Origin.

In 1994, Rolls-Royce Motors (who at that time owned the Bentley brand) previewed a convertible concept car at the Geneva Motor Show – the Concept Java. The car was designed to be a highly desirable Bentley, but smaller, more affordable, yet still exclusive in order to maintain the integrity of the brand. It was to appeal to a new range of potential buyers

First generation (2003–2011).

Continental GT (2003–2011).

The vehicle debuted in 2003 at the Geneva Motor Show, followed by Le Mans, the 2003 Goodwood Festival of Speed and the 2003 annual Bentley Drivers Club meeting at Silverstone. The car differed from the previous Continental R & T models in terms of its concept: although much of the car is hand assembled, it is a mass-produced car made in significantly larger numbers. It is not a coachbuilt car. The price at launch was less than the Continental R (approximately half), giving the car a wider customer base.  The Continental GT is equipped with a 6.0 litre

2005 Model year update, Mulliner Driving Specification (2004–).

Changes to the Bentley Continental GT for 2005 include voice activation for the in-car telephone in six languages and increased interior trim options with the addition of magnolia hide, as well as carpets and seat belts that can be matched to either the main or secondary hide colour.  The

Continental Flying Spur (2005–).

The four-door "Continental Flying Spur" saloon was first displayed at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. The Flying Spur utilizes most of the technical underpinnings of the Bentley Continental GT, and was introduced to European and North American markets in the summer of 2005. Together, the Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur have boosted Bentley's annual production from around 1,000 units in 2003, to 9,200 units in 2006.  The Flying Spur has a 6-litre, 12-cylinder engine

Continental GT Diamond Series (2007–).

The Continental GT Diamond Series is a limited (400 units worldwide) version of the 2007 model year Continental GT Mulliner Driving Specification, commemorating the Crewe factory's 60th anniversary. It includes carbon-silicon carbide brakes (420x40mm cross-drilled front and 356x28mm rear), exclusive 9Jx20-inch 14-spoke alloy wheels, choice of 3 additional exclusive body colours (Moroccan Blue (bright

Continental GTC (2006–).

The convertible version of the Continental GT, the Continental GTC, was first presented in September 2005, and was introduced to several world markets in the autumn of 2006. The roof is produced by Karmann in Osnabrück, Germany.  The GTC uses identical

2008 Model year update, Continental GT Speed, Mulliner Driving Specification (2007–2011).

Changes to the Continental GT for 2008 include a reduction in kerb weight due primarily to optimisation of suspension and cooling system components and an increased use of aluminium parts in the suspension. Other changes include a revised Servotronic power steering for improved feel and feedback, optional fade-resistant carbon ceramic brakes provide improved brake feel (only available on 20-inch wheels), new, more upright front grille and larger lower air intakes give improved airflow to aid engine cooling; chromed headlamp bezels, two new exterior paint colours (Cumbrian Green and Granite), two new leather hide colours (Newmarket Tan and Cumbrian Green), new low-friction dampers, new 'Sport Traction' mode for the Bosch 8.1

Continental GTZ (2008).

The Continental GTZ is a version of the Bentley Continental GT Speed with a custom body produced in association with Italian coachbuilder Zagato, with technical partners Coventry Prototype Panels, DELVIS GmbH and PPG. The

2009 Continental GTC update, Continental GTC Speed, Mulliner Driving Specification (2009–2011).

Changes to the Continental GTC for 2009 include a new more upright front grille, larger lower air intake, chrome headlamp bezels, retuned Servotronic power steering for improved feedback and feel, new optional Follow-to-stop, radar–based Adaptive Cruise Control, optional carbon ceramic brakes with 420 mm front and 356 mm rear discs and eight-piston callipers (only available with 20 – inch wheels), two new exterior colours (Aquamarine, Blue Crystal) and a new interior colour (Aquamarine).  The Mulliner Driving Specification includes a choice of three standard veneers (Burr Walnut, Dark Stained Burr

Continental GT Series 51 (2009).

The Series 51 models include additional vehicle customisation options for the Continental GT and GTC, such as use of non-indented hide for diamond quilting and contrast piping for the seats and doors as well as bespoke Series 51 treadplates. Other options include Dark and Bright 'Engine Spin' aluminium dashboard and centre console options, Amboyna veneer, colour matched overmats and boot carpets, 20-inch 14-spoke polished

Continental Supersports (2009–2011).

In February 2009, Bentley announced a limited production of the Bentley Continental Supersports. The car was unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, announced by Jay Leno, to be available in autumn 2009 worldwide, followed by FlexFuel-compatible models in North America by summer 2010.  The first Bentley capable of running on both petrol (gasoline) and biofuel (E85 ethanol), its 6.0 litre W12 engine is rated at at 6,000 rpm and at 1,700–5,600 rpm – using either fuel. The car can accelerate from in 3.7 seconds and in 8.9 seconds, with a top speed of. This makes it the fastest and the most powerful production Bentley ever at the time of production. The Supersports is already known as the best

Continental Supersports Convertible (2010–2011).

The Continental Supersports Convertible is a convertible version of the Continental Supersports coupe. It features a revised version of the ZF 6HP26 transmission with "Quickshift," cutting shift times by 50%

Continental GTC, GTC Speed 80-11 Editions (2010).

The 80-11 models are limited (80 units per model) versions of the Continental GTC and GTC Speed for the North American market. They feature 20-inch 14-spoke alloy diamond wheels polished with unique black center caps featuring Bentley 'B' emblem (GTC) or 20-inch wheels from Supersports finished in dark tint with red brake calipers (GTC Speed) as well as Union Jack brightware badges on the

Continental GT Design Series China (2010).

The Continental GT Design Series China is a version of the Continental GT for the Chinese market. It features a three-tone interior that blends a main leather hide colour with accent and insert colours as well as a choice

Continental Supersports Convertible ISR (2011).

The Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible ISR (Ice Speed Record) is a limited (100 units) version of the Bentley Continental Supersports convertible, commemorating Bentley's world ice speed record set by Finland's four-time world rally champion Juha Kankkunen. It includes a W12 engine rated at, Quickshift six-speed automatic transmission, 420 mm front and 356 mm rear diameter carbon ceramic brake discs with eight-piston front calipers, three body colours (Beluga, Quartzite, Arctica White)

Production.

Continental GT was designed, engineered and built in Crewe.  As of 24 March 2003 (6 months before delivery), Bentley Motors had already accrued over 3200 deposits for its new Continental GT.  The first Bentley Continental GT for the North American market was sold

Marketing.

The Continental GT was marketed to new customers with an average age of just under 50 years old, with 75% upper luxury coupé buyer not from existing customer base.  Breitling SA produced a limited edition (1000 units per

Motorsports.

In early 2007, a Bentley Continental GT Speed equipped with Nokian Hakkapeliitta Sport Utility 5 studded winter tyres and driven by four-time World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen, broke the World Speed Record on Ice – on the frozen Baltic Sea near Oulu, Finland. It averaged in both directions on the "flying kilometre", reaching a maximum speed of. The previous record was, achieved with a Bugatti EB110 Supersport. The record-breaking Bentley was largely standard except for a roll-cage, aerodynamic improvements, low-temperature fuel and calibration.  In

Second generation (2011–2018).

Continental GT (2011–2018).

Continental GT W12 (2011–2018).

The vehicle was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.  Ordering of

Continental GT V8 (2012–2018).

The GT V8 version of the Continental GT has a twin-turbo 4-litre (3,993cc) V8 engine (developed jointly with Audi) that produces and of torque. The car is capable of reaching a top speed of 192 mph (309 km/h). It also features Cylinder deactivation technology that can deactivate half of the cylinders

Continental GTC W12 (2011–2018).

The vehicle was unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, followed by

Continental GT Speed Coupé (2012–2018).

The Continental GT Speed Coupé is a version of the Continental GT W12 with increased engine power to and of torque. It also features a lowered ride height and chassis and uprated suspension. It has a top

Continental GTC V8 (2012–2018).

The vehicle was first unveiled at the 2012 North American International Auto Show, followed by

Continental GTZ (2012).

The 2012 Continental GTZ is the second Continental GTZ by Zagato and was built on the

Continental GT Speed Convertible (2013–2018).

The Continental GT Speed Convertible includes an ME17 engine management system, self-levelling system set 10 mm lower than the 575 PS Continental GT convertible, Electronic Stability Control with Dynamic Mode, matrix radiator grille and bumper air

Continental GT Le Mans Edition (2013–).

The Continental GT Le Mans Editions are limited (48 units per model) versions of the Continental GT V8 coupe and convertible, GT W12 coupé and convertible, and GT Speed coupé. They are built for the North American market to commemorate Bentley's six victories at the 24

Continental GT V8 S (2014–2018).

Available in a coupe and convertible body, The Continental GT V8 S is a version of the Continental GT V8 with increased engine power to at 6,000 rpm and of torque at 1,700 rpm. The 8 Speed ZF automatic transmission's calibration was also enhanced to provide a more responsive drive. The GT V8 S also features increased agility and body control to match the engine's higher output, achieved by revising the damper and spring rates, suspension uprights, anti-roll bars and stability control system as well as lowering the car 10mm. These changes were similar, though not identical to those fitted to GT Speed models of the same ear also. An aerodynamic front splitter, discrete side sills

Engines.

In 2015 for the 2016 model year GT W12 models gained a new engine design which included variable cylinder management to reduce emissions and at teh same time had a power increase to 590PS, helping to reduce the 0-100 Km/h time.  In 2014, for the

Transmissions.

The 6 Speed ZF transmission was only ever offered for 18 months of this generations'

Production.

The Continental GT3's steering wheel, door pulls and seat were built in the

Marketing.

