German cruiser Emden

Emden was a light cruiser built for the German Navy ("Reichsmarine") in the early 1920s. She was the only ship of her class and was the first large warship built in Germany after the end of World War I. She was built at the "Reichsmarinewerft" in Wilhelmshaven; her keel was laid down in December 1921 and her completed hull was launched in January 1925. "Emden" was commissioned into the fleet in October 1925. Her design was heavily informed by the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and the dictates of the Allied disarmament commission. Displacement was capped at , though like all German warships built in the period, "Emden" exceeded the size limitations. She was armed with a main battery of surplus guns left over from World War I, mounted in single gun turrets, as mandated by the Allied powers. She had a top speed of .
"Emden" spent the majority of her career as a training ship; in the inter-war period, she conducted several world cruises to train naval cadets, frequently visiting East Asia, the Americas, and the Indian Ocean region. In 1937 and 1938, she briefly participated in the non-intervention patrols during the Spanish Civil War. At the outbreak of war, she laid minefields off the German coast and was damaged by a British bomber that crashed into her. She participated in the invasion of Norway in April 1940 as part of the force that captured the Norwegian capital at Oslo.
The ship thereafter resumed training duties in the Baltic Sea. These lasted with minor interruptions until September 1941, when she was assigned to the Baltic Fleet and tasked with supporting German operations during the invasion of the Soviet Union. Training duties resumed in 1942 and lasted until late 1944, when she took part in minelaying operations in the Skagerrak. Damaged in a grounding accident in December 1944, she went to Königsberg for repairs. In January 1945, she participated in the evacuation of East Prussia to escape the advancing Soviet Army. While undergoing repairs in Kiel, "Emden" was repeatedly damaged by British bombers and later run aground outside the harbor to prevent her from sinking. In the final days of the war, she was blown up to prevent her capture. The wreck was ultimately broken up in place by 1950.
Design.
According to Article 181 of the Treaty of Versailles, the treaty that ended World War I, the German Navy was permitted only six light cruisers. Article 190 limited new cruiser designs to and prohibited new construction until the vessel to be replaced was at least twenty years old. Since the six cruisers that German retained had been launched between 1899 and 1902, the oldest ships—, , , , and —could be replaced immediately. Design work on the first new light cruiser, ordered as "Ersatz Niobe", began in 1921.
The Navy hoped to finish the ship as quickly as possible and to keep costs to a minimum, and so requested permission from the Naval Inter-Allied Commission of Control to use steam turbines, boilers, and conning towers from scrapped vessels to complete "Ersatz Niobe". The NIACC rejected the request. The Navy also hoped to use an armament of four twin-gun turrets for the new ship. The NIACC rejected the twin-turret design, but allowed the use of guns from existing stocks of spare barrels. Nominally within the 6,000-ton limit of the Versailles Treaty, "Emden" in fact exceeded the restriction by almost fully loaded. In 1923, after work on "Emden" had already begun, the Germans proposed using the definition for standard displacement adopted in the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which was significantly less than full-load displacement. The Allied powers approved of the change, and thus "Emden", which had a standard displacement of just under the 6,000-ton limit, was retroactively made legal.
The ship was based on the blueprints from the late-war cruiser , primarily due to personnel shortages in the design staff and the closure of the Navy's Ship Testing Institute, and the blueprints for "Karlsruhe" were still available. Completed to a dated design, she proved to be something of a disappointment in service, primarily owing to her weak broadside of just six 15 cm guns. Nevertheless, the ship incorporated major advances over the earlier designs, including large-scale use of welding in her construction and a significantly more efficient propulsion system that gave her a cruising radius fifty percent larger than that of the older ships, which proved to be quite useful on the extended training cruises of the 1920s and 1930s.
General characteristics.
"Emden" was long at the waterline and long overall. She had a beam of and a designed draft of ; at standard load, the draft was , and at combat load the draft increased to . Her designed displacement was , with standard and combat displacements. Her hull was constructed with longitudinal steel frames and incorporated seventeen watertight compartments and a double bottom that extended for 56 percent of the length of the keel. She had a waterline armored belt that was thick; her armored deck was thick, and her conning tower had thick sides.
The ship had a standard crew of nineteen officers and 464 enlisted men. While serving on cadet training cruises, her crew numbered twenty-nine officers and 445 enlisted, with 162 cadets. After 1940, her standard crew was increased to twenty-six officers and 556 enlisted, and after being reduced to a training ship, her crew numbered thirty officers and 653 enlisted men. "Emden" carried six boats. The German Navy regarded the ship as a good sea boat, with slight lee helm and gentle motion in a swell. The cruiser was maneuverable, but was slow going into a turn. Steering was controlled by a single large rudder. She lost speed only slightly in a head sea, but lost up to sixty percent in hard turns. She had a metacentric height of .
Machinery.
"Emden" was powered by two sets of Brown, Boveri & Co. geared steam turbines; they drove a pair of three-bladed screws that were in diameter. Steam was provided by four coal-fired Marine-type water-tube boilers and six oil-fired Marine water-tube boilers divided into four boiler rooms. The engines were rated at and a top speed of . On speed trials, her engines reached and a maximum of . The ship was designed to carry of coal, though additional space could accommodate up to . Oil capacity was as designed, and up to in additional fuel bunkers. This gave the ship a cruising radius of at . At , her range fell to . Electrical power was supplied by two systems of three generators each, with a total combined output of at 220 Volts.
Armament.
The ship's main battery was to have been eight 15 cm SK L/55 guns in twin turrets, but the Allied disarmament authority refused to permit this armament. Instead, she was equipped with existing stocks of 15 cm SK L/45 guns in single turrets. The guns were C/16 models; they fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of . They could elevate to 40 degrees and had a maximum range of . The eight guns were supplied with a total of 960 rounds of ammunition. "Emden" was also equipped with two 8.8 cm SK L/45 anti-aircraft guns, and a third was later added. These guns had between 900 and 1,200 rounds of ammunition in total. As designed, she was to have carried eight deck-mounted torpedo tubes in dual launchers, but only four tubes were fitted as built. In 1934, these were replaced with more powerful tubes. The ship carried twelve torpedoes.
In 1938, the ship's anti-aircraft battery was strengthened. She received two and later four 3.7 cm SK C/30 guns and up to eighteen 2 cm Flak guns. The capacity to carry 120 mines was also added. In 1942, two of the four torpedo launchers were removed, and she was rearmed with a new model of 15 cm gun. This gun was the Tbts KC/36 model, and was designed for use on destroyers. It fired a slightly smaller shell at a higher muzzle velocity—. The gun could elevate to 47 degrees for a maximum range of . By 1945, the ship's anti-aircraft battery consisted of nine 3.7 cm guns and six 2 cm guns.
Service history.
Construction – 1931.
"Emden" was laid down at the "Reichsmarinewerft" shipyard in Wilhelmshaven on 8 December 1921. Political instability and Germany's financial weakness in the early 1920s delayed construction of the ship, and she was launched on 7 January 1925. Admiral Hans Zenker gave a speech at her launching, and the ship was christened by the widow of Karl von Müller, who had commanded the original during World War I. The new cruiser was commissioned into the fleet nine months later, on 15 October 1925. Intended for use as a training ship for naval cadets, "Emden" was assigned to the "Marinestation der Nordsee" (North Sea Naval Station); she began sea trials after entering service, and these were interrupted with alterations in the "Reichsmarinewerft" that included a reconstruction of the battle mast. After these were completed in 1926, she conducted individual training and made numerous visits to foreign ports in northern European waters. In August and September 1926, she took part in annual fleet maneuvers, and in October she returned to the shipyard again to have her aft funnel increased in height to match the forward one. "Emden" was at that time allocated to the Training Inspectorate of the Navy.
"Emden" embarked on her first long-range training cruise on 14 November 1926 from Wilhelmshaven. The ship traveled to south around Africa and across the Indian Ocean, where she stopped in the Cocos Islands, where the wreck of the original "Emden" was still present. The crew held a memorial service there on 15 March 1927 before continuing on to East Asian waters. She visited ports in Japan before crossing the northern Pacific Ocean to Alaska and then steamed down the western coast of North America, calling in various harbors along the way. "Emden" continued south through Central and South American waters, crossing into the Atlantic Ocean and turning north; the ship was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 25 December. She returned to Germany by way of the Azores and Vilagarcía, Spain, arriving in Wilhelmhaven on 14 March 1928.
The ship spent much of the rest of the year preparing for the next major cruise, which began on 5 December. By this time, the ship had come under the command of "Korvettenkapitän" (Corvette Captain) Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, who had come aboard in September. The ship steamed down to the Mediterranean Sea and stopped in Istanbul, Turkey, before traveling south through the Suez Canal, across the Indian Ocean to the Dutch East Indies, and then to Australia. "Emden" then crossed the Pacific to Hawaii before proceeding to the west coast of the United States. She then steamed south to the Panama Canal, which she transited to the Caribbean Sea. The ship then crossed to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands before returning to Wilhelmshaven, which she reached on 13 December 1929.
On 13 January 1930, "Emden" left Wilhelmshaven on her third voyage abroad. She steamed into the Atlantic and stopped in Madeira before crossing over to tour several ports in the Caribbean, including Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, New Orleans and Charleston in the US, Kingston, Jamaica, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The ship recrossed the Atlantic, stopping in Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the way, before arriving back in Wilhelmshaven on 13 May 1930. There, she went into the shipyard for an extensive overhaul. In October, "Fregattenkapitän" ("FK"—Frigate Captain) Robert Witthoeft-Emden took command of the ship.
"Emden" embarked on her next overseas cruise on 1 December. The ship initially cruised to Vigo, Spain before entering the Mediterranean. She stopped in Souda Bay, Crete and then transited the Suez Canal, stopping in Aden, Cochin, Colombo, Trincomalee, Port Blair as she crossed the Indian Ocean to Sabang in the Dutch East Indies. "Emden" then visited numerous ports in Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and the Pacific, including Bangkok, Victoria, Labuan, Manila, Nanking, Shanghai, Nagasaki, Osaka, Nii-jima, Tsuruga, Hakodate, Otaru, Yokohama, and Guam. "Emden" then crossed back through the Indian Ocean, stopping in Mauritius before arriving in South Africa; there, she stopped in Durban and East London, where a group of the ship's officers went to Johannesburg; there, they were received by J. B. M. Hertzog, the Prime Minister of South Africa. On the way back to Germany, the ship stopped in Lobito and Luanda in Portuguese Angola, Las Palmas, and Santander, Spain. She reached Wilhelmshaven on 8 December 1931.
1932–1939.
