title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: On the eve of the outbreak of the war with China all men between the ages of 17 and 40 years were eligible for conscription, but only those who turned 20 were to be drafted while those who had turned 17 could volunteer. All men between the ages of 17 and 40, even those who had not received military training or were physically unfit, were considered part of the territorial militia or national guard ("kokumin"). Following the period of active military service ("gen-eki"), which lasted for three years, the soldiers became part of the first Reserve ("yōbi") and then the second Reserve ("kōbi"). All young and able-bodied men who did not receive basic military training due to exceptions and those conscripts who had not fully met the physical requirements of military service, became third Reserve ("hojū"). In time of war, the first Reserve ("yōbi") were to be called up first and they were intended to fill the ranks of the regular army units. Next to be called up were the "kōbi" reserve who were to be either used to further fill in the ranks of line units or to be formed into new ones. The "hojū" reserve members were to be called up only in exceptional circumstances, and the territorial militia or national guard would only be called up in case of an immediate enemy attack on or invasion of Japan.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The country was divided into six military districts (headquarters Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sendai, Hiroshima and Kumamoto), with each being a recruitment area for a square infantry division consisting of two brigades of two regiments. Each of these divisions contained approximately 18,600 troops and 36 artillery pieces when mobilized. There was also an Imperial Guard division which recruited nationally, from all around Japan. This division was also composed of two brigades but had instead two-battalion, not three-battalion, regiments; consequently its numerical strength after mobilization was 12,500 troops and 24 artillery pieces. In addition, there were fortress troops consisting of approximately six battalions, the Colonial Corps of about 4,000 troops which was stationed on Hokkaido and the Ryukyu Islands, and a battalion of military police in each of the districts. In peacetime the regular army had a total of fewer than 70,000 men, while after mobilization the numbers rose to over 220,000. Moreover, the army still had a trained reserve, which, following the mobilization of the first-line divisions, could be formed into reserve brigades. These reserve brigades each consisted of four battalions, a cavalry unit, a company of engineers, an artillery battery and rear-echelon units. They were to serve as recruiting bases for their front-line divisions and could also perform secondary combat operations, and if necessary they could be expanded into full divisions with a total of 24 territorial force regiments. However, formation of these units was hindered by a lack of sufficient amounts of equipment, especially uniforms.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Japanese troops were equipped with the 8mm single-shot Murata Type 18 breech-loading rifle. The improved eight-round-magazine Type 22 was just being introduced and consequently in 1894, on the eve of the war, only the Imperial Guard and 4th Division were equipped with these rifles. The division artillery consisted of 75mm field guns and mountain pieces manufactured in Osaka. The artillery was based on Krupp designs that were adapted by the Italians at the beginning of the 1880s; although it could hardly be described as modern in 1894, in general it still matched contemporary battlefield requirements.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: By the 1890s, Japan had at its disposal a modern, professionally trained Western-style army which was relatively well equipped and supplied. Its officers had studied in Europe and were well educated in the latest strategy and tactics. By the start of the war, the Imperial Japanese Army could field a total force of 120,000 men in two armies and five divisions.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The prevailing view in many Western circles was that the modernized Chinese military would crush the Japanese. Observers commended Chinese units such as the Huai Army and Beiyang Fleet. The German General Staff predicted a Japanese defeat and William Lang, who was a British advisor to the Chinese military, praised Chinese training, ships, guns, and fortifications, stating that "in the end, there is no doubt that Japan must be utterly crushed".


