Background.

Inspiration for Mincemeat.

On 29 September 1939, soon after the start of the Second World War, Rear Admiral John Godfrey, the Director of Naval Intelligence, circulated the Trout memo, a paper that compared the deception of an enemy in wartime to fly fishing. The historian Ben Macintyre observes that although the paper was published under Godfrey's name, it "bore all the hallmarks of... Lieutenant Commander Ian Fleming", Godfrey's personal assistant. The memo contained a number of schemes to be considered for use against the Axis powers to lure U-boats and German surface ships towards minefields. Number 28 on the list was titled: "A Suggestion (not a very nice one)"; it was an idea to plant misleading papers on a corpse that would be found by the enemy.  The deliberate planting of fake documents to be found by the enemy was not new; known as the Haversack Ruse, it had been practised by the British and others in the First and

British Intelligence and the inspiration for the plan.

A month after the Turner crash, the British intelligence officer Charles Cholmondeley outlined his own variation of the Trout memo plan, codenamed Trojan Horse, after the Achaean deception from the Trojan War. His plan was  Cholmondeley was a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force (RAF) who had been seconded to MI5, Britain's domestic counter-intelligence and security service. He had been appointed as the secretary of the Twenty Committee, a small inter-service, inter-departmental intelligence team in charge of double agents. In November 1942 the Twenty

Military situation.

In late 1942, with the Allied success in the North African Campaign, military planners turned to the next target. British planners considered that an invasion of France from Britain could not take place until 1944 and the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, wanted to use the Allied forces from North Africa to attack Europe's "soft underbelly". There were two possible targets for the Allies to attack. The first option was Sicily; control of the island would open the Mediterranean Sea to Allied shipping and allow the invasion of continental Europe through Italy. The second option was to go into Greece and the Balkans, to trap the German forces between the British and American invaders and the Soviets. At the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, Allied planners agreed on the selection of Sicily – codenamed Operation Husky – and decided to undertake the invasion no later than

Development.

Examining the practicalities; locating a corpse.

Montagu and Cholmondeley were assisted by an MI6 representative, Major Frank Foley, as they examined the practicalities of the plan. Montagu approached the pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury to determine what kind of body they needed and what factors they would need to take into account to fool a Spanish pathologist. Spilsbury informed him that those who died in an air crash often did so from shock and not drowning; the lungs would not necessarily be filled with water. He added that "Spaniards, as Roman Catholics, were averse to post-mortems and did not hold them unless the cause of death was of great importance". Spilsbury advised that a person could have suffered one of many different causes of death, which could be misconstrued in an autopsy. Montagu later wrote  This meant that not only would they have a better degree of success than they previously thought, but that there would be a larger number of corpses potentially available for selection when the

Developing the plan; the corpse's new identity.

Montagu selected the code name Mincemeat from a list of centrally held available possibilities. On 4 February 1943 Montagu and Cholmondeley filed their plan for the operation with the Twenty Committee; it was a re-working of Cholmondeley's Trojan Horse plan. The Mincemeat plan was to place documents on the corpse, and then float it off the coast of Spain, whose nominally neutral government was known to co-operate with the, the German military intelligence organisation. The plan was passed by the committee, who passed it up the chain of command to the senior Allied strategists; Montagu and Cholmondeley were ordered to continue with their preparations for the operation.

Deception documents.

Montagu outlined three criteria for the document that contained the details of the falsified plans to land in the Balkans. He said that the target should be casually but clearly identified, that it should name Sicily and another location as cover, and that it should be in an unofficial correspondence that would not normally be sent by diplomatic courier, or encoded signal. The main document was a personal letter from Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Nye, vice chief of the Imperial General Staff – who had a deep knowledge of ongoing military operations – to General Sir Harold Alexander, commander of the Anglo-American 18th Army Group in Algeria and Tunisia under General Eisenhower. After several attempts at drafting the document did not generate something that was considered natural, it was suggested that Nye should draw up the letter himself to cover the required points. The letter covered several purportedly sensitive subjects, such as the (unwanted) award of Purple Heart medals by US forces to British servicemen serving with them and the appointment of a new commander of the Brigade of Guards. Montagu thought the result was "quite brilliant"; the key part of the letter stated that  There was

Technical considerations; strategic approval.

Montagu and Cholmondeley gave consideration to the location of the corpse's delivery. It had long been assumed by the pair that the western coast of Spain would be the ideal location. Early in the planning they investigated the possibility of Portuguese and French coasts, but rejected those in favour of Huelva on the coast of southern Spain, after advice was taken from the Hydrographer of the Navy regarding the tides and currents best suited to ensure the body landed where

Execution.

In the early hours of 17 April 1943 the corpse of Michael was dressed as Martin, although there was one last-minute hitch: the feet had frozen. Purchase, Montagu and Cholmondeley could not put the boots on, so an electric fire was located and the feet defrosted enough to put the boots on properly. The pocket litter was placed on the body, and the briefcase attached. The body was placed in the canister, which was filled with of dry ice and sealed up. When the dry ice sublimated, it filled the canister with carbon dioxide and drove out any oxygen, thus preserving the body without refrigeration. The canister was placed in the 1937 Fordson van of an MI5 driver St. John "Jock" Horsfall, who had been a racing champion before the war. Cholmondeley and Montagu travelled in the back of the van, which

Spanish handling of the corpse and the ramifications.

The body of "Major Martin" was found at around 9:30 am on 30 April 1943 by a local fisherman; it was taken to Huelva by Spanish soldiers, where it was handed over to a naval judge. Haselden, as vice-consul, was officially informed by the Spaniards; he reported back to the Admiralty that the body and briefcase had been found. A series of pre-scripted diplomatic cables were sent between Haselden and his superiors, which continued for several days. The British knew that these were being intercepted and, although they were encrypted, the Germans had broken the code; the messages played out the story that it was imperative that Haselden retrieve the briefcase because it was important.  At midday on 1May an autopsy was undertaken on Michael's body; Haselden was present and – in order to minimise the possibilities that the two Spanish doctors identified that the body was a three-month old corpse – Haselden asked if, in the heat of the day and smell of the corpse, the doctors should bring the post mortem to a close and have lunch. They agreed and signed a death certificate for Major William Martin for "asphyxiation through immersion in the sea"; the body was released by the Spanish and, as Major Martin, was buried in the San Marco section of Nuestra Señora cemetery in Huelva, with full military honours on 2May. The Spanish navy retained the briefcase and, despite pressure from Adolf Clauss and some of his agents, neither it or its contents were handed over to the Germans. On 5May the briefcase was passed to the naval headquarters at San Fernando near Cadiz, for forwarding to Madrid. While at San Fernando the contents were photographed by German sympathisers, but the letters were not opened. Once the briefcase arrived in Madrid, its contents became the focus of attention of Karl-Erich Kühlenthal, one of the most senior agents in Spain. He asked admiral

German reaction; outcome.

On 14 May 1943 Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz met Hitler to discuss Dönitz's recent visit to Italy, his meeting with the Italian leader Benito Mussolini and the progress of the war. The Admiral, referring to the Mincemeat documents as the "Anglo-Saxon order", recorded  Hitler informed Mussolini that Greece, Sardinia and Corsica must be defended "at all costs", and that German troops would be best placed to do the job. He ordered that the experienced 1st Panzer Division be transferred from France to Salonika. The order was intercepted by GC&CS on 21 May. By the end of June, German troop strength on

Aftermath.

On 25 July 1943, as the battle for Sicily went against the Axis forces, the Italian Grand Council of Fascism voted to limit the power of Mussolini, and handed control of the Italian armed forces over to King Victor Emmanuel III. The following day Mussolini met the King, who dismissed him as prime minister; the former dictator was then imprisoned. A new Italian government took power and began secret negotiations with the Allies. Sicily fell on 17August after a force of 65,000 Germans held off 400,000 American and British troops long enough to allow many of the Germans to evacuate to the Italian mainland.  The military historian Jon Latimer observes that the relative ease with which the allies captured Sicily was not entirely because of Mincemeat, or the wider deception of Operation Barclay. Latimer identifies other

Legacy.

Montagu was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1944 for his part in Operation Mincemeat; for masterminding the plan, Cholmondeley was appointed a Member of the Order in 1948. Duff Cooper, a former cabinet minister who had been briefed on the operation in March 1943, published the spy novel "Operation Heartbreak" (1950), which contained the plot device of a corpse – with papers naming him as William Maryngton – being floated off the coast of Spain with false documents to deceive the Germans. The British security services decided that the best response was to publish the story of Mincemeat. Over the course of a weekend Montagu wrote "The Man Who Never Was" (1953), which sold two million copies and formed the basis for a 1956 film. The security services did not give Montagu complete freedom to reveal operational details, and he was careful not to mention the role played by signals intelligence to confirm that the operation had been successful. He was also careful to obscure "the idea of an organised programme of strategic deception... with Mincemeat being presented as a 'wild' one-off caper". In 1977 Montagu published "Beyond Top Secret U", his wartime autobiography which gave further details of Mincemeat, among other operations. In 2010 the journalist Ben Macintyre published "Operation Mincemeat", a history of the events.  A 1956 episode of "The Goon Show", entitled "The Man Who Never Was", was set during the Second World War, and referred to a microfilm washed up on a beach inside a German boot. The play "Operation Mincemeat", written by Adrian Jackson and Farhana Sheikh, was first staged by the Cardboard Citizens theatre company in 2001. The work focused on Michael's homelessness. In his book "The Double Agents", the writer W. E. B. Griffin depicts Operation Mincemeat as an American operation run by the Office of Strategic Services. Fictional characters are blended with Ian Fleming and the actors David Niven and Peter Ustinov.  In 2015 the Welsh theatre company Theatr na nÓg produced "" (The Man who Never Was), a musical based on the operation and Glyndwr Michael's upbringing in Aberbargoed. The musical was performed by primary school children from Caerphilly County Borough during that year's Eisteddfod yr Urdd. A musical based on the operation was staged in 2019 at the New Diorama Theatre, London.  In 1977 the Commonwealth War Graves Commission took responsibility for Major Martin's grave in Huelva. In 1997 the Commission added the postscript "Glyndwr Michael served as Major William Martin RM".