As part of the Continental GT Convertible launch, Ettinger of London produced leather goods under the Bentley Collection label to complement the new colour Breeze created for Continental GT Convertible, which included iPhone case and the Blackberry case, leather loop keyring and key case. Model Assemblies produced 50 1:43 Continental GT Convertible model cars in Breeze. A series of 2012 Bentley Collection items were also produced, including 'The Flying B' range a desk paperweight, letter opener and wine bottle stopper; 'Inspired by Our Heritage' four-piece Espresso coffee cup set

2014 Model year update.

Changes to the 2014 Continental GT include the debut of seven distinctive equipment packages. Premier Specification includes additional technology and comfort whilst the Interior Style Specification uses the very best of Bentley hand-craftsmanship for the ultimate tailored cabin.

Continental GT Speed (2013–2018).

The Continental GT Speed Coupé was unveiled at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, followed by the 2014 New York International Auto Show (coupe) and the 2014 Beijing International Automotive Show.  Delivery was set to begin in summer of 2014.  Changes to the new Continental GT Speed included increased engine power to and of torque, sports suspension (uprated anti-rolls bars, air springs, dampers and suspension uprights as well as revised stability control) dark tint front upper and lower grills, Speed branded treadplates, unique design 21" Speed wheels and a chrome 'Speed' badge on both front fenders. Mulliner Drivers Specification was also included as standard and from the 2015 model year the GT Speed came as

Continental GT3-R (2014–2015).

The Continental GT3-R is a limited (300 units, including 99 in US, 4 in Canada) version of the Continental GT V8 S coupe inspired by the Continental GT3 race car. It features weight reduction, increased engine power to at 6,000 rpm and of torque at 1,700 rpm. Other changes include torque vectoring for each of the rear wheels, shorter gearing, recalibrated control software, all-new titanium exhaust with 7 kg weight saving and retuned acoustics, forged 21-inch alloy wheels in gloss black, Pirelli tyres, sport-focused Electronic Stability Control programme, Carbon Silicon Carbide (CSiC) braking system (420 mm front and 356 mm rear brake discs, 8-piston front calipers in green), two-seat cabin with carbon fibre, Alcantara and leather interior upholstery; bespoke sport seats with additional side support through deeper bolsters upholstered in Beluga black leather and diamond-quilted Alcantara, upholstered steering wheel and gear shifter, centre

Production.

The Continental GT3-R was built in the Crewe plant and finished in Bentley's Motorsport division.  The production of the Volkswagen Group W12 engines used in Continental GT W12 engine models were relocated to the Crewe plant from the end of 2014 onwards.  Some of the panels on the GT are made with super forming.

2015 Model year update.

Changes to the Continental GT for 2015 include a new front bumper with a smaller radiator shell, redesigned fenders with a new vent with a metallic 'B' adornment, new bright chrome fender badges for the V8 S and W12 models, redesigned boot lid, reshaped and widened rear bumper with full-width brightware, a new rear diffuser design for V8 S and GT Speed, new 20 and 21-inch wheels (new 20-inch 6 tri-spoke wheel for GT V8 and GT W12 with painted finish for V8 and bright machined for W12, 21-inch seven-twin-spoke wheel in Graphite grey with bright machined spokes for Mulliner Driving Specification models, addition of 21-inch five-spoke directional sports wheel for V8 S and GT Speed), three new body colours choices (Marlin (a

"Monster by Mulliner" Continental GT V8 S (2016).

The "Monster by Mulliner" Continental GT V8 S is a version of the Continental GT V8 S coupe built by the Mulliner bespoke coach-building division. It features 16 3400-watt Monster speakers tuned by Head Monster Noel Lee, red and black interior colour scheme, Hotspur Continental GT V8

Continental GT Speed Coupé, Convertible and Black Edition (2016–2018).

Changes to the Continental GT Speed include an increased top speed to, increased engine power to and of torque at 2,000–5,000 rpm as well as carbon fibre on the fascia, centre and roof consoles.  The GT Speed Black Edition also includes a high gloss black finish to the exterior brightware (including window openings and lamp bezels), all-black 21-inch five-spoke directional wheels, brake calipers in red or black, contrast colours to the

Pop art Bentley Continental GT V8 S Convertible (2016).

The Pop art Bentley Continental GT V8 S Convertible is a one-off version of the Continental GT V8 S Convertible designed by Sir Peter Blake and Mulliner. It features St Luke's Blue body colour on the rear haunches, doors and boot lid; British Racing Green lower body, Fuchsia pink-coloured radiator shell, black exterior brightware and a black hood, each seat trimmed in a different hide colour (Cumbrian Green, Imperial

Continental Supersports (2017–2018).

Available in coupé and convertible bodies, the Continental Supersports (also available with X Specification) is a version of the Continental GT W12 with increased engine power to at 6,000 rpm and of torque at 2,050–4,500 rpm. It also includes a ZF 8-speed automatic with Quickshift, Block Shifting and wheel-mounted paddleshift, carbon ceramic brakes with enhanced cooling, front and rear carbon silicon carbide brake discs, 21-inch forged alloy wheels, optional titanium exhaust system, updated version of the torque vectoring system from Continental GT3-R, dynamic system brakes, lowered and stiffened dynamic suspension set-up, front and rear bumper designs incorporating a carbon-fibre splitter and diffuser respectively, new side sill extensions and

Production.

The interior of the Continental GT

Marketing.

The Continental GT3's Motorsport Collection, including race clothing (technical polo shirts, T-shirts, race-wear, Bentley motorsport hoodie, baseball cap, racing overall), race duffle bag, ear plugs, GT3 Lanyard, GT3 Espresso, beach towel, were unveiled at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show.  To commemorate the Continental Supersports launch, Breitling SA produced a limited (500 units) Breitling for Bentley Supersports B55 chronograph.

Motorsports.

A Continental GTC W12 and Continental GT V8 were used in Nürburgring 24 Hour Race as official parade cars.  A Continental GT V8 was entered in the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb.  The Continental GTC W12, Continental Supersports and Continental GT V8 became the official parade cars for the 2012 Nürburgring 24 Hour Race.  A 2016 Bentley Continental GT Speed driven by John Bowe reached a top speed of at Stuart Highway, Australia.

Continental GT3 Concept Racer (2012).

The Continental GT3 Concept Racer is a race car concept based on the

Continental GT3 (2013–2018).

The Continental GT3 is a rear-wheel-drive race car version of Continental GT V8 coupe, based on the Continental GT3 Concept Racer. It was unveiled at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed, followed by the 2013 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed.  It includes a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine rated at, as well as a Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox with a limited-slip differential in transaxle, racing clutch, steering wheel mounted paddle operated pneumatic gear shift, Drivetrain Carbon fibre propshaft, double wishbone suspension front and rear, four-way adjustable racing dampers; hydraulic power-assisted steering, ventilated iron disc brakes front and rear, Brembo 6/4-piston front/rear calipers, driver-adjustable brake bias, FIA-specification steel roll cage, Sparco six-point FIA safety harness, onboard fire extinguisher, onboard pneumatic jack system, FIA-specification racing fuel cell, race-specification ABS and traction control, lightweight race battery, OZ Racing 18x13-inch rims with 310/710R18 tyres and the removal of

Third generation (2018–present).

Continental GT W12 (2018–).

The press release announcing a third-generation Continental GT was made on 29 August 2017. The model made its physical debut when it was unveiled at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show where it drew a "huge crowd." Production began in 2018 with a base price of. In January 2019, Bentley announced it would celebrate its 100th birthday with a limited-edition car, likely based on the Continental GT, to debut at the Geneva auto show. November 2018 saw the debut of a 2019 Bentley Continental GT Convertible, to go on sale in 2019.  The model shares the Volkswagen-developed MSB platform with the second-generation Porsche Panamera. Compared to

Motorsports.

Continental GT3 (2018–).

Bentley Motorsport unveiled the new Continental GT3 based on the third generation Continental GT in November 2017. The rear-wheel drive race car utilises a >550 bhp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. It made its race debut at the opening round of the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup.  The Bentley Continental GT3 won the 2020 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour with drivers Jules Gounon, Jordan Pepper and Maxime Soulet.

The Bentley Continental GT is a grand tourer manufactured and marketed by British automaker Bentley Motors since 2003. It was the first car released by Bentley under Volkswagen AG management, after the company's acquisition in 1998, and the first Bentley to employ mass production manufacturing techniques.

Der Bentley Continental GT ist ein Luxus-Coupé des britischen Herstellers Bentley Motors Limited, einer Tochterfirma der Volkswagen AG. Das Kürzel "GT" steht für Gran Turismo. Die Cabrio-Version dieser Baureihe ist der Bentley Continental GTC.


Plot.

As a young boy, future emperor Nero witnesses the mad Emperor Caligula kill his father and exile his mother. While in exile in the pontine islands, Agrippina, his mother, sees a vision telling her that her son can become emperor, but she will have to die first. She accepts the proposal. Back in Rome, Nero, now being raised by emperor Claudius after Caligula's death, Agrippina returns. She poisons Claudius' food and Nero becomes emperor. At first, Nero cuts taxes and introduces successful programs and invades Brittania. Soon he meets a beautiful slave named Claudia Acte, and marries her, throwing off his engagement with Claudius' daughter, Claudia Octavia, telling her she can marry someone she will be happy with. Heartbroken, she arrives at an island and kills herself. Nero enjoys being married to Claudia Acte, but soon he gradually goes mad with power and sets fire to Rome. He divorces Acte, and forces the citizens to watch hour long recitals, and at one of these, accidentally kills his new pregnant wife, Poppaea Sabina. He kills several members of the senate and orders his mother to be stabbed, where she says: "Strike the womb, for that is what bore him." Nero's madness soon causes a riot, causing himself to flee the city in disguise, and slit his wrists under the saddened embrace of Claudia Acte, his once passionate lover.  The movie in many ways tries to show Nero as a good soul gone mad, beginning as a brilliant young prince enduring injustice, then hailed enthusiastically at the beginning of his reign, implementing much-needed reforms and enjoying immense popularity. Half the film concentrates on Nero's teenage years and his love life with Acte.

Historical flaws.

