121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Overland Campaign
Finding him too strongly posted to be driven out with the force at hand, the ground was held, and temporary works were thrown up. During the following day the command was occupied in keeping the enemy at bay, being subjected the while to an annoying fire from two of his pieces. On the 10th the command advanced, and engaged him in front of the works until late in the afternoon, when bayonets were fixed, and all preparations made for a charge. But before the advance was made, the order was countermanded, and during the 11th it lay in the works.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Overland Campaign
The next night a second line in rear of the first was thrown up, and on the 12th the command again advanced in column, under a heavy cross-fire of artillery; but after a fierce struggle, in which many of the bravest fell, it was compelled to retire. In the action of the 10th, Captain William W. Dorr, in command of the regiment, was among the killed, At evening it was taken to the left, where it relieved a portion of the Sixth Corps, and lay during the night in line of battle.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Overland Campaign
On the morning of the 13th it returned to its former position, and towards mid-day resumed the march towards Spottsylvania Court House, getting into position on the enemy's front at daylight of the following morning. On the 18th it again advanced and threw up a line of works, which it occupied under continual artillery fire, with occasional sharp skirmishing, until the 21st. On that day it moved on to Guinea Station, where the regiment was deployed as skirmishers, and advanced two miles, capturing a number of prisoners, and routing a rebel battery.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Overland Campaign
On the 23rd the command again met the enemy in force at Jericho Ford, and immediately engaged him, and with the assistance of the artillery, forced him to withdraw. In this affair the conduct of the brigade was warmly complimented by General Cutler, then in command of the division. On the 25th a movement was made to the left, and the regiment was thrown forward as skirmishers, acting a, such during the entire day, and losing ten in killed and wounded. Lieutenant and Adjutant John Iungerich was here mortally wounded, expiring a month later. On the 28th, the Pamunky River was crossed, a little in advance of the enemy, when works for the defense of the position were hastily thrown up, and on the 30th the command took position on the right of the Pennsylvania Reserves, which were hotly engaged.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Overland Campaign
On June 1, the regiment advanced on the Mechanicsville Road, near Bethesda Church, under a raking fire of artillery, suffering considerable loss, but driving the rebel skirmishers, and throwing up breast-works in the edge of the woods from. which they retreated. After dark a further advance was made through the woods, and to within a stone's throw of the rebel pickets, where entrenching was quietly but diligently prosecuted, and the morning light disclosed to the astonished rebels a strong line of works under their very noses. Their artillery was hurried away to safe positions, and for five days the brigade held the ground under a continuous fire of artillery and sharpshooters. On June 6 the brigade reached Cold Harbor, where it was transferred to the First Division, in command of General Chamberlain.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Siege of Petersburg
Entrenching, skirmishing, and hard marching was kept up until June 14, when it reached the James, and on the 16th crossed and took position in front of Petersburg. On the 18th it again advanced, and crossing the Norfolk Railroad, drove in the enemy's skirmishers, sustaining a heavy loss, but establishing a permanent line. This was held until the night of the 20th, when the troops were relieved by the Ninth Corps, and retired to the rear.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Siege of Petersburg
On the night of the 21st the brigade advanced in line on the left, through a thick wood, and under the fire of the rebel skirmishers threw up a breast-work, and was here employed in constructing what was subsequently known as Fort Hell. As the formation was particularly exposed, much care had to be exercised in the early stages of the work, to elude the attention of the enemy. The fort was finished and occupied by two batteries of heavy artillery before the springing of the mine, which occurred on July 31, and sustained without damage, the heavy rebel fire which was then brought to bear upon it.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Siege of Petersburg
On August 18, the regiment moved with the corps for the destruction of the Weldon Railroad. and after crossing the Blackwater, was deployed as skirmishers, driving in the rebel skirmishers as it advanced. The road having been effectually destroyed for a long distance, the brigade retired to works thrown up along the line of the ruins. On the 21st the regiment occupied a position in line on the left, and about two hundred yards in rear of the extreme left of the Fourth Division, which was on that day hotly engaged.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Siege of Petersburg
The enemy finally advanced in column, charging the works in front of the Fourth Division, and sweeping around its left, thinking to come in upon an unprotected rear, but suddenly encountered the brigade, prepared to receive them. Determined not to be foiled in their purpose, they fought obstinately for some time, returning the fire that was poured in upon them, with the utmost spirit and determination, and only when almost annihilated did their spirit forsake them. But few escaped, hundreds being killed and wounded; while many seeing no other alternative, threw down their arms and came pouring over the works, bringing in several stands of colors. After this short but decisive contest, the brigade moved farther to the left, and erected new works.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Siege of Petersburg
On September 12 the regiment was transferred to the First Brigade of the Third Division, and five days later was transferred to the Third Brigade of this division. With this brigade, it marched on the 30th to Peeble's Farm, to the extreme right of the enemy's line, and, during the night succeeding, threw up a line of works on the crest of a hill. Early on the following morning the enemy, in great force, supported by artillery, made a furious attack.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Siege of Petersburg
The works were held by the brigade until the line was broken to right and left of it, when, the enemy coming in upon both flanks, compelled it to give way, and nearly half of the regiment, including the colonel and seven line officers, were captured. The morning report of the following day showed but four commissioned officers and eighty-five enlisted men present for duty.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, Siege of Petersburg
During the succeeding winter the regiment remained in camp with the brigade, on the extreme left of the line, participating in but two movements of importance. The first was made on December 4, by a force consisting of the Fifth Corps, one division of the Second, and a division of cavalry, all under command of General Warren, the purpose of which was to destroy the Weldon Railroad, as far south as possible. Striking the road twenty miles out from Petersburg, the work of destruction was continued, with little opposition, as far as Bellefield. The troops being without camp equipment, and exposed to a fearful storm of rain and hail, suffered severely. The second engagement was the Battle of Hatcher's Run, on February 6, 1865. It resulted in severe fighting, without decisive results.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, End of the Siege and End of the War
The siege on Petersburg drew to a conclusion with the Battle of Fort Stedman. On March 25, the regiment was put in motion for the final conflict at Petersburg; the assault was successful yet repelled before it reached the ground, and immediately returned to its quarters.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, End of the Siege and End of the War
On March 31, the regiment participated in the attack on the enemy's position at the Boydton Plank Road, and on the following day on his position at Five Forks, where Confederate troops were completely routed, losing most of the Confederate artillery.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, End of the Siege and End of the War
The advantage here gained was rapidly followed up, and on April 9, the Rebel army laid down its arms at Appomattox Court House. While the Rebel troops were being paroled, the regiment performed guard duty in the town, with headquarters at the Court House.


121st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, History, End of the Siege and End of the War
On the 12th it moved in charge of captured property, and proceeded with it to Burkesville Station, on the South Side Railroad, after which it was encamped for two weeks along this road. It then moved to Petersburg, thence to Richmond, and finally went into camp on Arlington Heights opposite Washington, D.C., where on June 2, it was mustered out of service.


121st Pioneers
The 121st Pioneers were an infantry regiment of the East India Company's Bombay Army and later the British Indian Army. The regiment traces their origins to 1777, when they were raised as the Marine Battalion.


121st Pioneers
The regiments first action was in the Anglo-Persian War, they returned to the Gulf when they were used in the punitive expedition in the Beni Boo Ali campaign in 1821, against the pirates in Eastern Arabia and the Persian Gulf. They were involved in a number of campaigns following this the conquest of Sindh including the Battle of Hyderabad in 1843. The Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1848, the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1852 and the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia. During World War I the regiment served in the Mesopotamia Campaign and the Sinai and Palestine Campaigns.


121st Pioneers
After World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. In 1922, the 121st Pioneers became the 10th (Marine) Battalion, 2nd Bombay Pioneers. The regiment was disbanded in 1932.


121st Regiment (Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps)
The 121st Regiment of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (新疆生产建设兵团第121团), also known as the 121st Regiment of the XPCC (兵团121团), together with its reclamation area, commonly known as the 121st Regiment Farm (兵团121团场), is an economic and paramilitary formed unit, that is part of the 8th Division (兵团八师). The regiment was formerly known as the 75th Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division of the 9th Army of the 22nd Corps of the PLA. The 122nd Regiment was amalgamated into the regiment in June of 2006. The regiment is headquartered in Paotai Town (炮台镇) in Shawan County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, it is composed of 37 agricultural construction companys. As of 2010 census, its population was 38,320.


121st Regiment (Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps)
The headquarters of the regiment is located in Paotai Town, 213 km away from Urumqi in the east, 78 km from Shihezi in the southeast, 110 km from Karamay in the northwest, and 120 km from Kuitun in the southwest. The county-level road of Guxin Line (县道古新线) and the Keyu Expressway (克榆高速公路, Karamay - Yushugou) cross the territory, and connected with contact line, its traffic is very convenient.


121st Regiment (Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps), History
The regiment was formerly the 75th Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division of the 9th Army of the 22nd Corps of the PLA. In 1950, it entered Paotai in Shawan County for land reclamation production. In June of 1953, it was renamed the 21st Regiment of the 7th Agricultural Construction Division of the Xinjiang Military Region.


121st Regiment (Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps), History
With the establishment of the Xinjiang Military Region Production Corps (present Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, "XPCC" for short) in October of 1954, the 21st Regiment was reorganized into the 7th Agricultural Construction Division.


121st Regiment (Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps), History
The 21st Regiment was divided into two parts of the 21st Regiment and Paotai Farm (炮台农场) in 1957, and both of the two were amalgamated into the 21st Regiment in the early 1960s; the Xiabahu Farm (下八户农场) was formed in Xiabahu area in the same year; the Xiabahu Farm was incorporated into the 21st Regiment in 1961, the 21st Regiment was under the jurisdiction of the 1st Xiayedi Administrative Office (下野地第一管理处) of the 7th Division.


