-play units) for purposes of sexual stimulation. Electrostimulation has been associated with BDSM activities, and erotic electrostimulation is an evolution of that practice.

Erotische Elektrostimulation (auch bekannt als "E-Stim" oder "Elektrosex") ist eine Sexualpraktik, bei der Gleichstrom oder niederfrequente Wechselströme zur sexuellen Stimulation eingesetzt werden. Sie entwickelte sich aus der medizinischen Reizstrom-Technik. Zur Applikation der Ströme werden zumeist speziell entwickelte Geräte (wie etwa TENS oder Violet Wands) verwendet.


Life.

Johanna Melzer was born in Oberwaldenburg, a mining village in Lower Silesia close to the German frontier with Bohemia, southwest of Breslau. Her father was a miner. While she was still a child the family relocated to the Ruhr region in connection with her father's work: she attended junior school in Rünthe, before moving on to a commercially focused secondary school in Hamm. Melzer trained for work as a sales assistant and for clerical employment. The family were politically conscious, and in 1923 she joined both the Communist Party and its youth wing. From 1925 till 1930 she was employed as a book keeper with the "Ruhr-Echo", a daily newspaper. Between 1925 and 1932 she lived with, a Communist activist to whom, she later wrote, she owed a large part of her own political awakening. Locally she became a leader of the in Bochum. In 1928/29 she was listed as the party's Agitation and Propaganda chief for the Bochum sub-district.  In 1930 she moved to Thuringia where she became a member of the party regional leadership team (""Bezirksleitung"") in Erfurt. Here she also worked as the book keeper and treasurer of the local Red Aid (""Rote Hilfe"") communist workers' welfare organisation. She remained in Erfurt till 1932, also serving as a party instructor and, towards the end of her time, leader in the women's department of the regional party leadership.  By March 1933 she had returned to the Dortmund area. In January 1933 the political backdrop was transformed when the Nazi Party took power and converted Germany into a one-party dictatorship. Political activity - except in support of the Nazi Party - became illegal. At the end of February the Reichstag fire was instantly blamed on the Communists, and in March 1933 Communists began to be arrested. From March 1933 Melzer was working illegally as a "party instructor" in the Dortmund area and in July 1933 she was arrested. She was placed in the Moringen concentration camp where she remained till December 1933.  Soon after the Nazi take-over Melzer arranged that the "Oblies" dress shop in Dortmund, where she was a customer, would become a focal point for resistance activists. Various Communist Party newspapers were distributed from there, such as "The Red Flag" (""Die Rote Fahne"") and "The International" as well as a publication that hid its identity behind the camouflaging name "Rolleiflex". Because of intelligence received from the Gestapo in Berlin. local police were already aware of this arrangement by the end of 1933, and of the significance of the phrase "I've come from the Lyon boutique" (""Ich komme vom Modehaus Lyon"") which resistance fighters used to identify themselves. Along with her activities in Dortmund, Johanna Metzler worked illegally as a "party instructor" in Bielefeld, Osnabrück and Hagen, in and beyond the eastern part of the Ruhr industrial conurbation.  She herself was re-arrested on 26 August 1934 and held under investigatory detention, initially at the infamous "Steinwache" interrogation prison beside the Main Railway Station in Dortmund. She was held here for some time during which she underwent a sustained period of interrogation and sustained serious mistreatment, according to one source "isolated for weeks on end" and "bound hand and foot". It was during this time that she earned from fellow detainees the soubriquet "Iron Johanna" (""Eiserne Johanna"") because she stayed silent under torture. A couple of weeks after her arrest, on 7 September 1934, she wrote a letter to her parents and family. The letter was intercepted by the prison censors, but today it is retained in the archives of the high court at Hamm, where it provides a lasting testimony to Johanna Metzler's mental strength and courage. She was subsequently transferred to Hamm where she appeared before the High Court on 1 March 1935, She was charged with "the crime of preparing a highly treasonable undertaking" (""Verbrechens der Vorbereitung eines hochverräterischen Unternehmens""). The prosecution demanded a death sentence, but the court sentenced her to a fifteen-year term of imprisonment plus ten years of deprivation of civil rights.  Melzer spent the next ten years in a succession of prisons. War ended early in May 1945: she was liberated from prison by allied forces on 4 May 1945. She moved to Thuringia where she became head of the women's section with the Communist party leadership in Erfurt. Thuringia had been successfully invaded during the opening months of 1945 by the American army, but under terms already agreed between the allied leaders the area was to be incorporated into the Soviet occupation zone (after 1949 the German Democratic Republic). On 3 July 1945 the American military withdrew, and for the rest of Mezler's time in Erfurt the city was administered by the Soviets.Towards the end of 1946 she returned to Dortmund, now administered as part of the British occupation zone (after 1949 part of the German Federal Republic). Here she joined the party regional leadership team (""Bezirksleitung"") for the Ruhr region. She was appointed a member of the Westphalia provincial assembly in 1946, and following a return to democracy she was elected a member of its successor body, the Landtag (regional legislature) of North Rhine-Westphalia, for a three-year term starting in 1947. During her time in the assembly she was vocal in support of equal pay for women and in opposition to the production of more nuclear bombs.  After this she was a co-founder, in 1950, of a West German outpost of the Democratic Women's League (""Demokratischer Frauenbund Deutschlands"" / DFD), becoming its secretary. In 1954 she became a member of the Communist. It was not till August 1956 that the Communist Party was banned in West German (reflecting "the aggressive and combative methods that the party used as a "Marxist-Leninist party struggle" to achieve their goals") but as the political differences between East and West Germany became ever more stark, especially after the 1953 East German uprising, the Communist Party became increasingly marginalised in West Germany, and in 1953 Johanna Mezler faced an arrest warrant in connection with her political activity. The more direct concern for the authorities in West Germany appears to have involved not her Communist Party membership, but her position within the DFD which was seen as a proxy for the East German government and its ruling party. She went into hiding and appears to have avoided arrest.  The political separation implicit in the military occupation zones created in 1945 came to be enforced by a physical frontier during the 1950s. In 1956 Melzer relocated to East Berlin where she lived till her death there on the night of 2/3 October 1960. There are suggestions that her health was damaged and her life thereby shortened by torture she had suffered at the hands of the Gestapo. Her sister Klara's attempts to have the 1953 indictment lifted posthumously were rejected by the West German authorities who inferred that her relocation to East Germany in 1956 was tantamount to a confession of guilt.

