naist-nlp/zeshel huggingface dataset:
Digger ( soldier ) Digger is an Australian and New Zealand military slang term for soldiers from Australia and New Zealand . It originated during World War I . Origin . There are numerous theories about the origin of the term . Before World War I , the term " digger " was widely used in Australasia to mean a miner , and referring to a Kauri gum - digger in New Zealand . In Australia and New Zealand , the term " digger " has egalitarian connotations from the Victorian Eureka Stockade Rebellion of 1854 which , in turn , may have had resonance from earlier use of the term Diggers as egalitarians . Many Australian and New Zealand soldiers in the Second Boer War , 1899 – 1902 , were former miners and at the Battle of Elands River ( 1900 ) , the Australian defenders earned a reputation as diggers , hastily constructing dugout defences in the hard ground . Another story for the origin of this term dates it to 25 April 1915 , during the Gallipoli campaign . Following the landing at Gallipoli , General Sir Ian Hamilton wrote to General William Birdwood , the commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps ( ANZAC ) , adding in postscript : " P . S . — You have got through the difficult business , now you have only to dig , dig , dig , until you are safe . " However , there is no hard evidence to suggest that Hamilton ' s message is the reason why " digger " was applied to ANZAC troops in general . One other theory is the fact that ANZAC troops were especially good at digging tunnels between their own trenches and the enemies , and were regarded by both sides as diggers , one being derogatory and the other more in jest . The job of digging between the trenches was very hard , especially when both sides ' diggers met in the tunnels . ANZACs believed that it was a compliment to be referred to as diggers , because it indicated you were good at a very difficult job . W . H . Downing , in " Digger Dialects " ( 1919 ) , a glossary of words and phrases used by Australian personnel during the war , says that Digger was first used to mean a New Zealand or Australian soldier in 1916 . It appears to have become popular among New Zealand troops before being adopted by Australians . The word was not in wide use amongst soldiers until 1917 . Usage . While New Zealanders would call each other " Digger " , all other nationalities , including Australians , tended to call them " Kiwi s " . The equivalent slang for a British soldier was " Tommy " from Tommy Atkins . However , while the Anzacs would happily refer to themselves as " Diggers " , British soldiers generally resented being called " Tommy " . Football team . Between 1998 and 2003 , the term was used in the name of a team in the Victorian Football League , the Bendigo Diggers . This was partly in reference to Bendigo ' s history as a centre of the gold - mining industry . The team changed its nickname to " Bombers " when it became aligned to Essendon . In 2001 , Athletics Australia suggested that it would use " Diggers " as the nickname of the Australian athletics team . The proposal was withdrawn after a public outcry and protest from the Returned and Services League of Australia .
Tadeusz Piskor Tadeusz Piskor ( 1889 - 1951 ) was a Polish Army general . Before World War I , he was a member of Polish pro - independence organizations . During World War I he served in the Polish Legions , and subsequently fought in the 1919 – 21 Polish - Soviet War . During the Interbellum , he held various posts , including Chief of the General Staff , and Army Inspector . During the September 1939 Campaign , he commanded Army Lublin . His forces were defeated in the Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski by German forces , and he became a prisoner of war . After the war , he settled in London , where he died in 1951 .