121st Regiment (Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps), History
In July 1969, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) unified the designation of its regiments and divisions, the name of the regiment was changed to the 121st Regiment from the 21st Regiment. With the abolishment of the XPCC in March of 1975, the 7th Division was canceled in May of the same year, the 121st Regiment was transferred to Shihezi Prefecture (石河子地区), and renamed as the 121st Regiment Farm of Shihezi Prefecture (石河子地区一二二团场). In August 1978, Shihezi Prefecture was abolished, the establishment of the Shihezi Agriculture, Industry and Commerce Joint Enterprise Group Corporation (石河子农工商联合企业), with Shihezi City co-office.


121st Regiment (Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps), History
In December of 1981, the XPCC's structure was restored, and in May 1982, the 8th Agricultural Construction Division was restored in Shihezi City, and the 121st Regiment Farm of Shihezi was renamed the 121st Regiment of  8th Agricultural Construction Division. The 122nd Regiment ceased to exist as a separate unit, it was amalgamated into the 121st Regiment in June 2006.


121st Regiment (Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps), History
The reclaimed land of the former 121st Regiment had a total area of 456.26 square kilometers, its cultivated land area was 25,333 hectares. As of 2000 Census, the regiment had a population of 22,540.


121st Regiment of Foot (1762)
The 121st Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1762 and disbanded in 1764.


121st Regiment of Foot (1794)
The 121st Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1794 and disbanded in 1796.


121st Rifle Division
The 121st Rifle Division (Russian: 121-я стрелковая дивизия) was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.


121st Rifle Division
Formed in September 1939 in Belarus, the division participated in the Soviet invasion of Poland later that month and in the June 1940 occupation of Lithuania.


121st Rifle Division, History
The division was formed between 6 and 11 September 1939 from the 99th Rifle Regiment of the 33rd Rifle Division in Mogilev, under the command of 33rd Rifle Division commander Colonel Alexander Mavrichev. It included the 383rd, 574th, and 705th Rifle Regiments, an artillery regiment and other units. The division fought in the Soviet invasion of Poland, as part of the 11th Rifle Corps of the 10th Army. The division advanced from Mogilev through Pogost, Cherven, Smilovichi, Dzerzhinsk, Novogrudok, Novoelnyu, Pruzhany, Ruzhany, Slonim, Kamenets, Vysokoye, Bielsk Podlaski, and Hajnówka. By the end of the campaign on 2 October it transferred to the 5th Rifle Corps. It relocated to Bobruisk on 8 October. After Mavrichev was transferred, Colonel Alexey Muravyov, previously a cavalry division assistant commander, became division commander in March.


121st Rifle Division, History, Occupation of Lithuania
The division was slated for the Soviet occupation of Lithuania by the plan drawn up by deputy chief of the operations directorate of the General Staff Major General Alexander Vasilevsky on 6 June 1940, assigned to the 4th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Army on the southeastern border of Lithuania.


121st Rifle Division, History, Occupation of Lithuania
This plan was modified and in the final version received by district commander Colonel General Dmitry Pavlov on 9 June in a directive of the People's Commissar of Defense, the 121st was instead assigned to the 24th Rifle Corps in the second echelon of the 3rd Army, which was deployed along the line of Vidzy, Sventyany and the Viliya River. The division was planned to finish unloading from railcars at Polotsk on 12 June and begin a 150-kilometer march to the Opsa area.


121st Rifle Division, History, Occupation of Lithuania
Within two days, the 121st was to concentrate near Opsa with one regiment still on the march, preparing to advance behind the first-echelon 126th Rifle Division on 15 June, the first day of the invasion. The invasion plan was again revised on 13 June, assigning the 121st to the 4th Rifle Corps and no longer dividing the forces of the 3rd Army into two echelons.


121st Rifle Division, History, Occupation of Lithuania
This resulted in new orders that directed the division to take up its starting positions by 20:00 on 14 June in the area of Gervyaly, with flanks at Pupina and Borovka 8 to 15 kilometers northwest of Vidzy. The corps was assigned the mission of advancing in the direction of Rimšė, Dūkštas, Daugailiai, Užpaliai, and Svėdasai.


121st Rifle Division, History, Occupation of Lithuania
When the invasion began on 15 June, the 121st approached the state border at 16:00 and by the end of the day reached Gyajunai, south of Lake Dysnykštis. That day, the Lithuanian government found resistance impossible and accepted the Soviet ultimatum to Lithuania, under which the 4th Rifle Corps was planned to be stationed in the Panemunis area. On 16 June, the 121st was 8 kilometers southwest of Salakas at 10:30 and reached the area of Gateliai and Brinkliškės by 15:20.


121st Rifle Division, History, Occupation of Lithuania
Continuing the advance, by 12:00 on 17 June it reached the area of Vaineikiai, Šeduikiai, Vilučiai, and Užpaliai, and by the end of the day on 18 June was stopped for rest between Šimonys and Svėdasai. The division paused there for a day and at 19:00 on 20 June entered the area of Skapiškis and Rokiškis. After the 4th Rifle Corps pushed forward into Latvia, the 121st was transferred to the 24th Rifle Corps, and at 7:00 on 21 June it reached the area of Rokiskis, Skapiškis, Pandėlys, and Panemunėlis, where it remained for the next few weeks.


121st Rifle Division, History, Occupation of Lithuania
While the division was in Lithuania, on 7 July, Major General Pyotr Zykov, previously assistant commander of the 47th Rifle Corps, became division commander. After the end of the campaign the division returned to its bases in Bobruisk, Rogachev, and Zhlobin. On 11 June 1941 the division was relocated to its summer camp in the area of Obuz and Lesnaya. It is listed as being part of the 47th Rifle Corps, directly subordinate to the Western Special Military District, on the eve of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.


121st Rifle Division, History, Second World War
After the beginning of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, the division as took up defensive positions on the eastern bank of the Shchara River in the Slonim area on the next day as part of the 13th Army. From 24 June it fought in heavy defensive battles, retreating to Baranovichi, Slutsk, Osipovichi, the village of Boyarshchina, and Starye Dorogi. The division was encircled in late June but broke out on 7 July and was withdrawn to Novozybkov for replenishment.


121st Rifle Division, History, Second World War
The 121st soon returned to the front and fought in the Battle of Smolensk with the 13th Army of the Central Front, then fought in defensive battles on the Sozh, Sudost, and Desna, and from 30 September in the Battle of Bryansk following the commencement of Operation Typhoon, the German attack that began the Battle of Moscow. During this period, the 121st was encircled for the second time in area of Khutor Mikhailovsky and the Kinelsky forest, but broke out in the area of Pesochnaya and Lgov. The division went on to fight in the defense of Tim and the Yelets Offensive, and was withdrawn to the Southwestern Front reserve in the Yelets area on 15 December.


121st Rifle Division, History, Second World War
After being receiving reinforcement, the 121st joined the 40th Army in February 1942 and defended positions near Tim from Novo-Aleksandrovskoye to Polevoye. For his actions, Zykov was awarded a third Order of the Red Banner on 27 March 1942. The division was transferred to the 60th Army on 28 June and fought in attacks in the Battle of Voronezh and by 4 July reached the area of Zemlyansk, but was forced to retreat to the line of Medvezhye and Chistaya Polyana, covering the crossings of the Don. From 7 July it fought in battles south of Voronezh in what became known in Soviet historiography as the Voronezh–Voroshilovgrad Defensive operation. In October, Zykov became deputy commander of the 60th Army.


121st Rifle Division, History, Second World War
Colonel Mikhail Bushin became division commander in November. The division defended positions south of Voronezh until 2 January 1943 and attacked in the Voronezh–Kastornoye operation and the Kharkov offensive operation. During these battles, it participated in the recapture of Voronezh and Shchigry. For "poor organization" of the battle for the village of Kolpakovo, Bushin was relieved of command on 1 March. By 11 March the 121st reached the Seym River in the area of the fortified points of Iznoskovo and Zhadino, then went on the defensive. Major General Ivan Ladygin became commander of the division on 13 March.


121st Rifle Division, History, Second World War
In late March the division and the 60th Army became part of the Central Front, with which it fought in the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of the Dnieper. For participating in the recapture of Rylsk the division received the name of the city as an honorific on 31 August. Continuing to advance in what became known as the Chernigov–Pripyat Offensive, the division forced the Desna on 23 September and within two days the Dnieper and captured a bridgehead  at Yasnogorodka.


121st Rifle Division, History, Second World War
From 3 November the division advanced out of the bridgehead in the Kiev Offensive, participating in the recapture of Kiev. On 6 November 1943 the 121st received the name of the city as an honorific. Between 18 November and late December the division fought against German counterattacks in the Kiev Defensive Operation.


121st Rifle Division, History, Second World War
The division resumed the advance in the Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive on 27 December and subsequently fought in the Rovno–Lutsk Offensive. In early March 1944 the division was transferred to the 4th Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front, breaking through Axis defenses in the sector of Vyshnipol and Serverin, reaching the eastern bank of the Southern Bug in the area of Medzhybizh, where until 17 March it participated in fierce fighting. For participation in the recapture of Starokonstantinov, Izyaslav, Shumsk, Yampol, and Ostropol the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 19 March.


121st Rifle Division, History, Second World War
Subsequently, it fought in the Proskurov–Chernovitsy Offensive. The 121st was transferred to the 38th Army between 16 and 17 April and relocated through Zaleshchiki to the Chernelytsia area, where it fought in heavy defensie battles. From 11 May the division was withdrawn to the second echelon of the 67th Rifle Corps, and from 14 July it fought in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive. During the latter, Ladygin was severely wounded and evacuated to the hospital on 22 July, and was replaced in command by division deputy commander Colonel Pyotr Dotsenko on the next day. In heavy fighting the division forced the San on 14 August and then went on the defensive.


121st Rifle Division, History, Second World War
The division went on the offensive again from 8 September in the Eastern Carpathian Offensive, the Carpathian–Dukla Offensive, and battles southwest of Sanok. In late November Dotsenko handed over command of the 121st to division chief of staff Colonel Ivan Generalov and left to study at the Higher Military Academy. Colonel Daniil Bushtruk, a Hero of the Soviet Union, became division commander on 21 December 1944.