Johanna Melzer (7 April 1904 - 3 October 1960) was a German political activist (KPD) who participated in resistance to the Hitler regime. She spent eleven of the twelve Nazi years in prison, earning the soubriquet "Iron Johanna" (""Eiserne Johanna"") because she stayed silent under torture. She survived and became, for a time, a regional politician in West Germany.

Johanna Melzer (* 7. August 1904 in Oberwaldenburg; † 3. Oktober 1960 in Berlin) war Abgeordnete und Funktionärin der KPD und Widerstandskämpferin im Ruhrgebiet.


Features.

The HP-65 introduced the "tall", trapezoid-shaped keys that would become iconic for many generations of HP calculators. Each of the keys had up to 4 functions. In addition to the "normal function" printed on the key's face, a "gold" function printed on the case above the key and a "blue" function printed on the slanted front surface of the key were accessed by pushing the gold "f" or blue "g" prefix key, respectively. For example, "f" followed by "formula_1" would access the sine function, or "g" followed by "formula_1" would calculate formula_3. For some mathematical functions, a gold "f" prefix key would access the inverse of the gold-printed functions, e.g. "f" followed by "formula_1" would calculate the inverse sine (formula_5).  Functions included square root, inverse, trigonometric (sine, cosine, tangent and their inverses), exponentiation, logarithms and factorial. The HP-65 was one of the first calculators to include a base conversion function, although it only supported octal (base 8) conversion. It could also perform conversions between degrees/minutes/seconds (sexagesimal) and decimal degree (sexadecimal) values, as well as polar/cartesian coordinate conversion.

Programming.