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The Qing dynasty did not have a unified national army, but was made up of three main components, with the so-called Eight Banners forming the elite. The Eight Banners forces were segregated along ethnic lines into separate Manchu, Han Chinese, Mongol, Hui (Muslim) and other ethnic formations. Bannermen who made up the Eight Banners got higher pay than the rest of the army while the Manchu received further privileges. In total, there were 250,000 soldiers in the Eight Banners, with over 60 percent kept in garrisons in Beijing, while the remaining 40 percent served as garrison troops in other major Chinese cities. The Green Standard Army was a 600,000-strong gendarmerie-type force that was recruited from the majority Han Chinese population. Its soldiers were not given any peacetime basic military training, but were expected to fight in any conflict. The third component was an irregular force called the Braves, which were used as a kind of reserve force for the regular army, and which were usually recruited from the more distant or remote provinces of China. They were formed into very loosely organized units from the same province. The Braves were sometimes described as mercenaries, with their volunteers receiving as much military training as their commanders saw fit. With no fixed unit organization, it is impossible to know how many battle-ready Braves there actually were in 1894. There were also a few other military formations, one of which was the Huai Army, which was under the personal authority of the politician, general and diplomat Li Hongzhang and was created originally to suppress the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864). The Huai Army had received limited training by Western military advisors; numbering nearly 45,000 troops, it was considered the best-armed military unit in China.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Although the Chinese had established arsenals to produce firearms, and a large number of them had been imported from abroad, 40 percent of Chinese troops at the outbreak of the war were not issued with rifles or even muskets. Instead they were armed with a variety of swords, spears, pikes, halberds, and bows and arrows. Against well-trained, well-armed, and disciplined Japanese troops, they would have little chance. Those units that did have firearms were equipped with a heterogeneity of weapons, from a variety of modern rifles to old-fashioned muskets; this lack of standardization led to a major problem with the proper supply of ammunition.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The Imperial Chinese Army in 1894 was a heterogeneous mixture of modernized, partly modernized, and almost medieval units which no commander could have led successfully, resulting in poor leadership among Chinese officers. Chinese officers did not know how to handle their troops and the older, higher-ranking officers still believed that they could fight a war as they had during the Taiping Rebellion of 1850–1864. This was also the result of the Chinese military forces being divided into largely independent regional commands. The soldiers were drawn from diverse provinces that had no affinity with each other. Chinese troops also suffered from poor morale, largely because many of the troops had not been paid for a long time. The low prestige of soldiers in Chinese society also hindered morale, and the use of opium and other narcotics was rife throughout the army. Low morale and poor leadership seriously reduced the effectiveness of Chinese troops, and contributed to defeats such as the abandonment of the very well-fortified and defensible Weihaiwei. Additionally, military logistics were lacking, as the construction of railroads in Manchuria had been discouraged. Huai Army troops, although they were a small minority in the overall Imperial Chinese Army, were to take part in the majority of the fighting during the war.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The Beiyang Fleet was one of the four modernised Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty. The navies were heavily sponsored by Li Hongzhang, the Viceroy of Zhili who had also created the Huai Army. The Beiyang Fleet was the dominant navy in East Asia before the First Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese themselves were apprehensive about facing the Chinese fleet, especially the two German-built battleships — and – to which the Japanese had no comparable counterparts. However, China's advantages were more apparent than real as most of the Chinese warships were over-age and obsolescent; the ships were also not maintained properly and indiscipline was common among their crews. The greater armor of major Chinese warships and the greater weight of broadside they could fire were more than offset by the number of quick-firing guns on most first-line Japanese warships, which gave the Japanese the edge in any sustained exchange of salvos. The worst feature of both Chinese battleships was actually their main armament; each was armed with short-barreled guns in twin barbettes mounted in echelon which could fire only in restricted arcs. The short barrels of the Chinese main armament meant that the shells had a low muzzle velocity and poor penetration, and their accuracy was also poor at long ranges.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Tactically, Chinese naval vessels entered the war with only the crudest set of instructions — ships that were assigned to designated pairs were to keep together and all ships were to fight end-on, as far forward from the beam as possible, a tactic dictated by the obsolescent arrangement of guns aboard Chinese warships. The only vague resemblance of a fleet tactic was that all ships were to follow the visible movements of the flagship, an arrangement made necessary because the signal book used by the Chinese was written in English, a language with which few officers in the Beiyang Fleet had any familiarity.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: When it was first developed by Empress Dowager Cixi in 1888, the Beiyang Fleet was said to be the strongest navy in East Asia. Before her adopted son, Emperor Guangxu, took over the throne in 1889, Cixi wrote out explicit orders that the navy should continue to develop and expand gradually. However, after Cixi went into retirement, all naval and military development came to a drastic halt. Japan's victories over China has often been falsely rumored to be the fault of Cixi. Many believed that Cixi was the cause of the navy's defeat because Cixi embezzled funds from the navy in order to build the Summer Palace in Beijing. However, extensive research by Chinese historians revealed that Cixi was not the cause of the Chinese navy's decline. In actuality, China's defeat was caused by Emperor Guangxu's lack of interest in developing and maintaining the military. His close adviser, Grand Tutor Weng Tonghe, advised Guangxu to cut all funding to the navy and army, because he did not see Japan as a true threat, and there were several natural disasters during the early 1890s which the emperor thought to be more pressing to expend funds on.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: While the Qing Empire was fighting the First Sino-Japanese War, it was also simultaneously engaging rebels in the Dungan Revolt in northwestern China, where thousands lost their lives. The generals Dong Fuxiang, Ma Anliang and Ma Haiyan were initially summoned by the Qing government to bring the Hui troops under their command to participate in the First Sino-Japanese War, but they were eventually sent to suppress the Dungan Revolt instead.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: 1 June 1894: The Donghak Rebel Army moves toward Seoul. The Korean government requests help from the Qing government to suppress the revolt.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: 6 June 1894: About 2,465 Chinese soldiers are transported to Korea to suppress the Donghak Rebellion. Japan asserts that it was not notified and thus China has violated the Convention of Tientsin, which requires that China and Japan must notify each other before intervening in Korea. China asserts that Japan was notified and approved of Chinese intervention.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: 13 June 1894: The Japanese government telegraphs the commander of the Japanese forces in Korea, Ōtori Keisuke, to remain in Korea for as long as possible despite the end of the rebellion.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: 16 June 1894: Japanese foreign minister Mutsu Munemitsu meets with Wang Fengzao, the Qing ambassador to Japan, to discuss the future status of Korea. Wang states that the Qing government intends to pull out of Korea after the rebellion has been suppressed and expects Japan to do the same. However, China retains a resident to look after Chinese primacy in Korea.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: 22 June 1894: Additional Japanese troops arrive in Korea. Japanese prime minister Itō Hirobumi tells Matsukata Masayoshi that since the Qing Empire appear to be making military preparations, there is probably "no policy but to go to war". Mutsu tells Ōtori to press the Korean government on the Japanese demands.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: 26 June 1894: Ōtori presents a set of reform proposals to the Korean king Gojong. Gojong's government rejects the proposals and instead insists on troop withdrawals.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: 7 July 1894: Failure of mediation between China and Japan arranged by the British ambassador to China.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: 19 July 1894: Establishment of the Japanese Combined Fleet, consisting of almost all vessels in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Mutsu cables Ōtori to take any necessary steps to compel the Korean government to carry out a reform program.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: 23 July 1894: Japanese troops occupy Seoul, capture Gojong, and establish a new, pro-Japanese government, which terminates all Sino-Korean treaties and grants the Imperial Japanese Army the right to expel the Qing Empire's Beiyang Army from Korea.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: By July 1894, Chinese forces in Korea numbered 3,000–3,500 and were outnumbered by Japanese troops. They could only be supplied by sea through Asan Bay. The Japanese objective was first to blockade the Chinese at Asan and then encircle them with their land forces. Japan's initial strategy was to gain command of the sea, which was critical to its operations in Korea. Command of the sea would allow Japan to transport troops to the mainland. The army's Fifth Division would land at Chemulpo on the western coast of Korea, both to engage and push Chinese forces northwest up the peninsula and to draw the Beiyang Fleet into the Yellow Sea, where it would be engaged in decisive battle. Depending on the outcome of this engagement, Japan would make one of three choices; If the Combined Fleet were to win decisively, the larger part of the Japanese army would undertake immediate landings on the coast between Shan-hai-kuan and Tientsin in order to defeat the Chinese army and bring the war to a swift conclusion. If the engagement were to be a draw and neither side gained control of the sea, the army would concentrate on the occupation of Korea. Lastly, if the Combined Fleet was defeated and consequently lost command of the sea, the bulk of the army would remain in Japan and prepare to repel a Chinese invasion, while the Fifth Division in Korea would be ordered to hang on and fight a rearguard action.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: On 25 July 1894, the cruisers "Yoshino", "Naniwa" and "Akitsushima" of the Japanese flying squadron, which had been patrolling off Asan Bay, encountered the Chinese cruiser "Tsi-yuan" and gunboat "Kwang-yi". These vessels had steamed out of Asan to meet the transport "Kow-shing", escorted by the Chinese gunboat "Tsao-kiang". After an hour-long engagement, the "Tsi-yuan" escaped while the "Kwang-yi" grounded on rocks, where its powder magazine exploded.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The "Kow-shing" was a 2,134-ton British merchant vessel owned by the Indochina Steam Navigation Company of London, commanded by Captain T. R. Galsworthy and crewed by 64 men. The ship was chartered by the Qing government to ferry troops to Korea, and was on her way to reinforce Asan with 1,100 troops plus supplies and equipment. A German artillery officer, Major von Hanneken, advisor to the Chinese, was also aboard. The ship was due to arrive on 25 July.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The Japanese cruiser "Naniwa", under Captain Tōgō Heihachirō, intercepted the "Kow-shing" and captured its escort. The Japanese then ordered the "Kow-shing" to follow "Naniwa" and directed that Europeans be transferred to "Naniwa". However, the 1,100 Chinese on board, desperate to return to Taku, threatened to kill the English captain, Galsworthy, and his crew. After four hours of negotiations, Captain Togo gave the order to fire upon the vessel. A torpedo missed, but a subsequent broadside hit the "Kow Shing", which started to sink.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: In the confusion, some of the Europeans escaped overboard, only to be fired upon by the Chinese. The Japanese rescued three of the British crew (the captain, first officer and quartermaster) and 50 Chinese, and took them to Japan. The sinking of the "Kow-shing" almost caused a diplomatic incident between Japan and Great Britain, but the action was ruled in conformity with international law regarding the treatment of mutineers (the Chinese troops). Many observers considered the troops lost on board the "Kow-shing" to have been the best the Chinese had.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The German gunboat "Iltis" rescued 150 Chinese, the French gunboat "Le Lion" rescued 43, and the British cruiser HMS "Porpoise" rescued an unknown number.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Commissioned by the new pro-Japanese Korean government to forcibly expel Chinese forces, on July 25 Major-General Ōshima Yoshimasa led a mixed brigade numbering about 4,000 on a rapid forced march from Seoul south toward Asan Bay to face Chinese troops garrisoned at Seonghwan Station east of Asan and Kongju.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The Chinese forces stationed near Seonghwan under the command of General Ye Zhichao numbered about 3,880 men. They had anticipated the impending arrival of the Japanese by fortifying their position with trenches, earthworks including six redoubts protected by abatis and by the flooding of surrounding rice fields. But expected Chinese reinforcements had been lost on board the British-chartered transport "Kowshing". Units of the Chinese main force were deployed east and northeast of Asan, near the main road leading to Seoul; the key positions held by the Chinese were the towns of Seonghwan and Cheonan. Approximately 3,000 troops were stationed at Seonghwan, while 1,000 men along with General Ye Zhichao were at headquarters at Cheonan. The remaining Chinese troops were stationed in Asan itself. The Chinese had been preparing for a pincer movement against the Korean capital by massing troops at Pyongyang in the north and Asan in the south.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: On the morning of 27–28 July 1894, the two forces met just outside Asan in an engagement that lasted till 7:30am the next morning. The battle began with a diversionary attack by Japanese troops, followed by the main attack which quickly outflanked the Chinese defences. The Chinese troops, witnessing that they were being outflanked, left their defensive positions and fled towards the direction of Asan. The Chinese gradually lost ground to the superior Japanese numbers, and finally broke and fled towards Pyongyang abandoning arms, ammunition and all their artillery. The Japanese took the city of Asan on July 29, breaking the Chinese encirclement of Seoul. The Chinese suffered 500 killed and wounded while the Japanese suffered 88 casualties.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: On 1 August 1894, war was officially declared between China and Japan. The rationale given by the rulers of both nations might best be assessed by the comparison of the declarations issued from each, the language and tone being markedly different. In the case of Japan:


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Issued in the name of the Meiji Emperor, the tenor of the Japanese declaration of war appears to have had at least one eye fixed on the wider international community, using phrases such as 'Family of Nations', the 'Law of Nations' and making additional references to international treaties. This was in sharp contrast to the Chinese approach to foreign relations (historically noted for refusing to treat with other nations on a diplomatic footing, and instead insistent on such foreign powers paying tribute to the Chinese Emperor as vassals - "see Tributary system of China"). In keeping with the traditional Chinese approach to its neighbours, the Guangxu Emperor thus proclaimed:


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: In the latter declaration of the Chinese Emperor, the palpable disdain for the Japanese can be surmised from the repeated use of the term "Wojen" (which translates to the intentionally-offensive term " 'dwarf' "). This use of the pejorative to describe a foreign nation was not unusual for Chinese official documents of the time—so much so that a major bone of contention between Imperial China and the Treaty Powers of the day had previously been the habitual use of the Chinese character 夷 ('Yi'...which literally meant 'barbarian'), to refer to those termed otherwise as 'Foreign Devils' (typically, those powers occupying the Treaty Ports). The use of the term 'Yi' (夷) by Chinese Imperial officials had in fact been considered so provocative by the Treaty Powers that the collective bundle of accords known as the Treaty of Tientsin (negotiated in 1858 to end the Second Opium War) explicitly proscribed the Chinese Imperial Court from using the term 'Yi' to refer to officials, subjects, or citizens of the four belligerent powers (namely, the Russian Empire, France, Great Britain and the United States of America), the signatories seemingly feeling it necessary to extract this specific demand from the Xianfeng Emperor's representatives. In the thirty-five years elapsing since the Treaty of Tientsin, however, the language of the Chinese Emperors would appear to change little with regards to its neighbor Japan.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: By 4 August, the remaining Chinese forces in Korea retreated to the northern city of Pyongyang, where they were met by troops sent from China. The 13,000–15,000 defenders made defensive repairs to the city, hoping to check the Japanese advance.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: On 15 September, the Imperial Japanese Army converged on the city of Pyongyang from several directions. The Japanese assaulted the city and eventually defeated the Chinese by an attack from the rear; the defenders surrendered. Taking advantage of heavy rainfall overnight, the remaining Chinese troops escaped Pyongyang and headed northeast toward the coastal city of Uiju. Casualties were 2,000 killed and around 4,000 wounded for the Chinese, while the Japanese casualties totaled 102 men killed, 433 wounded, and 33 missing. In the early morning of 16 September, the entire Japanese army entered Pyongyang.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Qing Hui Muslim general Zuo Baogui, from Shandong province, died in action in Pyongyang from Japanese artillery in 1894 while securing the city. A memorial to him was constructed.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: In early September, Li Hongzhang decided to reinforce the Chinese forces at Pyongyang by employing the Beiyang fleet to escort transports to the mouth of the Taedong River. About 4,500 additional troops stationed in the Zhili were to be redeployed. On September 12, half of the troops embarked at Dagu on five specially chartered transports and headed to Dalian where two days later on September 14, they were joined by another 2,000 soldiers. Initially, Admiral Ding wanted to send the transports under a light escort with only a few ships, while the main force of the Beiyang Fleet would locate and operate directly against the Combined Fleet in order to prevent the Japanese from intercepting the convoy. But the appearance of the Japanese cruisers "Yoshino" and "Naniwa" on a reconnaissance sortie near Weihaiwei thwarted these plans. The Chinese had mistaken them for the main Japanese fleet. Consequently, on September 12, the entire Beiyang Fleet departed Dalian heading for Weihaiwei, arriving near the Shandong Peninsula the next day. The Chinese warships spent the entire day cruising the area, waiting for the Japanese. However, since there was no sighting of the Japanese fleet, Admiral Ding decided to return to Dalian, reaching the port in the morning of September 15. As Japanese troops moved north to attack Pyongyang, Admiral Ito correctly guessed that the Chinese would attempt to reinforce their army in Korea by sea. On 14 September, the Combined Fleet steamed northwards to search the Korean and Chinese coasts in order to bring the Beiyang Fleet to battle.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The Japanese victory at Pyongyang had succeeded in pushing Chinese troops north to the Yalu river, in the process removing all effective Chinese military presence on the Korean Peninsula.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Shortly before the convoy's departure, Admiral Ding received a message concerning the battle at Pyongyang informing him about the defeat. Subsequently, it made the redeployment of the troops to the mouth of the Taedong river unnecessary. Admiral Ding then correctly assumed that the next Chinese line of defence would be established on the Yalu River, and decided to redeploy the embarked soldiers there. On September 16, the convoy of five transport ships departed from Dalian Bay under escort from the vessels of the Beiyang Fleet which included the two ironclad battleships and . Reaching the mouth of the Yalu River, the transports disembarked the troops, and the landing operation lasted until the following morning.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: On September 17, 1894, the Japanese Combined Fleet encountered the Chinese Beiyang Fleet off the mouth of the Yalu River. The naval battle, which lasted from late morning to dusk, resulted in a Japanese victory. Although the Chinese were able to land 4,500 troops near the Yalu River by sunset the Beiyang fleet was near the point of total collapse—most of the fleet had fled or had been sunk and the two largest ships and were nearly out of ammunition. The Imperial Japanese Navy destroyed eight of the ten Chinese warships, assuring Japan's command of the Yellow Sea. The principal factor in the Japanese victory was its superiority in speed and firepower. The victory shattered the morale of the Chinese naval forces. The Battle of the Yalu River was the largest naval engagement of the war and was a major propaganda victory for Japan.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: With the defeat at Pyongyang, the Chinese abandoned northern Korea and took up defensive positions in fortifications along their side of the Yalu River near Jiuliancheng. After receiving reinforcements by 10 October, the Japanese quickly pushed north toward Manchuria.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: On the night of 24 October 1894, the Japanese successfully crossed the Yalu River, undetected, by erecting a pontoon bridge. The following afternoon of 25 October at 17:00, they assaulted the outpost of Hushan, east of Jiuliancheng. At 20:30 the defenders deserted their positions and by the next day they were in full retreat from Jiuliancheng.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: With the capture of Jiuliancheng, General Yamagata's 1st Army Corps occupied the nearby city of Dandong, while to the north, elements of the retreating Beiyang Army set fire to the city of Fengcheng. The Japanese had established a firm foothold on Chinese territory with the loss of only four killed and 140 wounded.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The Japanese 1st Army Corps then split into two groups with General Nozu Michitsura's 5th Provincial Division advancing toward the city of Mukden (present-day Shenyang) and Lieutenant-General Katsura Tarō's 3rd Provincial Division pursuing fleeing Chinese forces west along toward the Liaodong Peninsula.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: By December, the 3rd Provincial Division had captured the towns of Tatungkau, Takushan, Xiuyan, Tomucheng, Haicheng and Kangwaseh. The 5th Provincial Division marched during a severe Manchurian winter towards Mukden.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The Japanese 2nd Army Corps under Ōyama Iwao landed on the south coast of Liaodong Peninsula on 24 October and quickly moved to capture Jinzhou and Dalian Bay on 6–7 November. The Japanese laid siege to the strategic port of Lüshunkou (Port Arthur).


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: By 21 November 1894, the Japanese had taken the city of Lüshunkou (Port Arthur) with minimal resistance and suffering minimal casualties. Describing their motives as having encountered a display of the mutilated remains of Japanese soldiers as they invaded the town, Japanese forces proceeded with the unrestrained killing of civilians during the Port Arthur Massacre with unconfirmed estimates in the thousands. This event was at the time widely viewed with skepticism, as the world at large was still in disbelief that the Japanese were capable of such deeds—it seemed more likely to have been exaggerated propagandist fabrications of a Chinese government to discredit Japanese hegemony. In reality, the Chinese government itself was unsure how to react and initially denied the occurrence of the loss of Port Arthur to the Japanese altogether.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The Chinese fleet subsequently retreated behind the Weihaiwei fortifications. However, it was then surprised by Japanese ground forces, who outflanked the harbor's defenses in coordination with the navy. The Battle of Weihaiwei was a 23-day siege with the major land and naval engagements taking place between 20 January and 12 February 1895. Historian Jonathan Spence notes that "the Chinese admiral retired his fleet behind a protective curtain of contact mines and took no further part in the fighting." The Japanese commander marched his forces over the Shandong peninsula and reached the landward side of Weihaiwei, where the siege was eventually successful for the Japanese.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: After Weihaiwei's fall on 12 February 1895, and an easing of harsh winter conditions, Japanese troops pressed further into southern Manchuria and northern China. By March 1895 the Japanese had fortified posts that commanded the sea approaches to Beijing. Although this would be the last major battle fought, numerous skirmishes would follow. The Battle of Yinkou was fought outside the port town of Yingkou, Manchuria, on 5 March 1895.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Even before the peace negotiations were set to begin at Shimonoseki, the Japanese had begun preparations for the capture of Taiwan. However, the first operation would be directed not against the island itself, but against the Pescadores Islands, which due to their strategic position off the west coast would become a stepping stone for further operations against the island. On March 6, a Japanese expeditionary force consisting of a reinforced infantry regiment with 2,800 troops and an artillery battery were embarked on five transports, and sailed from Ujina to Sasebo, arriving there three days later. On March 15, the five transports, escorted by seven cruisers and five torpedo boats of the 4th Flotilla, left Sasebo heading south. The Japanese fleet arrived at the Pescadores during the night of March 20, but encountered stormy weather. Due to the poor weather, the landings were postponed until March 23, when the weather cleared.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: On the morning March 23, the Japanese warships began the bombardment of the Chinese positions around the port of Lizhangjiao. A fort guarding the harbor was quickly silenced. At about midday, the Japanese troops began their landing. Unexpectedly, when the landing operation was underway, the guns of the fort once again opened fire, which caused some confusion among the Japanese troops. But they were soon silenced again after being shelled by the Japanese cruisers. By 2:00pm, Lizhangjiao was under Japanese control. After reinforcing the captured positions, the following morning, Japanese troops marched on the main town of Magong. The Chinese offered token resistance and after a short skirmish they abandoned their positions, retreating to nearby Xiyu Island. At 11:30am, the Japanese entered Magong, but as soon as they had taken the coastal forts in the town, they were fired upon by the Chinese coastal battery on Xiyu Island. The barrage went unanswered until nightfall, as the Chinese had destroyed all the guns at Magong before they retreated, and Japanese warships feared entering the strait between the Penghu and Xiyu Islands due to the potential threat posed by mines. However, it caused no serious casualties among the Japanese forces. During the night, a small naval gunnery crew of 30 managed to make one of the guns of the Magong coastal battery operational. At dawn, the gun began shelling the Chinese positions on Xiyu, but the Chinese guns did not respond. Subsequently, the Japanese crossed the narrow strait, reaching Xiyu, discovering that the Chinese troops had abandoned their positions during the night and escaped on board local vessels.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The Japanese warships entered the strait the next day and, upon discovering that there were no mine fields, they entered Magong harbor. By March 26, all the islands of the archipelago were under Japanese control, and Rear Admiral Tanaka Tsunatsune was appointed governor. During the campaign the Japanese lost 28 killed and wounded, while the Chinese losses were almost 350 killed or wounded and nearly 1,000 taken prisoner. This operation effectively prevented Chinese forces in Taiwan from being reinforced, and allowed the Japanese to press their demand for the cession of Taiwan in the peace negotiations.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed on 17 April 1895. China recognized the total independence of Korea and ceded the Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan and Penghu Islands to Japan "in perpetuity". The disputed islands known as "Senkaku/Diaoyu" islands were not named by this treaty, but Japan annexed these uninhabited islands to Okinawa Prefecture in 1895. Japan asserts this move was taken independently of the treaty ending the war, and China asserts that they were implied as part of the cession of Taiwan.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Additionally, China was to pay Japan 200 million taels (8,000,000 kg/17,600,000 lb) of silver as war reparations. The Qing government also signed a commercial treaty permitting Japanese ships to operate on the Yangtze River, to operate manufacturing factories in treaty ports and to open four more ports to foreign trade. Russia, Germany and France in a few days made the Triple Intervention, however, and forced Japan to give up the Liaodong Peninsula in exchange for another 30 million taels of silver (equivalent to about 450 million yen).


