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Zhang Chunqiao [SEP] In January 1975 Zhang became the second-ranked Vice Premier and he wrote "On Exercising All-Round Dictatorship Over the Bourgeoisie" to promote the movement of studying the theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat; Deng Xiaoping was the first-ranked Vice Premier at the time, but Deng was out of office again in 1976. He was arrested along with the other members of the Gang of Four in October 1976, as part of a conspiracy by Ye Jianying, Li Xiannian and newly anointed party leader Hua Guofeng.

Zhang Chunqiao [SEP] Zhang was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, together with Jiang Qing, in 1984, but his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment, and in December 1997 the sentence was further reduced to eighteen years. In 1998, Zhang was released from prison to undergo medical treatment. He then lived in obscurity in Shanghai for the remainder of his life. Zhang died from pancreatic cancer in April 2005.

Wang Hongwen [SEP] Wang Hongwen (December, 1935 – August 3, 1992) was a Chinese labour activist and politician who spent most of his career in Shanghai. He was an important political figure during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76). He was the youngest member of the far-left political clique called the "Gang of Four." During the Cultural Revolution, Wang rose from a member of the working class to become one of the foremost members of national leadership of the Communist Party of China.

Wang Hongwen [SEP] At the pinnacle of his power he was the second Vice-Chairman of the CCP, and ranked third in the Communist Party's hierarchy. Following Mao's death in 1976, Wang was arrested and charged with "counterrevolutionary activity," then sentenced to life imprisonment in 1981. Wang was born in a village in the outskirts of Changchun, Jilin province. In the early 1950s he took part in the Korean War. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1953.

Wang Hongwen [SEP] After the war, he was sent to Shanghai to work in Shanghai No. 17 Cotton Textile Mill as the head of its security guards regiment, where he met Zhang Chunqiao and became involved in a Red Guards group. He organized the Shanghai Commune in January 1967, and was catapulted to national prominence as a daring rebel leader. At the 9th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Wang was elected a member of the Central Committee.

Wang Hongwen [SEP] Following the Lin Biao incident, Wang was put in charge of the investigation into the case in the Shanghai area, reporting directly to Mao. At the 10th National Congress of the CCP in 1973, Wang Hongwen was elevated to second ranking Vice Chairman in the Central Committee, and a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, making him the third-highest-ranking member of the CCP, behind Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai. All signs pointed to Wang being trained as Mao's successor.

Wang Hongwen [SEP] Wang was rumored to be slated to become Premier after then-Premier Zhou Enlai's death in January 1976. However, Hua Guofeng, a more moderate figure, was chosen to succeed Zhou instead. Wang was an important player during and after the death of Mao, and served as the masters of ceremonies for his funeral service on national radio on September 18, 1976.

Wang Hongwen [SEP] He was arrested in what was essentially a coup planned by Hua and General Ye Jianying for his participation in the Gang of Four during the Cultural Revolution in October 1976. Wang was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1981. He died of liver cancer in a Beijing hospital on August 3, 1992 at the age of 56. Wang was one of the youngest members of the Politburo Standing Committee in the post-revolution Communist Party, having joined the body at a mere 37 years of age.

Wang Hongwen [SEP] In fact, he was the same age as some standing committee members who took office even after the turn of the century, such as Luo Gan (served on the PSC between 2002 and 2007), who was also born in 1935.

Battle of the Chernaya [SEP] The Battle of the Chernaya (also Tchernaïa; Russian: Сражение у Черной речки, Сражение у реки Черной, literally: Battle of the Black River) was a battle by the Chornaya River fought during the Crimean War on August 16, 1855. The battle was fought between Russian troops and a coalition of French, Sardinian and Ottoman troops. The Chornaya River is on the outskirts of Sevastopol. The battle ended in a Russian retreat and a victory for the French, Sardinians and Turks.

Battle of the Chernaya [SEP] The battle was planned as an offensive by the Russians with the aim of forcing the Allied forces (French, British, Sardinian, and Ottoman) to retreat and abandon their siege of Sevastopol. Czar Alexander II had ordered his commander in chief in the Crimea, Prince Michael Gorchakov to attack the besieging forces before they were reinforced further. The Czar hoped that by gaining a victory, he could force a more favorable resolution to the conflict.

Battle of the Chernaya [SEP] Gorchakov didn’t think that an attack would be successful but believed the greatest chance of success to be near the French and Sardinian positions on the Chornaya River. The Czar ordered the hesitating Gorchakov to hold a war council to plan the attack. The attack was planned for the morning of August 16 in the hope to surprise the French and Sardinians as they had just celebrated the Feast day of the Emperor (France) and Assumption Day (Sardinians).

