1st Special Operations Wing, History, From the 1970s
Deployed personnel and equipment worldwide, performing combat search and rescue, and supporting contingencies, humanitarian relief, and exercises that included Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, Kuwait, and Central America. Elements of the wing deployed to participate in Operation Provide Comfort in Iraq, 1991 to 1996 and Operation Deny Flight, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1993 to 1995.


1st Special Operations Wing, History, From the 1970s
It supported Operation Deliberate Force/Joint Endeavor, August to September 1995 and 14 to 20 December 1996, flying combat missions and attacking targets critical to Bosnian-Serb Army operations. Wing elements participated in operations Northern and Southern Watch in 1997 and again participated in combat operations in Desert Thunder, February to June 1998 and Desert Fox, 17 to 21 December 1998. It assumed an additional mission, supporting the Aerospace Expeditionary Forces in February 2000.


1st Special Operations Wing, History, From the 1970s
In 2001 and 2002 the wing deployed elements to Afghanistan and Iraq and fought in other "war on terror" operations.


1st Special Operations Wing, History, Units in March 2015
- 1st Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron- 1st Special Operations Maintenance Squadron- 801st Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron- 901st Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron


1st Special Operations Wing, History, Units in March 2015
- 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron- 1st Special Operations Communications Squadron- 1st Special Operations Contracting Squadron- 1st Special Operations Logistics Readiness Squadron- 1st Special Operations Force Support Squadron- 1st Special Operations Security Forces Squadron


1st Special Operations Wing, History, Units in March 2015
- 1st Special Operations Medical Operations Squadron- 1st Special Operations Medical Support Squadron- 1st Special Operations Aerospace Medicine Squadron- 1st Special Operations Dental Squadron


1st Special Operations Wing, History, Overview in the late 2010s
The 1st SOW mission focus is unconventional warfare: counter-terrorism, combat search and rescue, personnel recovery, psychological operations, aviation assistance to developing nations, "deep battlefield" resupply, interdiction and close air support. The wing has units located at Hurlburt Field, Florida, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.


1st Special Operations Wing, History, Overview in the late 2010s
The wing's core missions include aerospace surface interface, agile combat support, combat aviation advisory operations, information operations, personnel recovery/recovery operations, precision aerospace fires, psychological operations dissemination, specialized aerospace mobility and specialized aerial refueling.


1st Special Operations Wing, History, Overview in the late 2010s
The 1st SOW also serves as a pivotal component of AFSOC's ability to provide and conduct special operations missions ranging from precision application of firepower to infiltration, exfiltration, resupply and refueling of special operations force operational elements. In addition, the 1st SOW brings distinctive intelligence capabilities to the fight, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance contributions, predictive analysis, and targeting expertise to joint special operations forces and combat search and rescue operations.


1st Special Operations Wing, History, Overview in the late 2010s
The wing's motto of "Keeping the Air Commando promise to provide reliable, precise Air Force special operations air power... Any Time, Any Place," has repeatedly shown to be true since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. MH-53 Pave Lows responded almost immediately to support relief efforts in New York City and Washington, D.C.


1st Special Operations Wing, History, Overview in the late 2010s
Since the United States invasion of Afghanistan began in October 2001, the wing's aircraft have flown more than 25,000 combat sorties, amassing more than 75,000 combat hours. The wing has also deployed more than 8,500 personnel to 16 geographic locations around the world. The continued high operations tempo of the 1st SOW truly put the Air Commandos assigned here at the "tip of the spear."


1st Special Operations Wing, History, Overview in the late 2010s, Units in December 2020
The following units and aircraft are assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing as of April 2020:


1st Special Service Brigade
The 1st Special Service Brigade was a commando brigade of the British Army. Formed during the Second World War, it consisted of elements of the British Army (including British Commandos) and the Royal Marines. The brigade's component units saw action individually in Norway and the Dieppe Raid (in France), before being combined under one commander for service in Normandy during Operation Overlord. On 6 December 1944, the Brigade was redesignated 1st Commando Brigade, removing the hated title Special Service and its association with the German SS.


1st Special Service Brigade, History
Recruiting for the Commandos began in 1940 when a call was made for volunteers from certain formations that were still in Britain at the time. It was also decided that the Divisional Independent Companies that had been originally raised from Territorial Army Divisions would be disbanded and used to raise the new Commando units along with other men who had seen service in Norway and elsewhere. Subsequent recruiting for the Commandos was also conducted in the various theatres of war and among foreign nationals joining the Allies.


1st Special Service Brigade, History
Initially, each 'Commando' was to consist of a headquarters plus ten troops of 50 men each, including three officers; this changed in 1941 to six troops of 65 men per Commando, including a Heavy Weapons Troop. Each Commando unit was initially responsible for the selection and training of its own officers and men. Commando soldiers received extra pay from which they had to find their own accommodation whenever they were in Britain.


1st Special Service Brigade, History
They trained in physical fitness, survival, orienteering, close-quarter combat, silent killing, signalling, amphibious and cliff assault, motor vehicle operation, weapons (including the use of captured enemy small-arms) and demolition. Many officers, NCOs and trainee instructors initially attended various courses at the all forces Special Training Centre at Lochailort in Scotland. Also in the Scottish Highlands, Combined Operations established a substantial all forces amphibious training centre at Inveraray, and in 1942 a specific Commando Training Centre at Achnacarry near Spean Bridge. All field training was conducted with live ammunition.


1st Special Service Brigade, Independent actions
Before the formation of the brigade, each Commando fought independently in various actions, being employed as directed by Combined Operations Headquarters.


1st Special Service Brigade, Independent actions, Operation Claymore
Operation Claymore was a raid on the Lofoten Islands, on the 4 March 1941, by Nos 3  and 4 Commando, 52 Norwegians of Norwegian Independent Company 1 and demolition teams from  55 Field Squadron, Royal Engineers. The force made an unopposed landing and generally continued to meet no opposition. They achieved their objective of destroying fish-oil factories and some 3,600 tonnes (800,000 gallons) of oil and glycerin (some of the oil being destined for use in munitions). Through naval gunfire and demolition parties, 18,000 tons of shipping was sunk.


1st Special Service Brigade, Independent actions, Operation Claymore
Perhaps the most significant outcome of the raid, however, was the capture of a set of rotor wheels for an Enigma cypher machine and its code books from Nazi Germany's armed trawler Krebs. This enabled German naval codes to be read at Bletchley Park, providing the intelligence needed to allow allied convoys to avoid U-boat concentrations. The British experienced only one accidental injury and returned with some 228 German prisoners, 314 loyal Norwegian volunteers and a number of Quisling collaborators.


1st Special Service Brigade, Independent actions, Operation Archery
Operation Archery was a raid in December 1941 by Nos 2, 3, 4 and 6 Commando with a small party of Norwegians. Its aim was to destroy the German installations at Vågsøy, supported by the RAF who provided air cover and attacked the airfield at Herdla near Bergen. The naval part of the force consisted of one cruiser, four destroyers and two landing ships; the warships began the operation with a shore bombardment of Måløy island.


1st Special Service Brigade, Independent actions, Operation Archery
The commandos were split into five groups, one landed to the west of South Vågsøy to secure the area and then moved up to the town. The second group landed to the north of the town to prevent German reinforcements getting in. The third group landed on Måløy to deal with the guns and garrison there, but the Navy had done their job well, the guns were silent. The fourth group landed in the town itself, which proved to be the main centre of resistance, the last group was kept on board ship to act as a floating reserve.


1st Special Service Brigade, Independent actions, Operation Archery
The German garrison in the town was larger than expected and reinforcements had to be requested from the group to the west, from the floating reserve and from elements of the group on Måløy. House-to-house fighting ensued, but by 1345 hours it was over and the force re-embarked soon afterwards; 15,000 tons of shipping and all German installations were destroyed, as well as warehouses, dockyards and fish-oil processing plants. 98 Germans were taken prisoner along with 4 'Quislings', 77 Norwegians also decided to come with them back to Britain. The German garrison had around 150 killed, the British lost 19 men and 57 wounded and the Norwegian force lost 1 man and 2 wounded.


1st Special Service Brigade, Independent actions, Operation Archery
The after-effects of the raid had far reaching consequences, as the Germans took reprisals against the Norwegian population which prompted protests from the Norwegian King Haakon VII and the government-in-exile. The Germans also reinforced and strengthened their defences which tied down troops that could have been used elsewhere.


1st Special Service Brigade, Independent actions, Operation Jubilee, (Dieppe raid)
The Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942, involved over 6,000 Canadian soldiers supported by large British naval and Allied air force contingents. The objective was to seize the port, gather intelligence and assess the German response. The raid was also intended to use air power to draw the Luftwaffe into a large, planned encounter.


1st Special Service Brigade, Independent actions, Operation Jubilee, (Dieppe raid)
Lieutenant Colonel John Durnford-Slater's mission, with No. 3 Commando, was to neutralize a German coastal battery (code named GOEBBELS), near Berneval on the extreme left flank. This battery could engage the landing at Dieppe, some six kilometres to the west. The three 170 mm and four 105 mm guns of 2/770 Batterie had to be put out of action by the time the main force approached the beach.


1st Special Service Brigade, Independent actions, Operation Jubilee, (Dieppe raid)
The craft carrying No 5 group of No 3 Commando, approaching the coast to the east, were not warned of the presence of a German coastal convoy that had been located by British "Chain Home" radar stations at 2130 hours. S-boats escorting a German tanker torpedoed some of the landing craft and disabled the escorting Steam Gun Boat 5. Subsequently Motor Launch 346 and Landing Craft Flak 1 combined to drive off the German boats, but the Group was dispersed, with some losses. The enemy's coastal defences were also alerted.


