12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Western Desert, Battle of Gazala
Eighth Army seized upon this collection to act as a blocking force, giving Calvert-Jones two infantry brigades in addition. 'Calforce' held defensive positions at 10 LGs, providing its own artillery support from AA guns sited for ground tasks. It also developed dummy LGs, complete with fake AA positions. Calforce remained in position during the First Battle of El Alamein, had 9th Independent Armoured Bde under its command from 26 August to 8 September, and was not withdrawn from the front line until later in September.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Western Desert, Order of Battle, October 1942
After 12 AA Bde was withdrawn from its front line commitments, it reorganised for the planned offensive (the Second Battle of El Alamein) as follows:


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Western Desert, Order of Battle, October 1942
12 AA Bde was directly subordinate to Eighth Army, which placed 21 Indian Infantry Bde under its command:


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Western Desert, Alamein to Tunis
12 AA Brigade's role once again was to move up behind Eighth Army's advance and defend the DAF's LGs as they came into use, with batteries working under the command of the DAF tactical wing to which they were allocated. The 11-day battle to break through the Axis lines opened on 23 October, and after the break-out the airfields at Gambut and El Adem were quickly secured, 12 AA Bde's units following close behind.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Western Desert, Alamein to Tunis
The brigade developed an efficient system of providing rolling support for the DAF's tactical wings as they made long shifts forwards to maintain contact with the advancing army. This involved the RAF, Royal Engineers (RE) airfield construction teams, and local ground defence units as well as the AA units; all were represented in the joint reconnaissance parties that followed closely behind the leading battalions. They selected new sites for landing strips or renovated old ones, maintaining radio contact through RAF or RA channels with the main body so that movement orders could be passed to the following AA batteries.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Western Desert, Alamein to Tunis
Movement was usually by 'leap frogging' from previously occupied LGs, though sometimes an AA battery was waiting in a hidden concentration area ready to move forward. RAF transport aircraft flew ground staff, equipment and battery staffs to the new locations. Within a few hours the AA positions were manned and the fighter squadrons would arrive. 12 AA Brigade had 20–30 separate convoys moving on any given day, and by November it was providing cover for six RAF wings and one US Army Air Force (USAAF) Group, and also manning dummy airstrips, compete with flare-paths, aircraft, flash simulators and people. As the advance progressed the retreating Germans took greater pains to make abandoned LGs unusable; at one field near 'Marble Arch', 2000 mines had to be lifted by the RA/RE/RAF teams. On 21 January two squadrons of RAF Kittyhawk fighters prevented the enemy from ploughing up Castel Benito airfield.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Western Desert, Alamein to Tunis
12 AA Brigade followed Eighth Army all the way to Tripoli, which fell on 23 January 1943. By now, the brigade had 57th (Wessex) HAA Rgt (16 x 3-inch; 8 x 3.7-inch), 88th HAA Rgt (16 x 3.7-inch), 14th LAA Rgt (36 x Bofors), 16th LAA Rgt (24 x Bofors) and 27th LAA Rgt (48 x Bofors), with responsibility for Castel Benito, Buerat, Hamriet and various LGs, while 2 AA Bde followed up behind to protect the lines of communication, taking over responsibility for 94th HAA Rgt in Tripoli.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Western Desert, Alamein to Tunis
The last phase of Eighth Army's operations in North Africa was the advance from Tripoli into Tunisia. 12 AA Brigade continued to conduct airfield defence, against increasing opposition. The typical mobile group allocated to an airfield contained one HAA and two LAA batteries. To avoid detection, the groups moved by night, being allotted special priority for routes. For the Battle of the Mareth Line in late March 1943 12 AA Bde covered nine forward LGs for five RAF wings, all within 20 miles (32 km) of enemy positions.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Western Desert, Alamein to Tunis
The AA batteries were sited to engage potential attacks by tanks as well as aircraft, and to be tightly integrated with the ground defence units. If the airfield was considered especially vulnerable to enemy ground attack, an inner 'Keep' was formed between the runways with HAA guns in two-gun positions interlaced with Bofors guns. Air raid engagements could be complicated by the presence of friendly aircraft using the airfield. After Mareth the units of 12 AA Bde also began to take on responsibility for ports on the Tunisian coast. The RA regimental historian records that '[


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Western Desert, Alamein to Tunis
i]t became a point of honour for AA batteries to be among the first in; at Gabès, for instance, RHQ 88th HAA Regiment, with one HAA and three LAA batteries, entered the town two hours after its capture'. The advance ended with 12 AA Bde at Enfidaville when the Axis surrendered on 13 May 1943, after seven months and 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of continuous movement. The AA gunners began a programme of rest and refitting, while contributing to the AA defence of the ports from which the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) was launched.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Western Desert, Alamein to Tunis
12 AA Brigade was not involved in 'Husky', but under the command of the leading archaeologist and TA gunner officer, Brig Mortimer Wheeler, who took over from Calvert-Jones on 30 April, it was given a leading role in Operation Buttress (later renamed Operation Avalanche), the Allied landings at Salerno on mainland Italy in September.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Order of Battle September 1943
On 25 July 1943 12 AA Bde came under the command of X Corps and began to concentrate around Tripoli. By the time 'Avalanche' was launched on 9 September the brigade had the following organisation:


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Order of Battle September 1943
In addition, the following units were under command for the initial stages of the operation:


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
The brigade (except 52nd LAA Rgt, due to arrive from the Nile Delta) underwent intensive training in combined operations. X Corps had the task of capturing the Port of Salerno and Montecorvino Airfield, then turning north to capture Naples; 12 AA Bde was to begin landing in the first wave to provide AA cover for the beaches and objectives. For this the brigade organised a number of beach groups:


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
Mindful of problems reported after the Sicily landings, Wheeler ordered his HAA units to take all their GL radar sets with them and to pay particular attention to waterproofing the guns and radar sets. All the equipment was transported on Landing Craft Tank (LCTs) while some of the personnel travelled on Landing Craft Infantry (LCIs). The brigade's convoy sailed from Tripoli on 3 September. The 'Avalanche' convoys were located by the Luftwaffe and attacked from the air during their approach to the beaches.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
When they began landing on 9 September there was no surprise, and with good observation the German shore defences opened heavy fire on the landing craft, causing casualties and delays in unloading. An LST carrying one of the brigade's batteries was among those hit. All the AA beach groups landed successfully, however, with the first LAA guns reported in action within 20 minutes, and the first HAA battery 2 hours later.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
The landings had not been easy. No 35 Beach Group, for example, was landed on 'Sugar Beach', 2,500 yards (2,300 m) long, but with only two 200 yards (180 m) stretches suitable for disembarkation from LSTs. The infantry landed at 03.30, the first AA reconnaissance parties at 05.30, but at dawn it was obvious that one of the two landing stretches was still being contested. Nonetheless, the first AA LST came in at 07.00, the first Bofors came ashore and went straight into action on the beach under shellfire; the first 3.7s came in around midday.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
USAAF Lightning long-range fighters kept off the early air attacks, but small numbers of Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter-bombers made low-level attacks at noon and in the afternoon, one of which was destroyed by 328/99 LAA Bty. A night bombing raid at 22.30 was engaged with barrage fire by 305/100 HAA Bty. By 23.00, 35 Beach Group had 17 Bofors guns ashore, three of them deployed in anti-tank positions, and six 3.7s without radar. That night the rest of the 3.7s arrived and the area behind the beach was cleared for 3,000 yards (2,700 m).


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
57th HAA Regiment was to land after the beach groups to secure the immediate objectives along with the infantry divisions' LAA:


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
The first major hitch occurred when Montecorvino Airfield was not captured in the first rush, and continued to be fought over for the next four days. Among the follow-up units on D+1, 14th LAA Rgt's task had been to take over defence of the airfield, but it was not able to deploy its guns there until 13 September (D+4). For 10 days the beachhead battle raged within 3,000 yards (2,700 m) of the shore and it was impossible to implement the second stage of the planned AA deployment.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
Enemy fighter-bombers attacked in small numbers day and night, and those batteries already in position were heavily engaged in warding off multiple attacks delivered with little warning. The AAOR received inadequate reports from RAF and Royal Navy  radar, and had to rely on the batteries' own GL radar plots. 12 AA Brigade's HQ radar instructor controlled AA concentrations covering the inland approaches, and a ring of concentrations over the bay was prepared against torpedo-dropping aircraft. Smokescreens laid by 12 AA Bde's pioneers eased the situation.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
In the meantime two batteries of 57th HAA and one of 87th HAA Rgt joined in the fighting to supplement the field and medium artillery with ground fire directed by the infantry divisions' Observation Post (OP) parties. 57th HAA Regiment fired 6000 rounds on enemy positions, road junctions, buildings and troops. The AA gunners proved expert at placing their rounds to burst at tree-top height. When a German armoured counter-thrust broke through the right flank of X Corps during the night of 15/16 September, 12 AA Bde was urgently called upon to help out.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
Wheeler went down to the beach where 9th HAA and 52nd LAA Rgts were landing, and formed a 400-strong infantry force ('Gunnerforce') from them, equipped with rifles and a large number of automatic weapons, under the command of Lt-Col Patrick Dayrell-Browning of 52nd LAA Rgt. This group moved up near Montecorvino and deployed along the road and railway. At 03.00 the 25 HAA Bty group under Maj Sir Basil McFarland opened fire on enemy patrols infiltrating along the railway.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
The situation having been restored, Gunnerforce was relieved the following morning but remained on hand for the next four days as a mobile reserve, attached first to the motorised 1/6th Battalion Queen's Regiment and then to 5th Royal Tank Regiment. 12 AA Brigade's Tactical HQ moved next to X Corps' HQ at Pontecagnano, but on 16 September it was mortared out of this position.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
On 17 September the brigade sent 195/52 LAA Bty to protect landing beaches at Maiori where 23rd Armoured Brigade was making a 'left hook' round the Sorrento Peninsula, and next another was placed to protect the medium guns of 2nd Army Group Royal Artillery (AGRA). The battle for the Salerno beachhead went on for 10 days before the Germans began to withdraw slowly to a position north of the Volturno river.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Operation Avalanche
According to the RA regimental history, 'the regiments of 12th AA Brigade were, by now, raring to go on the long-planned move to Naples. Brigadier Wheeler, indeed, prepared a scheme to break out with a column of AA troops along the coast to Pompeii', but the bold plan was vetoed by X Corps. On 26 September 12 AA Bde was relieved at Salerno by 45th US AA Brigade and left for Naples. Part of the brigade drove through the traffic-clogged Maiori Pass, suffering casualties from mortar fire, while the remainder re-embarked on LSTs for the short voyage to Castellammare di Stabia.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Defence of Naples
The brigade's units began to arrive in Naples on 1 October and by 5 October they were deployed around the Bay of Naples in the area Naples–Castellammare–Torre Annunziata, with brigade HQ in the Royal Palace in Naples. As well as the vital port, the vulnerable area included the airfields at Pomigliano and Capodichino, for which the resources available were inadequate:


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Defence of Naples
The brigade experienced difficulties in finding suitable gun and GL radar sites, some of which had to be bulldozed, and in establishing communications. The airfields were not cleared of the enemy until 6 October. For the first few days early warning depended on the batteries' own GL radar sets; later the HQ ship HMS Hilary arrived in the bay and was able to pass naval radar information to the AAOR. When Hilary left, the brigade put its own personnel into the  local RAF fighter wing's operations room.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Defence of Naples
While at Naples the brigade only experienced one serious raid, of 20+ aircraft. They were kept to the north and west of the harbour by the AA barrage and scored no damage to vital targets but a direct hit on an HAA gun, with 16 killed and 8 wounded; four enemy aircraft were shot down by guns and fighters and a further one by 87th HAA Rgt further north on the River Volturno. The defence of Naples was only intended to be a temporary task for the brigade and lasted three weeks, when 2 AA Bde arrived to relieve it. 12 AA Brigade then moved forwards to rejoin X Corps along the Volturno.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Volturno to Garigliano
87th HAA Regiment had already moved up to the river on 10 October, with 278 and 279 Btys  occupying camouflaged gun pits to conduct counter-battery (CB) fire, joined by 280 Bty on 12 October, the day X Corps began crossing. During the assault crossing, LAA guns were used to sweep the crossing points. Half the smoke company's pioneers were withdrawn to help the RE with bridging, but two US smoke companies were later added.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Volturno to Garigliano
Next, 87th HAA Rgt's batteries moved up to provide AA protection to the engineers' bridges, with 252/80 HAA Bty arriving on 17 October to cross the bridge at Capua and take up AA positions on the far side. The Luftwaffe was very active in trying to prevent X Corps' crossing, particularly using Bf 109s and Fw 190s as fighter-bombers, and 252/80 HAA Bty, with its 3-inch guns, was sent to 56th (L) Division's area to deal with Bf 109's flying reconnaissance missions above the range of the division's Bofors guns.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Volturno to Garigliano
On 23 October another air raid on Naples developed, with some bombers taking evasive action over Capua, where three were destroyed by 12 AA Bde's guns. After the rest of the brigade completed its move on 1 November, as well as providing AA cover for routes, bridges, LGs, field gun positions and the Aversa railway yards, it also took on ground firing tasks, 214/57 HAA Bty with 2nd AGRA and 215/57 HAA Bty with 7th Armoured Division laying down harassing fire on the coast road.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Volturno to Garigliano
Between the landing at Salerno and 1 November, the brigade destroyed 17 enemy aircraft and claimed another 6 'probables', at a cost of 32 killed, 90 wounded, and three missing. When Wheeler left on 6 November for an important archaeological posting in India, Lt-Col Gerald Eastwood was promoted from 14th LAA Rgt to command 12 AA Bde.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Volturno to Garigliano
Once across the Volturno, operations slowed down as the Allies faced the German Winter Line. 12 AA Brigade then had a comparatively stable period of deployment until the end of the year, based on Capua, Cancello and Grazzanise, its batteries frequently engaging corps' targets in the forward area with ground fire. In January 1944 the brigade moved forward to cover the assembly areas and ferry sites for the crossing of the Garigliano, while 87th HAA Rgt left, crossing Italy to reinforce 62 AA Bde defending the ports of Bari and Brindisi.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Volturno to Garigliano
On 16 March 12 AA Bde moved up to Venafro, taking over two additional HAA regiments and coming under the command of Eighth Army once more. Its units were still defending the Garigliano bridges against Luftwaffe fighter-bomber attacks, now with GL sets deployed well forward to supplement the new Local Warning (LW) radar sets in providing the only AA early warning coverage across the front.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Volturno to Garigliano
57th HAA Regiment, operating in a dual AA/field role, reported a particularly busy time involving 16 AA engagements, in which there were two Category 1 'kills' for the expenditure of 222 rounds, intermixed with firing 10,880 rounds against counter-bombardment and opportunity targets on the ground. Continuous rapid fire led to overheating and twice the usual amount of barrel wear for the guns.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Cassino to Rome
During March and April 1944 12 AA Bde was regrouped for the final assault on Monte Cassino:


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Cassino to Rome
Gun positions along the Garigliano front were under direct enemy observation and had to be screened by smoke. Communications in the mountainous area were difficult, and on X Corps' front the HAA batteries were strung out in a line with gun positions about 5 miles (8.0 km) apart. At one point the gunners of an LAA battery carried supplies up to these gun positions at night and under mortar fire. The guns were also in need of maintenance and spares were short: REME artificers cut the pintles out of the wrecked Naples-Rome express train to replace worn gun pintles, while other spares were fabricated by Royal Navy workshops at Naples.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Cassino to Rome
The renewed attack on Cassino began on the night of 11/12 May, with HAA guns supplementing the artillery barrage (one regiment fired 23,000 rounds in a week), particularly for counter-mortar shoots. The brigade's LAA regiments were committed to bridges, defiles, assembly areas and artillery positions, and enemy aircraft were active in low-level strafing and bombing. There were severe problems in getting the AA guns forward along the heavily congested routes. X Corps in the mountains had little use for HAA guns, requiring LAA to defend vital bridges.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Cassino to Rome
XIII Corps, on the other hand, after crossing the Rapido river, advanced along Highway 6 up the Liri Valley (Operation Diadem) on a narrow front, with continual demands for HAA guns in the medium artillery role. 12 AA Bde found itself stretched along 80 miles (130 km) of roads protecting the long 'tail', though the Luftwaffe made only a few nuisance raids. After the breakout from the Anzio beachhead and the capture of Rome in early June, the Germans pulled back to the Gothic Line.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Order of Battle July 1944
After the capture of Rome, 12 AA Bde provided one HAA battery to each divisional artillery in X Corps, the remainder guarding airfields and river crossings in the Tiber Valley, with the following organisation.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Order of Battle July 1944
In August, 12 AA Bde and its units were transferred to Eighth Army on the Adriatic front. Over the next six months the army advanced only 100 miles (160 km), finally reaching the main Gothic Line positions. During this period the brigade mainly supported II Polish Corps. AA units were hampered by lack of early warning radar, while enemy aircraft were initially very active. However, Luftwaffe activity declined towards the end of the year, and the Allied forces in Italy were suffering an acute manpower shortage, so surplus AA gunners were transferred to other roles (97th HAA and 99th LAA Rgts became infantry) and several units disbanded.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Order of Battle July 1944
In January 1945 12 Bde HQ moved up to Forli. Its remaining units were spread thinly to defend a large number of roads, ports and railheads for Eighth Army and landing grounds for the DAF. Luftwaffe intrusions were rare, but from April were increasingly made by jet aircraft which were difficult AA targets (the necessary advanced radar, predictors, fuse setters etc all being sent to AA units in North West Europe to deal with V-1 flying bombs).