Battle of the Chernaya [SEP] The Russians hoped that because of these feasts the enemy would be tired and less attentive to the Russians. 58,000 Russian troops in two army corps under Prince Michael Gorchakov fought against 28,000 French and Sardinian troops under French General Aimable Pélissier and Italian General Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora. Although the British correspondents were amazed at the courageousness and impetuosity of their attack, the assault of the Russian army was handicapped by poor organization and lack of experienced soldiers which, due to Sevastopol, forced their corps to consist mostly of militia.

Battle of the Chernaya [SEP] In the cover of the morning fog, the Russians advanced on Traktirburg with 47,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry and 270 cannon under command of General Pavel Liprandi on the left and General N. A. Read on the right. The two generals had been ordered by Gorchakov not to cross the river until given explicit orders. Annoyed that things weren’t happening fast enough, Gorchakov sent a note to his generals with the words ""Let's start it.""

Battle of the Chernaya [SEP] By this, Gorchakov only meant that the Russians should start to deploy their forces. Unfortunately his generals interpreted his words as his order to attack and they acted accordingly, although reserve forces were still en route to the battlefield. The attacking Russians immediately met stiff resistance from the French and Sardinians. Read's forces crossed the river near Traktirburg but without cavalry and artillery support, they were easily stopped by the French on the Fedyukhin Heights (Федюхины высоты).

Battle of the Chernaya [SEP] Read then ordered his reserve formation, the 5th Infantry Division, to attack the Heights but instead of launching a coordinated assault, he fed them piecemeal in to the fray. Going in regiment by regiment, the assaulting reserve troops accomplished nothing. Seeing this Gorchakov ordered Read to deploy the entire division against the French. This forced the French back up the hill but the Russians could not capture the Heights. In the following retreat General Read was killed.

Battle of the Chernaya [SEP] Upon the death of Read, Gorchakov took personal command of the right and ordered 8 battalions of Liprandi's left wing to reinforce the right wing. These forces came under fire from the Sardinians and were driven back. At 10 o’clock in the morning, Gorchakov concluded that the situation was hopeless and ordered a general retreat. The bravery of Sardinian troops and the French soldiers of the 50th, 82nd, 95th, 97th of the line; the 19th Foot Chasseurs; and the 2nd and 3rd Zouaves was especially noted.

Battle of the Chernaya [SEP] The Italian troops' valiant effort at the battle was a contributing factor to their inclusion at the negotiation tables at the end of the war; It was there that the Kingdom of Sardinia began looking for the aide of other European nations in the Unification of Italy. Russian Count Leo Tolstoy was a participant in the Battle of the Chernaya River. He witnessed as the Russians crossed the river and started up the hillside in the morning sunlight. Tolstoy saw Russian soldiers being killed in clusters as shells exploded around them.

Battle of the Chernaya [SEP] Before the morning was over, the Russians were forced to retreat. They left thousands of their dead comrades behind. Tolstoy was depressed and angered by the slaughter. He believed much of it was due to incompetent generals and staff. Tolstoy vented his anger by composing a , an approximate translation of which reads: "The toppest brass Sat down to meet And pondered long; Topographers Lined paper black But all forgot The deep ravine They had to cross!"

Battle of the Chernaya [SEP] This humorous song soon gained widespread popularity among the Russian soldiers, and is the only piece of verse Tolstoy is known to have written. The stanza from Tolstoy's song "Гладко вписано в бумаге, Да забыли про овраги" ("It was smoothly written into the papers / But it was forgotten about the ravines") entered as a catch phrase, in a slightly modified form "Гладко было на бумаге... " ("It was smooth on the paper, ...").