His relationship with Claudia Acte is altered, and its influence on his divorce from Claudia Octavia exaggerated. In fact after Nero's divorce from Octavia he married his pregnant mistress Poppaea Sabina who had married twice before marrying Nero (Rufrius Crispinus and the future Emperor Otho). Poppaea Sabina's death is portrayed differently than how it reportedly occurred. According to the historical sources, she was kicked to death by Nero in a vicious rage. The film also omits Nero's other reported attempts to kill his mother Agrippina the Younger, first by poisoning. In his second attempt he had his mother's mattress fixed so that when she lay down, a decoration on the ceiling would fall onto the bed. A third attempt involved sabotaging a ship Agrippina was traveling on, but she managed to swim to shore. The fourth attempt, in which a soldier killed her on the spot, is shown in the movie as Agrippina walks toward the soldier and tells him, "Strike the womb that bore him". In the film Nero is shown to have a fixation on playing the harp, which is only partly true. In a late part of the movie Nero is shown playing his harp in the center of a Roman Theatre as Emperor around 62 A.D. This is fiction, because Nero never played his harp in front of a large audience. He usually played it in isolation or within a small group of friends.  At the end, Nero escapes from the city by himself and slits his wrists where he is embraced by Acte. In reality, Nero escaped from the city in disguise to the house of one of his loyal freedmen; there he committed suicide by stabbing himself in the neck. However, he botched the job and had to have a slave finish him job off.  The Emperor Caligula is also altered. In the film, Caligula banishes Agrippina, Nero's mother, as he did in reality, but in reality, both Agrippina and Julia Livilla were exiled, yet Livilla is not even mentioned in the film. The assassination of Caligula is also depicted inaccurately. In the film, Caligula is lured to a brothel by his attendants, where he is assassinated. Historically, he was killed in a cryptoporticus underneath a palatine theater by praetorian guards led by Cassius Chaerea, Marcus Vinicius, and Lucius Annius Vinicianus. After Caligula was murdered, his wife and daughter were eliminated.  The film's budget was around €800,000. It was filmed on location in Sicily and Tunisia in late 2004 and early 2005.

Imperium: Nero is an Italian-British-Spanish television film, part of the "Imperium" series; it was made film available on DVD as of November 2005 in the U.S. and Canada. Produced by EOS Entertainment and Lux Vide for RAI and Telecinco.

Nero – Die dunkle Seite der Macht ist der zweite Teil der TV-Serie "Imperium". In diesem Historienfilm wird die Lebensgeschichte des römischen Kaisers Nero nacherzählt.


Prelude.

Following the Wars in Lombardy between Venice and Milan, which ended in 1454, Northern Italy had been largely at peace during the reigns of Cosimo de' Medici and Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence, with the notable exception of the crisis of 1479-1481 (solved by Lorenzo and followed by the recapture

Wars.

First Italian War of 1494–1498 or King Charles VIII's War.

Ludovico Sforza of Milan, seeking an ally against the Republic of Venice, encouraged Charles VIII of France to invade Italy, using the Angevin claim to the throne of Naples as a pretext. When Ferdinand I of Naples died in 1494, Charles VIII invaded the peninsula with a French Army of twenty-five thousand men (including 8,000 Swiss mercenaries), possibly hoping to use Naples as a base for a crusade against the Ottoman Turks. For several months, French forces moved through Italy virtually unopposed, since the "condottieri" armies of the Italian city-states were unable to resist them. Charles VIII made triumphant entries into Pisa on November 8, 1494, Florence on November

Second Italian War or King Louis XII's War (1499–1504).

Ludovico Sforza retained his throne in Milan until 1499, when Charles' successor, Louis XII of France, invaded Lombardy and seized Milan on September 17, 1499. Louis XII justified his claim to the Duchy of Milan by right of his paternal grandfather, Louis duc d'Orléans having married Valentina Visconti in 1387. Valentina Visconti was the heir to the Duchy of Milan in the Visconti dynasty. The marriage contract between Valentina Visconti and Louis, duc d'Orléans, guaranteed that in failure of male heirs, she would inherit the Visconti dominions. However, when the Visconti dynasty died out in 1447, the Milanese ignored the Orleans claim to the Duchy of Milan and re-established Milan as a republic. However, bitter factionalism arose under the new republic which set the stage for Francesco Sforza (father of Ludovico Sforza) to seize control of Milan in 1450.  Louis XII was not the only foreign monarch with dynastic ambitions in the Italian Peninsula. In 1496, while Charles VIII was living in France trying to rebuild his army, Maximilian I of the Holy Roman Empire invaded Italy, to resolve the ongoing war between Florence and Pisa, called the "Pisan War". Pisa had been at war almost continually since the early 14th century. In 1406 after a long siege, Pisa fell under the control of the Florentine Republic. When King Charles VIII of France,

War of the League of Cambrai (1508–1516).

Julius II was elected pope following the death of the short-lived Pius III on 18 October 1503. He was extremely concerned about the territorial expansion of the Republic of Venice in northern Italy. Pope Julius was not alone in his fear of Venetian territorial ambitions. Being from Genoa, Pope Julius knew of the Genoese hatred of Venice for forcing the other states out of the rich Po Valley as the Republic expanded its frontiers across northern Italy. Additionally, Emperor Maximilian was upset with the Venetian seizure of Duchy of Friuli and its claim on the bordering County of Gorizia, which Maximilan had taken over in

Italian War of 1521–1526.

On 28 June 1519, the German princes elected Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor to succeed his grandfather Maximilian I. Charles was already Prince of the Habsburg Netherlands since 1506, King of Habsburg Spain since 1516, and Archduke of the Habsburg Monarchy since 1519. All the territories surrounding France were now under the rule of Charles V, forming the so-called "Habsburg ring". Furthermore, Francis I himself had been a candidate for election as Holy Roman Emperor before Charles V was chosen. This led to a personal rivalry between Francis I and Charles V that was to become one of the fundamental conflicts of the sixteenth century.  The deterioration of relations between the Habsburgs and Francis I provided Francis I with a pretext for war with Charles. Francis' candidacy for Emperor had been supported by Pope Leo X. However, just when Francis I began to count on the support of Pope Leo in a war against Charles V, Pope Leo suddenly made peace with the Emperor and sided with the Holy

War of the League of Cognac (1526–1530).

In 1526, Pope Clement VII, alarmed at the growing power of the Empire, formed the League of Cognac against Charles V on May 22, 1526. Members of the League were the Papal States under Pope Clement VII, France under King Francis I, England under Henry VIII, the Republic of Venice, Republic of Florence, and the Duchy of Milan.  The League planned a war against the Empire to begin in early 1526. The Imperial troops in Italy were extremely discontented because they were owed so much back pay that was not forthcoming. In some places in Italy, the Imperial troops were even refusing to take the field of battle until they were paid. The military commanders of the League of Cognac wished to take advantage of this disorder and demoralization of the Imperial troops and to attack the troops in early 1526. However, the League

Italian War of 1536–1538.

Thus, this third war between Charles V and King Francis I of France began with the death of Francesco Sforza, the Duke of Milan during the night of November 1–2, 1535. Upon his death, Francesco Sforza left no heirs. Emperor Charles V was on another trip to Italy when he heard about the death of Sforza. When the representatives of Emperor Charles V took charge of the Duchy of Milan upon the death of Sforza, there were no protests or uprisings among the people of Milan. Nor were there any objections from any other Italian states. There were,

Italian War of 1542–1546.

Francis I, King of France, allied himself once more with Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire and on July 12, 1542, declared war on the Holy Roman Empire. Francis I launched his final invasion of Italy against the town of Perpignan. A Franco-Ottoman fleet under the command of Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa captured the city of Nice on August 22, 1543, and laid siege to the citadel. The defenders of the citadel were relieved within a month. For Christian and Islamic troops to act in coordination to attack a Christian town was regarded as shocking. Thus, in this attack on Nice, King Francis needed to play down the role of the Ottoman Turks. However, Francis I did something even more scandalous when he turned the French naval port of Toulon over to Barbarossa to use as winter quarters for the Ottoman fleet.  Once again Milan was the pretext for the War of 1542–1546. The French

Italian War of 1551–1559.

On March 31, 1547, King Francis I died and was succeeded by his son, Henry II of France. In 1551, Henry II declared war against Charles with the intent of recapturing Italy and ensuring French, rather than Habsburg, the domination of European affairs. An early French offensive against Lorraine was successful, but the attempted French invasion of Tuscany was stopped in 1553. The French were decisively defeated at the Battle of Marciano on August 2, 1554. Nonetheless, as a result of this war, France obtained three French-speaking cities: Metz, Toul and Verdun. Furthermore, the alliance with the Ottomans had reached its peak under Henri II of France with the Invasion of Corsica (1553)  In 1556, during the course of the war, Charles V abdicated the Imperial throne as well as the throne of Spain. He abdicated the Imperial throne of the Holy Roman Empire to his brother, who became Ferdinand I of the Holy Roman Empire. The

Aftermath and impact.

The European balance of power changed significantly during the Italian Wars. The affirmation of French power in Italy around 1494 brought Austria and Spain to join an anti-French league that formed the "Habsburg ring" around France (Low Countries, Aragon, Castile, Empire) via dynastic marriages that eventually led to the large inheritance of Charles V. On the other hand, the last Italian war ended with the division of the Habsburg Empire between the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs following the abdication of Charles V. Philip II of Spain was heir of the kingdoms held by Charles V in Spain, southern Italy, and South America. Ferdinand I was the successor of Charles V in the Holy Roman Empire extending from Germany to northern Italy and became "suo jure" king of the Habsburg Monarchy. The Habsburg Netherlands and the Duchy of Milan were left in personal union to the King of Spain while continuing to be part of the Holy Roman Empire.  The division of the empire of Charles V, along with the expansion of the French state over the Pas-de-Calais and the Three Bishoprics, was a positive result for France. However, the Habsburgs had gained a position of primacy in Europe and Italy at the expense of the French Valois. In fact, in order to achieve this defensive objective, France was forced to end opposition to Habsburg power and abandon its claims in Italy. Henri II also restored the Savoyard state to Emmanuel Philibert, who settled in Piedmont, and Corsica to the Republic of Genoa. For this reason, the conclusion of the Italian Wars for France is considered to be a mixed result.  At the end of the wars, Italy was largely divided between viceroyalties of the Spanish Habsburgs in the south and formal fiefs of the Austrian Habsburgs in the north. The most significant Italian power left was the Papacy in central Italy, as it maintained major cultural and political influence during the Catholic Reformation. The Council of Trent, suspended during the war, was reconvened by the terms of the peace treaties and came to an end in 1563.