1st Special Service Brigade, Independent actions, Operation Jubilee, (Dieppe raid)
Only a handful of commandos under the Second in Command, Major Peter Young, landed and scaled the barbed wire-laced cliffs. 18 Commandos reached the perimeter of the GOEBBELS Battery via Bernevall and engaged their target with small-arms fire. Unable to destroy the guns, their sniping of the crews prevented the guns from firing effectively on the main assault. Thus, a handful of determined British soldiers neutralised the most dangerous German coastal battery in the area of the raid for the most critical period of the operation.


1st Special Service Brigade, Independent actions, Operation Jubilee, (Dieppe raid)
No. 4 Commando was tasked with landing on the extreme right flank; they landed in force and destroyed their targets, providing the only major success of the operation. Most of No 4 returned safely to England. This portion of the raid was considered a model for future commando operations. Lord Lovat became famous as an officer on Orange Beach (and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his part). Captain Patrick Porteous, attached to No. 4 Commando, was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery.


1st Special Service Brigade, Formation of the Brigade
The brigade was assembled under one commander in 1943 and trained to operate as a formation in preparation for Operation Overlord and the Normandy landings.


1st Special Service Brigade, D-Day, Sword
The plan was for 1st Special Service Brigade comprising Nos 3, 4, 6 and 45 (RM) Commandos to land at Ouistreham in Queen Red sector (the most easterly). No 4 Commando were augmented by 1 and 8 Troops (both French) of No 10 (Inter Allied) Commando. No 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando was formed in January 1942 and included Nos 1 and 7 Troops (French), 4 Troop (Belgian), Dutch Troop, Norwegian Troop, Polish Troop, X Troop (German and Austrian, Hungarians and Greeks), Yugoslav Troop, which often served detached in other theatres. In August 1942 they were involved in the Dieppe raid. They also took part in the Normandy Landings and fought across North Western Europe.


1st Special Service Brigade, D-Day, Sword
The assault on Sword began at about 03:00 with an aerial bombardment of the German coastal defences and artillery sites. The naval bombardment began a few hours later. At 07:30, the first units reached the beach. These were the amphibious DD tanks of the 13th/18th Hussars; they were followed closely by the infantry of the 8th Infantry Brigade, part of the British 3rd Division.


1st Special Service Brigade, D-Day, Sword
The 1st Special Service Brigade, under the command of Brigadier Lord Lovat, were piped ashore in the second wave led by No 4 Commando with the two French Troops first, as agreed amongst themselves. The British and French personnel of No.4 Commando had separate targets in Ouistreham: the French, a blockhouse and the Casino; the British, two batteries overlooking the beach. The blockhouse proved too strong for the Commandos' PIAT Projector Infantry Anti Tank) weapons, but the Casino was taken with the aid of a Centaur tank. The British Commandos achieved both battery objectives only to find that the guns had been removed. Leaving the mopping-up to the infantry, the Commandos withdrew from Ouistreham to join other units in their brigade, moving inland to join-up with the 6th Airborne Division.


1st Special Service Brigade, D-Day, Sword
Lord Lovat reputedly waded ashore wearing a white pullover under his battledress, with "Lovat" inscribed on the collar, while armed with an old Winchester rifle. He instructed his personal piper, Bill Millin, to play the commandos ashore, in defiance of specific orders not to allow such an action in battle.


1st Special Service Brigade, D-Day, Sword
Lovat's forces pressed on, Lovat himself advancing with parts of his brigade from Sword to Pegasus Bridge, which had been obstinately defended by men of the British 6th Airborne Division who had landed in the early hours. The commandos arrived almost exactly on time, (late by about two minutes), for which Lord Lovat apologised to Lieutenant Colonel Richard Geoffrey Pine-Coffin, of 7th Parachute Battalion. The commandos ran across Pegasus Bridge, to the sound of Bill Millin's bagpipes.


1st Special Service Brigade, D-Day, Sword
Despite rushing across in small groups, twelve men were killed by sniper fire, mostly shot in the head; the men crossing the bridge wore helmets rather than berets from then on. They went on to establish defensive positions around Ranville, east of the River Orne. The bridges were relieved later in the day by elements of the British 3rd Infantry Division.


1st Special Service Brigade, D-Day, Sword
During an attack on the village of Bréville on 12 June, Lord Lovat was seriously wounded while observing an artillery bombardment by the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division. A stray shell fell short of its target and landed amongst the officers, killing Lieutenant-Colonel A. P. Johnston, commanding officer of the 12th Parachute Battalion, and seriously wounding Brigadier Hugh Kindersley of the 6th Airlanding Brigade.


1st Special Service Brigade, D-Day, Sword
On 1 August, the Brigade was ordered to seize and hold a section of high ground by dawn the following day. This was in support of a further advance to Dozule, by 6th Airborne Division. No.4 Commando led with Nos.3, 45 and 6 following. The Brigade infiltrated the enemy line and reached their objective before the Germans realized it. There were four counter-attacks throughout the day but the brigade held firm.


1st Special Service Brigade, D-Day, Sword
1st Special Service Brigade returned to England on 8–9 September 1944, landing at Southampton and Gosport. During this period new volunteers were recruited and trained. No.4 Commando was later sent back to the continent to take over from the shattered 46 (RM) Commando, which was down to a strength of 200 men.


1st Special Service Brigade, D-Day, Sword
In December 1944 all Special Service Brigades were renamed Commando Brigades, but with the same Brigade number, so 1st Special Service Brigade was now 1st Commando Brigade.


1st Special Service Brigade, D-Day, Sword
About the same time there were plans to send 1 Commando Brigade to the Far East, but due to the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes over the New Year and in January, they returned to mainland Europe.


1st Special Service Brigade, Operation Blackcock
In the aftermath of the Ardennes Offensive in January 1945, the Brigade took part in Operation Blackcock, and was temporarily placed under command of the 7th Armoured Division. It was during this period of operations that Lance Corporal Henry Eric Harden, a medical orderly of the RAMC attached to 45 RM Commando, posthumously won the Victoria Cross. With complete disregard for his own safety, Cpl Harden rescued two of his wounded comrades from a field that was under heavy machine gun and mortar fire. During this action he was wounded himself a couple of times. In his attempt to rescue a third person, he was mortally wounded and died instantly. This all happened in the little town of Brachterbeek, in the province of Limburg, Netherlands.


1st Special Service Brigade, Crossing the Rhine
The Brigade's next large-scale operation was the crossing of the river Rhine at Wesel. Intensive training and detailed planning were the keys to the remarkable success of Operation Plunder on 23 March, which incurred less than 100 casualties.


1st Special Service Brigade, Crossing the Rhine, Operation Plunder
Operation Plunder started at 1800 hours on 23 March with a barrage of 5,500 guns along the 35 km front and a bomber raid on the city of Wesel. The 51st (Highland) Infantry Division led the river crossing at 2300 hours with the Canadians crossing later 6.5 km south of Rees, then the 1st Commando Brigade, 1.5 km north of Wesel. The assault craft—Buffalo amphibious vehicles, assault boats and DUKWs carried the infantry; LCMs carried the armour, including Sherman DD tanks—were guided across the river by CDL searchlights and tracer fire from machine guns. General Patton had earlier put the US 5th Infantry Division across the Ludendorff railway bridge at Remagen—a day earlier than planned—thus drawing off German reinforcements and reducing the opposition to the main landings.


1st Special Service Brigade, Crossing the Rhine, Crossing the Weser
The next obstacle to be tackled was the river Weser, where the brigade was to reinforce and exploit the bridgehead that had already been established. This operation was followed by the crossing of the river Aller, which resulted in some heavy fighting in the woods beyond. A serious situation was averted by a spirited counter-attack by No.6 Commando. When "...the hunting horns sounded and led by Lieut. Colonel A. C. Lewis, the Commando charged forward through the trees at a fast double and with bayonets fixed".


1st Special Service Brigade, Crossing the Rhine, Crossing the Weser
By 19 April, the 1st Commando Brigade had reached Lunenburg and prepared for its final operation, the crossing of the river Elbe and the advance beyond to Neustadt. Reaching there on 3 May, No.6 Commando was the first to arrive and began sorting out the dead and the survivors of the prison ship Cap Arcona that had been attacked by the RAF by mistake whilst moored in the Bay of Lübeck. The following day, 4 May 1945, Brigadier Mills-Roberts took the surrender of Generalfeldmarschall Erhard Milch and all of the German troops under his command.


1st Special Service Brigade, Dissolution
The final chapter concerning the Commandos, during the war, was written on 25 October 1945 with the announcement by Major General Robert Laycock (who had been one of the original volunteers for the Commandos in 1940 and had been promoted to succeed Lord Louis Mountbatten as Chief of Combined Operations) that the Commandos were to be disbanded.


1st Special Service Brigade, Dissolution
Army Commandos were disbanded in 1946 and the Commando role was taken over by The Royal Marines.


1st Special Service Brigade, Battle honours
The following Battle honours were awarded to the British Commandos during the Second World War.


1st Special Squadron (Japanese Navy)
The 1st Special Squadron (January 1917 – October 1918) was an Imperial Japanese Navy fleet. In accordance with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the fleet helped defend Australia and New Zealand as well as Allied shipping in the Pacific and Indian oceans during World War I.


1st Special Squadron (Japanese Navy), Background
At the outbreak of war, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) stood at 3,800 personnel and consisted of sixteen ships, including the Indefatigable-class battlecruiser Australia, the light cruisers Sydney and Melbourne, the destroyers Parramatta, Yarra and Warrego, and the submarines AE1 and AE2. Another light cruiser (Brisbane) and three destroyers were under construction, and a small fleet of auxiliary ships was also being maintained.


1st Special Squadron (Japanese Navy), Background
After the Imperial German Navy's German East Asia Squadron was destroyed early in the war, most RAN ships were redeployed to the European theatres, leaving Australia and New Zealand exposed to German merchant raiders operating in the Pacific. The Australian government requested help from the British Admiralty, as the remaining warships could not effectively protect the region. These requests suggested that ships of the United States Navy be deployed to supplement the forces in Australian waters, but instead, the Admiralty contacted Japan and made arrangements for several ships to be sent to Australia.