Operation Mincemeat was a successful British deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Two members of British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, a tramp who died from eating rat poison, dressed him as an officer of the Royal Marines and placed personal items on him identifying him as the fictitious Captain (Acting Major) William Martin. Correspondence between two British generals which suggested that the Allies planned to invade Greece and Sardinia, with Sicily as merely the target of a feint, was also placed on the body.

L’opération "Mincemeat" (littéralement « "chair à pâté" ») était un plan britannique organisé par le Système Double Cross durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale destiné à convaincre le Grand quartier général allemand (OKW) que les Alliés envahiraient les Balkans et la Sardaigne au lieu de la Sicile, qui était leur réel objectif.


History.

In 1847 after buying land from the Zulu king Mpande, a number of Boers settled in the area and called it the Republic of Klip River with Andries Spies as their commandant. The republic was annexed by the British in the same year and on 20 June 1850 was proclaimed a township called Windsor. On 11 October 1850 the name was changed to Ladysmith after Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith, also known as "Lady Smith," the Spanish wife of Sir Harry Smith, the Governor of the Cape Colony. Sir Harry Smith was the British general governor of Cape Colony and high commissioner in South Africa from 1847 to 1852.  A fort was built in 1860 to protect the villagers from the Zulu.

The Second Boer War.

Battle of Ladysmith.

During the Second Boer War British commander Lieutenant General Sir George White made Ladysmith his centre of operations for the protection of Natal against the Boer forces. Starting on 29 October 1899 a number of short-lived battles were fought for control of the town, but after suffering heavy casualties the British forces retreated to Ladysmith and the Boer forces did not make use of the opportunity to follow up the attack and take control of the town.

Siege of Ladysmith.

Following the Battle of Ladysmith, whilst British forces under Lieutenant General Sir George White regrouped in the town, Boer forces surrounded Ladysmith. The siege lasted 118 days, from 2 November 1899 to 28 February 1900, during the most crucial stage of the war. Approximately 3,000 British soldiers died during the siege.

Relief of Ladysmith.

Three attempts by General Sir Redvers Buller to break the siege resulted in defeat for the British forces at the battles of Colenso, Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz. On 6 January 1900 the Boer forces of Commandant-General Piet Joubert attempted to end the siege by taking the town before the British could launch another attempt to break the siege. This led to the battle of Platrand (or Wagon Hill) south of the town.  Buller finally broke the siege on 28 February 1900 after defeating the Boers by using close cooperation between his infantry and artillery.  Winston Churchill, then a young war correspondent for "The Morning Post" (London), was present at the Relief of Ladysmith after having been taken prisoner (between Ladysmith and Colenso) and escaping earlier during the war.  Mohandas Gandhi, along with the stretcher-bearing corps that he had established earlier during the war, was involved in a number of actions that took place in and around Ladysmith during the Relief.

Geography.

Ladysmith is located on the banks of the Klip River ("stone river"), with the central business district and a large part of the residential areas located within the flood basin of the river. It is on the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains, about 26 km from the Van Reenen's Pass.

Flooding.

Since it was established the town has suffered severely from flooding of the Klip River. During the 110 years up to 1997 with the completion of the Qedusizi Dam, 29 serious floods occurred. Minor flooding occurred almost every year.  The worst flooding in 30 years occurred in 1996 leading to R500 million in damages and the evacuation of 400 families. Efforts to control the flooding date back to the 1940s. In 1949 the Windsor Dam was completed, but this dam silted up very quickly and was not an effective means of flood control.

Climate.

Ladysmith has a subtropical highland climate ("Cwb", according to the Köppen climate classification), with warm summers and cool, dry winters. It borders on a humid subtropical climate ("Cwa"). The average annual precipitation is, with most rainfall occurring during summer.

Cityscape.

Architecture.

The Soofi Mosque on the banks of the Klip River was originally built some time between 1895 and 1910, but it was greatly extended in the 1960s.  Other buildings of interest are the Siege Museum, originally built in 1884 as a marketplace and the Town Hall, damaged by Boer artillery during the Second Boer War.

Transport.

Air.

Ladysmith is served by a small airport, is located on the outskirts of town just below Platrand at. The Aerodrome is managed and operated by JetVision Holdings Pty Ltd.

Rail.

The Danskraal Yard is located on the Free State main line and the Glencoe–Vryheid line and acts as a depot for train marshalling and maintenance as well as rail maintenance.  The passenger station is located some distance away from Danskraal close to the Central Business District.

Road.

The N11 links Ladysmith with Bergville and Newcastle, while the R103 provides access to Colenso, KwaZulu-Natal and the N3.  Traffic traveling between Durban and Johannesburg used to pass through Ladysmith up until the late 1980s, but the completion of the N3, bypassing Ladysmith to the west, has caused a dramatic drop in traffic volumes through this town as well as others that are now bypassed.  Mcitsheni Junior primary School

Education.

Primary.

Gqama Senior School Damu Junior primary school

Society and culture.

Media.

The only sold local newspaper in Ladysmith is the "Ladysmith Gazette". The "Ladysmith Gazette" is just over a century old, and is believed to have been established in 1902. The "Ladysmith Gazette" is part of the Caxton Group of newspapers. One of two free local newspapers is the "Ladysmith Herald". The other free newspaper is the "Times of Ladysmith".

Museums, monuments and memorials.

The Second Boer War.

A large number of the Second Boer War Battlefields around Ladysmith have been preserved as memorial sites. Monuments and memorials to those who died during the battles have been erected at most of them.

Siege museum.

Located next to the town hall there is a small museum detailing the battles and history at the time of the Siege. The museum was opened in 1985 and holds around 60,000 documents related to the Siege and Boer War.

Platrand/Wagon Hill.

Located just south of the town, this area saw action during the Relief of Ladysmith. The Burgher Memorial on Wagon Hill was erected in honour of Boer forces killed during the siege and relief of Ladysmith.  On Platrand there are memorials to the Imperial Light Horse, the Devonshire Regiment, the Earl of Ava and a number of others.

Castor and Pollux.

Two RML 6.3 inch Howitzers used by the British during the Siege stand in front of the Town Hall.

Mohandas Gandhi statue.

A statue of Mohandas Gandhi can be seen at the Lord Vishnu Temple.

Music.

Ladysmith is the hometown of Joseph Shabalala, founder of the group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Sport.

Thulani "Sugar Boy" Malinga, a champion boxer, was born in Ladysmith.  Elmer Symons, Dakar Rally rider, was killed in the 2007 edition while leading the Marathon class.  Diyo Sibisi, soccer player, was born in Sahlumbe, under Uthukela district in KwaZulu Natal.  Thamsanqa Gabuza, soccer player, plays for Orlando Pirates, was born in Ladysmith.

Religion.

Christianity has a strong presence in and around Ladysmith. It can be seen through the beautiful places of worship built around the time of the Anglo Boer wars. One such structure includes the Anglican All Saints Church, built in 1902 from cut flagstones from a quarry in the area.  Islam also has a strong presence in the town, which is well known for the Soofie Mosque and its astounding architecture. Built in 1969, it is regarded as one of the finest in the country. The origins of the marvellous structure date back to 1895 when Hazrath Soofie Saheb arrived in South Africa. He made it his mission to build as many as 12 mosques along the east coast of Durban. Ladysmith was also the home of a revered saint known as Hazrath Soofie Sayed Mahomed Abed Mia Osmani, who is buried in the Ladysmith Muslim Cemetery.  Hinduism. In 1902, Sanathan Dharma Sabha was inaugurated to promote religious, social, cultural and education activities in Ladysmith. The oldest Hindu temple resulted from the amalgamation of Hindu Thirokootam (1910) with the Shree Ganaser Temple and hall erected in 1916. It was declared a national monument in November 1990.  The present site of the SDS temple(Sanathan Dharma Sabha aka Lord Vishnu Temple) also housed Mahatma Gandhi who established a non-White Stretcher-bearer service in the Ambulance Corps in the Ladysmith and Spioenkop during the Anglo-Boer War.  There are also Rastafarian devotees within the areas surrounding Ladysmith, residing in Waters meet, Peace Town, eZakheni,Steadville, Saint Chad s, Acaciaville and Roosbom. They are spiritual people, scholars of black consciousness and African liberation,They run businesses, they are musicians, poets, artists and writers. They are the keepers of different African philosophies.

Military.

5 South African Infantry Battalion is based in Ladysmith. A military shooting range is located on the outskirts of the town between the Aerodrome and Platrand.

Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It lies north-west of Durban and south-east of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textiles, and tyre production. Motor vehicle tyres are produced by "Sumitomo Rubber South Africa" in the nearby township of Steadville.

Ladysmith est une ville d'Afrique du Sud située dans la province du KwaZulu-Natal. En 2001, elle comptait 225 500 habitants.


Life.

He was born in Nice, then part of the Duchy of Savoy. Van Loo followed his brother Jean-Baptiste to Turin, and then to Rome in 1712, where he studied under Benedetto Luti and the sculptor Pierre Le Gros. After leaving Italy in 1723, he worked in Paris, studied at the Académie Royale, where he gained first prize for drawing in 1723, and received the first prize for historical painting in 1727—as did his future rival François Boucher. In 1724 he won the Prix de Rome.  After again visiting Turin in 1727, he was employed by king Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, for whom he painted a series of subjects illustrative of Torquato Tasso. In 1734 he settled in Paris, and in 1735 became a member of the "Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture" and rose rapidly in the hierarchy of the academy. Madame de Pompadour and the French court were taking the artist under their patronage. He was decorated with the Order of Saint Michael and named First Painter to king Louis XV of France in 1762. He was a most successful court painter but his portraits as well as history paintings also enjoyed an enormous success throughout all Europe. He died in Paris on 15 July 1765.

Work.

By his simplicity of style and correctness of design, the result of his study of the great Italian masters, he did much to purify the modern French school; but the praise that was later lavished upon his productions now appears undue and excessive. His patrons included members of the court, the Gobelins factory, private individuals, and the church. In the ensuing centuries, Van Loo's critical fortune has plummeted, although his ability remains admirable, and the quality and variety of his work command respect. His "Marriage of the Virgin" is preserved in the Louvre.

Carle or Charles-André van Loo (; 15 February 1705 – 15 July 1765) was a French subject painter, son of the painter Louis-Abraham van Loo, a younger brother of Jean-Baptiste van Loo and grandson of Jacob van Loo. He was the most famous member of a successful dynasty of painters of Dutch origin. His oeuvre includes every category: religion, history painting, mythology, portraiture, allegory, and genre scenes.