On 1 January 1932, "Emden", under the command of "FK" Werner Grassmann, was transferred from the Training Inspectorate to the Commander of Reconnaissance Forces, "Konteradmiral" (Rear Admiral) Conrad Albrecht. During this period, the ship took part in training exercises with the fleet's scouting forces, including the annual fleet maneuvers in August and September. She also participated in a fleet training cruise into the Atlantic, during which she visited Funchal and Las Palmas with the light cruiser . "Emden" was decommissioned on 1 April 1933 for an extensive refit that involved the replacement of her four coal-fired boilers with oil-fired models. Both funnels were shorted by approximately and gaffs for the wireless transmitters were installed on the aft funnel. On returning to service on 29 September 1934, "FK" Karl Dönitz, the future commander of the Kriegsmarine, took command of the ship. At this time, she returned to the Training Inspectorate and resumed long-range cruises. The first such voyage began on 10 November, and included stops in Santa Cruz de La Palma, Cape Town and East London, Porto Amelia in Portuguese Mozambique, Mombasa, Kenya, Victoria, Seychelles, Trincomalee, and Cochin. On the way back home, she entered the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal and visited Alexandria, Cartagena, Ponta Delgada, Lisbon, and Vigo, before anchoring in the Schillig roadstead outside Wilhelmshaven on 12 June 1935.
"Emden" started her sixth major training cruise on 23 October, under the command of "Kapitän zur See" ("KzS"—Captain at Sea) Johannes Bachmann, which went to the Americas. She crossed the Atlantic by way of the Azores, toured the West Indies and visited Venezuela, before passing through the Panama Canal to Guayaquil, Ecuador on 25 December. She then steamed north to Puerto San José, Guatemala before continuing on to Portland, Oregon and then crossing over to Hawaii. From there, she returned to Central America, crossed back through the Panama Canal, visited more islands in the West Indies, and then cruised the eastern coast of North America, stopping in Baltimore and Montreal. The ship then recrossed the Atlantic to Pontevedra, Spain and returned to Germany, arriving on 11 June 1936. In August, Bachmann was replaced by "KzS" Walter Lohmann. The next major training cruise began on 10 October; "Emden" steamed to the Mediterranean Sea and visited Cagliari on the island of Sardinia, and passed through the Dardanelles to Istanbul, and continued on through the Bosporus to the Black Sea. There, she stopped in Varna, Bulgaria, before returning to the Mediterranean and steaming through the Suez Canal. The ship stopped in British Ceylon on her way to East Asia, where she visited ports in Thailand, China, and Japan. On the way back to Germany, she stopped in Padang in the Dutch East Indies and Bombay, India. Another trip through the Suez Canal brought the ship back to the Mediterranean; she stopped in Algeciras, Spain on 15 April 1937, passed through the English Channel three days later, and reached Voslapp, Germany on the 19th. The ship finally returned to Wilhelmshaven on 23 April.
On 11 October 1937, "Emden" began her eighth major cruise, departing Wilhelmshaven for the Mediterranean under the command of "FK" Leopold Bürkner. There, she joined the German naval forces that had been sent to the non-intervention patrols enforcing the arms embargo on Spain during the Spanish Civil War. "Emden" remained here for only a few days, from 16 to 18 October, before continuing on through the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean. There, she stopped in a variety of foreign ports, including Massawa in Italian Eritrea, Colombo in British Ceylon, Mormugao, India, and Belawan and Surabaya in the Dutch East Indies. On her return to the Mediterranean, she briefly rejoined the non-intervention patrols off the Spanish coast from 14 to 21 March 1938. She then continued on to Amsterdam and ultimately arrived back in Wilhelmshaven on 23 April.
In June, "KzS" Paul Wever relieved Bürkner in preparation for the next major cruise, which began on 26 July. "Emden" steamed north to Norway, then crossed the North Atlantic to Iceland, stopping in Reykjavik before turning south to the Azores and Bermuda. There, she stopped in Hamilton from 30 August to 3 September; the visit proved to be an unfriendly one, as international opinion had turned decidedly against Nazi Germany during the Sudeten crisis. Indeed, a planned visit to Havana, Cuba was cancelled and "Emden" was recalled to Germany. She stopped in Funchal from 10 to 15 September on the way back to Wilhelmshaven, though before she arrived the Munich Agreement that ended the crisis had been signed, and so international tensions decreased enough to allow "Emden" to continue the training cruise. The ship turned south and entered the Mediterranean and later the Black Sea. She was present in Istanbul from 19 to 23 October, when the funeral for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first president of Turkey, was held. "Emden" returned to Germany by way of Rhodes and Vigo, arriving in Wilhelmshaven on 16 December. From 29 March to 15 April 1939, "Emden" was used as a fishery protection ship. During this period, she visited Reykjavik. In May, Wever left the ship and his place was taken by "KzS" Werner Lange.
World War II.
After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, "Emden" took part in laying a defensive minefield off the German coast in the North Sea on 3 September, along with several light cruisers and destroyers. The barrier stretched across the German Bight from the coast of the Netherlands to the Jutland peninsula; the purpose of the minefield was to secure the seaward flank of the "Westwall". She conducted the operation with the other light cruisers "Nürnberg", "Leipzig", "Köln", and "Königsberg" and sixteen destroyers. After laying her first set of mines, she returned to Wilhelmshaven to restock her mines. While "Emden" was moored in the harbor, a force of ten British Blenheim bombers attacked the port on 4 September; German anti-aircraft gunners in the city shot down four of the five bombers, one of which inadvertently crashed into the ship. Nine men from "Emden" were killed and another twenty were wounded in the crash; these were among the first casualties of the German fleet during the war. "Emden" then transferred to the Baltic, where she was assigned to commerce protection duties. She returned to Wilhelmshaven for periodic maintenance from 2 December to 3 January 1940, after which she resumed training duties. During the shipyard period, a degaussing coil was installed just above the waterline to protect the ship from magnetic mines and her anti-aircraft armament was strengthened. After the work was completed, "Emden" returned to training duties through the winter of 1939–1940.
Operation Weserübung.
As Germany assembled forces for the invasion of Norway, codenamed Operation Weserübung, "Emden" was allocated to Group 5, which was tasked with seizing Oslo. She joined the group as it began forming in Swinemünde on 12 March. The group consisted of the heavy cruiser , the flagship, the heavy cruiser "Lützow", three torpedo boats, and eight R-type minesweepers. On the night of 5 April, "Emden" and "Blücher" conducted searchlight training to prepare for night operations. The following day, "Emden" embarked 600 soldiers and their equipment in Swinemünde before proceeding to the collection point for the invasion fleet, Strander Bucht outside Kiel. At 03:00 on 8 April, Group 5 left Strander Bucht and steamed to the Oslofjord, where they arrived at midnight.
After reaching the approaches to the fjord, "Emden" transferred 350 of the men to the R-boats to allow them to go ashore. The element of surprise was lost, however, and on entering the narrows in the fjord, "Blücher" was engaged and sunk by Norwegian coastal defenses at Oscarsborg Fortress in the Battle of Drøbak Sound. "Lützow" was also damaged before the Germans broke off the attack. After the loss of "Blücher", "Emden" and "Lützow" disembarked their troops further down the fjord so they could attack the coastal defenses from the rear. Once the ground troops had begun their attack, "Emden" and "Lützow" closed with the Oscarborg fortress at 15:55 and began providing covering fire. The Germans then negotiated surrender terms with the other Norwegian forces later on 9 April. "Emden" entered the port on the morning of 10 April, thereafter serving as a joint communications center to coordinate Kriegsmarine, Wehrmacht, and Luftwaffe operations. She was relieved of this duty on 24 April, though she remained in Oslo until 7 June. During this period, "Großadmiral" (Grand Admiral) Erich Raeder visited the ship on 17 May. "Emden" arrived back in Swinemünde on 8 June, where she resumed training duties.
Baltic operations.
From 7 November to 15 February 1941, the ship was in dry dock for maintenance. In September, she was assigned to the Baltic Fleet, centered on the newly commissioned battleship ; the Baltic Fleet was tasked with preventing the Soviet Navy from breaking out of the Baltic. "Emden" and "Leipzig" were the core of the southern group, which was based in Libau. The fleet remained on station only briefly, and when it became clear that the Soviet fleet had remained in port, the German Baltic Fleet was dissolved. On 16 September, "Emden" was operating off Dagö with "Leipzig" and three torpedo boats; the ships came under fire from Soviet coastal batteries, but were undamaged. A group of four Soviet torpedo boats also made an unsuccessful attack on the German squadron. "Emden" again provided gunfire support to German troops fighting on the Sworbe Peninsula from 26 to 27 September. Later on the 27th, the ship was transferred to Gotenhafen. She was assigned to the newly formed Training Unit of the Fleet in November 1941, and she would remain attached to the unit for the rest of the war. From June to November 1942, the ship was thoroughly overhauled in Wilhelmshaven, before returning to Gotenhafen on 7 November. Raeder again came aboard the ship for the voyage back to Gotenhafen; this was his last visit to a warship before his resignation.
While on sea trials after the 1942 overhaul, "Emden" reached a speed of , significantly less than her original top speed. By that time, the ship had been in service for sixteen years and retained her original engines. Due for an engine replacement, the war situation prevented the work from being done and "Emden" soldiered on. The year 1943 passed uneventfully for "Emden", though she received a strengthened anti-aircraft battery that included and a pair of Bofors guns. The ship took part in a pair of minelaying operations in the Skagerrak in late 1944, the first from 19 to 21 September and the second from 5 to 6 October. The increasing frequency of Allied air attacks on the minelaying operations led to their cancellation in late October. For the rest of the year, she was occupied with escorting convoys in the Baltic. On 1 November 1944, "Emden" assisted the cruiser "Köln", which had run aground. "Emden" herself ran aground in the Oslofjord on 9 December, though she was refloated the following day. She left Oslo on 23 December and steamed to Königsberg for repairs, arriving two days later.
After entering the dry dock at the Schichau-Werke shipyard in Elbing, her guns were removed and repair work began at a leisurely rate. She was there, still awaiting the completion of repairs when the Soviet Army attacked the city in January 1945, and on 23 January the naval high command ordered all naval forces in the city to evacuate. "Emden" had her guns reinstalled and she embarked the remains of Paul von Hindenburg and his wife, which had been disinterred to prevent them from falling into the hands of the advancing Soviet Army. She carried them to Pillau, under tow from several icebreakers, where they were transferred to the transport ship . In Pillau, "Emden"s engines were put back in working order, though she was only able to use one of her propellers. "Emden" then steamed as fast as was possible to Kiel, where she arrived on 6 February. There, she went into drydock at the Deutsche Werke shipyard for repairs.
While in Deutsche Werke, "Emden" was under continuous air attacks. An air raid on 11 March set the forward deck and port side torpedo launchers on fire with incendiary bombs. Another attack on 3 April scored a direct hit on the ship's forward funnel, destroying it. On the night of 9–10 April, an Allied bombing raid severely damaged the ships in Kiel; the heavy cruisers and were both destroyed by bombs and "Emden" was slightly damaged by a near miss astern. Further, more serious damage was done on 13 April, and the next morning she was towed out into Heikendorfer Bucht. She had a 15 degree list to port, but the crew managed to stop the flooding and seal the hull. To prevent her from sinking, she was run aground in the shallows, and was decommissioned on 26 April 1945. To prevent her capture by the advancing Allied armies, her crew destroyed the ship with explosives on 3 May, five days before the end of World War II in Europe. The wreck was broken up for scrap "in situ" over the following five years. Her bow ornament is currently on display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.