The HP-65 had a program memory for up to 100 instructions of 6 bits which included subroutine calls and conditional branching based on comparison of x and y registers. Some but not all commands entered as multiple keystrokes were stored in a single program memory cell. When displaying a program, the key codes were shown without line numbers.  A program could be saved to mylar-based magnetically coated cards (71 mm × 9.5 mm), which were fed through the reader by a small electric motor through a worm gear and rubber roller at a speed of 6 cm/s. The recording area used only half of the width of the card. While reversing the card to store a second program was possible, it was officially discouraged (unlike in later models such as the HP-67) because the other half of the card was touched by the rubber wheel during transport, causing extra abrasion. When inserted into an extra slot between the display and the keyboard, the printing on top of the card would correspond to the top row of keys (A - E), which served as shortcuts to the corresponding program entry points. Cards could be write-protected by diagonally clipping the top left corner of the card. HP also sold a number of program collections for scientific and engineering applications on sets of pre-recorded (and write-protected) cards.  The HP-65 had a "feature" whereby storage register R9 was corrupted whenever the user (or program) executed trigonometric functions or performed comparison tests; this kind of issue was common in many early calculators, caused by a lack of memory due to cost, power, and/or size considerations. Since the limitation was documented in the manual, it is not strictly speaking a bug.

Significant applications.

During the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the HP-65 became the first programmable handheld calculator in outer space. It was carried as a backup in case of a problem with the Apollo Guidance Computer. It was not put into operation, though, as the Apollo computer did not malfunction during that mission.  Also in 1975, Mitchell Feigenbaum, using the small HP-65 calculator he had been issued at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, discovered that the ratio of the difference between the values at which successive period-doubling bifurcations occur tends to a constant of around 4.6692... This "ratio of convergence" is now known as the first Feigenbaum constant.

The HP-65 is the first magnetic card-programmable handheld calculator. Introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1974 at an MSRP of $795 (), it featured nine storage registers and room for 100 keystroke instructions. It also included a magnetic card reader/writer to save and load programs. Like all Hewlett-Packard calculators of the era and most since, the HP-65 used Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) and a four-level automatic operand stack.

Der HP-65 war der erste programmierbare Taschenrechner der Welt. Er wurde seit 1974 von Hewlett-Packard gebaut. Der Rechner hatte 9 Speicherregister und Programmspeicher für 100 Tastenbefehle. Er besaß auch einen Magnetkartenleser/-schreiber, dessen Karten etwa so groß waren wie ein Kaugummistreifen. Wie fast alle nachfolgenden HP-Taschenrechner verwendete er die umgekehrte polnische Notation (UPN) bei der Eingabe von Zahlen, um den Speicherplatz effektiver nutzen zu können. Dieses System benötigt keine herkömmliche =-Taste, sondern hat stattdessen eine "Enter"-Taste, um "Operanden" auf den vier Ebenen umfassenden Stack zu legen, und "Operator"-Tasten, um diese zu verknüpfen.


Lyrics.

Although those are the official lyrics, a lot of verses are repeated in order to follow the rhythmic composition. To sing it properly, one must follow the text like this:

History.

Original version.

The following is the oldest known version of the anthem, known as: "Oh, Bright Dawn of Heroism, oh!" (""Oj, Junaštva Svjetla Zoro, oj!""). It was played in public for the first time in 1863 in the national theater in Belgrade. It was a component song of the "Battle of Grahovo or blood feud in Montenegro" (Бој на Грахову или крвна освета у Црној Гори) heroic play in three parts. The play and the Montenegrin folk song was also played/sung in the National Theater again in 1870 and 1876. Its first record in Montenegro itself dates to 1887, when it was included into the regular school program of Montenegrin national songs for pupils in the 3rd grade. It was reconfirmed in the teacher's plan for Montenegrin schools of 1888, which speculates that it must have been an established folk song for decades by then.

World War II.

Sekule Drljević, party strongman of a minor political party which was active in the Yugoslavian Kingdom in Montenegro known as the Montenegrin Federalist Party, rewrote the text and published it in 1937 in the book of Savić Marković "Štedimlija" (a Croatian writer of Montenegrin origin) known as "Crvena Hrvatska" ("Red Croatia"), which confounded the thesis not of a Serb ethnic origin of the Montenegrins, which was the dominant one back then, but rather from the Croats. Its name was "Eternal Ours..." ("Vječna naša"). When Nikola Hercigonja wrote "Oh, Bright Dawn of May" shortly after World War II ended after 1945, he erroneously concluded that Drljević was the original wholesale author of this song, which led to its decline in popularity as a Montenegrin folk song for decades.

Popular song.