1st Special Squadron (Japanese Navy), 1st Special Squadron
In January 1917, Japan created the 1st Special Squadron, made up of several cruisers supported by the 2nd Destroyer Division. They were tasked to defend the Strait of Malacca and shipping from Australia to Aden. To provide more coverage, the Japanese Navy formed the 3rd Special Squadron on March 26, 1917, to defend the eastern coast of Australia and New Zealand. With the capture and sinking of German raiders, the pressure against Allied shipping lessened, and after December 1917, the 3rd Special Squadron was dissolved and the operational area of the 1st Special Squadron was enlarged to include the eastern coast of Australia and New Zealand. The defence of Australia, New Zealand and of Indian shipping lanes by Japanese ships continued until October 1918.


1st Split Partisan Detachment
The 1st Split Partisan Detachment (Serbo-Croatian: Prvi splitski partizanski odred) or the 1st Split Detachment (Serbo-Croatian: Prvi splitski odred) was a short-lived unit of the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II. It was composed of volunteers from the city of Split and was created in August 1941, just four months after the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, and the annexation of Split and most of Dalmatia by the Kingdom of Italy. The unit, composed mostly of young men with little or no fighting experience, planned to relocate to the Dinara mountains to join other Partisan units in fighting the Axis powers.


1st Split Partisan Detachment
After initial organizational problems, the weakened detachment reached an area near the village of Košute where they were engaged by Ustaše Militia backed by Italian reinforcements. After a day of fighting and the death of one of their commanders, members of the detachment began to retreat. In the end, the Partisans suffered four killed in action and 25 taken prisoner, while 13 managed to escape. All but three of the prisoners were later executed by firing squad. A Split Detachment was reformed, but most of its fighters were part of the 3rd Dalmatian Assault Brigade.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, Background
The Axis powers began their invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941. Just four days later, a puppet state known as the Independent State of Croatia (Serbo-Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska – NDH) was declared, encompassing most of modern-day Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and parts of modern-day Serbia. In accordance with the Treaties of Rome signed by the Ustaše leadership of the NDH, a large part of the Croatian coastline and islands, including the city of Split were incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, Background
The low morale of Yugoslav troops in Split and the uncontested advance of the Italian Army through Dalmatia resulted in a number of desertions. Paramilitary formations of the Croatian Peasant Party (Serbo-Croatian: Hrvatska Seljačka Stranka, HSS) disarmed soldiers. By 11 April, there were no organized military formations remaining in Split, and a large number of police and gendarmerie switched their allegiance to the NDH. With Split under the control of the new Ustaše government, the authorities apprehended 300 citizens they deemed to be political enemies. On 13 April, members of the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez komunističke omladine Jugoslavije, SKOJ) broke into a number of Ustaše weapons depots, stealing dozens of rifles and machine guns, as well as ammunition and hand grenades.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, Background
On the evening of 15 April, the first troops of the Italian Army entered Split, signifying the start of their occupation. On 21 April, civil control of Split passed from the NDH to Italian authorities, followed by the raising of the Italian flag over the city. On 18 May, Italy and the NDH signed the Treaties of Rome, confirming Italian rule of Dalmatia, including Split.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, History, Formation
On 7 August 1941, Pavle Pap-Šilja and Mirko Kovačević-Lala arrived in Split with instructions from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Croatia (Serbo-Croatian: Centralni komitet komunističke partije Hrvatske) to discuss the forming of Partisan detachments to fight the Axis occupiers. In a meeting with the members of the Regional Committee, they agreed that the new detachments should operate in the Dinara mountains where their fighters could rely on support from the population of the Sinj and Livanjsko field regions as well as other Partisan formations planned for Bosanska Krajina and Lika.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, History, Formation
This plan meant that the detachments would have to be formed and then relocated to the Dinara mountains. Relocation meant crossing the rough terrain of Zagora, whose population did not support the Partisans. Despite these difficulties, it was decided that in the next two days the Regional Committee would form seven detachments, including one from Split.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, History, Formation
According to the initial plan, on the night of 11 August, the Split Detachment was to move just outside the town and collect weapons that had been captured on 13 April. They would then link up with the Solin Detachment and continue towards Kamešnica. From there, they would travel to Otok to meet with the Sinj Detachment. On 8 August, a meeting of Communist Party members and sympathisers was held in a field house between Split and Stobreč to ask for volunteers to join the Split Detachment. The detachment was formed on 11 August, and consisted of 66 members organized in three platoons. The detachment departed Split on the same day, under the command of Đordano Borovčić-Kurir with  commissar Alfred Santini, and accompanied by Kovačević-Lala who was in overall command of all Partisan detachments in Dalmatia.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, History, Ambush and aftermath
The plan went awry when the 2nd Platoon got lost and missed a rendezvous with the 1st and 3rd Platoon, which were waiting for them near Mravince. The 2nd Platoon was therefore disbanded while the rest of the detachment continued via Mosor to Dicmo where they were to meet up with their guides. They arrived on the night of 12 August, and upon realizing their guides were not there, decided to continue alone towards Kamešnica, but got lost and ran out of supplies during the night. At dawn on 13 August the detachment camped near the village of Krušvar.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, History, Ambush and aftermath
In the evening they once again continued towards Kamešnica, and at dawn on 14 August, they camped near the village of Košute, near Trilj. Borovčić-Kurir tasked two fighters to go into the village and ask the locals for water and directions. After talking to some locals, the fighters were fired upon by a member of the Ustaše Militia of the village. They returned fire then continued back to their camp and notified the others about the incident.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, History, Ambush and aftermath
Just as they finished their report, the detachment was fired on by Ustaše Militia. The Ustaše called for help from Sinj, and by 18:00, Italian reinforcements had arrived and began encircling the detachment, engaging them with mortars and light artillery. Outnumbered and facing an enemy with greater firepower, the Partisans planned to hold their positions until evening then retreat using the cover of darkness. About 20:00, Kovačević-Lala, one of the most experienced members of the detachment, was killed after being hit by a mortar round, which had a significant effect on the morale of the remaining fighters. Borovčić-Kurir issued the order to retreat, but it turned into chaos as individuals fled the area.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, History, Ambush and aftermath
Four Partisans died in the fighting, and three more were summarily shot after capture. Twenty-five were captured and taken prisoner, while 13 managed to escape. The 25 that were captured were moved to Sinj, where one of the prisoners was beaten to death. The rest were placed on trial before a special court that was sent from Mostar. Three prisoners were acquitted while the remaining 21 were taken to Ruduša near Sinj, and executed by firing squad. According to the Yugoslav historian Mate Šalov, a Split Detachment was still active at the time of the Italian Armistice in September 1943, but only consisted of the detachment staff and a few fighters, with the Dinara Battalion forming part of the 3rd Dalmatian Assault Brigade.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, Commemoration
After the war, a public school was named after Borovčić-Kurir. In 1962, the 1st Split Partisan Detachment was commemorated with a 15 metres (49 feet 3 inches) tall monument designed by Vuko Bombardelli, which was erected in Ruduša where the captured members of the detachment were executed. The monument was destroyed by an explosion in August 1992, during the Croatian War of Independence. It was renovated in 2009 with financial aid from the owners of the RNK Split football club, as several members of the detachment had played for the club before the war.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, Commemoration
In 1981, a monument dedicated to the detachment was placed in Vinkovačka street in Split. In July 2013, this monument was vandalized by unknown perpetrators who spray painted symbols of the Ustaše, swastikas, and the initials of the Croatian Civic Party (Hrvatska građanska stranka; HGS) and the Croatian Pure Party of Rights (Hrvatska čista stranka prava; HČSP). This was the second time the monument had been damaged. A movie about the detachment, entitled Prvi splitski odred and directed by Vojdrag Berčić, was released in 1972.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, Commemoration
In August 2014, the Mayor of Split Ivo Baldasar announced he would propose that the Split city council name a street in the Mejaši neighbourhood after the detachment. The initiative was met with opposition from the Mejaši district leaders, who stated that people living in Mejaši had a "different political orientation" and that such action would devalue the Croatian War of Independence and all of its values.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, Commemoration
The initiative was also met with opposition from the Croatian Democratic Union (Hrvatska demokratska zajednica; HDZ) members of the council who accused Baldasar of "forging history", because "the detachment was never Partisan, and its members didn't die under Partisan insignia." A HDZ council member explained that even during the existence of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the street that was named after the detachment did not have the word Partisan in it.


1st Split Partisan Detachment, Commemoration
Members of the Organization of Anti-fascists and Anti-fascist Fighters of Split were also dissatisfied because the proposal was intended for a minor street at the edge of the city. Faced with this opposition, Baldasar withdrew his proposal during a council meeting on 25 August, explaining that he could not "allow arguments surrounding street names".


1st Squadron (Belgium)
The 1st Squadron (French: 1re escadrille) is a Recce squadron in the Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. It is part of the 2nd Tactical Wing and operates the MQ-9B Sky Guardian.


1st Squadron (Belgium)
The 1re Escadrille de Chasse was the first fighter squadron of the Belgian Air Component. The squadron was founded during World War I, reorganized into a dedicated fighter unit, and became part of a fighter wing before war's end.


1st Squadron (Belgium), History, The origins
The 1re Escadrille de Chasse was founded in February 1916 as the first dedicated squadron of the Aviation Militaire Belge. It drew upon the men and equipment of the previously existing provisional Escadrille I. In August 1917, upon receiving the new Hanriot-Dupont 1 aircraft, the first version of  the famous “Thistle” symbol was designed by André de Meulemeester as the squadron's insignia, to be painted on the aircraft. He also selected the squadron motto “Nemo me impune lacessit” or “No-one can challenge me unpunished”. In March 1918, it would be reorganized into the 9ème Escadrille.