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: After the war, the Qing government paid 200 million Kuping taels, or 311,072,865 yen, making the war a net profit for Japan, as their war fund was only 250,000,000 yen.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: "The cession of the island to Japan was received with such disfavour by the Chinese inhabitants that a large military force was required to effect its occupation. For nearly two years afterwards, a bitter guerrilla resistance was offered to the Japanese troops, and large forces — over 100,000 men, it was stated at the time — were required for its suppression. This was not accomplished without much cruelty on the part of the conquerors, who, in their march through the island, perpetrated all the worst excesses of war. They had, undoubtedly, considerable provocation. They were constantly ambushed by enemies, and their losses from battle and disease far exceeded the entire loss of the whole Japanese army throughout the Manchurian campaign. But their revenge was often taken on innocent villagers. Men, women, and children were ruthlessly slaughtered or became the victims of unrestrained lust and rapine. The result was to drive from their homes thousands of industrious and peaceful peasants, who, long after the main resistance had been completely crushed, continued to wage a vendetta war, and to generate feelings of hatred which the succeeding years of conciliation and good government have not wholly eradicated." – The Cambridge Modern History, Volume 12


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Several Qing officials in Taiwan resolved to resist the cession of Taiwan to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and on 23 May declared the island to be an independent Republic of Formosa. On 29 May, Japanese forces under Admiral Motonori Kabayama landed in northern Taiwan, and in a five-month campaign defeated the Republican forces and occupied the island's main towns. The campaign effectively ended on 21 October 1895, with the flight of Liu Yongfu, the second Republican president, and the surrender of the Republican capital Tainan.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: The Japanese success during the war was the result of the modernisation and industrialisation embarked upon two decades earlier. The war demonstrated the superiority of Japanese tactics and training from the adoption of a Western-style military. The Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy inflicted a string of defeats on the Chinese through foresight, endurance, strategy and power of organisation. Japan's prestige rose in the eyes of the world, and the victory reflected the success of the Meiji Restoration. Japan suffered only a small loss of lives and treasure in return for the dominance of Taiwan, the Pescadores, and the Liaotung Peninsula in China. Its decisions of abandoning the policy of isolation and learning advanced policy from Western countries also became a good example for other Asian countries to follow. As a result of the war, Japan started to have equal status with the Western powers, and its victory established Japan as the dominant power in Asia,with them gaining several much needed resources such as iron for their continued modernization and expansion. It also heightened Japanese ambitions of aggression and military expansion in Asia. Because Japan had benefited a lot from the treaty, it stimulated Japanese ambition to continue to invade China and made the Chinese national crisis unprecedentedly serious. The degree of semi-colonisation was greatly deepened. After Japan's victory, the other imperialist powers thought that they could also get benefits from China. They then started to partition China over the next few years.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: For China, the war revealed the high level of corruption present in the government and policies of the Qing administration. Although the Qing court had invested heavily in modern ships for the Beiyang Fleet, the institutional weakness of the Qing did not allow the development of effective naval power. Traditionally, China viewed Japan as a subordinate part of the Chinese cultural sphere. China had been defeated by European powers in the 19th century, but defeat at the hands of an Asian power was a bitter psychological blow. Xenophobic sentiment and agitation grew, which would culminate in the Boxer Rebellion five years later. The Manchu people were devastated by the fighting during the First Sino-Japanese War and the Boxer Rebellion, with massive casualties sustained during the wars. It was then driven into extreme suffering and hardship in Beijing and northeastern China.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Japan had achieved what it had set out to accomplish and ended Chinese influence over Korea, but it had been forced to relinquish the Liaodong Peninsula (Port Arthur) in exchange for an increased financial indemnity. The European powers, especially Russia, had no objection to the other clauses of the treaty but felt that Japan should not gain Port Arthur since they had their own ambitions in that part of the world. Russia persuaded Germany and France to join in applying diplomatic pressure on Japan, which resulted in the Triple Intervention of 23 April 1895.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Korea proclaimed itself the Korean Empire and announced its independence from the Qing Empire. The Japanese-sponsored Gabo reforms of 1894–1896 transformed Korea. Legal slavery was abolished in all forms, the yangban class lost all special privileges, outcastes were abolished; equality of law was declared; equality of opportunity in the face of social background was established, child marriage was abolished; Hangul was to be used in government documents, Korean history was introduced in schools, the Chinese calendar was replaced with the Gregorian calendar, education was expanded, and new textbooks were written.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Although Japan had succeeded in eliminating Chinese influence over Korea, Russia seemed to reap the initial benefits. In 1895, a pro-Russian official attempted to remove the King of Korea to the Russian legation, and a second attempt later succeeded. Thus, for a year, the King reigned from the Russian legation in Seoul. The concession to build a Seoul-Inchon railway that had been granted to Japan in 1894 was revoked and granted to Russia. Russian guards guarded the king in his palace even after he had left the Russian legation.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: China's defeat precipitated an increase in railway construction in the country, as foreign powers demanded China make railway concessions.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: In 1898, Russia signed a 25-year lease on the Liaodong Peninsula and proceeded to set up a naval station at Port Arthur. Although that infuriated the Japanese, they were more concerned with the Russian encroachment in Korea than in Manchuria. Other powers, such as France, Germany, and Britain, took advantage of the situation in China and gained land, port, and trade concessions at the expense of the decaying Qing dynasty. Qingdao was acquired by Germany, Guangzhouwan by France, and Weihaiwei and the New Territories by Britain.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Tensions between Russia and Japan would increase in the years after the First Sino-Japanese War. During the Boxer Rebellion, an eight-member international force was sent to suppress and quell the uprising; Russia sent troops into Manchuria as part of that force. After the suppression of the Boxers, the Russian government agreed to vacate the area. However, by 1903, it had actually increased the size of its forces in Manchuria.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Negotiations between the two nations (1901–1904) to establish mutual recognition of respective spheres of influence (Russia over Manchuria and Japan over Korea) were repeatedly and intentionally stalled by the Russians. They felt that they were strong and confident enough not to accept any compromise and believed that Japan would not go to war against a European power. Russia also had intentions to use Manchuria as a springboard for further expansion of its interests in the Far East. In 1903, Russian soldiers began construction of a fort at Yongnampo but stopped after Japanese protests.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: In 1902, Japan formed an alliance with Britain, the terms of which stated that if Japan went to war in the Far East and a third power entered the fight against Japan, Britain would come to the aid of the Japanese. That was a check to prevent Germany or France from intervening militarily in any future war against Russia. Japan sought to prevent a repetition of the Triple Intervention, which deprived it of Port Arthur. The British reasons for joining the alliance were to check the spread of Russian expansion into the Pacific area, to strengthen Britain's focus on other areas, and to gain a powerful naval ally in the Pacific.