902nd Military Intelligence Group (United States)

The 902nd Military Intelligence Group is a brigade-sized unit of the United States Army, under the command of the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command, and with an operational focus on counterintelligence. The unit is headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland.
The 902nd Military Intelligence Group conducts proactive counterintelligence activities to detect, identify, assess, and counter, neutralize or exploit foreign intelligence entities and insider threats in order to protect Army and designated Department of Defense forces, information and technologies worldwide.
The 902nd Military Intelligence Group provides direct and general counterintelligence support to Army activities and major commands. The group also provides general support to other military department counterintelligence and intelligence elements, unified commands, defense agencies and national agency counterintelligence and security activities and organizations.
Subordinate units of the 902nd Military Intelligence Group are as follows:
The 902nd MI GP was awarded the Army Superior Unit Award.


Governor-General of Malawi


Greek Volunteer Legion

The Greek Volunteer Legion () was a volunteer military corps formed by Greeks and other Balkan Christians that fought for the Russian Empire during the Crimean War. It was formed in the Danubian Principalities in March 1854, and some elements participated in the final engagements of the Danube theatre, before the Russian troops abandoned the Principalities. From there the Legion was sent to the Crimea, where it fought in the Siege of Sevastopol. In 1855 the Legion received the title Greek Legion of Emperor Nicholas I (). After the end of the siege, the bulk of the Legion was discharged, and the remainder of the unit was disbanded after the war's end in March 1856. Most of the volunteers returned to their homelands, although a few settled in Russia.
Background.
The outbreak of the Crimean War caused much enthusiasm among the Christian populations living under the Ottoman Empire. In the young Kingdom of Greece, it was considered as an opportunity for realizing the irredentist aspirations of the "Megali Idea", and the Greek government sponsored uprisings against Ottoman rule in Thessaly, Epirus, and Macedonia in early 1854. Badly organized and facing strong Ottoman forces, these uprisings were doomed to failure, particularly after Greece itself was forced to a strict neutrality in the conflict following the Anglo-French occupation of Piraeus.
Formation of the Greek Legion.
At the same time, volunteers from the Christian Balkan nations flocked to the Russian army that had entered the Danubian Principalities. This led the Russian commander, Prince Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov, to authorize the creation of a volunteer corps under Lieutenant General Salas in December 1853. Initially a battalion of four companies, this corps comprised volunteers from the Danubian Principalities, as well as Greeks, Serbs, and Bulgarians. To avoid ethnic tensions, the volunteers of each nation were assigned to a different company. By 19 February 1854, the corps numbered 859 volunteers: 502 Bulgarians, 257 Greeks, and the rest Wallachians. They were billeted in villages around Brăila, Focșani, and Galați.
By mid-March, the corps had grown to two battalions, one of which was Greek, and by May, Lieutenant General reported that the Greeks alone numbered 1097 men in ten companies, forming two battalions, with a third being created.
Moreover, it appears that there were two independent companies, under the priest Konstantinos Doukas (or "Papadoukas") and , who was one of the chief recruiters of the corps, and later wrote a two-volume "History of the Greek Legion" ("", Odessa 1887–88). Russian personnel attached to the Greek corps was limited to one field officer, two instructor-captains, 16 sergeants, and a small drum and bugle detachment.
The Greeks chose a variant of the traditional dress, as used by the Mountain Guard of the Greek kingdom—similar to that now worn by the Evzones of the Greek Presidential Guard—as their uniform. Various designs were made for specific rank insignia as well as seals for the legion, with designs depicting a phoenix, or a double-headed eagle, or a cross over a crescent. While some of the Greeks enlisted bringing their own weapons, the rest were outfitted by the Russians.
Based on the surviving member lists—written in French or Russian—of three companies, slightly over a quarter of the volunteers came from the independent Greek kingdom, with the rest from all corners of the Greek world, including Ottoman territories—particularly the areas of Epirus, Thessaly, and Macedonia—the Ionian Islands (then a British protectorate), and the Danubian Principalities. Several of the men of the Greek legion appear also to have been of Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Montenegrin, or Moldavian origin. Notably, about half of the volunteers were sailors or merchants, and only about one in ten had a military background.
Service history.
Danube front.
The Balkan volunteers were barely formed when the Russian army, under the threat of an Austrian attack, was forced to evacuate the Danubian Principalities in July 1854. According to the Russian historian E. Kovalesky, a small detachment of 25 local Greeks recruited by Chrysovergis is reported to have inflicted 78 casualties on a British landing detachment at Sulina in early June, before departing without losses. Chrysovergis, in his own account, places the incident against Cossacks fighting for the Ottomans. Some volunteers under Papadoukas also fought in the battle between Soymonov's troops and an Ottoman army at Giurgiu on 5–6 July. Finally, the 3rd company of the 2nd battalion (under Sterios Harisis) fought at the village of Cherna in October 1854, losing almost 100 of its men.
The retreat of the Russian forces north of the Danube reduced the usefulness of the various Balkan volunteers, and the costs of their upkeep led to suggestions of disbanding them and incorporating those who wished to stay on into regular Russian units. Indeed, most of the Moldavians and Wallachians left, and their two battalions were disbanded; but most of the two battalions of Bulgarians and Serbs stayed on, as did virtually all (1045 of 1079) of the Greeks.
Given the impossibility of the volunteers returning to their homelands under the conditions of war—especially as, unlike the Serbs and Bulgarians, most of the Greek volunteers had come by sea rather than overland—their inability to survive otherwise in a foreign and largely hostile country, and their potential usefulness against a feared Austrian attack, it was decided to retain the volunteers' services at reduced pay. Furthermore, the volunteer battalions were disbanded and their individual companies attached to Russian units. At least some of the Greeks were discharged, for by September only 672 men are recorded on the rolls; the battalions were broken up into six companies, which were then attached to the regiments of the 5th Infantry Division: Stamatis Karamadis' company to the ; Nikolaos Karaiskos' to the ; Dimitrios Tandalidis' to the ; and Sterios Harisis' and Aristeidis Chrysovergis' companies (later amalgamated to a single company under Chrysovergis) to the . Papadoukas' company was attached to the 5th Division's Rifles battalion.
Nevertheless, the Russian commanders were still seeking for a suitable employment for the volunteers, especially as their lack of discipline often forced the regular Russian troops to intervene to maintain order among them. Gorchakov again dismissed suggestions that they be disbanded, but stressed that his decision was mainly to ensure that they would not starve to death.
Crimea and Sevastopol.
At this point, the thoughts of both the Russian command and the Greek volunteers increasingly turned to the Crimea, where British, French, and Ottoman forces had landed. Already in September, Emperor Nicholas I of Russia suggested attaching them to the extant Greek Battalion of Balaklava, while the Greeks also sent a stream of letters to the Russian commanders pleading to be moved to Crimea and gainfully employed there. General Alexander von Lüders supported their wish, and suggested that after the end of the war, the Greeks might be settled in the Crimea. It appears that this suggestion found a favourable reception with the Emperor, since the Greeks could replace the Crimean Tatars who had surrendered to the allied forces.
On , the five companies of Greek volunteers, numbering 823 men, left Izmail for Odessa, where they arrived twelve days later. The Odessa Greek community collected funds for their upkeep, and the corps was reinforced with new recruits, in large part from those volunteers who had been discharged in 1854, but also with new arrivals. There were hopes that as many as 500–600 new recruits could be gathered, and Captain Antonios Gines was appointed as recruiting agent. Gines made his base at Kishinev, where he was to gather the recruits and, after careful selection, send them on to the Crimea in groups of sixty. The volunteers were to be promised the right to settle in the Crimea after the war.
In early February, the Greek Legion, some 700 strong, arrived at Eupatoria in the Crimea. At this time, a member of the princely Phanariote Mourouzis family who had followed the Russian withdrawal from Moldavia to Bessarabia, was appointed as commander of the Greek Legion. The Legion fought in the Battle of Eupatoria on 17 February, which ended in a Russian defeat, the Greeks suffering about sixty casualties. In the aftermath of the battle, the Legion was sent into Sevastopol to reinforce the garrison during the siege of the city. They arrived in early March, with a complement of 823 men.
Prince , appointed the Legion's provisional commander until the arrival of Mourouzis, was dismayed at the disorderly picture the Legion presented: "There exists neither discipline nor any organization. The volunteers absent themselves from distant hospitals and arrive here without any document whatever; the other ranks do not obey the officers; the company commanders, of whom no responsibility is sought, are only in formal command of the companies". Urusov made recommendations for instilling discipline by means of a formal organization of the Legion; Mourouzis and the Sevastopol garrison's chief of staff, Prince were tasked with drawing up a draft. The attempts to regularize the Greek Legion included the insistence, by Mourouzis and many officers, that the Greeks abandon the "fustanella"-derived dress and adopt Russian uniform instead; a suggestion vehemently opposed by Chrysovergis. It was also recommended that the volunteers be rearmed; they were good marksmen, but armed mostly with flintlocks whose ammunition would be difficult to come by in the besieged city.
Following the death of Emperor Nicholas I on , the Legion received the name "Greek Legion of Emperor Nicholas I" (). The Greeks suffered in Sevastopol, especially from the typhus that broke out in February: of the 743 men on the lists in late March, almost 200 were hospitalized. According to Chrysovergis, 96 died of typhus. The hardships and disease, as well as the realization that the hoped-for liberation of the Balkans from Ottoman rule was receding into the distant future, also demoralized many volunteers; about a hundred resigned.
In early April, the Greeks were withdrawn from the city itself to the environs, where Prince Mourouzis tried to improve the corps' discipline and training, and give it a more regular character. The Legion was divided in two commands, one headed by Papadoukas and the other by Chrysovergis. In May, Chrysovergis with thirty men were again sent into Sevastopol, to replace a contingent of Plastuns. In an engagement against the French in July, Chrysovergis distinguished himself enough to be decorated and placed in charge of a part of the Russian line at Maly Kurgan.
Following the end of the siege and the Russian retreat, followed by the start of the diplomatic talks that ended the war, the Greek Legion was superfluous. In November, after another incident of unruliness in the corps, Mourouzis was replaced by Grigorios Kantakouzinos. Kantakouzinos again tried to impose discipline, and get the volunteers to accept the regulations. However, only 150 men under Papathanasopoulos—an officer held in high esteem by Chrysovergis, but completely unmentioned in the Russian sources—stayed on, while the rest refused to obey and were discharged. The former volunteers mostly headed for Bessarabia, where they tried to eke out an existence until the war's end. Although again they were helped by the Odessa Greek community, many of them were soon in dire straits. According to the historian Maria Todorova, "the files of the Russian war ministry are full of pleas by Greeks and Bulgarians from the beginning of 1856 who, left penniless, begged for a job or assistance".
Disbandment.
Following the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris on 30 March 1856, the rest of the Legion were discharged as well. The issue of their repatriation now became paramount: the men in Bessarabia were to assemble in Odessa, and those still in the Crimea at Sevastopol, for embarkation to Greece. Over 300 of them arrived at Piraeus in June, but the Greek government refused to admit them into the country, arguing that many were not actually Greek citizens, but most likely the refusal was the result of the ongoing Anglo-French occupation of Piraeus. Faced with these difficulties, in August Emperor Alexander II of Russia signed a decree allowing the volunteers to settle in Russia. The Russians knew, however, that most of the volunteers intended to return to their homelands in Ottoman territories, especially after the Treaty of Paris granted them amnesty. A few did however settle in Russia, mostly in the Greek colonies around Mariupol, but also in Odessa and Kishinev.
In total, more than 1200 volunteers served in the Legion. 730 of them received the medal , while 31 received the highest Russian military decoration, the Cross of St. George.
As early as 1864, a memorial was planned to be erected at Sevastopol commemorate the Greek volunteers, but it was not realized until 2016, as part of the "Russia year" in Greece, with funds from the Russian state, the Greek diaspora, and Sevastopol authorities.