121st Rifle Division, History, Second World War
As part of the 52nd Rifle Corps of the 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front, the division fought in the Western Carpathian Offensive and the Moravska Ostrava Offensive, participating in the capture of Bielsko-Biała, Wadowice, and Nowy Sącz. The division was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 2nd class, on 19 February 1945 for its participation in the capture of Wadowice, Spišská Nová Ves, Spišská Stará Ves, and Levoča. On 3 April Bushtruk was wounded and evacuated from the front. From 12 April 1945 the 121st was commanded by Colonel Ivan Dryakhlov. The division subsequently fought in the Prague Offensive. For participating in the capture of Bohumín, Fryštát, Skoczów, Čadca, and Bytča the division was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class, on 4 June 1945.


121st Rifle Division, History, Second World War
The division was disbanded at Osiek between 28 and 30 June after completing a march from Golczowice, with its troops being used to bring units of the 52nd Army up to strength by 6 July.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery
The 121st Siege Battery was a unit of Britain's Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) raised during  World War I. It manned heavy howitzers on the Western Front from 1916 to 1918.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Mobilisation
On the outbreak of war in August 1914, units of the part-time Territorial Force (TF) were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service and most of the Glamorgan Royal Garrison Artillery did so. This unit had mobilised as part of No 26 Coastal Fire Command, responsible for the defence of Swansea, Cardiff and Barry.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, Mobilisation
By October 1914, the campaign on the Western Front was bogging down into Trench warfare and there was an urgent need for batteries of siege artillery to be sent to France. The WO decided that the TF coastal gunners were well enough trained to take over many of the duties in the coastal defences, releasing Regular RGA gunners for service in the field. Soon the TF RGA companies that had volunteered for overseas service were also supplying trained gunners to RGA units serving overseas and providing cadres to form complete new units.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, 1916
121st Siege Battery, RGA, was raised at Pembroke Dock on 22 March 1916 under Army Council Instruction 701 of 31 March 1916 with a cadre of 3 officers and 78 other ranks from the Glamorgan RGA. It went out to the Western Front in July 1916, manning four 9.2-inch howitzers. It joined I ANZAC Corps in Fifth Army on 15 July in time for the Battle of Pozières in the Somme Offensive. It transferred to 5th Heavy Artillery Group (HAG) in Second Army on 4 August, then returned to the Somme with 28th HAG in Fourth Army on 14 September. The Battle of Flers-Courcelette was launched the following day and largescale fighting continued on Fourth Army's front into November. 121st Siege Bty transferred to the command of 64th HAG within Fourth Army from 3 October.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, 1917
121st Siege Bty came under the command of 18th HAG on 15 April 1917 as that group transferred from Fourth to First Army, which was engaged in the Arras Offensive. The battery transferred to the command of 57th HAG on 14 May as the Arras operations wound down. It left 57th HAG on 10 June and joined 53rd HAG on 17 June as First Army continued minor operations.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, 1917
On 9 July 1917 the battery moved to 24th HAG (alongside 172nd Siege Bty, also raised by the Glamorgan RGA), which was attached to the French army. The group then joined Fifth Army on 1 August, just after the start of the Third Ypres Offensive. Fifth Army's guns were suffering badly from German counter-battery (CB) fire, and the offensive bogged down. A second push on 16 August (the Battle of Langemarck) suffered from rushed artillery planning and was unsuccessful.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, 1917
On 16 September the group was transferred to Second Army when that formation took over control of  the faltering offensive: the Battles of the Menin Road, Polygon Wood and Broodseinde were highly successful because of the weight of artillery brought to bear on German positions. But as the offensive continued with the Battle of Poelcappelle and First and Second Battles of Passchendaele, the tables were turned: British batteries were clearly observable from the Passchendaele Ridge and were subjected to CB fire, while their own guns sank into the mud and became difficult to aim and fire.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, 1917
121st Siege Bty had received reinforcements on 5 September, when it was joined by a section from 428th Siege Bty, just arrived from Home. This was in preparation for the battery to be expanded to six 9.2-inch howitzers, but the guns do not seem to have arrived at this time. Second Army HQ and 24th HAG were sent to reinforce the Italian Front in November, but after the horrors of Passchendaele 121st Siege Bty was given an extended rest from 16 November to 5 December, nominally under the command of 6th HAG. It appears to have received its two additional howitzers during December, and returned to the Fifth Army front on 7 December as part of 5th HAG, transferring to 98th HAG on 28 December.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, Spring 1918
121st Siege Bty had another period of rest from 31 January to 19 February 1918. By now HAG allocations were becoming more fixed, and on 1 February 1918 they were converted into permanent RGA brigades. For the rest of the war the battery was part of 98th (9.2-inch Howitzer) Bde, RGA, along with three 6-inch howitzer batteries. Fifth Army was attacked on 21 March 1918, the first day of the German spring offensive. Artillery Observation Posts (OPs) were blinded by early morning mist and many were overrun along with the infantry in the forward zone.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, Spring 1918
Much of the field artillery was lost, caught up in short-range fighting in the main battle zone, as were a number of RGA units either caught in the fighting or forced to abandon their guns as the Germans advanced rapidly. Others struggled to get their guns back during the 'Great Retreat'. Fourth Army HQ took over all of Fifth Army's formations and units on 2 April, and the first phase of the German offensive was halted on 4 April. Further attacks came on other parts of the front, but none broke through completely.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, Hundred Days
Fourth Army launched the Allied counter-offensive (the Hundred Days) with the Battle of Amiens on 8 August. The artillery fireplan emphasised CB fire for the 'heavies' as well as bombarding villages and strongpoints. The heavy artillery was positioned as far forward as possible, and it was prepared to move up behind the advancing infantry.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, Hundred Days
By the end of September Fourth Army had closed up to the Hindenburg Line. On 29 September IX Corps carried out an assault crossing of the St Quentin Canal, with 98th Bde amongst the mass of artillery supporting the operation. The canal defences had largely been destroyed by the heavy guns, which continued firing on the canal banks until the last possible moment as 137th (Staffordshire) Brigade stormed the outpost line and then scrambled across the canal in the morning mist. The objectives were taken by 15.30.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, Hundred Days
On 8 October, IX Corps attacked the next German defensive position, the Beaurevoir Line. Harassing fire (HF) had been carried out on the night of 6/7 October, and all through 7 October and up to Zero the heavies carried out CB fire and shelled important localities. Once the attack went in the heavies continued intense CB and long-range HF fire until the infantry were on the objective. The RGA brigades were ready to follow up the advance, but without their cumbersome 9.2-inch howitzers.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, Hundred Days
On 11 October preparations began for IX Corps' assault on the German line along the River Selle. CB fire began on 13 October, together with bombardment by the heavy howitzers of important localities chosen by Corps HQ. On 15 and 16 October mist and rain disrupted air reconnaissance, but Zero for the Battle of the Selle was fixed on 16 October for 05.20 the next day. The first day of the battle went well, one German counter-attack being broken up when all available guns were turned onto it, but the attackers were still short of their objective, the Sambre Canal. Steady progress was also made on the second and third days as Fourth Army closed up to the canal.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, Hundred Days
IX Corps renewed its advance on 23 October, with 98th Bde part of a massive corps artillery reserve. The attack went in at 01.20 in moonlight, after the heavy guns had done the usual CB and HF bombardments, and the result were extremely satisfactory. As the regimental historian relates, 'The guns of Fourth Army demonstrated, on 23 October, the crushing effect of well co-ordinated massed artillery. they simply swept away the opposition'. After a pause to regroup and reconnoitre, IX Corps stormed across the canal on 4 November (the Battle of the Sambre). After that the campaign became a pursuit of a beaten enemy, in which the slow-moving siege guns could play no part. The war ended with the Armistice with Germany on 11 November.


121st Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, War Service, Hundred Days
In the interim order of battle for the postwar army the battery was supposed to form 156th Bty RGA, but this was rescinded after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, and the battery was disbanded in 1919.


121st Signal Battalion (United States)
The 121st Signal Battalion was a signal unit of the United States Army, inactivated as of July 2006. Prior to deactivation, it provided signal support to the 1st Infantry Division.


121st Signal Battalion (United States), Honors, Decorations
French Croix de guerre with Palm, World War I for:


121st Signal Battalion (United States), History
The 121st Signal Battalion was formed in 1898 as part of the United States Army Signal Corps, serving in Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War. In 1921, the two companies were reorganized as the 1st Signal Company, which was later honored with its own distinctive crest.


121st Signal Battalion (United States), History, World Wars I and II
The unit received six battle honors in World War I, symbolized by the six Lorraine crosses appearing on their coat of arms. During World War II, the unit supported the 1st Infantry Division as they conducted combat operations in Normandy, France, Belgium and Czechoslovakia. During this war, the unit was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, Meritorious Unit Commendation and the French fourragère.


121st Signal Battalion (United States), History, Post-war
In 1957, the 1st Signal Company officially re-designated to the 121st Signal Battalion. In 1962 part of the 121st was deployed to Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. B Company was stationed at McCoy AFB (now part of Orlando International Airport) and SGT Norman Hansen and SP4 William Hawkins Jr established communications for the infantry. Hawkins was later promoted to SGT. This was before the public was aware of a problem. The government did not recognize that they were deployed to Florida. Since then, the battalion has served with the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.


121st Signal Battalion (United States), History, Post-war
The battalion was deployed to Iraq with the 1st Infantry Division in 2004, returning to Germany in early 2005. Company C, the last company of the unit, was inactivated 10 April 2006, at Larson Barracks, Kitzingen, Germany.


121st Signal Battalion (United States), History, Inactivation
Prior to its inactivation the unit was stationed in Kitzingen, Germany, and supported the 1st Infantry Division with MSE communications. The battalion was last deployed in operation OIF II in 2004. The unit consisted of A (Archangels, Wired-Up! ), B (Blackhawks), C (Charlie Rock), and D company. D company was stationed at Fort Riley as a rear detachment of sorts for the battalion along with the rear detachment for the 1st Infantry division.