Siege of U . K . bases in Basra The Siege of U . K . bases in Basra was conducted and maintained by the Mahdi Army in Basra for most of 2007 . Following the reported success of the coalition operation codenamed Sinbad , whose purpose was to stabilise Basra and prepare it for the turning over of security to Iraqi government forces , the city was overrun by insurgent forces from three different militia forces , including the Mahdi Army , and the British found themselves under siege in their bases and capable of conducting only limited raids in armored convoys into the city . The Bases . By this point in the war there were only two British bases left in Basra . One was on the outskirts of the city at the Basra airport with a garrison of 5 , 000 soldiers . The second , which took most of the brunt of the fighting , was in the city center at Basra Palace , a former palace of Saddam Hussein , with a garrison of 700 soldiers . The Siege . The first British soldier that was killed in the city , following operation Sinbad , was killed on February 27 . The airport base was being constantly hit by mortar and rocket fire during the siege but the Basra City battlegroup at the palace was involved in most of the fighting . The Uti Triangle , a flat zone combining open wasteland , marsh and clustered buildings , was being used by the Mahdi army to conduct the mortar and rocket attacks on both the airport and the palace . More than 300 rockets hit the airport in the two months between June and August . Sniper attacks were also a deadly and common occurrence for British soldiers as well as IED attacks on patrols that were going out of the bases . The IED attacks and organised ambushes also hit convoys from the airport that were transporting needed food , fuel , ammunition and other equipment for the palace . Convoys were primarily used for this task because helicopters couldn ' t be used because of the high risk of being shot down . The Retreat . The Danish contingent of 470 soldiers were coming under attack and by August 2 , the Danish army withdrew from Iraq . On September 3 , under the cover of darkness and without any media attention , the British withdrew their troops from Basra Palace to the airport , leaving their last foothold they had in the city . Basra was left to the militias . Aftermath . Following the withdrawal the U . K . was heavily criticized for pulling back from the city , mostly by the U . S . military . Formally the cities control was handed over to Iraqi security forces , but the control of the city was in the hands of radical militias . They led a turf war in the coming months over control of the city and up to 100 people , mostly civilians , were being reported killed each month . A black market monopoly formed over the oil exports from the city . At the end of March 2008 , the situation in the city led to an Iraqi troop surge into the city and the 2008 Battle of Basra . See also .
Ricardo Brinzoni Ricardo Brinzoni ( October 6 , 1945 – October 24 , 2005 ) was an Argentine military officer , serving as Argentina ' s Chief - of - staff . Born in Buenos Aires , Brinzoni entered Military School on 1963 , and trained as a paratrooper , qualifying in December 1964 . He built a career in the military and reached the rank of Brigadier General in 1990 . In the 1990s he served as military attaché in Uruguay . On December 13 , 1999 , President Fernando de la Rúa appointed Brinzoni as Army Chief - of - staff and a Lieutenant General . During the military government of 1976 – 1983 , Brinzoni was Secretary - General of the military government of Chaco Province . After the return to democracy , he was accused of involvement in the " Massacre of Margarita Belén " , in which 22 political prisoners were executed on December 13 , 1976 . While in command of the Army he suggested bringing together human rights groups , the Catholic Church and the Army to form a " reconciliation panel " in order to find out the whereabouts of the " desaparecidos " . Nevertheless he was heavily criticised for defending the repression and military illegal actions of the military government , for allegedly protecting the officers involved , and for setting back the reconciliation process that had been started by his predecessor , Martín Balza . Brinzoni courted further controversy when it was revealed that his lawyer during this period , Juan Enrique Torres Bande , was a member of the neo - Nazi New Triumph Party . Following Néstor Kirchner ' s inauguration as President in 2003 , Brinzoni was retired and replaced by Roberto Bendini . Brinzoni subsequently issued several public statements criticising Kirchner ' s government . Brinzoni was married to the former Lidia María Rosa Odino ; they had three children and two grandchildren . He died of pancreatic cancer in Buenos Aires in 2005 , aged 60 .
Hermann Becker Leutnant Hermann Becker ( 10 September 1887 – 21 April 1970 ) , was a World War I German fighter ace credited with 23 victories . Early life . Hermann Becker was born on 10 September 1887 in Tribus , Upper Silesia . World War I service . Becker joined the air force in 1916 as an aerial observer on the Eastern Front . After completing his pilot ' s training , Becker moved to KG 5 and Schutzstaffel 11 in France where he was involved in action at the Somme and Verdun . On 12 January 1917 , he was awarded the First Class Iron Cross , having been previously given the Second Class award . In May 1917 , Becker transferred to Jagdstaffel 12 to fly fighter aircraft . He scored his first aerial victory on 6 June 1917 . On 16 June 1917 he was wounded in action fighting No . 60 Squadron RFC and was unable to fly for several months . He would not resume his string of victories until 23 September 1917 . On 13 July 1918 , with 11 victories to his credit , he was promoted to squadron command as a Staffelführer and continued to have success in part because he was issued a Fokker D VII . His second victory on 26 September 1918 was especially memorable ; when he set an Airco DH . 4 afire , the observer leaped overboard without a parachute just as the bomber exploded . Becker made his 23rd kill on 3 November 1918 , when he and his wingmen shot down five SPAD s in five minutes . Becker was nominated for a Pour le Mérite medal , but never received the Blue Max because of the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm on 9 November , he never received it . Post World War I . Hermann Becker survived the war but nothing more is known of him .