Charles André van Loo, dit Carle van Loo, né le à Nice (alors comté de Nice des États de Savoie) et mort le à Paris, est un peintre français.


Land area and borders.

The Korean Peninsula extends southward from the northeast part of the Asian continental landmass. The Japanese islands of Honshū and Kyūshū are located some 200 km (124 mi) to the southeast across the Korea Strait; the Shandong Peninsula of China lies 190 kilometers to the west. The west coast of the peninsula is bordered by the Korea Bay to the north and the Yellow Sea and Korea Strait to the south; the east coast is bordered by the East sea. The 8,640-kilometer coastline is highly indented. Some 3,579 islands lie adjacent to the peninsula. Most of them are found along the south and west coasts.  The line between the two Korean states was the thirty-eighth parallel of latitude. After the Korean War, the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) formed the boundary between the two. The DMZ is a heavily guarded, 4,000-meter-wide strip of land that runs along the demarcation line established by the Korean Armistice Agreement from the east to the west coasts for a distance of 241 kilometers (238 kilometers of that line from the land boundary with North Korea).  The total land area of the peninsula, including the islands, is 223,170 square kilometers. Some 44.8 percent (100 210 square kilometers) of this total, excluding the area within the DMZ, constitutes the territory of the Republic of Korea. The combined territories of North Korea and South Korea are about the same size as the U.S. state of Minnesota. South Korea alone is about the size of Portugal or Hungary, or the U.S. state of Indiana.  The largest island, Jeju-do, lies off the southwest corner of the peninsula and has a land area of 1,825 square kilometers. Other important islands include Ulleung and Liancourt Rocks in the Sea of Japan and Ganghwa Island at the mouth of the Han River. Although the eastern coastline of South Korea is generally unindented, the southern and western coasts are jagged and irregular. The difference is caused by the fact that the eastern coast is gradually rising, while the southern and western coasts are subsiding.

Topography and drainage.

Early European visitors to Korea remarked that the land resembled "a sea in a heavy gale" because of the large number of successive mountain ranges that crisscross the peninsula. The highest mountains are in North Korea. The highest mountain peak in South Korea is Hallasan (1,950 m), which is the cone of a volcanic formation constituting Jeju Island. There are two major mountain ranges within South Korea: the Taebaek Mountains, and the Sobaek Mountains.  Unlike Japan or the northern provinces of China, the Korean Peninsula is geologically stable. There are no active volcanoes (aside from Baekdu Mountain on the border between North Korea and China, most recently active in 1903), and there have been no strong earthquakes. Historical records, however, describe volcanic activity on Mount Halla during the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392).  South Korea has no extensive plains; its lowlands are the product of mountain erosion. Approximately 30 percent of the area of South Korea consists of lowlands, with the rest consisting of uplands and mountains. The great majority of the lowland area lies along the coasts, particularly the west coast, and along the major rivers. The most important lowlands are the Han River plain around Seoul, the Pyeongtaek coastal plain southwest of Seoul, the Geum River basin, the Nakdong River basin, and the Yeongsan River and the Honam plains in the southwest. A narrow littoral plain extends along the east coast.  The Nakdong is South Korea's longest river (521 kilometers). The Han River, which flows through Seoul, is 514 kilometers long, and the Geum River is 401 kilometers long. Other major rivers include the Imjin, which flows through both North Korea and South Korea and forms an estuary with the Han River; the Bukhan, a tributary of the Han that also flows out of North Korea; and the Somjin. The major rivers flow north to south or east to west and empty into the Yellow Sea or the Korea Strait. They tend to be broad and shallow and to have wide seasonal variations in water flow.  In the early part of the 20th century and especially the period during and after World War II and the Korean War, much of the existing Korean forests were cut down, which led to problems with flooding and soil erosion. Combination of reforestation efforts (e.g. Arbor day was celebrated as a national holiday starting in 1949) and policies designed to reduce the use of firewood as a source of energy (e.g. restriction of inflow of firewood into Seoul and other major cities starting in 1958) helped to spark a recovery in the 1950s. Comprehensive reforestation programs starting in the 1970s and continuing into the late 1990s aided in an acceleration of forest volume increase, and the forest cover reached a peak of 65% of national land area in 1980 as opposed to a low of 35% in 1955.  News that North Korea was constructing a huge multipurpose dam at the base of Geumgangsan (1,638 m) north of the DMZ caused considerable consternation in South Korea during the mid-1980s. South Korean authorities feared that once completed, a sudden release of the dam's waters into the Pukhan River during north-south hostilities could flood Seoul and paralyze the capital region. During 1987 the Geumgangsan Dam was a major issue that Seoul sought to raise in talks with Pyongyang. Though Seoul completed a "Peace Dam" on the Pukhan River to counteract the potential threat of Pyongyang's dam project before the 1988 Olympics, the North Korean project still was in its initial stages of construction in 1990.  Maritime claims: "territorial sea:" "contiguous zone:"  "exclusive economic zone:"  "continental shelf:" not specified  Elevation extremes: "lowest point:" Sea level 0 m "highest point:" Hallasan 1,950 m

Climate.

Part of the East Asian Monsoon region, South Korea has a temperate climate with four distinct seasons. The movement of air masses from the Asian continent exerts a greater influence on South Korea's weather than does air movement from the Pacific Ocean. Winters are usually long, cold, and dry, whereas summers are short, hot, and humid. Spring and autumn are pleasant but short in duration. Seoul's mean temperature in January is ; in July the mean temperature is about. Because of its southern and seagirt location, Jeju Island has warmer and milder weather than other parts of South Korea. Mean temperatures on Jeju range from in January to in July.  The country generally has sufficient rainfall to sustain its agriculture. Rarely does less than of rainfall in any given year; for the most part, rainfall is over. Amounts of precipitation, however, can vary from year to year. Serious droughts occur about once every eight years, especially in the rice-producing southwestern part of the country. About two-thirds of the annual precipitation occurs between June and September.  South Korea is less vulnerable to typhoons than Japan, Taiwan, the east coast of China, or the Philippines. From one to three typhoons can be expected per year. Typhoons usually pass over South Korea in late summer, especially in August, and bring torrential rains. Flooding occasionally causes considerable damage, as do landslides, given the country's generally mountainous terrain.  In September 1984, record floods caused the deaths of 190 people and left 200,000 homeless. This disaster prompted the North Korean government to make an unprecedented offer of humanitarian aid in the form of rice, medicine, clothes, and building materials. South Korea accepted these items and distributed them to flood victims.  Graphically the seasons can be represented this way:

Environmental concerns.

Natural hazards.

There are occasional typhoons that bring high winds and floods. There is also low-level seismic activity, which is common in the southwest.

Volcanism.

Hallasan (elev. 1,950 m) is considered historically active although it has not erupted in many centuries. Earthquake activity is minimal, however, since 2016 there have been two earthquakes over 5.4 magnitude.

Environment.

Current issues.

Habitat loss and degradation, especially of wetlands, through coastal reclamation (e.g. Saemangeum, Shiwa, Song Do, Namyang Bay, Asan Bay, in the south-west, Gwangyang Bay and the Nakdong Estuary) have caused huge declines in fisheries and of biodiversity. Most riverine wetland in Korea is now threatened by the proposed Grand Korean Waterway project. There are also some problems air pollution in large cities; as well as water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents. Drift netting is another issue.

International agreements.

South Korea is a party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution (MARPOL 73/78), Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

South Korea is located in East Asia, on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula located out from the far east of the Asian landmass. The only country with a land border to South Korea is North Korea, lying to the north with of the border running along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. South Korea is mostly surrounded by water and has of coast line along three seas; to the west is the Yellow Sea (West Sea), to the south is the East China Sea, and to the east is the Sea of Japan (known as the "East Sea" in South Korea). Geographically, South Korea's landmass is approximately. of South Korea are occupied by water. The approximate coordinates are 37° North, 128° East.

La République de Corée ou Corée du sud est située à l'est de l'Asie, sur la moitié méridionale de la péninsule coréenne avançant en saillie hors de l'Extrême-Orient de la masse de terre asiatique. Le seul pays adjacent est la République populaire démocratique de Corée au nord avec de frontière le long de la zone démilitarisée (DMZ). La Corée du sud est surtout entourée par l'eau et possède donc de littoral le long de trois mers, la mer Jaune à l'ouest, la mer de Chine du sud-ouest au sud-est, et à l'est la mer du Japon (ou "mer de l'Est" pour les Coréens). Avec, la Corée du Sud est légèrement plus petite que la Bulgarie. de la Corée du sud sont occupés par l'eau douce. Les coordonnées approximatives sont 37° nord, 127° 30 est. La Corée du Sud possède près de îles réparties à l'ouest et au sud de la péninsule.


Background.

On 28 June 1914, Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo. The assassination precipitated the July Crisis, which led Austria-Hungary to issue an ultimatum to Serbia on 23 July on suspicion that the assassination had been planned in Belgrade. The Austro-Hungarian government made the ultimatum intentionally unacceptable to Serbia, and it was indeed rejected. The Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia on 28 July and that same day the Serbs destroyed all bridges on the Sava and Danube rivers in order to prevent the Austro-Hungarians from using them during any future invasion. Belgrade was shelled the following day, marking the beginning of World War I.  Fighting in Eastern Europe began with the first Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia in early August 1914, under the command of Oskar Potiorek. The number of Austro-Hungarian troops assigned to the invasion was far smaller than the 308,000-strong force intended when war was declared. This was because a large portion of the Austro-Hungarian 2nd Army had moved to the Russian Front, reducing the number of troops involved in the initial stages of the invasion to approximately 200,000. On the other hand, the Serbs could muster some 450,000 men to oppose the Austro-Hungarians upon full mobilization. The main elements to face the Austro-Hungarians were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Užice armies, with a combined strength of approximately 180,000 men. The Serbian Army was commanded by Crown Prince Alexander, with the chief of the Serbian general staff, Radomir Putnik, as his deputy and "de facto" military leader. Petar Bojović, Stepa Stepanović, Pavle Jurišić Šturm and Miloš Božanović commanded the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Užice armies, respectively.  The Balkan Wars had only just concluded and Serbia was still recovering. Over 36,000 Serbian soldiers had been killed and 55,000 seriously wounded. Few recruits had been gained from the newly acquired territories, and the Serbian Army had been stretched by the need to garrison them against Albanian insurgents and the threat of Bulgarian attack. To compound matters, the Serbs were dangerously short of artillery, and had only just begun to replenish their ammunition stocks. Their supply problems also extended to more basic items. Many soldiers lacked any uniform other than a standard issue greatcoat and a traditional Serbian cap known as a "šajkača". Rifles were also in critically short supply. It was estimated that full mobilization would see some 50,000 Serbian soldiers with no equipment at all. The Austro-Hungarians, on the other hand, possessed an abundance of modern rifles and had twice as many machine guns and field guns as the Serbs. They also had better stocks of munitions, as well as much better transport and industrial infrastructure behind them. The Serbs had a slight advantage over the Austro-Hungarians as many of their soldiers were experienced veterans of the Balkan Wars and better trained than their Austro-Hungarian counterparts. Serb soldiers were also highly motivated, which compensated in part for their lack of weaponry.  The Serbs beat back an Austro-Hungarian invasion in August, at the Battle of Cer. It marked the first Allied victory over the Central Powers in World War I. Potiorek was humiliated by the defeat and was determined to resume the assault against the Serbs. He was given permission in September to launch another invasion of Serbia provided that he "[did not] risk anything that might lead to a further fiasco." Under pressure from the Russians to launch their own offensive and keep as many Austro-Hungarian troops as possible away from the Eastern Front, the Serbs invaded Bosnia in September with the help of Chetnik irregulars but were repulsed after a month of fighting in what came to be known as the Battle of the Drina. Bojović was wounded during the battle and was replaced by Živojin Mišić as commander of the Serbian 1st Army.