121st Signal Battalion (United States), History, Inactivation
The battalion was inactivated as part of the decrease in over-seas forces that the US military is currently undergoing, the return of the 1st Infantry Division stateside and the fielding of many signal units in the signal regiment with JNN communications equipment. Alpha company was moved to Schweinfurt, Germany prior to inactivation to be stationed with the 2nd BCT, 1ID (Dagger) and was reflagged as the 57th Signal Company.


121st Signal Battalion (United States), History, Inactivation
The last commander prior to inactivation was Lieutenant Colonel Dana Tankins. The last CSM was CSM Mitchell.


121st Street station (BMT Jamaica Line)
121st Street is a skip-stop station on the elevated BMT Jamaica Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 121st Street and Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens, Queens, it is served by the Z train during rush hours in the peak direction and the J train at all other times.


121st Street station (BMT Jamaica Line), History
This station was opened on July 3, 1918 by the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad, an affiliate of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company.


121st Street station (BMT Jamaica Line), History
During construction of the Archer Avenue Line, the Jamaica Avenue elevated line was cut back past 121st Street on April 15, 1985. The Q49 bus, which replaced Jamaica elevated service running from the line's previous terminal of Queens Boulevard to the line's original terminal at 168th Street, was extended to 121st Street. Until the opening of the Archer Avenue Line in 1988, J trains alternately terminated at 111th Street and 121st Street, with peak period headways to 121st Street being ten minutes. This temporary service pattern was originally slated to be in effect for six or seven months.


121st Street station (BMT Jamaica Line), History
Construction on the ramps to Archer Avenue was completed in November 1987, but since the tunnels were not ready for service until 1988, a double crossover east (railroad north) of the station was installed while the ramps were used for storage. The Archer Avenue Line opened on December 11, 1988, and service was extended from 121st Street to Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer.


121st Street station (BMT Jamaica Line), History
The Manhattan-bound platform closed for renovations on February 6, 2017 and reopened on December 22, 2017, delayed from the summer. The Jamaica Center-bound platform closed for renovations on February 12, 2018 and reopened on November 14, 2018, delayed from its planned reopening in the summer.


121st Street station (BMT Jamaica Line), Station layout
This elevated station has two tracks and two side platforms, with space for a center express track that was never added. The station has beige windscreens and green canopies. This is the easternmost station on the Jamaica Line, east of here, trains go underground to the BMT Archer Avenue Line.


121st Street station (BMT Jamaica Line), Station layout, Exits
There are two exits. The full-time exit is at the west (railroad south) end of the station. One staircase from each platform leads to the mezzanine beneath the tracks. Outside of fare control, a pair of staircases lead down to either side of Jamaica Avenue on the west side of 121st Street.


121st Street station (BMT Jamaica Line), Station layout, Exits
There is an additional unstaffed exit at the east (railroad north) end of the station leading to the west side of 123rd Street. This exit is split in half due to the closed-off station house beneath the tracks. A single staircase from each platform leads to a landing that contains a full-height HEET turnstile before the street stairs.


121st Street station (IRT Second Avenue Line)
121st Street was a local station on the demolished IRT Second Avenue Line in Manhattan, New York City. It had three tracks and two side platforms. The next stop to the north was 125th Street. The next stop to the south was 117th Street. The station closed on June 11, 1940.


121st meridian east
The meridian 121° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, Australia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.


121st meridian east
The 121st meridian east forms a great circle with the 59th meridian west.


121st meridian east, From Pole to Pole
Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 121st meridian east passes through:


121st meridian west
The meridian 121° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.


121st meridian west
The 121st meridian west forms a great circle with the 59th meridian east.


121st meridian west, From Pole to Pole
Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 121st meridian west passes through:


122 (film)
122 is an 2019 Egyptian psychological horror film directed by Yasir Al Yasiri and written by Salah Al-Goheny, and produced by Saif Oraibi. The film is the first Egyptian movie to be shot in 4DX technology.


122 (film), Plot
In Egypt calling 122 is the equivalent of calling 911 in the US or 999 in the UK. 122 is an Egyptian film that follows the story of Nasr (Ahmed Dawood) and Umnia (Amina Khalil) who are in love, they're married as well. The problem is since they couldn't afford a proper wedding they snuck off and eloped. They are trying to keeping their marriage hidden until they can afford it. Unfortunately, Umnia has become pregnant, something even more scandalous for an unmarried woman.


122 (film), Plot
In order to come up with the money quickly, Nasr returns to his shady past, agreeing to transport a package of drugs for an old associate. Umnia insists on coming along. And when their car gets hit by a bus wake up in intensive care in a hospital in the middle of nowhere. The couple faces a catastrophe inside what appears to be a hospital, and attempt to escape and run for their lives.


122 (film), Release
The movie was released in Egypt on the 2nd of January 2019, then a week later it was released worldwide. The film was a blockbuster in the Egyptian Box Office topping the box office for a month, hitting in Egypt alone 24,808,161 Egyptian Pounds  The movie marked a new record in the international distribution being the first Egyptian film to be dubbed into Hind and releasing in Pakistan


122 (film), Release
The film then was digitally released on Netflix and was named as one of the iconic Arabic movies coming to Netflix


122 (number)
122 (one hundred [and] twenty-two) is the natural number following 121 and preceding 123.


122 (number), In mathematics
122 is a nontotient since there is no integer with exactly 122 coprimes below it. Nor is there an integer with exactly 122 integers with common factors below it, making 122 a noncototient.


122 (number), In mathematics
122 is the sum of squares of the divisors of 11.


122 BC
Year 122 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ahenobarbus and Fannius (or, less frequently, year 632 Ab urbe condita) and the First Year of Yuanshou. The denomination 122 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.


122 Foregate Street, Chester
122 Foregate Street is a building at the corner of the north side of Foregate Street and the east side of Bath Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.


122 Foregate Street, Chester, History
The building was designed by the local architect John Douglas for Prudential Assurance, and constructed in 1902. It has since been used by the Lombard Bank and later as a shop. In the late 2000s it was a beauty salon and in 2009 planning permission was given by Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council for it to be converted into a café and offices.


122 Foregate Street, Chester, Architecture
The building is constructed in red sandstone rubble and it has a red clay tile roof. Its style is "Douglas' Germanic 17th-century manner". The building has two storeys plus a loft in the roof. It stands adjacent to the terrace of houses designed by Douglas in Bath Street. The corner of the building between the streets is angled with an arched doorway in the ground floor. The upper storey is jettied and carried on consoles over pilasters flanking the door. This storey contains a mullioned three-light sash window over which is a cornice and a carving of the Chester City coat of arms. Above this a Baroque-shaped gable containing a two-light window and at its summit is an obelisk finial.


122 Foregate Street, Chester, Architecture
The front facing Foregate Street contains three arched windows on the ground floor, the middle one being narrow than the others. The upper storey has eight sash windows over which are a frieze and a cornice. Over the easterly six windows is another Baroque-shaped gable similar to that over the entrance door, but larger. The front facing Bath Street has two arched windows at the north end, then an arched doorway. Beyond this in the south bay, are two sash windows.


122 Foregate Street, Chester, Architecture
In the upper storey are nine sash windows; over the pair of windows in the south bay is a cartouche. Over the south bay is a plain gable with coping and a short finial. In the roof facing Foregate Street and in that facing Bath Street is a lucarne with a finial. Two brick chimney stacks rise from the roof. A stone screen with a balustrade links the building to the house at number 1 Bath Street.


122 Gerda
Gerda (minor planet designation: 122 Gerda) is a fairly large outer main-belt asteroid that was discovered by German-American astronomer C. H. F. Peters on July 31, 1872, and named after Gerðr, the wife of the god Freyr in Norse mythology. Based upon its spectrum, this is classified as an S-type asteroid. It is listed as a member of the Hecuba group of asteroids that orbit near the 2:1 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter.


122 Gerda
Photometric observations of this asteroid in 2007 were used to produce a light curve that showed that Gerda rotates every 10.687 ± 0.001 hours and varied in brightness by 0.16 in magnitude. In 2009, observations at the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico generated a light curve with a period of 10.712 ± 0.01 hours with a brightness variation of 0.11 ± 0.01 magnitudes. This is compatible with previous studies.


122 Leadenhall Street
122 Leadenhall Street, also known as the Leadenhall Building, is a 225-metre (738 ft) tall skyscraper in central London. It opened in July 2014 and was designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners; it is known informally as The Cheesegrater because of its distinctive wedge shape similar to that of the kitchen utensil with the same name. It is one of a number of tall buildings recently completed or under construction in the City of London financial district, including 20 Fenchurch Street, 22 Bishopsgate, and The Scalpel.


122 Leadenhall Street
The site is adjacent to the Lloyd's Building, also designed by Rogers, which is the current home of the insurance market Lloyd's of London. Until 2007 the Leadenhall site was occupied by a building owned by British Land and designed by Gollins Melvin Ward Partnership, which was constructed in the 1960s. That building was demolished in preparation for redevelopment of the site. By December 2009, the site was cleared but construction had stalled. The project, initially delayed due to the financial crisis, was revived in October 2010 and Oxford Properties has co-developed the property in partnership with British Land.


122 Leadenhall Street, Site history
Prior to the site's previous redevelopment in the 1960s, it had been used as the head office of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) for over a century. From 1840, P&O had occupied, rent-free, the offices of Willcox & Anderson. However, business east of the Gulf of Suez increased in the late 1840s, so they needed larger offices. In November 1845, the King's Arms inn and hotel at 122 Leadenhall Street was put up for sale. P&O purchased the freehold for £7,250, and then commissioned an architect, Beachcroft, to design a new building. The cost of the new building was estimated at £8,000. In March 1848, P&O moved into the new office.


122 Leadenhall Street, Site history
In 1854, P&O unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the neighbouring building at 121 Leadenhall Street; but they eventually took a lease from the charity which held it. They also bought leases of 80 years from St. Thomas's Hospital on the residential properties at Nos. 123, 124 and 125 Leadenhall Street, which were demolished to create a new frontage at No. 122. The new building provided more office space, some of which was for rent, and a spacious new courtyard.