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Order of Battle January 1945
The brigade's organisation during the final months of the war was as follows:


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Order of Battle January 1945
In addition, 12 AA Bde also had II Polish Corps' HAA and LAA, three Italian LAA batteries and an RAF Regiment LAA battery.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Spring Offensive
Eighth Army began its Spring offensive Operation Grapeshot on 6 April with carpet bombing by aircraft guided by a line of HAA bursts at 15,000 feet (4,600 m) fired by 12 AA Bde's guns. Attacks by the Luftwaffe were now rare, and the AA guns were primarily used for ground firing. Because of an general shortage of ammunition, the 40 mm Bofors guns were tried in ground roles, proving useful in hitting pinpoint targets such as enemy OPs, sniper or mortar positions, and buildings.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Spring Offensive
On 22 April the brigade was given the responsibility for protecting the pontoon bridge built across the River Po. The defence force comprised one HAA and one LAA battery for AA protection, one LAA battery to destroy concrete barges floated down by the Germans to damage the bridge, 12 0.5-inch Brownings manned by HAA gunners, and an S/L troop. Attached to it were an anti-tank battery and a platoon of Vickers guns, while Bren guns and PIATs were deployed to increase firepower.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Spring Offensive
One LAA battery was formed into 'Mystery Force', manning Brownings on landing craft to simulate a night armoured landing operation on the German flank, but this was called off. Another LAA battery after a single week's training manned Oerlikon 20 mm cannons mounted on LVT amphibious vehicles known as 'Fantails' in support of 9th Armoured Brigade's operations around the Comacchio lagoon in Operation Roast.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Italy, Spring Offensive
As Eighth Army advanced rapidly through northern Italy, 12 AA Brigade moved up to Ferrara where it was ordered to stand down on 1 May; hostilities on the Italian front ended with the Surrender of Caserta the following day. Immediately, the brigade formed a transport column to bring up supplies for the army and collect Prisoners of War (PoWs). From 11 May this was based at Padua, where brigade HQ was also given responsibility for an assortment of other RA units in the area. The AA units settled down to traffic control and guarding installations and PoWs while awaiting demobilisation. 12 AA Brigade began disbanding at Spilimbergo on 15 November 1945 and the process was complete by 20 November.


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Postwar
12 AA Brigade was reformed on 1 January 1947 at South Queensferry to command the Regular units in AA Command's 3 AA Group covering the Clyde and Forth areas of Scotland. (These units had been under 36th (Scottish) AA Bde, which reformed in the TA as 62 AA Bde.) It had the following organisation:


12th Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom), Postwar
The 1947 plan was never fully implements. In 1948, 46 LAA Rgt was reformed in the south of England as an HAA regiment and 82 HAA Rgt was disbanded. After AA Command was disbanded on 10 March 1955, 12 AA Bde was placed in suspended animation on 31 October, leaving 69 HAA Rgt to be converted into a medium artillery regiment. 12 AA Brigade was formally disbanded on 31 December 1957.


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom)
12th Anti - Aircraft Division (12th AA Division) was an air defence formation of the British Army during the early years of the Second World War. It defended Western Scotland and Northern Ireland, including the period of the Clydebank Blitz and Belfast Blitz, but only had a short career.


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom), Mobilisation
The 12th Anti - Aircraft Division was one of five new divisions created on 1 November 1940 by Anti- Aircraft Command to control the expanding anti-aircraft (AA) defences of the United Kingdom. The  division was formed by separating responsibility for Western Scotland (particularly the industrial areas of Clydeside and Ayrshire) and Northern Ireland from the existing 3rd AA Division, which continued to be responsible for the rest of mainland Scotland.


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom), Mobilisation
The divisional headquarters (HQ) was at Glasgow and the General Officer Commanding (GOC), appointed on 15 November 1940, was Major-General Gerald Rickards, promoted from command of 44th AA Brigade. The 12th AA Division formed part of III AA Corps.


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom), The Blitz
The division's fighting units, organised into three AA Brigades, consisted of Heavy (HAA) and Light (LAA) gun regiments and Searchlight (S/L) regiments of the Royal Artillery (RA). The HAA guns were concentrated in the Gun Defence Areas (GDAs) at Belfast and Glasgow, LAA units were distributed to defend Vulnerable Points (VPs) such as factories and airfields, while the S/L detachments were disposed in clusters of three, spaced 10,400 yards apart.


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom), The Blitz
The approved scale of HAA guns for the Clyde had been 80 in 1939, and this was raised to 120 in 1940 and again to 144 in March 1941, but by the end of February 1941, the 12th AA Division still only had 67 guns in place, rising to 88 (11 batteries) in late March.


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom), The Blitz
Glasgow and Clydeside received heavy raids on the nights of 13 and 14 March 1941 (the Clydebank Blitz), and again on 7 April, while Belfast was hit on 15 April and 4 May. The Luftwaffe returned to Clydeside on 5 and 6 May, before The Blitz petered out in mid-May.


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom), Mid-War
Newly formed AA units joined the division, the HAA and support units increasingly becoming 'Mixed' units, indicating that women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) were fully integrated into them. At the same time, experienced units were posted away to train for service overseas; in some cases they joined the 12th AA Division temporarily while they trained in Scotland; others remained with AA Command as unbrigaded units. This led to a continual turnover of units, which accelerated in 1942 with the preparations for the invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch) and the need to transfer AA units  to counter the Baedeker raids.


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom), Mid-War
At the end of 1941 S/Ls were declustered to form 'killer zones' for night fighters, and the S/L requirement for Northern Ireland was reduced to three batteries. As a result, 91st S/L Rgt could be converted into an LAA Rgt for the field army.


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom), Mid-War
In May 1942, the 57th AA Brigade HQ was transferred to the 12th AA Division from the 7th AA Division; some units from the 42nd AA Brigade were transferred to it, together with newly formed units. In August, to deal with the Luftwaffe 's hit-and-run attacks, the 3rd AA Division's HQ was moved from Scotland to the South Coast of England and the 12th AA Division took over command of 51st AA Brigade and its units.


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom), Mid-War, Order of Battle 1941–42
During this period the division was composed as follows (temporary attachments omitted):


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom), Mid-War, Order of Battle 1941–42
The increased sophistication of Operations Rooms and communications was reflected in the growth in support units, which attained the following organisation by May 1942:


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom), Mid-War, Order of Battle 1941–42
The RAOC companies became part of the new Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) during 1942.


12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom), Disbandment
A reorganisation of AA Command in October 1942 saw the AA divisions disbanded and replaced by a smaller number of AA Groups more closely aligned with the groups of RAF Fighter Command. The 12th AA Division amalgamated with the 3rd and the 7th AA Divisions to form the 6th AA Group, based at Edinburgh and cooperating with No. 14 Group RAF, while Northern Ireland became the 7th AA Group based at Belfast and working with No. 9 Group RAF. Major-General Rickards retired. The 12th AA Divisional Signals was amalgamated back into its parent 3rd AA Divisional Signals as the 6th AA Group (Mixed) Signals.


12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
The 12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (12th AAA Bn) was a United States Marine Corps antiaircraft unit that served during World War II. Formed in 1942 as the 12th Defense Battalion, its original mission was providing air and coastal defense for advanced naval bases. During the war the battalion defended the Russell Islands and took part in combat operations at Woodlark Island, Cape Gloucester, and Peleliu. The battalion remained on Peleliu for the duration of the war and was finally decommissioned on Guam on 22 September 1945.


12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, History
The 12th Defense Battalion was commissioned on August 1, 1942 at San Diego, California. On January 19, 1943 the battalion embarked on the USS Pinkney and the SS Robin Wentley and sailed for the Territory of Hawaii. It arrived at Pearl Harbor on January 29 and immediately set up camp at and began training at Camp Catlin on Oahu.


12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, History
The battalion sailed from Pearl Harbor on May 14, 1943 on board the SS Robin Wentley. They arrived at Townsville, Australia on 1 June however it was not there long. The 12th Defense Battalion departed Australia on 13 June en route to their objective area. Between 30 June and 1 July the battalion landed at Woodlark Island and Milne Bay. Their mission was to provide area air defense for the United States Army units tasked with seizing these islands. The battalion remained at Woodlark Island until December 7, 1943 when it set departed for Oro Bay, New Guinea.


12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, History
The 12th Defense Battalion came ashore on Cape Gloucester between 26 & 27 December 1943. Once ashore the battalion was initially tasked with establishing air and seacoast defense of Beaches Yellow 1 & 2. As the battalion was unloading on 26 December the first Japanese air raids occurred. A few hastily placed guns let loose against 88 Japanese aircraft that were strafing and bombing the beachhead. With no real threat of an amphibious counterattack, the battalion's coastal guns were utilized for deep fired against Japanese supply ships and staging areas. The battalions radars and guns provided early warning and anti-aircraft fires against Japanese planes flying out of Rabaul that continued to harass the beachhead over the next few months.


12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, History
A majority of the battalion departed Cape Gloucester via the SS Santa Monica on 1 June 1944. It arrived at Banika in the Russell Islands on 9 June. As the war progressed, the Marine Corps removed coastal artillery from the defense battalions in order to form additional heavy artillery units for the Fleet Marine Force. Because of the divestiture of the coastal defense mission, the battalion was re-designated as the 12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion on 15 June 1944.


12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, History
At the end of August 1944 the battalion participated in landing rehearsals at Guadalcanal and on 8 September they set sail for Peleliu. The battalion went ashore at Peleliu on 15 September 1944 and, along with the 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion was tasked with providing air defense for the landing force once ashore. The battalion guns were also utilized in direct fire mission in support of Marine assault forces attempting to dislodge dug in Japanese defenders. After the battle, the battalion remained on Peleliu for the duration of the war. In March 1945, the unit's heavy guns section was sent to the northern Palau Islands in order to engage enemy targets.


12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, History
On 13 September 1945 the 12th AAA Battalion departed Peleliu arriving on Guam on 16 September. On 22 September 1945 the battalion was decommissioned on Guam.


12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, Unit awards
A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. The 12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion has been presented with the following awards:


12th Arabian Gulf Cup
The 12th Arabian Gulf Cup (Arabic: كأس الخليج العربي) was held in the UAE, in November 1994.


12th Arabian Gulf Cup
The tournament was won by Saudi Arabia for the first time


12th Arabian Gulf Cup
Iraq were banned from the tournament because of invasion of Kuwait in 1990.


12th Arabian Gulf Cup, Tournament
The teams played a single round-robin style competition. The team achieving first place in the overall standings was the tournament winner.