Prelude.

Austro-Hungarian plans.

The "Armeeoberkommando" (AOK) acknowledged that an undefeated Serbia severed Austria-Hungary's connection to the Ottoman Empire and prevented the completion of the Berlin–Baghdad railway. The AOK also realized that the Austro-Hungarian army's inability to defeat Serbia would discourage neutral countries—such as Bulgaria, Romania and Greece—from joining the Central Powers and would tempt Italy to open up a third front against Austria-Hungary. Nevertheless, the AOK was hesitant to authorize a third invasion of Serbia. This changed in September 1914, when Austro-Hungarian troops discovered a map in an abandoned Semlin bookshop, titled "The New Division of Europe". Originally printed in a Russian newspaper, the map was widely sold in Serbia and depicted the borders of Europe as they would appear following the war. Germany was to be divided into northern and southern confederations and Austria-Hungary was to be abolished, its eastern provinces given to Russia, Romania, the Czechs and the Hungarians, and its southern provinces divided between Serbia and Italy. Alarmed by the prospect of Austria-Hungary's disintegration, Emperor Franz Joseph personally authorized a third invasion of Serbia in early October 1914.  Having just repelled the Serbian incursion into Bosnia, the Austro-Hungarian Army regrouped and positioned itself for one final invasion before winter set in. Potiorek was again placed in charge of Austro-Hungarian forces and was given command of the Austro-Hungarian 6th Army. The Austro-Hungarian 5th Army was commanded by Liborius Ritter von Frank. In total, the Austro-Hungarians had 450,000 troops at their disposal. The Serbian Army had 400,000 soldiers ready to face the Austro-Hungarian advance. Potiorek appeared confident. "Soldiers of the 5th and 6th armies," he said. "The goal of this war is nearly attained—the complete destruction of the enemy. The three-month campaign is almost over; we must only break the enemy's last resistance before the onset of winter." The Serbs were exhausted and demoralized. In a telegram to Putnik dated 27 October 1914, Stepanović complained that the 2nd Army did not have enough shells to resist the Austro-Hungarians effectively and requested that he be removed from his command; Putnik denied the request, but ordered all units to resist the Austro-Hungarian advance for as long as possible before retreating. This strategy had worked in Putnik's favour during the summer months, but heavy rainfall in September and early October had reduced all of Serbia's roads to "muddy quagmires" that made movement of troops, guns and wagons extremely difficult. Potiorek recognized that the Serbian Army was in a difficult situation; he was certain that a third invasion would bring him the decisive victory that he so desperately wanted.  In Vienna and Sarajevo, Austro-Hungarian officials began planning for the occupation and dismantling of Serbia. The country was to be plundered and its territory used to bribe the neutral Balkan states into joining the Central Powers, with the Romanians getting the region of Timočka Krajina and the Bulgarians getting Macedonia and southeastern Serbia. The Austro-Hungarians intended to annex everything west of the Morava River, as well as the cities of Scutari (Shkodër) and Durazzo (Durrës) in northern Albania. The Serbs living west of the Morava—or "the compact masses of the Serbian element", as the Austro-Hungarians called them—were to be expelled and replaced with Austrian settlers ("colonisten"), who would "change the psychology [of the region], making Serbia more Habsburg [and] less Serbian in outlook." Ludwig Thallóczy, section chief of the Austro-Hungarian Finance Ministry, wrote Potiorek in October, recommending "the West Europeanization of the Serbs with a strong hand" as soon as Serbia was occupied.  Potiorek planned to launch a converging attack across northern and western Serbia; the 5th Army was to capture Valjevo and envelope the Kolubara River from the north, and the 6th Army was to secure the Jagodnja plateau and outflank Serbian units on the Kolubara from the south. The capture of the southeastern Serbian city of Niš was Potiorek's main objective; Niš had been Serbia's capital since July and was a crucial transportation hub for its military. It also acted as a clearing house for munitions produced at the arsenal in nearby Kragujevac. The city's capture would effectively cut Serbia in two and scatter the Serbian Army.

Third Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia.

All of the valleys of northwestern Serbia were swamped by constant rainfall. The mountains had been covered in snow since early October. Acknowledging the opportunity that such conditions presented, Putnik told his closest advisors: "All my strategy consists in placing the 'Serbian national mud' between the enemy's fighting line and his supplies." On 31 October, von Frank's 5th Army pushed down into the region between the Sava and Drina rivers while Potiorek's 6th Army drove west across the Drina and into the Jagodnja plateau. Austria-Hungary's third invasion of Serbia commenced on 6 November 1914, with intense artillery fire strafing a series of Serbian border towns. On 7 November, the Austro-Hungarian 5th and 6th armies attacked across the Drina. Outnumbered and in desperate need of ammunition, the Serbian Army offered fierce resistance but was forced to retreat. The 3rd Army fell back against a road by the Jadar River in an effort to block the Austro-Hungarian advance towards Valjevo, while the 1st Army retreated southward into the Serbian interior and the Užice Army managed to prevent the Austro-Hungarians from crossing the Drina.  On 8 November, the Austro-Hungarians attacked the Serbian 2nd Army near Cer Mountain and came within of the Serbian frontline, entrenching themselves at the foot of the mountain. The 2nd Army was given orders to hold the Austro-Hungarians down for as long as possible and, if its position became untenable, retreat towards the right bank of the Dobrava River and position itself so as to block the approach to Valjevo. Elsewhere, the Austro-Hungarians drove a wedge between the 1st and 3rd Army and forced another Serbian retreat. Later that day, the Serbian Government held a joint session with the Serbian Supreme Command with regard to Serbia's worsening military position. Putnik stressed that it was critical for Serbia to hold the Kolubara and the towns within its vicinity and suggested that the Serbs make a separate peace with Austria-Hungary if this proved impossible. This notion was rejected by the Prime Minister of Serbia, Nikola Pašić, who urged further resistance to the Austro-Hungarians and threatened the resignation of his government if peace discussions began. The session ended with the Serbian Government and Supreme Command agreeing to fight on.

Serbian retreat.

Putnik reasoned that Austro-Hungarian supply lines would become overstretched as their forces pressed deeper into Serbia while the Serbs would continue to hold the railheads in the Serbian interior. On 10 November, he ordered a general retreat from the Jadar and withdrew the Serbian 2nd Army to Ub and positioned the 1st and 3rd armies north and west of Valjevo. Meanwhile, the Užice Army took up positions to defend the town from which it took its name. The Austro-Hungarians pressed after the Serbs, hoping to capture the Obrenovac–Valjevo railroad. Clashes ensued and the Serbian Army managed to prevent the Austro-Hungarians from taking the railroad for a time. It quickly became clear to Putnik that he had underestimated the Austro-Hungarians, who managed to bring their heavy artillery through the muddy Serbian country roads. They established firing positions on the Serbian side of the Drina and began targeting the Serbian Army, which suffered heavy casualties. Morale plummeted amongst the Serbs, who were already significantly demoralized due a lack of cold-weather clothing and ammunition and exhausted by the long retreat towards the Serbian interior. Putnik realized that his forces would need to regroup if they were to provide effective resistance. He ordered that Valjevo be abandoned and had the Serbian Army take up positions on the Kolubara. The retreat towards the river was long and excruciating, with the Serbs being forced to destroy all bridges and telephone lines so that they would not fall into Austro-Hungarian hands. The Serbian Army also abandoned most of its heavy equipment to speed up the withdrawal. Seeing that the situation was critical and that Serbian forces were lacking artillery, ammunition and supplies, Pašić sought the help of the Triple Entente. He sent a telegram to his envoys abroad, which read: "Urgent help is required. Beg and plead." France provided the Serbs with munitions and supplies. Representatives of Russia and the United Kingdom "expressed understanding", but those countries failed to deliver weapons and munitions.  The Austro-Hungarians entered Valjevo on 15 November, prompting wild public celebrations in Vienna. Franz Joseph praised Potiorek for seizing the town; cities across the empire made Potiorek an honorary citizen and Sarajevo even named a street after him. Valjevo's capture led the Austro-Hungarians to believe that they were on the verge of defeating Serbia and that the Serbian Army was no longer a coherent fighting force, but the scorched earth tactics employed by the Serbs during their withdrawal complicated the Austro-Hungarian advance. Although the Austro-Hungarians were right in assuming that the Serbian Army was exhausted, its defensive positions along the Kolubara had been prepared months in advance. Putnik's carefully timed withdrawals had ensured that the losses of the Serbian Army were lighter than if it had stood and fought pitched battles with the Austro-Hungarians. Moreover, the geography of northwestern Serbia favoured defensive operations since the approaches to the Kolubara did not offer any cover to armies invading from the direction of Austria-Hungary and the river itself was surrounded by mountainous terrain. In October, the Serbs had fortified the Jeljak and Maljen mountain ranges in anticipation of an Austro-Hungarian attack. This gave them an advantage over the Austro-Hungarians as it placed them in control of all roads leading to Kragujevac. The Serbs also established a series of field fortifications blocking the approach to Niš. The extensive series of fortifications and the difficulty of the terrain which they faced left the Austro-Hungarians with no choice but to conduct operations in the gruelling Serbian countryside with almost no lines of communication.