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] The Battle of Seneffe took place on 11 August 1674, during the 1672–1678 Franco-Dutch War near Seneffe in present-day Belgium. It was fought by a French army commanded by Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé and a combined Dutch-Imperial-Spanish force led by William of Orange. While a clear French victory, both sides suffered heavy losses and it had little impact on the outcome of the war in the Low Countries.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] Seneffe was one of three battles in the Spanish Netherlands during the Franco-Dutch War and the only one unconnected to a siege, the dominant form of warfare in the late 17th century; Cassel in 1677 was an attempt to relieve Saint-Omer, while Saint-Denis in 1678 was fought to prevent the fall of Mons.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] In the 1667–1668 War of Devolution, France captured most of the Spanish Netherlands and Franche-Comté but relinquished the bulk of these gains in the 1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle with the Triple Alliance of the Dutch Republic, England and Sweden. Angered by what he viewed as ingratitude for previous French support, Louis XIV decided to attack the Dutch; he weakened his opponents by paying Sweden to remain neutral, and signing an alliance with England in the 1670 Treaty of Dover.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] In May 1672, French forces invaded the Dutch Republic and initially seemed to have achieved an overwhelming victory but by late July, the Dutch position had stabilised. Concern at French gains led to the August 1673 Treaty of the Hague between the Republic, Brandenburg-Prussia, Emperor Leopold and Charles II of Spain; in early 1674, Denmark joined the Alliance, while England and the Dutch made peace in the Treaty of Westminster.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] Forced into another war of attrition and with new fronts opening in Spain, Sicily and the Rhineland, French troops withdrew from the Dutch Republic by the end of 1673, retaining only Grave and Maastricht. Louis now focused on retaking Spanish possessions gained in 1667–1668 but returned at Aix-La-Chappelle, a decision simplified by Spain's entry into the war. In early May, the French took the offensive in Franche-Comté, while Condé's army in the Spanish Netherlands remained on the defensive.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] The Allies besieged Grave in early July, which was too distant to have any realistic chance of being relieved by the French; with the advantage of superior numbers and aware of Louis' plans to capture Mons, the main Allied field army sought to take the initiative by invading French Flanders.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] The Spanish Netherlands was a compact area 160 kilometres wide, its highest point being only 100 metres above sea level; until the advent of railways in the 19th century, goods and supplies were largely transported by water and the region's commercial wealth was due to the large numbers of canals and rivers. Campaigning in this theatre largely focused on controlling access points to rivers such as the Lys, the Sambre and Meuse, while the flat terrain made possession of any high ground extremely advantageous.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] A Dutch-Spanish force under William of Orange and Count Monterrey, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, spent June and July unsuccessfully attempting to bring Condé to battle. On 23 July, they were joined near Nivelles by an Imperial army led by a French Huguenot exile, the Comte de Souches, increasing their numbers to about 62,000. After the conclusion of operations in Franche-Comté, many of the troops used there were sent to join Condé, including his son the duc d'Enghien.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] By early August, his army of 44,200 was entrenched along the line of the Piéton river which joined the Sambre at Charleroi, then occupied by the French. Concluding these positions were too strong to be attacked from the direction of Nivelles, on 9 August the Allied army established a line between the villages of Arquennes to Roux, on the French left. They hoped to tempt Condé into an attack but he simply shifted his troops and the next day, William proposed moving around Seneffe and into the French rear.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] This was supported by the Spanish, since it would cut Condé's supply lines and isolate the French garrison in Charleroi (see Map). At 4:00 am on 11 August, the Allied army set out split into three columns, each marching parallel to the French positions. The vanguard was commanded by the Comte de Souches, the rear by the Marquis d'Assentar, who had just replaced Monterrey as the senior Spanish officer, with William and the bulk of the infantry in the centre.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] The formation was dictated by the poor roads and resulted in gaps between the columns; recognising this vulnerability, a screening force of 6,000 cavalry under Prince Vaudémont was placed on the extreme left, passing close to Seneffe which the Allied troops would have to pass in order to move behind the French. Hearing the Allies were on the move, at 5:30 am Condé rode out to observe their dispositions and quickly perceived their intentions.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] The terrain they were crossing was largely marshy and broken up by numerous hedges, walls and woods, with limited exit points; gambling these factors would negate their superior numbers, Condé decided to attack. He sent 400 light cavalry under Saint Clar to skirmish with the Allied vanguard and slow down their march, while also despatching a cavalry brigade under the Marquis de Rannes to seize the high ground north of Seneffe.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] Around 10:00 am, de Rannes came into contact with Vaudémont, who asked William for infantry support; he was sent three battalions, which he placed near the bridge over the Zenne or Senne river that flowed through Seneffe, with his cavalry just behind. Despite gout so severe he was unable to wear boots, Condé himself led the elite Maison du Roi cavalry across the Zenne above Seneffe and scattered Vaudémont's cavalry. Simultaneous assaults by de Rannes and Luxembourg overwhelmed the infantry, who were all either killed or taken prisoner.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] By midday, Condé had inflicted significant losses on the Allies and gained a clear, if minor victory. Instead of withdrawing, he continued and the battle became a series of confused and costly firefights, lasting until early evening. After Vaudémont was driven out of Seneffe, William halted his march and formed a defensive line centred on the nearby Priory of St Nicolas, with the Marquis d'Assentar based in the hamlet of Fayt-la-Manage on his left.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] The Allied horse was once again driven from the field but the French were exhausted; the Dutch infantry remained intact, while the ground in front of their position was in any case unsuitable for cavalry. Against the advice of his senior officers, Condé committed his troops to a series of bloody frontal assaults, leading one himself, in which he was unhorsed and had to be rescued by his son, the Duc d'Enghien.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] Luxembourg destroyed much of the Dutch baggage train and despite heavy losses, the French finally over-ran the Allied positions at St Nicolas in the early evening. The two armies remained facing each other for the rest of the night and the next day, William made for Mons to re-equip while the French returned to their original positions on the Piéton.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] Casualties on all sides had been enormous, although the Imperial troops in the vanguard saw little combat, apart from minor skirmishing with Saint Clar's cavalry and William later accused de Souches of deliberately refusing to support him. While estimates vary, the consensus is that French losses were between 7,000 to 10,000 killed, wounded or captured, those of the Allies being a wider range of 8,000 – 15,000.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] Their losses shocked the French, one contemporary writing 'we have lost so much by this victory that without the Te Deum and captured flags at Notre Dame, we would believe we had lost the battle.' The battle had little impact on the war; on 31 August, a large convoy arrived in the Allied camp outside Mons, bringing supplies, a month's pay in advance for the survivors and five new Dutch regiments.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] This made up for the losses suffered at Seneffe and William proposed they resume the proposed invasion of France. Neither de Souches or Monterrey agreed to this and so the Allies compromised by besieging Oudenarde. Operations started on 16 September and Condé began marching to its relief on 19th; the Dutch and Spanish redoubled efforts to breach the walls before his arrival but without advising his allies, de Souches sent the Imperial artillery off to Ghent.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] His troops could not fight a battle without artillery and since the Dutch and Spanish could not face the French on their own, they were forced into a hasty retreat. After strong protests from the Dutch States General, de Souches was relieved of his command but this did little to solve the reality of diverging objectives in the Low Countries.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] De Souches' desire to minimise his own losses was driven by Imperial strategy, which was to prevent the French reinforcing Turenne in the Rhineland; the Spanish wanted to recover their losses in the Spanish Netherlands, a secondary objective for the Dutch, who now focused on retaking Grave and Maastricht. On 9 October, William assumed command of the siege operations at Grave, which surrendered on 28th.