122 Leadenhall Street, Site history
By the mid-1960s P&O needed to redevelop the site to provide increased office space again. At the same time, the Commercial Union Assurance Company was also planning a redevelopment on an adjacent site on the corner of St Mary Axe. However, due to a number of issues affecting both sites, notably poor access to the Commercial Union site and the restricted width of the P&O site, it was not possible to obtain planning consents that would optimise the amount of floor space for both companies.


122 Leadenhall Street, Site history
So they decided on a joint development with the reallocation of site boundaries and the creation of an open concourse area at the junction of Leadenhall Street and St Mary Axe. Both companies would have frontages to the new concourse and would retain site areas equivalent to those enclosed by the original boundaries.


122 Leadenhall Street, Site history, Previous building
When completed in 1969, the building at 122 Leadenhall Street was 54 m (177 ft) tall with 14 storeys above and three storeys under ground. It was originally designed as a pair with the Commercial Union headquarters (now called St. Helen's) by the architects Gollins Melvin Ward Partnership. The two buildings have a central compressional concrete core and have suspended floors which hang using the steel 'chords' visible on the exterior of the building, which are hung from power trusses at the top of the building (and in the case of No. 1 Undershaft, a further central power-truss). It is an example of a tension structure; at the time, it was considered one of the most complex glass-fronted buildings in the United Kingdom. The architect acknowledged the influence of Mies van der Rohe.


122 Leadenhall Street, Site history, Previous building
The building was extensively damaged by an IRA bomb in the early-1990s and subsequently had to be reclad. It was occupied by various tenants until November 2006, including the Italian International Bank and Calyon.


122 Leadenhall Street, Site history, Previous building
In 2007–08, the building was demolished to make way for a new development designed by Richard Rogers. The demolition was undertaken by McGee Group Ltd, with Bovis Lend Lease acting as construction manager. The contract value was £16 million. The first phase of demolition was conventional: after securing the site, the contractors performed a soft strip of the interior and an asbestos survey prior to demolishing the low level structures up to podium level. After this, the suspended structure of the building required an unconventional demolition approach that successively dismantled each office floor from the lowest upwards.


122 Leadenhall Street, Site history, Previous building
To achieve this, the contractors installed a structural deck that acted both as a work platform for the demolition work and as a safety barrier. This was jacked upwards as each successive office floor was removed. When all the office floors and upper support trusses had been removed, the concrete core was de-stressed and demolished. Concurrently, the 25,000-cubic-metre (880,000 cu ft) basement was propped and excavated. The contract took just over two years to complete.


122 Leadenhall Street, The Leadenhall Building
Designed by Richard Rogers and developed by British Land and Oxford Properties, the new Leadenhall Building is 225 m (737 ft) tall, with 48 floors. With its distinctive wedge-shaped profile it has been nicknamed the Cheesegrater, a name originally given to it by the City of London Corporation's chief planning officer, Peter Rees, who upon seeing a model of the concept "told Richard Rogers I could imagine his wife using it to grate parmesan. [ The name] stuck."


122 Leadenhall Street, The Leadenhall Building
The planning application was submitted to the City of London Corporation in February 2004 and was approved in May 2005. In 2006 Scheme Design (RIBA Stage D) started. In a statement made to the London Stock Exchange on 14 August 2008, British Land said it was delaying the project, which was due to start in October 2010. On 22 December 2010, the developer announced the project was moving forward with contracts being signed for the 50/50 joint venture with Oxford Properties.


122 Leadenhall Street, The Leadenhall Building
The new tower features a tapered glass façade on one side which reveals steel bracings, along with a ladder frame to emphasise the vertical appearance of the building. It also appears to anchor the tower to the ground, giving a sense of strength. Unlike other tall buildings, which typically use a concrete core to provide stability, the steel "Megaframe", engineered by Arup, provides stability to the entire structure and is the world's tallest of its kind. The base features a 30m high atrium which is open to the public and extends the adjacent plaza.


122 Leadenhall Street, The Leadenhall Building
The flat side of the building is also encased in glass, and houses the mechanical services –  in particular the elevator shafts. These have been turned into an architectural feature in a vein similar to the neighbouring Lloyd's building – they deliberately show off the elevator machinery with bright orange painted counterweights and the actual elevator motors themselves.


122 Leadenhall Street, The Leadenhall Building
This unusual design's main drawback is the building's relatively small floorspace (84,424 m2) for a building of its height. However, it is hoped that the slanting wedge-shaped design will have less impact on the protected sightline of St Paul's Cathedral when viewed from Fleet Street and the west.


122 Leadenhall Street, The Leadenhall Building
In July 2011, British Land and Oxford Properties announced that Laing O'Rourke was the main contractor for the works of the new Leadenhall Building. Throughout 2011, construction began with the basement floors. By December 2012, the steelwork had progressed up to the fifth mega-level, with topping out expected in February or March. The glass cladding had also begun to rise. In May 2013, the co-developers announced that the building was over 51% pre-let. By June 2013, the steelwork of the building was completely topped out with the glass cladding covering almost half the building.


122 Leadenhall Street, The Leadenhall Building
The construction of the building was the subject of an episode of the Super Skyscrapers documentary series by the American television channel PBS in February 2014.


122 Leadenhall Street, The Leadenhall Building, Tenants
The development has succeeded in attracting tenants, especially in contrast to the nearby part-built Pinnacle and completed Heron Tower. In May 2011, it was announced that the lower 10 floors of the Leadenhall Building have been pre-let to insurance broker Aon, which moved its global headquarters to London from Chicago. Insurance group Amlin has also agreed terms on a 20-year lease of the 19th to 24th floors as well as the top floor, the 45th, from March 2015, for a total of 111,000 sq ft of office space.


122 Squadron (Israel)
The 122 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force, also known as the Nahshon Squadron (former Dakota Squadron), is a G550 squadron based at Nevatim Airbase.


122 Squadron (Israel), History
The Squadron has six planes with three aircraft used for Airborne early warning and control (CAEW or Conformal Airborne Early Warning, IAI EL/W-2085) and three are used for Signals intelligence (SEMA or Special Electronic Missions Aircraft).


122 Squadron SAAF
122 Squadron SAAF was a South African Air Force squadron formed in 1970 to operate the South African/French Cactus surface-to-air missile systems in an air defence role. The unit was disbanded when the Cactus system was retired from service in the late 1980s.


122 Squadron SAAF
122 Squadron was the direct sister unit of 120 Squadron and was exactly set up and operated as such.


122 Squadron SAAF, History and deployment
In July 1964, South Africa placed a development contract with Thomson-CSF for a mobile, all-weather, low-altitude SAM system after a South African order for the Bloodhound SAM system was refused by the UK government. The South African government paid 85 per cent of the development costs of the system with the balance being paid for by France. The system was known as "Cactus" within the SAAF and "Crotale" in France.


122 Squadron SAAF, History and deployment
The units were operationally deployed in platoons in 1971 with each platoon consisting of one Acquisition and Co-ordination Unit (ACU) and two or three firing units, with a battery having two platoons. All Cactus air defence batteries were placed under command of 122 Squadron until the retirement of the system in the late 1980s.


122 Squadron SAAF, History and deployment
An Egyptian Crotale surface-air missile system, similar to that operated by 122 Squadron.


122 iron arsenide
The 122 iron arsenide unconventional superconductors are part of a new class of iron-based superconductors. They form in the tetragonal I4/mmm, ThCr2Si2 type, crystal structure. The shorthand name "122" comes from their stoichiometry; the 122s have the chemical formula AEFe2Pn2, where AE stands for alkaline earth metal (Ca, Ba, Sr or Eu) and Pn is pnictide (As, P, etc.). These materials become superconducting under pressure and also upon doping. The maximum superconducting transition temperature found to date is 38 K in the Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2. The microscopic description of superconductivity in the 122s is yet unclear.


122 iron arsenide, Overview
Ever since the discovery of high-temperature (High Tc) superconductivity in the cuprate materials, scientists have worked tirelessly to understand the microscopic mechanisms responsible for its emergence. To this day, no theory can fully explain the high-temperature superconductivity and unconventional (non-s-wave) pairing state found in these materials.


122 iron arsenide, Overview
However, the interest of the scientific community in understanding the pairing glue for unconventional superconductors—those in which the glue is electronic, i.e. cannot be attributed to the phonon-induced interactions between electrons responsible for conventional BCS theory s-wave superconductivity—has recently been expanded by the discovery of high temperature superconductivity (up to Tc = 55 K) in the doped oxypnictide (1111) superconductors with the chemical composition XOFeAs, where X = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, or Dy. The 122s contain the same iron-arsenide planes as the oxypnictides, but are much easier to synthesize in the form of large single crystals.


122 iron arsenide, Overview
There are two different ways in which superconductivity was achieved in the 122s. One method is the application of pressure to the undoped parent compounds. The second is the introduction of other elements (dopants) into the crystal structure in very specific ratios. There are two doping schemes: The first type of doping involves the introduction of holes into the barium or strontium varieties; hole doping refers to the substitution of one ion for another with fewer electrons.


122 iron arsenide, Overview
Superconducting transition temperatures as high as 38 K have been reported upon substitution of the 40% of the Ba2+ or Sr2+ ions with K+. The second doping method is to directly dope the iron-arsenide layer by replacing iron with cobalt. Superconducting transition temperatures up to ~20 K have been observed in this case.


122 iron arsenide, Overview
Unlike the oxypnictides, large single crystals of the 122s can be easily synthesized by using the flux method. The behavior of these materials is interesting by that superconductivity exists alongside antiferromagnetism. Various studies including electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, NMR, neutron scattering, X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and quantum oscillations have been performed for the undoped parent compounds, as well as the superconducting versions.