Carthage Union order of battle

The following Union Army units and commanders fought in the Battle of Carthage of the American Civil War. The Confederate order of battle is listed separately.
Union Forces.
Col Franz Sigel


Task Force Delta

Task Force Delta is a generic military, or quasi-military (police, firefighters, etc), designation for a specific task force — a small temporary unit or detachment configured for a specific purpose or task. (A unit called “Task Force Delta” is often a part of a sequence of Task Forces Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, etc.)
Task Force Delta may refer to:


Demyansk Shield

Demyansk Shield () was a World War II German military decoration awarded to Wehrmacht personnel who fought in the Demyansk pocket on the Eastern Front in the early months of 1942. The pocket of German troops had been encircled and cut off by the Red Army around Demyansk (Demjansk), south of Leningrad, and was successfully defended with the aid of an airbridge. The shield was instituted on 25 April 1943 by Adolf Hitler and was not bestowed after 1 July 1944.
Design.
The shield was die-struck and produced in silver-washed zinc and later in plain zinc. It features at its apex an eagle with swooped down wings clutching a laurel wreath that surrounds a swastika. This is flanked by two log pillboxes with gun ports, with "DEMJANSK" in capitals below. The central portion of the shield features a head-on single engine aircraft behind two crossed swords and, at the base, the year "1942". Two minor variations of the aircraft's propeller exist with either a curved or straight propeller. The shield measures 51mm wide and 92mm in height.
It was affixed to the upper left sleeve of the uniform via a cloth that matched the colour of the uniform of the recipient:
Where the recipient received more than one campaign shield, the earlier was worn above any later awards.
After an initial ban, the Federal Republic of Germany re-authorised the wear of many World War II military decorations in 1957. These included the Demyansk Shield, re-designed by removing the eagle and swastika emblem at the top of the badge. Members of the Bundeswehr could wear the shield on the ribbon bar, represented by a small replica of the award on a field grey ribbon.
Criteria for award.
The qualifying period was 8 February to 21 April 1942. The requirement for ground units was honourable service in the besieged area for 60 days, or a shorter period if wounded. Luftwaffe personnel required 50 combat or re-supply missions over the besieged area.
Approximately 100,000 service personnel qualified for the shield, with up to five examples issued to each recipient, enabling them to be permanently attached to each tunic and greatcoat.


Songs for Justice

"Songs for Justice" is a charity compilation released by the non-profit company Rock For Justice, that fight against global poverty and social injustice, on 7 May 2013.
Background.
The album started to be recorded by the artists in March–April 2012 until the beginning of 2013. The compilation was released with partnering of Speak Up Productions. The projects that benefited from the proceeds were Invisible Children, Inc., the Give a Damn? and The Hunger Project.
List of bands names.
List of the bands included in the compilation