Battle of Seneffe [SEP] Condé received an elaborate state reception at Versailles for Seneffe but his health was failing and the casualties had diminished Louis' trust in his abilities; he temporarily assumed command of French troops in the Rhineland following Turenne's death at Salzbach in July 1675 but retired before the end of the year. In the longer term, Seneffe confirmed Louis' preference for positional warfare, ushering in a period where siege and manoeuvre dominated military tactics.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] The Battle of Solferino (referred to in Italy as the Battle of Solferino and San Martino) on 24 June 1859 resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II (together known as the Franco-Sardinian Alliance) against the Austrian Army under Emperor Franz Joseph I. It was the last major battle in world history where all the armies were under the personal command of their monarchs.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] Perhaps 300,000 soldiers fought in the important battle, the largest since the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. There were about 130,000 Austrian troops and a combined total of 140,000 French and allied Piedmontese troops. After the battle, the Austrian Emperor refrained from further direct command of the army. The battle led the Swiss Jean-Henri Dunant to write his book, "A Memory of Solferino".

Battle of Solferino [SEP] Although he did not witness the battle (his statement is contained in an "unpublished page" included in the 1939 English edition published by the American Red Cross), he toured the field following the battle and was greatly moved by what he saw. Horrified by the suffering of wounded soldiers left on the battlefield, Dunant set about a process that led to the Geneva Conventions and the establishment of the International Red Cross.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] The Battle of Solferino was a decisive engagement in the Second Italian War of Independence, a crucial step in the Italian Risorgimento. The war's geopolitical context was the nationalist struggle to unify Italy, which had long been divided among France, Austria, Spain and numerous independent Italian states. The battle took place near the villages of Solferino and San Martino, Italy, south of Lake Garda between Milan and Verona.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] The confrontation was between the Austrians, on one side, and the French and Piedmontese forces, who opposed their advance. In the morning of 23 June, after the arrival of emperor Franz Joseph, the Austrian army changed direction to counterattack along the river Chiese. At the same time, Napoleon III ordered his troops to advance, causing the battle to occur in an unpredicted location.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] While the Piedmontese fought the Austrian right wing near San Martino, the French battled to the south of them near Solferino against the main Austrian corps. The Austrian forces were personally led by their militarily inexperienced 29-year-old emperor, Franz Joseph, and were divided into two field armies: 1st Army, containing three corps (III, IX and XI), under Franz von Wimpffen and 2nd Army, containing four corps (I, V, VII and VIII) under Franz von Schlick.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] The French army at Solferino, personally led by Napoleon III, was divided in four Corps plus the Imperial Guard. Many of its men and generals were veterans of the French conquest of Algeria and the Crimean War, but its commander-in-chief had no military experience of note. The Sardinian army had four divisions on the field. Although all three combatants were commanded by their monarchs, each was seconded by professional soldiers.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] Marshal Jean-Baptiste Philibert Vaillant served as Chief of Staff to Napoleon III, while Victor Emmanuel was accompanied by his Minister of War, Lieutenant General Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora. The Austrian high command was hindered by the rivalry between the Chief of Staff, Heinrich von Heß, and the Emperor's Adjutant General Karl Ludwig von Grünne. According to the allied battle plan formulated on 24 June, the Franco-Sardinian army moved east to deploy along the right river banks of the Mincio.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] The French were to occupy the villages of Solferino, Cavriana, Guidizzolo and Medole with, respectively, the 1st Corps (Baraguey d'Hilliers), 2nd Corps (Mac-Mahon), 3rd Corps (Canrobert), and 4th Corps (Niel). The four Sardinian divisions were to take Pozzolengo. After marching a few kilometers, the allies came into contact with the Austrian troops, who had entrenched themselves in those villages.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] In the absence of a fixed battle plan, the fighting which took place was uncoordinated, which is why so many casualties occurred, and it fell into three separate engagements, at Medole (south), Solferino (centre) and San Martino (north). The battle started at Medole around 4 am. Marching towards Guidizzolo, the 4th Corps encountered an Austrian infantry regiment of the Austrian 1st Army. General Niel immediately decided to engage the enemy and deployed his forces east of Medole.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] This move prevented the three corps (III, IX and XI) of the Austrian 1st Army from aiding their comrades of the 2nd Army near Solferino, where the main French attacks took place. The French forces were numerically inferior to the Austrians'. The 4th Corps contained three infantry divisions under de Luzy, Vinoy and Failly and a cavalry brigade. Niel, holding a thin line of in length, was able to stop the Austrian assaults on his position by ably warding off attacks and counterattacking at opportune moments.