Battle.

16–26 November.

The Austro-Hungarians reached the Kolubara on 16 November and launched an assault against Serbian defensive positions there the following day. The Serbs managed to force the Austro-Hungarians back and over the course of the next five days, the two armies fought a series of battles under heavy rain and snowfall. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, with a large number of soldiers succumbing to frostbite and hypothermia.  The Austro-Hungarian assault began at Lazarevac, a strategically located town just south of Belgrade whose capture would have given them access to the Mladenovac railway line and the ability to outflank the Serbian forces holding the road to Belgrade. Further south, the Austro-Hungarians attacked the Serbian 1st Army. During this assault, they made the mistake of attacking its stronger right flank and were met with determined Serbian resistance which prevented them from gaining any ground. Military historian David Jordan notes that had the Austro-Hungarians attacked the junction splitting the 1st and Užice armies, they might have been able to split the Serbs down the centre and gotten hold of an unimpeded passage to the Morava River. The Serbian 1st Army was quick to reinforce its left flank, realizing that any subsequent attack against it would be far less easy to repel.  During the night of 18 November, the Austro-Hungarians moved into position to carry out a further assault, which began the following morning. The Austro-Hungarians' main goal was to break through the defenses of the Serbian 2nd Army, concentrated primarily around Lazarevac, and to drive the Serbian 1st Army back towards the town of Gornji Milanovac while simultaneously assaulting Serbian positions around the villages of Čovka and Vrače Brdo which threatened the Austro-Hungarian flank. The Austro-Hungarians gained a foothold at Vrače Brdo by the evening of 19 November, and seized higher ground from the Serbs further to the south. The Serbian 1st Army was forced to retreat the following day, giving the Austro-Hungarians the ability to advance down the main routes leading to Kragujevac. Potiorek believed it was possible that Putnik was trying to lure the Austro-Hungarians deeper into Serbia for the purpose of encircling them and then attacking their flanks, but correctly assessed that the Serbian Army was in no position to carry out such an attack.  The Austro-Hungarians made a renewed attack against the 1st Army on 21 November, forcing the Serbs back after a series of brutal engagements. The Austro-Hungarians then advanced towards Mount Maljen, aiming to drive the 1st Serbian Army from its positions there. The Serbs withdrew from the mountain after three days of heavy fighting; Potiorek decided not to pursue, allowing them to make an orderly withdrawal. The Austro-Hungarians had suffered heavy casualties and the intensity of the fighting caused them to lose cohesion. As they advanced deeper into Serbia, the terrain became increasingly difficult and exhausted the already tired Austro-Hungarian soldiers. While the Serbian 1st Army withdrew, the 2nd and 3rd armies fiercely resisted the Austro-Hungarian advance. This led Potiorek to reinforce his positions around Lazarevac, which he aimed to capture and use as a pivot from which to attack Kragujevac while his right flank pushed down the West Morava valley. Austro-Hungarian advances convinced Potiorek that his army had the upper hand. He envisaged that his forces would pursue the surviving soldiers from the Serbian 2nd and 3rd Armies and predicted that the Serbian 1st and Užice armies would be forced to manoeuvre towards Belgrade and Lazarevac, where they would be encircled and destroyed. Combat on the outskirts of Lazarevac intensified once again as a result, and the Serbian Army managed to repulse every Austro-Hungarian assault despite a lack of ammunition. The Serbs began to run out of shells and Stepanović asked the Serbian Supreme Command that the artillery of the 2nd Army be redirected to its rear, as he felt that its failure to contribute to the defense of Lazarevac frustrated his troops and was bad for morale. Putnik instructed Stepanović to keep the artillery of the 2nd Army on the front and told him that the Russians had sent artillery shells for its guns. Stepanović was skeptical, but kept the artillery on the front line as instructed.  By 24 November, Potiorek was predicting that Serbia would be defeated within a matter of days and appointed Stjepan Sarkotić to be the country's governor once it was occupied. The Austro-Hungarians made further gains on 25 November, forcing the Serbian Army from Čovka and Vrače Brdo with an intense artillery bombardment. On 26 November, they attempted to cross the Kolubara at its junction with the Sava River and managed to do so in their initial attack. The Serbs soon counterattacked and forced the invaders back, inflicting 50 percent casualties on the Austro-Hungarians and causing their offensive to grind to a halt. On 27 November, the Serbian Army attacked Čovka and Vrače Brdo and succeeded in forcing the Austro-Hungarians out.

Fall of Belgrade.

Although the Serbian Army had put up fierce resistance and inflicted heavy casualties on the Austro-Hungarians, Putnik became concerned that his lines were over-extended. He began contemplating another strategic withdrawal, one in which Belgrade would have to be evacuated. On the night of 26–27 November, the Austro-Hungarian 6th Army attacked all along the front and pushed deeper into the Serbian interior.  Defending along an over-extended front, the Serbian Supreme Command decided to abandon Belgrade. The city was evacuated on 29/30 November. The Austro-Hungarians entered the city on 1 December, prompting yet more celebrations in Vienna. The Serbian people withdrew alongside their army and many retreated to Niš, where news of Belgrade's fall was greeted "impassively", as it had been "expected since the beginning of the war". Albin Kutschbach, a German agent in Niš, reported: "More refugees are arriving by the day, and despite many people being sent on south, there are certainly still 60,000 people here." Germany responded to the capture of Belgrade with delight and sent a congratulatory telegram to the Austro-Hungarian leadership. The Austro-Hungarians ascertained that their war with Serbia would soon be over and began preparing for the country's occupation. On 2 December, the anniversary of Franz Joseph's 66th year on the throne, Potiorek wrote that he was "laying town and fortress Belgrade at His Majesty's feet".

Serbian counterattack.

It became increasingly clear to both Potiorek and Putnik that Austro-Hungarian supply lines were over-extended and so, on 1 December, Potiorek ordered the Austro-Hungarian 6th Army to stop and wait for the 5th Army to secure its supply lines east of the Valjevo railway, resulting in a short pause to all Austro-Hungarian military operations. Mišić exploited this brief respite by withdrawing the Serbian 1st Army a full from the front line and ensured that his soldiers had an opportunity to rest. The Serbian Army then converged around Mount Rudnik, where it received long-promised supplies from its allies via the Niš–Salonika railroad. Putnik's confidence in the ability of his army to launch a counterattack was restored.  On 2 December, he ordered his forces to attack the Austro-Hungarians all along the front and informed his officers that the offensive was to have the specific purpose of improving Serbian morale. Determined to play his part, the aging Serbian king, Peter I, took a rifle and accompanied his troops to the front. The Serbian offensive caught the Austro-Hungarians by surprise, and at the time that the attack was launched they were holding a large military parade through the streets of Belgrade. The Austro-Hungarians now found themselves defending along an over-extended front as Potiorek had just begun strengthening his left flank, leaving the front line very lightly held. Potiorek knew that he could avoid a serious reversal on the battlefield by preventing the Serbian 1st Army from reaching the watershed of the Kolubara and Morava rivers, but the Serbs were confident. They discovered that the Austro-Hungarians had failed to adequately prepare for a Serbian counterattack, as their artillery was positioned well behind the front line. This meant that the Austro-Hungarian defenders would be unable to use their heavy guns to break up any Serbian advance. Rested and resupplied, the Serbs pushed forward towards Belgrade. By the night of 2 December, the Serbian 1st Army pushed several kilometres past Austro-Hungarian lines, taking a large number of prisoners and inflicting heavy casualties on the Austro-Hungarians. The 2nd and 3rd armies captured a number of important positions on high ground, while the Užice Army met fierce resistance but was ultimately able to push the Austro-Hungarians back.  The offensive's initial success served to greatly enhance the morale of Serbian troops, just as Putnik had wanted. Significantly weakened, the Austro-Hungarians did not have time to recover before the offensive resumed the following morning and they were forced into retreat by the end of the day. On 6 December, the British ambassador to Serbia informed the British Government that the Serb offensive was "progressing brilliantly". That day, the Serbian Army had broken the Austro-Hungarians at their centre and on their right flank. Outmanoeuvred, the Austro-Hungarians were forced into a full retreat, abandoning their weapons and equipment as they went. Meanwhile, the Austro-Hungarians attempted to consolidate control around Belgrade. On 7 December, they attacked the right flank of the Serbian Army in the city's outskirts.  On 8 December, the Austro-Hungarians fell back against Užice and Valjevo. The Serbs anticipated that their opponents would entrench themselves and attempt to block the Serbian Army's advance, but the Austro-Hungarians had failed to construct any defensive networks and, as such, were in no position to block the Serbian offensive. The Austro-Hungarians had ensured that Valjevo's defenses were fortified and had laid down artillery plans for the town's defense, but their lack of prior preparation meant that the hills surrounding the town were devoid of any significant defensive positions. The Serbs exploited this weakness by manoeuvring around the hills and encircling the Austro-Hungarians, suffering minimal casualties. The Serbian 3rd Army then broke through the defenses of the 6th Army at Mount Suvobor and stormed Valjevo. In Niš, the Bulgarian ambassador to Serbia reported: "The most improbable news from the battleground, sweet to the Serb ear, has been going around since this morning." He wrote that, in the last three to four days, the Serbian Army had captured one Austro-Hungarian General, 49 officers and more than 20,000 troops, as well as 40 cannon and "huge quantities of war matériel". By 9 December, the Austro-Hungarian counter-offensive around Belgrade lost its momentum and the Austro-Hungarians began to retreat back towards the city centre. One Austro-Hungarian soldier wrote: "We could not have imagined that the Serbs were on our heels, after all we had recently been victorious." On 10 December, the Serbian Army captured the lower reaches of the Drina, forcing the majority of surviving Austro-Hungarian troops to flee across the river. They did not stop until they had crossed the Sava and the Danube and entered the Banat. Very few Austro-Hungarian soldiers made it back into Bosnia.  On 13 December, von Frank informed Potiorek that he considered it impossible for Austro-Hungarian forces to remain in Belgrade for much longer. As a result, Potiorek ordered the Austro-Hungarian forces in the city to withdraw. The Austro-Hungarians left Belgrade on 14 and 15 December and retreated back into Austria-Hungary under the cover of their river monitors on the Sava and the Danube. The Serbian Army re-entered Belgrade on 15 December and was in full control of the city by the end of the following day.