title: First Sino-Japanese War

text: Increasing tensions between Japan and Russia were results of Russia's unwillingness to compromise and the prospect of Korea falling under Russia's domination and thus coming into conflict with and undermining Japan's interests. Eventually, Japan was forced to take action. That would be the deciding factor and catalyst leading to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport (, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province of North Holland. It is the world's third busiest airport by international passenger traffic in 2021. With almost 72 million passengers in 2019, it is the third-busiest airport in Europe in terms of passenger volume and the busiest in Europe in terms of aircraft movements. With an annual cargo tonnage of 1.74 million, it is the 4th busiest in Europe. AMS covers a total area of of land. The airport is built on the single-terminal concept: one large terminal split into three large departure halls.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Schiphol is the hub for KLM and its regional affiliate KLM Cityhopper as well as for Corendon Dutch Airlines, Martinair, Transavia and TUI fly Netherlands. The airport also serves as a base for EasyJet.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Schiphol opened on 16 September 1916 as a military airbase. The end of the First World War also saw the beginning of civilian use of Schiphol Airport and the airport eventually lost its military role completely. By 1940, Schiphol had four asphalt runways at 45-degree angles. The airport was captured by the German military that same year and renamed "Fliegerhorst Schiphol". The airport was destroyed through bombing but at the end of the war, the airfield was soon rebuilt. In 1949, it was decided that Schiphol was to become the primary airport of the Netherlands. Schiphol Airport was voted the Best Airport in Western Europe in 2020.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: According to the airport's media department, the name of Schiphol originated in the 15th century. In the Gothic language, it indicated an area of low lying wetland ("hol" or "holl") where wood (scip) could be extracted. However, Gothic has never been spoken in the Netherlands.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Schiphol Airport ranked as Europe's third busiest and the world's eleventh busiest by total passenger traffic in 2017 (12th in 2016, 14th in 2015, 2014 and 2013 and 16th in 2012). It also ranks as the world's fifth busiest by international passenger traffic and the world's sixteenth busiest for cargo tonnage. A record 71,706,999 passengers passed through the airport in 2019. Schiphol's main competitors in terms of passenger traffic and cargo throughput are London-Heathrow, Frankfurt, Madrid, Paris–Charles de Gaulle and Istanbul.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: In 2019, 70.5% of passengers using the airport flew to and from Europe, 10.6% to and from North America and 10.1% to and from Asia; cargo volume was mainly between Schiphol and Asia (46.3%) and North America (17.6%). In 2019, 102 carriers provided a total of 332 destinations on a regular basis.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: The airport is built as one large terminal (a single-terminal concept), split into three large departure halls, which connect again once airside. The most recent of these was completed in 1994 and expanded in 2007 with a new section, called Terminal 4, although it is not considered a separate building. A new pier is to be opened in 2019 with a terminal extension planned to be operational by 2023. Plans for further terminal and gate expansion exist, including the construction of a separate new terminal between the Zwanenburgbaan and Polderbaan runways that would end the one-terminal concept.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Because of intense traffic and high landing fees (due to the limit of 500,000 flights a year), some low-cost carriers decided to move their flights to smaller airports, such as Rotterdam The Hague Airport and Eindhoven Airport. Many low-cost carriers, such as EasyJet and Ryanair, however, continue to operate at Schiphol, using the low-cost H pier. Lelystad Airport is currently being expanded aimed at accommodating some of the low-cost and leisure flights currently operating out of Schiphol, eventually taking up to 45,000 flights a year.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Before 1852, the entire polder of Haarlemmermeer in which the airport lies was a large lake with some shallow areas. There are multiple stories of how the place got its name. The most popular story is that in the shallow waters sudden violent storms could claim many ships. Winds were particularly strong in the Schiphol area since the prevailing wind direction is from the south-west, and Schiphol lies in the north-eastern corner of the lake. In English, translates to 'ship hole', a reference to many ships supposedly lost in the lake. When the lake was reclaimed, however, no shipwrecks were found. Another possible origin of the name is the word . A is a ditch or small canal in which ships would be towed from one lake to another. A third explanation would be that the name derived from the words . This is a low-lying area of land () from where wood would be obtained to build ships.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: After the lake was dredged in the mid-1800s, a fortification named Fort Schiphol was built in the area which was part of the Stelling van Amsterdam defence works.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Schiphol opened on 16 September 1916 as a military airbase, with a few barracks and a field serving as platform and runways. When civil aircraft started to use the field (17 December 1920), it was often called . The Fokker aircraft manufacturer started a factory near Schiphol airport in 1919. The end of the First World War also saw the beginning of civilian use of Schiphol Airport and the airport eventually lost its military role completely.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: By 1940, Schiphol had four asphalt runways at 45-degree angles, all or less. One was extended to become today's runway 04/22; two others crossed that runway at . The airport was captured by the German military that same year and renamed . A large number of anti-aircraft defences were installed in the vicinity of the airport and fake decoy airfields were constructed in the vicinity near Bennebroek, Vijfhuizen, and Vogelenzang to try to confuse Allied bombers. A railway connection was also built. Despite these defences, the airfield was still bombed intensively; an exceptionally heavy attack on 13 December 1943 caused so much damage that it rendered the airfield unusable as an active base. After that, it served only as an emergency landing field, until the Germans themselves destroyed the remnants of the airfield at the start of Operation Market Garden. At the end of the war, the airfield was quickly restored: the first aircraft, a Douglas DC-3, landed on 8 July 1945.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: A new terminal building was completed in 1949 and it was decided that Schiphol was to become the primary airport of the Netherlands. The expansion came at the cost of a small town called Rijk, which was demolished to make room for the growing airport. The name of this town is remembered in the name of the present Schiphol-Rijk industrial estate. In 1967, Schiphol expanded even further with a new terminal area at its current location. Most of the 1967 terminal is still in use today (Departure Halls 1 and 2) as are parts of the original piers (now called C, D, and E). Dutch designer Benno Wissing created signage for Schiphol Airport, well known for its clear writing and thorough colour-coding; to avoid confusion, he prohibited any other signage in the shades of yellow and green used. The new terminal building replaced the older facilities once located on what is now the east side of the airport. The A-Pier (now C-pier) of the airport was modified in 1970 to allow Boeing 747 aircraft to use the boarding gates. A new pier (D, now called F) opened in 1977, dedicated to handling wide-body aircraft. The first railway station at the airport followed in 1978.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: The construction of a new Air Traffic Control tower was completed in 1991 as the existing tower could no longer oversee all of the airport as it was further expanded. Departure Hall 3 was added to the terminal in 1993, as was another pier, G-pier. New wayfinding signage was designed that year as well by Paul Mijksenaar. A sixth runway was completed at quite some distance west of the rest of airport in 2003 and was nicknamed the Polderbaan, with the connecting taxiway bridge crossing the A5 motorway. The distance of this runway means that taxi times to and from this runway can take between 10 and 20 minutes. It also required the construction of an additional Air Traffic Control tower as the primary tower is too far away to oversee this part of the airfield.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: On 25 February 2005, a diamond robbery occurred at Schiphol's cargo terminal. The robbers used a stolen KLM van to gain airside access. The estimated value of the stones was around 75 million euros, making it one of the largest diamond robberies ever.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Later in 2005, a fire broke out at the airport's detention centre, killing 11 people and injuring 15. The complex was holding 350 people at the time of the incident.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Results from the investigation almost one year later showed that fire safety precautions were not in force. A national outrage resulted in the resignation of Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner (CDA) and Mayor Hartog of Haarlemmermeer. Spatial Planning Minister Sybilla Dekker (VVD) resigned as well, because she bore responsibility for safety failings cited in the report.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: In Summer 2022, the airport suffered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation. It experienced extraordinary long delays and a large number of cancelled flights, which led to recession of air traffic and subsequently to the shortage of security staff and walkout of baggage handlers. Queues for security check in were reported to last for 5 hours, and many passengers missed their flights. Schiphol airport is currently often referred to as ‘burned down village’ and ‘the countries greatest shame’. The CEO of Schiphol Group, Dick Benschop, was forced to resign.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Schiphol uses a one-terminal concept, where all facilities are located under a single roof, radiating from the central plaza, Schiphol Plaza. The terminal is divided into three sections or halls designated 1, 2 and 3. The piers and concourses of each hall are connected so that it is possible, on both sides of security or border inspection, to walk between piers and halls, although border control separates Schengen from non-Schengen areas. The exception to this is the low-cost pier M: once airside (past security), passengers cannot access any other areas.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Schiphol Airport has approximately 223 boarding gates including eighteen double jetway gates used for widebody aircraft. The airport adopted a distinctive design, with the second jetway extending over the aircraft wing hanging from a steel cantilever structure. Recent refurbishments have seen most of these jetways being replaced with a more conventional layout. Two gates feature a third jetway for handling of the Airbus A380. Emirates was the first airline to fly the A380 to Schiphol in August 2012, deploying the aircraft on its double daily Dubai–Amsterdam service. During the summer, China Southern Airlines also uses the A380 on its Beijing–Amsterdam route.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Schiphol has large shopping areas as a source of revenue and as an additional attraction for passengers. Schiphol Plaza not only connects the three terminal halls but also houses other facilities. This is a large pre-security shopping centre and the Schiphol Airport railway station. These facilities are also attracting general visitors.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Notable public artworks in the airport include the Schipol clock by Maarten Baas, in which a man behind a translucent screen appears to paint the minutes of an analog clock by hand.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Departure Hall 1 consists of Piers B and C, both of which are dedicated Schengen areas and shares D-pier with Departure hall 2. Pier B has 14 gates and Pier C has 21 gates.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Pier D is the largest pier and has two levels. The lower floor houses non-Schengen flights and the upper floor is used for Schengen flights. By using stairs, the same jetways are used to access the aircraft. Schengen gates are numbered beginning with D-59; non-Schengen gates are numbered from D-1 to D-57.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Pier E is a dedicated non-Schengen area and has 14 gates. It is typically home to SkyTeam hub airlines Delta Air Lines and KLM, along with other members, such as China Airlines and China Southern Airlines. Other Middle Eastern and Asian airlines such as Air Astana, EVA Air, Etihad Airways and Iran Air also typically operate out of Pier E.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Departure Hall 3 consists of three piers: F, G, and H/M. Pier F has 8 gates and is typically dominated by SkyTeam members such as primary airline KLM, Kenya Airways, China Airlines and China Southern Airlines, and other members. Pier G has 13 gates. Piers F and G are non-Schengen areas.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Piers H and M are physically one concourse consisting of 7 shared gates and are home to low-cost airlines. Operating completely separately, H handles non-Schengen flights while M is dedicated to flights within the Schengen area.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Gates G9, E18 and E24 (E24 refurbished in 2019) are equipped to handle daily Airbus A380 service by Emirates and China Southern Airlines.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: A new general aviation terminal was opened in 2011 on the east side of the airport, operated as the "KLM Jet Center". The new terminal building has a floorspace of ; for the actual terminal and lounges, for office space and for parking.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: The Rijksmuseum operates an annex at the airport, offering a small overview of both classical and contemporary art. Admission to the exhibits is free.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: In summer 2010, Schiphol Airport Library opened alongside the museum, providing passengers access to a collection of 1,200 books (translated into 29 languages) by Dutch authors on subjects relating to the country's history and culture. The library offers e-books and music by Dutch artists and composers that can be downloaded free of charge to a laptop or mobile device.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: For aviation enthusiasts, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has a large rooftop viewing area, called the Panoramaterras. It is not accessible to connecting passengers unless they first exit the airport. Enthusiasts and the public can enter, free of charge, from the airport's landside. Since June 2011, it is the location for a KLM Cityhopper Fokker 100, modified to be a viewing exhibit. Besides the Panoramaterras, Schiphol has other spotting sites, especially along the newest Polderbaan runway and at the McDonald's restaurant at the north side of the airport.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Schiphol has its own mortuary, where the dead can be handled and kept before departure or after arrival. Since October 2006, people can also hold a wedding ceremony at Schiphol.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Schiphol also has a new state-of-the-art cube-shaped Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol with 433 rooms, rounded corners and diamond-shaped windows. The spacious atrium has a ceiling made of glass and is in the heart of the building. A covered walkway connects the hotel directly to the terminal. The hotel was completed in 2015.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: In 2012, Schiphol Group announced an expansion of Schiphol, featuring a new pier. Pier A will be part of Departure Hall 1, which already has Pier B (14 gates) and Pier C (21 gates). The new Pier A will have 5 narrow-body gates and will initially have 3 wide-body gates, with two more planned for a later phase. The first activities are expected to start in 2017 and to be completed in 2023. The expansions will cost about 500 million euros.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: First, the new Pier A will be built to the southwest of Pier B, in an area currently used as a freight platform. Pier A will mainly be used for flights within Europe.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Originally expected to be operational by the end of 2019, the construction of the new pier has been delayed several times and due to a conflict between the airport and the construction consortium the construction was halted in November 2021. Schiphol was disappointed in the construction speed and the rising of the total cost, although insiders announced that a design flaw was made and the entire construction needed to be reinforced. A new tendering procedure will be started to find a new constructor, once found a new completion date will be announced.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: To handle future growth in passengers, Schiphol will further expand the terminal and build a fourth terminal with facilities for both departures and arrivals. From this new building, direct access will be made to Schiphol Plaza, continuing the one-terminal concept. When finished in 2023, Schiphol will be able to handle over 70 million passengers. Due to rapid growth of Schengen passengers during 2016, Schiphol was however forced to rapidly build a temporary departure hall which opened in March 2017. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the construction of the fourth terminal has been postponed for at least two years.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: The airport has expended the number of uniform platforms, places to stow airplanes, in the past years in two phases. A third phase is planned to extend the number of wide-body platforms to a total of 12, with a planned completion in the period 2022–2026.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Schiphol, together with the public transport authority Amsterdam, is going to transform its train- and bus station. The train station will be getting more entrances and the bus station will be completely renewed with a planned opening date in 2025. A connection to the Amsterdam Metro network has been a subject of discussion and speculation since at least the 1990s. In preparation for this, a piece of land has been acquired from Chipshol. , the project hadn't moved past the proposal stage.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Schiphol's growth is hampered by slot restrictions from the government. For reasons of safety and noise reduction, Schiphol is allowed to have no more than 500,000 aircraft movements until the end of 2020. A proposal to increase the limit to 540,000 movements from 2021 onwards has been postponed until a new government is formed after the elections in March 2021. As Schiphol nearly approached the limit of 500,000 in the last few years, the slot restrictions have hindered airlines to settle at Schiphol. Among airlines that have expressed interest in flying at Schiphol are Atlantic Airways, JetBlue, Somon Air and SpiceJet.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: The Schiphol air traffic control tower, with a height of , was the tallest in the world when constructed in 1991. Schiphol is geographically one of the world's lowest major commercial airports. The entire airport is below sea level. The lowest point sits at below sea level: below the Dutch Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP). The runways are around below NAP.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Schiphol has six runways, one of which is used mainly by general aviation. AMS covers a total area of 6,887 acres (2,787 ha) of land.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Other regular users of Schiphol are the Netherlands Coastguard whose aircraft are operated by the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the Dienst Luchtvaart Politie and the Dutch Dakota Association.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Typical peak moments at Schiphol Airport are between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., and between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. for departures, with up to 58 departures between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on a typical weekday (almost a departure every minute). The peak moment for arrivals is between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. (with up to 52 arrivals on a weekday).


