title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The plan divided the Canadian Corps advance into four coloured objective lines. The attack would be made on a front of , with its centre opposite the village of Vimy, to the east of the ridge. The first objective, represented by the Black Line, was to seize the German forward defensive line. The final objective of the northern flank was the Red Line: taking the highest point on the ridge, the fortified knoll known as the Pimple, la Folie Farm, the "Zwischen-Stellung" (Intermediate Position) and the hamlet of Les Tilleuls. The southern two divisions were to achieve two additional objectives, the Blue Line encompassing the village of Thélus and the woods outside the village of Vimy and the Brown Line, which aimed at capturing the Zwölfer-Graben (Twelve Trench) and the German second line. The infantry would proceed close behind a creeping barrage by field guns, advancing in timed increments. The medium and heavy howitzers would establish a series of standing barrages further ahead of the infantry against defensive positions.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The plan called for units to leapfrog over one another, as the advance progressed, to maintain momentum during the attack. The initial wave would capture and consolidate the Black Line and then push forward to the Red Line. The barrage would pause, to enable reserve units to move up and then move forward with the units pushing beyond the Red Line to the Blue Line. Once the corps secured the Blue Line, advancing units would once again leapfrog established ones and capture the Brown Line. Conducted properly, the plan would leave the German forces little time to exit their deep dugouts and defend their positions against the infantry. If the corps maintained its schedule, the troops would advance as much as and have the majority of the ridge under control by 1:00 pm of the first day.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The experience of the Battle of the Somme led the German command to conclude that the policy of rigidly defending a trench position line was no longer effective against the firepower that the Entente armies had accumulated. Ludendorff published a new defensive doctrine in December 1916, in which deeper defences were to be built, within which the garrison would have room to manoeuvre, rather than rigidly holding successive lines of trenches. Along Vimy Ridge, the German forces spent two years constructing fortifications designed for rigid defence. Little reconstruction based upon the new defence-in-depth doctrine had been accomplished by April 1917 because the terrain made it impractical.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The topography of the Vimy battlefield made defence-in-depth difficult to realize. The ridge was wide at its narrowest point, with a steep drop on the eastern side, all but eliminating the possibility of counterattacks if the ridge was captured. The Germans were apprehensive about the inherent weakness of the Vimy Ridge defences. The German defensive scheme was to maintain a front line defence of sufficient strength to defend against an initial assault and move operational reserves forward, before the enemy could consolidate their gains or overrun remaining German positions. As a result, the German defence at Vimy Ridge relied largely on machine guns, which acted as force multipliers for the defending infantry.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Three line divisions, comprising seven infantry regiments were responsible for the immediate defence of the ridge. The paper strength of each division was approximately 15,000 men but their actual strength was significantly fewer. In 1917, a full-strength German rifle company consisted of 264 men; at Vimy Ridge, each rifle company contained approximately 150 men. Each German regiment held a zone approximately wide as far back as the rear area. When the Canadian Corps attacked, each German company faced two or more battalions of approximately 1,000 men each. Reserve divisions were kept about back instead of assembling close behind the second line according to the defence-in-depth theory.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The eight field artillery brigades of the Canadian Corps divisional artillery and two heavy artillery groups, were reinforced with British artillery units. Four heavy artillery groups, nine field artillery brigades, three divisional artillery groups and the artillery complement of the 5th Division was attached to the Canadian Corps. Ten heavy artillery groups of the flanking I and XVII Corps were assigned tasks in support of the Canadian Corps. The artillery batteries of I Corps were particularly important because they enfiladed German gun positions behind Vimy Ridge. The British provided twenty-four brigade artillery groups consisting of four hundred and eighty 18 pounder field guns, one hundred thirty-eight 4.5 inch howitzers, ninety-six 2 inch trench mortars, twenty-four 9.45 inch mortars, supported by 245 siege guns and heavy mortars. This firepower gave a density of one heavy gun for every and one field gun for every of the corps frontage, representing a considerable average increase, including three times the heavy guns, over the distribution of artillery at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: On 8 February, the First Army issued a 3,000-word artillery plan devised by Horne and his principal artillery commander, Major General H.F. Mercer. Brigadier-General Edward Morrison developed and subsequently issued a 35-page multi-phased fire support plan called "Canadian Corps Artillery Instruction No. 1 for the Capture of Vimy Ridge" to support the efforts of the infantry. For its operations, the Canadian Corps received three times the artillery normally assigned to a corps for regular operations. To manage the logistics associated with the increased artillery, Royal Artillery staff officer Major Alan Brooke developed coordinated communication and transport plans to work in conjunction with the complex barrage plans.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: A 1.6 million shell allotment allowed the artillery along the Canadian Corps front to maintain a high sustained rate of fire. Improvements in the quality of the shells compared to those used earlier in the war ensured fewer duds. The introduction of the instantaneous No. 106 fuze greatly improved the effectiveness of the artillery since this fuse burst reliably with the slightest of contact, unlike older timed fuses, making it especially effective at cutting barbed wire before the advance. To maintain communications during the battle, particularly with the artillery, field units laid over of telegraph and field telephone cabling, normally at a depth of . In addition, the corps conducted coordinated counter-battery initiatives before the battle. The First Army Field Survey Company printed barrage maps for all batteries, produced artillery boards and provided counter-battery support with their flash spotting groups and sound ranging sections. Utilizing flash spotting, sound ranging and aerial reconnaissance from No. 16 Squadron and Balloon Companies of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in the week before the battle, the counter battery artillery under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew McNaughton fired 125,900 shells, harassing an estimated 83% of the German gun positions.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: In February 1917, the British General Staff released a training pamphlet titled "SS 143 Instructions for the Training of Platoons for Offensive Action", espousing the return to the pre-war emphasis on fire and movement tactics and the use of the platoon as the basic tactical unit. The pamphlet noted the importance of specialist hand grenade, rifle grenade, rifle and Lewis gun sections in suppressing enemy strong points with an appropriate level of fire to permit other military units to advance. Coupled with the observations and suggestions made by Currie in the report he submitted in January 1917 following the Verdun lectures, the Canadian Corps instilled the tactical change with vigour. The corps implemented the tactical doctrine for small units by assigning objectives down to the platoon level. Assaulting infantry battalions used hills behind the lines as full-scale models of the battlefield. Taped lines demarcated German trench lines while officers on horseback carried flags to represent the advancing front of the artillery barrage.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Recognizing that the men in leadership positions were likely to be wounded or killed, soldiers learned the jobs of those beside and above them. At the British First Army headquarters, a large plasticine model of the Vimy sector was constructed and used to show commissioned and senior non-commissioned officers the topographical features of the battlefield and details of the German trench system. Upwards of 40,000 topographical trench maps were printed and distributed to ensure that even platoon sergeants and section commanders possessed a wider awareness of the battlefield. The new measures gave each platoon a clearer picture of how it fitted into the greater battle plan and in so doing, reduced the command and control problems that plagued First World War combat.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Operations along the Vimy Ridge were accompanied by extensive underground excavations. The Arras–Vimy sector was conducive to tunnelling owing to the soft, porous yet extremely stable nature of the chalk underground. Underground warfare had been conducted on the Vimy sector since 1915. Bavarian engineers had blown twenty mines in the sector by March 1915. By early 1916, German miners had gained an advantage over their French counterparts. British tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers took over progressively from the French between February and May 1916.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: On their arrival, the British began offensive mining against German miners, first stopping the German underground advance and then developing a defensive strategy that prevented the Germans from gaining a tactical advantage by mining. From spring 1916, the British had deployed five tunnelling companies along the Vimy Ridge and during the first two months of their tenure of the area, 70 mines were fired, mostly by the Germans. Between October 1915 and April 1917 an estimated 150 French, British and German charges were fired in this sector of the Western Front. In May 1916, Operation Schleswig-Holstein, a German infantry attack, forced the British back , to stop British mining by capturing the shaft entrances. In the second half of 1916, the British constructed strong defensive underground positions and from August 1916, the Royal Engineers developed a mining scheme for a big infantry attack on the Vimy Ridge proposed for autumn 1916, although this was postponed. After September 1916, when the Royal Engineers had completed their network of defensive galleries along most of the front line, offensive mining largely ceased although activities continued until 1917. The British gallery network beneath Vimy Ridge eventually grew to a length of .