1st Squadron (Belgium), History, Operations
At the start of World War I, Belgium was neutral. An overwhelming invasion by the German army left Belgium partially occupied by the end of 1914, with its preserved territory shielded by deliberate defensive flooding at Nieuwpoort by the Belgians. As a result, the Aviation Militaire Belgium was based in the diminished remnant of a small country, and performed largely in a static defensive mode. Captain Fernand Jacquet and Lieutenant Louis Robin scored the squadron's first victory on 20 May 1916. It would claim 52 aerial victories and be credited with 15, at a blood cost of five Belgian pilots killed in action and one accidental death.


1st Squadron (Belgium), Present day
After World War II, the modern Belgian Air Force was founded in 1946. The "Thistle" was accorded to 351 Squadron of 161st Wing at Florennes Airbase. On January 10, 1948, this unit became 1st Squadron of 2nd Wing. From that day to the present, the squadron shares the identity and the traditions of the 1ère Escadrille de Chasse of 1917 . In July 1971, 1 Squadron leaves Florennes for Bierset, to constitute 3rd Wing together with 8 Squadron. Designated to transform to the F-16, the unit swaps bases with 42 Squadron of Florennes in 1989.


1st Squadron (JASDF)
The 1st Squadron (第1飛行隊 (dai-ichi-hikoutai)) was a squadron of the 1st Air Wing of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force based at Hamamatsu Air Base, in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was equipped with North American F-86F Sabre aircraft.


1st Squadron (JASDF), History
On January 10, 1956 the squadron was formed at Hamamatsu Air Base in Shizuoka Prefecture. It was the first fighter squadron formed by Japan since the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service were dissolved at the end of World War II. It was responsible for training pilots.


1st Squadron (JASDF), History
It was disbanded on March 31, 1979. At that time the type of aircraft operated by a Japanese fighter squadron was linked to the type of aircraft operated. Squadrons 1–11 were F-86F squadrons.


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment
The 1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment is a Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition squadron of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (48th IBCT), Georgia Army National Guard. 1st Squadron provides the 48th IBCT both mounted and dismounted reconnaissance capabilities. Prior to 2007, the unit was designated as the 1st Battalion, 108th Armor Regiment.


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, History, Desert Storm & Bosnia and Herzegovina
The 1st Battalion, 108th Armor mobilized for Desert Storm, but were not deployed in time to be able to participate in the war. After certifying at the National Training Center as combat-ready, they demobilized.


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, History, Desert Storm & Bosnia and Herzegovina
The 1st Battalion, 108th Armor deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina for Stabilization Force (SFOR) Rotation 9 to provide support operations for Task Force Eagle (United States contingent to United Nations Operations in support of Dayton Peace Accord). The SFOR9 rotation was scheduled from April to October 2001.


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, History, War on Terrorism
The 1st Battalion, 108th Armor mobilized as a component of the 48th Brigade Combat Team in 2004 for combat operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism. It was augmented with an additional Infantry company from Alabama and organized as Task Force (TF) Roughrider. In May 2005 the unit began deploying to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and experienced some of the fiercest combat actions in the campaign.


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, History, War on Terrorism
During the first half of the brigade's deployment (Spring 2005 through Spring 2006) to Iraq, the 1-108th spent much of its time conducting cordon and search operations, reconnaissance missions, and raids in Iraq's Triangle of Death region southwest of Baghdad. The unit's focus shifted during the second half of the deployment to a theater security mission primarily consisting of convoy escort and civilian military operations. On 20 April 2006, at Ft. Stewart, members of the 1-108th returned home after a year of combat operations in Iraq.


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, History, War on Terrorism
As a part of the United States Army's ongoing transformation to a lighter, more modular force the 1st Battalion, 108th Armor was re-designated as the 1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry (RSTA) in 2007. The unit traded in its M1 Abrams tanks and its M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles for up-armored HMMWVs. Most of the squadron's tank crewmen have reclassified to 19D cavalry scouts or 11B infantrymen.


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, History, War on Terrorism
In December 2007, the Georgia National Guard's 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) was alerted that it will be deployed to Afghanistan in the summer of 2009 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). In January 2009, the 1-108th began training for the expected year-long deployment. The unit was subsequently deployed to Afghanistan in April as Task Force Roughrider.


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, History, War on Terrorism
While deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the 1-108th participated in training the Afghan Security Forces while conducting Counter Insurgency Operations throughout the country. In March 2010 the unit redeployed from Afghanistan and demobilized at Fort Stewart, GA. TF Roughrider suffered six fatalities while deployed to Afghanistan:


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Constituted 19 June 1959 in the Georgia Army National Guard as the 108th Armor, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Organized 1 July 1959 from the following units to consist of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron and the 2d, 3d, and 4th Medium Tank Battalions, elements of the 48th Armored Division:


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
48th Reconnaissance Battalion (organized in 1902 at Jackson) as the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron163d Tank Battalion (organized in 1924 at Calhoun) as the 2d Medium Tank Battalion162d Tank Battalion (organized in 1882 at Macon) as the 3d Medium Tank Battalion190th Tank Battalion (organized in 1889 at Macon) as the 4th Medium Tank Battalion


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Reorganized 1 May 1962 to consist of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron and the 2d, 3d, and 4th Medium Tank Battalions, elements of the 48th Armored Division, and the 5th Medium Tank Battalion


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Reorganized 16 April 1963 to consist of the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th Battalions, elements of the 48th Armored Division


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Reorganized 1 January 1968 to consist of the 1st Battalion, an element of the 30th Infantry Division


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Reorganized 1 December 1973 to consist of the 1st Battalion, an element of the 48th Infantry Brigade


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Withdrawn 1 June 1989 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System with headquarters at Calhoun


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Ordered into active federal service 30 November 1990 at home stations; releasedfrom active federal service 27 March 1991 and reverted to state control


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Ordered into active federal service 6 December 2004 – 3 January 2005 at home stations; released from active federal service 1 September – 1 October 2006 and reverted to state control


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Consolidated 1 September 2007 with the 108th Cavalry Regiment (see ANNEX) and consolidated unit designated as the 108th Cavalry Regiment, to consist of the 1st Squadron, an element of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and the 2d Squadron, an element of the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Reorganized 1 September 2008 in the Georgia and Louisiana Army National Guard to consist of the 1st Squadron, an element of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the 2d Squadron, an element of the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and the 3d Squadron


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Constituted 2 September 1995 in the Georgia and Louisiana Army National Guard as the 108th Cavalry, a parent regiment under the United States Army Regimental System; concurrently organized from existing elements to consist of Troop A, an element of the 256th Infantry Brigade, and Troop E, an element of the 48th Infantry Brigade


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
(Troop E ordered into active federal service 6 December 2004 – 3 January 2005 at Griffin, Georgia)


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
Reorganized 1 September 2006 to consist of the 2d Squadron, an element of the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and Troop E, an element of the 48th Infantry Brigade


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Lineage
(Troop E released from active federal service 1 September – 1 October 2006 and reverted to state control)


1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Honors, Campaign Participation Credit
The squadron has received participation credit for the following campaigns:


1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment
The 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment is the BCT cavalry squadron assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. Carrying the lineage of Company A, United States Regiment of Dragoons, the squadron has served in the Mexican War, Civil War, various Indian Wars, the Spanish–American War, the Philippine Insurrection, World War II, Vietnam, and the Global War on Terrorism.


1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, History, Early history
From 1833-1945, the 1st US Cavalry Regiment has distinguished itself across most of America's battlefields. The current 1st Squadron carries the lineage of the original Company A from the unit's constitution in 1833 through the implementation of the Combat Arms Regimental System in 1957. For more information on the early beginnings of the 1st Squadron's pre-history, see the 1st Cavalry Regiment.


1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, History, Cold War; 1945-1954
After World War II, the Regiment reorganized as the 1st Tank Battalion, was later converted to the 1st Constabulary Squadron, serving on occupation duty in Germany until December 1948, when it was inactivated. Reactivated as the 1st Medium Tank Battalion in March, 1951 at Fort Hood, Texas, the Regiment served with Combat Command A, 1st Armored Division, until February 1962 when the remainder of the 1st Armored Division was reactivated. At this time the Regiment was redesignated as the 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment (or 1-1 Cavalry), and resumed its historic role as the “eyes and ears” of its parent organization.


1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, History, Cold War; 1945-1954
During October, 1962, as a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Squadron moved to Fort Stewart, Georgia with other elements of the 1st Armored Division. As the world situation eased, the Squadron participated in a STRAC (Strategic Army Corps) mobility exercise and amphibious training at Port Everglades, Florida. During the spring of 1963 the Squadron took part in the STRICOM (Simulation, Training & Instrumentation Command) exercise “Swift Strike,” and then returned to Fort Hood.


1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, History, Vietnam War
In January, 1967, the commander of 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, was called to Vietnam to assist in studying the role of Armor in Vietnam. Upon his return to Fort Hood, Texas in March, 1967, the Squadron began training for a deployment to Vietnam. From March to August 1967, the officers and men of the Squadron trained daily in all phases of Squad, Platoon, Troop and Squadron operations. The Squadron received superior ratings in their annual training test, annual general inspection, and Command Maintenance Management Inspections during this period. It surpassed every assigned mission with such professionalism, that in late July 1967, the Squadron was awarded the Third US Army Corps Superior Unit Award.


1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, History, Vietnam War
Arriving in Vietnam in August, 1967, the Squadron consisted of three Armored Cavalry Troops and one Air Cavalry Troop, D Troop, which was not deployed until July 1968. The Squadron immediately deployed in the I Corps Tactical Zone around the city of Chu Lai. It was committed to battle two days after its arrival, operating against the North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong. From 1 September 1967 to June 1968, the Squadron was involved in eleven major battles and numerous smaller engagements; among these were Cigar Island, Que Son Valley, Pineapple Forest, the Western Valley and Tam Ky. The Air Cavalry Troop, Troop D, joined the Squadron 21 July 1968, disembarking at Da Nang and flew directly to Camp Eagle. The Troop remained on combat duty in I CORP for the next four years using the call sign Sabre.