Rod Serling

Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series, "The Twilight Zone". Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen, and helped form television industry standards. He was known as the "angry young man" of Hollywood, clashing with television executives and sponsors over a wide range of issues including censorship, racism, and war.
Early life.
Serling was born on December 25, 1924, in Syracuse, New York, to a Jewish family. He was the second of two sons born to Esther (née Cooper, 1893–1958), a homemaker, and Samuel Lawrence Serling (1892–1945). Serling's father had worked as a secretary and amateur inventor before his children were born but took on his father-in-law's profession as a grocer to earn a steady income. Sam Serling later became a butcher after the Great Depression forced the store to close. Rod had an older brother, novelist and aviation writer Robert J. Serling.
Serling spent most of his youth south of Syracuse in Binghamton, New York after his family moved there in 1926. His parents encouraged his talents as a performer. Sam Serling built a small stage in the basement, where Rod often put on plays (with or without neighborhood children). His older brother, writer Robert, recalled that, at the age of six or seven, Rod entertained himself for hours by acting out dialogue from pulp magazines or movies he had seen. Rod would often ask questions without waiting for their answers. On a two-hour trip from Binghamton to Syracuse, the rest of the family remained silent to see if Rod would notice their lack of participation. He did not, and he talked nonstop through the entire car ride.
In elementary school, Serling was seen as the class clown and dismissed by many of his teachers as a lost cause. However, his seventh-grade English teacher, Helen Foley, encouraged him to enter the school's public speaking extracurriculars. He joined the debate team and was a speaker at his high school graduation. He began writing for the school newspaper, in which, according to the journalist Gordon Sander, he "established a reputation as a social activist".
He was interested in sports, and excelled at tennis and table tennis. When he attempted to join the varsity football team, he was told he was too small at tall.
Serling was interested in radio and writing at an early age. He was an avid radio listener, especially interested in thrillers, fantasy, and horror shows. Arch Oboler and Norman Corwin were two of his favorite writers. He also "did some staff work at a Binghamton radio station ... tried to write ... but never had anything published." He was accepted into college during his senior year of high school. However, the United States was involved in World War II at the time, and Serling decided to enlist rather than start college immediately after he graduated from Binghamton Central High School in 1943.
As editor of his high school newspaper, Serling encouraged his fellow students to support the war effort. He wanted to leave school before graduation to join the fight, but his civics teacher talked him into waiting for graduation. "War is a temporary thing," Gus Youngstrom told him. "It ends. Education doesn't. Without your degree, where will you be after the war?"
Military service.
Serling enlisted in the US Army the morning after high school graduation, following his brother Robert.
Serling began his military career in 1943 at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, under General Joseph May "Joe" Swing and Col. Orin D. "Hard Rock" Haugen and served in the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 11th Airborne Division. He eventually reached the rank of Technician Fourth Grade (T/4).
Over the next year of paratrooper training, Serling and others began boxing to vent aggression. He competed as a flyweight and had 17 bouts, rising to the second round of the division finals before being knocked out. He was remembered for Berserker style and for "getting his nose broken in his first bout and again in the last bout." He tried his hand at the Golden Gloves, with little success.
On April 25, 1944, Serling received his orders and saw that he was being sent west to California. He knew that he would be fighting against the Japanese rather than the Germans. This disappointed him because he had hoped to help fight Hitler. In May, he was assigned to the Pacific Theater in New Guinea and the Philippines.
In November 1944, his division first saw combat, landing in the Philippines. The 11th Airborne Division would not be used as paratroopers, however, but as light infantry during the Battle of Leyte. It helped mop up after the five divisions that had gone ashore earlier.
For a variety of reasons, Serling was transferred to the 511th's demolition platoon, nicknamed "The Death Squad" for its high casualty rate. According to Sergeant Frank Lewis, leader of the demolitions squad, "He screwed up somewhere along the line. Apparently he got on someone's nerves." Lewis also judged that Serling was not suited to be a field soldier: "he didn't have the wits or aggressiveness required for combat." At one point, Lewis, Serling, and others were in a firefight, trapped in a foxhole. As they waited for darkness, Lewis noticed that Serling had not reloaded any of his extra magazines. Serling sometimes went exploring on his own, against orders, and got lost.
Serling's time in Leyte shaped his writing and political views for the rest of his life. He saw death every day while in the Philippines, at the hands of his enemies and his allies, and through freak accidents such as that which killed another Jewish private, Melvin Levy. Levy was delivering a comic monologue for the platoon as they rested under a palm tree when a food crate was dropped from a plane above, decapitating him. Serling led the funeral services for Levy and placed a Star of David over his grave. Serling later set several of his scripts in the Philippines and used the unpredictability of death as a theme in much of his writing.
Serling returned from the successful mission in Leyte with two wounds, including one to his kneecap, but neither kept him from combat when General Douglas MacArthur deployed the paratroopers for their usual purpose on February 3, 1945. Colonel Haugen led the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment as it landed on Tagaytay Ridge, met the 188th Glider Infantry Regiment and marched into Manila. It met minimal resistance until it reached the city, where Vice Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi had arranged his 17,000 troops behind a maze of traps and guns and ordered them to fight to the death. During the next month, Serling's unit battled block by block for control of Manila.
When portions of the city were taken from Japanese control, local civilians sometimes showed their gratitude by throwing parties and hosting banquets. During one of these parties, Serling and his comrades were fired upon, resulting in many soldier and civilian deaths. Serling, still a private after three years, caught the attention of Sergeant Lewis when he ran into the line of fire to rescue a performer who had been on stage when the artillery started firing.
As it moved in on Iwabuchi's stronghold, Serling's regiment had a 50% casualty rate, with over 400 men killed. Serling was wounded and three comrades were killed by shrapnel from rounds fired at his roving demolition team by an antiaircraft gun. He was sent to New Guinea to recover but soon returned to Manila to finish "cleaning up".
Serling's final assignment was as part of the occupation force in Japan. During his military service, Private Serling was awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, and the Philippine Liberation Medal.
Serling's combat experience affected him deeply and influenced much of his writing. It left him with nightmares and flashbacks for the rest of his life. He said, "I was bitter about everything and at loose ends when I got out of the service. I think I turned to writing to get it off my chest."
Postwar life, education, and family.
After being discharged from the Army in 1946, Serling worked at a rehabilitation hospital while recovering from his wounds. His knee troubled him for years. Later, his wife, Carol, became accustomed to the sound of him falling down the stairs when his knee buckled under his weight.
When he was fit enough, he used the federal G.I. bill's educational benefits and disability payments to enroll in the physical education program at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He had been accepted to Antioch (his brother's "alma mater") while in high school. His interests led him to the theater department and then to broadcasting. He changed his major to Literature and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950. "I was kind of mixed up and restless, and I kind of liked their work-for-a-term, go-to-school-for-a-term set-up," he recounted.
As part of his studies, Serling became active in the campus radio station, an experience that proved useful in his future career. He wrote, directed, and acted in many radio programs on campus, then around the state, as part of his work study. Here he met Carolyn Louise "Carol" Kramer, a fellow student, who later became his wife. At first, she refused to date him because of his campus reputation as a "ladies' man", but she eventually changed her mind. He joined the Unitarian church in college, which allowed him to marry Kramer on July 31, 1948. They had two daughters, Jodi and Anne.
Carol Serling's maternal grandmother, Louise Taft Orton Caldwell, had a summer home on Cayuga Lake in Interlaken, New York, which was the honeymoon destination for the newlyweds. The Serling family continued to use this house annually throughout Rod's life, missing only two summers in the years when his daughters were born.
For extra money in his college years, Serling worked part-time testing parachutes for the United States Army Air Forces. According to his radio station coworkers, he received $50 for each successful jump and had once been paid $500 (half before and half if he survived) for a hazardous test. His last test jump was a few weeks before his wedding. In one instance, he earned $1,000 for testing a jet ejection seat that had killed the previous three testers.
Career.
Radio.
Serling volunteered at WNYC in New York as an actor and writer in the summer of 1946. The next year, he worked at that station as a paid intern in his Antioch work-study program. He then took odd jobs in other radio stations in New York and Ohio. "I learned 'time', writing for a medium that is measured in seconds," Serling later said of his early experiences.
While attending college, Serling worked at the Antioch Broadcasting System's radio workshop and was managing the station within a couple of years. He then took charge of full-scale radio productions at Antioch which were broadcast on WJEM, in Springfield. He wrote and directed the programs and acted in them when needed. He created the entire output for the 1948–1949 school year. With one exception (an adaptation), all the writing that year was his original work.
While in college, Serling won his first accolade as a writer. The radio program, "Dr. Christian", had started an annual scriptwriting contest eight years earlier. Thousands of scripts were sent in annually, but very few could be produced. Serling won a trip to New York City and $500 for his radio script "To Live a Dream". He and his new wife, Carol, attended the awards broadcast on May 18, 1949, where he and the other winners were interviewed by the star of "Dr. Christian", Jean Hersholt. One of the other winners that day was Earl Hamner, Jr., who had also earned prizes in previous years. Later, Hamner wrote scripts for Serling's "The Twilight Zone".
In addition to earning $45 to $50 a week at the college radio station, Serling attempted to make a living selling freelance scripts of radio programs, but the industry at that time was involved in many lawsuits, which affected willingness to take on new writers (some whose scripts were rejected would often hear a similar plot produced, claim their work had been stolen, and sue for recompense). Serling was rejected for reasons such as "heavy competition", "this script lacks professional quality", and "not what our audience prefers to listen to".
In the autumn of 1949, Martin Horrell of "Grand Central Station" (a radio program known for romances and light dramas) rejected one of Serling's scripts about boxing, because his mostly female listeners "have told us in no uncertain terms that prize fight stories aren't what they like most". Horrell advised that "the script would be far better for sight than for sound only, because in any radio presentation, the fights are not seen. Perhaps this is a baby you should try on some of the producers of television shows."
Realizing the boxing story was not right for "Grand Central Station", Serling submitted a lighter piece called "Hop Off the Express and Grab a Local", which became his first nationally broadcast piece on September 10, 1949. His "Dr. Christian" script aired on November 30 of that year.
Serling began his professional writing career in 1950, when he earned $75 a week as a network continuity writer for WLW radio in Cincinnati, Ohio. While at WLW, he continued to freelance. He sold several radio and television scripts to WLW's parent company, Crosley Broadcasting Corporation. After selling the scripts, Serling had no further involvement with them. They were sold by Crosley to local stations across the United States.
Serling submitted an idea for a weekly radio show in which the ghosts of a young boy and girl killed in World War II would look through train windows and comment on day-to-day human life as it moved around the country. This idea was changed significantly but was produced from October 1950 to February 1951 as "Adventure Express", a drama about a girl and boy who travel by train with their uncle. Each week they found adventure in a new town and got involved with the local residents.
Other radio programs for which Serling wrote scripts include "Leave It to Kathy", "Our America", and "Builders of Destiny". During the production of these, he became acquainted with a voice actor, Jay Overholts, who later became a regular on "The Twilight Zone".
Serling said of his time as a staff writer for radio:
Serling believed radio was not living up to its potential, later saying, "Radio, in terms of ... drama, dug its own grave. It had aimed downward, had become cheap and unbelievable, and had willingly settled for second best." He opined that there were very few radio writers who would be remembered for their literary contributions.
Television.
Serling moved from radio to television, as a writer for WKRC-TV in Cincinnati. His duties included writing testimonial advertisements for dubious medical remedies and scripts for a comedy duo. He continued at WKRC after graduation and, amidst the mostly dreary day-to-day work, also created a series of scripts for a live television program, "The Storm", as well as for other anthology dramas (a format which was in demand by networks based in New York). Following a full day of classes (or, in later years, work), he spent evenings on his own, writing. He sent manuscripts to publishers and received forty rejection slips during these early years.
In 1950, Serling hired Blanche Gaines as an agent. His radio scripts received more rejections, so he began rewriting them for television. Whenever a script was rejected by one program, he would resubmit it to another, eventually finding a home for many in either radio or television.