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The Canadian Corps was posted to the northern part of Vimy Ridge in October 1916 and preparations for an attack were revived in February 1917. British tunnelling companies created extensive underground networks and fortifications. Twelve subways, up to long were excavated at a depth of and used to connect reserve lines to front lines, permitting soldiers to advance to the front quickly, securely and unseen. Often incorporated into subways were light rail lines, hospitals, command posts, water reservoirs, ammunition stores, mortar and machine gun posts and communication centres. The Germans dug a number of similar tunnels on the Vimy front, to provide covered routes to the front line and protection for headquarters, resting personnel, equipment, and ammunition. The Germans also conducted counter-mining against the British tunnellers and destroyed a number of British attempts to plant mines under or near their lines.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Prior to the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the British tunnelling companies also secretly laid 13 mines under German positions to destroy surface fortifications before the assault. To protect some advancing troops from German machine gun fire, as they crossed no man's land during the attack, eight smaller "Wombat" charges were laid at the end of the subways to allow troops to move more quickly and safely enter the German trench system by creating an elongated trench-depth crater that spanned the length of no man's land. At the same time, 19 crater groups existed along this section of the Western Front, each with several large craters. To assess the consequences of infantry having to advance across cratered ground after a mining attack, officers from the Canadian Corps visited La Boisselle and Fricourt where the mines had been blown on the First day of the Somme. Their reports and the experience of the Canadians at The Actions of St Eloi Craters in April 1916, where mines had so altered and damaged the landscape as to render occupation of the mine craters by the infantry all but impossible, led to the decision to remove offensive mining from the central sector allocated to the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge. Further British mines in the area were vetoed following the blowing by the Germans on 23 March 1917 of nine craters along no man's land as it was probable that the Germans were aiming to restrict an Allied attack to predictable points. The three mines already laid by 172nd Tunnelling Company were also dropped from the British plans. The mines were left in place after the assault and were only removed in the 1990s. Another mine, prepared by 176th Tunnelling Company against the German strongpoint known as the Pimple, was not completed in time for the attack. The gallery had been pushed silently through the clay, avoiding the sandy and chalky layers of the Vimy Ridge but by 9 April 1917 was still short of its target. In the end, two mines were blown before the attack, while three mines and two "Wombat" charges were fired to support the attack, including those forming a northern flank.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Trench raiding involved making small-scale surprise attacks on enemy positions, often in the middle of the night for reasons of stealth. All belligerents employed trench raiding as a tactic to harass their enemy and gain intelligence. In the Canadian Corps trench raiding developed into a training and leadership-building mechanism. The size of a raid would normally be anything from a few men to an entire company, or more, depending on the size of the mission. The four months before the April attack saw the Canadian Corps execute no fewer than 55 separate trench raids. Competition between units even developed with units competing for the honour of the greatest number of prisoners captured or most destruction wrought. The policy of aggressive trench raiding was not without its cost. A large-scale trench raid on 13 February 1917, involving 900 men from the 4th Canadian Division, resulted in 150 casualties. An even more ambitious trench raid, using chlorine gas, on 1 March 1917, once again by the 4th Canadian Division, failed and resulted in 637 casualties including two battalion commanders and a number of company commanders killed. This experience did not lessen the extent to which the Canadian Corps employed trench raiding with raids being conducted nightly between 20 March and the opening of the offensive on 9 April, resulting in approximately 1,400 additional Canadian casualties. The Germans operated an active patrolling policy and although not as large and ambitious as those of the Canadian Corps, they also engaged in trench raiding. As an example, a German trench raid launched by 79 men against the 3rd Canadian Division on 15 March 1917 was successful in capturing prisoners and causing damage.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The RFC launched a determined effort to gain air superiority over the battlefield in support of the spring offensive. The Canadians considered activities such as artillery-observation and photography of opposing trench systems, troop movements and gun emplacements essential to continue their offensive. The Royal Flying Corps deployed 25 squadrons totalling 365 aircraft along the Arras sector, outnumbering the "Luftstreitkräfte" (Imperial German Air Service) by 2-to-1. Byng was given use of No. 2 Squadron, No. 8 (Naval) Squadron, No. 25 Squadron, No. 40 Squadron and No. 43 Squadron, with No. 16 Squadron permanently attached to the Canadian Corps and employed exclusively for reconnaissance and artillery-observation.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Aerial reconnaissance was often a hazardous task because of the necessity of flying at slow speeds and at low altitude. The task was made more dangerous with the arrival of German air reinforcements, including the highly experienced and well equipped Jasta 11 (Manfred von Richthofen) which led to a sharp increase in RFC losses. Although significantly outnumbering the Germans, the RFC lost 131 aircraft during the first week of April (Bloody April). Despite the losses suffered by the RFC, the "Luftstreitkräfte" failed to prevent the British from carrying out its priority, air support of the army during the Battle of Arras with up-to-date aerial photographs and other reconnaissance information.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: German 6th Army commander General Ludwig von Falkenhausen was responsible for the Cambrai–Lille sector and commanded 20 divisions, plus reserves. Vimy Ridge itself was principally defended by the ad hoc formation based under I Bavarian Reserve Corps commander General der Infanterie Karl von Fasbender. However, a division of , under VIII Reserve Corps General of the Infantry Georg Karl Wichura, was involved in the frontline defence along the northernmost portion of the ridge.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Three divisions were ultimately responsible for manning the frontline defences opposite the Canadian Corps. The 16th Bavarian Division was located opposite the village of Souchez and responsible for the defence of the northernmost section of the ridge. The division had been created in January 1917 by amalgamating existing Bavarian formations and had so far only opposed the Canadian Corps. The 79th Reserve Division was responsible for the defence of the vast central section, including the highest point of the ridge, Hill 145. The 79th Reserve Division had fought for two years on the Eastern Front before being transferred to the Vimy sector at the end of February 1917. The 1st Bavarian Reserve Division had been in the Arras area since October 1914 and held the villages of Thélus, Bailleul and the southern slope of the ridge.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Byng commanded four attacking divisions, one division in reserve and numerous support units. He was supported to the north by the 24th Division, I Corps, which advanced north of the Souchez river and by the XVII Corps to the south. The 4th Canadian Division was responsible for the northern portion of the advance that included the capture of the highest point of the ridge, followed by the elaborately fortified Pimple just west of the village of Givenchy-en-Gohelle. The 3rd Canadian Division was responsible for the narrow central section of the ridge, including the capture of La Folie Farm. The 2nd Canadian Division, which later included a brigade from the 5th Division, was directly south of 3rd Canadian Division and entrusted with the capture of the village of Thélus. The 1st Canadian Division was responsible for the broad southern sector of the corps advance and expected to cover the longest distance. Byng planned for a healthy reserve for contingencies that included the relief of forward troops, help in consolidating positions and aiding the 4th Canadian Division with the capture of the Pimple. As a result, the 9th Canadian Brigade and the British 15th and 95th Brigades were kept in corps reserve.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Foreign intelligence gathering by the Germans, big Allied trench raids and troop concentrations seen west of Arras, made it clear to the Germans that a spring offensive in the area was being prepared. In February 1917, a German-born Canadian soldier deserted and helped confirm many of the suspicions held by the Germans, providing them with a great deal of useful information. By March 1917, the 6th Army knew that an offensive was imminent and would include operations aimed at capturing Vimy Ridge. General of Infantry Ernst August Marx von Bachmeister, commanding the German 79th Reserve Division, reported in late March that he believed the Canadian Corps was moving into an echelon formation and were preparing for a big attack. The Germans quickly planned Operation Munich ("Unternehmen München"), a spoiling attack to capture the northern section of the Zouave Valley, along the northernmost portion of the Canadian front. Munich was not undertaken because the extent of Canadian Corps artillery fire made it impracticable.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The preliminary phase of the Canadian Corps artillery bombardment began on 20 March 1917, with a systematic two-week bombardment of German batteries, trenches and strong points. The Canadian Corps gunners paid particular attention to eliminating German barbed wire, a task made easier with the introduction of the No. 106 instantaneous fuse. Only half of the artillery fired at once and the intensity of the barrage was varied to confuse the Germans about Canadian intentions. Phase two lasted the week beginning 2 April 1917 and employed all of the guns supporting the Canadian Corps, massing the equivalent of a heavy gun for every and a field gun for every . The German soldiers came to refer to the week before the attack as "the week of suffering". In the German account, their trenches and defensive works were almost completely demolished. The health and morale of the German troops suffered from the stress of remaining at the ready for eleven straight days under extremely heavy artillery bombardment. Compounding German difficulties was the inability of ration parties to bring food supplies to the front lines. On 3 April, General von Falkenhausen ordered his reserve divisions to prepare to relieve front line divisions over the course of a long drawn-out defensive battle in a manner similar to the Battle of the Somme and the divisions were kept from the battlefield to avoid being shelled.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The attack was to begin at 5:30 am on Easter Monday, 9 April 1917. The attack was originally planned for the morning of 8 April (Easter Sunday) but it was postponed for 24 hours at the request of the French. During the late hours of 8 April and early morning of 9 April the men of the leading and supporting wave of the attack were moved into their forward assembly positions. The weather was cold and later changed to sleet and snow. Although physically discomforting for everyone, the northwesterly storm provided some advantage to the assaulting troops by blowing snow in the faces of the defending troops. Light Canadian and British artillery bombardments continued throughout the night but stopped in the few minutes before the attack, as the artillery recalibrated their guns in preparation for the synchronized barrage. At 5:30 am, every artillery piece at the disposal of the Canadian Corps began firing. Thirty seconds later, engineers detonated the mine charges laid under no man's land and the German trench line, destroying a number of German strong points and creating secure communication trenches directly across no man's land.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Field guns laid down a barrage that mostly advanced at a rate of in three minutes while medium and heavy howitzers established a series of standing barrages further ahead against known defensive systems. During the early fighting, the German divisional artilleries, despite many losses, were able to maintain their defensive firing. As the Canadian assault advanced, it overran many of the German guns because large numbers of their draught horses had been killed in the initial gas attack. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions reported reaching and capturing their first objective, the Black Line, by 6:25 am. The 4th Canadian Division encountered a great deal of trouble during its advance and was unable to complete its first objective until some hours later. After a planned pause when the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions consolidated their positions, the advance resumed. Shortly after 7:00 am, the 1st Canadian Division captured the left half of its second objective, the Red Line and moved the 1st Canadian Brigade forward to mount an attack on the remainder. The 2nd Canadian Division reported reaching the Red Line and capturing the village of Les Tilleuls at approximately the same time.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: A mine explosion that killed many German troops of Reserve Infantry Regiment 262 manning the front line, preceded the advance of the 3rd Canadian Division. The remaining German troops could do no more than man temporary lines of resistance until later manning a full defence at the German third line. As a result, the southern section of the 3rd Canadian Division was able to reach the Red Line at the western edge of the Bois de la Folie at around 7:30 am. At 9:00 am the division learned of its exposed left flank, as the 4th Canadian Division had not yet captured Hill 145. The 3rd Canadian Division was thus called upon to establish a divisional defensive flank to its north. Although the German commanders were able to maintain open lines of communication and issue orders, even with swift staff work the tempo of the assault was such that German decision cycle was unable to react decisively.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The only portion of the Canadian assault that did not go as planned was the advance of the 4th Canadian Division, collapsing almost immediately after exiting their trenches. The commanding officer of one of the assaulting battalions requested that the artillery leave a portion of German trench undamaged. Machine gun nests in the undamaged sections of the German line pinned down, wounded, or killed much of the 4th Canadian Division's right flank. The progress on the left flank was eventually impeded by harassing fire from the Pimple that was made worse when the creeping barrage got too far ahead of the advancing troops. In view of the German defence, the 4th Canadian Division did not attempt a further frontal assault throughout the afternoon.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Reserve units from the 4th Canadian Division came forward and once again attacked the German positions on the top of the ridge. Persistent attacks eventually forced the German troops holding the southwestern portion of Hill 145 to withdraw, but only after they had run out of ammunition, mortar rounds, and grenades. Towards midday, the 79th Reserve Division was ordered to recapture the portions of its third line lost during the progression of the Canadian attack. However, it was not until 6:00 pm that the force was able to organize and counterattack, clearing the Canadian Corps troops out of the ruined village of Vimy, but not recapturing the third line south of the village. By night time, the German forces holding the top of the ridge believed they had overcome the immediate crisis for the time being. Additional German reinforcements began arriving and by late evening portions of the 111th Infantry Division occupied the third line near Acheville and Arleux, with the remainder of the division arriving the following day.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The British moved three fresh brigades up to the Red Line by 9:30 am on 10 April to support the advance of the 1st and 2nd Canadian Division, whereupon they were to leapfrog existing units occupying the Red line and advance to the Blue Line. Fresh units including two sections of tanks and the 13th British Brigade were called up from reserve to support the advance of the 2nd Canadian Division. By approximately 11:00 am, the Blue Line, including Hill 135 and the village of Thélus, had been captured. To permit the troops time to consolidate the Blue Line, the advance halted and the barrage remained stationary for 90 minutes while machine guns were brought forward. Shortly before 1:00 pm, the advance recommenced with both the 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions reporting their final objective. The tank-supported advance via Farbus and directed at the rear of the 79th Reserve Division, was eventually halted by concentrated German fire short of the village. The Canadian 1st and 2nd Divisions were nonetheless able to secure the Brown Line by approximately 2:00 pm.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The 4th Canadian Division had made an attempt to capture the northern half of Hill 145 at around 3:15 pm, briefly capturing the peak before a German counterattack retook the position. The Germans occupying the small salient on the ridge soon found themselves being attacked along their flanks by continuously reinforced Canadian Corps troops. When it became obvious that the position was completely outflanked and there was no prospect of reinforcement, the German troops pulled back. The German forces were evacuated off the ridge with German artillery batteries moved west of the Vimy–Bailleul railway embankment or to the Oppy–Méricourt line. By nightfall of 10 April, the only Canadian objective not yet achieved was the capture of the Pimple.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The 4th Canadian Division faced difficulties at the start of the battle that forced it to delay its assault on the Pimple until 12 April. The Pimple was initially defended by the 16th Bavarian Infantry Division but the Canadian Corps' preliminary artillery bombardment leading up to the assault on 9 April caused heavy casualties amongst its ranks. On 11 April, the 4th Guards Infantry Division first reinforced and then relieved affected 16th Bavarian Infantry Division units. The night before the attack, artillery harassed German positions while a gas section of Royal Engineers, employing Livens Projectors, fired more than 40 drums of gas directly into the village of Givenchy-en-Gohelle to cause confusion. The defending German troops managed to drive back the initial Canadian assaults at around 4:00 am using small arms fire. The 10th Canadian Brigade attacked once again at 5:00 am, this time supported by a significant amount of artillery and the 24th Division of I Corps to the north. The German defensive artillery fire was late and too light to cause the assaulting troops great difficulty, allowing the Canadian Corps to exploit wide gaps and break into the German positions. The 10th Canadian Brigade, assisted by snow and a westerly wind, fought hastily entrained German troops to capture the entire Pimple by 6:00 pm.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: By nightfall on 12 April 1917, the Canadian Corps was in firm control of the ridge, having suffered 10,602 casualties; 3,598 men had been killed and 7,004 wounded. The 6th Army casualties were not known at first in the disorganisation after the defeat. Later sources state around 20,000 casualties, German historians credit the high number of German casualties to Canadian and British artillery. Approximately 4,000 men were taken prisoner. The German Historical Service estimated that the 6th Army suffered 79,418 casualties during April and May 1917, 22,792 were classified as missing. Crown Prince Rupprecht estimated 85,000 casualties for the 6th Army, with 3,404 men taken prisoner at Vimy Ridge. Losses of the 79th Reserve Division from 1 to 11 April were 3,473 and in the 1st Bavarian Reserve Division 3,133. Casualties from the bombardment amongst reinforcements and divisions are additional.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Following the defeat, the chief of the German General Staff, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, ordered (OHL, Supreme Army Command) to conduct a court of enquiry into the defensive collapse of the Arras sector. The court concluded that the 6th Army headquarters had disregarded reports from commanders in the front line noting a possible imminent attack and reserve units were too distant to counter-attack before the Canadians could consolidate. The court concluded that 6th Army commander General Ludwig von Falkenhausen failed to apply an elastic defence according to German defensive doctrine. Instead, the defensive system comprised strong points and lines of resistance, which the Allied had artillery isolated and destroyed. Hindenburg removed Falkenhausen from his command and transferred him to Belgium, where he served the remainder of the war as governor-general.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The Germans did not see the capture of Vimy Ridge by the Canadian Corps as a loss. Contemporary German sources viewed the action, at worst, as a draw, given that no breakthrough occurred following the attack. The Germans did not attempt to recapture the ridge, even during the Spring Offensive, and it remained under British control until the end of the war. The loss of Vimy Ridge forced the Germans to reassess their defensive strategy in the area. Instead of mounting a counterattack, they pursued a scorched earth policy and retreated to the Oppy–Méricourt line. The failure of the French Nivelle Offensive in the week after the Arras Offensive placed pressure on Field Marshal Douglas Haig to keep the Germans occupied in the Arras sector to minimize French losses. The Canadian Corps participated in several of these actions including the Battle of Arleux and the Third Battle of the Scarpe in late April and early May 1917. After the end of the war, Byng was raised to the peerage as Baron Byng of Vimy, of Thorpe-le-Soken in the County of Essex, on 7 October 1919. The next month, he retired from the military.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: Four members of the Canadian Corps received the Victoria Cross, highest military award of the British honours system for their actions during the battle:


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: At least two Orders Pour le Mérite, the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order, were awarded to German commanders for their actions during the battle:


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The Battle of Vimy Ridge has considerable significance for Canada. Although the battle is not generally considered the greatest achievement of the Canadian Corps in strategic importance or results obtained, it was the first instance in which all four Canadian divisions, made up of troops drawn from all parts of the country, fought together. The image of national unity and achievement is what, according to one of many recent patriotic narratives, initially gave the battle importance for Canada. According to Pierce, "The historical reality of the battle has been reworked and reinterpreted in a conscious attempt to give purpose and meaning to an event that came to symbolize Canada's coming of age as a nation". That Canadian national identity and nationhood were born out of the battle is an opinion that in the late twentieth century became widely held in military and general histories of Canada. McKay and Swift contend that the theory that Vimy Ridge is a source of Canada's rise as a nation is highly contested and developed in the latter part of the twentieth century after most of those who experienced the Great War had died but in 1919 Hopkins had attributed to F.A. MacKenzie the recognition "...that Dominions sharing the common burden shall share the common direction of the Empire's war policy" and related Lloyd George's commitment that the Dominions would not again be engaged in wars without consultation.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is its largest and principal overseas war memorial. Located on the highest point of the Vimy Ridge, the memorial is dedicated to the commemoration of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War and those killed in France during the First World War with no known grave. France granted Canada perpetual use of a section of land at Vimy Ridge in 1922 for a battlefield park and memorial. A portion of the former battlefield is preserved as part of the memorial park that surrounds the monument. The grounds of the site are still honeycombed with wartime tunnels, trenches, craters and unexploded munitions and are largely closed for public safety. A section of preserved trenches and a portion of a tunnel have been made accessible to visitors.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The memorial was designed by Toronto architect and sculptor Walter Seymour Allward, who described it as a "sermon against the futility of war". The memorial took eleven years and cost $1.5 million ($ million in present terms) to build. The unveiling was conducted on 26 July 1936, by King Edward VIII accompanied by President Albert Lebrun of France and a crowd of over 50,000 people, including at least 6,200 Canadian veterans and their families.


title: Battle of Vimy Ridge

text: The Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King was absent, it being well understood that he was reluctant to meet veterans and felt it more appropriate for a war veteran in Cabinet to act as minister in attendance. Edward VIII thanked France, in both English and French, for its generosity and assured those assembled that Canada would never forget its war missing and dead. A restoration project began in 2004, which included general cleaning and the recarving of many inscribed names. Queen Elizabeth II rededicated the restored monument on 9 April 2007, during a ceremony commemorating the 90th anniversary of the battle. Veterans Affairs Canada maintains the memorial site. The commemoration at the memorial on 9 April 2017 for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge was attended by dignitaries including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Governor General David Johnston, Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry and President of France François Hollande.