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: The TransPort Building on the Schiphol Airport property houses the head offices of Martinair and transavia. Construction of the building, which has of rentable space, began on 17 March 2009. Schiphol Group and the architect firm Paul de Ruiter designed the building, while De Vries and Verburg, a firm of Stolwijk, constructed the building.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: The World Trade Center Schiphol Airport houses the head office of SkyTeam, the Netherlands office of China Southern Airlines, and the Netherlands offices of Iran Air. The head office of Schiphol Group, the airport's operator, is located on the airport property. The Convair Building, with its development beginning after a parcel was earmarked for its development in 1999, houses KLM offices, including KLM Recruitment Services and the head office of KLM Cityhopper. The original control tower of Schiphol Airport, which the airport authorities had moved slightly from its original location, now houses a restaurant. The area Schiphol-Rijk includes the head office of TUI fly Netherlands.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: At one time, KLM had its head office briefly on the grounds of Schiphol Airport. Its current head office in nearby Amstelveen had a scheduled completion at the end of 1970. Previously Martinair had its head office in the Schiphol Center () at Schiphol Airport. Formerly, the head office of Transavia was in the Building Triport III at Schiphol Airport. NLM Cityhopper and later KLM Cityhopper previously had their head offices in Schiphol Airport building 70.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Nippon Cargo Airlines has its Europe regional headquarters at Schiphol. The National Aerospace Museum Aviodome–Schiphol was previously located at Schiphol. In 2003, the museum moved to Lelystad Airport and was renamed the "Aviodrome."


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), the national Dutch train operator, has a major passenger railway station directly underneath the passenger terminal complex that offers transportation 24 hours a day into the four major cities Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam. There are efficient and often direct services to many other cities in the country. There are intercity connections to Almere, Lelystad, Amsterdam Centraal, Utrecht Centraal, both The Hague Centraal and The Hague HS, Rotterdam Centraal, Eindhoven, 's-Hertogenbosch, Leeuwarden, Groningen, Amersfoort Centraal, Apeldoorn, Deventer, Enschede, Arnhem Centraal, Nijmegen and Venlo. Schiphol is also a stop for the Thalys international high-speed train, connecting the airport directly to Antwerp, Brussels and Paris Gare du Nord, as well as to Bourg St Maurice (winter) and Marseille (summer). The Intercity-Brussel (also named "beneluxtrein") to Antwerp and Brussels stops at the airport.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is also easily accessible by bus, as many services call or terminate at the bus station located outside in front of the terminal building.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: The Taiwanese EVA Air provides private bus services from Schiphol to Belgium for its Belgium-based customers. The service, which departs from and arrives at bus stop C11, goes to Saint-Gilles, Brussels (near the Brussels-South (Midi) railway station) and Berchem, Antwerp (near Antwerp-Berchem bus station). The service is co-operated with Reizen Lauwers NV.


title: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

text: While most roads leading to the airport are forbidden for bicycles, it is possible to reach the airport by bicycle via bicycle paths.


title: Sign of the horns

text: The sign of the horns is a hand gesture with a variety of meanings and uses in various cultures. It is formed by extending the index and little fingers while holding the middle and ring fingers down with the thumb.


title: Sign of the horns

text: In Hatha Yoga, a similar hand gesture – with the tips of middle and ring finger touching the thumb – is known as "Apāna Mudrā", a gesture believed to rejuvenate the body. In Indian classical dance forms, it symbolizes the lion. In Buddhism, the "Karana Mudrā" is seen as an apotropaic gesture to expel demons, remove negative energy, and ward off evil. It is commonly found on depictions of Gautama Buddha. It is also found on the Song dynasty statue of Laozi, the founder of Taoism, on Mount Qingyuan, China.


title: Sign of the horns

text: An apotropaic usage of the sign can be seen in Italy and in other Mediterranean cultures where, when confronted with unfortunate events, or simply when these events are mentioned, the sign of the horns may be given to ward off further bad luck. It is also used traditionally to counter or ward off the "evil eye" ("malocchio" in Italian). In Italy specifically, the gesture is known as the "corna" ("horns"). With fingers pointing down, it is a common Mediterranean apotropaic gesture, by which people seek protection in unlucky situations (a Mediterranean equivalent of knocking on wood). The President of the Italian Republic, Giovanni Leone, startled the media when, while in Naples during an outbreak of cholera, he shook the hands of patients with one hand while with the other behind his back he superstitiously made the "corna", presumably to ward off the disease or in reaction to being confronted by such misfortune.


title: Sign of the horns

text: In Italy and other parts of the Mediterranean region, the gesture must usually be performed with the fingers tilting downward or in a leveled position not pointed at someone and without movement to signify the warding off of bad luck; in the same region and elsewhere, the gesture may take a different, offensive, and insulting meaning if it is performed with fingers upward or if directed aggressively towards someone especially in a swiveling motion (see section below).


title: Sign of the horns

text: The sign of the horns is used during religious rituals in Wicca, to invoke or represent the Horned god.


title: Sign of the horns

text: In LaVeyan Satanism, the sign of the horns is used as a traditional salutation, either for informal or ritual purposes.


title: Sign of the horns

text: In many Mediterranean and Latin countries, such as Brazil, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Mexico, when directed towards someone, pointed upward, and/or swiveled back and forth, the sign offensively implies cuckoldry in regard to the targeted individual; the common words for "cuckolded" in Greek, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese are, respectively, (), , and , literally meaning "horned [one]". During a European Union meeting in February 2002, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was photographed performing this gesture behind the back of Josep Piqué, the Spanish foreign minister.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Ike Turner told in an interview that he used the sign in his piano playing on Howlin' Wolf's blues song "How Many More Years" in 1951.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Marlon Brando makes the sign whilst singing "Luck Be a Lady" in the 1955 film "Guys and Dolls", seeming to indicate it was a sign for snake eyes in the craps game he is playing for the gamblers' souls.


title: Sign of the horns

text: The 1969 back album cover for "Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls" on Mercury Records by Chicago-based psychedelic-occult rock band Coven, led by singer Jinx Dawson, pictured Coven band members giving the "sign of the horns". According to a Facebook post by Dawson, she used the sign as early as late 1967 when Coven started, to which she posted a photo showing her giving the sign on stage.


title: Sign of the horns

text: On the cover of the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" album (1969), the cartoon of John Lennon's right hand is making the sign above Paul McCartney's head. Some fans interpreted this as one of the many supposed "Paul is dead" clues. Some may think it is possible that the cartoonist misrepresented the sign for "I love you", which is very similar and more in keeping with the band's public message and image. However, the 1969 cartoon is based on many photos of John Lennon making the hand sign in 1967. One of these photos of Lennon doing the hand sign appears on the cover of a Beatles single release shortly after, making it the first time the hand sign appears on a rock release.


title: Sign of the horns

text: The sign is also used in various Disney movies. It can be seen in the medieval-style opening sequence of the 1971 British-American Disney movie "Bedknobs and Broomsticks", when a goat-legged figure with a jester's cap who is leading a procession of outlandish-looking figures, flashes the sign.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Beginning in the early 1970s, the horns were known as the "P-Funk sign" to fans of Parliament-Funkadelic. It was used by George Clinton and Bootsy Collins as the password to the Mothership, a central element in Parliament's science-fiction mythology, and fans used it in return to show their enthusiasm for the band. Collins is depicted showing the P-Funk sign on the cover of his 1977 album "Ahh... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!"