122 iron arsenide, Synthesis
One of the important qualities of the 122s is their ease of synthesis; it is possible to grow large single crystals, up to ~5×5×0.5 mm, using the flux method. In a nutshell, the flux method uses some solvent in which the starting materials for a chemical reaction are able to dissolve and eventually crystallize into the desired compound. Two standard methods show up in the literature, each utilizing a different flux. The first method employs tin, while the second uses the binary metallic compound FeAs (iron arsenide).


122 iron arsenide, Structural and magnetic phase transition
The 122s form in the I4/mmm tetragonal structure. For example, the tetragonal unit cell of SrFe2As2, at room temperature, has lattice parameters a = b = 3.9243 Å and c = 12.3644 Å. The planar geometry is reminiscent of the cuprate high-Tc superconductors in which the Cu-O layers are believed to support superconductivity.


122 iron arsenide, Structural and magnetic phase transition
These materials undergo a first-order structural phase transition into the Fmmm orthorhombic structure below some characteristic temperature T0 that is compound specific. NMR experiments on the CaFe2As2 show that there is a first-order antiferromagnetic magnetic phase transition at the same temperature; in contrast, the antiferromagnetic transition occurs at a lower temperature in the 1111s. The high temperature magnetic state is paramagnetic, while the low temperature state is an antiferromagnetic state known as a spin-density-wave.


122 iron arsenide, Superconductivity
Superconductivity has been observed in the 122s up to a current maximum Tc of 38 K in Ba1−xKxFe2As2 with x ≈ 0.4. Resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements have confirmed the bulk nature of the observed superconducting transition. The onset of superconductivity is correlated with the loss of the spin-density-wave state.


122 iron arsenide, Superconductivity
The Tc of 38 K in Ba1−xKxFe2As2 (x ≈ 0.4) superconductor shows the inverse iron isotope effect.


122 iron arsenide, Other compounds with 122 structure
In addition to the iron arsenides, the 122 crystal structure plays an important role for other material systems as well. Three famous examples from the field of heavy fermions are CeCu2Si2 (the "first unconventional superconductor" discovered 1978),URu2Si2 (which is also a heavy fermion superconductor but is the focus of active present research due to the so-called "hidden-order phase" below 17.5 K),and YbRh2Si2 (one of the prime examples of quantum criticality).


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19)
122 mm corps gun M1931 (A-19) (Russian: 122-мм корпусная пушка обр. 1931 г. (А-19)) was a Soviet field gun, developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1939 the gun was replaced in production by an improved variant, M1931/37. The piece saw action in World War II with the Red Army. Captured guns were employed by Wehrmacht and the Finnish Army.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Development history
From the late 1920s the Red Army sought to upgrade its First World War era artillery pieces. In January 1927 the Main Artillery Directorate (GRAU) initiated development of a new 122 mm gun for corps artillery. The development was initially entrusted to GRAU design bureau (led by F. F. Lender until its death in September 1927), and from June 1929 - to the design bureau of All-Union Ordnance Trust, with assistance from GRAU designers.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Development history
On 17 June 1929 a prototype, along with technological documentation, was ordered from Motovilikha Plants. It underwent trials starting in October 1931, with two barrels of different construction, both fitted with muzzle brake. In May 1932 the gun was sent for improvements to the No 38 Plant, and it received that plant's designation A-19. In 1933, three more prototypes were ordered from the Barrikady Plant in Stalingrad and were completed in March 1935. The gun reached trials again in November 1935. After successfully completing the trials, it was adopted by RKKA on 13 March 1936 as 122 mm corps gun M1931 (A-19).


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Production history
The M1931 was in production from 1935 to 1939. It was gradually improved until 1937, therefor, late production pieces differ from the early production ones. In 1939, the gun was replaced in production by an improved variant, M1931/37, which combined barrel of the M1931 with the carriage of the 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20). The exact number of pieces manufactured is not known; estimations are 450-500 pieces.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Description
In contrast with World War I-era guns, the M1931 had a split trail carriage, allowing for much wider traverse angle. The carriage was fitted with a leaf spring suspension and ten-spoke metal wheels with solid rubber tires. Some late production pieces had ML-20-type wheels with pneumatic tires. The carriage also featured spring-type equilibrator. The Gun shield gave the crew some protection from small arms and shell fragments.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Description
The barrel consisted of liner, jacket and screwed-upon breech. Early production barrels had a built-up construction, but in 1936 these were replaced in production by loose liner barrels. The breechblock was of interrupted screw type, similar in construction to  that of the 152 mm howitzer M1910/37. Unlike early prototypes, productional barrels did not have muzzle brake. Recoil system consisted of hydraulic recoil buffer and hydro-pneumatic recuperator, both located inside the cradle under the barrel.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Description
The limber of the experimental 152 mm ML-15 was used.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Description
Initially a separate transportation (with the barrel removed from the carriage and transported on a special wagon) was considered. However, following the trials it was decided to always tow the gun as a single piece. Several types of artillery tractors were employed: S-2 Stalinets-2, Komintern and, from 1943, Ya-12.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Organization and employment
Both variants - M1931 and M1931/37 - had the same place in army organizations, were often used alongside each other and combat reports rarely differentiate between them; consequently, the data in this section is for M1931 and M1931/37 together, unless specified otherwise.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
The A-19 was originally intended for corps artillery. Together with ML-20 it formed a so-called "corps duplex". In 1940-41 there were three types of corps artillery regiments:


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
Soon after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War the corps artillery was eliminated (as rifle corps themselves were eliminated) and was only reintroduced late in the war. Those new artillery regiments were issued 122 mm guns along with other pieces, mainly 107 mm guns and 152 mm howitzers, in total 16-20 pieces per regiment. On 1 June 1944, RKKA corps artillery possessed 387 A-19s (along with some 750 107 mm and 152 mm pieces), an on 1 May 1945 - 289 A-19s (again along with some 750 100 mm, 107 mm and 152 mm pieces).


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
The gun was also used by artillery units of the Reserve of the Main Command (RVGK). In mid-1941 a cannon regiment of the RVGK had 48 A-19; in autumn 1941 these regiments were reorganized, a new, smaller, regiment had 18 A-19s. From 1942 cannon brigades were introduced, with 36 A-19s each. Such brigade could be a part of an artillery division - a huge formation, with up to four brigades of A-19 or ML-20 (meaning up to 144 pieces).


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
The first combat use of the A-19 was in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. It also saw combat in the Winter War. On 1 March 1940 there were 130 A-19 guns at the frontline. Three pieces were lost.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
By June 1941 the RKKA possessed, according to different sources, 1257 (1236 in the Army and 21 in the Navy) or 1300 A-19s. The gun proceeded to be used throughout the Great Patriotic War.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
The A-19 was primarily used for indirect fire against enemy personnel, fortifications and key objects in the near rear. It was also equipped with armour-piercing shells for direct fire against armoured targets. Although not an ideal anti-tank gun because of its large size, slow traverse and relatively slow rate of fire, in 1943 the A-19 was one of a few guns effective against new German tanks.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Organization and employment, Other operators
In the early stage of the Great Patriotic War hundreds of A-19s fell into the hands of Wehrmacht. Both variants were adopted - M1931 as 12,2 cm K.390/1(r) and M1931/37 as 12,2 cm K.390/2(r). Germans used a total of 424 of these guns in field and coastal artillery and manufactured ammunition for them.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Organization and employment, Other operators
The Finnish Army captured 25 pieces in 1941 and also pressed them into service. The same designation 122 K/31 was applied to both variants. Because of shortage in heavy tractors, the gun was mostly used in coastal artillery. Four pieces were lost; the rest remained in  service after the war. During the 1980s some pieces had their barrels replaced with 152 mm barrels of the ML-20; the resulting pieces were designated 152 H 37-31. In the late 1980s all 152 H 37-31 and the remaining 122 K/31 received new 152 mm L/32 barrels manufactured by Vammas, to become 152 H 88-31. Only in 2007 did the Finnish Army begin to remove these guns from service.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Variants
As mentioned above, late production M1931s differed from early production ones. Guns manufactured starting in 1936 had free liner barrel construction in contrast to the earlier built-up barrels; in 1937 changes in breech block construction were introduced, and some late production pieces received ML-20-type wheels with pneumatic tires.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Variants
In addition, the M1931 had a number of experimental variants.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Variants
In 1933, development of a carriage with improved off-road mobility was started. The carriage in two variants - on tracks and on large, tractor-type wheels - reached trials in 1937 and was found to be not durable enough.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Variants
In 1933-36 the gun was involved in experiments with pre-rifled projectiles. For these experiments a special variant of the barrel was produced. The experiments were stopped because of inherent deficients of those projectiles, namely more complicated loading process and lower accuracy.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Variants
Another variant, with bag loading, designated Br-3, reached trials in 1937, but was not adopted.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Variants
The carriage of M1931, almost unmodified, was used for the 152 mm gun M1910/34.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Variants
As already mentioned, in Finland carriages of the A-19 were fitted with 152 mm barrels, resulting in two models:


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Summary
The M1931 was one of the first Soviet artillery pieces to feature split trail carriage. This carriage construction allowed for much better traverse angles compared to earlier single trail or box trail carriages. Good elevation angle and ability to use different propellant charges made the gun flexible indirect fire weapon, and its ballistics were powerful enough to make it useful in direct fire role against enemy armor (though, as mentioned above, it was not an ideal anti-tank gun because of its size, traverse speed and rate of fire).