As Serling's college years ended, his scripts began to sell. He continued to write for television and eventually left WKRC to become a full-time freelance writer. He recalled, "Writing is a demanding profession and a selfish one. And because it is selfish and demanding, because it is compulsive and exacting, I didn't embrace it. I succumbed to it."
According to his wife, Serling "just up and quit one day, during the winter of 1952, about six months before our first daughter Jody was born—though he was also doing some freelancing and working on a weekly dramatic show for another Cincinnati station." He and his family moved to Connecticut in early 1953. Here he made a living by writing for the live dramatic anthology shows that were prevalent at the time, including "Kraft Television Theatre", "Appointment with Adventure" and "Hallmark Hall of Fame". By the end of 1954, his agent convinced him he needed to move to New York, "where the action is."
The writer Marc Scott Zicree, who spent years researching his book "The Twilight Zone Companion", noted, "Sometimes the situations were clichéd, the characters two-dimensional, but always there was at least some search for an emotional truth, some attempt to make a statement on the human condition."
Gaining fame.
In 1955, the nationwide "Kraft Television Theatre" televised a program based on Serling's seventy-second script. To Serling, it was just another script, and he missed the first live broadcast. He and his wife hired a babysitter for the night and told her, "no one would call because we had just moved to town. And the phone just started ringing and didn't stop for years!" The title of this episode was "Patterns", and it soon changed his life.
"Patterns" dramatized the power struggle between a veteran corporate boss running out of ideas and energy and the bright, young executive being groomed to take his place. Instead of firing the loyal employee and risk tarnishing his own reputation, the boss enlists him into a campaign to push aside his competition. Serling modeled the main character on his former commander, Colonel Orin Haugen.
"The New York Times" critic Jack Gould called the show "one of the high points in the TV medium's evolution" and said, "[f]or sheer power of narrative, forcefulness of characterization and brilliant climax, Mr. Serling's work is a creative triumph." Robert Lewis Shayon stated in "Saturday Review", "in the years I have been watching television I do not recall being so engaged by a drama, nor so stimulated to challenge the haunting conclusions of an hour's entertainment." The episode was a hit with the audience as well, and a second live show was staged by popular demand one month later. During the time between the two shows, Kraft executives negotiated with people from Hollywood over the rights to "Patterns". Kraft said they were considering rebroadcasting "Patterns", unless the play or motion picture rights were sold first.
Immediately following the original broadcast of "Patterns", Serling was inundated with offers of permanent jobs, congratulations, and requests for novels, plays, and television or radio scripts. He quickly sold many of his earlier, lower-quality works and watched in dismay as they were published. Critics expressed concern that he was not living up to his promise and began to doubt he was able to recreate the quality of writing that "Patterns" had shown.
Serling then wrote "Requiem for a Heavyweight" for the television series "Playhouse 90" in 1956, again gaining praise from critics.
In the autumn of 1957, the Serling family moved to California. When television was new, shows aired live, but as studios began to tape their shows, the business moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. The Serlings would live in California for much of his life, but they kept property in Binghamton and Cayuga Lake as retreats for when he needed time alone.
Corporate censorship.
The early years of television often saw sponsors working as editors and censors. Serling was often forced to change his scripts after corporate sponsors read them and found something they felt was too controversial. They were wary of anything they thought might make them look bad to consumers, so references to many contemporary social issues were omitted, as were references to anything that might compete commercially with a sponsor. For instance, the line "Got a match?" was deleted because one of the sponsors of "Requiem for a Heavyweight" was Ronson lighters.
The initial story-line of his teleplay "Noon on Doomsday" (aired April 25, 1956) was set in the southern USA about the lynching of a Jewish pawnbroker. However, when Serling mentioned in a radio interview that it was inspired by the events and racism that led to the murder of Emmett Till, censorship by advertisers and the TV network resulted in significant changes. The program as shown was set in New England and concerned the killing of an unknown foreigner. He subsequently returned to the Till events when writing "A Town Has Turned to Dust" for 'Playhouse 90' but had to set it a century in the past and remove any inter-racial dynamics before it would be produced by CBS TV.
Gould, "The New York Times" reviewer, added this editorial note at the end of a glowing review for "A Town Has Turned to Dust", a show about racism and bigotry in a small Southwestern town: "'Playhouse 90' and Mr. Serling had to fight executive interference ... before getting their play on the air last night. The theater people of Hollywood have reason to be proud of their stand in the viewers' behalf."
Frustrated by seeing his scripts divested of political statements and ethnic identities (and having a reference to the Chrysler Building removed from a script sponsored by Ford), Serling decided the only way to avoid such artistic interference was to create his own show. In an interview with Mike Wallace, he said, "I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to have to battle sponsors and agencies. I don't want to have to push for something that I want and have to settle for second best. I don't want to have to compromise all the time, which in essence is what a television writer does if he wants to put on controversial themes."
Serling submitted "The Time Element" to CBS, intending it to be a pilot for his new weekly show, "The Twilight Zone". Instead, CBS used the science fiction script for a new show produced by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse," in 1958. The story concerns a man who has vivid nightmares of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The man goes to a psychiatrist and, after the session, the twist ending (a device which Serling became known for) reveals the "patient" had died at Pearl Harbor, and the "psychiatrist" was the one actually having the vivid dreams. The episode received so much positive fan response that CBS agreed to let Serling go ahead with his pilot for "The Twilight Zone".
"The Storm".
Before "The Twilight Zone", Serling created a local television show in Cincinnati on WKRC-TV, "The Storm", in the early 1950s. Several of these scripts were rewritten for later use on national network TV. A copy of an episode is located in the Cincinnati Museum Center Historical Cincinnati Library on videotape.
"The Twilight Zone".
On October 2, 1959, the "Twilight Zone" series, created by Serling, premiered on CBS.
For this series, Serling fought hard to get and maintain creative control. He hired scriptwriters he respected, such as Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont. In an interview, Serling said the show's science fiction format would not be controversial with sponsors, network executives, or the general public and would escape censorship, unlike the earlier script for "Playhouse 90".
Serling drew on his own experience for many episodes, frequently about boxing, military life, and airplane pilots. "The Twilight Zone" incorporated his social views on racial relations, somewhat veiled in the science fiction and fantasy elements of the shows. Occasionally, the point was quite blunt, such as in the episode "I Am the Night—Color Me Black", in which racism and hatred cause a dark cloud to form in the American South and spread across the world. Many "Twilight Zone" stories reflected his views on gender roles, featuring quick-thinking, resilient women as well as shrewish, nagging wives.
"The Twilight Zone" aired for five seasons (the first three presented half-hour episodes, the fourth had hour-long episodes, and the fifth returned to the half-hour format). It won many television and drama awards and drew critical acclaim for Serling and his co-workers. Although it had loyal fans, "The Twilight Zone" had only moderate ratings and was twice canceled and revived. After five years and 156 episodes (92 written by Serling), he grew weary of the series. In 1964, he decided not to oppose its third and final cancellation.
Serling sold the rights to "The Twilight Zone" to CBS. His wife later claimed he did this partly because he believed that his own production company, Cayuga Productions, would never recoup the production costs of the programs, which frequently went over budget.
"The Twilight Zone" eventually resurfaced in the form of a 1983 film by Warner Bros. Former "Twilight Zone" actor Burgess Meredith was cast as the film's narrator, but does not appear on screen. There have been three attempts to revive the television series with mostly new scripts. In 1985, CBS used Charles Aidman (and later Robin Ward) as the narrator. In 2002, UPN featured Forest Whitaker in the role of narrator. In 2019, CBS made a third attempt at a successful revival, with Jordan Peele taking on producing duties as well as being host and narrator.
"A Carol for Another Christmas".
"A Carol for Another Christmas" was a 1964 American television movie, scripted by Rod Serling as a modernization of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and a plea for global cooperation between nations. It was telecast only once, on December 28, 1964. The only television movie directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, this was the film in which Peter Sellers gave his first performance after a series of near-fatal heart attacks in the wake of his marriage to Britt Ekland. Sellers portrayed a demagogue in an apocalyptic Christmas. Sterling Hayden, who had co-starred with Sellers in "Dr. Strangelove" earlier that year, also was featured. The cast included Percy Rodriguez, Eva Marie Saint, Ben Gazzara, Barbara Ann Teer, James Shigeta, and Britt Ekland. Henry Mancini wrote the theme music, which was recorded for his 1966 holiday LP, "A Merry Mancini Christmas". The film is not commercially available, but it can be seen at the Paley Center for Media in New York and Los Angeles and the Film and Television Archive at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Turner Classic Movies telecast "A Carol for Another Christmas" for the first time in 48 years, on December 16 and 22, 2012. TCM aired it again on December 19 and 20, 2013.
"Night Gallery".
In 1969, NBC aired a television film pilot for a new series, "Night Gallery", written by Serling. Set in a dimly lit museum after hours, the pilot film featured Serling (as on-camera host) playing the curator, who introduced three tales of the macabre, unveiling canvases that would appear in the subsequent story segments. Its brief first season (consisting of only six episodes) was rotated with three other shows airing in the same time slot; this wheel show was entitled "Four in One". The series generally focused more on horror and suspense than "The Twilight Zone" did. On the insistence of the producer Jack Laird, "Night Gallery" also began including brief comedic "blackout" sketches during its second season, which Serling greatly disdained. He stated "I thought they [the blackout sketches] distorted the thread of what we were trying to do on "Night Gallery". I don't think one can show Edgar Allan Poe and then come back with Flip Wilson for 34 seconds. I just don't think they fit."
No longer wanting the burden of an executive position, Serling sidestepped an offer to retain creative control of content, a decision he would come to regret. Although discontented with some of the scripts and creative choices of Jack Laird, Serling continued to submit his work and ultimately wrote over a third of the series' scripts. By season three, however, many of his contributions were being rejected or heavily altered. "Night Gallery" was cancelled in 1973. NBC later combined episodes of the short-lived paranormal series "The Sixth Sense" with "Night Gallery", in order to increase the number of episodes available in syndication. Serling was reportedly paid $100,000 to film introductions for these repackaged episodes.
Other television.
After "The Twilight Zone" was canceled, Serling wrote an unsuccessful western television series called "The Loner," which ran from the fall of 1965 to April 1966. CBS asked Serling to have more action and less character interaction. He refused to comply, even though the show had received poor reviews and low ratings.
In a stylistic departure from his earlier work, Serling briefly hosted the first version of the game show "Liar's Club" in 1969.
In the 1970s, Serling appeared in television commercials for Ford, Radio Shack, Ziebart and the Japanese automaker Mazda, during the time they were promoting vehicles for the U.S. market powered with a rotary engine. He also made occasional acting appearances, all in material he didn't write. Serling appeared more-or-less as a version of himself (but named "Mr. Zone") in a comedic bit on "The Jack Benny Program"; he appears in a 1962 episode of the short-lived sitcom "Ichabod and Me" in the role of Eugene Hollinfield; and in a 1972 episode of the crime drama "Ironside" entitled "Bubble, Bubble, Toil, and Murder" (which also featured a young Jodie Foster), in which he plays a small role as the proprietor of an occult magic shop.
Other radio.
"The Zero Hour".
Serling returned to radio late in his career with "The Zero Hour" (also known as "Hollywood Radio Theater") in 1973. The drama anthology series featured tales of mystery, adventure, and suspense, airing in stereo for two seasons. Serling hosted the program and wrote some of the scripts.
Originally placed into syndication on September 3, 1973, the series was picked up by the Mutual Broadcasting System in December of that year. The original format featured five-part dramas broadcast Monday through Friday, with the story coming to a conclusion on Friday. Including commercials, each part was approximately 30 minutes long. Mutual affiliates could broadcast the series in any time slot that they wished.
In 1974, still airing five days a week, the program changed to a full story in a single 30-minute installment with the same actor starring throughout the week in all five programs. That format was employed from late April 1974 to the end of the series on July 26, 1974.
"Fantasy Park".
Serling's final radio performance, which he recorded just a few weeks before his death, was even more unusual: "Fantasy Park" was a 48-hour-long rock concert aired by nearly 200 stations over Labor Day weekend in 1975. The program, produced by KNUS in Dallas, featured performances by dozens of rock stars of the day, and even reunited the Beatles. It was also completely "imaginary", a "theatre-of-the-mind for the 70s", as producer Beau Weaver put it, using record albums recorded live in concert, plus crowd noise and other sound effects. (Stations who aired the special were reportedly inundated by callers demanding to know how to get to the nonexistent concert.) KNUS general manager Bart McLendon recruited Serling (his old teacher) to record the host segments, bumpers, custom promos, and television spots.