Aftermath.

The battle ended in a decisive Serbian victory. A directive issued by the Serbian Supreme Command on 16 December reported: "The recapture of Belgrade marks the successful end of a great and magnificent period in our operations. The enemy is beaten, dispersed, defeated and expelled from our territory once and for all." Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, the Austro-Hungarian Chief of the General Staff, attributed the defeat to a Serbian "thunder bolt from the south". The battle did not achieve any of Austria-Hungary's objectives: it failed to knock Serbia out of the war, it failed to induce Bulgaria to join the Central Powers and it failed to convince Romania to stay neutral. Austro-Hungarian historians concluded after the battle that defeat by Serbia constituted "a serious diminution in the Dual Monarchy's prestige and self-confidence". The battle, like the Battle of Cer before it, drew considerable attention to Serbia and many foreigners came to the country in late 1914 to offer political and humanitarian aid or to fight alongside the Serbian Army. German publicist Maximilian Harden wrote: "Serbia has risen from its grave on the field of Kosovo. From the source of the Kolubara River it will draw courage for the greatest battles of the whole century."  The Austro-Hungarians suffered about 225,000 casualties, including 30,000 killed, 173,000 wounded and 70,000 taken prisoner. They reported that 200 of their officers were taken prisoner during the battle and more than 130 cannon, 70 heavy machine-guns and a large quantity of matériel were captured. The Serbs also suffered heavy casualties, with 22,000 killed, 91,000 wounded and 19,000 missing or captured. The Western press was appalled with the scale of atrocities committed by the Austro-Hungarian troops against Serbian civilians, including women and children. William Shepard, of the United Press, confirmed as an eyewitness that at least eighteen towns were fully abandoned, and the whole of northwestern Serbia was nearly depopulated.  Mišić was promoted to the rank of "vojvoda" for his command during the battle. Potiorek, on the other hand, was relieved of command on 22 December for "this most ignominious, rankling and derisory defeat". The decision reportedly made him suicidal. He was replaced by Archduke Eugen of Austria, who the Austro-Hungarians hoped would "restore Habsburg forces to the glory days of Prince Eugene". Von Frank was dismissed as commander of the 5th Army and replaced by Karl Tersztyánszky von Nádas, who had commanded the 4th Corps at the Battle of Cer. The 5th and 6th armies were then merged into a single 5th Army consisting of 95,000 men.  Dobrica Ćosić's novel "A Time of Death" revolves around the battle. It was adapted into a stage play in 1983, titled "The Battle of Kolubara".

The Battle of Kolubara (, ) was a campaign fought between Austria-Hungary and Serbia in November and December 1914, during the Serbian Campaign of World War I. It commenced on 16 November, when the Austro-Hungarians under the command of Oskar Potiorek reached the Kolubara River during their third invasion of Serbia that year, having captured the strategic town of Valjevo and forced the Serbian Army to undertake a series of retreats. The Serbs withdrew from Belgrade on 29–30 November, and the city soon fell under Austro-Hungarian control. On 2 December, the Serbian Army launched a surprise counter-attack all along the front. Valjevo and Užice were retaken by the Serbs on 8 December and the Austro-Hungarians retreated to Belgrade, which 5th Army commander Liborius Ritter von Frank deemed to be untenable. The Austro-Hungarians abandoned the city between 14 and 15 December and retreated back into Austria-Hungary, allowing the Serbs to retake their capital the following day.

La bataille de la Kolubra ou bataille de Suvobor est une bataille de la Première Guerre mondiale qui s'est déroulée du au en Serbie.


Biography.

He was the only son of the "fermier général" Pierre Grimaud du Fort (1692–1748). In 1766, 18 years after his father's death, he reached his majority and assumed control of his enormous inheritance from his father, making him one of the richest men of his day. Work on the gardens of the family chateau at Orsay, begun by his father and continued by Pierre Gaspard's guardians, including, in 1758, extensive work under the direction of the talented architect Jean-Michel Chevotet (1698–1772), who had won the Prix de Rome in 1722 and was admitted to the Royal Academy of Architecture in Paris in 1732. When the ambitious garden scheme was completed on 1 August 1764, two years before his majority, an inventory of the d'Orsay family holdings declared:  He acquired in 1768 the hotel de Saissac (now hotel de Clermont), 69 rue de Varenne, Paris. This had been built for Jeanne Therese Pelagie d'Albert de Luynes, marquise de Saissac, in 1708, and Pierre had it rebuilt by Pierre Convers, Jean Augustin Renard et Charles Joaquim Benard, with the old bedroom made into a salon, for example. This phase of the hotel – of which nothing remains today – constituted an important step in the evolution of the taste, and contributed to his entry into aristocratic circles of the Faubourg Saint-Germain.  He married Marie Louise Amélie de Croÿ (1748–1772), princesse de Croÿ-Molembais, daughter of Prince Guillaume François de Croÿ et Princess Anne Françoise Amélie de Trazegnies, on 31 December 1770. Earlier in 1770 Pierre Gaspard had been raised to the title of comte by Louis XV.  Marie-Louise and Pierre had one child, Albert-Jean-François-Louis-Marie Grimaud (15 June 1772 – 1843). (Albert was later called "the beau d'Orsay", and was in turn father of the dandy Alfred Guillaume Gabriel, Count d'Orsay.) Marie Louise died giving birth to him, and Pierre (a patron of the arts like his father) began travelling Europe for consolation, gathering famous collections of paintings and sculptures. On his travels he also found a new wife, Marie Anne de Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Bartenstein, of the, whom he married on 22 August 1784. The couple moved to Germany in 1787, meaning that – on the outbreak of the French Revolution two years later – Gaspard's property in France was seized, he was declared an Émigré, and they were left in the poverty in which he died.

Pierre Gaspard Marie Grimod d'Orsay (14 December 1748 – 3 January 1809, Vienna), "comte d'Orsay", was a collector of sculptures, paintings and drawings (which were seized by the government in 1793 and donated to the Louvre).

Pierre Gaspard Marie Grimod, comte d'Orsay, né le et mort à Vienne (Autriche) le, est un financier et collectionneur d'art français.


Early 20th century.

Eurasianism is a political movement that has its origins in the Russian émigré community in the 1920s. The movement posited that Russian civilization does not belong in the "European" category (somewhat borrowing from Slavophile ideas of Konstantin Leontyev), and that the October Revolution of the Bolsheviks was a necessary reaction to the rapid modernization of Russian society. The Eurasianists believed that the Soviet regime was capable of evolving into a new national, non-European Orthodox Christian government, shedding the initial mask of proletarian internationalism and militant atheism (to which the Eurasianists were strongly opposed).  The Eurasianists criticized the anti-Bolshevik activities of organizations such as ROVS, believing that the émigré community's energies would be better focused on preparing for this hoped for process of evolution. In turn, their opponents among the emigres argued that the Eurasianists were calling for a compromise with and even support of the Soviet regime, while justifying its ruthless policies (such as the persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church) as mere "transitory problems" that were inevitable results of the revolutionary process.  The key leaders of the Eurasianists were Prince Nikolai Trubetzkoy, P.N. Savitsky, P.P. Suvchinskiy, D. S. Mirsky, K. Čcheidze, P. Arapov, and S. Efron. Philosopher Georges Florovsky was initially a supporter, but backed out of the organization claiming it "raises the right questions", but "poses the wrong answers". A significant influence of the doctrine of the Eurasianists can be found in Nikolai Berdyaev's essay "The Sources and Meaning of Russian Communism".  Several organizations similar in spirit to the Eurasianists sprung up in the emigre community at around the same time, such as the pro-Monarchist Mladorossi and the Smenovekhovtsi.  Several members of the Eurasianists were affected by the Soviet provocational TREST operation, which had set up a fake meeting of Eurasianists in Russia that was attended by the Eurasianist leader P.N. Savitsky in 1926 (an earlier series of trips were also made two years earlier by Eurasianist member P. Arapov). The uncovering of the TREST as a Soviet provocation caused a serious morale blow to the Eurasianists and discredited their public image. By 1929, the Eurasianists had ceased publishing their periodical and had faded quickly from the Russian émigré community.

"Greater" Russia.

The political-cultural concept espoused by some in Russia is sometimes called the "Greater" Russia and is described as a political aspiration of pan-Russian nationalists and irredentists to retake some or all of the territories of the other republics of the former Soviet Union and territory of the former Russian Empire not to mention the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and amalgamate them into a single Russian state. Alexander Rutskoy, the Vice President of Russia from 1991–1993, asserted irredentist claims to Narva in Estonia, Crimea in Ukraine, and Ust-Kamenogorsk in Kazakhstan, among other territories.  Before war broke out between Russia and Georgia in 2008, Aleksandr Dugin visited South Ossetia and predicted: "Our troops will occupy the Georgian capital Tbilisi, the entire country, and perhaps even Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, which is historically part of Russia, anyway." Former South Ossetian president Eduard Kokoity is a Eurasianist and argues that South Ossetia never left the Russian Empire and should be part of Russia.

Neo-Eurasianism.

Neo-Eurasianism () is a Russian school of thought which gained a following in Russia during the years leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union and in the period afterwards that considers Russia to be culturally closer to Asia than to Western Europe.  The school of thought takes its inspiration from the Eurasianists of the 1920s, such as Prince Nikolai Trubetzkoy while P.N. Savitsky. Lev Gumilev is often cited as the founder of the Neo-Eurasianist movement, and he was quoted as saying that "I am the last of the "Eurasianists"."  At the same time, major differences have been noted between Gumilev's work and those of the original Eurasianists. Gumilev's work is controversial for its scientific methodology (the use of his own conception of ethnogenesis and the notion of "passionarity" of ethnoses). At any rate, Gumilev's work has been a source of inspiration for the Neo-Eurasianist authors, of whom Aleksandr Dugin has the highest profile. Political scientist Anton Shekhovtsov defines Dugin's version of Neo-Eurasianism as "a form of a fascist ideology centred on the idea of revolutionising the Russian society and building a totalitarian, Russia-dominated Eurasian Empire that would challenge and eventually defeat its eternal adversary represented by the United States and its Atlanticist allies, thus bringing about a new ‘golden age’ of global political and cultural illiberalism".  Gumilev's contribution to Neo-Eurasianism lies in the conclusions he reaches from applying his theory of ethnogenesis: that the Mongol occupation of 1240–1480 AD (known as the "Mongol yoke") had shielded the emergent Russian ethnos from the aggressive neighbor to the West, allowing it to gain time to achieve maturity. The idea of Eurasianism contrasts with Konstantin Leontyev's "Byzantism", which is similar in its rejection of the West, but identifies with the Byzantine Empire rather than with Central Asian tribal culture.