1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, History, Vietnam War
The Squadron was further augmented by Troop F, 8th Cavalry, attached to the Squadron as its “eyes and ears.” In the Pineapple Forest Battle of February 1968, the ground-air cavalry team had its greatest victory, killing 180 of the enemy without losing one of its own number. 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment remained in the field continuously during the Vietnam War from 1967-1972, attached as an independent Squadron to elements of the 101st Airborne Division and took part in 13 campaigns. The Squadron departed Vietnam on 10 May 1972.


1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, History, Cold War: 1972-1991
1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment returned to Europe and the 1st Armored Division. It took up a frontier mission in December 1978, conducting surveillance of the international border between the Federal Republic of Germany and Czechoslovakia. While watching the border, it eventually gained additional aviation elements to help support its mission. V Corps' Kiowa force stood at 27 soldiers strong, hailing from Büdingen, Germany. At this time, the Squadron consisted of 3 aerial troops: D Troop ("Desperado"), E Troop ("Executioner") and F Troop ("Falcon").


1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, History, Cold War: 1972-1991
They conducted aerial reconnaissance missions and reported the composition/disposition of obstacles or enemy positions, to the 1st Armored Division headquarters. As with their forebearers, the Kiowas lead the Division in all things Scout related. They also worked closely with the Abrams tanks and Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicles on the ground. Units operated out of Camp Pitman a forward base located in Weiden, West Germany.Bco.501st M.I.Bn (Katterbach) had a permanent detachment at the camp.


1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, History, Gulf War
In February 1991, the Squadron spearheaded the 1st Armored Division’s attack into Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. As the Division's best Cavalry Squadron, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment made first enemy contact with the Medina Division and informed the Division Commander of the location of the enemy forces. The subsequent battle, known as Medina Ridge, soon involved the Division’s 2nd Brigade consisting of 1-35th Armor, 4-70th Armor, 2-70th Armor and 6-6th Infantry. Medina Ridge was one of the few battles during Desert Storm where American forces encountered significant Iraqi resistance and found it extremely difficult to advance.


1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, History, Gulf War
The Iraqi forces were well-deployed. They could not be seen by American forces advancing until after they had cleared the top of the ridge-line. This defilade position gave the Iraqis protection from the powerful long-range direct fire of the M1 Abrams tanks and the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. The American units found it necessary to engage an entrenched enemy at close range, resulting in a higher degree of damage to the American armored units. Following the Gulf War, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment returned with the Division to Germany where it remained until the Bosnian Conflict (1992-1995).


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers
The 1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, later 2nd North Midland Brigade, was a Volunteer unit of the Royal Artillery of the British Army recruiting primarily from Staffordshire that fought on the Western Front during the First and Second World Wars in the Normandy Campaign and Belgium, Holland, and Germany.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Origin
The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many units composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. The 1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteer Corps (AVC) was one such unit, formed at Etruria, Staffordshire, with the first officers' commissions being issued on 18 December 1860. Initially, the 1st Staffordshire (along with the 1st Shropshire and 1st Worcestershire AVCs; there were no 2nd AVCs in any of these counties) formed part of the 1st Cheshire Administrative Brigade. In 1869 it became part of a new 1st Shropshire Administrative Brigade (again with the 1st Shropshire and 1st Worcestershire), with William Field of the 1st Shropshire as lieutenant-colonel in command.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Origin
Later, the Worcester Volunteers left to join with the Warwickshires, and in 1880 the 1st Shropshire and Staffordshire Volunteer Artillery were consolidated into a single unit, with the Staffords providing Nos 5 to 8 Batteries. It was organised as a brigade of 'position artillery', equipped with 16 Pounder Rifled Muzzle Loading field guns. In 1882 all the artillery volunteers were attached to one of the territorial garrison divisions of the Royal Artillery, with the Shropshire and Staffordshire unit attached to the Lancashire Division. When the Lancashire Division was abolished in 1889 the unit transferred to the Southern Division.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Origin
In 1899 all the artillery volunteers became part of the  Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) and in 1902 the unit was renamed the 1st Shropshire and Staffordshire RGA (Volunteers) with two companies. As late as 1906, they were still using the 16 Pounders in their annual camp at Bare, Morecambe. The brigade's headquarters was at Etruria, later moving to Shelton, Staffordshire.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Territorial Force
When the RGA (V) were incorporated into the Territorial Force in 1908 under the Haldane Reforms, the Shropshire Battery was separated once more to become the Shropshire Royal Horse Artillery. The Staffordshire Battery expanded to form two and these were joined by a third battery formed from J Company of the 1st Volunteer Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment at Leek. This company had originally been raised as the 28th Staffordshire Rifle Volunteer Corps on 28 April 1860 (the rest of the 1st VB became 5th Battalion North Staffordshires). Together, the RGA at Shelton and the infantry at Leek were formed into a brigade of the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) with the following organisation:


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Territorial Force
The brigade was assigned to the North Midland Division of the TF. Sir Smith Hill Child, 2nd Baronet, a local Staffordshire landowner and former officer in the Irish Guards, was appointed commanding officer in 1910.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, Mobilisation
The order to mobilise was received on 4 August 1914. Shortly afterwards, the men were invited to volunteer for overseas service, and the majority having accepted this liability, the North Midland Division concentrated at Luton. In November, it moved to the area round Bishop's Stortford where it completed its war training. At the time of mobilisation, the three batteries of II North Midland Brigade were each equipped with four 15-pounder field guns.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, Mobilisation
Meanwhile, the men who had not volunteered for foreign service, together with the recruits who were coming forward, remained at Stoke-on-Trent to form a 2nd Line unit designated the 2/II North Midland Brigade, after which the parent unit became the 1/II Brigade.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade
The North Midland Division began embarking for France on 25 February 1915, and by 8 March had completed its concentration at Ploegsteert in Belgium – the first complete TF division to deploy to the Western Front. It was numbered the 46th (North Midland) Division shortly afterwards. Over the following months the artillery supported the division's infantry in routine trench warfare, particularly when 139th (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Brigade was caught in the German flamethrower attack at Hooge in the Ypres Salient on 30–31 July 1915.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, Hohenzollern Redoubt
The 46th Division's first offensive operation was the Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt. This was an attempt to restart the failed Battle of Loos, and the division was moved down from Ypres on 1 October for the purpose. The Germans recaptured the Hohenzollern trench system on 3 October, and the new attack was aimed at this point. The artillery bombardment (by the field guns of 46th and 28th Division, backed by heavy batteries) began at 12.00 on 13 October and the infantry went in at 14.00 behind a gas cloud. The attack was a disaster, most of the leading waves being cut down by machine gun and shell fire from German positions that had not been suppressed by the bombardment.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, Hohenzollern Redoubt
On 23 December, the 46th (NM) Division was ordered to embark for Egypt. It entrained for Marseilles, and some of the infantry had actually reached Egypt before the order was rescinded on 21 January 1916. The artillery returned from Marseilles and the whole division reassembled on the Western Front near Amiens by 14 February.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, Hohenzollern Redoubt
46th Divisional Artillery rearmed with 18-pounder guns in November 1915. In April and May 1916 the BEF's artillery was reorganised: II North Midland Brigade became CCXXXI Bde RFA (231 Brigade), its batteries were lettered A–C, and a new D Battery was formed. D Battery was almost immediately exchanged for D (Howitzer) Battery from CCXXXIII Brigade (formerly A Battery of CLIV (Empire) Brigade, a unit from Croydon attached to the New Army 36th (Ulster) Division) equipped with 4 x 4.5-inch howitzers. Lastly the Brigade Ammunition Columns were absorbed into the Divisional Ammunition Column.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, Gommecourt
On 1 May 1916, the division was ordered into the line facing Gommecourt in preparation for the forthcoming Somme Offensive. Over the first 10 days of the month, the divisional artillery took over the existing battery positions along this front and began digging additional ones. The sector was a quiet one, but on the night of 15/16 May there was a sudden German bombardment of the division's positions, apparently set off by the Germans detecting a wiring party of the adjacent 56t (1st London) Division working in No-Man's Land. CCXXXI's batteries returned the fire from their position behind Foncquevillers, and the exchange went on for about 50 minutes.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, Gommecourt
Preparations were under way for the 46th and 56th Divisions' assault on Gommecourt on 1 July as a diversion from the main attack further south. While the heavy guns were moved up and dug in, CCXXXI's 18-pounders were used on 22 May to bombard a suspected German machine gun position. On 18 June, the divisional artillery was allocated its tasks for wire-cutting and registration of targets ahead of the attack: CCXXXI and CCXXXII Brigades formed the Left group, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Hill Child of CCXXXI. This group supported the attack of 139 Brigade, which was made by two battalions (1/5th and 1/7th (Robin Hoods) Sherwood Foresters) over a frontage of 520 yards into an area of dead ground in front of Gommecourt Wood where the German wire entanglements could not been seen by artillery observers.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, Gommecourt
Although CCXXXI Brigade thought that its wirecutting was successful, the results of this bombardment were patchy. The Germans reported that in this area their 'front trenches were levelled and the wire shot away' but their casualties had been few because of their deep dugouts, and when the attack went in on 1 July their men emerged to receive the attack with heavy machine-gun and rifle fire.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, Gommecourt
During the attack, the 18-pounders fired a covering barrage, which was lifted onto each enemy trench line in turn, but the infantry were unable to keep up with these lifts: artillery observation during the attack was difficult due to the smokescreen and confusion. 139 Brigade broke into the first German trench and some parties reached the second, but overall the attack was a bloody failure, as was the whole Gommecourt action. Attempts to reinforce 139 Brigade during the afternoon broke down and the Germans retook the positions lost.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, Gommecourt
Although the 46th Division remained in the line in front of Gommecourt until March 1917 (apart from a month's rest in November), it did not attack again. On 28 August 1916, the brigade's former D Battery returned, and was broken up to bring B and C Batteries up to six guns each. Similarly, A Battery received a section from CCXXXII Brigade's D Battery. On 2 January 1917, C (H)/CCXXXII (former 512 (H) Battery) was broken up and a section joined D (H)/CCXXXI to bring it up to six 4.5-inch howitzers. For the remainder of the war, the brigade had the following organisation:


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, Bucquoy
At the beginning of March 1917, patrols found that the Germans were beginning to retreat from the Gommecourt defences. The division followed up slowly and cautiously, but on the night of 14 March an attack on Bucquoy Graben (trench) by 137th (Staffordshire) Brigade led to heavy casualties. The rushed attack had been ordered by V Corps headquarters despite the protests of the divisional commander, and there was not time for the artillery adequately to cut the enemy wire.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, Bucquoy
The attack went in behind an artillery barrage moving at 100 yards in four minutes but although 'the assault was gallantly pressed' (Official History) it was a complete failure. The Germans eventually retreated as far as their new Hindenburg Line defences well beyond the Somme battlefields, but 46th Division was withdrawn from the pursuit on 17 March.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, Lens
After rest and training, the 46th Division returned to the line in the coal-mining sector around Lens in April. In May and June, the division carried out small-scale operations against Hill 65. 46th Division was now ordered to capture Lens itself, beginning on 28 June. Another divisional attack on 1 July aimed at capturing more houses and trenches. 137 Brigade attacked 'Aconite' trench behind a creeping barrage beginning at 02.47. By 07.00, the two right companies held Aconite, but the two left companies were held up in severe house-to-house fighting. A second push at 08.00 cleared the cellars round the church and caused heavy casualties to the defenders. But, in the afternoon, a German counter-attacks drove the battalion back to its start line.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, Lens
After Lens, the division was withdrawn into reserve, and did not engage in major operations again during 1917. On 13 March 1918 the brigadier-general, Royal Artillery, (BGRA) of 46th Division was wounded, and Hill Child took over in an acting capacity. On 22 March Hill Child was confirmed as BGRA, a position he held until the end of the war.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, St Quentin Canal
The 46th Division had been very unlucky during the war, the infantry in particular taking appalling casualties at the Hohenzollern Redoubt and Gommecourt, but it gained revenge at the Battle of the St Quentin Canal on 29 September 1918 when it performed one of the great feats of the First World War by crossing the canal and breaking open the Hindenburg Line. Careful artillery preparation and support was an integral part of this success.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, St Quentin Canal
Hill Child had nine brigades of field artillery under his command, including CCXXXI Brigade, and several brigades of corps heavy artillery were also firing on the division's front. The bombardment began on the night of 26/27 September with harassing fire and gas shells, followed with intense bombardment with high explosive shells until the morning of the assault.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, St Quentin Canal
Every field gun was used in carefully timed barrages: 'creeping barrages' (including smoke shells) ahead of the attacking troops, with pauses at the end of each phase, including a 'standing barrage' of three hours to allow mopping-up of the first objectives to be carried out, and the second wave of troops to pass through and renew the attack behind the creeping barrage. The first of these creeping barrages actually progressed at twice the normal pace while the infantry rushed downhill to seize the canal crossings; it was described in the Official History as 'one of the finest ever seen'.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 1/II North Midland Brigade, St Quentin Canal
The attack was a brilliant success, and by the afternoon the field artillery batteries were crossing the canal by the bridges that had been captured or thrown across, and were coming into action on the far side. Over succeeding weeks, the division took part in a succession of successive follow-up attacks: Battle of the Beaurevoir Line, Battle of Cambrai (1918), Battle of the Selle and Battle of the Sambre (1918). On 8 November 1918, in its last operation of the war, 46th Division pushed forward 138 Brigade to seize the Avesnes road, aided by concentrations of fire from CCXXXI Brigade on the main points of resistance.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde
Meanwhile, the men who had not volunteered for foreign service, together with the recruits who were coming forward, remained to form the 2/I North Midland Brigade, RFA, in the 2nd North Midland Division (59th (2nd North Midland) Division from August 1915), which concentrated round Luton in January 1915. At first, the 2nd Line recruits had to parade in civilian clothes and train with 'Quaker' guns – logs of wood mounted on cart wheels – but these shortages were slowly made up.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde
Uniforms arrived in November 1914, but it was not until March 1915 that a few 90 mm French guns arrived for training. The division took over the requisitioned transport and second-hand horse harness when 46th Division was re-equipped and left for France. The divisional artillery were joined at Luton by the1st Line 4th Home Counties (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA, and Wessex Heavy Bty, RGA, which were fully equipped and could lend guns for training. Later, the 59th Divisional Artillery took over some 15-pounders (without sights) from a TF division that was proceeding to India. In July, the division moved out of overcrowded Luton, the artillery moving to Hemel Hempstead, where they spent the winter of 1915–16. In early 1916 the batteries were finally brought up to establishment in horses, and 18-pounders replaced the 15-pounders.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde
After the Easter Rising in April, the division was sent to Ireland. Once the trouble in Dublin had been suppressed, the troops moved out to The Curragh to continue training.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde
In April 1916, the batteries were designated A, B and C, and later the brigade was numbered CCXCVI (296). At the end of May, 2/1st Essex Royal Horse Artillery joined the brigade as D Battery, but was exchanged in July for B (Howitzer) Battery of CCXCVIII (2/IV North Midland) Brigade. This battery, originally designated 2/2nd Derbyshire Howitzer Battery, was equipped with 4.5-inch howitzers and became D (H) Battery.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde
In January 1917, the 59th Division was relieved in Ireland and returned to the United Kingdom, concentrating at the Fovant training area on the edge of Salisbury Plain preparatory to embarking for France. Before departure, the artillery underwent a further reorganisation, with A, B and C Batteries of CCXCVI each receiving a section from A, B and C Batteries of CCXCVII (formerly 2/III North Midland) Brigade, bringing them up to a strength of six guns each. In France, D (H) Battery was similarly made up with a section from C (H)/CCXCVIII (formerly 3 (H)/LIX in 11th (Northern) Division). The final organisation of the brigade was therefore as follows:


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde
59th Division began crossing to France on 17 February 1917 and completed its concentration around Mericourt by 3 March.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde, 3rd Ypres
The 59th Division took part in following the German Army's retreat to the Hindenburg Line in March and April, but it was not until September that it was engaged in its first full-scale action, the phase of the 3rd Ypres Offensive known as the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge. This was a carefully prepared assault with massive artillery preparation, and most of the objectives were taken easily. The next phase, the Battle of Polygon Wood (26 September), was equally successful, with 176th Brigade advancing steadily behind its barrage onto the final objectives.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde, Bourlon Wood
59th Division was next moved south to join in the Battle of Cambrai. The division entered the recently captured line between Cantaing and Bourlon Wood on 28 November. Fierce German counter-attacks began on 30 November. Two infantry assaults were made against 176th Brigade, but both attacks were easily broken up under British artillery fire. By 4 December the decision had been made to withdraw from the Bourlon Salient, and 59th Division held covering positions while this was carried out. On 7 December the British were back on the line that they would hold for the coming winter.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde, Spring Offensive
When the German spring offensive began on 21 March 1918 (the Battle of St Quentin), 59th Division was holding the Bullecourt Salient, squarely in the path of the German thrust. The situation soon became desperate, the forward brigades were almost totally destroyed, and the reserves moving up were swamped. The division's field guns in the forward zone were captured after firing over open sights at the advancing Germans. The line was held by rear details, including the gunners using rifles and Lewis guns. Only two batteries of 59th Divisional Artillery escaped, remaining in action for the next four days under the command of 40th Division, during the rest of the Battle of St Quentin and the Battle of Bapaume.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde, Spring Offensive
While 59th Division was withdrawn, its artillery remained in the front line, under the command of 42nd (East Lancashire) Division, with which it fought at the Battles of Arras (28 March) and the Ancre (5 April).


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde, Reconstruction
59th Division, without its artillery, was back in the line on 14 April, when it was again in the path of a German offensive (the Battle of Bailleul) and remnants took part in the 1st Battle of Kemmel Ridge (17–18 April). By now, 59th Division's infantry had been almost destroyed. The units were reduced to training cadres and the division was later reconstructed with garrison battalions. Until June, it was employed in digging rear defences, then it underwent training to enable it to hold a sector of the front line. On 25 July the reconstructed division went back into the line, and on 21 August it once more took part in active operations.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde, Reconstruction
However, the Divisional Artillery (CCXCV and CCXCVI Brigades) remained in the Line, serving with various formations as required: 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division (15–24 April and 17 May–19 June), 37th Division (24 April–17 May), XVIII Corps (23 June–1 July), 5th Division (1–8 August) and 61st (2nd South Midland) Division (8–26 August).


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde, Advance to Victory
The 59th Divisional Artillery rejoined its parent division on 27 August 1918. From 2 October until 11 November 1918, the division participated in the final advance in Artois and Flanders. On 2 October, 59th Division ordered two minor operations in which detachments advanced under cover of smoke and a creeping barrage; these determined that the enemy had retired, and so the division advanced against little opposition. On 16 October the division fought its way through the old defences of Lille, and liberated the city against minimal opposition the following day. Opposition stiffened at the River Schelde was approached, but this was crossed in early November.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, First World War, 2/II North Midland Bde, Advance to Victory
The Armistice on 11 November found the division astride the Schelde north of Tournai. It moved to the coast to operate demobilisation centres at Dieppe, Dunkirk and Calais in early 1919, and to train drafts for continued service in Egypt and the Black Sea. 59th Divisional Artillery including CCXCVI Brigade, was demobilised on 8 August 1919.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Interwar
The 2nd North Midland Bde RFA was reformed in 1920 with an additional battery (based at Stafford) from the former 3rd North Midland. On the reconstitution of the TF as the Territorial Army (TA), the 2nd was renumbered as 61st (North Midland) Bde RFA in 1921 (becoming a 'Field Brigade, RA' in 1924 when the RFA merged into the rest of the Royal Artillery). The unit had the following composition:


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Interwar
In December 1936, the 46th (North Midland) Division was disbanded, and its headquarters was reconstituted as 2nd Anti - Aircraft Division. 61st Field Regiment (as field brigades were redesignated from 1938) was then attached to 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division. When the TA was doubled in size after the Munich Agreement, the regiment split into two:


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Second World War, 61st and 116th (North Midland) Field Regiments
On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, both regiments were in the process of transferring to the new 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division being formed as a 2nd Line duplicate by55th Division. The division served in various parts of the United Kingdom for the first part of the war, including a spell in Northern Ireland (June 1942 to March 1943). Latterly it was training for Operation Overlord. It embarked on 21 June 1944 and landed in Normandy on 27 June (D + 21).