Interpretations of the results.

As in the case of France, the Habsburg result is also variously interpreted. Many works of the 20th century, such as those of Eric Cochrane and Manuel F. Alvarez, individuated in the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis the beginning of Spanish hegemony in Italy. According to that view, the partition of the Habsburg empire at the abdication of Charles V left the position of the Holy Roman Empire in Italy weakened in favor of Spain so that the peace was mostly a victory of the latter. However, in 21st-century historiography there is a reconsideration of the topic. Christine Shaw in her revised ""Italian Wars (1494-1559)"", one of the most complete works on the subject, Micheal J. Levin in ""Agents of Empire"", and William Reger in ""Limits of Empire"", reject the concept of a Spanish hegemony on the ground that too many limits prevented Spain's dominance in the peninsula, and maintain that other powers also held major influence in Italy after 1559.  According to Christine Shaw, it was the dual

Celebrations.

In France, Henry II was fatally wounded on 10 July 1559, in a joust held during the celebrations of the peace. His death led to

Art.

The Italian Wars had a number of consequences for the work and workplace of Leonardo da Vinci. He had planned a large horse statue, "Gran Cavallo", in 1495, but the seventy tons of bronze intended for the statue

Military.

The Italian Wars represented a revolution in military technology and tactics—some historians consider these wars the dividing point between modern and medieval times. Contemporaneous historian Francesco Guicciardini wrote of the initial 1494 French invasion:

Infantry.

Infantry underwent profound developments during the Italian Wars, evolving from a primary pike- and halberd-wielding force to a more flexible arrangement of arquebusiers, pikemen, and other troops. While landsknechts and Swiss mercenaries continued to dominate during the early part of the wars, the Italian War of 1521 demonstrated the power of massed firearms in pike and shot formations.  A 1503 skirmish between French and Spanish forces first demonstrated the utility of arquebuses in battle. The

Veterans turned conquistadors.

Various Spanish soldiers who participated in the Italian Wars emigrated to the Americas and turned into conquistadors there. Experience in the Italian Wars was a decisive factor when organizing squadrons of conquistadors in the Americas. However chronicler Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo reacted against Spanish conquistadors who boasted a background in the Italian Wars, writing that any veteran in the Americas must have "failed to become rich, and if he was once rich, he must have gambled the riches away or [somehow] lost them". Fernández de Oviedo also claimed the Italian Wars were fought in more comfortable conditions than conflicts in the Americas. Francisco Sebastián in Hernando de Sotos expedition through southwestern North America, was a veteran from the Italian Wars. He noted that conditions of warfare in America were harsher than in Italy because no plunder

Cavalry.

Heavy cavalry—the final evolution of the fully armored medieval knight—remained major players on the battlefields of the Italian Wars. Here, the French gendarmes were generally successful against

Artillery.

Artillery, particularly field artillery, became an indispensable part of any first-rate army during the Italian Wars. During his invasion of Italy, Charles VIII employed the first truly mobile siege train: culverins and bombards mounted on wheeled carriages, which could be deployed against an enemy stronghold immediately after arrival. The French siege arsenal brought with it multiple technological innovations. Charles' army pulled cannons with horses rather than

Military leadership.

The armies of the Italian Wars were commanded by

Fortification.

Much of the fighting during the Italian Wars took place during sieges. Successive invasions forced Italy to adopt increasing levels of fortification, using such new developments as detached bastions that could withstand sustained artillery fire.

Historiography.

The Italian Wars are one of the first major conflicts for which extensive contemporary accounts from people involved in the wars are available, owing largely to the presence of literate, and often extremely-well educated, commanders. The invention of modern printing, still less than one century old, undoubtedly played a large role in the memorialization of the conflict as well. Major historians of the period include Francesco Guicciardini and Paolo Sarpi.

Nomenclature.

The naming of the component conflicts within the Italian Wars has never been standardized and varies among historians of the period. Some wars may be split or

Contemporary accounts.

A major contemporary account for the early portion of the Italian Wars is Francesco

The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Wars of Italy and sometimes as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a long series of wars fought between 1494 and 1559 in Italy during the Renaissance. The Italian peninsula, economically advanced but politically divided among several states, became the main battleground for European supremacy. The conflicts involved the major powers of Italy and Europe, in a series of events that followed the end of the 40-year long Peace of Lodi agreed in 1454 with the formation of the Italic League.

Als Italienische Kriege bzw. Italienkriege oder Renaissance-Kriege wird eine Reihe von Kriegen bezeichnet, die zwischen 1494 und 1559 zu einem großen Teil auf dem Gebiet des heutigen Italien ausgetragen wurden. Neben allen größeren europäischen waren auch fast alle italienischen Staaten und das Osmanische Reich daran beteiligt.


Definitions.

Horton (2014) gives the "example of entryism – the infiltration of a self-proclaimed human rights activist into an institution committed to neoliberalism, a market fundamentalism that has been credited with eroding health systems in dozens of low and middle-income countries." Leslie (1999) uses the example of gender: "alternative, yet complementary, strategies of 'entryism', with attempts to enter and transform these institutions' gender inequalities from within (as missionaries)."

Socialist entryism.

Trotsky's "French Turn".

The "French Turn" refers to the classic form of entrism advocated by Leon Trotsky in his essays on "The French Turn". In June 1934, he proposed for the French Trotskyists to dissolve their Communist League and to join the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) and for the Communist League to dissolve its youth section to join more easily with revolutionary elements. The tactic was adopted in August 1934, despite some opposition, and successfully raised the group's membership to 300 activists.  Proponents of the tactic advocated that the Trotskyists should enter the social democratic parties to connect with revolutionary socialist currents within them and then to steer those currents toward Leninism. However, entryism lasted briefly since the leadership of the SFIO started to expel the Trotskyists. The Trotskyists of the Workers Party of the United States also successfully used their entry into the Socialist Party of America to recruit their youth group and other members. Similar tactics were also used by Trotskyist organisations in other countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Poland. Entryism was used to connect with and recruit leftward-moving political currents inside radical parties.  Since it was used in France, Marxists have used the tactic even if they had different preconceptions of how long the period of entry would last:

Deep entryism "sui generis".

In these types of entryism, activists engage in a long-term perspective in which they work within an organisation for decades in the hope of gaining influence and a degree of power and perhaps even control of the larger organisation.  In entryism "sui generis" ("of a special type"), Trotskyists, for example, do not openly argue for the building of a Trotskyist party. "Deep entryism" refers to the long duration.  The tactic is closely identified with Michel Pablo and Gerry Healy, who were leaders of the Fourth International in the late 1940s and the 1950s. The "deep entry" tactic was developed as a way for Trotskyists to respond to the Cold War. In countries with mass social democratic or communist parties, it was as difficult to be accepted into these parties as it was Trotskyist currents as to build separate Trotskyist parties. Therefore, Trotskyists were advised to join the mass party.  In Europe, that was the approach used, for example, by The Club and later Socialist Action in the Labour Party, and by Fourth Internationalists inside the Communist Parties. In France, Trotskyist organizations, most notably the "Parti des Travailleurs" and its predecessors, have successfully entered trade unions and mainstream left-wing parties.

Open entryism.

Some political parties, such as the Workers' Party in Brazil or the Scottish Socialist Party, allow political tendencies to organise within them openly. In those cases, the term "entryism" is not usually used. Political groups that work within a larger organisation but also maintain a "public face" often reject the term "entrism" but are sometimes still considered to be entryists by the larger organization.

Examples by country.

Australia.

In Australia, the practice was widespread during the 1950s, when the Communist Party of Australia battled against right-wing Industrial Groups for control of Australian trade unions. The 'Groupers' subsequently formed the Democratic Labor Party. Today, the practice in Australia is often known as a type of branch stacking.  In recent times, RSPCA Australia has been described as being the victims of the practice. The National Farmers' Federation and Animals Australia have each been accused of infiltrating branches RSPCA Australia in an attempt to promote opposing policies concerning battery hens, intensive pig farming, and the live export of sheep.  Since the 2000s, the religious right has practiced entryism into a number of state branches of the Liberal Party of Australia, notably in New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria.  In 2018, it was revealed that the NSW National party and its youth wing, the Young Nationals had been infiltrated by the far Right with more than 30 members being investigated for alleged links. Leader McCormack denounced the infiltration, and several suspected Far right were expelled from the party and its youth wing.

Canada.

Although the term "entryism" was used little, if at all, opponents accused David Orchard and his supporters of attempting to win the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in the late 1990s and the early 2000s decade with the intention of dramatically changing its policies.  Orchard had made his name as a leading opponent of free trade, which was perhaps the singular signature policy of the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. While opponents pointed to the remarkable distance, Orchard and his supporters argued that they represented "traditional" Conservative values and the economic nationalism of the older Conservative Party and the Progressive Conservative Party had espoused before Mulroney, namely under John Diefenbaker.  Opponents of the 2003 merger between the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance also charged Alliance members with infiltration. It was widely speculated that most, if not all, of the approximately 25,000 Canadians who swelled the Progressive Conservative Party Party's membership before the merger vote were Alliance members, who likely voted in favour of the merger.  Liberals for Life, a pro-life group allied with the Campaign Life Coalition, was accused of infiltrating the Liberal Party of Canada in the late 1980s and the early 1990s.  Members of Socialist Action, a small Trotskyist group, play a leading role in the New Democratic Party Socialist Caucus, a small faction on the left wing of the social democratic NDP, and advocate that their members join and engage with the NDP. That, however, does not fit with most definitions of entryism because of its continued existence apart and separate from the NDP, in addition to its work in it. Fightback, a rival Trotskyist organization, carries out a more classical form of entryism in the NDP, particularly in its youth wings, and models itself after the British Militant tendency, which practiced entryism into the Labour Party and, at its peak, was the one of the most successful entryist organizations on record.  After the fall of the Social Credit Party of British Columbia, the British Columbia Liberal Party saw the shift by the joining of former Social Credit members. As a result, the new membership saw the party shift much more towards the right in fiscal policy. Thus, entryism led to a complete takeover of the original party by former Social Credit members. That, however, is not formal entryism since former Social Credit members did not operate their own organization within the Liberal Party.