Early 21st century Russian political party.

The ideology of the movement was partially incorporated into a new movement of the same name after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, influenced the political theorist Aleksandr Dugin to publish in 1997 a "magnum opus" by the name of "Foundations of Geopolitics". He later founded the Eurasia Party on the Russian political scene.

Pragmatic Eurasianism.

Ideologically, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev’s speech in March 1994 at Moscow State University became the starting point for the practical implementation of Eurasianism. He proposed an integration paradigm that was fundamentally new at the time: to more towards a Eurasian Union based on economic integration and common defense. This vision has been later materialized in the Eurasian Economic Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Eurasianism in Nazarbayev’s reading is rather a system of foreign policy and economic ideas and priorities rather than a philosophy. This type is Eurasianism is unequivocally open to the outside world.

Eurasian Economic Union.

The Eurasian Economic Union was founded in January 2015, consisting of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and observer member Moldova, all of them being previous members of the Soviet Union. Members include states from both Europe and Asia; the union promotes political and economic cooperation among members.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a Eurasian political, economic and security alliance, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China. It is the largest regional organisation in the world in terms of geographical coverage and population, covering three-fifths of the Eurasian continent and nearly half of the human population.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance that was signed on 15 May 1992. In 1992, six post-Soviet states belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States—Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan—signed the Collective Security Treaty (also referred to as the "Tashkent Pact" or "Tashkent Treaty"). Three other post-Soviet states—Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Georgia—signed the next year and the treaty took effect in 1994. Five years later, six of the nine—all but Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan—agreed to renew the treaty for five more years, and in 2002 those six agreed to create the Collective Security Treaty Organization as a military alliance. Uzbekistan rejoined the CSTO in 2006 but withdrew in 2012.

Turkey.

Since the late 1990s, Eurasianism has gained some following in Turkey among nationalist ("ulusalcı" ()) circles. The most prominent figure who is associated with Dugin is Doğu Perinçek, the leader of the Patriotic Party ("Vatan Partisi"). Some analysts of modern Turkish politics have suggested that the ultra-nationalist and secular elite that are also affiliated with the members of the Turkish military, who have come under close scrutiny with the Ergenekon coup case, have close ideological and political ties to the Eurasianists.

Turkic Council.

The Turkic Council or, in full, the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States, is an international organization comprising some of the Turkic countries. It was founded on 3 October 2009 in Nakhchivan.  The General Secretariat is in İstanbul, Turkey. The member countries are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkey. Turkmenistan and Hungary are not currently official members of the council due to their neutral stance; however, they are possible future members of the council. Uzbekistan announced its intention to join the council on 30 April 2018, and formally applied for membership on September 12, 2019. Since late 2018, Hungary is an observer and may soon request full membership in the Turkic Council.

Hungary.

The Hungarian far-right party and movement, Jobbik, espouses a form of Hungarian nationalism that fosters kinship with other "Turanian" peoples, including the Turkic peoples of Asia.

Romania.

The political activist Silviu Brucan, was involved in shaping "eurasianism" as a geopolitical concept, with articles focused on Russian politics that were published in a monthly magazine called Sfera Politicii.

In literature.

In the future time depicted in George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty Four", the Soviet Union has mutated into Eurasia, one of the three superstates dominating the world.  Similarly, Robert Heinlein's story "Solution Unsatisfactory" depicts a future in which the Soviet Union would be transformed into "The Eurasian Union".

Eurasianism (, "yevraziystvo") is a political movement in Russia that posits that Russian civilisation does not belong in the "European" or "Asian" categories but instead to the geopolitical concept of Eurasia. Originally developing in the 1920s, the movement was supportive of the Bolshevik Revolution but not its stated goals of enacting communism, seeing the Soviet Union as a stepping stone on the path to creating a new national identity that would reflect the unique character of Russia's geopolitical position. The movement saw a minor resurgence after the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the 20th century, and is mirrored by Turanism in Turkic and Finnic nations.

L’eurasisme est une doctrine géopolitique et une idéologie politique qui considère l’ensemble formé par la Russie et ses voisins proches, slaves, roumains, grecs ou musulmans, comme une « entité continentale » à part entière, appelée Eurasie. Selon cette conception, l’Eurasie ne désigne plus l’ensemble formé par l’Europe et l’Asie, mais un espace intermédiaire à cheval sur l’Europe et l’Asie. Cette doctrine est apparue en Russie à partir du et de l'occidentalisation forcée initiée par Pierre le Grand et poursuivie par quatre impératrices. On distingue en général la naissance d'un eurasisme théorique à la fin du tsarisme ; l'eurasisme des années 1920 et 1930, sorte de version russe de la « révolution conservatrice » allemande, et le néo-eurasisme d'après la chute du mur de Berlin, popularisé par l'intellectuel d'extrême-droite Alexandre Douguine.


History.

Around 1900, Maurice Ravel joined a group of innovative young artists, poets, critics, and musicians referred to as Les Apaches or "hooligans", a term coined by Ricardo Viñes to refer to his band of "artistic outcasts". To pay tribute to his fellow artists, Ravel began composing "Miroirs" in 1904 and finished it the following year. It was first published by Eugène Demets in 1906. The third and fourth movements were subsequently orchestrated by Ravel, while the fifth was orchestrated by Percy Grainger, among others.

Structure.

"Miroirs" has five movements, each dedicated to a member of "Les Apaches":

Orchestrated versions.

""Une barque sur l'océan"" and ""Alborada del gracioso"" were orchestrated by Ravel himself. ""La vallée des cloches"" has been orchestrated by Ernesto Halffter for triple woodwind, four horns, timpani, percussion, two harps, celesta and strings; and Percy Grainger for a typical Grainger ensemble with multiple pianos and percussion, plus strings. ""Oiseaux tristes"" has been scored by Felix Günther for double woodwind plus piccolo, two horns, two trumpets, percussion, harp, celesta and strings; though aimed at intermediate rather than advanced players, transposed down a semitone and with some of Ravel's rhythms simplified. The earliest known orchestration of ""Noctuelles"" is by the British pianist Michael Round, an orchestration commissioned by Vladimir Ashkenazy and recorded by him with the NHK Symphony Orchestra (Exxon, 1993) – the recording also includes Round's scorings of the Fugue and Toccata from "Le tombeau de Couperin". In orchestrated form ""Noctuelles"" is scored for triple woodwind (including E clarinet) minus one contrabassoon; four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba, timpani, percussion, two harps, celesta and strings. Performance material (for hire only) is held by publishers BMG. There is a more recent orchestration (2001) of ""Noctuelles"" by American composer Steven Stucky. It is published by Theodore Presser Company and is scored for 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 3 oboes (3rd doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, 3 bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, 2 percussionists, celesta, two harps, and strings. In 2001 American conductor Leif Bjaland orchestrated ""Oiseaux tristes"" scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, harp, and strings. In 2003 the British composer Simon Clarke made an orchestration of the three movements that Ravel did not orchestrate.

Miroirs (French for "Mirrors") is a five-movement suite for solo piano written by French composer Maurice Ravel between 1904 and 1905. First performed by Ricardo Viñes in 1906, "Miroirs" contains five movements, each dedicated to a fellow member of the French avant-garde artist group Les Apaches.

Les Miroirs sont cinq pièces pour piano de Maurice Ravel composées entre 1904 et 1906, dont deux furent plus tard orchestrées par le compositeur ("Une barque sur l'océan", 1906, et "Alborada del gracioso", 1919). L'œuvre fut jouée pour la première fois par Ricardo Viñes le à la Salle Érard pour la Société nationale. L'œuvre a été éditée en 1906 par Demets.


Early years.

Richard Thomas Griffiths was born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Riding of Yorkshire, to Jane Ann (née Denmark, 1899-1976) and Thomas Griffiths (1915-1976). His father was a steelworker who also fought in pubs for money, while his mother's occupation was described as "bagger". He had an elder sister and two elder brothers, all of whom died in infancy before he was born. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic.  His parents were deaf and he was a native speaker of British Sign Language. During his childhood he attempted to run away from home many times. He dropped out of Our Lady & St Bede School in Stockton-on-Tees at the age of 15 and worked as a porter for Littlewoods for a while but his boss eventually persuaded him to go back to school. He decided to attend a drama class at Stockton & Billingham College. He continued his education in drama at Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama (now Manchester School of Theatre) at the same time as Bernard Hill.

Career.