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Second World War, 61st and 116th (North Midland) Field Regiments, Normandy
On 8 July, 59th Division took part in a large-scale attack on Caen, Operation Charnwood, with the artillery of the attacking divisions greatly reinforced by Army Groups Royal Artillery (AGRAs), guns of the Royal Navy and heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force. The attack on the division's front was only partially successful, but after clearing up pockets of resistance it reached its objectives the next day. 59th division was then moved west of Caen and attacked again, on 15–18 July, as part of the holding operation before Operation Goodwood was launched to the east. On 6 August, the division's infantry forded the River Orne and then held off heavy counter-attacks, while its artillery supported it from across the river until bridges could be built. By 18 August, the division was pushing south as part of the northern pincer closing the Falaise Pocket.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Second World War, 61st and 116th (North Midland) Field Regiments, Normandy
At the end of August, the 59th Division was broken up to provide drafts for other formations, due to a severe shortage of manpower in the British Army at the time. However, the divisional field artillery was kept together as 59th Army Group Royal Artillery, serving directly under Corps and Army HQs as required, until the end of the year. The composition of AGRAs varied according to circumstances, and mainly comprised medium regiments, but 61st Field Regiment was usually included in 59th AGRA during the autumn of 1944, sometimes with 116th Field Regiment in addition.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Second World War, 61st and 116th (North Midland) Field Regiments, Netherlands
In early October, 59th AGRA moved up to 'The Island', near Nijmegen, supporting first the US 101st Airborne Division, then the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions in the Hoogboom area. 61 and 116 Field Regiments were absent from 59 AGRA in late October, then for most of November 59th AGRA only had 61st Field Rgt and one other under command, and was not given any targets until 28–29 November when it fired in support of 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division's operation to clear Blerick (Operation Guildford).


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Second World War, 61st and 116th (North Midland) Field Regiments, Netherlands
At the end of November, it was announced that 59th AGRA was to be disbanded to provide drafts for the infantry. 59th AGRA's guns continued to fire in support of Operation Guildford, then, on 4 December, the formation moved to the Svegehem area, where 61st Field Rgt left. The disbandment of 59th AGRA's remaining units began in December, with the first drafts of gunners transferring to the infantry in the United Kingdom. 116 Field Regiment was one of those placed in suspended animation from January 1945.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Second World War, 61st Super Heavy Regiment
61st Field Regiment escaped disbandment and was given a new role as a 'Super Heavy' regiment, equipped with US-built 240 mm howitzers and 8-inch guns. It operated these guns supporting 21st Army Group until the end of the war; it was placed in suspended animation in 1946.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Postwar
When the Territorial Army was reformed in 1947, the 61st Field Regiment was reconstituted as 261 Observation Rgt RA (North Midland) at Stoke, forming part of 88 (Field) AGRA. It was renamed 261 (North Midland) Locating Regt in 1951.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Postwar
88 AGRA was disbanded on 31 October 1956 and 261 Rgt was reduced to battery strength as 887 Locating Battery. The battery HQ was at Hanley until 1961, when it moved to Newcastle-under-Lyme.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Postwar
In 1967, the unit was transferred to the Royal Armoured Corps as B (887 Locating Bty) Squadron of the Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment), at Stafford; the squadron also included part of 125 Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers (originally North Midland Divisional RE). In 1969, the Staffordshire Yeomanry was reduced to a cadre, and when it was reformed two years later it was as a squadron of the Queen's Own Mercian Yeomanry and the artillery lineage disappeared.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Insignia
In the late 1870s, the other ranks wore a standard artillery volunteers' brass helmet plate comprising the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom surmounting the gun badge of the Royal Artillery. A scroll above the gun read FIRST, and the scroll beneath read STAFFORDSHIRE ARTILLERY VOLUNTEERS.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Insignia
After the TF was formed, the other ranks of the Staffordshire Batteries wore brass shoulder titles with the lettering T above RFA above STAFFORD, while the Brigade Ammunition Column wore T above RFA above NORTH MIDLAND.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Memorials
There are two memorials to the 46th (North Midland) Division on the battlefield of the Hohenzollern Redoubt: one on the road between Vermelles and Hulluch, marking the jumping-off point of the attack, and one on the site of the redoubt itself, which lists all the units of the division.


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Memorials
The 46th (North Midland) Division memorial on the road between Vermelles and Hulluch


1st Staffordshire Artillery Volunteers, Memorials
The memorial honouring the casualties of the 46th Division at the Hohenzollern Redoubt


1st Standing Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Before the Politburo, an organ with the same functions, known as the Standing Committee of the Central Committee, was the leading Party organ.


1st Standing Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Members
Standing Committee of the Central Committee Communist Party of Vietnam since 1941: Trường Chinh (General Secretary), Hoàng Văn Thụ and Hoàng Quốc Việt.


1st Standing Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Members
Standing Committee of the Central Committee Communist Party of Vietnam since 1945:  Hồ Chí Minh (President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam), Trường Chinh (General Secretary), Võ Nguyên Giáp, Lê Đức Thọ, Hoàng Quốc Việt, Nguyễn Lương Bằng (supplement).


1st Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea
The 1st Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) was elected by the 1st Session of the 1st Supreme People's Assembly on 10 September 1948. It was replaced on 20 September 1957 by the 2nd SPA Standing Committee.


1st Standing Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea
The 1st Standing Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea (WPNK) was elected at the 1st WPNK Congress held in August 1946. It consisted of 13 members and remained active until the election of the 2nd Standing Committee by the 1st Plenary Session of the 2nd Central Committee on 30 March 1948. In between sessions of the Standing Committee, the Political Committee met in its place.


1st State Council of Ceylon
The 1st State Council of Ceylon was a meeting of the State Council of Ceylon, with the membership determined by the results of the 1931 state council election held between 13 and 20 June 1931. The parliament met for the first time on 7 July 1931 and was dissolved on 7 December 1935.


1st State Council of Ceylon, Election
The 1st state council election was held between 13 and 20 June 1931 in 37 of the 50 constituencies. No nominations were received in four constituencies in the north of the country due to a boycott organised by the Jaffna Youth Congress. The remaining nine constituencies only had a single nomination each and consequently the candidates were elected without a vote. The remaining nine constituencies only had a single nomination each and consequently the candidates were elected without a vote. In addition the Governor nominated eight additional members, John William Oldfield, Maurice John Cary, I. X. Pereira, M. K. Saldin, V. R. S. Schokman, Evelyn Charles Villiers, Thomas Lister Villiers and Stewart Schneider.


1st State Council of Ceylon, Election
The new state council met for the first time on 7 July 1931 and elected A. F. Molamure, F. A. Obeysekera and M. M. Subramaniam as Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees and Deputy Chairman of Committees respectively. The seven chairman of the State Council's executive committees, who were members of the Board of Ministers, were also appointed. The State Council was ceremonially opened on 10 July 1931.


1st State Council of Ceylon, Election
Following the end of the boycott in the north of the country by-elections were held in the four constituencies in early July 1934. The newly elected members entered the state council on 17 July 1934.


1st State Council of Ceylon, Members, Deaths, resignations and removals
The 1st state council saw the following deaths, resignations and removals from office:


1st State Duma
The State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the 1st convocation (Russian: Государственная Дума Федерального Собрания Российской Федерации I созыва) is a former convocation of the legislative branch of the State Duma, Lower House of the Russian Parliament, worked from December 12, 1993 – December 16, 1995. The first few months, the State Duma was located in the Comecon building on New Arbat Avenue, then moved to the State Duma building on Okhotny Ryad.


1st State Duma, Leadership
Until the election of the Chairman of the State Duma of the meeting, spent the oldest deputy – 69 year-old of George Lukawa.


1st State Duma, Leadership
On January 17, 1996, the parliament elected Ivan Rybkin as the Chairman of the State Duma.


1st State Duma, Committees
In the State Duma of the 2nd convocation operated 23 Committees.


1st Step to Heaven
1st Step to Heaven is a 1986 album by Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, released on Dean Records via Ariola in Europe.


1st Step to Heaven
It is their only album in English rather than German. Singer Gabi Delgado-López later noted: "So we wanted to break our own rules and said: OK, so now we sing in English, now we don’t wear black. (laughing) With purpose. Because we wanted to break our own rules."


1st Step to Heaven
The album charted for one week on the Swedish album charts at No. 46. The first single from the album, "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir" (an original, though the title is a quote from the lyrics of "Lady Marmalade"), reached No. 47 on the German singles chart (charting for 7 weeks) and No. 17 on the Belgian singles chart (charting for 5 weeks). Another single, "Brothers", reached No. 23 on the Belgian singles chart (charting for 4 weeks).


1st Step to Heaven
The band reunited to make the album but split again soon after its release.


1st Step to Heaven
A variant track listing was released in the US as Hitz Blitz in 1989.


1st Stinger Battery
1st Stinger Battery   was an air defense unit of the United States Marine Corps. When active, it was part of Marine Air Control Group 18 (MACG-18) and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW) and was based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan. On December 7, 2006, Headquarters Marine Corps released a message stating that 1st Stinger would be deactivated during 2007. The battery was decommissioned on September 28, 2007.