China.

During the Warlord Era in China, the Communist Party of China joined the party of the Nationalist Party of China for a time (1923–1927), creating the First United Front against warlordism, but one of the Communists' ideas behind doing so was the possibility of eventually gaining a majority in the Nationalist Party and shaping its policies. Eventually, the situation degraded, the Nationalists expelled the Communists from their party, and the Chinese Civil War began. The war was paused for a time (1936–1945) to allow for a Second United Front during the Chinese resistance to Japanese imperial rule. However, the civil war resumed again and remained active until 1950, after the Communists had won.

Netherlands.

The Marxist-Leninist Party of the Netherlands was a fake pro-China communist party in the Netherlands set up by the Dutch secret services, the BVD, to develop contacts with the Chinese government for espionage purposes. It existed from 1968 to the early 1990s.

New Zealand.

The country's four small communist parties, the Communist Party of New Zealand (CPNZ), Socialist Unity Party (SUP), Workers Communist League (WCL), and the Socialist Action League (SAL), have tried to influence the Labour Party, the trade unions, and various popular issues, like the anti-Springbok tour protests, Māori biculturalism, and the anti-nuclear movement. During the ANZUS diplomatic crisis 1984 to 1985, which resulted from New Zealand's nuclear ship ban, the pro-Moscow SUP tried to infiltrate anti-nuclear organisations, as part of a strategy of steering New Zealand's foreign policy away from its traditional ally, the United States.  New Zealand's Christian Right also attempted to obtain electoral influence. During the 1987 general election, several conservative Christian groups, including the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), Women for Life and the Coalition of Concerned Citizens, tried to infiltrate the National Party by running conservative Christian individuals as candidates. The groups also attacked the Labour government's policies towards peace education, sex education, abortion, Māori biculturalism, and the ANZUS alliance. Several CCC supporters contested the 1987 election as National candidates, including Rob Wheeler (Mount Albert), Andrew Stanley (Onehunga), and Howard Martin (Papatoetoe). However, the efforts met little electoral success, and the Lange government was re-elected for a second term.  During the 1990s, another conservative tendency emerged within the National Party by the establishment of the informal Christian Voice in 1998. However, the group had faded by the mid-2000s, when several minor Christian political parties including former National MP Graeme Lee's Christian Democrat Party, Peter Dunne's United Future, and Brian Tamaki's Destiny New Zealand emerged to court the evangelical Christian vote. As a result of the attempts at taking over the party, National quietly centralised its candidate selection procedures.  Despite the tensions with moral conservatives, National Party leader Don Brash still accepted covert assistance from the Exclusive Brethren during the 2005 general elections. The assistance included organizing a separate electoral canvassing and advertising campaign that attacked the incumbent Labour and Green coalition government. The strategy backfired and contributed to Prime Minister Helen Clark's second re-election. The controversy arising from the Exclusive Brethren's canvassing on behalf of National, Brash's successor, Prime Minister John Key, explicitly rejected any assistance from the Exclusive Brethren during the 2008 election.

United Kingdom.

A long-lasting entry tactic was used by the Militant tendency, a Trotskyist groups, whose initially-minuscule supporters worked within the Labour Party from the 1960s. By the early 1980s, they still numbered only in the low thousands but had managed to gain a controlling influence of the Labour Party Young Socialists and Liverpool City Council, but almost simultaneously, Militant activists began to be expelled after an internal Labour ruling that their organisation breached the party's constitution. A remnant of the group now operates within the Labour Party as Socialist Appeal but the majority then left to form the Socialist Party (England and Wales).  "The Guardian" columnist George Monbiot claims that a group, influenced by the defunct Marxist "Living Marxism" magazine, pursues entryist tactics in British scientific and media organisations since the late 1990s.  The 2015 Labour leadership election in the United Kingdom was the target of a campaign by "The Daily Telegraph" for Conservative sympathisers to join the Labour party as £3 supporters in order to vote for the left-wing candidate Jeremy Corbyn, with the view that he would render the party unelectable. That strategy was labelled 'entryism' by observers though it is unclear that it qualifies under the commonly-understood definition, unlike the broader'subversion'. Likewise, the left-wing Momentum group has been accused of entryism and engaging in the Militant tendency, which had been expelled from the party for attempting to the extreme left, and movements have been made to by prominent Labour MPs (current and suspended) to deselect MPs who do not support Corbyn.  In the wake of the Brexit vote, supporters of Leave feared that the government would negotiate a deal that would keep far too many ties between with the European Union and so members of the United Kingdom Independence Party, which had struggled politically since Brexit, joined the Conservative Party, along with previously-independent Leave supporters. The movement was especially pronounced in the constituencies of Conservative MPs who had supported Remain. Leave.EU ran campaigns that urged its supporters to join the Conservatives to deselect MPs who do not support a hard Brexit. Those who joined the party during that period were credited with helping Boris Johnson win the leadership election after Prime Minister Theresa May's resignation and thus become Prime Minister.

United States.

Supporters of Fred Newman and the New Alliance Party joined the Reform Party "en masse" and gaining some level of control over the New York State affiliate of the Reform Party. Another United States politician, Lyndon LaRouche, has attempted an entryist strategy in the Democratic Party since 1980, but with little success. Many Libertarians or libertarian-leaning politicians have run for office as Republicans, and several (such as Ron Paul, his son Rand Paul, and Mark Sanford) have been successful.

Laws against entryism.

Some jurisdictions have passed laws to discourage entryism. In New York State elections, changes in party affiliation by voters already registered are not formally processed until a week after that year's general election to prevent entryism in a primary election since they are open only to voters who are already enrolled in the party holding the primary. The state's Wilson Pakula law, passed after American Labor Party candidates were entering and winning Democratic and Republican Party primaries in the late 1940s, also requires candidates who are not members of a particular political party to get formal permission from the relevant jurisdiction's party committees before they run in a primary election.

Entryism (also spelled entrism or enterism or called infiltration) is a political strategy in which an organisation or state encourages its members or supporters to join another, usually larger, organisation in an attempt to expand influence and expand their ideas and program. If the organization being "entered" is hostile to entrism, the entrists may engage in a degree of subterfuge and subversion to hide the fact that they are an organization in their own right.

Entrismus ist eine von verschiedenen kommunistischen, vor allem von trotzkistischen Organisationen angewandte Taktik des gezielten (mitunter heimlichen) Eindringens in Organisationen, vor allem in Parteien der Arbeiterbewegung, seltener anderer sozialer Bewegungen. Ziel kann dabei sein, von innen heraus Einfluss auf politische Entscheidungen zu nehmen, die eigene Ideologie zu verbreiten, Mitglieder zu gewinnen, den Kurs der Organisation zu verändern oder auch in Zeiten der Marginalisierung beziehungsweise des Verbots revolutionärer Organisationen nicht vollständig vom politischen Geschehen isoliert zu sein („Überwinterungs-Entrismus“) oder eine legale politische Arbeitsmöglichkeit zu haben.


Development and production history.

British combat experience in the North African campaign identified several shortcomings of the M3 Stuart light tank, especially the performance of its 37 mm cannon. A 75 mm gun was experimentally fitted to a Howitzer Motor Carriage M8 – an M3 tank with a larger turret – and trials indicated that a 75 mm gun on the M5 light tank development of the M3 was possible. The M3/M5 design was dated though, and the 75 mm gun reduced storage space.  The T7 light tank design, which was initially seen as a replacement, grew in weight to more than 25 short tons taking it out of the light tank classification, and so was designated as the Medium Tank M7. The weight increase without increased power gave it unsatisfactory performance; the program was stopped in March 1943 to allow standardization on a single medium tank – the M4 medium. This prompted the Ordnance Committee to issue a specification for a new light tank, with the same powertrain as the M5A1 but armed with a 75 mm gun.  In April 1943, the Ordnance Corps, together with Cadillac (who manufactured the M5), started work on the new project, designated Light Tank T24. The powerplant and transmission of the M5 were used together with some aspects of the T7. Efforts were made to keep the weight of the vehicle under 20 tons. The armor was extremely light and was sloped to maximize effectiveness. The turret was 25 mm thick with a 38 mm thick gun mantlet. The glacis plate was 25 mm thick. Side hull armor thickness varied: the frontal section was 25 mm thick but the rear third of the armor (which covered the engine compartment) was only 19 mm.  A new lightweight 75 mm gun was developed, a derivative of the gun used in the B-25H Mitchell bomber. The gun had the same ballistics as the 75 mm M3 in use by American tanks but used a thinly walled barrel and different recoil mechanism. The design featured tracks and torsion bar suspension, similar to the slightly earlier M18 Hellcat tank destroyer, which itself started in production in July 1943. The torsion bar system was to give a smoother ride than the vertical volute suspension used on most US armored vehicles. At the same time, the chassis was expected to be a standard used for other vehicles, such as self-propelled guns, and specialist vehicles; known together as the "Light Combat Team". It had a relatively low silhouette and a three-man turret.  On October 15, 1943, the first pilot vehicle was delivered. The design was judged a success and a contract for 1,000 was immediately raised by the Ordnance Department. This was subsequently increased to 5,000. Production began in 1944 under the designation Light Tank M24. It was produced at two sites; from April at Cadillac and from July at Massey-Harris. By the time production was stopped in August 1945, 4,731 M24s had been produced.