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] After 15 hours of combat the Austrians retreated, both sides having lost in total nearly 15,000 men. Around 4:30 am the advance guard of the 1st Corps (three infantry divisions under Forey, de Ladmirault, and Bazaine, and a cavalry division under Desvaux) came into contact with the Austrian V Corps under Stadion near Castiglione delle Stiviere.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] Around 5 am 2nd Corps under Mac-Mahon (two infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade under La Motterouge, Decaen and Gaudin) encountered Hungarian units posted near Ca’Morino (Medole). The Austrian forces were three corps strong (I, V and VII) and positioned on the towns of Solferino, Cavriana and Volta Mantovana. The Austrians were able to hold these positions all day against repeated French attacks.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] Near 3 pm the French reserves, formed by Canrobert's 3rd Corps and the Imperial Guard under Regnaud, attacked Cavriana, which was defended by the Austrian I Corps under Clam-Gallas, finally occupying it at 6 pm and thereby breaking through the Austrian center. This breakthrough forced a general retreat of both Austrian armies. On the northern side of the battlefield the Sardinians, 4 divisions strong, encountered the Austrians around 7 am.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] A long battle erupted over control of Pozzolengo, San Martino and Madonna della Scoperta. The Austrian VIII Corps under Benedek had 39,000 men and 80 guns and was repeatedly attacked by a Sardinian force of 22,000 men with 48 guns. The Austrians were able to ward off three Sardinian attacks, inflicting heavy losses upon the attackers; at the end of day Benedek was ordered to retreat with the rest of the Austrian army, but ignored the order and kept resisting.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] At 20:00 a fourth Sardinian assault finally captured the contested hills, and Benedek withdrew. The main Sardinian contribution in the overall battle consisted in keeping Benedek's corps deeply engaged throughout the day and preventing the sending of two brigades as reinforcement to the force attacked by the French in Solferino. The battle was a particularly gruelling one, lasting over nine hours and resulting in over 2,386 Austrian troops killed with 10,807 wounded and 8,638 missing or captured.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] The Allied armies also suffered a total of 2,492 killed, 12,512 wounded and 2,922 captured or missing. Reports of wounded and dying soldiers being shot or bayonetted on both sides added to the horror. In the end, the Austrian forces were forced to yield their positions, and the Allied French-Piedmontese armies won a tactical, but costly, victory. The Austrians retreated to the four fortresses of the Quadrilateral, and the campaign essentially ended.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] Napoleon III was moved by the losses, as he had argued back in 1852 "the French Empire is peace", and for reasons including the Prussian threat and domestic protests by the Roman Catholics, he decided to put an end to the war with the Armistice of Villafranca on 11 July 1859. The Piedmontese won Lombardy but not Venetia. Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour, resigned. The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] This battle would have a long-term effect on the future conduct of military actions. Jean-Henri Dunant, who witnessed the aftermath of the battle in person, was motivated by the horrific suffering of wounded soldiers left on the battlefield to begin a campaign that would eventually result in the Geneva Conventions and the establishment of the International Red Cross. The Movement organized the 150th anniversary commemoration of the battle between the 23 and 27 June 2009.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] The Presidency of the European Union adopted a declaration on the occasion stating that "This battle was also the grounds on which the international community of States has developed and adopted instruments of International Humanitarian Law, the international law rules relevant in times of armed conflict, in particular the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, the 60th anniversary of which will be celebrated this year." The area contains a number of memorials to the events surrounding the battles.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] There is a circular tower, Tower of San Martino della Battaglia, dominating the area, a memorial to Victor Emmanuel II. It is 70 m high and was built in 1893. In the town there is a museum, with uniforms and weapons of the time, and an ossuary chapel. At Solferino there is also a museum, displaying arms and mementos of the time, and an ossuary, containing the bones of thousands of victims.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] Nearby Castiglione delle Stiviere, where many of the wounded were taken after the battle, is the site of the museum of the International Red Cross, focusing on the events that led to the formation of that organization. Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem "The Forced Recruit at Solferino" commemorates this battle (Last Poems 1862). Joseph Roth's 1932 novel "Radetzky March" opens at the Battle of Solferino. There, the father of the novel's Trotta dynasty is immortalized as the Hero of Solferino.