1st Stinger Battery, Mission
To provide close-in, low altitude, surface-to-air weapons fires in defense of Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) assets defending forward combat areas, maneuver forces, vital areas, installations, and/or units engaged in special/independent operations.


1st Stinger Battery, History
1st Stinger Battery was initially activated on July 1, 1982, at Marine Corps Air Station, Futenma, Okinawa, Japan as 1st Forward Area Air Defense (FAAD) Battery, Marine Air Control Group 18, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. Employing the Redeye missile and the newly fielded Stinger missile, the battery participated in numerous exercises throughout the Pacific Rim.


1st Stinger Battery, History
On October 1, 1986, the Battery was redesignated as 1st Low Altitude Air Defense (LAAD) Battalion. The battalion consisted of two firing batteries and a headquarters and service battery. During Operation Desert Storm, 1st LAAD Battalion deployed a Platoon (-) in the defense of Al Jabal Airfield.


1st Stinger Battery, History
On May 14, 1993, 1st LAAD Battalion was reduced in size and redesignated as 1st Stinger Battery. The Battery consists of two firing platoons and a headquarters and service platoon. In January 1996, the Battery fielded the Avenger Weapon System, increasing its firepower and targeting capabilities. Over the next several months, the Avengers and man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) vehicles will be phased-out and replaced with the Advanced-MANPADS.


1st Stinger Battery, History
1st Stinger Battery was the only Marine ground-based air defense unit within the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The Battery maintained an aggressive training program and operational tempo as its Marines supported exercises within the Western Pacific and operations with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. In early February 2007, 1st Stinger battery Marines deployed for the first time in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their mission was to provide airbase security while in Iraq for the next seven months. The battery returned to Okinawa in August 2007 and on September 28, 2007, 1st Stinger Battery was decommissioned at a ceremony at MCAS Futenma.


1st Stinger Battery, Unit Deployment Program
Beginning in the Summer of 2013, Marine Corps low altitude air defense returned to III Marine Expeditionary Force in the form of rotations of LAAD Marines from the remaining CONUS Battalions, 2nd LAAD Battalion and 3rd LAAD Battalion, as part of the resumption of the Unit Deployment Program. Attached to Marine Air Support Squadron 2, LAAD UDP Detachments support III MEF operational requirements for exercises and operations within the PACOM AOR as III MEF's only organic ground based air defense asset in theater.


1st Strategic Aerospace Division
The 1st Strategic Aerospace Division (1st STRAD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Strategic Air Command, assigned to Fifteenth Air Force, being stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. It was inactivated on 1 September 1991.


1st Strategic Aerospace Division
The division directed and supervised heavy bombardment (1943–1945) and fighter (1944–1945) operations during World War II within the Eighth Air Force in the European Theater.


1st Strategic Aerospace Division
Replacing the Eighth Air Force in Okinawa in June 1946, the division directed fighter reconnaissance and bomber organizations, and provided air defense for the Ryukyu Islands, Japan until December 1948.


1st Strategic Aerospace Division
From 1954 to 1955, the division served as a holding unit at Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts, for personnel of Eighth Air Force, who moved to the base as part of a transfer of Eighth's headquarters from Carswell Air Force Base, Texas.


1st Strategic Aerospace Division
Activated again under the Air Research and Development Command in April 1957, it was the first division level organization controlling intermediate range and intercontinental ballistic missiles. It became an operational component of Strategic Air Command (SAC) in January 1958 and began operational testing of missile systems, supporting missile launchings by SAC and other agencies, and training SAC missilemen. These missions continued until the final disbandment on 1 September 1991.


1st Strategic Aerospace Division, Bibliography
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website .


1st Strategic Missile Group (France)
The 1st Strategic Missiles Groupment (French: 1er Groupement de Missiles Stratégiques, 1er GMS) is a former unit of the Strategic Air Forces of the French Air and Space Force.


1st Strategic Missile Group (France), History
The 1st SMG was formed in September 1968 as the land component of the French nuclear triad (together with the Navy's Redoutable-class ballistic nuclear submarines and the Air Force's fleet of Dassault Mirage IV nuclear bombers). The 1st SMG was an army unit armed with 18 S2 strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. It was based on the Plateau d'Albion in the southeast of France. The group reached operational readiness with its S2 missiles on 2 August 1971.


1st Strategic Missile Group (France), History
The 18 missiles were split in two batteries (of 9 silos each), officially called "firing units" (unités de tir), which were formed respectively in 1970 and in 1972. The first battery was taken off duty in April 1978 in anticipation of the replacement of the S2s with the new S3 ballistic missiles; the modernization of the infrastructure for fielding of the new system commenced at the end of that year. The battery received its first S3 missile on 23 May 1980 (three months behind schedule from the timetable set in 1973) and reached operational readiness on 1 June. The two batteries formed the Firing Squadron 01.200 "Luberon" (l'Escadron de Tir (ET) 01.200 "Luberon")—the operational unit of the French Army's Strategic Missile Brigade 05.200 (Brigade de Missiles Stratégiques (BMS) 05.200), formed in May 1968. The "Luberon" Firing Squadron changed its designation from 01.200 to 02.394 in 1981.


1st Strategic Missile Group (France), History
In 1985, the land-based ballistic missile component was transferred from the French Army to the French Air Force. Thus, in June that year, the Strategic Missile Brigade 05.200 became the 95th Strategic Missile Wing (95e Escadre de Missiles Stratégiques (EMS 00.095)), the Firing Squadron 02.394 "Luberon" became its Strategic Missile Squadron 01.095 (Escadron de Missile Stratégique (EMS) 01.095), and the army base became an operational air force installation designated as Air Base 200 Apt-Saint-Christol.


1st Strategic Missile Group (France), History
The base was protected by the Protection Squadron 21.200 (l'Escadron de protection (EP) 21.200), a dedicated missile air defence unit armed with Crotale SAMs, a dedicated NBC defence unit and the 04.067 Durance Helicopter Squadron (l'Escadron d'hélicoptères (EH) 04.067 Durance) providing perimeter security to the base. Protection Squadron 21.200 consisted of four paratrooper companies and additional support units such as horse-mounted and working dog platoons. It was formed in 1968 and split into two separate squadrons in 1978.


1st Strategic Missile Group (France), History
With the armed forces reduction in Europe after the end of the Cold War and the rapid technological advancements in guided weapon systems, the base's vulnerability increased. As a result, plans for the replacement of the S3 with a land version of the Navy's M5 strategic nuclear ballistic missile system were deemed impractical by the French government. On 22 February 1996 French President Jacques Chirac announced that the S3 missiles would be dismantled and that the Apt-Saint-Christol air base would be closed.


1st Strategic Missile Group (France), History
On 31 August 1998 the 1st Strategic Missile Group and the 04.067 Durance Helicopter Squadron were disbanded. The dismantling of the S3 missiles was completed the following year.


1st Streamy Awards
The 1st Annual Streamy Awards was the first ever awards ceremony to celebrate web series and the first installment of the Streamy Awards. The awards were held on March 28, 2009, at the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The event had over 1,300 audience members in attendance and was simultaneously broadcast live online. The Official Red Carpet Pre-Show was hosted by Shira Lazar and the award show was co-hosted by Tubefilter, NewTeeVee and Tilzy.TV. The web series The Guild and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog were the biggest winners of the night, winning four and six awards, respectively, out of the 25 award categories. The show was met by positive reception by celebrities in attendance and the media.


1st Streamy Awards, Winners and nominees
The nominees were announced on March 13, 2009 and the finalists for the Audience Choice Award for Best Web Series were announced on March 17. The Streamy Craft Award winners were announced in a ceremony held on March 26, 2009. The remaining award categories were announced during the main ceremony at the Wadsworth Theatre on March 28. Winners of the categories were selected by the International Academy of Web Television except for the Audience Choice Award for Best Web Series which was put to a public vote.


1st Streamy Awards, Reception
The New York Times Magazine columnist Virginia Heffernan called the show "a goofy and a powerful experience." Heffernan, alongside Alexia Tsotsis writing for LA Weekly, were impressed by the celebrity presence at the show, with Tsotsis calling it "an Emmys for Web TV." Maria Russo, writing for TheWrap, and Patrick Orndorff, writing for Wired, praised the quality of the nominees. Russo opined of the show that although "[in] the big scheme of things it all feels very fledgling", the existence of the awards felt "like a cool glimpse into the future".


1st Streamy Awards, Reception
Heffernan, Tsotsis, and Jill Weinberger of Gigaom, singled out the speeches of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog writer Joss Whedon and The Guild star Felicia Day as particularly memorable with Whedon praising the online content creators in attendance and Day saying of her awards "this is for everyone who ever said no to me."


1st Streamy Awards, Reception
YouTuber and singer Tay Zonday was enthusiastic about the awards saying that they show "that people don't have to play the system to have their art acknowledged," and actor David Faustino said of the show "we're at a baby stage of something that's going to be amazingly giant and I'm excited to be on ground floor." Brian Lowry writing for Variety called the Streamys the "Worst Award Name Ever".


1st Street station (Los Angeles Metro)
1st Street is an at-grade light rail station on the A Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail. It has a side platform, and is located in the median of Long Beach Boulevard at Alta Way, one-half block north of the intersection of 1st Street in Long Beach, California. The station is on a loop at the south end of the A Line route and only has Southbound Service. 1st Street station was closed for about a month in September 2014 as Metro renovated the station and added new additional canopies.


1st Street station (Los Angeles Metro), Service, Metro Rail service
A Line service hours are approximately from 5:00 am until 12:45 am daily.


1st Street, Los Angeles
1st Street is an east–west thoroughfare in Los Angeles and Monterey Park, California. It serves as a postal divider between north and south and is one of a few streets to run across the Los Angeles River. Though it serves as a major road east of downtown Los Angeles, it is a mostly residential street to the west.