Sverdlov - class cruiser The " Sverdlov " class cruisers , Soviet designation Project 68bis , were the last conventional cruisers built for the Soviet Navy . They were based on Italian pre second world war concepts and designs , but with deployment on the North Atlantic and Arctic sea routes as a potential role and represent an intelligent approach with a modest armament of conventional 6 inch triple turrets on a large seaworthy hull able to run fast in rough water and fight her armament in a seaway . The expectation was that they would be accompanied by battlecruisers that were never completed or approved . By the mid 1950s the development of USN and RN jet strike aircraft meant gun cruisers increasingly could only be used for gunfire support and as command ships . Only 14 Sverdlovs were completed before Nikita Khrushchev called a halt to the programme , with 2 hulls being scrapped on the slip and 4 more partially complete Sverdlovs launched in 1954 , being scrapped in 1959 . Conventional cruisers were considered obsolescent by all navies with the advent of the guided missile , although many dissenting Russian Admirals and officers still considered a cruiser effective in overcast weather in the late 1950s ' before the age of the all weather carrier strike aircraft . A total of 30 ships were planned . Only the Mikhail Kutuzov is preserved in Novorossiysk . Design . These ships were improved and slightly enlarged versions of the " Chapayev " class cruisers . They had the same main armament , machinery and side protection as the earlier ships , but had increased fuel capacity for greater range , an all welded hull , improved underwater protection , increased anti aircraft artillery and radar . The ultimate radar suite was : The " Admiral Nakhimov " had an SS - N - 1 anti - ship missile launcher installed in place of A and B turrets as a trial in 1957 . This installation was not successful , the ship was rapidly decommissioned and was used as a target ship in 1961 . The " Dzerzhinsky " had a SAM launcher for the SA - 2 missile , replacing the aft turrets in 1960 - 62 . This conversion was also not successful and no further ships were converted . As the entire missile installation was above the armored deck and the missile itself , based on the SA - 2 " Guideline " was liquid - fueled ( acid / kerosene ) , it would have represented a serious hazard to the ship in action . The " Senyavin " and " Zhdanov " were converted into command ships in 1971 by replacing the aft turrets with extra accommodation and electronics . The two command ships were fitted with a helicopter deck and hangar together with a SA - N - 4 SAM missile system and 4 twin 30mm guns . Decommissioned late 1980s . She ran aground in December 1994 at Hasvik , Norway on her way to India for scrapping Ships . Five more ships were scrapped incomplete .
Soviet helicopter carrier Moskva Moskva was the first of her class of helicopter carrier s in service with the Soviet Navy . Laid down at Nikolayev South ( Shipyard No . 444 ) , " Moskva " was launched in 1965 and she was commissioned two years later . Moskva was followed by " Leningrad " , which was commissioned in late 1968 ; there were no further vessels built , reportedly due to the poor handling of the ships in rough seas . Both were conventionally powered . The " Moskva " s were not true " aircraft carriers " in that they did not carry any fixed - wing aircraft ; the air wing was composed entirely of helicopter s . They were designed primarily as anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) vessels , and her weapons and sensor suite was optimized against the nuclear submarine threat . Shipboard ASW armament included a twin SUW - N - 1 launcher capable of delivering a FRAS - 1 projectile carrying a 450 mm torpedo ( or a 5 kiloton nuclear warhead ) ; a pair of RBU - 6000 ASW mortars ; and a set of torpedo tubes . For self - defense , the Moskvas had two twin SA - N - 3 SAM launchers with reloads for a total of 48 surface - to - air missiles , along with two twin 57 mm / 80 guns . A " Mare Tail " variable depth sonar worked in conjunction with heliborne sensors to hunt submarines . Their strategic role was to defend the Soviet ballistic missile submarine bastions against incursions by Western attack submarines , forming the flagships of an ASW task force . " Leningrad " was taken out of service in 1991 , but " Moskva " remained in service until the late 1990s , when she , too , was scrapped .