Service history.

The M24 "Chaffee" was intended to replace the ageing and obsolete Light Tank M5 ("Stuart"), which was used in supplementary roles. The first thirty-four M24s reached Europe in November 1944 and were issued to the U.S. 2nd Cavalry Group (Mechanized) in France. These were then issued to Troop F, 2nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron and Troop F, 42nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, which each received seventeen M24s. During the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, these units and their new tanks were rushed to the southern sector; two of the M24s were detached to serve with the 740th Tank Battalion of the U.S. First Army.  The M24 started to enter widespread use in December 1944, but they were slow in reaching the front-line combat units. By the end of the war, the light tank companies of many armored divisions were still mainly equipped with the M3/M5 Stuart. Some armored divisions did not receive their first M24s until the war was over. Aside from the US Army, the British Army was another main user of the Chaffee during the war, with at least several hundred obtained through the US Lend-Lease program. These saw action mainly in northwestern Europe and the North German Plain where British forces saw action against German troops. Reports from the armored divisions that received them prior to the end of hostilities were generally positive. Crews liked the improved off-road performance and reliability, but were most appreciative of the 75 mm main gun, which was a vast improvement over the 37 mm. The M24 was inferior to German tanks, but the bigger gun at least gave its crews a much better chance to fight back when it was required, especially in infantry support. The M24's light armor made it vulnerable to virtually all German tanks, anti-tank guns, and hand-held anti-tank weapons. The contribution of the M24 to winning the war in Europe was insignificant, as too few arrived too late to replace the worn-out M5s of the armored divisions. At the end of WWII, the US Army displayed its Chaffees alongside British Comet tanks and then-latest Soviet tanks, the Iosif Stalin 3 (IS-3) heavy tank, in the Berlin Victory Parade in 1945. When the US began its occupation of Japan that same year, it deployed a large number of light Chaffees instead of bigger Shermans and heavier Pershings due to the narrower roads and smaller weightloads of bridges in the country. During the opening stages of the Korean War, M24s were the initial U.S. tanks directed to combat heavier and larger North Korean T-34-85s supplied by the Soviets. The occupation troops in Japan from which the Chaffee tanks were drawn were inexperienced and under-equipped due to rapid demobilization after World War II. One other reason for sending Chaffees to Korea initially was also partly because US officers did not regard Korea as a country where large-scale tank warfare could occur (much of the Korean peninsula is largely mountainous and hilly) and therefore sent lighter armored vehicles to combat the invading North Korean forces. The M24 fared poorly against the invading army's better-armed, better-armored and better-crewed medium tanks, losing most of their number while inflicting only minor damage on the T-34 tank units. Managing a fighting withdrawal, they ended up as infantry-support artillery in the Pusan Perimeter, and in August reinforcements from the US and the Commonwealth brought heavier tanks that were a match for the T-34s, not to mention superior infantry anti-tank armaments and overwhelming air support against North Korean armor. M24s were more successful later in the war in their reconnaissance role and supported by heavier and more capable tanks such as the M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing and M46 Patton, along with British Churchill, Comet and Centurion tanks.  Like other successful World War II designs, the M24 was supplied to many armies around the globe and was used in local conflicts long after it had been replaced in the U.S. Army by the M41 Walker Bulldog. France employed its M24s in Indo-China in infantry support missions, with good results. They employed ten M24s in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. In December 1953, ten disassembled Chaffees were transported by air to provide fire support to the garrison. They fired about 15,000 shells in the long siege that followed before the Viet Minh forces finally overcame the camp in May 1954, almost all being entirely worn out and badly damaged by the time the battle was over. France also deployed the M24 in Algeria, with some variants which fought there carrying an AMX-13 turret modified by France. Some former French and US Chaffees are known to have been passed down to the Army of South Vietnam, where they saw service at least until the Battle of Huế, with several serving as fixed gun emplacements outside vital military installations such as airbases. The last time the M24 is known to have been in action was in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, where 66 Pakistani Chaffees stationed in East Pakistan (today's Bangladesh) were lost to Indian Army T-55s, PT-76s, and anti-tank teams, being easy prey for the better-equipped invading Indian forces. Although both Iran and Iraq had M24s prior to the Iran–Iraq War, there is no report of their use in that conflict. South Korean Chaffees saw limited service during the Korean War, often performing hit-and-run raids on communist forces. Also, Cambodia, Laos, Japan and Taiwan were four other Asian nations to have operated Chaffees aside from South Vietnam, South Korea and Pakistan.  The Greek Army received 85 M24s from the U.S. from 1950 until 1970. The M24s initially were organized in two Tank Regiments numbered 392, 393. In later years the Tank Regiments were reorganized in Tank Battalions with the same numbers. From 1962 till the early seventies the M24s in Tank Battalions were replaced with M47s and the M24s were used to equip Independent Reconnaissance Companies with an additional 121 M24s received from Italy in 1975. From 1991 till 1995 61 M24s were scrapped due to CFE Treaty limitations. The rest are abandoned in or outside military camps and one M24 is preserved in the Greek Army Tank Museum.  Chaffees appear in two war movies, "The Bridge at Remagen" and "The Battle of the Bulge". In each case the Chaffees are being used to represent the heavier M-4 Sherman. The tanks used in "The Battle of the Bulge" were borrowed from the Spanish Army. They also appear in the science-fiction movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still".  Additionally, the M38 Wolfhound prototype armored car was experimentally fitted with an M24 turret.

Foreign variants.

NM-116.

In 1972, the Norwegian Army decided to retain 54 of their 123 M24 light tanks as reconnaissance vehicles after they were substantially rebuilt under the designation NM-116. It was calculated that the NM-116 rebuilding program cost only about a third as much as contemporary light tanks.  This program was managed by the firm Thune-Eureka. The American firm NAPCO developed an improved power pack based around the 6V53T diesel engine used in the M113 armored personnel carrier mated to an Allison MT-653 transmission. The original 75 mm Gun M6 L/39 was replaced with a French D-925 90 mm low pressure gun, with a co-axial 0.50-inch (12.7 mm) M2 heavy machine gun. The bow gunner position was eliminated in favor of ammunition stowage. A new fire-control system was installed, complete with a Simrad LV3 laser rangefinder. Norwegian firms also converted eight M24 light tanks into light armored recovery vehicles to support the NM-116. The NM-116 were retired from service in 1993.

Other variants.

The Chilean Army up-gunned their M24s in the mid-1980s to the IMI-OTO 60 mm Hyper Velocity Medium Support (HVMS) gun, with roughly comparable performance to a standard 90 mm gun. Chile operated this version until 1999. Uruguay continues to use the M24, modernized with new engines and 76 mm guns which can fire armor-piercing, fin stabilised, discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds. In the mid-1950s, in an attempt to improve the anti-tank performance of the vehicle, some French M24s had their turrets replaced with those of the AMX-13 light tank. AMX-13 variants with Chaffee turret also existed.

Operators.

Former operators

The M24 Chaffee (officially Light Tank, M24) is an American light tank used during the later part of World War II; it was also used in post–World War II conflicts including the Korean War, and by the French in the War in Algeria and the First Indochina War. In British service it was given the service name Chaffee after the United States Army General Adna R. Chaffee Jr., who helped develop the use of tanks in the United States armed forces. M24s were mostly removed from U.S. and NATO armies by the 1960s, but remained in service with some Third World countries.

Der M24 Chaffee war ein leichter US-amerikanischer Panzer der Zeit des Zweiten Weltkriegs, der als Aufklärungspanzer konzipiert und auch klassifiziert war. Von verschiedenen Nutzerstaaten wurde er darüber hinaus als Kampfpanzer eingesetzt. Er war der Nachfolger des Stuart-Panzers und ging ab 1944 in die Serienproduktion. Der "Chaffee" war luftverlastbar und gilt als der erste echte Leichtpanzer der Welt. Er hatte eine hohe Feuerkraft und wies als erster US-Panzer eine günstig abgeschrägte Panzerung auf. Benannt wurde der Panzer nach dem Pionier der US-Panzertruppen General Adna R. Chaffee, Jr.


Early life.

Stevens was born in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of nine, when his family moved to Petoskey, in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. He was raised by his father Rasjid and his stepmother Pat, only occasionally visiting his mother, Carrie, in Oregon after she married her second husband Lowell Brams. Brams later became the head of Stevens' record label Asthmatic Kitty. His brother Marzuki Stevens is a former professional road runner. Stevens is of Lithuanian and Greek descent.  Stevens attended the Detroit Waldorf School, Petoskey High School and Interlochen Arts Academy, and graduated from Harbor Light Christian School. He then attended Hope College in Holland, Michigan, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and then earned an MFA from The New School in New York City.  "Sufjan" is a Persian name, meaning "comes with a sword". It predates Islam and most famously belonged to Abu Sufyan, a figure from early Islamic history. The name was given to Stevens by the founder of Subud, an inter-faith spiritual community to which his parents belonged when he was born.

Career.

Early career and the Fifty States Project (1995–2006).