The song survived until today under various names as a popular Montenegrin folk song under the name "Oh, Bright Dawn of May" ("Oj svijetla majska zoro"). This version of the song has been one of the several versions proposed in 1993 during the first discussion on the official state anthem, however, on which there was no consensus because of the disputed melodic value.

"Oj, svijetla majska zoro" (Montenegrin Cyrillic: „Ој, свијетла мајска зоро”, lit. ""Oh, bright dawn of May"") is the national anthem of Montenegro adopted in 2004. Before its adoption, it was a popular folk song with many variations of its text. The oldest one is dated to the 2nd half of the 19th century, known as "Oh, Bright Dawn of Heroism, oh!", a popular Montenegrin folk song.

Oj svijetla majska zoro („Oh, du helle Morgenröte im Mai“) ist die Nationalhymne von Montenegro. Bereits zuvor war sie ein populäres Volkslied der Montenegriner, das in den verschiedensten Versionen gesungen wird. Der Text wurde 1937 von Sekula Drljević verfasst.


Methods.

Heath beekeeping is a special form of beekeeping used to obtain heather honey. It involves a transportable, swarming hive in which the beekeeper only allows a small number of colonies to overwinter. In spring, the number of colonies increases many times through the process of swarming, and several hundred were not unusual. Over the centuries, by selecting bees that swarm early and often, beekeepers on the heathlands developed an extremely swarm-loving and robust strain from the European dark bee.  The once widespread "Bienenzaun" (bee enclosure) apiary provided plenty of space. Beehives were made from straw into a plaited basket, the "Lüneburger Stülper" or Lüneburg Skep and, in the 1940s and 50s the Kanitz Basket ("Kanitzkorb"), named after its inventor, was also used. Because there was not usually enough local forage for the many hives concentrated into one place, the beekeepers had to move the bees around to areas where there were worthwhile sources of nectar. The new colonies formed in the early spring from swarms, collected honey from the blossoming heathlands in late summer, mainly in August and September. After the honey was harvested the superfluous colonies were removed from their baskets and sold as 'bare' colonies without honeycombs. These bees were very keen to swarm.

History.

For centuries, the historical basket or heath beehive produced honey and beeswax on the Lüneburg Heath. In the Middle Ages heather honey was a sought-after commodity. Beekeeping was common in the core areas of the former heath, so that almost every farmstead had a "Bienenzaun". The farmers employed special beekeeping hands for this purpose. The town of Celle on the Südheide was a major trading centre for heather honey. As early as the 16th century there was a professional apiculture centre. It declined during the second half of the 19th century for a number of reasons, which led to the retreat of the areas of heathland. As a result of land consolidation there were no areas of common land with their wide range of nectar-producing plants. The introduction of artificial fertiliser enabled better harvest yields from heath soils and so areas of heath were turned into arable land. Marshland soils with buckwheat cultivation were turned into meadows for cattle. In addition, large areas of heath were reforested with fast-growing pines. Today there are only a very few apiaries left on the Lüneburg Heath which keep bees in the historical way. These also produce comb honey which is a specialty today due to its rarity.

Heath beekeeping () was a specialist form of beekeeping, which was intensively practised by beekeepers on the Lüneburg Heath from the Middle Ages until the 19th century, but which is now very rarely encountered. It was also referred to as "Lüneburger Schwarmbienenzucht" (Lüneburg honey bee breeding) "Lüneburger Heideimkerei" (Lüneburg Heath beekeeping) or "Lüneburger Korbimkerei" (Lüneburg basket beekeeping). Typical features were beehives made of plaited straw baskets or skeps, the use of heathland flowers, frequent moving of bees to worthwhile feeding areas and the enormous multiplication of bee colonies through swarming.

Die Heideimkerei war eine besondere Art der Bienenhaltung, die Imker in der Lüneburger Heide seit dem Mittelalter bis ins 19. Jahrhundert intensiv betrieben und die heute sehr selten ist. Sie wird auch als "Lüneburger Schwarmbienenzucht", "Lüneburger Heideimkerei" oder "Lüneburger Korbimkerei" bezeichnet. Typische Kennzeichen waren Bienenwohnungen aus geflochtenen Strohkörben, die Nutzung der Heideblüte, häufiges Anwandern lohnender Trachten und die enorme Vermehrung der Bienenvölker durch Schwärme. Die Heideimkerei war ein bedeutender Teil der Heidebauernwirtschaft.