Charlemont Fort Charlemont Fort was a garrison built in Charlemont , County Armagh in 1602 by Lord Mountjoy . It was destroyed in 1920 by fire and the only building remaining today is the gatehouse . The name " Charlemont " came from Charles Blount ' s Christian name . It was situated on the Armagh bank of the River Blackwater , it was armed with 150 men under the command of Sir Toby Caulfield , whose descendants took the name Charlemont from the place . The Stronghold of Charlemont proved to be of great strategic importance in the Irish Confederate Wars in the 1640s , as it was one of only a handful of modern fortresses to be found in Ireland at that time . It was captured by the forces of Felim O ' Neill in 1641 and the Ulster army of the Irish Confederates managed to hold onto the fort throughout the 1640s . It was eventually captured by Charles Coote after he had been reinforced by New Model Army soldiers in late 1650 , but hundreds of Cootes soldiers were killed in the effort . The governor ' s house within the fort , which ceased to be a public building in the mid 19th Century , later became the home of the Charlemonts . Destruction . On 30 July 1920 a group of around forty armed men seized the fort , which was being occupied by a caretaker , and burned it down . The ruins were sold in 1921 to a masonry contractor . In 1920 the family also lost their great house Roxborough Castle , Dungannon County Tyrone to the same fate .
Vladimir Boldyrev General of the Army Vladimir Anatolyevich Boldyrev ( Russian : Владимир Анатольевич Болдырев ; born January 5 , 1949 ) was Commander - in - Chief of the Russian Ground Forces ( 2008 - 2010 ) . Boldyrev was born on 5 January 1949 in Krasnoyarsky , Volgograd Oblast . He graduated the Moscow Military Command High School ( ) in 1971 , and Frunze Academy in 1978 . He served in various command positions in the Belorussian Military District , and later served in senior staff for operations department in the Transbaikal Military District . He later served as Commander of the 36th Army in 1994 , and First Deputy Commander of the Transbaikal Military District in 1998 . In May 2001 , he moved to position of the First Deputy Commander of the Siberian Military District , and later became commander . He transferred to the position of the Commander of the North Caucasus Military District in December 2002 . He was promoted to the rank of General of the Army in December 2003 . In July 2004 , he assumed position of the Commander of the Volga - Urals Military District , which was his third Military District commander position . He served at this position until he became Commander - in - Chief of the Ground Forces in August 2008 . In 2010 he was discharged due to age limit .
French cruiser Destrées The Destrées was a protected cruiser of the French Navy , named in honour of Victor - Marie d ' Estrées , and lead ship of her class . After her trials in 1900 , " Destrées " was sent to Brest , where she was used for training . At the outbreak of the First World War , she was appointed to the 2nd light cruiser squadron in the Channel , before being sent to the Eastern Mediterranean in 1915 . On 30 April , she reached Port Said and was tasked with the defence of the Suez Canal . In September , she took part in rescue operations to save people from the Armenian Genocide . After the War , she was sent to the Far East . Struck in 1923 , she was used as a support ship in Toulon before being sold for scrap .
Action of 30 September 1639 The Action of 30 September 1639 was a naval battle near Mormugão , just south of Goa , India , when a squadron of 9 Dutch ships captured and destroyed 3 Portuguese galleon s . The Portuguese galleons " Bom Jesus " 74 and " São Sebastião " 50 were being careened and had their guns removed and were captured without fighting . " Bom Jesus " was set alight and allowed to drift toward the new galleon " São Boaventura " , which was refusing to surrender , causing " São Boaventura " to catch fire and blow up . Some of the unarmed " frigates " approached toward the end but were frightened off by the Dutch boats . The Dutch had a total of 261 guns , 810 sailors and 170 soldiers on their ships .