Battle of Solferino [SEP] The Battle of Solferino was depicted also in a 2006 television drama "Henry Dunant: Du rouge sur la croix" (English title: "Henry Dunant: Red on the Cross"), which tells the story of the signing of the Geneva Conventions and the founding of the Red Cross.

Battle of Turckheim [SEP] The Battle of Turckheim was a battle during the Franco-Dutch War that occurred on 5 January 1675 between the towns of Colmar and Turckheim in Alsace. The French army, commanded by the Viscount of Turenne, fought against the armies of Austria and Brandenburg, led by Alexander von Bournonville and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg. The aggressive campaign of Louis XIV against the Netherlands, since 1672, had provoked a hostile reaction of other European states like Austria (who controlled the Holy Roman Empire) and Brandenburg.

Battle of Turckheim [SEP] Their intervention had brought the war into the upper Rhine, creating a threat to French territory. In 1674 Marshal Turenne, French commander in that sector, failed to prevent the invasion of Alsace by a part of the imperial army. With the arrival of year's end in 1674, the Imperials went into their winter quarters in the region of Colmar, a few miles south of the French winter barracks, situated in Haguenau.

Battle of Turckheim [SEP] According to the conventions of war at the time, the military operations should have been halted during the winter until the return of the spring. Turenne, however, decided not to follow this custom. Using the Vosges mountains as a curtain of protection, he moved west and then south, reappearing in Belfort, south of his opponent, on 27 December 1674. Finding no resistance, he reached Mulhouse on the 29th. The highly surprised Imperials hastily fell back on Turckheim.

Battle of Turckheim [SEP] Turenne with 33,000 troops found the Imperial army very well positioned with 30,000 to 40,000 men under the command of Frederick William, the Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia, on the afternoon of 5 January 1675. However, the Imperial forces had not yet gelled completely so as to be ready for battle. The ensuing battle did not follow the standards of the 17th century. Marshal Turenne feigned an attack from the center and then another from his right.

Battle of Turckheim [SEP] With Imperial eyes riveted on these two parts of the front, Turenne led a third of his army on a march around to his left flank. Their movement skirted the mountains and was hidden from view of the enemy because of the terrain. Turenne captured the small village of Turckheim. Frederick William attempted to retake the town but he was defeated by heavy fire from French guns and an infantry charge. Turenne, then, fell against the extreme right of the enemy.

Battle of Turckheim [SEP] The speed of the attack (which was not preceded by artillery fire) and the numerical superiority concentrated on a single point, disrupted and demoralized the defenders, putting them to flight after suffering 3,400 casualties, retreating to avoid further casualties. Now, with their winter quarters threatened, Frederick William of Brandenburg's army was forced to leave Alsace, and sought the safety of Strasbourg where the army in the following week crossed the Rhine River, back onto the right bank into present-day Germany.

Battle of Turckheim [SEP] This brief and but famous winter campaign by Marshal Turenne is considered one of the brightest of the 17th century. Here the Vicomte de Turenne, through two indirect maneuvers (one strategic and one tactical) saved France from invasion, suffering only negligible casualties.

Algeria [SEP] Algeria ( ; , ; ), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (, ), is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. The capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north of the country on the Mediterranean coast. With an area of , Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, the world's largest Arab country, and the largest in Africa.

Algeria [SEP] Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the west by Morocco, to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory, Mauritania, and Mali, to the southeast by Niger, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes (counties). It has the highest human development index of all non-island African countries.

Algeria [SEP] Ancient Algeria has known many empires and dynasties, including ancient Numidians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Umayyads, Abbasids, Idrisid, Aghlabid, Rustamid, Fatimids, Zirid, Hammadids, Almoravids, Almohads, Spaniards, Ottomans and the French colonial empire. Berbers are the indigenous inhabitants of Algeria. Algeria is a regional and middle power. It supplies large amounts of natural gas to Europe, and energy exports are the backbone of the economy.

Algeria [SEP] According to OPEC Algeria has the 16th largest oil reserves in the world and the second largest in Africa, while it has the 9th largest reserves of natural gas. Sonatrach, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa. Algeria has one of the largest militaries in Africa and the largest defence budget on the continent; most of Algeria's weapons are imported from Russia, with whom they are a close ally.

Algeria [SEP] Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC, the United Nations and is a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union. On 2 April 2019, president Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned after nearly 20 years in power, following pressure from mass protests against a fifth term. The country's name derives from the city of Algiers.