After graduating, Griffiths won a contract on BBC Radio with their Radio Drama Company. He also worked in small theatres, sometimes acting and sometimes managing. He built up an early reputation as a Shakespearean clown with portrayals of Pompey in "Measure for Measure" and Bottom in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with the Royal Shakespeare Company and went on to play the Kings in "Love's Labour's Lost" and in "Henry VIII". He eventually settled in Manchester and began to get lead roles in plays. From there, he began to appear on television and then got his big break in film in "It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet" (1976). By the early 1980s, he was selected for the lead role in "Bird of Prey", an early computer-conspiracy thriller. His character Henry Jay was reprised in "Bird of Prey 2" (1984). In 1981, he also gave a memorable performance as Chilean secret police victim William Beausire in an edition of the BBC "Prisoners of Conscience" series. Griffiths went on to supporting roles in a number of major films, including "The French Lieutenant's Woman", "Chariots of Fire" and "Gandhi". On stage, in 1985–86, he performed the role of Verdi in Julian Mitchell's "After Aida", in Wales and at the Old Vic Theatre in London. He appeared in The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends.  Griffiths' film roles were in both contemporary and period pieces, such as "Gorky Park" (1983), "Withnail and I" (1987), "King Ralph" (1991), "" (1991), "Guarding Tess" (1994) and "Sleepy Hollow" (1999). Later, he was seen as Harry Potter's cruel uncle Vernon Dursley in the "Harry Potter" series, appearing in five of the eight films: "Philosopher's Stone", "Chamber of Secrets", "Prisoner of Azkaban", "Order of the Phoenix" and "Deathly Hallows – Part 1".  He appeared as Inspector Henry Crabbe, disillusioned policeman and pie chef extraordinaire, in "Pie in the Sky", a role which was created for him. He also made an extended appearance in the 2005 version of Charles Dickens' "Bleak House". In 2004, he originated the role of Hector (the teacher) in Alan Bennett's play "The History Boys", directed by Nicholas Hytner, winning the 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. During the play's United States run, he added a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award. He reprised his role in the film version, which was released in October 2006.  Together with his "Harry Potter" co-star Daniel Radcliffe, he appeared in a stage revival of Peter Shaffer's "Equus" at the Gielgud Theatre in London and later from October 2008 in a short run of the play at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway, which ended in February 2009. Later, in 2009, he replaced Michael Gambon as W. H. Auden prior to the premiere of "The Habit of Art" at the National Theatre, once again directed by Hytner.  Griffiths was considered for the part of the Doctor in "Doctor Who", following Tom Baker's departure in 1981 but was unavailable. He was strongly considered once again to take on the role of the Eighth Doctor, had the series continued past 1989. He performed in adaptations of the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", providing the voice for Slartibartfast for the radio adaptation of "Life, the Universe and Everything" and playing the Vogon Jeltz in the film version of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". He appeared in "Bedtime Stories" with Adam Sandler and as a special guest in "".  In 2005 he asked a member of the audience to leave a performance of "Heroes" after her phone rang three times. This interruption of a performance because of audience distraction happened three times in his career.  Griffiths appeared as George II in Disney's "". He appeared in the first episode of the television series "Episodes" as Julian Bullard. In April 2012, Griffiths starred, with Danny DeVito, in a revival of the Neil Simon play "The Sunshine Boys". The show previewed at the Savoy Theatre from 27 April 2012, opening on 17 May and playing a limited 12-week season until 28 July.

Personal life.

Griffiths met Heather Gibson in 1973 and they married in 1980. They had no children. Griffiths was awarded an honorary degree from Teesside University in 2006 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.  He was the godfather of comedian Jack Whitehall.

Death.

Griffiths died aged 65 at University Hospital Coventry on 28 March 2013 after complications following heart surgery. His onscreen nephew Daniel Radcliffe was among the mourners at his interment at St Mary The Virgin Churchyard in Bearley, Warwickshire.

Richard Thomas Griffiths (31 July 1947 – 28 March 2013) was an English actor of film, television, and stage. For his performance in the stage play "The History Boys", Griffiths won much acclaim and received many awards including, Tony Award, Laurence Olivier Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award. For the 2006 film adaptation, Griffiths was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Sir Richard Griffiths est un acteur britannique né le et mort le. Il est l'un des acteurs favoris des Britanniques et apparaît au cinéma dans des films de styles très différents. Il est resté dans les mémoires pour avoir incarné Vernon Dursley, l'oncle antipathique de Harry Potter dans cinq des huit films de la saga.


Timeline of brands.

Under the Transport Act 1962, responsibility for the state railway operation, British Railways, was transferred from being a trade name and subsidiary of the British Transport Commission, to a separate public corporation, under the British Railways Board.  As the last steam locomotives were being withdrawn (completed in 1968) under the 1955 Modernisation Plan, the corporation's public name was re-branded in 1965 as British Rail, which introduced the double-arrow symbol, a standard typeface (named Rail Alphabet) and the BR blue livery, applied to nearly all locomotives and rolling stock.  The first major BR sub-brand to appear was InterCity brand. This was augmented with the InterCity 125 brand in 1976, in conjunction with the introduction of the InterCity 125 High Speed Train.  In the 1980s under sectorisation blue livery was phased out as the organisation converted from a regional structure to being sector-based. The Intercity brand was relaunched, and passenger brands Network SouthEast and Regional Railways introduced, seeing these divisions introduce many sub-brands. Freight operations were split into the Trainload Freight, Railfreight Distribution and Rail Express Systems sectors.  In the late 1980s and early 1990s, new multiple-unit train designs being introduced to replace rolling stock also brought new brand names, often linked to other branding exercises, such as the Networkers specially built for Network SouthEast.  In the 1990s, BR created the European Passenger Services division, to run passenger services through the Channel Tunnel, under the Eurostar brand. After construction delays, this was operated from 1994, until it passed to the London and Continental Railways consortium in 1996 as Eurostar.  In preparation for privatisation, the freight sectors were further split into smaller business functions, as regional splits of Trainload Freight, or further splits along customer market, such as inter-modal traffic, each with their own branding. With almost all freight businesses going straight to EWS, most of these brands were short lived.

List of brands.

Rolling stock classes.

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British Rail was the brand image of the nationalised railway owner and operator in Great Britain, the British Railways Board, used from 1965 until its breakup and sell-off from 1993 onwards.

Marques commerciales de British Rail est une liste des nombreuses marques déposées créées par British Rail pour ses services, marques conçues pour capter l'œil et l'imagination de ses clients voyageurs actuels et potentiels. Elles servaient aussi bien à désigner les services que du matériel (exemple, la rame automotrice). Les entreprises privées qui lui ont succédé ont continué à cultiver cette tradition, reprenant parfois les marques originales de British Rail, introduisant dans d'autres cas leurs propres marques (par exemple les trains "Meridian" de Midland Mainline, ou les services "Voyager" de Virgin), etc.).


Discovery and excavation.

Many artifacts associated with Jiroft were recovered from looters described as "destitute villagers" who had scavenged the area south of Jiroft before 2001, when a team led by Yusef Majidzadeh began excavations. The team uncovered more than two square kilometers of remains from a city dating back to at least the late 3rd millennium BC. The data Madjidzadeh's team has gathered demonstrates that Jiroft's heyday was from 2500 BC to 2200 BC.  The looted artifacts and some vessels recovered by the excavators were of the so-called "intercultural style" type of pottery known from Mesopotamia and the Iranian Plateau, and since the 1960s from nearby Tepe Yahya in Baft. The "Jiroft civilization" hypothesis proposes that this "intercultural style" is in fact the distinctive style of a previously unknown, long-lived civilization.  This is not universally accepted. Archaeologist Oscar Muscarella of the Metropolitan Museum of Art criticizes that the excavators resorted to sensationalist announcements while being more slow in publishing scholarly reports, and their claims that the site's stratigraphy shows continuity into the 4th millennium as overly optimistic. Muscarella does nevertheless acknowledge the importance of the site.  Earlier excavations at Kerman were conducted by Sir Aurel Stein around 1930. One of the most notable archaeological excavations done in Kerman Province was one done by a group led by Professor Joseph Caldwell from Illinois State Museum in 1966 (Tal-i-Iblis) and Lamberg-Karlovsky from Harvard University in 1967 (Tepe Yahya Sogan Valley, Dolatabad).  Archeological excavations in Jiroft led to the discovery of several objects belonging to the fourth millennium BC.  According to Majidzadeh, geophysical operations by French experts in the region indicate the existence at least 10 historical and archaeological periods in the region belonging to different civilizations who lived in this area during different periods of time in history. According to the French experts who studied this area, the evidence remained from these civilizations may be traced up to 11 meters under the ground.  "What is obvious is that the evidence of Tal-i-Iblis culture in Bardsir can be traced in all parts of the region. Tal-i-Iblis culture, known as Ali Abad period (fourth millennium BC) was revealed by Joseph R. Caldwell, American archaeologist," said Majidzadeh.

Site.

The primary Jiroft site consists of two mounds a few kilometers apart, called Konar Sandal A and B with a height of 13 and 21 meters, respectively (approximate location ). At Konar Sandal B, a two-story, windowed citadel with a base of close to 13.5 hectares was found.

Helmand culture.

Helmand culture of western Afghanistan was a Bronze Age culture of the 3rd millennium BC. Some scholars link it with Shahr-i Sokhta, Mundigak, and Bampur.  The term "Helmand civilization" was proposed by M. Tosi. This civilization flourished between 2500 and 1900 BC, and may have coincided with the great flourishing of the Indus Valley Civilization. This was also the final phase of Periods III and IV of Shahr-i Sokhta, and the last part of Mundigak Period IV.  Thus, Jiroft culture is closely related to Helmand culture. Jiroft culture flourished in the eastern Iran, and the Helmand culture in western Afghanistan at the same time. In fact, they may represent the same cultural area. Mehrgarh culture, on the other hand, is far earlier.

Writing system.

An inscription, discovered in a palace, was carved on a brick whose lower left corner only has remained, explained Yusef Majidzadeh, head of the Jiroft excavation team.  "The two remaining lines are enough to recognize the Elamite script," he added.  "The only ancient inscriptions known to experts before the Jiroft discovery were cuneiform and hieroglyph," said Majidzadeh, adding that" The new-found inscription is formed by geometric shapes and no linguist around the world has been able to decipher it yet."  Archeologists believe the discovered inscription is the most ancient script found so far and that the Elamite written language originated in Jiroft, where the writing system developed first and was then spread across the country. Other scholars have called the authenticity of the cyphers into question, suggesting they may be examples of several modern forgeries in circulation since the earlier looting at the site.

The "Jiroft culture" also known as the Intercultural style or the Halilrud style, is a postulated early Bronze Age (late 3rd millennium BC) archaeological culture, located in the territory of present-day Balochistan and Kermān Provinces of Iran. The hypothesis is based on a collection of artifacts that have not been formally excavated but rather recovered from plundering by Iranian authorities, and accepted by many to have derived from the Jiroft area in south central Iran, as reported by online Iranian news services, beginning in 2001.

La civilisation de Jiroft ou culture de Jiroft désigne un ancien ensemble culturel supposé s'être développé du au millénaire av. J.-C. (âge du bronze), ayant eu pour centre la région de la vallée du Halil Rud, autour de la ville actuelle de Jiroft, actuellement dans la province du Kerman, en Iran du sud. Le site principal de cette civilisation semble être Konar Sandal. La civilisation de Jiroft est le centre de production d'objets en chlorite, avant tout des vases. Des sceaux-cylindres, retrouvés sur le site de Konar Sandal, témoignent de l'existence d'une administration développée.