Destroyer carbine The Destroyer Carbine is a small bolt action carbine usually chambered for the 9 x 23 mm Largo cartridge . It was used by Spanish police and prison services , including the Guardia Civil from the mid - 1930s until the late 1960s , replacing the El Tigre Rifle . It is essentially a scaled down Model 1893 Mauser with two rear - mounted locking lugs and a Mauser - style two - position flip safety . The Destroyer fired the same ammunition as the standard - issue police handgun and took the same magazines , however the longer rifle barrel resulted in greater muzzle velocity and accuracy , and subsequently range . It continued the tradition , started in the 1890s , of issuing police units with a short , handy , repeating carbine in pistol ammunition calibre . The Destroyer was initially manufactured in Eibar , Spain by Gaztanaga y Compania , then by Ayra Duria S . A . and possibly others , with some minor improvements made over time . The carbine is more accurate than a self - loading service pistol , however it is not a function of barrel length , but rather the lack of moving parts and the stable firing platform offered by a weapon with a sturdy shoulder stock . Additional velocity gained by the longer barrel is marginally helpful , but does not significantly affect the effective range of the rifle . The better sights and longer sight radius are more critical in allowing the user to hit targets at greater distances . This is because most pistol calibers do not generate enough gas volume to take advantage of the extra 12 - 16 inches of barrel length , and the small cases can ' t be effectively loaded with longer , more aerodynamic rifle projectiles . While no longer in government service , the Destroyer Carbine is prized as a collectors item due to its comparative rarity , as well as being a desirable target rifle due to favorable shooting characteristics such as minimal recoil and relatively inexpensive ammunition . While all rimless 9 mm diameter pistol cartridges will chamber in a Destroyer Carbine , and consequently will fire , it is extremely unsafe to use ammunition other than 9 x 23 mm Largo due to the dangers of excessive pressure . Some late - production experimental Destroyer Carbines were produced in other calibers such as . 38 Auto or 9 mm Para and are even more highly sought after . www . ballisticsbytheinch . com External links . www . bbti . com
List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II The Medal of Honor was created during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces . The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their own life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy of the United States . Due to the nature of this medal , it is commonly presented posthumously . World War II , or the Second World War , was a global military conflict , the joining of what had initially been two separate conflicts . The first began in Asia in 1937 as the Second Sino - Japanese War ; the other began in Europe in 1939 with the German and Soviet invasion of Poland . This global conflict split the majority of the world ' s nations into two opposing military alliances : the Allies and the Axis powers . The United States , and its military , was drawn into World War II on December 7 , 1941 , when Axis - member Japan launched the Attack on Pearl Harbor and European territories in the Pacific Ocean . During this war 464 United States military personnel received the Medal of Honor , 266 ( 57 . 3 % ) of them posthumously . Seventeen of these were Japanese - Americans fighting in both Europe and the Pacific , many of which were upgraded from Distinguished Service Crosses during the Clinton administration . Additionally , the only recipient , Douglas Albert Munro , from the United States Coast Guard received the Medal for his actions during this war . The earliest action for which a US serviceman earned a World War II Medal of Honor was the December 7 , 1941 , attack on Pearl Harbor , for which seventeen US servicemen were awarded a Medal . The last action to earn a contemporaneous Medal of Honor prior to the August 15 , 1945 , end of hostilities in World War II , were those of Melvin Mayfield , on July 29 , 1945 – though several honorees may have been cited for their Medal after Mayfield ' s recognition on May 31 , 1946 . Additionally , seven African American and twenty - two Asian American veterans who had received the Distinguished Service Cross during the war were awarded the Medal of Honor in 1997 and 2000 — most of them posthumously — after two studies determined that racial discrimination had caused them to be overlooked at the time . Z . N . B . A in the citation indicates that the award was given posthumously .
Polish 151st Fighter Escadrille The 151st Fighter Escadrille of the Polish Air Force ( Polish : " 151 . Eskadra Myśliwska " ) was one of the fighter units of the Polish Army in 1939 . History . In September 1939 the 121st Fighter Escadrille was attached to the Operational Group Narew . Crew and equipment . On 1 September 1939 the escadrille had 10 PZL P . 7a airplanes .