title: Mug shot

text: A mug shot or mugshot (an informal term for police photograph or booking photograph) is a photographic portrait of a person from the shoulders up, typically taken after a person is arrested. The original purpose of the mug shot was to allow law enforcement to have a photographic record of an arrested individual to allow for identification by victims, the public and investigators. However, in the United States, entrepreneurs have recently begun to monetize these public records via the mug shot publishing industry.


title: Mug shot

text: Photographing of criminals began in the 1840s only a few years after the invention of photography, but it was not until 1888 that French police officer Alphonse Bertillon standardized the process.


title: Mug shot

text: "Mug" is an English slang term for "face", dating from the 18th century. Mug shot can more loosely mean any small picture of a face used for any reason.


title: Mug shot

text: A typical mug shot is two-part, with one side-view photo, and one front-view. The background is usually plain to avoid distraction from the head. Mug shots may be compiled into a mug book in order to determine the identity of a criminal. In high-profile cases, mug shots may also be published in the mass media.


title: Mug shot

text: The earliest photos of prisoners taken for use by law enforcement may have been taken in Belgium in 1843 and 1844. In the United Kingdom, police in London were photographing criminals by 1846. In Liverpool and Birmingham they were doing so by 1848. By 1857, the New York City Police Department had a gallery where daguerreotypes of criminals were displayed.


title: Mug shot

text: The Pinkerton National Detective Agency began using these on wanted posters in the United States. By the 1870s the agency had amassed the largest collection of mug shots in the US.


title: Mug shot

text: The paired arrangement may have been inspired by the 1865 prison portraits taken by Alexander Gardner of accused conspirators in the Lincoln assassination trial, though Gardner's photographs were full-body portraits with only the heads turned for the profile shots.


title: Mug shot

text: After the defeat of the Paris Commune in 1871, the Prefecture of Police of Paris hired a photographer, Eugène Appert, to take portraits of convicted prisoners. In 1888, Alphonse Bertillon invented the modern mug shot featuring full face and profile views, standardizing the lighting and angles. This system was soon adopted throughout Europe, and in the United States and Russia.


title: Mug shot

text: The arrested person is sometimes required to hold a placard with name, date of birth, booking ID, weight, and other relevant information on it. With digital photography, the digital photograph is linked to a database record concerning the arrest.


title: Mug shot

text: Mug shots have often been incorporated into wanted posters, including those for the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.


title: Mug shot

text: In the US in the early 21st century an online industry developed around the publication and removal of mug shots from internet websites.


title: Mug shot

text: The US legal system has long held that mug shots can have a negative effect on juries. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held, "The double-shot picture, with front and profile shots alongside each other, is so familiar, from 'wanted' posters in the post office, motion pictures and television, that the inference that the person involved has a criminal record, or has at least been in trouble with the police, is natural, perhaps automatic."


title: Mug shot

text: According to the "Handbook of Massachusetts Evidence", "Because of the risk of prejudice to the defendant inherent in the admission of photographs of the 'mug shot' variety, judges and prosecutors are required to 'use reasonable means to avoid calling the jury's attention to the source of such photographs used to identify the defendant.'" (p. 617) Elsewhere, it cites a ruling in "Commonwealth v. Martin" that "admission of a defendant's mug shot is 'laden for characterizing the defendant as a careerist in crime.


title: Mug shot

text: A mug book is a collection of photographs of criminals, typically in mug shots taken at the time of an arrest. A mug book is used by an eyewitness to a crime, with the assistance of law enforcement, in an effort to identify the perpetrator. Research has shown that grouped photos result in fewer false-positives than individually displaying each photo.


title: Mug shot

text: Mug book also has a meaning in genealogy and history, referring to local biographical histories published in the US in the late 19th century.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom (7 August 1783 – 2 November 1810) was the fifteenth and last child and sixth daughter of King George III of the United Kingdom and his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was their first daughter and third child to die before them.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: Princess Amelia was born on 7 August 1783, at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, the youngest of George III and Queen Charlotte's 15 children as well as the only one born at Windsor Castle. It is often said that she was her father's favourite; he affectionately called her "Emily". She was born after the early deaths of her two elder brothers, Octavius (1779–1783) and Alfred (1780–1782). These deaths left a gap of almost six years between Amelia and her nearest surviving sibling, Princess Sophia. She was twenty-one years younger than her eldest sibling, George, and nearly seventeen years younger than her eldest sister, Charlotte.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: Amelia was christened at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace by John Moore, Archbishop of Canterbury, on 17 September 1783. Her godparents were the Prince of Wales (Amelia's eldest brother), the Princess Royal (her eldest sister), and the Princess Augusta Sophia (her second eldest sister). She was the fifteenth sibling christened there. She was later confirmed by the Archbishop on 24 December 1799.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: Coming so soon after the death of Octavius and shortly before the end of the war between Great Britain and the United States, Amelia's birth was felt to be a beginning of a new period of hope, and much was expected of her, even from birth. "Our littlest sister is without exception one of the prettiest children I have ever seen," her oldest sister wrote to Prince William when Amelia was only a month old. She was expected to be as beautiful, charming and winning as Octavius, her father's previous favourite child, had been. As a result of her two brothers' deaths, Amelia was seen as her father's favourite.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: From an early age, Amelia was conscious of her rank. A popular tale relates that when the famous tragedian Sarah Siddons expressed a desire to kiss the beautiful baby, Amelia "...instantly held her little hand out to be kissed, so early had she learnt the lessons of Royalty." When Amelia was three, Fanny Burney, the Queen's Keeper of the Robes, commented that the princess could be "decorous and dignified when called upon to act "en princess" to any strangers, as if conscious of her high rank, and the importance of condescendingly sustaining it." Burney even dubbed her "the little idol". As the youngest of the thirteen surviving children, Amelia spent most of her time with her sisters Mary and Sophia, living in various royal residences. From the beginning, the three younger princesses did not receive as much parental attention as their elder sisters had, and spent a good deal of time away from the King and Queen, communicating with them mostly by letter.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: It seems that the three youngest princesses were much wilder than their elder sisters, as evidenced by their behaviour when they sat for a portrait in 1785. In 1770, Johan Zoffany had been able to paint the King, the Queen, and all six eldest children with little difficulty. In 1785, however, John Singleton Copley had so much difficulty getting the dogs, birds, and especially the three royal children to sit still that he never painted another portrait. Compared to the carefully planned education that Charlotte, Augusta, and Elizabeth had been given, the education given to Mary, Sophia, and Amelia was based solely on what had come before. Amelia was only five years old when her father suffered his first bout of madness. As a consequence of her father's declining health, she never experienced the closeness and affection that had characterized the family during her elder sisters' early years.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: Prior to 1788, King George had told his daughters that he would take them to Hanover and find them suitable husbands despite misgivings he had, which stemmed from his sisters' own unhappy marriages. He remarked, "I cannot deny that I have never wished to see any of them marry: I am happy in their company, and do not in the least want a separation." However, the King suffered his first bout of madness that year, when Amelia was aged five. Further lapses into insanity occurred in 1801 and 1804, thus forestalling talk of marriage for his daughters. The question of matrimony was rarely raised; Queen Charlotte feared that the subject, which had always discomfited the King, would push him back into insanity. Furthermore, the Queen, under strain due to her illness, wanted the princesses to remain close to her.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: Amelia and her sisters, Charlotte, Augusta Sophia, Elizabeth, Mary and Sophia were over-protected and isolated, which restricted meeting eligible suitors of their own age.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: In 1798, Princess Amelia developed a pain in the joint of her knee and was sent to the large seaside town of Worthing for recovery. She wrote to her father, "Certainly the vapour and warm sea bath are of use and therefore I hope that I shall be able to assure you that I am better." The following year, Amelia temporarily recovered enough to join her family at Weymouth, where she doted upon her niece Princess Charlotte of Wales. Throughout her life, Amelia was often in poor health; at the age of fifteen, she started to suffer the early symptoms of what turned out to be tuberculosis.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: In 1801, the princess was sent for a seaside cure at Weymouth to improve her health. Among those staying with her was the Hon. Charles FitzRoy, an equerry 21 years older than she, and the son of Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton. Amelia fell in love with the equerry, desiring to marry him. The Queen was told of the affair by a servant but turned a blind eye. It was hoped that such discretion would prevent the King from discovering the liaison, which may have risked sending him into one of the bouts of mental illness to which he was becoming increasingly prone. Though she never gave up hope of marrying him, Amelia knew she could not legally marry FitzRoy due to the provisions of the Royal Marriages Act passed by her father's Parliament (at least until she reached the age of 25, after which she could receive permission by the assent of the Privy Council). She would later tell her brother Frederick that she considered herself to be married, taking the initials A. F. R. (Amelia FitzRoy).


