naist-nlp/zeshel huggingface dataset:
Battle of Meung - sur - Loire The Battle of Meung - sur - Loire took place on 15 June 1429 . It was one of Joan of Arc ' s battles following relief of the siege at Orléans . This campaign was the first sustained French offensive in a generation in the Hundred Years ' War . Background . Meung - sur - Loire ( now in Loiret ) was a small town on the northern bank of the Loire river in central France , slightly west of Orléans . It controlled a bridge of strategic significance during the latter part of the war . Captured by the English a few years earlier as a staging point for a planned invasion of southern France , the French offensive recaptured the bridge and hampered English movement south of the river during the campaign . The French Loire Campaign of 1429 consisted of five actions : Virtually all of France north of the Loire had fallen to foreign occupation by the end of 1428 . The bridge at Orléans had been destroyed shortly before the siege lifted . The French had lost control of all other river crossings . Three swift and numerically small battles at Jargeau , Meung - sur - Loire , and Beaugency demonstrated renewed French confidence and laid the groundwork for subsequent French offenses on Rheims and Paris . The Loire campaign killed , captured , or disgraced a majority of the top tier of English commanders and decimated the numbers of the highly skilled English longbow men . Tactics . English defenses at Meung - sur - Loire consisted of three components : the walled town , the fortification at the bridge , and a large walled castle just outside the town . The castle served as headquarters to the English command of John Talbot , 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and Thomas Scales . Joan of Arc and Duke John II of Alençon controlled a force that included captains Jean d ' Orléans , Gilles de Rais , Jean Poton de Xaintrailles , and La Hire . Estimates of numerical strength vary with the " Journal du Siège d ' Orléans " citing 6000 - 7000 for the French . A number that large probably counts noncombatants . Bypassing the city and the castle , they staged a frontal assault on the bridge fortifications , conquered it in one day , and installed a garrison . This hampered English movement south of the Loire .
Constantine Palaiologos ( son of Michael VIII ) Constantine Palaiologos ( ; 1261 – 5 May 1306 ) was a Byzantine prince of the Palaiologos dynasty , who also served as a general in the wars against the Serbs and Turks . Constantine was the third son of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos ( r . 1259 – 1282 ) and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzaina . He was born in autumn 1261 in Constantinople , which had just been recovered from the Latin Empire in August . He was hence a true " porphyrogennetos " ( " purple - born " ) prince , and was often referred to as such . His father reportedly accorded him honours above even those of a " despotes " . In 1280 , Constantine fought against the Serbs in Macedonia , and was then dispatched against the Turkish raiders in Asia Minor , where he was successful in clearing the Meander Valley of their presence . He later rebuilt the famous Monastery of Stoudios in Constantinople . In 1293 , he was slandered to his brother , Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos ( r . 1282 – 1328 ) , and placed under arrest . He later became a monk , with the monastic name Athanasios . He died at Constantinople on 5 May 1306 , and was buried at the Lips Monastery . From his marriage to Irene Palaiologina Raoulaina , he had one son , the " panhypersebastos " John Palaiologos .
André Boniface Louis Riqueti de Mirabeau André Boniface Louis Riqueti , Vicomte de Mirabeau ( 30 November 1754 – 15 September 1792 ) , brother of the orator Honoré Mirabeau , was one of the reactionary leaders at the opening of the French Revolution . Life . Known as Barrel Mirabeau ( " Mirabeau - Tonneau " ) because of his voluminous taste for drink , he was sent to the army in Malta in 1776 , and spent part of his two years there in prison for insulting a religious procession . He served as a colonel , commanding the Touraine Regiment under the comte de Rochambeau in the American Revolution . During the war , he was in several sea - fights with the English and witnessed the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 . In the following year , he had two narrow escapes from drowning . With his debts paid up by his father , he was elected by the noblesse of Limoges a deputy to the States General . Unlike his brother , he opposed the French Revolution . He was a violent conservative and opposed everything that threatened the old régime . and in 1790 left France to join the royalist counter - revolutionary forces in Germany . He was not very successful in his efforts to form a regiment from French exiles and deserters , and died of a stroke in Freiburg two years later . He once famously wrote that , He shared fully in the eccentric family pride ; and boasted of his brother ' s genius even when bitterly opposing him . He emigrated about 1790 and raised a legion which was to bear his name ; but his insolence alienated the German princes and his command was taken from him . He died in August 1792 of apoplexy or from a duel in Freiburg im Breisgau . He wrote some verse as well as various pamphlets .