12th Archeological Congress, Preamble
In the 1867 a tradition of holding Archeological Conferences known as Congresses was established in the Russian Empire. The aim of these conferences was to discuss and to make public studies dealing with matters of antiquity and ethnography. The Conferences were hosted by a different city of the Russian Empire every three years.


12th Archeological Congress, Preamble
The Third Archeological Congress was held in Kiev in 1873 and featured the renowned kobzar - Ostap Veresai.


12th Archeological Congress, Preamble
In 1902 the XIIth Archeological Congress was held in Kharkiv. By that time Ostap Veresai had died and ethnographers had come to the mistaken conclusion that he was the last kobzar. Bandurist Hnat Khotkevych was invited to give a presentation at the Congress. He organized a concert to demonstrate the various studies which included the performance by a number of kobzars from a number of regions of Ukraine. The concert was extremely successful and changed the status of the kobzars who up till then were persecuted by the Russian tsarist authorities treated as common street beggars.


12th Archeological Congress, Preamble
The XIIIth Archeological Congress took place in Katerynoslav in 1905. Interest in the performance of the kobzari was very high. Attempts to repeat the performance of the kobzars at the XIIth Congress were not successful. It was attended by Tereshko Parkhomenko and two other kobzars.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress
The XIIth all-Russian Archeological Congress that took place from August 14–27, 1902. It took on an epochal importance, which is worthy of more detailed investigation. Initially the scientific community in Ukraine became interested in the art of the kobzars in 1873, when the matter of the Poltava kobzar Ostap Veresai was raised at a special meeting of the South-Western chapter of the Russian Imperial Geographic Society. Apart from a number of papers presented regarding the kobzar, the participants also had the chance to listen to his renditions. The performance of the 70-year-old kobzar left a great impression on the participants.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, The decision to focus on the legacy of the kobzars
The next set of Archeological Conferences, were organized outside of Ukraine, and the matter of kobzar art was not discussed. The XIIth Archeological Congress however was planned to take place in Kharkiv - a region that was a major hub for kobzar art. This was one of the reasons why the art of kobzars was included in the program of the proceedings. There are indications that professor M. Dashkovych, the head of the Nestor the Chronicler Society, made the suggestion that the conference focus its attention to the art of the kobzars.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, The decision to focus on the legacy of the kobzars
The organizational committee of the conference was led by Kharkiv University professor and noted ethnographer M. Sumtsov who decided to liven up the discussions and papers about the kobzars with the inclusion of live performances. The committee turned to Hnat Khotkevych to co-ordinate the performances during the conference and to also give a short paper on the current state of the art form.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, The decision to focus on the legacy of the kobzars
Khotkevych agreed whole-heartedly. He used the forum to turn the participants awareness to the difficult lifestyle of these blind folk musicians and the persecution they underwent from the local police.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Preparation of the kobzars
For the conference six kobzars were invited; four from the regions around Kharkiv: Petro Drevchenko, Pavlo Hashchenko, Ivan Kuchuhura Kucherenko, Hrytsko Netesa; one from Poltava province; Mykhailo Kravchenko; and one from Chernihiv province: Terentiy Parkhomenko. To this group of six were added three lirnyks. Later, in order to balance the voices which had a tendency of being made up exclusively of basses (apart from Parkhomenko who was a tenor), a local street singer was invited. He usually performed without an instrument, however, knew the repertoire of the kobzars. (It was not possible then to find a kobzar in the Kharkiv environs who sang tenor).


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Preparation of the kobzars
All the participants were housed in one of the university buildings - a basement which was dry and warm where preparations took place. On the first day, as Khotkevych would write, each of the participants became acquainted with each other. Initially they showed off what each knew how to sing and play.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Preparation of the kobzars
The demonstrations started with the host group from Kharkiv. They were very nervous. It is noteworthy that each of them was an artist, and had become used to performing in front of various audiences. But this was at bazaars, marketplaces and dwellings. But here was a new environment, a different auditorium made up of other kobzars - all of which had become very agitated. After the Kharkiv kobzars finished performing, it was M. Kravchenko's turn from Poltava. His music and method of performance was the most artistic of all the participants, but... Mykhailo did not receive the highest honours at that gathering of blind minnesingers. The simple-minded auditorium, even though it was made up exclusively of musicians, enjoys performances that are loud, bright and confident, These characteristics were heard in the performance by the Chernihiv kobzar.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Preparation of the kobzars
"So that is how you play .... we play like this!" So saying he struck his strings. His bandura was huge, the method he used to play was totally different from that of the Kharkiv players (a form of tremolo in thirds, where the fingers move in the direction of the finger pads, and then the direction of the nail). A high clear tenor, confidence in himself and on top of this a song that stunned the listeners. And thus Terentiy Parkhomenko was acclaimed as the best kobzar of the gathering.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Preparation of the kobzars
After this the daily grind began for the preparation of the concert commenced. Our work was energetic. All day we rehearsed, especially the ensemble pieces. This was the first time that these blind men had played in such a large group. Those who sat on the right flank, could not hear the person sitting on the left flank. The orchestral members could not see the conductor, so there is no way of correcting problems during the performance. We had to learn all the pieces to perfection, which we did.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Preparation of the kobzars
There has been some discussion in recent times as to the amount in which Khotkevych had interfered with the kobzars "authentic" performances. His paper and his methodology was thought of as being invasive of the traditional art form. However, had he not taken such a stand it is possible that traditional bandura playing would have disappeared much earlier, and contemporary bandura playing may not have happened.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Preparation of the kobzars
The program included solo performances, duets, trios and other ensembles, something akin to an orchestra of folk instruments. The group of kobzars and lirnyky was supplemented by a traditional folk ensemble known as a "troyista myzyky" (two violins and a cello), which were invited to participate from the village of Derkachi.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Preparation of the kobzars
This meeting during the conference, which officially was called "the Conference of the 2nd division of the historic-geographic and ethnographic antiquities", took place in the public library. The higher administration of the city as well as the governor were also invited.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Preparation of the kobzars
The meeting was opened by the chairman of the conference, professor of the University of Kharkiv - A. Krasnov. In his opening address he noted: "the collection of folk songs is difficult, because such a collector required not only the understanding of the regional ethnography and a keen sense of observation, but also had to have musical training in order to correctly notate the song, and to correctly recreate it.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Preparation of the kobzars
The final task is particularly difficult, so this conference decided to take an easier route, and to hear the performance of these works by the carriers of this music directly, in this case from the kobzars and lirnyks .... To this live antiquity, which is gradually disappearing, the conference is dedicated. "


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Preparation of the kobzars
A short paper "About the kobzars and lirnyks of the Kharkiv province" was read by professor M. Sumtsov. After this was another short paper - "The association of the blind, their organization and current state" which was read by V. Ivanov. He completed the reading with the following word: "The nelips -(that is what he called the blind singer-kobzars) this is live walking archeology. Let us all preserve the clean and good, and disregard all that which is bad and offensive. People sometimes can be born blind but no-one is born a beggar. Begging is an offensive industry. Let us wish our singers recognition for their humanity and dignity. Let a person born blind continue to be a man."


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
The final paper before the concert was read by Hnat Khotkevych. It was read out, "in a manner unusual for an Archeological meeting, and for the members of the ultra-polite academics in general." The second section of the paper, which was dedicated to the persecution and oppression of the kobzars by the organs of the state administration was considerably severe.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
"Almost every nation, particularly on the European continent, gave music a divine source. It is certain that people did not look upon it as a form of unsophisticated culture. The general thought was that music was the thread that unites human beings with the unknown beauties of this world, far from hustle and bustle of daily life. They say that only the old and the young say the truth – and it is certain: civilization in the early times called music: "the language of the gods."


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
Unfortunately we are currently in a state, we can say a more adult state, or a more mature state, and for us music is a method "pour passer le temps". Even professional people "do not understand what they create." One can expect, that in time when humanity grows more mature and rather than instinctively, they will through derived knowledge move music to its proper place in society, where it again will become a heavenly divine gift, worthy of adoration.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
"The singer does not sing from himself, this gift was given him by Zeus" is what is stated in the Odyssey. And our Ukrainian rhapsodies even today, despite the musical and moral degeneration, have preserved within themselves the concept that they are the people that should elevate the ethical life of the people to a higher level, singing occasionally for their listeners religious-moral materials from the past. As an example, Kulish wrote that the kobzar Andriy Shut thought that the profession of a kobzar is a matter of salvation, because the kobzar exists to remind people about God and about benevolence and charity.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
The genealogical tree of our Ukrainian bandurists is very high. Its direct ancestor was the prophetic Boyan-- "the nightingale of ancient times"