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Summary
The carriage of M1931 had a number of shortcomings though. The elevation mechanism was slow and unreliable; solid-tired wheels hindered mobility to some extent; there were technological problems in carriage production. These shortcomings eventually led to adopting a better carriage, creating the M1931/37.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Summary
As calibers similar to 122 mm were not typical for western field artillery of World War II era, pieces directly comparable to the M1931 were rare.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Summary
The German 10.5 cm sK 18 was significantly lighter (5.64 t) while having about the same range (19 km), but fired much smaller 15 kg shell; on the other side, the 15 cm K 18 was heavy (combat weight 12.46 t), limited production (101 pieces) weapon, more comparable to the Soviet 152 mm Br-2. Late in the war Germans worked on a number of 128 mm field guns; one of these designs, the 12.8 cm K 81/2, was a gun with combat weight of 8.2 t, based on a heavily modified carriage of captured 152 mm ML-20. However, little is known about its characteristics; None of these 128 mm designs reached mass production.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Summary
British Army and U.S. Army both employed 4.5 inch (114 mm) pieces with similar characteristics, and designed to utilize the same ammunition - BL 4.5 inch Medium Field Gun and 4.5 inch Gun M1 respectively. The 5.65-ton M1 fired a 24.9 kg shell to the maximum range of 19.3 km; however the only type of ammunition available for the gun was a HE-frag shell, and that contained only about two kg of explosives.


122 mm gun M1931 (A-19), Ammunition
The gun fired separate loading, cased charge ammunition, with one of four possible propellant charges -  the full, no. 1, no. 2 and no. 3 (the smallest). In addition to 122 mm gun shells, the A-19 could fire 122 mm howitzer shells; however because of lesser durability of those shells they could not be used with full charge; use of steely iron howitzer shells O-460A and O-462A was prohibited.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19)
122 mm corps gun M1931/37 (A-19) (Russian: 122-мм корпусная пушка обр. 1931/1937 гг. (А-19)) was a Soviet field gun developed in late 1930s by combining the barrel of the 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) and the carriage of the 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20). The gun was in production from 1939 until 1946. It saw action in World War II (primarily with corps and RVGK artillery of the Red Army) and remained in service for a long time after the end of the war. Vehicle-mounted variants of the gun were fitted to the IS-2 and IS-3 tanks of the Iosif Stalin series of tanks and the ISU-122 self-propelled gun.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Development history
In 1936 the Red Army adopted the 122 mm gun M1931, also known as A-19. Unlike earlier ordnance pieces used by the Red Army, it had split trail carriage with suspension, and consequently improved mobility and traverse. The carriage of M1931 had a number of shortcomings though. The elevation mechanism was slow and unreliable; solid-tired wheels hindered mobility to some extent; there were technological problems in carriage production.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Development history
Soon after the M1931, the Red Army received another artillery piece in form of the 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20), developed at the No. 172 Plant, under F. F. Petrov. This led to an upgrade of the M1931, handled also by Petrov's design bureau. The barrel of the M1931 was placed on the carriage of a ML-20. The improved gun successfully underwent trials in September–October 1938 and on 29 April 1939 was adopted as 122 mm corps gun M1931/37. Unusually, the new variant, like the old one, was referred to as A-19.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Production history
The M1931/37 was manufactured by the Barrikady Plant in Stalingrad (1939–41), No. 172 Plant (1941–46). The number of M1931/37s manufactured can be estimated at about 2,450, not including those mounted on vehicles.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Description
Like barrel of late production M1931, the barrel of the M1931/37 was of loose liner construction, and consisted of liner, jacket and screwed-upon breech. The breechblock was of interrupted screw type, similar in construction to  that of the 152 mm howitzer M1910/37. Recoil system consisted of hydraulic recoil buffer and hydro-pneumatic recuperator, both located inside the cradle under the barrel.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Description
The gun had split trail carriage adapted from the 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20). The carriage was fitted with leaf spring suspension and metal wheels with pneumatic tires. The carriage also featured an equilibrator. The shield gave the crew some protection from small arms and shell fragments.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Description
The M1931/37 was transported as a single piece, with barrel pulled back. It was permitted to tow the gun with barrel in its normal position, but for short distances only and with speed of no more than 4–5 km/h. Several types of artillery tractors were used: S-2 Stalinets-2, Komintern and, from 1943, Ya-12.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment
Both variants, M1931 and M1931/37, had the same place in army organizations, were often used alongside each other and combat reports rarely differentiate between them; consequently, the data in this section is for M1931 and M1931/37 together, unless specified otherwise.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
The A-19 was originally intended for corps artillery. Together with ML-20 it formed a so-called "corps duplex". In 1940–41 there were three types of corps artillery regiments:


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
Soon after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War the corps artillery was eliminated (as rifle corps themselves were eliminated) and was only reintroduced late in the war. Those new artillery regiments were issued 122 mm guns along with other pieces, mainly 107 mm guns and 152 mm howitzers, in total 16-20 pieces per regiment. On 1 June 1944, RKKA corps artillery possessed 387 A-19s (along with some 750 107 mm and 152 mm pieces), and on 1 May 1945—289 A-19s (again along with some 750 100 mm, 107 mm and 152 mm pieces).


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
The gun was also used by artillery units of the Reserve of the Main Command (RVGK). In mid-1941 a cannon regiment of the RVGK had 48 A-19; in autumn 1941 these regiments were reorganized, a new, smaller, regiment had 18 A-19s. From 1942 cannon brigades were introduced, with 36 A-19s each. Such brigade could be a part of an artillery division—a huge formation, with up to four brigades of A-19 or ML-20 (meaning up to 144 pieces).


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
The first combat use of the A-19 was in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. It also saw combat in the Winter War. On 1 March 1940 there were 130 A-19 guns at the frontline. Three pieces were lost.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
By June 1941 the RKKA possessed, according to different sources, 1257 (1236 in the Army and 21 in the Navy) or 1300 A-19s. The gun proceeded to be used throughout the Great Patriotic War.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
The A-19 was primarily used for indirect fire against enemy personnel, fortifications and key objects in the near rear. It was also equipped with armour-piercing shells for direct fire against armoured targets. Although not an ideal anti-tank gun because of its large size, slow traverse and relatively slow rate of fire, in 1943 the A-19 was one of only a few Soviet guns effective against the new German tanks, such as the Tiger and Elefant. The Tank gun variant, the D-25 was even able to penetrate the upper frontal plate of the Tiger II at a range of 500-600 metres although it did require multiple rounds to be fired to do so.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Red Army
An A-19 No . 501 was the first gun to open fire on 20 April 1945 at the Battle of Berlin.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Other operators
In the early stage of the Great Patriotic War hundreds of A-19s fell into the hands of Wehrmacht. Both variants were adopted - M1931 as 12,2 cm K.390/1(r) and M1931/37 as 12,2 cm K.390/2(r). Germans used a total of 424 of these guns in field and coastal artillery and manufactured ammunition for them.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Other operators
Germany sold 150 of the captured A-19s to Spain in 1943. This transaction was part of the "Bär Program", a program to complete and modernize the equipment of the Spanish Armed Forces using armament delivered by Germany. Most of these A-19 were assigned to the Corps Field Artillery Regiments of the Spanish Army, each regiment receiving 12 pieces to equip a group. The model was well liked in Spain, and 32 additional pieces were ordered by the Army and produced – with neither documentation nor licenses – by the Trubia Arms Factory. After acquisition of more modern American artillery, the Spanish A-19s were relegated to the artillery regiments of territorial defense units. 173 of the Spanish A-19s were modernized in the 1970s, and the guns remained in service with the Spanish Army until the 1990s.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Other operators
The Finnish Army captured 25 pieces in 1941 and also pressed them into service. The same designation 122 K/31 was applied to both variants. Because of shortage in heavy tractors, the gun was mostly used in coastal artillery. Four pieces were lost; the rest remained in  service after the war. In 1980s some pieces had their barrels replaced with 152 mm barrels of ML-20; the resulting pieces were designated 152 H 37-31. In late 1980s both 152 H 37-31 and the remaining 122 K/31 received new 152 mm L/32 barrels manufactured by Vammas, to become 152 H 88-31.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Other operators
The Kingdom of Romania captured in 1941 a number of 477 various types of 122 mm howitzers and guns including M1931/37 and the modern ones were used as divisional artillery for units rebuilt after 1941 campaign. Some guns captured by the Romanians were modified and fitted on the initial prototypes of the Mareșal tank destroyer.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Other operators
The A-19s were used by Polish Armed Forces in the East in 1944-45 and remained in Polish service after the war. In 1952 the Polish Army possessed 63 pieces. In 1980s, in order to improve their mobility, the Polish guns were fitted with wheels from KrAZ-255B truck, resulting in 122 mm armata wz. 1931/37/85.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Other operators
78 122 mm guns were supplied to Yugoslavia. The People's Army of Vietnam also received A-19s and used them during the Vietnam War.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Organization and employment, Other operators
Other recipients of the M1931/37 were Syria (at least 100 pieces, currently in storage) and Egypt. China also purchased a number of the M1931/37 during early stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War.