Stevens began his musical career as a member of Marzuki, a folk-rock band from Holland, Michigan, as well as garage band Con Los Dudes. He also played (and continues to play) various instruments for Danielson Famile. While in his final semester at Hope College, Stevens wrote and recorded his debut solo album, "A Sun Came", which he released on Asthmatic Kitty Records. He later moved to New York City, where he enrolled in a writing program at The New School for Social Research. During his time at the New School, Stevens developed a preoccupation with the short story form, which he believed would lead him to write a novel, but ultimately returned him to songwriting.  While in New York, Stevens composed and recorded the music for his second album, "Enjoy Your Rabbit", a song cycle based around the animals of the Chinese zodiac that delved into electronica.  Stevens followed this with an album titled "Michigan", a collection of folk songs and instrumentals. The album included odes to cities including Detroit and Flint, the Upper Peninsula, and vacation areas such as Tahquamenon Falls and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Melded into the scenic descriptions and characters are his own declarations of faith, sorrow, love, and the regeneration of Michigan. Beginning with the album, Stevens announced an intent to write an album for each of the 50 U.S. states, which he termed the Fifty States Project.  Following the release of "Michigan", Stevens compiled a collection of songs recorded previously into a side project, the album "Seven Swans", which was released in March 2004. Stevens did not leave his job in the children's book division at Time Warner until touring for "Seven Swans". Next, he released the second in the Fifty States project, titled "Illinois". Among the subjects explored on "Illinois" are the cities of Chicago, Decatur and Jacksonville; the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, the death of a friend on Casimir Pulaski Day, the poet Carl Sandburg, and the serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Stevens had spent the second half of 2004 researching and writing material for the album. As with "Michigan", Stevens used the state of Illinois as a leaping-off point for his more personal explorations of faith, family, love, and location. Though slated for release on July 5, 2005, the album was briefly delayed by legal issues regarding the use of Superman in the original album cover artwork. In the double vinyl release, a balloon sticker was placed over Superman on the cover art of the first 5,000 copies. The next printings had an empty space where the Superman image was, as with the CD release.  "Illinois" was widely acclaimed and was the highest-rated album of 2005 on the review aggregator website Metacritic based on glowing reviews from "Pitchfork", "The Onion A/V Club", "Spin", "Billboard", "Entertainment Weekly", "Rolling Stone", "The New York Times", KEXP, and "The Guardian". The 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards awarded Stevens with the Album of the Year, Best Album Art/Packaging, and Male Artist of the Year. "Pitchfork", "No Ripcord", and "Paste" magazine named "Illinois" as the editors' choice for best album of 2005, and Stevens received the 2005 Pantheon prize, awarded to noteworthy albums selling fewer than 500,000 copies, for "Illinois".  In April 2006, Stevens announced that 21 pieces of music he had culled from the "Illinois" recording sessions would be incorporated into a new album, called "The Avalanche", which was released on July 11, 2006. On September 11, 2006, in Nashville, Tennessee, Stevens debuted a new composition, a ten-minute-plus piece titled "Majesty Snowbird". On November 21, 2006, a five CD box set "Songs for Christmas" was released, which contains originals and Christmas standards recorded every year since 2001 (except 2004). Stevens undertook in the project initially as an exercise to make himself 'appreciate' Christmas more. The songs were the work of an annual collaboration between Stevens and different collaborators, including minister Vito Aiuto; the songs themselves were distributed to friends and family.  Although Stevens' subsequent work was sometimes speculated to tie into future "States" projects, and Stevens himself would make occasional statements alluding to the future of the project, Stevens later admitted that the project had been a "promotional gimmick" and not one he had seriously intended to complete. In November 2009, Stevens admitted to "Exclaim!" magazine, in regard to the fact that he recently called his fifty-state project a joke, that "I don't really have as much faith in my work as I used to, but I think that's healthy. I think it's allowed me to be less precious about how I work and write. And maybe it's okay for us to take it less seriously."

Soundtrack album and various collaborative projects (2007–2009).

Over the 2005 winter holidays, Stevens recorded an album with Rosie Thomas and Denison Witmer playing banjo and providing vocals. In April 2006, Pitchfork erroneously announced that Stevens and Thomas were having a baby together, and were forced to print a retraction. Witmer and Thomas later admitted it was an April Fools' prank. In December 2006, the collaborative recordings were digitally released by Nettwerk as a Rosie Thomas album titled "These Friends of Mine". The album was released in physical form on March 13, 2007.  On May 31, 2007, Asthmatic Kitty announced that Stevens would be premiering a new project titled "The BQE" in early November 2007. The project, dubbed a "symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City's infamous Brooklyn–Queens Expressway", was manifested in a live show. "The BQE" featured an original film by Stevens (shot in Super 8 film and standard 16 mm), while Stevens and a backing orchestra provided the live soundtrack. The performance used 36 performers which included a small band, a wind and brass ensemble, string players, horn players, and hula hoopers. There were no lyrics to the music. "The BQE" was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of their Next Wave Festival and performed on three consecutive nights from November 1–3, 2007.  The performance sold out the 2,109 seat BAM Opera House without any advertising. After three weeks of rehearsing the piece with the three dozen musicians involved, he presented the 30-minute composition. "The BQE" was followed by an additional one hour of concert by Stevens and his orchestra. "The BQE" won the 2008 Brendan Gill Prize. In April 2007, in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, Stevens made unannounced appearances on Thomas's tour in support of this album. In 2007, he did a Take-Away Show acoustic video session shot by Vincent Moon standing on a roof in Cincinnati. In 2007, he played shows sporadically, including playing at the Kennedy Center to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Millennium Stage concerts. He was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music to create a "music and film work" titled "The BQE", described as "a symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City's infamous Brooklyn–Queens Expressway". It premiered at BAM's Next Wave festival on November 1–3, 2007.  Stevens has also worked as an essayist, contributing to Asthmatic Kitty Records' "Sidebar" feature and "Topic Magazine". He wrote the introduction to the 2007 edition of "The Best American Nonrequired Reading", a short story about his early childhood education and learning to read titled "How I Trumped Rudolf Steiner and Overcame the Tribulations of Illiteracy, One Snickers Bar at a Time". That winter, he hosted an "Xmas Song Exchange Contest" in which winner Alec Duffy won exclusive rights to the original Stevens song "Lonely Man of Winter." The track could only be heard by attending private listening parties at Duffy's home in Brooklyn and at places around the world until 2018, when Duffy negotiated with Athsmatic Kitty Records to release the song with all proceeds going towards Duffy's organization JACK.  Stevens has contributed to the music of Denison Witmer, Soul-Junk, Half-handed Cloud, Brother Danielson, Danielson Famile, Serena-Maneesh, Castanets, Will Stratton, Shannon Stephens, Clare & the Reasons, Little Scream, and Liz Janes. In 2007 alone, Stevens played piano on The National's album "Boxer", produced and contributed many instrumental tracks to Rosie Thomas's album "These Friends of Mine", multiple instruments on Ben + Vesper's album "All This Could Kill You" and oboe and vocals to David Garland's 2007 album "Noise in You".  He has contributed covers of Tim Buckley ("She Is"), Joni Mitchell ("Free Man in Paris"), Daniel Johnston ("Worried Shoes"), John Fahey ("Variation on 'Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion at Magruder Park"), The Innocence Mission ("The Lakes of Canada"), Bob Dylan ("Ring Them Bells"), Drake ("Hotline Bling"), Prince ("Kiss") and The Beatles ("What Goes On") to various tribute albums. His versions of "Free Man in Paris" and "What Goes On" are notable for only retaining the lyrics of the original, as Stevens has taken his own interpretation on the melody and arrangement. His rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" has a similar rearranged melody and arrangement as well as a whole new verse.  His songs "The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders" and "All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands" were featured in the 2006 British comedy-drama "Driving Lessons", starring "Harry Potter"s Julie Walters and Rupert Grint. In 2008, he produced "Welcome to The Welcome Wagon", the debut album of Brooklyn-based husband and wife duo Vito and Monique Aiuto, The Welcome Wagon.  In February 2009, Stevens contributed "You Are the Blood" to the AIDS benefit album "Dark Was the Night" produced by the Red Hot Organization. In April 2009, Stevens uploaded a song about director Sofia Coppola online. This song was written while Stevens was in college, from a series of songs about names.  Stevens recalled: A few weeks later, our dog got hit by a snowplow and I forgot all about the problem of names. Until college, when I learned to play the guitar, and, as an exercise, started writing songs (very poorly executed) in the same way that Henry Ford produced the automobile: assembly-line-style. I wrote songs for the days of the week (poor Monday!). Songs for the planets (poor Pluto!). Songs for the Apostles (poor Judas!). And, finally, when all else failed, I started a series of songs for names. [...] Each piece was a rhetorical, philosophical, musical rumination on all the possible names I had entertained years before when my parents had given me the one chance to change my own. Oh fates! I sang these songs in the privacy of my dorm room, behind closed doors, pillows and cushions stuffed in the air vents so no one would hear. And then I almost failed Latin class, my grades plummeted, my social life dissolved into ping pong tournaments in the residence halls, and, gradually, my interest in music (or anything divine, creative, fruitful, enriching) completely waned. I turned to beer. And cigarettes. And TV sitcoms. And candy bars. Oh well! A perfectly good youth wasted on junk food! That is, until a few months ago, when I came across some of the old name songs, stuffed onto tape cassettes, 4-track recorders, forgotten boxes, forgotten shelves, forgotten hard drives. It was like finding an old diary, or a high school yearbook, senior picture with lens flare and pockmarks, slightly cute and embarrassing. What was I thinking?

Solo studio albums (2009–2011).