Serling wrote the disclaimers, which aired each hour: "Hello, this is Rod Serling and welcome back to "Fantasy Park"—the crowds here today are unreal." "This is "Fantasy Park"—the greatest live concert—"never" held."
Teaching.
Serling kept his schedule full. When he was not writing, promoting, or producing his work, he often spoke on college campuses around the country. He taught week-long seminars in which students would watch and critique films. In the political climate of the 1960s, he often felt a stronger connection to the older students in his evening classes. Serling's critique of high school student writing was a pivotal experience for writer J. Michael Straczynski.
By the fourth season of "Twilight Zone," Serling was exhausted and turned much of the writing over to a trusted stable of screenwriters, authoring only seven episodes. Desiring to take a break and clear his mind, he took a one-year teaching job as writer in residence at Antioch College, Ohio. He taught classes in the 1962–63 school year on writing and drama and a survey course covering the "social and historical implications of the media." He used this time to teach as well as work on a new screenplay, "Seven Days in May".
Later he taught at Ithaca College, from the late 1960s until his death in 1975. He was one of the first guest teachers at the Sherwood Oaks Experimental College in Hollywood, California. Audio recordings of his lectures there are included as bonus features on some "Twilight Zone" home video editions.
Themes.
According to his wife, Carol, Serling often said that "the ultimate obscenity is not caring, not doing something about what you feel, not feeling! Just drawing back and drawing in, becoming narcissistic." This philosophy can be seen in his writing. Some themes appear again and again in his writing, many of which are concerned with war and politics. Another common theme is equality among all people.
Antiwar activism.
Serling's experiences as a soldier left him with strong opinions about the use of military force. He was an outspoken antiwar activist, especially during the Vietnam War. He supported antiwar politicians, notably Eugene McCarthy in his presidential campaign in 1968.
"The Rack" is an example of Serling's use of television to speak his mind on political issues. This script for "The United States Steel Hour" tells the story of an army captain charged with collaborating with the North Koreans. "The New York Times" reviewer J. P. Shanley called it "controversial and compelling". Serling tackled a question that was much in the media at the time: should veterans be charged with a crime if they cooperated with the enemy while under duress? In this courtroom drama, the accused is put on trial for helping the enemy by urging fellow prisoners of war to cooperate with their captors. Serling offers many valid arguments on behalf of both the defense and the prosecution. Each has a strong case, but in the end, the captain is found guilty. There is no Serling narration to conclude the drama, as he had become famous for in "The Twilight Zone"—instead, the audience is left to make their own conclusions after the verdict has been rendered.
"No Christmas This Year" was a script written early in Serling's career, around 1950, but was never produced. It told of a place that no longer celebrated Christmas, although none of the residents know why it has been canceled. Meanwhile, at the North Pole, the audience sees Santa Claus dealing with striking elves. Rather than creating toys and candy, the North Pole manufactures a diversity of bombs and offensive gases. Santa has been shot at on his route, and an elf was hit by shrapnel.
"24 Men to a Plane" recounts Serling's first combat jump into the area around Manila in 1945. The combat jump became a fiasco after the jumpmaster in the first plane dropped his men too early, causing every subsequent plane to drop in synchronization with the mistake.
Racial equality.
"A Town Has Turned to Dust" received a positive review from the critic Jack Gould, who was known for being straightforward to the point of being harsh in his reviews. He called "A Town Has Turned to Dust," "a raw, tough and at the same time deeply moving outcry against prejudice." Set in a Southwestern town in a deep drought, it sees poverty and despair turn racial tensions deadly when the ineffectual sheriff is unable to stand against the town. A young Mexican boy is lynched, and the town as a whole is to blame. A second lynching is in the works after a series of events leads again to the town turning against the Mexicans. This time, the sheriff stands strong, and the first boy's brother is saved, even as the town is not. "Mr. Serling incorporated his protest against prejudice in vivid dialogue and sound situations. He made his point that hate for a fellow being leads only to the ultimate destruction of the bigoted."
Serling took his 1972 screenplay for the film, "The Man", from the Irving Wallace novel of the same title. The black senator from New Hampshire and president "pro tempore" of the Senate, played by James Earl Jones, assumes the U.S. presidency by succession.
Death.
Serling was said to smoke three to four packs of cigarettes a day. On May 3, 1975, he had a heart attack and was hospitalized. He spent two weeks at Tompkins County Community Hospital before being released. A second heart attack two weeks later forced doctors to agree that open-heart surgery, though considered risky at the time, was required. The ten-hour-long procedure was performed on June 26, but Serling had a third heart attack on the operating table and died two days later at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York. He was 50 years old. His funeral and burial took place on July 2 at Lake View Cemetery, Interlaken, (Seneca County), New York.
A memorial was held at Cornell University's Sage Chapel on July 7, 1975. Speakers at the Memorial included his daughter Anne and the Reverend John F. Hayward. On January 9, 2020, Carolyn Louise “Carol” Kramer Serling died at age 90 and was buried next to her husband.
Legacy.
Television.
Serling began his career when television was a new medium. The first public viewing of an all-electronic television was presented by inventor Philo Farnsworth at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia on August 25, 1934, when Serling was nine years old. Commercial television officially started on July 1, 1941. At the time, there were fewer than seven thousand television sets in the United States, and very few of those were in private homes. Only five months later, the U.S. entered World War II, and the television business was put on hold until the war's end, as many of the sets were confiscated by the government and repurposed to train air-raid wardens. After World War II ended, money began flowing toward the new medium of television, coinciding with the beginning of Serling's writing career. Early programming consisted of newsreels, sporting events and what would be called public-access television today. It was not until 1948 that filmed dramas were first shown, beginning with a show called "Public Prosecutor". Serling began having serious dramas produced in 1950 and is given credit as one of the first to write scripts specifically for television. As such, he is said to have helped legitimize television drama.
Serling worried that television was on the verge of suffering the same decline as radio. He encouraged sponsors to see television as a platform for the kind of dramatic entertainment that could address important social matters through subtle meanings, instead of being "an animated billboard."
The format of writing for television was changing rapidly in the early years, but eventually, it settled into a pattern of commercial breaks on each quarter-hour. Writers were forced to work these breaks into their scripts. Serling's response to this convention was, "How can you put out a meaningful drama when every fifteen minutes proceedings are interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits with toilet paper? No dramatic art form should be dictated and controlled by men whose training and instincts are cut of an entirely different cloth. The fact remains that these gentlemen sell consumer goods, not an art form." Throughout his career, Serling helped to mold the future of television.
Writing for multiple media.
As early as 1955, Jack Gould, of the "New York Times", commented on the close ties that were then being created between television and movies. Serling was among the first to use both forms, turning his early television successes, "Patterns" and "The Rack", into full-length movies. Up to that time, many established writers were unwilling to write for television because the programs were viewed only once and then stored in a vault, never to be seen again.
Beginning of the rerun.
After the first showing of "Patterns", the studio received such positive feedback that it produced a repeat performance, the first time a television program had been replayed at the request of the audience. Although successful shows had sometimes been recreated after two years or more, this was the first time a show was recreated exactly — with the same cast and crew — as it had been originally broadcast. The second live performance, only a month later, was equally successful and inspired "New York Times" critic Jack Gould to write an essay on the use of replays on television. He stated that "Patterns" was a prime example of a drama that should be seen more than once, whereas a single broadcast was the norm for television shows of the day. Sponsors believed that creating new shows every week would assure them the largest possible audience, so they purchased a new script for each night. Gould suggested that as new networks were opened and the viewers were given more choices, the percentage of viewers would spread among the offerings. "Patterns" was proof that a second showing could gain more viewers because those who missed the first showing could see the second, thus increasing the audience for sponsors.
Effects on popular culture.
During his lifetime.
In December 1966, the made-for-television movie "The Doomsday Flight" aired. The fictional plot concerned an airplane with a bomb aboard. If the plane landed without the ransom money being paid, the aircraft would explode. The bomb was set with an altitude trigger that would detonate it if the plane dropped below four thousand feet. The show was one of the highest-rated of the television season, but both Serling and his brother Robert, a technical advisor on the project (a specialist in aviation), regretted making the film. After the film was aired, a rash of copycats telephoned in ransom demands to most of the largest airlines. Serling was truly devastated by what his script had encouraged. He told reporters who flocked to interview him, "I wish to Christ that I had written a stagecoach drama starring John Wayne instead."
After being knocked out in a 1961 boxing match, Archie Moore said, "Man, I was in the "Twilight Zone"!"
Also in 1961, the FCC chairman, Newton N. Minow, gave a speech in which he called television programming a "vast wasteland", citing "The Twilight Zone" as one of only a few exceptions.
Legacy.
Serling is indelibly woven into modern popular culture because of the enduring popularity of "The Twilight Zone". Serling's widow, Carol, maintained that the cult status that now surrounds both her husband and his shows continues to be a surprise, "as I'm sure it would have been to him." "It won't go away. It keeps bobbing up. ... Each year, I think, well, that's it—and then something else turns up." She survived him to the age of 90, dying on January 9, 2020, and participated in the continuing interest in Rod's work, sometimes preparing them for a new format and editing a publication about Rod that she founded, "The Twilight Zone Magazine", as well as many activities to promote his legacy.
"The Twilight Zone" has been rerun, re-created and re-imagined since going off the air in 1964. It has been released in comic book form, as a magazine, a , and three additional television series from 1985 to 1989, from 2002 to 2003, and again in 2019. In 1988, J. Michael Straczynski scripted Serling's outline "Our Selena Is Dying" for the 1980s "Twilight Zone" revival.
Some of Serling's works are now available in graphic novels. "Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone" is a series of adaptations by Mark Kneece and Rich Ellis based on original scripts written by Serling. Several episodes were adapted into novel form for pulp fiction books by Serling himself.
"The Twilight Zone" is not the only Serling work to reappear. In 1994, "Rod Serling's Lost Classics" released two never-before-seen works that Carol Serling found in her garage. The first was an outline called, "The Theatre", which Richard Matheson expanded. The second was a complete script written by Serling, "Where the Dead Are".
Serling and his work on "The Twilight Zone" inspired the Disney theme park attraction, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which debuted at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida in 1994. Serling appears in the attraction through the use of repurposed archival footage, and voice actor Mark Silverman provides the dubbing of Serling's dialogue for the attraction at both Hollywood Studios and Disney California Adventure in Anaheim. The ride takes place in the once-elegant Hollywood Tower Hotel that was struck by lightning, which caused the mysterious disappearance of five guests. Riders enter an abandoned elevator shaft as they become part of a "lost episode" of "The Twilight Zone", with the attraction taking guests up 13 stories and dropping them multiple times. The Anaheim incarnation of the attraction was closed on January 2, 2017.
Annually since 1995, Binghamton High School, Serling's alma mater, primarily in partnership with WSKG-TV, hosts the Rod Serling Video Festival for students in kindergarten through grade 12. The festival encourages young people to engage in filmmaking.
More than 30 years after his death, Serling was digitally resurrected for an episode of the television series "Medium" that aired on November 21, 2005. Filmed partially in 3-D, it opened with Serling's introducing the episode and instructing viewers when to put on their 3-D glasses. This was accomplished using footage from "The Twilight Zone" episode "The Midnight Sun" and digitally manipulating Serling's mouth to match new dialogue spoken by voice actor Mark Silverman. The plot involved paintings coming to life, a nod to both "The Twilight Zone" and "Night Gallery".
On August 11, 2009, the United States Postal Service released its "Early TV Memories" commemorative stamp collection honoring notable television programs. One of the 20 stamps honored "The Twilight Zone" and featured a portrait of Serling.
Through a mix of computer animation, a simulated version of Serling appeared at the end of the "Blurryman" episode of the 2019 revival of "The Twilight Zone". This was done with a facial performance by Ryan Hesp, motion-capture by Jefferson Black, and a voice reprisal by Mark Silverman.