title: Sign of the horns

text: Frank Zappa can be seen jokingly making the gesture in the 1979 film "Baby Snakes" in response to the audience, commenting, "That's right, spindle twice".


title: Sign of the horns

text: In the 1985 film "The Breakfast Club", Richard "Dick" Vernon is the grumpy vice principal of Shermer High School and the main antagonist of the film. One of his most famous lines is "Don't mess with the bull young man, you'll get the horns"; in the parody film "Not Another Teen Movie" Vernon's character appears in a scene where he flashes the sign of the horns while rotating his wrist, a call back to the line from The Breakfast Club.


title: Sign of the horns

text: For the 2016 Indian movie "Rock On 2", the "2" in the title is stylized with the sign of the horns, with the two extended fingers representing "2".


title: Sign of the horns

text: Ronnie James Dio was known for popularizing the sign of the horns in heavy metal. He claimed his Italian grandmother used it to ward off the evil eye (which is known in Italy as "malocchio"). Dio began using the sign soon after joining the metal band Black Sabbath in 1979. The previous singer in the band, Ozzy Osbourne, was rather well known for using the "peace" sign at concerts, raising the index and middle finger in the form of a V. Dio, in an attempt to connect with the fans, wanted to similarly use a hand gesture. However, not wanting to copy Osbourne, he chose to use the sign his grandmother always made. The horns became famous in metal concerts very soon after Black Sabbath's first tour with Dio. The sign would later be appropriated by heavy metal fans.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath can be seen "raising the horns" in a photograph taken in 1969. The photograph is included in the CD booklet of the "" compilation album. This would indicate that there had been some association between the "horns" and heavy metal before Dio's popularization of it.


title: Sign of the horns

text: When asked if he was the one who introduced the hand gesture to metal subculture, Dio said in a 2001 interview:


title: Sign of the horns

text: Gene Simmons of the rock group KISS attempted to claim the "devil horns" hand gesture for his own. According to CBS News, Simmons filed an application on June 16, 2017, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a trademark on the hand gesture he regularly shows during concerts and public appearances—thumb, index, and pinky fingers extended, with the middle and ring fingers folded down (like the ILY sign meaning "I love you" in the American Sign Language). According to Simmons, this hand gesture was first commercially used—by him—on November 14, 1974. He is claiming the hand gesture should be trademarked for "entertainment, namely live performances by a musical artist [and] personal appearances by a musical artist." Simmons abandoned this application on June 21, 2017.


title: Sign of the horns

text: The Japanese kawaii metal band Babymetal uses the kitsune sign, their own variation of the sign of the horns, symbolizing their personal deity, the Fox God. The middle, ring finger, and thumb join at the tips to form the snout, the extended index and pinky fingers are the ears. This gesture is similar in appearance to the salute of the Turanist Grey Wolves movement.


title: Sign of the horns

text: In text-based electronic communication, the sign of the horns is represented with the codice_1, codice_2 or codice_3 emoticon and sometimes with codice_4. The Unicode character U+1F918 🤘 SIGN OF THE HORNS was introduced in Unicode 8.0 as an emoji, on June 17, 2015.


title: Sign of the horns

text: The "sign of the horns" hand gesture is used in criminal gang subcultures to indicate membership or affiliation with Mara Salvatrucha. The significance is both the resemblance of an inverted "devil horns" to the Latin letter 'M', and in the broader demonic connotation, of fierceness and nonconformity.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Hook 'em Horns is the slogan and hand signal of the University of Texas at Austin. Students and alumni of the university employ a greeting consisting of the phrase "Hook 'em" or "Hook 'em Horns" and also use the phrase as a parting good-bye or as the closing line in a letter or story. The gesture is meant to approximate the shape of the head and horns of the UT mascot, the Texas Longhorn Bevo.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Fans of the University of South Florida Bulls use the same hand sign at their athletic events, except that the hand is turned around and facing the other way. With the middle and ring finger extending towards the person presenting the "Go Bulls" sign.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Fans of North Dakota State University Bison athletics also use a similar hand gesture, known as "Go Bison!" The pinky and index fingers are usually slightly bent, however, to mimic the shape of a bison's horns.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Fans of North Carolina State University Wolfpack athletics use a similar gesture with the middle and ring fingers moving up and down over the thumb to mimic a wolf's jaw.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Fans of University of California, Irvine Anteaters use a similar sign with the middle and ring fingers out to resemble the head of an anteater.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Fans of University of Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack athletics use a similar sign with the middle and ring fingers out to resemble the wolf's snout.


title: Sign of the horns

text: A variation of this hand gesture is also used in the professional wrestling industry, which fans dub the "Too Sweet". It was possibly innovated by Scott Hall and the other members of The Kliq based on the Turkish Grey Wolves (organization) organization hand gesture according to Sean Waltman, and has since been attributed to other wrestling groups such as the nWo and Bullet Club, as well as individual wrestlers such as Finn Bálor.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Fans of University of Utah athletics, particularly football and gymnastics, use a gesture where the index and pinky finger are straight and parallel to each other, forming a block "U."


title: Sign of the horns

text: Fans of Northwestern State University Demon athletics also use a similar hand gesture, known as "Fork 'em!" The pinky and index fingers are extended but a little more parallel to each other resembling the horns on a demon.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Arizona State University Sun Devil fans make a pitchfork sign by extending the index and middle fingers, as well as the pinky. The thumb holds down the ring finger to complete the gesture.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Fans of the Wichita State University Shockers frequently hold up their middle finger in addition to the pointer and pinky fingers as a reference to the comic sexual act.


title: Sign of the horns

text: Fans of the Grand Canyon University Antelopes use this hand gesture with a slight variation by touching the tips of the ring and middle finger with the thumb to form the shape of an antelope and its horns. Often followed by the phrase "Lopes up".


title: Sign of the horns

text: Fans of the Universidad de Chile soccer team use this gesture to represent their support for the team by forming a U-shaped hand gesture, often followed by the phrase "Grande la U".


title: Sign of the horns

text: Fans of University at Buffalo Buffalo Bulls athletics use the same hand sign at their athletic events. This gesture is meant to resemble a bull's horns.


title: Rhea Durham

text: Rhea Durham (born July 1, 1978) is an American model. She has appeared on the cover of several major fashion magazines, including French "Vogue", "Marie Claire", British and American "ELLE". Rhea has also walked in the 2000 and 2001 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. She guest-starred as herself on the 2001 "Spin City" episode, "The Wedding Scammer."


title: Rhea Durham

text: Rhea started a relationship with actor and former rapper Mark Wahlberg in 2001. They have four children: daughters Ella Rae (b. 2003) and Grace Margaret (b. 2010), and sons Michael (b. 2006) and Brendan Joseph (b. 2008). They got married on August 1, 2009 in a private Catholic ceremony in Beverly Hills, California.


title: Rhea Durham

text: In 2009, she converted to Catholicism from Baptist Protestantism, having received the sacraments of initiation.


title: Albatross

text: Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific. They are absent from the North Atlantic, although fossil remains show they once occurred there and occasional vagrants are found. Albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, and species of the genus "Diomedea" (great albatrosses) have the longest wingspans of any extant birds, reaching up to . The albatrosses are usually regarded as falling into four genera, but disagreement exists over the number of species.


title: Albatross

text: Albatrosses are highly efficient in the air, using dynamic soaring and slope soaring to cover great distances with little exertion. They feed on squid, fish, and krill by either scavenging, surface seizing, or diving. Albatrosses are colonial, nesting for the most part on remote oceanic islands, often with several species nesting together. Pair bonds between males and females form over several years, with the use of "ritualised dances", and last for the life of the pair. A breeding season can take over a year from laying to fledging, with a single egg laid in each breeding attempt. A Laysan albatross, named Wisdom, on Midway Island is the oldest-known wild bird in the world; she was first banded in 1956 by Chandler Robbins.


title: Albatross

text: Of the 22 species of albatrosses recognised by the IUCN, 21 are listed as at some level of concern; two species are critically endangered, seven species are endangered, six species are near threatened, and six species are vulnerable. Numbers of albatrosses have declined in the past due to harvesting for feathers. Albatrosses are threatened by introduced species, such as rats and feral cats that attack eggs, chicks, and nesting adults; by pollution; by a serious decline in fish stocks in many regions largely due to overfishing; and by longline fishing. Longline fisheries pose the greatest threat, as feeding birds are attracted to the bait, become hooked on the lines, and drown. Identified stakeholders such as governments, conservation organisations, and people in the fishing industry are all working toward reducing this bycatch.


title: Albatross

text: The "albatross" designation comprises between 13 and 24 species (the number is still a matter of some debate, with 21 being the most commonly accepted number) in four genera. These genera are the great albatrosses ("Diomedea"), the mollymawks ("Thalassarche"), the North Pacific albatrosses ("Phoebastria"), and the sooty albatrosses or sooties ("Phoebetria"). The North Pacific albatrosses are considered to be a sister taxon to the great albatrosses, while the sooty albatrosses are considered closer to the mollymawks.


title: Albatross

text: The taxonomy of the albatross group has been a source of much debate. The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy places seabirds, birds of prey, and many others in a greatly enlarged order, the Ciconiiformes, whereas the ornithological organisations in North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand retain the more traditional order Procellariiformes. The albatrosses can be separated from the other Procellariiformes both genetically and through morphological characteristics, size, their legs, and the arrangement of their nasal tubes (see below: Morphology and flight).


title: Albatross

text: Within the family, the assignment of genera has been debated for over 100 years. Originally placed into a single genus, "Diomedea", they were rearranged by Reichenbach into four different genera in 1852, then lumped back together and split apart again several times, acquiring 12 different genus names in total (though never more than eight at one time) by 1965 ("Diomedea", "Phoebastria", "Thalassarche", "Phoebetria", "Thalassageron", "Diomedella", "Nealbatrus", "Rhothonia", "Julietata", "Galapagornis", "Laysanornis", and "Penthirenia").