In September 2009, Stevens began performing four new songs while on his Fall tour, "All Delighted People", "Impossible Soul", "Too Much" and "Age of Adz". That year Stevens contributed to an album with his stepfather, Lowell Brams, entitled "Music For Insomnia". The album was released December 8, 2009. On October 6, 2009, Stevens' label, Asthmatic Kitty Records, released an album of versions of his 2001 album "Enjoy Your Rabbit" rearranged for strings and performed by the Osso String Quartet, entitled "Run Rabbit Run".  In 2010, Stevens was featured on The National's album "High Violet", released in May, and sang backing vocals for the band on the "Late Show with David Letterman". Following the release of "High Violet," band frontman Matt Berninger mentioned that Stevens was recording a new album in the band's studio and that The National would appear on some of the tracks. In early August, Stevens announced North American tour dates across dozens of cities. On August 20, 2010, Stevens suddenly and unexpectedly released a new collection of tracks, the "All Delighted People" EP, for digital download. The EP is built around two versions of the title track, "All Delighted People." The EP surprisingly rose to #27 on the "Billboard" 200 albums solely through its digital sales. On August 26, Asthmatic Kitty announced that Stevens would release his newest full-length album, "The Age of Adz", on October 12. NPR streamed the album until it was released on October 12, 2010.  The two albums featured a wide range of arrangements, from orchestral to electronic. Song lengths were also extended; the track "Djohariah" from "All Delighted People" is 17 minutes long, while "Impossible Soul" from "The Age of Adz" is 25 minutes long. The albums also feature many styles from disco to folk.  Stevens has stated in interviews that in 2009 and 2010 he suffered from a mysterious debilitating virus infection that affected his nervous system. He experienced chronic pain and was forced to stop working on music for several months. He said: ""The Age of Adz", is, in some ways, a result of that process of working through health issues and getting much more in touch with my physical self. That's why I think the record's really obsessed with sensation and has a hysterical melodrama to it."  On October 12, 2010, Stevens began his North American tour in Montreal, featuring virtually all new material. The tour lasted just over a month and ended on November 15, 2010 in New York City. Stevens toured Australia and New Zealand in early 2011, featured as part of the Sydney Festival, and appeared on-stage with The National during the last of three sold-out Auckland shows. He also toured Europe and the United Kingdom in April and May 2011, playing there for the first time in five years. His shows mostly consisted of new material, but he did play many older tracks from "Seven Swans" and "Illinois". Stevens ended the Age of Adz tour with two shows in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York.

Further collaborative projects (2012–2014).

On February 27, 2012, it was announced Stevens would release a collaborative EP called "Beak & Claw", on March 20, with artists Son Lux and Serengeti under the name S / S / S on the Anticon record label.  Stevens released a 7" with close friend Rosie Thomas for Record Store Day 2012, entitled "Hit & Run Vol. 1". He also collaborated with choreographer Justin Peck on two ballets for the New York City Ballet: Year of the Rabbit (2012) and Everywhere We Go (2014), both to great critical acclaim.  Stevens, along with fellow Brooklyn musicians Nico Muhly and Bryce Dessner, began performing their classical project "Planetarium", a song-cycle based around the planets in our solar system in countries such as England, The Netherlands, Australia and France from March to July 2012.  On October 2, 2012, it was announced that Stevens would release a second set of Christmas albums, "", on November 13, 2012. "Silver & Gold" contains 58 songs, allowing for a total of 100 when combined with his first set of Christmas albums, "Songs for Christmas". To support this new release, Stevens performed in 24 cities around the United States for his 2012 tour titled, "The Sirfjam Stephanapolous Christmas Sing-A-Long Seasonal Affective Disorder Spectacular Music Pageant Variety Show Disaster." On December 11, 2012, Stevens released "Chopped and Scrooged", a Christmas-themed hip-hop mixtape featuring music from "Silver & Gold".  As a part of Joyful Noise's 2013 Flexi Disc Series, Stevens and Cat Martino, of Stranger Cat, recorded the single "Take the Time". Martino has contributed to many of Stevens' past projects including "The Age of Adz".  On March 18, 2014, Stevens released the self-titled album, "Sisyphus", with Son Lux and rapper Serengeti.

"Carrie & Lowell" (2015–2017).

On January 12, 2015, Asthmatic Kitty Records announced that Stevens would release a new album called "Carrie & Lowell". Stevens shared the first single from the album, "No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross", on February 16, 2015.  "Carrie & Lowell" was released on March 31, 2015. The album met with critical acclaim on release, receiving a 9.3 from Pitchfork under "best new music", and an initial score of 90 from Metacritic. "Stereogum" placed the album on its best albums of the decade list in 16th place and described it as "an elegant heartbreaker of an album", while "Consequence of Sound" ranked it the 43rd best album of the decade, calling it "a special brew that makes even the most intimate personal moment feel parabolic." The album follows the nuances and trials of life with Stevens' mother, Carrie, who was diagnosed bipolar and schizophrenic, was addicted to drugs, and abandoned him when he was a year old; it also includes Stevens' stepfather, Lowell Brams. Stevens also stated that the songwriting for the album was incited by his process of grieving and coming to terms with his and his mother's relationship following his mother's death due to stomach cancer in 2012.  On January 26, 2015, Asthmatic Kitty Records announced a tour of North America, which began in April 2015, to coincide with the new album. Stevens also headlined the End of the Road Festival in the United Kingdom in September. On July 21, a second set of U.S. tour dates, which took place in October and November 2015, was announced.  After Stevens performed new compositions about the Solar System alongside composers Nico Muhly and Bryce Dessner in Amsterdam in April 2012, it was reported in March 2017 that the three and James McAlister would produce an album. The "80-minute concept album", titled "Planetarium", was released in July 2017. On April 28, 2017, a live album and concert film, "Carrie & Lowell Live" was released, featuring new interpretations, re-workings and expansions of the songs from "Carrie & Lowell". In addition to the live album, Stevens announced another "Carrie & Lowell" companion piece, "The Greatest Gift", which was released on November 24. It includes four unreleased songs from the album sessions, as well as several remixes and a demo.

"Call Me by Your Name" and singles releases (2017–present).

In January 2017, it was announced that Stevens would contribute original songs written and recorded by himself for the coming-of-age romantic drama film "Call Me by Your Name", directed by Luca Guadagnino and based on André Aciman's novel of the same name. The film was released on November 24, 2017, by Sony Pictures Classics. features two new songs and a remix of an existing song by Stevens: "Visions of Gideon", which has been described as containing "lush orchestrations" and "staccato-heavy piano refrains," "Mystery of Love", which was featured in the film's trailer as well as the film itself, and an "ethereal piano arrangement" of "The Age of Adz" track "Futile Devices". The film received critical acclaim following its release, holding an approval rating of 95% based on 311 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10, on Rotten Tomatoes. In his review of the film, "Consequence of Sound" writer Dominick Suzanne-Mayer praised Stevens's work as a composer on the film, noting that he "has a perfect ear for the film’s portrayal of a summer that’s getting shorter by the day." In January 2018, "Mystery of Love" earned a nomination for the year's Academy Award for Best Original Song. Later in the year, the song received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The song was also featured in the second season of the Netflix series Sex Education.  In December 2017, Stevens released two versions of "Tonya Harding", a song about the figure skater Tonya Harding. The song's video shows a clip of the eponymous skater performing at the 1991 US Figure Skating Championships. Two days later, the single was offered for digital download and streaming, to be followed later by a cassette and vinyl release, in two versions, the one featured in the video (subtitled "in D major") and a piano-only arrangement ("in E♭ major"); in a short essay, Stevens revealed his intention to write a song about Harding since 1991. According to Stevens, "I've been trying to write a Tonya Harding song since I first saw her skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1991. She's a complicated subject for a song partly because the hard facts of her life are so strange, disputable, heroic, unprecedented, and indelibly American." Stevens later revealed that the song was offered to the producers to the biographical film "I, Tonya", which was released in the same period, but that they decided not to include it in the film.  In October 2018, Stevens performed and recorded with pop music artist Angelo De Augustine a collaborative duo of the latter's "Time" single. On May 29, 2019, Stevens released two new songs, entitled "Love Yourself" and "With My Whole Heart", respectively, which were released in celebration of Pride Month. The official release of the singles included a demo version of "Love Yourself" from 1996, performed by Stevens, as well as a brief instrumental reprise of "Love Yourself". Alongside the release of the songs, it was also announced that 7" vinyl records of the songs would be released June 28, 2019. A pride-themed T-Shirt designed by Stevens also debuted alongside the singles. It was also confirmed later that a portion of the proceeds from the songs and shirts would go to the Ali Forney Center in Brooklyn and the Ruth Ellis Center in Detroit, two organizations which aim to help LGBT+ youth. In October 2019, Stevens released an album entitled "The Decalogue" with pianist Timo Andres. It is based on a ballet of the same name by Justin Peck, composed by Stevens.  On March 24, 2020, Stevens released a collaborative album with his stepfather, Lowell Brams, entitled "Aporia".

Musical style.

Genre.

Stevens' sound has been most generally associated with genres such as indie folk, alternative rock, indie rock, indie pop, baroque pop, chamber pop, folk pop, avant-garde folk, lo-fi folk, and electronica.

Themes.

Stevens's work is known to explore themes of love, religion, outer space, and grief.  Despite many of his songs having spiritual allusions, Stevens does not identify as a contemporary Christian music artist or frequently discuss religion with the press. He told "The Village Voice", "I don't think music media is the real forum for theological discussions. I think I've said things and sung about things that probably weren't appropriate for this kind of form. And I just feel like it's not my work or my place to be making claims and statements, because I often think it's misunderstood."  During a 2004 interview with Adrian Pannett for "Comes with a Smile" magazine, when asked how important faith was to his music, he responded, "I don't like talking about that stuff in the public forum because, I think, certain themes and convictions are meant for personal conversation." In a 2006 interview, he said, "It's not so much that faith influences us as it lives in us. In every circumstance (giving a speech or tying my shoes), I am living and moving and being."

Personal life.

As of 2010, Stevens lived in Kensington, Brooklyn in New York City, where he is a member of the Brooklyn staff of Asthmatic Kitty Records. He is a Christian. Stevens also stated in 2005 that he attended an Anglo-Catholic Episcopal Church.  A multi-instrumentalist, Stevens is known for his use of the banjo, but also plays guitar, piano, drums, woodwinds, and several other instruments, often playing all of these on his albums through the use of multitrack recording. While in school, he studied the oboe and English horn, which he also plays on his albums. Stevens did not learn to play the guitar until his time at Hope College.

Discography.

Studio albums

Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released a total of seven solo studio albums as well as multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has also received Academy Award and Grammy Award nominations.

Sufjan Stevens (* 1. Juli 1975 in Detroit, Michigan) ist ein US-amerikanischer Singer-Songwriter und Multiinstrumentalist. Unter anderem spielt er Gitarre, Banjo, Klavier, Orgel, Bass, Oboe, Saxophon, Querflöte, Akkordeon und Schlagzeug. Zurzeit lebt er in New York.