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: In 1808, Amelia had a severe attack of measles and the depressing atmosphere at home with her mother in Windsor made her even more miserable. The anxious King George decided to send Amelia to Weymouth, accompanied by her sister Mary. Her health was improved only a little, but she found comfort in quietly resting. In 1809, she could occasionally take short walks in the garden. This improvement was temporary, and in August 1810 her sufferings grew sharper, while in October of that year she was seized with St. Anthony's fire (erysipelas), which cut off all hope and confined her to her bed on the 25th. The king summoned his daughter's physicians to him at seven o'clock every morning and three or four other times during the day, questioning them minutely as to her condition. She lingered a few days more, waited upon to the last by her favourite and devoted sister, Mary. Her death occurred at 12:00pm on the same day as her brother Edward's birthday, 2 November.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: The dying princess had a mourning ring made for the King, composed of a lock of her hair under crystal set round with diamonds. He purportedly burst into tears upon receiving it. Otherwise, her will dictated all her possessions be given to Charles FitzRoy. Amelia was buried in the royal vault in St George's Chapel, Windsor. Her eldest brother, later George IV, is reputed to have requested her death mask.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: After Amelia's death, George Villiers, the King's bailiff, and younger brother of Thomas Villiers, 2nd Earl of Clarendon, attempted to blackmail the King and Queen with letters belonging to Amelia, after the disappearance of £280,000 in his control. Villiers was father of later diplomat and statesman George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: Her death is credited with contributing to the decline in her father's health which resulted in his insanity and the subsequent invocation of the Regency Act of 1811. According to his physician, Dr. Willis, the king would later cry "in a wild, monotonous, delirious way, 'Oh Emily [Princess Amelia], why won't you save your father? I hate all the physicians..." Another of King George's delusions included the belief that a healthy Amelia was only staying in Hanover with a large family of her own, where she would "never grow older and always be well."


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: Amelia has been described as a beautiful girl with ruby lips and auburn hair. Reportedly she was the "most turbulent and tempestuous of all the Princesses". However, she is also said to have been amiable, spirited, unselfish and intelligent. These qualities led her sister-in-law Princess Caroline, who was known to despise her in-laws, to call Amelia the "most amiable of the bunch". Amelia was a favourite of both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex, who called her a "lovely creature". Amelia adored the former and once told him that she had always loved him better than her other brothers. He for his part loved her perhaps more than he did his other sisters (with the possible exception of Princess Mary) and was devastated when she died. So deeply affected was he by her death that after her funeral, he could never again sleep in a room that was not lit by several wax candles. He also burst into tears at the mention of her name more than three years after her demise.


title: Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom

text: As of 1789, as a daughter of the sovereign, Amelia had use of the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a "label argent of three points, the centre point bearing a rose gules, the outer points each bearing a heart gules".


title: SsangYong Motor

text: SsangYong Motor Company () is a South Korea–based automobile manufacturer. It traces its origins back to a manufacturer established in 1954. The name SsangYong appeared in 1988, after its acquisition by the chaebol SsangYong Group. SsangYong Motor was then acquired by Daewoo Motors, SAIC Motor, and then Mahindra & Mahindra. In 2022, the company was acquired by the KG Group.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: The company main focus is sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and crossover SUVs and it is preparing for transitioning to electric cars.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: SsangYong originally started out as two separate companies; Ha Dong-hwan Motor Workshop (established in 1954) and Dongbang Motor Co (established in 1962). In mid-1963, the two companies merged into Ha Dong-hwan Motor Co. (). In 1964, Hadonghwan Motor Company started building jeeps for the US Army as well as trucks and buses. Beginning in 1976, Hadonghwan produced a variety of special purpose vehicles. After changing its name to Dong-A Motor () in 1977 and taking control of Keohwa in 1984, it was taken over by SsangYong Business Group in 1986.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: Keohwa, Ltd. () was a South Korean assembler of Jeeps under licence, mainly for export markets. Its predecessor was the Jeep assembly joint venture of Shinjin Motors and American Motor Corporation (AMC), established in 1974. It was spun off as an independent company in 1981, after AMC left the venture and retired the permission to use the Jeep trade mark. In 1983, Jeeps from Keohwa started to be named as "Korando". In 1984, Keohwa was acquired by the predecessor of SsangYong Motor, Dong-A Motor.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: After Dong-A Motor was taken over by SsangYong Business Group, Dong-A Motor changed its name to SsangYong Motor in 1988. In 1987, it acquired United Kingdom-based specialty car maker Panther Westwinds.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: In 1991, SsangYong started a technology partnership with Daimler-Benz. The deal was for SsangYong to develop a sport utility vehicle (SUV) with Mercedes-Benz technology. This was supposedly to allow SsangYong to gain footholds in new markets without having to build their own infrastructure (utilizing existing Mercedes-Benz networks) while giving Mercedes a competitor in the then-booming SUV market. This resulted in the Musso, which was sold first by Mercedes-Benz and later by SsangYong.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: SsangYong further benefited from this alliance, long after Daimler-Benz stopped selling the Musso, producing a badge engineered version of the Mercedes-Benz MB100, the Istana and using Daimler designs in many other models, including the second-generation Korando (engine and transmission), the Rexton (transmission), the Chairman H (chassis and transmission) and the Kyron (transmission).


title: SsangYong Motor

text: In 1997, Daewoo Motors, now GM Korea, bought a controlling stake from the SsangYong Group, only to sell it off again in 2000, because the conglomerate ran into deep financial troubles. In late 2004, the Chinese automobile manufacturer SAIC took a 51% stake of SsangYong Motor Company. In July - August 2006, workers went on strike for 7 weeks to protest SAIC's plans to lay off 554 employees. The strike cost SsangYong 380 billion Won and negotiations ended with workers accepting a wage freeze.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: In January 2009, after recording a $75.42 million loss, the company was put into receivership. This may have been due to the global economic crisis and shrinking demand. In response to management's plan to cut 2,600 jobs, a third of the workforce, workers at Ssangyong's main factory stopped work and barricaded themselves inside in protest. One elderly worker died from a cerebral hemorrhage within the first 12 days. The strikes grew violent after water, food, electricity, and medicine were withheld from the strikers and police surrounded the building. Strikers threw Molotov cocktails at police while police used electroshock weapons and allegedly dropped corrosive chemicals on the strikers. On August 14, 2009, worker strikes finished at the SsangYong factory and production commenced again after 77 days of disruption. Company employees and analysts have also blamed SAIC for stealing technology related to hybrid vehicles from the company and failing to live up to its promise of continued investment. SAIC denied allegations of technology theft by the company's employees. However, SAIC was charged by the South Korean prosecutor's office for violating company regulations and the South Korean law when it ordered and carried out the transfer of SsangYong's proprietary technology developed with South Korean government funding over to SAIC researchers.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: In 2010, Daewoo Motor Sales was dropped by General Motors. The long-time dealership partner then signed a deal with the SsangYong Motor Company to supply new vehicles to sell (specifically the Rodius, Chairman W and Chairman H), in return for the injection of ($17.6 million) into the car maker still recovering from bankruptcy. The deal is non-exclusive, meaning SsangYong will also sell vehicles through private dealers.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: In April 2010, the company released a statement citing interest of three to four local and foreign companies in acquiring SsangYong Motor Company, resulting in shares rising by 15%. The companies were later revealed to be Mahindra & Mahindra, Ruia Group, SM Aluminum, Seoul Investments and French-owned Renault Samsung Motors of South Korea. In August 2010, Mahindra & Mahindra Limited was chosen as the preferred bidder for SsangYong. The acquisition was completed in February 2011 and cost Mahindra US$463.6 million.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: In 2015, SsangYong launched the Tivoli, its first car after Mahindra acquisition. Within a year of Tivoli's launch, the company reported its first net profit in 9 years. In 2017, SsangYong sold 106,677 units in domestic sales and 37,008 units in exports, setting a record high in 14 years since 2003, when its annual domestic sales stood at 131,283 units. Out of this, the Tivoli alone contributed over 50,000 units of domestic sales for the company. Mahindra XUV300, which was later launched in 2019 is built on Tivoli's platform, sharing many parts including several metal sheets.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: Mahindra also worked with its SsangYong subsidiary to introduce high performance electric vehicles in South Korea for mass-market sales. Mahindra and SsangYong increased their collaboration on engines and electric cars.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: On 21 December 2020, SsangYong Motor filed for receivership after Mahindra cut funding to SsangYong due to its outstanding debt. Ssang Yong Motor spokesperson stated that the company owes a total of 315.3 billion won (US$285 million) in overdue debt to financial institutions.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: In October 2021, it was reported that SsangYong was set to be acquired by electric bus and truck maker Edison Motors which would lead to SsangYong exiting receivership. Edison Motors planned to introduce SsangYong vehicles into the United States, Mexico, and Canada markets by the mid-2020s. Edison Motors also intended to phase-out production and new car sales of fossil fuel-powered SsangYong vehicles by 2030, in favor of producing and selling only electric-powered vehicles by the latter, if acquired. In January 2022, the South Korean courts "approved" Edison Motors' acquisition plan, although the company would be kept in receivership until the transaction were completed. In March 2022, SsangYong said the Edison Motors takeover was cancelled as the latter failed making acquisition payments for that month.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: In December 2021, SsangYong signed an agreement with the Chinese BYD Auto to co-develop battery systems for its first electric car (called U100) which would be launched in 2023.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: In June 2022, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court opted for a consortium (KG Mobility) led by the KG Group as the final bidder to take over SsangYong Motor. The consortium planned to pay 900 billion won ($699.5 million) for SsangYong. In August 2022, South Korea's Free Trade Commission approved KG Group acquisition of a 61% majority stake in SsangYong through the consortium. The acquisition payments were completed later that month. In September 2022, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court agreed to SsangYong's receivership exit plan, including issuing new shares in order to pay the creditors. The KG Group was set to start the process to exit SsangYong's receivership in early October and finish the acquisition process on (or before) 14 October, the SsangYong sale deadline.