187th (2/3rd West Riding) Brigade

The 187th (2/3rd West Riding) Brigade was a formation of the Territorial Force of the British Army. It was assigned to the 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division and served on the Western Front during the First World War.


Monmouth order of battle

The Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778 saw a colonial American army under Major General George Washington fight a British army led by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton. After evacuating Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 18, Clinton intended to march his 13,000-man army to New York City. Washington sent 6,400 troops commanded by Major General Charles Lee to attack the British column of march near Monmouth Court House, New Jersey. When Clinton counterattacked, Lee ordered his badly deployed troops to fall back immediately. Washington brought up 7,000 men to support Lee's withdrawing wing and held his ground against repeated British assaults. That evening Clinton retreated from the field and continued his march to Sandy Hook, where the British fleet waited to ferry his army to New York. Both armies' casualties were about even in the last major battle in the northern colonies. Lee was court martialed for his behavior during the battle.
British order of battle.
Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton (est. 18,000 - 19,000)
1st Division.
The 1st Division was commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis and comprised 9,440 combat troops.
Artillery.
The artillery was divided between the two divisions.
2nd Division.
The 2nd Division was commanded by Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen and comprised 8,229 combat troops and 1,394 noncombatants. While the 1st Division fought at Monmouth Court House, the 2nd Division proceeded with the 1,500 wagons of the baggage train towards Middletown. It endured only light harassment from American militia along the way.
American order of battle.
General George Washington (est. 15,000 - 16,000)
Vanguard.
The vanguard was commanded by Major General Charles Lee and comprised approximately 4,540 troops.
Reserve (Perrine's Hill).
Forces commanded by Lafayette shadowed the British flanking column then rested behind the main defensive line at Perrine's Hill.
Combs Hill.
When the main body reached Tennent's Meeting House, some two miles (three kilometres) east of Englishtown, Washington ordered Major General Nathanael Greene to take a brigade to cover the right flank. Greene was guided to Combs Hill by Lieutenant Colonel David Rhea of the 2nd New Jersey Militia.
Reserve (Englishtown).
Washington sent four brigades under Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben back to Englishtown to form a reserve.


Isle of Man Home Guard

The 'Isle of Man Home Guard' was raised during the Second World War for home defence of the Isle of Man, there being no regular or territorial army unit in the Crown Dependency (although units such as the Isle of Man Volunteers had existed previously).
References.
[[Category: Military of the Isle of Man]]


Jagdgeschwader 334

"Jagdgeschwader" 334 was a fighter wing of Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe in World War II.


Military ranks of South Sudan

The Military ranks of South Sudan are the military insignia used by the South Sudan People's Defence Forces.
Commissioned officers.
The rank insignia for commissioned officers for the army, navy and air force respectively.
Enlisted.
The rank insignia for enlisted personnel for the army, navy and air force respectively.


Battle of Chester Station

The Battle of Chester Station was fought on May 10, 1864, between Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The Confederates attacked portions of Benjamin Butler's Union forces.
Background.
The Action at Chester Station was a relatively minor battle of the Bermuda Hundred Campaign and ended indecisively. It started as a Union expedition against the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad. The object was to destroy the railroad in order to cut the line of communication. It was met by a reconnaissance-in-force of two Confederate brigades led by Major General Robert Ransom, who attacked south from Drewry's Bluff near the Winfree House. Both sides fought gallantly and fiercely including hand-to-hand.
Battle.
When the Federal (Union) troops reached the vicinity of Chester Station they were divided into two wings. The left wing, commanded by Maj. O. S. Sanford of the 7th Connecticut Infantry, moved up the railroad toward Chester Station, where the 6th Connecticut Infantry was engaged in tearing up the track, and remained there for about an hour, when orders came to join the other column on the turnpike below. Here the right wing, commanded by Col. C. J. Dobbs of the 13th Indiana Infantry, had encountered a force of Confederates too large to overcome, and Dobbs sent back for reinforcements. In the meantime he formed line of battle with his own regiment on the left, the 169th New York Infantry on the right, one section of the 1st Connecticut battery in front, supported by a detachment of the 67th Ohio Infantry, and awaited the onset. The Confederates, with infantry, cavalry and artillery, advanced, and when they were within easy range Dobbs gave the command to fire. A tremendous volley from his entire line checked the Confederate advance, and a second threw them into confusion, compelling them to retire for the purpose of reforming their lines. At this juncture Sanford arrived with the left wing and went into position with the 6th Connecticut Infantry on the right of the road and the 7th on the left as supports to the advanced lines. Two companies of the 7th Connecticut Infantry were sent forward to support a battery, and the remainder of the regiment moved up to the top of the hill and opened fire on the Confederate's left, driving them back to the woods. One of the guns of the 4th New Jersey battery was abandoned by the men, and an effort to capture this piece was thwarted by this regiment, Sanford sending Lieut. Barker with Co. K to bring in the gun, which he did in the face of a galling fire. The 7th New Hampshire Infantry came up and went into position just as the Confederates advanced again, having been reinforced, and again they were allowed to come within easy range, when they were greeted with a murderous fire from both artillery and infantry. This settled the contest. After a vain endeavor to rally the shattered ranks the Confederate officers gave up the attempt and sought the cover of the woods. Gen. A. H. Terry, commanding the 1st division, 10th corps, arrived on the field after the action had begun, and during the latter part of the engagement directed the movements of the Union troops.
Aftermath.
Gen. Terry reported the Union loss as being 280 in killed, wounded and missing, and estimated that of the Confederates as at least twice that number, some 50 prisoners remaining in the hands of the Federals.
The return of casualties in Barton's Brigade showed a total of 249 in killed, wounded and missing, including the loss of a commanding officer of one of his regiments, Lt. Col. Joseph R. Cabell of the 38th Virginia Infantry.
Two Confederate brigades faced an Ohio regiment, which was pushed back despite arrival of reinforcements from Drake's brigade. Confederate successes, while they had superior numbers, including the capture of one cannon (which was recovered by the Union forces), were halted when Hawley's brigade arrived on the field. The growing Union reinforcements started to outnumber them, and they were compelled to retire to Drewry's Bluff, while at the same time the Federals withdrew east to Bermuda Hundred. The result was a draw with neither side having surrendered, been defeated, or gained any ground. The Union forces succeeded in destroying some railroad track, and the Confederate forces succeeded in stopping them from doing any more damage. Maj. Gen. Ransom relieved Brig. Gen. Barton of his command, and Col. Voris was brevetted Brigadier General for meritorious service.
Order of battle.
Union Forces.
Department of Virginia and North Carolina
MG Benjamin F. Butler
MG Quincy A. Gillimore, commanding X Corps
Confederate Forces.
Department of North Carolina and Southern Virginia
GEN P.G.T. Beauregard
MG Robert Ransom, commanding Department of Richmond


48th Armored Medical Battalion

The 48th Armored Medical Battalion was an American military medical/surgical unit attached to the 2nd Armored Division throughout World War II. The 48th participated in the invasions of North Africa, Sicily and Normandy.
The unit was formed on July 15, 1940, under the command of Col. Abner Zehm. In February 1942, Major John S. Wier became the Battalion Commander.
Major Wier requested surgical trucks for the unit. The army gave him six thousand dollars, enough for six ton trucks to be converted for medical use.
On December 11, 1942, the 48th left Fort Dix, New Jersey, for North Africa, landing at Casablanca on December 24, 1942.
In the spring of 1943 they proceeded to Arzew in Algeria, then on to Tunis. On to Sicily and then to Tidworth Camp, England for an extended period of time.
The battalion landed on Omaha Beach on June 9, 1944 (D+3 at 13:00). The battalion stayed with the 2nd Armored Division throughout the advance on into Germany and then to Berlin.
After the war the unit returned to Camp Hood, Texas, for retraining before being disbanded.
The Battalion's World War II unit insignia consisted of a rod of Asclepius crossed with a dagger, on a silver bordered, red shield, above the words "Humanity Marshalled".
At a later date the 48th Medical Battalion was reformed, again as part of the 2nd Armored Division, serving until the divisions disbandment in 1991.