Michael Casano Michael Peter Casano MC ( 1913 – 2006 ) was a Squadron Leader in the Royal Air Force , who served during World War II . Biography . Casano was born on 7 June 1913 at Folkestone and educated at Dover College . Having failed the entrance examination to the RAF College , Cranwell he joined the East Kent Regiment but bought himself out to gain a commission in the RAF three years later . Casano learned to fly in Egypt but a serious accident ( leading to a fractured skull ) meant that he was posted onto armoured cars . He led the RAF ’ s No 2 Armoured Car company during the Battle of Alamein . It was with this company during the fighting over the Fallujah Plain near Baghdad in the summer of 1941 that Casano won his MC . The citation reads : " The successes of the ' HAB ' force , both in Iraq and Syria , were largely due to this officer ; he operated virtually alone , and his zeal and devotion to duty deserves the highest praise . He displayed the greatest gallantry . " On 6 March 1943 Casano was badly wounded in a German air attack and whilst recovering he met Major - General Sir John Glubb ( Glubb Pasha ) ; the outcome of this meeting was he joined Sir John in the Arab Legion to take command of their armoured cars . Michael Casano continued to serve in the RAF after the war until 1958 when he became a driving instructor in Kent . He was a notable figure in Folkestone ( and a keen member of the Folkestone Rowing Club ) and a plaque to his memory was placed on the ( then ) newly restored Bandstand on the Leas in 2006 shortly after he died .
HMS Louis ( K515 ) The second HMS " Louis " ( K515 ) was a British Captain - class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II . Originally constructed as the United States Navy " Evarts " - class destroyer escort DE - 517 , she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1946 . Construction and transfer . The ship was laid down by the Boston Navy Yard in Boston , Massachusetts , on 9 July 1943 as the unnamed U . S . Navy destroyer escort DE - 517 and launched on 13 August 1943 . The United States transferred the ship to the United Kingdom under Lend - Lease on 9 November 1943 . Service history . The ship was commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as HMS " Louis " ( K515 ) under the command of Acting Lieutenant Commander Robert Johnston , RNR , on 9 November 1943 simultaneously with her transfer . She served on antisubmarine patrol and convoy escort duty in the Bay of Biscay , North Atlantic Ocean , and Arctic Ocean . On 24 August 1944 , she sank the German submarine " U - 445 " with depth charge s in the Bay of Biscay west of St . Nazaire , France , at position . The Royal Navy returneed " Louis " to the U . S . Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , on 20 March 1946 . Disposal . The United States Government sold " Louis " to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 17 June 1946 .
Dudley Stagpoole Dudley Stagpoole VC DCM ( 1838 – 1 August 1911 ) , born in Killunan , County Galway he was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . Details . Stagpoole was about 25 years old , and a Drummer in the 57th Regiment of Foot ( later The Middlesex Regiment ( Duke of Cambridge ' s Own ) , British Army during the Second Taranaki War campaign of the New Zealand land wars when the following deed took place place on 2 October 1863 at Allan ' s Hill near Poutoko in Taranaki , for which he and Ensign John Thornton Down were awarded the VC and a separate incident at Kaipakopako for which he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal . Further information . He died in Ware , Hertfordshire on 1 August 1911 . The medal . His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Princess of Wales ' s Royal Regiment and Queen ' s Regiment RHQ , Howe Barracks , Canterbury , Kent References . Listed in order of publication year
Battle of Speyerbach The Battle of Speyerbach took place on 15 November 1703 in the War of the Spanish Succession . A French army besieging Landau surprised and defeated a German relief army near Speyer . Prelude . In mid October 1703 , the allied armies prepared to go into winter camp along the Moselle , when Tallard by surprise closed in on Landau and started the siege on 17 October . On 28 October the allies ordered the Crown - Prince of Hesse - Kassel , the future King Frederick I of Sweden , to move south to lift the siege of Landau . Hesse - Kassel would have to cooperate with the Count of Nassau - Weilburg , who was on the right bank of the Rhine with 24 battalions and 18 squadrons . Both armies met on 13 November near Speyer and made camp south of the river Speyerbach , where Nassau - Weilburg and Hesse - Kassel waited for reinforcements to march to Landau on 16 November . Tallard had meanwhile decided not to wait for the enemy at Landau , but to march towards them and deliver battle . He ordered troops under Armand , marquis de Pracomtal at Saarbrücken , to join him at Essingen . The battle . The German troops were not expecting a French attack and their camp was not planned for defence . Furthermore , the command , including both Hesse - Kassel and Nassau - Weilburg , was gathered in Speyer on 15 November , in order to celebrate the Emperor ' s birthday . At 07 : 00 the united French armies marched towards Speyer , where they arrived at 12 : 00 and deployed until 13 : 00 . The German troops , in absence of their leaders reacted slowly and in confusion . General Vehlen did his best to position the army , but large gaps were left in the left wing . Tallard ordered 14 squadrons of his right wing to attack . This attack failed to destroy the allied left wing but succeeded in passing through the gaps in their line . At about this moment Nassau - Weilburg arrived on the field and intervened with his cavalry . This led to a defeat of the French cavalry . Instead of disengaging his troops and reforming a line , Nassau - Weilburg pursued the French with his Palatine cavalry on a terrain which was not suitable for horses . About 14 : 00 the whole French army attacked . On the left wing the French cavalry was decisively beaten by the allied cavalry . The French lost 19 standards and Pracontal was killed . In the center the allies held , but on their right wing the French were successful . On the utter right 6 battalions started by driving Vehlen ' s cavalry back . It lost its cohesion and fled . The French infantry attacked the Palatine infantry and this fled too . The French then started to envelop the enemy center . This caused an enormous amount of casualties amongst these troops . The remaining German troops retreated in good order and the battle ended when they started to recross the Speyerbach at about 17 : 00 . The French did not hinder them in this operation . Aftermath . Tallard achieved one of the biggest French victories of the war . Landau capitulated the same day . This French victory has been overshadowed in history by their colossal defeat in the Battle of Blenheim nine months later .