title: SsangYong Motor

text: There also are plans to rename SsangYong. After delays, the consortium started the receivership exit procedures on 31 October by requesting the receivership termination to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court. The Court approved the receivership exit on 11 November, finalising the consortium's acquisition.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (which is under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior in peacetime) becomes part of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. A special security department handles VIP protection and communications security.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The purpose of the Lithuanian Armed Forces are to be the principal deterrent against any security threat to the nation. Lithuania's defence system is based on the concept of "total and unconditional defence" mandated by Lithuania's "National Security Strategy". The goal of Lithuania's defence policy is to prepare their society for general defence and to integrate Lithuania into Western security and defence structures. The Ministry of National Defence is responsible for combat forces, search and rescue, and intelligence operations.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Male conscription is in place since 2015, when it was reinstated after being ended in 2008, due to concerns about the geopolitical environment in light of the Russo-Ukrainian War.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: In early 2022, Lithuania's defence budget for 2022 was approximately €1.05 billion, but it was increased to €1.5 billion on 17 March 2022.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The Lithuanian military originates in the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, active from the 13th century to 1795. After the Union of Lublin in 1569, the Lithuanian Army remained equal to the Polish Crown army in the military of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until the Third Partition in 1795. The Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army fought in many major battles, such as the Battle of Blue Waters (1362/63), Battle of Grunwald (1410), Battle of Orsha (1514) and Battle of Kircholm (1605).


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Similarly to other medieval European states, the army was raised by the nobility during the Late Middle Ages. By the 17th century, it was mostly outclassed by professional forces and a standing army was instituted.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: From the 12th century's end and into the 13th century, Lithuania frequently went to war against the western and southwestern Rus' states, Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia and Duchy of Masovia, while also devastating lands along the Daugava and elsewhere. From the early 1200s, Lithuanians fought against the Swordbrothers, from 1237 against the Livonian Order, and from the 13th century's second half against the State of the Teutonic Order. While fighting on Lithuania's northern and western frontiers was unceasing, the Lithuanian state expanded southwards and eastwards during the Late Middle Ages. The Lithuanian army was mobile as it had to fight on many fronts, like with the State of the Teutonic Order to the west, the Livonian Order to the north, the Golden Horde and it's vassal Muscovy to the east, and the Tatar khanates to the south. According to 13th-century sources, Lithuanian soldiers were mounted when going on military expeditions but fought on foot, arranged in three rows during battles. The best-armed and most experienced fought in the front, while the least experienced and lightly armed were in the last row. Furthermore, the Lithuanians were skilled at fighting using spears, especially on horseback, and the earliest written mention of such tactics dates to 1208 when Lithuanians, riding on horses, threw spears into their enemies.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Although the Germans initially had superior weaponry during the 13th century, the Lithuanians won the Battles of Saule (1236), Durbe (1260), Karuse (1270), Aizkraukle (1279) and many others. However, Lithuanians were less successful against enemy fortifications, especially brick castles. Eventually, the battle front lines stabilised over time, with the one against the Livonian Order more or less following the modern Latvia–Lithuania border, while the one against the Teutonic Order being close to the Nemunas. The Lithuanian side of the border had a castle system along the river.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Over the 14th century, the Teutonic and Livonian orders organised raids into Lithuania. Lithuanians responded by raiding their respective territories, however, the Lithuanian raids were numerically fewer. The Lithuanians won the Battle of Medininkai (1320), but lost the Battle of Strėva (1348). More and more, the Teutonic Order destroyed the Lithuanian castle system along the Nemunas and built their castles near the Lithuanian ones. As the German and Livonian orders were constantly reinforced by Christian European countries, it became increasingly difficult to defend Lithuania solely by military means. Hence, the new generation of the Lithuanian Grand Dukes Jogaila and Vytautas the Great used not only military, but also diplomatic and political means, e.g. Lithuanian baptism in 1387, to protect Lithuania.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Simultaneously, on the other side of the Lithuanian state, the Golden Horde's army was destroyed in the Battle of Blue Waters (1362-1363). In 1368, 1370, and 1372, the Lithuanian Grand Duke Algirdas led the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army into military expeditions against Muscovy. However, the Battle of the Vorksla River (1399) was a decisive victory for the Golden Horde.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Finally, the German Teutonic Order was crushed in the Battle of Grunwald (1410) (known as Battle of Žalgiris in Lithuanian historiography), which was the largest Middle Age battle in Central and Eastern Europe. In this key battle, the Lithuanian Army was led by Vytautas the Great. Under him, the Lithuanian Army attacked the lands of the Republics of Pskov, in 1426, and Novgorod, in 1428. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania had internal civil wars in the first half of the 15th century. The Lithuania Army engaged in biological warfare already in 1422, when it catapulted manure made from infected victims into an opposing Bohemian town as part of the Hussite Wars. In 1435, Sigismund Kęstutaitis' army defeated the opposing army, which included troops of the Livonian Order, led by Švitrigaila in the Battle of Wiłkomierz.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: This century was marked by war of Lithuania against Muscovy and the Crimean Khanate. In the wars with the latter, the Lithuanians won the Battle of Kletsk in 1506. With the strengthening of the Grand Duchy of Moscow from the late 15th century, there were unceasing wars over Lithuania's eastern territories. In 1514, during the fourth war, the Lithuanians triumphed over the numerically larger Muscovite army in the famous Battle of Orsha. However, due to the unfavourable military situation, Lithuania lost a part of its eastern lands, most importantly the strategically important fortress of Smolensk. The Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army fought against Muscovy in the Livonian War, winning against the Muscovite army, twice the Lithuanian army's size, in the Battle of Ula in 1564. Three years into the Livonian War, Livonia became part of Lithuania in 1561 with the Treaty of Vilnius. During this war, the Union of Lublin was made in 1569. In the late 1570s and early 1580s, the Lithuanian and Polish armies cooperated in Stephen Báthory's incursions into Russia.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The 17th century was marked by wars against Sweden, the Tsardom of Muscovy and the Ottoman Empire. The Lithuanian army, together with the Polish army, fought against the Ottoman forces, notably at both Battles of Khotyn in 1621 and 1673. During the war with Sweden from 1600 to 1629, the Lithuanian army defeated the three times larger Swedish forces at the Battle of Kircholm in 1605. However, this war highlighted the Commonwealth's weakness in recruiting and retaining a sufficient number of troops, better arming its soldiers with firearms and bettering their use. Following the war with Sweden, a significant part of Livonia was seized by them as part of Swedish Livonia. During the 17th century's first half, Smolensk returned to Lithuania following the Smolensk War.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The Commonwealth's military weakness in the middle and late 17th century was evidenced in the Deluge. In 1655, the much-smaller Lithuanian army was incapable of defending the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius against Muscovite attack. This was the first time that Vilnius was occupied by a foreign state. The Swedish and Muscovite armies together occupied large parts of Lithuania. Nevertheless, Lithuania succeeded in holding out and liberated Vilnius, Kaunas, Samogitia and the eastern Voivodeships, except for Smolensk Voivodeship and other parts. Militarily-speaking, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was weakening.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: During the Great Northern War, the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army was no longer defending the country and the Lithuanian magnates' private armies supported different sides. Throughout the 18th century, there were many confederations in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which sought different political goals. The Bar Confederation (1768–1772), which happened partly in Lithuania, was an attempt to stem the increasing Imperial Russian influence. Following this failed attempt, the First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth happened. In the face of the possible loss of independence, military reforms were implemented during the Four Years' Sejm (1788–1792), during which the Lithuanian army significantly expanded, reaching the strength 17,500, and being ready for battle. Regardless, the attempts were unsuccessful in making the Commonwealth's armies match those of the neighbouring absolute monarchies and, following the unsuccessful War of 1792, there was the Second Partition.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The Polish and Lithuanian armies put up a spirited fight against the Imperial Russian Army and the Prussian Army in the Kościuszko Uprising. In addition to regular forces, many quickly-formed units fought also, e.g. Vilnius National Guard and many irregular units. In the end, the Uprising was defeated and much of the remaining part of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army was killed in the Battle of Praga on 4 November 1794. With the uprising defeated, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, together with the Kingdom of Poland, were ended with the Third Partition, with their respective armies being disbanded.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: After Lithuania's restoration on 16 February 1918, the country immediately began creating their army. The Ministry of Defence's first order was issued on 23 November 1918 and this date is considered the establishment day of the modern Lithuanian Armed Forces. The newly formed army almost immediately fought three wars of independence. Having won the Lithuanian–Soviet War and the war against the Bermontians, it was defeated in the Polish–Lithuanian War. By the end of 1920, the Lithuanian army had over 41 thousand troops. In interwar, the armour equipment primarily consisted of light tanks and tankettes: British Carden Loyd tankette, French Renault FT-17, Swedish Landsverk-182, German Ehrhardt E-V/4. In 1935, the country opened an advanced military research laboratory, specialising in chemical materials for ammunition as well as defense against chemical warfare. The construction of the laboratory was supervised by Juozas Vėbra. In 1940, Lithuania had a considerable Air Force, consisting of 118 aircraft with about half of them designed and produced locally. During the World War II, Lithuania was invaded by both Nazis and Soviets, which eventually concluded in Soviet occupation. The Lithuanian Armed Forces were transformed into the Lithuanian People's Army in 1940 by the People's Government of Lithuania. Despite Soviet repressions, there was a considerable armed Lithuanian resistance which lasted until the 1950s.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Following the restoration of independence, the modern armed forces were formally restored on 25 April 1990 with the establishment of the Department of National Defence. After the January Events, the Voluntary National Defence Service was formed from lightly armed volunteers. The Lithuanian Armed Forces were officially restored on 19 November 1992. Western European countries, especially Sweden, helped to form the initial force by selling or donating excess equipment. However, soon Lithuania started modernising its military, becoming the first European country to acquire US-made FGM-148 Javelin systems in 2001, followed by the FIM-92 Stinger purchase in 2002.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Lithuania applied for NATO membership in 1994 and eventually joined the alliance in 2004. It has since modernised its Armed Forces and has participated in many international missions, including the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan and others.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The President of Lithuania is the commander-in-chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces according to the Constitution of Lithuania. Ministry of National Defence is directly responsible for the organisation of the defence system. Chief of Defence () is subordinate to the Minister of National Defence. Defence Staff () of the Armed Forces is responsible for the preparation of defence and mobilisation plans.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Force, Lithuanian Air Force, Lithuanian Naval Force, Lithuanian Special Operations Force and other units: Logistics Command, Training and Doctrine Command, Headquarters Battalion, Military Police. Directly subordinated to the Chief of Defence are the Special Operations Force and Military Police. The Reserve Forces are under command of the Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Lithuanian Riflemen's Union is a paramilitary organization that cooperates with the Armed Forces, but it is not part of them. However, during the state of war, its armed formations fall under the command of the Armed Forces. The same applies to the State Border Guard Service and the Public Security Service.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The core of the Lithuanian Land Force structure is the Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf (MIB "Iron Wolf") consisting of four mechanized infantry battalions and an artillery battalion. It is supported by the "Žemaitija" Motorized infantry Brigade which has three battalions and one artillery battalion as well. The third, "Aukštaitija" Light Infantry Brigade, is a reserve formation with active training. Its command, signal and logistic units are manned by professional soldiers. Volunteer Forces form another brigade-size force, consisting of six territorial units. Other auxiliary units include "Juozas Vitkus Engineer Battalion" and "Juozas Lukša Land Force Training Center".