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
As the people developed and changed, so did the expression of their spirit.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
The Boyan, in the past a pagan priest, a wizard, a foretell of supernatural events, was all-mighty and wise, a leader of the people, an indicator of the direction one's life would take or an advisor to the tsar; later an organ for the statement of community feeling, a rhapsody of heroic epics and an igniter of national ferment for the lifting of national spirit and self-awareness—he has only now, in recent times been reborn in the guise of a blind beggar, who puts up with hunger and cold on the beaten path and believes more in his unhappy lot, than the sound of his poor instrument.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
We have little information about the early period of the musical life of our people unfortunately, but still history has left us with these singer-rhapsodies with unblemished epic purity, as if they were the true carriers of truth, the singers of heroic deeds, fed and inspired the folk masses. Shevyriov wrote about the Boyan: "He knew well his poetic destiny, he was a singer of independence and easily put together songs in the praise of princes, not giving up his inspiration for anyone else." All this can be applied to the moral face of our old kozak bandurist.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
It should be considered, that this rich period of Ukrainian history allowed itself to be distorted by all sides, and in particular the musical dissipations of the people. In those times all Kozaks were bandurists. The kozak era was a very generous era for the creation of songs. The folk lived in all is fibres; happiness and sadness were intertwined and influenced every soul. There was no rest for the nerves, and artistic souls always found a way to express themselves.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
A so it was: in this period a huge body of songs and dumy were created; women would poetically speak about their feelings, Kozaks sang about war and chivalry. One can be assured that on a rich soil would grow fantastic fruit—folk poet-rhapsodies, genius bandurists: these are the creators of these songs and dumy.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
Then came the destruction of the Sich, feudalism – and the people felt the full weight of Moscovy's hand. All who stood in its way were quashed. This persecution did not evade the kobzar. In captivity he no longer became a singer of the Kozaks, because they no longer existed. Now he sang only about the past, which was sacred to the Ukrainian soul. Years passed and the retelling of stories of the past began to disappear one by one from the memory of the people.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
Life took on different forms, and that which interested the folk in the past slowly lost its value. Because of this so did the bandurists. One after the other they began to forget dumy, and gradually became accustomed to their new conditions of existence. Today in front of us we have the contemporary kobzar and lirnyk, the contemporary carrier of the richness of folk song. Let us investigate what this is.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
He is known to all of us, the contemporary singer. He comes into our courtyards, scratches something out on the lira or plucks something out on the bandura, and they give him a scrap of bread. He bows down and thanks the people, and goes on to the next building,..... and that is all—a blindman, a beggar and that is it. But there is more to him, than this. Firstly the bandurists disdregard the fact that the Kozaks are now gone and will never return. They do not consider the fact that the previous way of life will never return. The Kobzars are still are a repository of the memory of the past—each of them knowing a number of dumy, and ancient kozak songs.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
About the kobzars of the Chernihiv province I would like to say somewhat more, because this is a new type of bandurist, who is being currently formed and has a great future. This is Terentiy Makarovych Parkhomenko, from the Chernihiv province, Sosnytsia region, from the settlement of Burkivka, (which is pronounced by the Chernihivites Bourkwuwka). He is 30 years old and initially studied from Andriy Haidenko. Haidenko in his turn learned the kobzar art from some old man named Danylo. Terentiy however had not managed to learn any dumy at all from his teacher, nor from his friends.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
"No matter how much horilka I gave them, nothing would come out" he states. In the meantime, Tereshko wanted to learn dumy very badly; something called out to his soul and I have not seen a bandurist who would listen with such interest to historic songs and dumy, like this Parkhomenko. And that drive to learn about the past did not end without results. He met up with various Ukrainian intellectuals, who as a result of his queries about dumy, purchased books and songbooks.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
He chose a literate lead boy specifically in order to have him read out the texts of dumy and historic songs. "I came to the conference not so much to be a participant, but more so to learn something"—he told me. Now he knows nine dumy, many historic songs (one of theme about Morozenko he will perform this evening). Taking the motives for his songs from the intelligentsia who can write and print, Terentiy does not step into the art form blindly.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
Despite using modes and scales which are not traditional, he adds to them his individuality, and returns them from forgotteness into live performance. He inserts into them a lost feeling, so that the song in this rendition does not have a bookish feeling. In such a manner in this bandurist we can observe that the intelligentsia has begun to return the borrowed treasures, and although it was not looked after very well, it was indeed saved for posterity. Let God grant Terentiy the fulfillment of his wishes—the future is his.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
I will say a few words about the extinction of the kobzars. In the general public there exists a well-established thought that Ostap Veresai was the last of the Ukrainian Bandurists. This is an erroneous idea; the kobzars, are not dying out, and if they are, are doing so very, very slowly. I did not do a systematic inquire about live kobzars, but I do have the following statistics; in Kharkiv province in the Bohodukhiv and Akhtyrka region live 28 bandurists and 37 lirnyks. The Chernihiv bandurist stated, that he knows in the Sosnytsia region and in the surrounding areas 9 kobzars and 15 lirnyks, and such figures can indicate many things—but do not indicate extinction in anyway.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
Finally I would like to raise the matter about the persecution of the kobzars by local town and village administrators.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
Once upon a time one of the major concerns of the orthodox clergy was the "persecution of lay singers of songs, the players of music, dancers and acrobats." In those times they were sure "the husli would make sound – and just as bees are chased out by smoke - so are angels of God chased out by such music, and such cacophony makes the devil happy." Apart from this, they believed that music was one of the main problems in the country, and that "it is worth incarcerating in the name of God and to punish such law breakers."


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
It is not unusual that the government mirroring the actions of the clerics "attempted to destroy this accursed devil worship". Even the "quiet spoken" Tsar Oleksiy Mykhailovych sent out a draconian proclamation "to destroy the instruments of the skomorokhy, and to beat them with sticks without mercy" and their innocent "surmas, drums and domras are to be broken up to the last and to be thrown into the fire." But at that time everything was possible....


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
What can one think when even today, after many centuries they are "beating musicians" but this time not the skomorokhy, but the unfortunate blind Ukrainian bandurists. What can one think when they destroy their simple instruments? This is not a rhetorical formula: two years ago one of the bandurists came to me in tears. What had happened? A simple matter: his kobza was smashed against a post by some police officer and the unfortunate blindman had lost his last method of earning an income.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
Just 30 years ago, the eminent Mr. Rusov at the meeting of the South-western section of the Imperial Russian Geographic Society stated, that this blindman was difficult to tell apart from a standard beggar, and no-one paid any attention to these words. It is easy to differentiate: A beggar can work but does not, but the blindman wants to work but cannot. Each of them apart from playing his instrument, tries to learn some sort of trade: one plies ropes, another weaves baskets a third makes nets.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
The kobzar Mykhailo Kravchenko for example stated: "When you wind those ropes for a month or two, twenty layers of skin peel off your fingers." Another of the bandurists present can ring church bells very well. Tears form in his eyes when he recounts how he once came slightly late to take up his position as the bell ringer in one of the churches in his village. "Now there is a sighted person – he states – but a sighted person can find many other tasks to do."


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
It is the true that he does not want to be pictured as being lazy. He wanders from house to house, adhering to those laws which apply to us all which no-one opposes. He needs only to feed his hunger. But maybe this fundamental need is a crime, as one of the blind kobzars O. Bar stated: " Eh - what happens when one comes across one of those city dwellers, government officials, civil servants etc.!


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
He'll tear the strings on your bandura, and he will threaten to smash your instrument, and if you argue with him - he'll box in your sides - just don't walk around." ..." Where will I, your eminence, get that piece of daily bread? It is understood that no-one will bring it to me at my home?"


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
"Such it is, die, but do not wander round here, because it is forbidden."


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
And this is not a rare occurrence, but unfortunately, a chronic one, which has been occurring for many tens of years. "So we hide from them - says Kravchenko - as if we, let God forgive, are some sort of criminals or something. When we hear that one is coming or riding, you turn away in any direction, and often you may fall, just in order that this misfortune passes you by.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
So what sort of times have come: young Jews can walk around with barrel organs, and they are allowed, even those who are so loud that you can hear the noise through the whole neighborhood, but here we sing about God, we turn people away from sin - no that is not allowed."


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
A characteristic answer by the kobzar Mykhailo Kravchenko when he was asked before traveling to Saint Petersburg: "Well Uncle Mykhailo, if you were able to sing in front of the Tsar like that biliny singer Riabinin - what would you say to him?" To this the blindman answered - "For me personally, I need nothing, and if the Lord God made it so that I would indeed have a chance to speak to his eminence the Tsar, I would ask that he allow my brothers to walk freely everywhere". To such statements comments are superfluous.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
How to understand and clarify for oneself such persecution - I do not know, but I feel that no one else but men of science should turn their attention to it, because not only the bandurists have to put up with such persecution, but also science. Organizations are created for the collection of ethnographic materials, but what will they collect if, all these kobzars " "throw out from their heads" all their song riches.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
Mykhailo Kravchenko for example has already forgotten a number of dumy, not being able to expect any improvement of matters, he has prematurely uttered incantations to himself that have meant the premature death of himself and his music. But the bandurists themselves? Many of them have to starve, not only by themselves but with their families -because that unlucky kobza or lira which was the only breadwinner of many mouths.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
Beaten by nature itself, and placed in a position in which it is impossible to fight for the elements of life - what do they think of the need for their art when their bandura is smashed against a post?


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
We become angry when thickheaded sons of landowners shoot at crosses placed on kozak burial mounds; we get even more upset when we discover that some unsophisticated people are killing off some nice birds somewhere, we write books, read lectures - why do we not take to this matter, when the same thing is happening with live people .... a kobzar - this is the same good bird, feeding itself it does good for those around him - and to science, passing on good in their dumas and psalms. Let us look after and conserve these good singing birds!.... Let us expect that the XIIth Archeological conference will not leave their work just at a discussion, but will make inquiries to the higher administration. In such a manner each of the people present can help our Ukrainian kobzars with their kind words."