Algeria [SEP] The city's name in turn derives from the Arabic (, "The Islands"), a truncated form of the older (, "Islands of the Mazghanna Tribe"), employed by medieval geographers such as al-Idrisi. In the region of Ain Hanech (Saïda Province), early remnants (200,000 BC) of hominid occupation in North Africa were found. Neanderthal tool makers produced hand axes in the Levalloisian and Mousterian styles (43,000 BC) similar to those in the Levant.

Algeria [SEP] Algeria was the site of the highest state of development of Middle Paleolithic Flake tool techniques. Tools of this era, starting about 30,000 BC, are called Aterian (after the archeological site of Bir el Ater, south of Tebessa). The earliest blade industries in North Africa are called Iberomaurusian (located mainly in the Oran region). This industry appears to have spread throughout the coastal regions of the Maghreb between 15,000 and 10,000 BC.

Algeria [SEP] Neolithic civilization (animal domestication and agriculture) developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean Maghreb perhaps as early as 11,000 BC or as late as between 6000 and 2000 BC. This life, richly depicted in the Tassili n'Ajjer paintings, predominated in Algeria until the classical period. The mixture of peoples of North Africa coalesced eventually into a distinct native population that came to be called Berbers, who are the indigenous peoples of northern Africa.

Algeria [SEP] From their principal center of power at Carthage, the Carthaginians expanded and established small settlements along the North African coast; by 600 BC, a Phoenician presence existed at Tipasa, east of Cherchell, Hippo Regius (modern Annaba) and Rusicade (modern Skikda). These settlements served as market towns as well as anchorages. As Carthaginian power grew, its impact on the indigenous population increased dramatically. Berber civilization was already at a stage in which agriculture, manufacturing, trade, and political organization supported several states.

Algeria [SEP] Trade links between Carthage and the Berbers in the interior grew, but territorial expansion also resulted in the enslavement or military recruitment of some Berbers and in the extraction of tribute from others. By the early 4th century BC, Berbers formed the single largest element of the Carthaginian army. In the Revolt of the Mercenaries, Berber soldiers rebelled from 241 to 238 BC after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War.

Algeria [SEP] They succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthage's North African territory, and they minted coins bearing the name Libyan, used in Greek to describe natives of North Africa. The Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by the Romans in the Punic Wars. In 146 BC the city of Carthage was destroyed. As Carthaginian power waned, the influence of Berber leaders in the hinterland grew. By the 2nd century BC, several large but loosely administered Berber kingdoms had emerged.

Algeria [SEP] Two of them were established in Numidia, behind the coastal areas controlled by Carthage. West of Numidia lay Mauretania, which extended across the Moulouya River in modern-day Morocco to the Atlantic Ocean. The high point of Berber civilization, unequaled until the coming of the Almohads and Almoravids more than a millennium later, was reached during the reign of Masinissa in the 2nd century BC. After Masinissa's death in 148 BC, the Berber kingdoms were divided and reunited several times.

Algeria [SEP] Masinissa's line survived until 24 AD, when the remaining Berber territory was annexed to the Roman Empire. For several centuries Algeria was ruled by the Romans, who founded many colonies in the region. Like the rest of North Africa, Algeria was one of the breadbaskets of the empire, exporting cereals and other agricultural products. Saint Augustine was the bishop of Hippo Regius (modern-day Algeria), located in the Roman province of Africa.

Algeria [SEP] The Germanic Vandals of Geiseric moved into North Africa in 429, and by 435 controlled coastal Numidia. They did not make any significant settlement on the land, as they were harassed by local tribes. In fact, by the time the Byzantines arrived Leptis Magna was abandoned and the Msellata region was occupied by the indigenous Laguatan who had been busy facilitating an Amazigh political, military and cultural revival. After negligible resistance from the locals, Muslim Arabs of the Umayyad Caliphate conquered Algeria in the early 8th century.

Algeria [SEP] Large numbers of the indigenous Berber people converted to Islam. Christians, Berber and Latin speakers remained in the great majority in Tunisia until the end of the 9th century and Muslims only became a vast majority some time in the 10th. After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate, numerous local dynasties emerged, including the Aghlabids, Almohads, Abdalwadid, Zirids, Rustamids, Hammadids, Almoravids and the Fatimids. The Christians left in three waves: after the initial conquest, in the 10th century and the 11th.

Algeria [SEP] The last were evacuated to Sicily by the Normans and the few remaining died out in the 14th century. During the Middle Ages, North Africa was home to many great scholars, saints and sovereigns including Judah Ibn Quraysh, the first grammarian to mention Semitic and Berber languages, the great Sufi masters Sidi Boumediene (Abu Madyan) and Sidi El Houari, and the Emirs Abd Al Mu'min and Yāghmūrasen. It was during this time that the Fatimids or children of Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, came to the Maghreb.