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The Lithuanian Land forces use equipment compatible with the NATO standards. Since 2007, the standard assault rifle is German Heckler & Koch G36. Units are supplied with modern variants of anti-tank weapons (M72 LAW, Carl Gustaf, AT4, FGM-148 Javelin) as well as man-portable air-defense systems (PZR Grom, RBS-70, FIM-92 Stinger). Modern armoured equipment includes: Oshkosh L-ATV armoured cars, Boxer infantry fighting vehicles (local designation IVF "Vilkas") armed with Spike-LR anti-tank missiles and PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers. The Lithuanian Land forces have been carrying out major modernization with more new weapons and heavier armour being acquired.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Lithuania has been restructuring the armed forces so that one-tenth of the Land Forces could at any given time be deployed for international operations, while half of the Land Forces would be prepared to be deployed outside Lithuania's borders. The volunteers have already successfully participated in international operations in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The Lithuanian Air Force (LAF) is an integral part of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The LAF is formed by professional military servicemen and non-military personnel. Units are located at various bases across Lithuania:


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The initial formation of the LAF was the 2nd transport squadron with the transfer of 20 An-2 aircraft from civilian to military use, with initial basing at the Barysiai Airport on 27 April 1992. These were joined by four L-39C Albatros aircraft to be used by the 1st fighter (training) squadron. These were in addition to Mil Mi-8 helicopters and a short-range transport aircraft L-410, all of which went through a capital overhaul, upgrade and modernisation in the 2000s.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Following the initial acquisitions, the LAF began its aircraft's modernisation by ordering three C-27J Spartan transporters in 2006. In 2013, three Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin helicopters were acquired from France and, in 2020, Lithuania announced an order or four Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the USA. Simultaneously, new medium-range and long-range radars were acquired for the Airspace Surveillance and Control Command.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Air space is patrolled by jet fighters from other NATO members and they are based in Zokniai Air Base, near the city of Šiauliai (see Baltic Air Policing). The external border of the European Union (with Kaliningrad and Belarus) is patrolled by the Aviation Unit of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service which, since the 2000s, uses helicopters EC-120, EC-135 and EC-145.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The Navy has over 600 personnel. The Navy consists of the Warship Flotilla, the Sea Coastal Surveillance System, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Divers Team, the Naval Logistic Service, Training Center and Maritime Rescue Coordination Center. The flotilla is the core component of the Navy and consists of the Mine Countermeasures Squadron, the Patrol Ships Squadron, and the Harbour Boats Group. The current Commander in Chief of the Lithuanian Navy is Rear Admiral Kęstutis Macijauskas. The Naval base and Headquarters are located in the city of Klaipėda. The Navy uses patrol ships for coastal surveillance.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The Lithuanian Special Operations Force of Lithuanian Armed Forces has been in operation "de facto" since 2002 and it was established "de jure" on 3 April 2008, when amendments of National Defence System organisation and military service law came into force. The Special Operations Force is formed from the Special Operations Unit.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The Special Operations Force is responsible for special reconnaissance, direct actions, and military support. It is also in charge of other tasks, e.g., protection of VIPs in peacetime. Its core is based on the Special Purpose Service, Vytautas the Great Jaeger Battalion and Combat Divers Service. Lithuanian Air Force Special Operations Element is subordinate to the Unit at the level of operations management. Its structure is flexible which makes it easy to form squadrons intended for concrete operations and missions from its elements. The Special Operations Force can be called upon inside the territory of Lithuania when law enforcement agencies lack or do not have the necessary capabilities to react to terrorist attacks. The capabilities of special forces make them the main national response force responsible for counter-terrorism operations and operations to prevent violations of sovereignty.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: The Special Operations Force Squadron "Aitvaras" was deployed to Afghanistan on the Operation Enduring Freedom. From 2005 to 2006 its squadrons were on standby in NATO Response Force.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Lithuania has been a member of NATO military alliance since 2004. In the European Union, Lithuanian Armed Forces have also taken part in the Nordic Battle Group since 2008. Lithuanian Armed Forces also participate in the UK Joint Expeditionary Force formed in 2014.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: In 2009, to encourage regional cooperation, Lithuania joined the initiative to form the Lithuanian–Polish–Ukrainian Brigade.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Soon after the restoration of independence, Lithuania applied for NATO membership in January 1994. Together with another six Central and Eastern European countries, Lithuania was invited to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the 2002 Prague summit and became a member of the Alliance in March 2004. Lithuania entered NATO on full-fledged rights immediately after the procedures of joining the North Atlantic Treaty were completed and acquired rights to participate in the political decision-making process of the Alliance. Integration into the military structures of NATO became a long-term task of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Mechanised Infantry Brigade "Iron Wolf" was affiliated to the Danish Division based on agreements signed by Denmark and Lithuania in August 2006. Lithuanian Armed Forces started to boost the Brigade's ability to cooperate with the forces of other NATO members.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Baltic Air Policing was established by NATO allies since Lithuania and the other Baltic states do not have capabilities to secure their airspace. Fighter jets of NATO members are permanently deployed in Zokniai airport near the city Šiauliai to provide cover for the Baltic states airspace. In 2013, NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence was established in Vilnius.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Following the 2016 Warsaw summit, NATO Enhanced Forward Presence was deployed in the Baltic States with the multinational battalion battle group in Lithuania being led by Germany.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Lithuania also cooperates with the two other Baltic states – Latvia and Estonia in several trilateral Baltic defence co-operation initiatives:


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: In January 2011, the Baltic states were invited to join Nordic Defence Cooperation, the defence framework of the Nordic countries. In November 2012, the three countries agreed to create a joint military staff in 2013. Future co-operation will include sharing of national infrastructures for training purposes and specialisation of training areas "(BALTTRAIN)" and collective formation of battalion-sized contingents for use in the NATO rapid-response force.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Lithuanian soldiers have taken part in international operations since 1993. From the summer of 2005 until 2014, Lithuania has been part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF), leading a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in the town of Chaghcharan in the province of Ghor. The PRT included personnel from Denmark, Iceland and the US. There have also been special operation forces units in Afghanistan. They were placed in Kandahar province.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: Since joining international operations in 1993, Lithuania has lost two soldiers. 1st Lt. Normundas Valteris fell in Bosnia (17 April 1996), Sgt. Arūnas Jarmalavičius in Afghanistan (22 May 2008).


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: In May 2015, the Lithuanian parliament voted to return the conscription and the conscripts started their training in August 2015. This was after the Crimean Crisis, which heightened international tensions and thus ended the brief respite of seven years when Lithuania abolished its conscription in 2008.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: a. The 23,000 is structured like this: 14,500 in the Army, 1,500 in the Air Force, 700 in the Navy, and 6,300 in other units. The other units includes the Logistics Support Command (1,400), Training and Doctrine Command (1,500), the Special Operations Force (unknown) as well as the battalions of HQ and Military Police (2,600).