122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), Ammunition
The gun fired separate loading, cased charge ammunition, with one of four possible propellant charges -  the full, no. 1, no. 2 and no. 3 (the smallest). In addition to 122 mm gun shells, the A-19 could fire 122 mm howitzer shells; however because of lesser durability of those shells they could not be used with full charge.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30)
The 122-mm howitzer D-30 (GRAU index 2A18) is a Soviet howitzer that first entered service in  1960. It is a robust piece that focuses on the essential features of a towed field gun suitable for all conditions. The D-30 has a maximum range of 15.4 kilometers, or over 21 km using RAP ammunition.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30)
With its striking three-leg mounting, the D-30 can be rapidly traversed through 360 degrees. Although no longer manufactured in the nations of the former Soviet Union, the D-30 is still manufactured internationally and is in service in more than 60 countries' armed forces.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30)
The barrel assembly of the 2A18 gun is used by the 2S1 self-propelled howitzer. There are also Egyptian, Chinese, Serbian and Syrian self-propelled variants and conversions. The Syrian conversion utilizes the hull of a T-34 tank.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), History
The 122 mm (originally 48 lines) calibre was adopted by Russia in the early 20th century, becoming very important to Soviet artillery during the Second World War. Development of the D-30 began in the 1950s, as a replacement for the M-30 howitzer, widely used in divisional and regimental artilleries. The D-30 also replaced the remaining 76 mm M1942 guns in motor rifle regiments.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), History
Military requirements that led to the D-30 can only be deduced. Its role supporting tank and motor rifle regiments, and Soviet doctrine from the Great Patriotic War, suggest that while indirect fire was the primary role, direct fire anti-tank was very important. The latter is evidenced by the very effective HEAT shell, the low silhouette of the piece, its wide and rapid top-traverse and its shield.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), History
The D-30 was designed by the well established design bureau at Artillery Plant No 9 in Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinburg), at the time led by the eminent artillery designer Fëdor Fëdorovich Petrov (1902–1978). This team was responsible for designing the earlier M-30, the post-war 152 mm D-20 gun-howitzer, and other guns.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), History
Soviet divisional artillery was assigned to manoeuvre regiments (in regimental artillery groups – RAGs) and as divisional troops (in divisional artillery groups – DAGs). A RAG was normally three batteries, each of six pieces, to each motor rifle and tank regiment. DAGs were mostly equipped with 152 mm pieces, but the DAG of a motor rifle division included a D-30 battalion. The role of an RAG was a normal field artillery role to support manoeuvre forces with indirect, semi direct and direct fire.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), History
The D-30 entered Soviet service in 1963 and is sometimes referred to as the M1963. In 1967, widespread introduction of self-propelled guns was authorised and the D-30's barrel and ammunition was used for the new 2S1. When the 2S1 entered service, it was usually assigned to tank regiments and motor rifle regiments equipped with BMP infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). D-30s were retained in motor rifle regiments equipped with BTR APCs.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), History
The D-30 has been widely exported and used in wars around the world, notably in the Middle East, and particularly in the Iran–Iraq War, a long-lasting war of attrition similar to World War I.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), History
The gun remains a mainstay of artillery forces in developing countries and is deployed in the war in Afghanistan. Soldiers from several western armies have been trained on the D-30 by various user nations in order to be able to train Afghan soldiers on it.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), History
In 2017, the Algerian military displayed a locally developed variant mounted on a Mercedes-Benz Zetros truck. It includes four stabilization legs to absorb firing impacts.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
Distinctive features of the D-30 include its low mobile mounting and above-barrel recoil system. The three-legged mobile mount is unusual for field artillery, with stabilizers that are clamped together for towing and deployed when in action. A large tow linkage is fixed to the muzzle; in transport the barrel serves as a trail. Similar mounts were a feature of several 76-mm pre-war (1931–1935) universal (both field and anti-aircraft) guns designed by Leningrad's Kirov Plant (L-1, L-2 and L-3).


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
Other examples were the 1939 French 47SA39 APX, and 1943 German 105-mm light field howitzers designs by Skoda and Krupp; neither entered service. The Bofors 105 mm L28 Light Field Howitzer 4140 was similarly arranged with four legs and did enter Swedish service. The 1930s-designed British 2-pdr. anti-tank gun was another piece featuring a three-legged mounting.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
Compared to the M-30, the new howitzer had a significantly longer 35 calibre gun barrel, just short of being a gun-howitzer by Soviet definition. Like other guns of the period, it had a high efficiency muzzle brake; this improved muzzle velocity by 175 m/s to a total of 650 m/s for HE, and raised maximum range by 3,500 m beyond the similar M-30. Maximum range was 2 km better than the 76 mm M1942 at 15.3 km. Weight increased by 650 kg over the M-30, to 3,150 kg; the D-30 is over twice the weight of the 76mm M1942. Accuracy improved, with mean error at about 10 km dropping from 35 m with the M-30 to just 21 m.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
Effective stabilisation length is a fundamental aspect of a gun mount, and legs 120° apart need to be longer than those with a smaller angle. The D-30's design minimises this problem in several ways. Trunnions are close to the ground, as a result of placing the recoil system and cradle above the barrel. The trunnions are also at the very rear of the breech; this maximises the recoil space when firing at higher elevation angles. Their rearward position also pushes the recoiling element forward on the mount, maximizing relative rearward span of the stabilizers and so stability during recoil. Additionally there is a very efficient muzzle brake, which absorbs about half the recoil. There is no mechanism to reduce recoil length as the angle of elevation increases.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
Some of the design decisions have a price. The muzzle brake produces about twice the overpressure in the area around the gun that is acceptable to Western armies, and is the reason it is often seen being fired with a long lanyard, which reduces rate of fire. Furthermore, the maximum elevation angle is restricted to 18° (early versions) or 22° (later versions) when the breech is over a trail leg.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
This is enforced by a mechanical cam that prevents the piece firing for about 60% of the total top traverse, and limits range to about 12 km, with full maximum range only possible in the central arc of about 48° between each pair of legs. The extreme rearward location of the trunnions means the elevating mass is unbalanced, requiring a strong balancing mechanism to enable manual elevation. To do this, the D-30 uses compression balancing gears.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
A central jack is powered by hand-operated hydraulics. This jack is lowered while the wheels are raised to permit two of the stabiliser legs to be swung 120° rearwards. The mounting is then lowered and the ends of the legs spiked to the ground. This mounting provides for quick traversing to fire in any direction.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
The pair of large tires are suspended on a single trailing arm; maximum towing speed is 60 km/h on the road. As was normal in Soviet designs, the tyres were filled with foam. Initially, the D-30 had no brakes and no seat for the layer—non-essential luxuries.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
A sliding block breech was adopted instead of the M-30's pre-1914 screw pattern, giving a slight increase in the rate of fire. It is a semi-automatic vertical sliding block breech, with a tied jaw; the block moves down to open and opens automatically ejecting the empty cartridge case as the recuperator forces the gun tube back into battery after a round is fired. The design is closely related to those of breeches on other Soviet post–World War II guns and howitzers.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
The non-reciprocating sights are standard Soviet pattern, designed for one-man laying. Included are a direct fire anti-tank telescope, a panoramic periscopic indirect-fire sight (dial sight) in a reciprocating mounting, an angle of sight scale, and a range drum for each charge engraved with the range (distance) scale. The elevation leveling bubble is mounted on the dial sight mount. The range drum enables the standard Soviet technique of semi-direct fire when the piece is laid visually on the target and the range set on the range drum.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
Soviet 122 mm howitzers used different ammunition to 122 mm guns, although there was some compatibility. In the case of ammunition for the D-30, the standard 122 mm howitzer shell weight of 21.8 kg was retained, with a metal cartridge case holding variable propelling charges. Cartridge and shell are loaded separately; this means that the shells have to be hand-rammed by a man to the right of the breech with a ramming rod. The D-30 could fire the older M-30 ammunition; however, new shells were also introduced, eventually including a rocket assisted projectile with a range of 21.9 km. The M-30's range of propelling charges, comprising base and eight increments, was replaced by a new set comprising base and four increments; single base propellant was retained. A more effective High Explosive (HE) shell was developed, as well as smoke, illumination and chemical filled projectiles.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
In keeping with Soviet doctrine, the anti-tank role is important; there is a HEAT shell capable of penetrating 460 mm of steel armour plate.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
The maximum rate of fire of the D-30 is 6–8 rounds per minute, and about 75 rounds per hour. There is disagreement as to whether this maximum rate of fire is achievable for indirect fire. Based on reloading speeds of similar guns using separate charges, solo re-laying, and given a stable emplacement, semi-automatic breech and no long lanyard, (examples are the 25-pdr. and 105mm L118), and assuming concurrent lay adjustment during reloads, then it probably is when in the hands of a competent detachment. However, 5-6 rounds per minute may be more realistic with a poorly trained gun crew.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description
The D-30 is noted for simplicity of maintenance by its users; reputedly there are no special tools, all jobs can be done with a wrench and large hammer. However, like any other gun, routine maintenance is essential, and western troops in Afghanistan have reported Afghan manned D-30s having problems with shells sticking in the barrel due to lack of cleaning.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description, Self-propelled versions
There is more self-propelled versions developed by other countries by mounting D-30 on some tracked or wheeled vehicles at disposal of their armed forces. Most of them do not have any complex fire control system and are manually loaded and elevated. Cuba, Sudan, Laos, Syria and Egypt have produced such simplified variants.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Description, Self-propelled versions
Post 1973, Syrian and Egyptian armed forces fielded D-30 guns fitted to the hulls of obsolete T-34 tanks, similar to Israeli conversions of Sherman hulls. This rather crude modification improves the speed of divisional artillery, allowing for the ability to match speed with front-line mechanized forces. A major drawback is the lack of protection for the gunners.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Emplacement procedure
A location chosen for emplacement of the D-30 should be as level as reasonably possible. Firstly, the carriage is raised via an internal hydraulic jack located under the cradle of the gun. Once the gun is at the required height, the wheels are raised via the wheel lifting lever; this allows the two split stabilizer legs to be separated from the mono stabiliser leg and brought rearward into firing configuration.


122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30), Emplacement procedure
The legs are then locked in place with locking pins. The carriage is lowered via the hydraulic jack so that the legs touch the ground; integral stakes are then hammered into the ground. At this point, the gun is ready for direct fire using the OP4 direct fire sight, or can be orientated and have its position fixed via the aiming circles for subsequent indirect fire using the Pantel sight.


122 mm howitzer M1909
The 122 mm howitzer M1909 (Russian: 122-мм гаубица обр. 1909 гг.) was a Russian Empire 121.92 mm (4.8 inch) howitzer used throughout World War I.


122 mm howitzer M1909
Following the defeats of the Russo-Japanese War, Russia sought to modernize some of its equipment, which included the purchase of foreign designed artillery. Seeking new systems from both France and Germany, the 122 mm howitzer M1909 was developed by the German arms manufacturer Krupp. Russia also bought a very similar system from the French arms manufacturer Schneider et Cie, the 122 mm howitzer M1910.


122 mm howitzer M1909
It was later updated by the Soviet Union as the  122 mm howitzer M1909/37 which saw combat in the German-Soviet War.


122 mm howitzer M1909/37
122 mm howitzer M1909/37 (Russian: 122-мм гаубица обр. 1909/37 гг.) was a Soviet 121.92 mm (4.8 inch) howitzer, a modernization of World War I era 122 mm howitzer M1909. The gun saw combat in the German-Soviet War.