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
Such an open accusation to the government, spoken out with young hot-headedness and at such a large gathering of people in the conference hall, and in front of the governor and high police officials, was unheard of, and no-one could expect to know how this would end up, had not the concert of these above mentioned kobzars discussed by the orator started up immediately.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, Khotkevych's presentation
The concert was so unique and made such a huge impression on everyone, in particular those in high administration, that if anyone wanted to take up the matter against the daring free thinking orator, such ideas were neutralized by the concert. All that happened as a consequence was that such a "free thinking" paper was not included in the publication of the "Conference papers".


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, The kobzar concert
The program of the concert was made up of two sections. In the first were historic pieces.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, The kobzar concert
When the first half of the concert ended, as Khotkevych wrote - "you could not recognize the hall. You could not recognize the people who had filled the hall. All of them had delighted faces, all of them crowded around the blindmen, they shook their hands, noted down their addresses and invited then to visit as guests. The blind men themselves were excited no less: the powerful feeling of winning over the audience overfilled their hearts. For a moment they forgot that they were blind, they were filled with life. And it was pleasing to look at their re-animated joyous faces. These moments were truly unforgettable. "


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, The kobzar concert
The first subsection was made up of religious and moralistic songs.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, The kobzar concert
Photo: A kobzar trio - M. Kravchenko, T. Parkhomenko and P. Drevchenko'


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, The kobzar concert
The second subsection consisted of ritual and traditional folk songs.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, The kobzar concert
The third subsection was the collection of various instruments into a musical ensemble, despite the unclear sound of the liras and the somewhat unblended voices. This produced such a round of open applause rarely is awarded even to the performance of the best symphonic orchestras.


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, The kobzar concert
And the final section was made up of instrumental works:


12th Archeological Congress, The Twelfth Congress, The kobzar concert
The concert ended but the audience did not leave the hall. It is difficult to describe the euphoria - impossible.


12th Archeological Congress, Aftermath
A review of the concert appeared in the journal "Etnograficheskoe Obozrenie". "The Great Hall of the Kharkiv Public Library, where the meeting took place, was full, despite the fact that entrance to the hall was extremely restricted. The kobzars and the lirnyks, these carriers of south-Russian songs, were met by loud applause of those in the hall.


12th Archeological Congress, Aftermath
Their artistic renditions of folk songs, about which the participants had only heard about, left such a huge impression, that the choir of the Society of Russian-Ukrainian artists directed by M. Sadowsky seemed to be quite poor in comparison to the original performance of the blind kobzars and lirnyks. The non-synthetic folk poesy, the singing of the bandurists and the soft, full of rich and textured harmony of the sounds of the bandura surpassed the performance by the professional artists and created a spark of love to folk poetry and to its carriers and people."


12th Archeological Congress, Aftermath
The expectations set by Khotkevych in the organization of this event were met. The performance demonstrated the high value of kobzar art, and in the preceding speech had shown that for the performance of such songs and creations, the blind kobzars were being harassed by the police officials. This created an unusual paradox. As a result, the conference put forward a proposition to lobby the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs to give the kobzars and lirnyks protection, to give these last survivors of the carriers of these ancient songs the right to sing their songs without repercussions and harassment. This petition was forwarded by the Moscow chapter of the archeological society to the then minister of Internal Affairs - V. Pleve.


12th Archeological Congress, Aftermath
Because of the authority of the Archeological Conference the persecution of the kobzars ceased for a short period of time. The community began to be more interested in the kobzars and began to invite them to various conferences, exhibitions and private performances. As Khotkevych wrote - "the preservation of kobzardom became a cause; it became clear to all, that the bandura would not die. This was accomplished by the XII Archeological Conference in Kharkiv ".


12th Archeological Congress, Aftermath
A second important side of the work done by Khotkevych as a result of the conference lay in the professional preparation of performances by the various kobzars, and the organization of these performers into a kobzar ensemble. This demonstration showed that the bandura was an instrument with huge technical potential. The Bandura could be used not only as an instrument for the individual accompaniment of the voice, but also in an ensemble and orchestral setting.


12th Archeological Congress, Aftermath
This meant that the bandura could now move from being played in the market places and the village and city streets and began its migration to the stage. Professional musical instrument makers began to gradually make improvements, and in its new incarnations was able to win over new audiences and fans, gradually moving towards an instrument that waIvan Kuchuhura Kucherenkos capable of general acclaim.


12th Archeological Congress, Aftermath
All this came about because of the XII Archeological Conference, although it may be fairer to say that all this is due to Hnat Khotkevych realized through the XII Archeological Conference.


12th Archeological Congress, Aftermath
Hnat Khotkevych had the desire to repeat the concert performances in a large concert tour of Ukraine. Unfortunately this was not possible, because his appeals to get permission from each of the governors of all the provinces in Ukraine resulted in blatant refusals. Even in Kharkiv he was unable to get permission to repeat the concert for the general public. This first kobzar concert was a nationally arousing experience and was not in the interests of the Imperial Tsarist administration. This became very evident in the governor's letter where he wrote: "If it were to take place in Tambov (in the ethnographic centre of European Russia), I would allow the concert to take place, but here – no."


12th Arizona State Legislature
The 12th Arizona State Legislature, consisting of the Arizona State Senate and the Arizona House of Representatives, was constituted from January 1, 1935 to December 31, 1936, during Benjamin Baker Moeur's second term as Governor of Arizona, in Phoenix. The number of senators remained constant, while the number of representatives in the house decreased from 63 to 51. The Republicans broke the Democrats complete domination in the senate, managing to obtain a single seat, that of Apache County, however the house was entirely in Democratic hands.


12th Arizona State Legislature, Sessions
The Legislature met for the Non regular session at the State Capitol in Phoenix on January 14, 1935; and adjourned on March 21. There was a special session which ran from November 5–24, 1936.


12th Arizona State Legislature, State Senate, Members
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature.


12th Arizona State Legislature, House of Representatives, Members
The asterisk (*) denotes members of the previous Legislature who continued in office as members of this Legislature. The House shrank by twelve seats from the 11th Legislature: 4 in Maricopa County, 2 each in Cochise and Gila counties, and 1 each in Greenlee, Pima, Yavapai and Yuma counties.


12th Arizona Territorial Legislature
The 12th Arizona Territorial Legislative Assembly was a session of the Arizona Territorial Legislature which convened on January 8, 1883, in Prescott, Arizona Territory.


12th Arizona Territorial Legislature, Background
Lawlessness was rampant across sections of the territory. While the Apache Wars were largely over, "cowboy" troubles in and around Cochise county had resulted in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Arizona War. Added to this issue was banditry along the Mexican border and sporadic Indian uprisings. As a result of these and other issues, President Chester A. Arthur had accepted John C. Frémont's resignation and appointed Frederick Augustus Tritle as Governor of Arizona Territory. To deal with the outlaws, Tritle had requested permission to create a group of Arizona Rangers, modeled upon the Texas Rangers, but been denied authorization from the U.S. Congress.


12th Arizona Territorial Legislature, Background
The other big issue of the day was progress on bringing the railroads to the territory. The Southern Pacific Railroad had completed building across the southern portion of Arizona while the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was preparing to build across the northern part of the territory.


12th Arizona Territorial Legislature, Legislative session, Governor's address
Governor Frederick Augustus Tritle gave his address to the session at 7:30 pm on January 9, 1883. In regards to the criminal activity in the southern sections of the territory he said, "The recent feuds in Cochise County make it incumbent upon, not only officials, but all good citizens as well, to take such positive measures as will speedily rid this section of that murderous, thieving element which has made up a reproach before the world, as so seriously retarded the industry and progress of our country."


12th Arizona Territorial Legislature, Legislative session, Governor's address
Much of the speech emphasized Arizona's future opportunities and sought ways to develop the territory's natural resources. The governor highlighted the facts that mine production was increasing, transportation infrastructure improving, and an ample supply of timber was available to harvest. To insure adequate future supplies, Tritle  asked for restrictions on the export of timber from Arizona. To ensure needed access to water, the governor requested federal funds for construction of artesian wells. He also asked for a survey of mineral springs in the hope that some would be found to have therapeutic value. In other matters, Tritle called for recreation of the territorial attorney general position, revision of voter registration laws, and reapportionment of the territorial legislature. Finally, to end the need of sending mentally ill residents to California, the governor called for building a territorial insane asylum.


12th Arizona Territorial Legislature, Legislative session, Legislation
Upon the advice of Governor Tritle, the session issued a memorandum thanking President Chester A. Arthur for his assistance dealing with lawless elements in and around Cochise County. They then prohibited carrying a deadly weapon within town boundaries in Apache and Graham counties. The position of territorial attorney general was recreated during the session. Meanwhile, Maricopa and Graham counties were given permission to each build a jail and courthouse.


12th Arizona Territorial Legislature, Legislative session, Legislation
Dealing with the territory's organization, the section of Yavapai County north of the Colorado River and west of Kanab Creek was transferred to Mohave County. The territorial capital, Prescott, was incorporated. The seat of Graham County was moved to Solomonville.


12th Arizona Territorial Legislature, Legislative session, Legislation
In other matters, the territorial bullion tax was repealed. Before session all members of the legislature who had expressed an opinion had opposed its repeal. Despite this the legislation made it through both houses without trouble. Finally, the session authorized a US$500 prize for the person who could produce, in 1883, the largest cotton yield on a 5 acres (2.0 ha) parcel with a stipulation that a minimum yield of 200 pounds (91 kg) per acre was required for the prize. The prize was claimed by Felix G. Hardwick of Tempe who had produced 3,390 pounds (1,540 kg) of cotton on his 5-acre plot.