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: b. The paramilitary includes 10,600 of the Riflemen's Union and 3,550 of the State Border Guard Service.


title: Lithuanian Armed Forces

text: c. The number of 1.05 billion is without including military pensions. When the military pensions are included, the military budget reaches 1.12 billion.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: A dwarf () is a type of supernatural being in Germanic folklore, including mythology. Accounts of dwarfs vary significantly throughout history however they are commonly, but not exclusively, presented as living in mountains or stones and being skilled craftsmen. In early literary sources, only males are explicitly referred to as dwarfs, although they are described as having sisters and daughters, while both male and female dwarfs feature in later saga literature and folklore. Dwarfs are sometimes described as short, however, scholars have noted that this is neither explicit nor of relevance to their roles in the earliest sources.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: Dwarfs continue to feature in modern popular culture such as in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Terry Pratchett, where they are often, but not exclusively, presented as distinct from elves.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: The modern English noun "dwarf" descends from . It has a variety of cognates in other Germanic languages, including and . According to Vladimir Orel, the English noun and its cognates ultimately descend from Proto-Germanic . A different etymology of "dwarf" traces it to Proto-Germanic , with the "r" sound being the product of Verner's Law. Anatoly Liberman connects the Germanic word with Modern English "dizzy", suggesting a link between the etymology and their role in inflicting mental diseases on humans, similar to some other supernatural beings in Germanic folklore such as elves.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: For forms earlier than the Proto-Germanic reconstruction, the etymology of the word "dwarf" is highly contested. Scholars have proposed theories about the origins of the being by way of historical linguistics and comparative mythology, including the idea that dwarfs may have originated as nature spirits, as beings associated with death, or as a mixture of concepts. Competing etymologies include a basis in the Indo-European root (meaning "damage"), the Indo-European root (whence, for example, modern English "dream" and German "deception"), and scholars have made comparisons with Sanskrit (a type of "demonic being").


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: Modern English has two plurals for the word "dwarf": "dwarfs" and "dwarves". "Dwarfs" remains the most commonly employed plural. The minority plural "dwarves" was recorded as early as 1818. However, it was later popularized by the fiction of philologist and legendarium author J. R. R. Tolkien, originating as a hypercorrective mistake. It was employed by Tolkien for some time before 1917. Regarding his use of this plural, Tolkien wrote in 1937, "I am afraid it is just a piece of private bad grammar, rather shocking in a philologist; but I shall have to go with it."


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: Scholars have noted that the ('black elves') appear to be the same beings as dwarfs, given that both are described in the "Prose Edda" as the residents of Svartálfaheimr. Another potential synonym is dökkálfar ('dark elves') however it is unclear whether and were considered the same at the time of the writing of the Prose Edda. The partial overlap of dwarfs in Eddic sources with elves is supported by the names of dwarfs recorded in the Dvergatal section of Völuspá, which include Álfr ('Elf'), Gandálfr ('Wand-elf'), Vindálf ('Wind-elf'). Yngvi is also named in the Dvergatal, and is a name of Freyr, a god who was given Álfheimr to rule, according to Grímnismál.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: After the Christianization of the Germanic peoples, dwarfs continued in the folklore of Germanic-speaking areas of Europe and in the literary works produced there. Opinions on the degree of continuity in beliefs on dwarfs before and after Christianisation differ greatly. Some scholars, such as Rudolf Simek, propose that the folk beliefs remained essentially intact in the transitional period, making later sources greatly informative on pre-Christian Germanic religion, while others such as Schäfke on the other hand arguing that there is no resemblance between Eddic and skaldic dwarfs and those in later sources.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: Dwarfs feature throughout both fornaldarsögur and riddarasögur. In Völsunga saga which details the events that unfold after Loki extorts treasure out of the dwarf Andvari, to pay the wergild for his killing of Ótr, a being whose brother Regin is also described in some sources as either resembling or being a dwarf. In Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, the sword Tyrfing is forged, and subsequently cursed, by a dwarf named Dvalinn, and another named Dulin in the Hauksbók manuscript.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: In German literature, many dwarfs can make themselves invisible, typically via a "Tarnkappe" (cloak of invisibility), which has been suggested to be an ancient attribute of dwarfs. Depending on the story, they may be hostile or friendly to humans.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: The dwarf Alberich plays a vital role in the "Nibelungenlied", where he guards the Nibelung's treasure and has the strength of twelve men. He is defeated by Siegfried and afterwards serves the hero. In "Ortnit", Alberich seduces the queen of Lombardy, thereby spawning the hero Ortnit. The dwarf then aids Ortnit in his adventures after revealing to the hero that he is his father. In "Das Lied vom Hürnen Seyfrid", Siegfried is aided by the dwarf Eugel, who is son of the dwarf king Nibelung, originator of the Nibelung's treasure.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: The hero Dietrich von Bern is portrayed in adventures involving dwarfs. In "Laurin", he fights against the dwarf King Laurin at the dwarf's magical rose garden. He later rescues a woman whom Laurin had kidnapped. A similar plot occurs in the fragmentary poem "Goldemar". In "Virginal", Dietrich rescues the dwarf queen Virginal from a force of invading heathens. The dwarfs Eggerich and Baldung play a role in aiding Dietrich in the poem "Sigenot": Baldung gives Dietrich a magical gem that prevents him from being bitten when thrown into a snake pit, whereas Eggerich helps Dietrich and Hildebrand escape. In the Heldenbuch-Prosa, a dwarf takes Dietrich out of this world after the death of all the other heroes, a role given to Laurin in some different versions of Dietrich's end.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: Dwarfs feature in the modern folklore of Germanic-speaking regions of Europe such as the Simonside Dwarfs in Northumberland, who are sometimes believed to use lights to lure people off paths, akin to a will-o'-the-wisp.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: Some dwarfs in modern folklore have been argued to belong to a wider group of smith-beings living within hollow mountains or in caves such as the Grinkenschmied. These craftsmen can be referred to explicitly as dwarfs or terms that describe their roles such as ('mountain smith'). Mounds in Denmark can also be referred to by names derived from their inhabitants such as 'smedsberg' or 'smedshoie' ('smith's hill' or 'smith's mound'). Anglian folklore tells that one can hear a forge from within a mound and feel furnace fires under the earth, while in Switzerland, the heat can be attributed to the underground kitchens of dwarfs. In one example, the heat of the furnace is believed to increase the fertility of the soil .


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: Rather than existing a "true" single nature of a dwarf, they vary in their characteristics, not only across region and time, but also between one another in the same cultural context and some are capable of changing their form entirely. The scholar Ármann Jakobsson notes that accounts of dwarfs in the Eddas and the section of Ynglinga saga regarding Sveigðir lack prominence in their narratives and cohesive identity. Based on this he puts forward the idea that dwarfs in these sources are set apart from other beings by their difficulty to be defined and generalised, ultimately stemming from their intrinsic nature to be hidden and as the "Other" that stands in contrast with humans.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: Based on the etymology of dwarf, it has been proposed that the oldest conception of a dwarf was as exclusively a formless spirit, potentially as in the case of disease-causing dwarfs, however, this view is not seen in the oldest manuscript accounts. In the quotation of Völuspá in the Prose Edda, the dwarfs emerge as beings with human form (), while in the Codex Regius manuscript the first two dwarfs created either dwarfs or people with human forms. The prose of the Ynglinga saga describes a dwarf sitting, standing and speaking, leading to the proposal that at the time of writing, dwarfs were believed to, at least sometimes, have a human-like form. It nonetheless appears to have been recognised as a dwarf, however that may have been due to its behaviour as opposed to its physical appearance. In skaldic and Eddic sources, it has been noted that their roles are what define them rather than their physical appearance, which has no great relevance.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: Many dwarf names in Eddic sources relate to light and brightness such as ('the gleaming one') and ('glowing'). These names are not explained by stories but it has been theorised that they refer to the fires in the forges the dwarfs work, or to ('grave mound fires') that are found in later Icelandic folklore. In contrast, Snorri describes dökkálfar (which are typically identified as dwarfs) as "blacker than pitch". Alvíss is described by Thor in Alvíssmál as being as unsuitable to wed his daughter Þrúðr as he was "pale about the nostrils" and resembled a þurs.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: In Middle High German heroic poetry, most dwarfs have long beards, but some may have a childish appearance.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: In the early Old Norse sources, dwarfs are typically described vaguely, with no reference to them being particularly small; in the legendary sagas and later folklore, however, they are often described as being short and ugly.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri are four dwarfs, potentially depicted as four anthropomorphic figures on the hogback stone in Heysham in Lancashire, that according to the Prose Edda each hold up a corner of the sky, that was fashioned from the skull of Ymir. It has been suggested that this would imply that dwarfs could be very tall, however, it has been noted that the sky could have been conceived of as being close to the earth at the horizon. Regin, a figure identified as either a dwarf or resembling a dwarf, is a similar size to the hero Sigurd on both the Ramsund carving and carvings from the Hylestad Stave Church. Dwarf names in Eddic sources include ('tall enough') and ('high'), however, the terms are ambiguous and do not necessarily mean the dwarfs were conceived of as tall relative to a human. Some names suggest a small size such as Nori and Nabbi, which have been translated as "tiny" and "little nub" respectively, however it has been argued that this was not necessarily the general rule.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: Not all late sagas involving dwarfs describe their size but all that do describe them as short. In some German stories, the dwarf takes on the attributes of a knight but is most clearly separated from normal humans by his small size, in some cases only reaching up to the knees. Despite their small size, dwarfs in these contexts typically have superhuman strength, either by nature or through magical means. Anatoly Liberman suggests that dwarfs may have originally been thought of as lesser supernatural beings, which became literal smallness after Christianization.


title: Dwarf (folklore)

text: Diversity in appearance is not only seen between dwarfs throughout time and region but also with individual dwarfs, who can be capable of changing their shape and size, such as in Reginsmál, in which the dwarf Andvari lived as a pike in the water due to curse from a Norn, however, could also take on a human-like shape. In later German folklore, the Zwergkönig ('Dwarf King') is a tiny being but is capable of becoming enormously tall at will.