Algeria [SEP] These "Fatimids" went on to found a long lasting dynasty stretching across the Maghreb, Hejaz and the Levant, boasting a secular inner government, as well as a powerful army and navy, made up primarily of Arabs and Levantines extending from Algeria to their capital state of Cairo. The Fatimid caliphate began to collapse when its governors the Zirids seceded. In order to punish them the Fatimids sent the Arab Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym against them. The resultant war is recounted in the epic Tāghribāt.

Algeria [SEP] In Al-Tāghrībāt the Amazigh Zirid Hero Khālīfā Al-Zānatī asks daily, for duels, to defeat the Hilalan hero Ābu Zayd al-Hilalī and many other Arab knights in a string of victories. The Zirids, however, were ultimately defeated ushering in an adoption of Arab customs and culture. The indigenous Amazigh tribes, however, remained largely independent, and depending on tribe, location and time controlled varying parts of the Maghreb, at times unifying it (as under the Fatimids).

Algeria [SEP] The Fatimid Islamic state, also known as Fatimid Caliphate made an Islamic empire that included North Africa, Sicily, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, the Red Sea coast of Africa, Tihamah, Hejaz and Yemen. Caliphates from Northern Africa traded with the other empires of their time, as well as forming part of a confederated support and trade network with other Islamic states during the Islamic Era. The Amazighs historically consisted of several tribes.

Algeria [SEP] The two main branches were the Botr and Barnès tribes, who were divided into tribes, and again into sub-tribes. Each region of the Maghreb contained several tribes (for example, Sanhadja, Houara, Zenata, Masmouda, Kutama, Awarba, and Berghwata). All these tribes made independent territorial decisions. Several Amazigh dynasties emerged during the Middle Ages in the Maghreb and other nearby lands.

Algeria [SEP] Ibn Khaldun provides a table summarising the Amazigh dynasties of the Maghreb region, the Zirid, Banu Ifran, Maghrawa, Almoravid, Hammadid, Almohad, Merinid, Abdalwadid, Wattasid, Meknassa and Hafsid dynasties. There reigned in Ifriqiya, current Tunisia, a Berber family, Zirid, somehow recognising the suzerainty of the Fatimid caliph of Cairo. Probably in 1048, the Zirid ruler or viceroy, el-Mu'izz, decided to end this suzerainty.

Algeria [SEP] The Fatimid state was too weak to attempt a punitive expedition; The Viceroy, el-Mu'izz, also found another means of revenge. Between the Nile and the Red Sea were living Bedouin tribes expelled from Arabia for their disruption and turbulent influence, both Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym among others, whose presence disrupted farmers in the Nile Valley since the nomads would often loot. The then Fatimid vizier devised to relinquish control of the Maghreb and obtained the agreement of his sovereign.

Algeria [SEP] This not only prompted the Bedouins to leave, but the Fatimid treasury even gave them a light expatriation cash allowance. Whole tribes set off with women, children, ancestors, animals and camping equipment. Some stopped on the way, especially in Cyrenaica, where they are still one of the essential elements of the settlement but most arrived in Ifriqiya by the Gabes region.

Algeria [SEP] The Zirid ruler tried to stop this rising tide, but with each encounter, the last under the walls of Kairouan, his troops were defeated and the Arabs remained masters of the field. The flood was still rising, and in 1057, the Arabs spread on the high plains of Constantine where they gradually choked Qalaa of Banu Hammad, as they had done in Kairouan a few decades ago. From there they gradually gained the upper Algiers and Oran plains.

Algeria [SEP] Some were forcibly taken by the Almohads in the second half of the 12th century. We can say that in the 13th century the Arabs were in all of North Africa, with the exception of the main mountain ranges and certain coastal regions which remained entirely Berber. The influx of Bedouin tribes was a major factor in the linguistic, cultural Arabization of the Maghreb and in the spread of nomadism in areas where agriculture had previously been dominant. Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal tribes had become completely arid desert.

Algeria [SEP] In the early 16th century, Spain constructed fortified outposts (presidios) on or near the Algerian coast. Spain took control of few coastal towns like Mers el Kebir in 1505; Oran in 1509; and Tlemcen, Mostaganem and Ténès in 1510. In the same year, a few merchants of Algiers ceded one of the rocky islets in their harbour to Spain, which built a fort on it.

Algeria [SEP] The presidios in North Africa turned out to be a costly and largely ineffective military endeavour that did not guarantee access for Spain's merchant fleet. The region of Algeria was partially ruled by Ottomans for three centuries from 1516 to 1830. In 1516 the Turkish privateer brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Barbarossa, who operated successfully under the Hafsids, moved their base of operations to Algiers.

Algeria [SEP] They succeeded in conquering Jijel and Algiers from the Spaniards but eventually assumed control over the city and the surrounding region, forcing the previous ruler, Abu Hamo Musa III of the "Bani Ziyad" dynasty, to flee. When Aruj was killed in 1518 during his invasion of Tlemcen, Hayreddin succeeded him as military commander of Algiers. The Ottoman sultan gave him the title of beylerbey and a contingent of some 2,000 janissaries.