12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment
The 12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment (1864–1865) was a Confederate Army cavalry regiment during the American Civil War. The unit was first organized as the 2nd Battalion, Arkansas State Troops.


12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, Organization
12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment was originally organized as a group of Volunteer Companies raised from the militia regiments of southern Arkansas, immediately following the fall of Little Rock, Arkansas, to Union forces in September 1863. Governor Harris Flanagin began organizing a new force of state troops issuing a proclamation on August 10, 1863, just a month before the capitol fell, announcing that he had been authorized to raise new regiments of state troops and that by special agreement these new units could not be transferred out of the state by Confederate authorities.


12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, Organization
After the fall of Little Rock, recruiting was far more difficult than it had been in the first years of the war. The constant transfer of Arkansas troops into the eastern theater of the war, across the Mississippi River from their homes, was a major objection by the remaining population of men eligible for military service. With Federal forces now occupying the state capitol, the Confederate state government had no way of enforcing conscription laws in the counties behind the Union lines, except during raids by Generals Sterling Price and Joseph O. Shelby in 1864. The remaining Confederate regiments were plagued by desertions.


12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, Organization
On September 16, 1863, in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the state capitol, Governor Flanagin issued General Order No. 6 from Arkadelphia, which called into service the militia regiments of the counties of Clark, Hempstead, Sevier, Pike, Polk, Montgomery, La Fayette, Ouachita, Union, and Columbia in order to resist the Federal army. The Governor's order directed the regiments to march to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, at the earliest possible day. Companies were to be mounted and commanders were to compel persons evading the call to come to the rendezvous. The intent was to form companies of twelve-month mounted volunteers. Only six physicians, one druggist, millers to supply the wants of the country, clerks, sheriffs, postmasters, and persons in the employ of the Confederate States were exempted from the order.


12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, Organization
In describing this call in a letter to General Theophilus H. Holmes dated October 18, 1863, from Washington, Arkansas, the new Confederate state capitol, Flanagin stated that he issued the order calling out the militia, as an experiment, expecting to get volunteers. The order succeeded so well as to get companies organized in the counties where the call for the militia was enforced which resulted in seven companies being collected under the call. Flanagin also stated that "the troops raised by the State are more than double all the troops raised by volunteering, or by the conscript law, within the past few months".


12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, Organization, 2nd Battalion, Arkansas State Troops
John Crowell Wright, lieutenant colonel of the 26th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, resigned from that regiment to take command of a newly organized battalion of cavalry. On December 17, 1863, the 2nd Battalion, Arkansas State Troops, was organized with seven companies from southern Arkansas. There is one extant muster roll for the Field and Staff, covering the period January 1 to February 29, 1864, when the regiment was stationed at Cut Off, Drew County, Arkansas. The other regimental officers were Lieutenant Colonel James W. Bowie, Major George M. Wright, Surgeon John H. Saunders, Assistant Quartermaster Algernon S. Crute and Sergeant-Major Howell Johnson. The unit was composed of the following volunteer companies raised from southern Arkansas:


12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, Organization, 2nd Battalion, Arkansas State Troops
There is one extant muster roll for each company covering the period January 1–February 29, 1864, when the regiment was stationed at Cut Off, Drew County, Arkansas.


12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, Organization, 12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment
By mid-January, 1864, three additional companies had been attached to Wright's battalion, and, on February 15, 1864, the battalion was officially enrolled in Confederate service as the 12th (Wright's) Regiment Arkansas Cavalry. The regiment was assigned to Colonel William A. Crawford's Brigade of Brigadier-General James F. Fagan's Cavalry Division in Major-General Price's Cavalry Corps of the Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi Department. The other units assigned to the brigade were the 1st Arkansas Cavalry Regiment (Crawford's), Poe's Arkansas Cavalry Battalion and McMurtrey's Arkansas Cavalry Battalion.


12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, History
Wright's Cavalry was engaged in the battles associated with the Camden Expedition in the spring of 1864, particularly in the actions at Poison Spring and Marks' Mills. The regiment took part in Price's Raid in Missouri during the fall of 1864. During this operation, it engaged in the following battles:


12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, Surrender
Returning to southwestern Arkansas in November, 1864, following Price's Raid, the regiment served in that area until the end of the war. The 12th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment was included in the general surrender of Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi Department on May 26, 1865.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment
The 12th Arkansas Infantry (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army infantry regiment during the American Civil War. The regiment spent much of its service defending Confederate strong points along the Mississippi River. The unit participated in the defense of Island No. 10 in early 1862 and later became part of the garrison of Port Hudson in 1863. Following the capitulation of the garrison of Port Hudson, the survivors of the 12th were eventually paroled and exchanged back to Arkansas where the regiment was consolidated with the remnants of several other Arkansas regiments to become the 2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Organization
12th Infantry Regiment was organized July 27, 1861, by Edward. W. Gantt. Many of the men were recruited in Dallas County. Gantt had been a close political ally Congressman Thomas Hindman and s staunch supporter of secession before the war. He was elected to Congress in 1860 but never took his seat due to secession. The original regimental officers were:.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Organization
The unit was composed of volunteer companies from the following counties:


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service
The 12th Arkansas served in the Western Department, and later at Beall's Brigade, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. The regiment had the unfortunate distinction of being captured in two engagements: Battle of Island Number Ten, and the Siege of Port Hudson.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Island Number Ten
After serving in the garrison at Columbus Kentucky, the regiment moved to New Madrid, Missouri. Island Number Ten was a strategic location with an island at the base of a tight double turn in the course of the Mississippi river, near the town of New Madrid, Missouri. The 12th Arkansas, brigaded together with the 11th Arkansas Infantry, under the command of Colonel Gantt, originally acted as the garrison for Fort Thompson, one of two forts that guarded New Madrid.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Island Number Ten
Due to his role as a brigade commander, On December 7, 1861, General Leonidas Polk nominated Gantt to become a Brigadier General, but he was never confirmed at that rank by the Confederate Congress. Union forces began a siege in March 1862, shortly after the Confederate Army abandoned their position at Columbus, Kentucky. The Union Army of the Mississippi under Brigadier General John Pope, made the first probes, coming overland through Missouri and occupying the town of Point Pleasant, Missouri, almost directly west of the island and south of New Madrid.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Island Number Ten
Pope's army then moved north and soon brought siege guns to bear on New Madrid. The Confederate commander, Brig. Gen. John P. McCown, decided to evacuate the town after only one day of heavy bombardment, moving most of his troops to Island No. 10, abandoning his heavy artillery and most of his supplies. Gantt's Brigade now included the 11th and 12 Arkansas Infantry Regiments, the 4th Arkansas Infantry Battalion, may of whom were manning guns on Island No. 10. and the 55th Tennessee Infantry Regiment.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Island Number Ten
Two days after the fall of New Madrid, Union gunboats and mortar rafts sailed downstream to attack Island Number Ten. Over the next three weeks, the island's defenders and forces in the nearby supporting batteries were subjected to a steady bombardment by the flotilla, mostly carried out by the mortars. At the same time, the Union forces at New Madrid were digging a canal across the neck of land east of the town to bypass Island No. 10.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Island Number Ten
Several transports were sent to the Army of the Mississippi when the canal was finished, which provided the army with a way to cross the river and attack the Confederate troops on the Tennessee side. Pope persuaded Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote to send a gunboat past the batteries, to assist him in crossing the river by keeping off any Southern gunboats and suppressing Confederate artillery fire at the point of attack. The USS Carondelet, under Commander Henry Walke, slipped past the island on the night of April 4, 1862.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Island Number Ten
This was followed by the USS Pittsburg, under Lieutenant Egbert Thompson two nights later. With the support of these two gunboats, Pope was able to move his army across the river and trap the Confederates opposite the island, who by now were trying to retreat. Outnumbered at least three to one, the Confederates realized their situation was hopeless and decided to surrender. The bulk of the 12th Arkansas was captured at Island Number Ten and sent to prisoner of war camps with the other captured regiments from that post.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Island Number Ten
At the prison camps, they joined with those regiments previously captured at Ft Donelson. As was the case with other regiments, there were escapees from the surrender of Island Number Ten, including those in hospital or on detached duty, etc. The members of the 12th Arkansas who avoided capture at Island Number Ten were consolidated into two companies assigned on June 16, 1862, as second companies D and F of the 6th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. These two companies from the 12th Arkansas, accompanied the 6th Arkansas on Bragg's Kentucky campaign.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Island Number Ten
The two companies that accompanied the 6th Arkansas on the Kentucky Campaign were unable to rejoin the exchanged regiment until about December 1862: Still other escapees of the 12th Arkansas were consolidated with the 14th and 23rd Arkansas regiments on September 10, 1862, at Saltillo, MS, to form the 12th/14th/23rd Arkansas consolidated regiment.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Island Number Ten
Prisoners of the 12th Arkansas were delivered to Vicksburg, Mississippi, on or about September 16, and/or September 23, 1862. The regiment was then reorganized by the election of new officers on October 2, 1862, at Jackson, Mississippi. The 12th Arkansas was officially "exchanged" on November 10, 1862. Because Col. Gantt was confined as a prisoner at Fort Warren, when the 12th Arkansas was exchanged and reorganized at Jackson, T. J. Reid Jr, was elect to the Colonelcy. The other regimental officers elected at the reorganization were:


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Island Number Ten
After the surrender of Island Number Ten, many of the soldiers refused to return to the command. A number of soldier returned to Arkansas and were caught up in Major General Thomas Hindman's aggressive recruiting and conscription efforts in the summer if 1862 and were enlisted into the newly formed 33rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment. There were too few men to bring the regiment up to effective strength, so the officers were granted leave to return to Arkansas to recruit replacements, while the enlisted men were temporarily attached to the 11th Arkansas under the command of Colonel Logan.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Island Number Ten
When the officers returned to the regiment, the added recruits brought its strength up to approximately 500 men in the ranks. Colonel Gantt remained imprisoned until where he stayed until his negotiated release in August 1862. He then returned to south Arkansas and awaited the offer of a new command, but this offer never came. Apparently Gantt had been criticized for drinking and flirting with officers wives.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Island Number Ten
After waiting for more than a year for the offer of a new commission in the Confederate Army, Gantt, surrendered himself to General Grant at Vicksburg and quickly became a force in the move to organize a new loyal, pro Union Government in Arkansas. Following the war, during Reconstruction, he would become general superintendent of the Southwest District of Arkansas of the Freedmen's Bureau, a federal agency created at the end of the war to help former slaves.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Port Hudson
The reorganized regiment underwent several field consolidations during the months following its exchanged and was eventually incorporated the garrison of Port Hudson, on the Mississippi river. The regiment, once it regained sufficient strength to operate independently, became a part of Brig. Genl. William Beall's Center Brigade in the Port Hudson entrenchments. The regiment endured forty-eight day siege, and was surrendered to General Nathaniel P. Banks on July 9, 1863. Following the capitulation of Port Hudson, the enlisted men were paroled, but the officers were sent to Johnson's Island.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Camden Expedition, Red River Campaign
There are few records of the 12th Arkansas after the fall of Port Hudson. After being paroled, the enlisted personnel of the 12th Arkansas made their way to parole camps near Camden in south Arkansas and were eventually declared exchanged. They served as mounted infantry as a part of Colonel Thomas Pleasant Dockery's Brigade during the Camden Expedition in the Spring of 1864. As part of Dockery's Brigade, remnants of the regiment saw action at the Battles of Prairie D'Ane, Marks' Mills, and Jenkins Ferry.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Final year of the war
In the summer of 1864, the survivors of the 12th Arkansas were consolidated with the remains of several other regiments surrendered at Port Hudson or at the Siege of Vicksburg and formed into the 2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment. T. J. Reid Jr, originally from the 12th Arkansas, became the Colonel of the new consolidated regiment. The consolidated regiment was assigned along with the 1st and 3rd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiments to the 2nd (McNair's) Arkansas Brigade, 1st (Churchill's) Arkansas Division, 2nd Corps, Trans-Mississippi Department, from September 1864 to May 1865.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Service, Final year of the war
On 22 January 1865, Major General Churchill was ordered to move his division to Minden, Louisiana, and occupy winter quarters. Union commanders in the Department of the Gulf reported on March 20, 1865, that General McNair's brigade was located at Minden, Louisiana, with the rest of Churchill's Division. In early April 1865, the division concentrated near Shreveport Louisiana, and then moved to Marshall Texas by mid April 1865.


12th Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Surrender
The 2nd Arkansas Consolidated Infantry was surrendered with the Department of the Trans-Mississippi, General Kirby Smith commanding, May 26, 1865. When the Trans-Mississippi Department surrendered, most of the Arkansas infantry regiments were encamped in and around Marshall, Texas (war-ravaged Arkansas no longer being able to subsist the army). The regiments were ordered to report to Shreveport, Louisiana, to be paroled. Virtually none of them did so. Some soldiers went to Shreveport on their own to be paroled, but for the most part, the regiments simply disbanded without formally surrendering. A company or two managed to keep together until they got home.


12th Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China)
The 12th Tank Division (Chinese: 坦克第12师) was formed on October 12, 1969, from 12th Independent Tank Regiment, 264th Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment of Academy of Armored Troops and 2nd Tank School Training Regiment. After its formation the division was soon moved to Jiuquan and Jiayuguan City in Gansu province.


12th Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China)
In the early 1970s, the division maintained as a reduced tank division, which consisted of 3 under-equipped tank regiments, under the command of the 19th Army Corps.


12th Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China)
Since May 1975 the division was put under the direct command of the Lanzhou Military Region.


12th Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China)
Since 1978 the division maintained as a tank division, catalogue B. In December, 46th Tank Regiment exchanged its designation and positions with Tank Regiment, 19th Army Corps.


12th Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China)
In July 1983 the Artillery Regiment and the Armored Infantry Regiment were activated.


12th Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China)
Since September 1985, the division was attached to the 21st Army. Its Armored Regiment absorbed the 419th Regiment of the 140th Army Division.


12th Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China)
In 1998, the division was renamed the 12th Armored Division (Chinese: 装甲第12师). Armored Infantry Regiment was disbanded and absorbed into now armored regiments.


12th Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China)
In late 2011 the division was split into two: the division itself became 12th Armored Brigade (Chinese: 装甲第12旅), while half of its battalions formed the 62nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade.


12th Armored Brigade (People's Republic of China)
In 2017 the brigade was reorganized as the 12th Heavy Combined Arms Brigade (Chinese: 重型合成第12旅).


12th Armored Division (United States)
The 12th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II. It fought in the European Theater of Operations in France, Germany and Austria, between November 1944 and May 1945.


12th Armored Division (United States)
The German Army called the 12th Armored Division the "Suicide Division" for its fierce defensive actions during Operation Nordwind in France, and they were nicknamed the "Mystery Division" when they were temporarily transferred to the command of the Third Army under General George S. Patton Jr., to cross the Rhine River.


12th Armored Division (United States)
The 12th Armored Division was one of only ten U.S. divisions (and only one of two U.S. armored divisions) during World War II that had African-American combat companies integrated into the division. One of the African American soldiers, Staff Sergeant Edward A. Carter Jr. was awarded The Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry in combat during World War II, and was later awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.


12th Armored Division (United States), History
The 12th Armored Division was activated on 15 September 1942. Organization and initial training was at Camp Campbell, Kentucky, and continued at Camp Barkeley in Abilene, Texas. The division consisted of approximately 11,000 soldiers, and was composed of tank, field artillery, motorized infantry battalions and other support units.


12th Armored Division (United States), History
In early 1943 the division adopted the nickname "The Hellcats", symbolizing its toughness and readiness for combat.


12th Armored Division (United States), History
While at Camp Barkeley, the 44th Tank Battalion was sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations on a special mission and later distinguished itself as the first unit to enter Manila. The 44th was replaced by the 714th Tank Battalion.


12th Armored Division (United States), History
Walt Disney himself designed a logo for the 714th Tank Battalion.


12th Armored Division (United States), History, Origin of Combat Units
The 12th was originally organized as a heavy armored division with two armored regiments, the 43rd and 44th, and one armored infantry regiment, the 56th Armored Infantry Regiment. In 1943, it was reorganized from a heavy division to a light division as part of a general streamlining of all armored divisions, except the 2nd Armored Division and the 3rd Armored Division.


12th Armored Division (United States), History, Origin of Combat Units, Tank Battalions
The original 43rd and 44th Armored Regiments assigned to the 12th AD were re-designated to become the 23rd, 43rd, 44th, 714th and 779th Tank Battalions during the reorganization the 12th Armored Division underwent while at the Tennessee Maneuver Area in Watertown, Tennessee, in November 1943. The 714th Tank Battalion was sent to Fort Jackson, SC and the 779th Tank Battalion went to Fort Knox, KY as separate tank battalions.


12th Armored Division (United States), History, Origin of Combat Units, Tank Battalions
The 44th Tank Battalion was detached from the 12th AD and sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations, where it distinguished itself as the first tank battalion to enter the city of Manila and liberated American and Allied civilian prisoners interred in the Santo Tomas Internment Camp. It was replaced by the 714th Tank Battalion, which rejoined the 12th AD in November 1943. The 779th Tank Battalion was sent to the Philippines late in the war, but did not see any combat action.


12th Armored Division (United States), History, Origin of Combat Units, Armored Infantry Battalions
The 56th Armored Infantry Regiment (AIR) traced its historical origin back to the 17th Infantry Regiment of Maj. Gen. George Sykes' 2nd Division of the 5th Army Corps, of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. During World War I, soldiers from the reconstituted 17th Infantry Regiment were used to form the 56th Infantry Regiment on 15 May 1917, which was involved in the battle around Metz in Alsace-Lorraine.


12th Armored Division (United States), History, Origin of Combat Units, Armored Infantry Battalions
Ironically, when reconstituted as the 56th Armored Infantry Battalion during World War II, they were back in Alsace-Lorraine, fighting with the 12th Armored Division to liberate the same region of France from Nazi occupation in 1944-1945. On 7 July 1942, the unit was reconstituted as the 56th Armored Infantry Regiment and assigned to the 12th Armored Division, which was activated as a division at Camp Campbell, KY on 15 September 1942.


12th Armored Division (United States), History, Origin of Combat Units, Armored Infantry Battalions
On 11 November 1943 while at Watertown, Tennessee, the 12th Armored Division was reorganized and the 56th Armored Infantry Regiment was reorganized to form the 17th, 56th and 66th Armored Infantry Battalions (AIB). The 1st Battalion of the 56th AIR became the 66th AIB and the 2nd Battalion of the 56th AIR became the 17th AIB of the 12th Armored Division. The 3rd Battalion of the 56th AIR became the 56th AIB. Companies G, H and I of the 56th AIR became Companies A, B and C of the 56th AIB.