title: Albatross

text: By 1965, in an attempt to bring some order back to the classification of albatrosses, they were lumped into two genera, "Phoebetria" (the sooty albatrosses, which most closely seemed to resemble the procellarids and were at the time considered "primitive" ) and "Diomedea" (the rest). Though a case was made for the simplification of the family (particularly the nomenclature), the classification was based on the morphological analysis by Elliott Coues in 1866, and paid little attention to more recent studies and even ignored some of Coues's suggestions.


title: Albatross

text: Research by Gary Nunn of the American Museum of Natural History (1996) and other researchers around the world studied the mitochondrial DNA of all 14 accepted species, finding four, not two, monophyletic groups within the albatrosses. They proposed the resurrection of two of the old genus names, "Phoebastria" for the North Pacific albatrosses and "Thalassarche" for the mollymawks, with the great albatrosses retaining "Diomedea" and the sooty albatrosses staying in "Phoebetria".


title: Albatross

text: While some agree on the number of genera, fewer agree on the number of species. Historically, up to 80 different taxa have been described by different researchers; most of these were incorrectly identified juvenile birds.


title: Albatross

text: Based on the work on albatross genera, Robertson and Nunn went on in 1998 to propose a revised taxonomy with 24 different species, compared to the 14 then accepted. This expanded taxonomy elevated many established subspecies to full species, but was criticised for not using, in every case, peer reviewed information to justify the splits. Since then, further studies have in some instances supported or disproved the splits; a 2004 paper analysing the mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites agreed with the conclusion that the Antipodean albatross and the Tristan albatross were distinct from the wandering albatross, per Robertson and Nunn, but found that the suggested Gibson's albatross, "Diomedea gibsoni", was not distinct from the Antipodean albatross. For the most part, an interim taxonomy of 21 species is accepted by ITIS and many other researchers, though by no means all—in 2004 Penhallurick and Wink called for the number of species to be reduced to 13 (including the lumping of the Amsterdam albatross with the wandering albatross), although this paper was itself controversial.


title: Albatross

text: Sibley and Ahlquist's molecular study of the evolution of the bird families has put the radiation of the Procellariiformes in the Oligocene period 35–30 million years ago (Mya), though this group probably originated earlier, with a fossil sometimes attributed to the order, a seabird known as "Tytthostonyx", being found in late Cretaceous rocks (70 Mya). The molecular evidence suggests that the storm petrels were the first to diverge from the ancestral stock, and the albatrosses next, with the procellarids and diving petrels separating later. The earliest fossil albatrosses were found in Eocene to Oligocene rocks, although some of these are only tentatively assigned to the family and none appear to be particularly close to the living forms. They are "Murunkus" (Middle Eocene of Uzbekistan), "Manu" (early Oligocene of New Zealand), and an undescribed form from the Late Oligocene of South Carolina. The oldest widely accepted fossil albatross is "Tydea septentrionalis" from the early Oligocene of Belgium. "Diomedavus knapptonensis" is smaller than all extant albatrosses and was found in late Oligocene strata of Washington State, USA. "Plotornis" was formerly often considered a petrel but is now accepted as an albatross. It is from the Middle Miocene of France, a time when the split between the four modern genera was already underway as evidenced by "Phoebastria californica" and "Diomedea milleri", both being mid-Miocene species from Sharktooth Hill, California. These show that the split between the great albatrosses and the North Pacific albatrosses occurred by 15 Mya. Similar fossil finds in the Southern Hemisphere put the split between the sooties and mollymawks at 10 Mya.


title: Albatross

text: The fossil record of the albatrosses in the Northern Hemisphere is more complete than that of the Southern, and many fossil forms of albatross have been found in the North Atlantic, which today has no albatrosses. The remains of a colony of short-tailed albatrosses have been uncovered on the island of Bermuda, and the majority of fossil albatrosses from the North Atlantic have been of the genus "Phoebastria" (the North Pacific albatrosses); one, "Phoebastria anglica", has been found in deposits in both North Carolina and England. Due to convergent evolution in particular of the leg and foot bones, remains of the prehistoric pseudotooth birds (Pelagornithidae) may be mistaken for those of extinct albatrosses; "Manu" may be such a case, and quite certainly the supposed giant albatross femur from the Early Pleistocene Dainichi Formation at Kakegawa, Japan, actually is from one of the last pseudotooth birds. "Aldiomedes angustirostris" was a uniquely narrow-beaked species from the Pliocene of New Zealand.


title: Albatross

text: The albatrosses are a group of large to very large birds; they are the largest of the Procellariiformes. The bill is large, strong, and sharp-edged, with the upper mandible terminating in a large hook. This bill is composed of several horny plates, and along the sides are the two "tubes", long nostrils that give the order its former name (Tubinares, or tubenoses). The tubes of all albatrosses are along the sides of the bill, unlike the rest of the Procellariiformes, where the tubes run along the top of the bill. These tubes allow the albatrosses to measure the exact airspeed in flight; the nostrils are analogous to the pitot tubes in modern aircraft. The albatross needs accurate airspeed measurement to perform dynamic soaring. Like other Procellariiformes, they use their uniquely developed sense of smell to locate potential food sources, whereas most birds depend on eyesight. The feet have no hind toe and the three anterior toes are completely webbed. The legs are strong for the Procellariiformes, making them and the giant petrels the only members of that order that can walk well on land.


title: Albatross

text: Albatrosses, along with all Procellariiformes, must excrete the salts they ingest in drinking sea water and eating marine invertebrates. All birds have an enlarged nasal gland at the base of the bill, above their eyes. This gland is inactive in species that do not require it, but in the Procellariiformes, it acts as a salt gland. Scientists are uncertain as to its exact processes, but do know in general terms that it removes salt by secreting a 5% saline solution that drips out of their noses or is forcibly ejected.


title: Albatross

text: The adult plumage of most of the albatrosses is usually some variation of dark upper-wing and back with white undersides, often compared to that of a gull. The extent of colouration varies: the southern royal albatross is almost completely white except for the ends and trailing edges of the wings in fully mature males, while the Amsterdam albatross has an almost juvenile-like breeding plumage with a great deal of brown, particularly a strong brown band around the chest. Several species of mollymawks and North Pacific albatrosses have face markings like eye patches or have grey or yellow on the head and nape. Three albatross species, the black-footed albatross and the two sooty albatrosses, vary completely from the usual patterns and are almost entirely dark brown (or dark grey in places in the case of the light-mantled albatross). Albatrosses take several years to get their full adult breeding plumage.


title: Albatross

text: The wingspans of the largest great albatrosses (genus "Diomedea") are the largest of any bird, exceeding , although the other species' wingspans are considerably smaller at, down to . The wings are stiff and cambered, with thickened, streamlined leading edges. Albatrosses travel long distances with two techniques used by many long-winged seabirds - dynamic soaring and slope soaring. Dynamic soaring involves repeatedly rising into wind and descending downwind, thus gaining energy from the vertical wind gradient. The only effort expended is in the turns at the top and bottom of every such loop. This maneuver allows the bird to cover almost without flapping its wings. Slope soaring uses the rising air on the windward side of large waves. Albatross have high glide ratios, around 22:1 to 23:1, meaning that for every metre they drop, they can travel forward . They are aided in soaring by a shoulder-lock, a sheet of tendon that locks the wing when fully extended, allowing the wing to be kept outstretched without any muscle expenditure, a morphological adaptation they share with the giant petrels.


title: Albatross

text: Albatrosses combine these soaring techniques with the use of predictable weather systems; albatrosses in the Southern Hemisphere flying north from their colonies take a clockwise route, and those flying south fly counterclockwise. Albatrosses are so well adapted to this lifestyle that their heart rates while flying are close to their basal heart rate when resting. This efficiency is such that the most energetically demanding aspect of a foraging trip is not the distance covered, but the landings, take-offs and hunting they undertake having found a food source. A common assumption is that Albatrosses must be able to sleep in flight, although no direct evidence has ever been obtained.


title: Albatross

text: This efficient long-distance travelling underlies the albatross's success as a long-distance forager, covering great distances and expending little energy looking for patchily distributed food sources. Their adaptation to gliding flight makes them dependent on wind and waves, but their long wings are ill-suited to powered flight and most species lack the muscles and energy to undertake sustained flapping flight. Albatrosses in calm seas rest on the ocean's surface until the wind picks up again, as using powered flight is not energetically worthwhile, though they are capable of flight to avoid danger. The North Pacific albatrosses can use a flight style known as flap-gliding, where the bird progresses by bursts of flapping followed by gliding. When taking off, albatrosses need to take a run up to allow enough air to move under the wing to provide lift.


title: Albatross

text: The dynamic soaring of albatrosses is inspiring to airplane designers; German aerospace engineer Johannes Traugott and colleagues have charted the albatross's nuanced flight pattern and are looking for ways to apply this to aircraft, especially in the area of drones and unmanned aircraft.


title: Albatross

text: Most albatrosses range in the Southern Hemisphere from Antarctica to Australia, South Africa, and South America. The exceptions to this are the four North Pacific albatrosses, of which three occur exclusively in the North Pacific, from Hawaii to Japan, California, and Alaska; and one, the waved albatross, breeds in the Galápagos Islands and feeds off the coast of South America. The need for wind to enable gliding is the reason albatrosses are for the most part confined to higher latitudes; being unsuited to sustained flapping flight makes crossing the doldrums extremely difficult. The exception, the waved albatross, is able to live in the equatorial waters around the Galápagos Islands because of the cool waters of the Humboldt Current and the resulting winds.