Lloyd Rowland Lloyd Rowland is the Deputy Director of the National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency ( NGA ) . As Deputy Director he assists the Director in formulating policy and managing agency activities in order to accomplish NGA ’ s mission . Rowland was appointed Deputy Director effective October 1 , 2006 , and holds the Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive . Previously , Rowland served in numerous leadership positions throughout NGA such as Business Executive , Deputy Director of the Office of Business Transformation , Director of Global Operations , Associate Deputy Director of Operations , Director of Geospatial Information , Deputy Director of the Central Imagery Tasking Office , and Associate Director of Assessments . Mr . Rowland was appointed to the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service ( DISES ) in 1996 . Military career . Rowland spent 24 years in the United States Air Force . During this time he commanded a squadron in Operation Desert Storm and had various postings throughout the U . S . , Europe , the Middle East , and Asia . His career focused on combat search and rescue and reconnaissance force employment and imagery management . His awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross for combat operations , Presidential Meritorious Rank , the Legion of Merit , the Defense Superior Service Medal , and the Air Medal . Education and training . Rowland has degrees from Memphis State University and the University of Southern California . His professional education includes Squadron Officer School , Armed Forces Staff College , the Air War College , the Intelligence Community Senior Leaders Program , the Intelligence Fellows Program , and the Harvard Senior Managers in Government Program . He is a member of the President ’ s Advisory Council at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington , D . C . , and is a board member of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance , and advisor to the United States Geospatial - Intelligence Foundation Board of Directors . " This article contains information from the United States Federal Government and is in the public domain .
Valentin Markin Valentin Markin ( aka " Arthur Walter " ) ( 1903 – 1934 ) was the chief illegal " rezident " and director of the espionage operations of the Soviet Union in the United States from 1933 to 1934 . Markin headed the activities of both Soviet military intelligence and that of the Soviet secret police during this period . Biography . Early years . Valentin Borisovich Markin was born in the city of Groznyi , part of the Russian empire , in 1903 . He studied at a business school as a young man . In 1920 , Markin joined the Komsomol , the youth section of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and he worked on Komsomol activities for the next two years in the region of the Caucuses . Career . Markin joined Soviet Military Intelligence ( GRU ) and was stationed in Berlin in the 1920s , where he married a nice Armenian girl who worked for the Soviet trade mission . His superior in Berlin was Ignace Reiss . At some point , Markin left the GRU and secured a position with the Foreign Department ( INO ) of the NKVD . In the United States , Markin lived under the pseudonym " Arthur Walter . " He also is known to have used the aliases Oskar , Hermann , and Davis . The novice GRU agent Whittaker Chambers met with Markin , posing as Hermann , in New York City in 1933 . He was , Chambers wrote , " a short , sturdy figure confined in a tight - fitting , rumpled suit and elevated on high - heeled German shoes . " His brush like mop of hair looked like it had been cut with a sickle . " I felt , " Chambers continued , " that I had met what is much more unusual in life than a thoroughly good man - a thoroughly bad one . " The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service ( SVR ) provided the authors Allen Weinstein and Alexander Vassiliev an unprecedented peek into their archives for the preparation of " The Haunted Wood " ( 1999 ) . One of the startling revelations in the text was that Valentin Markin had a source inside the U . S . State Department , codenamed " Willi , " who had access to " numerous ambassadorial , consular , and military attache reports from Europe and the Far East , " and could " filch transcripts of recorded conversations Secretary of State Cordell Hull and his assistants had with foreign ambassadors . " The Soviets paid " Willi " the extraordinary sum of $ 15 , 000 per year for the documents , which he passed to Markin through an intermediary codenamed " Leo , " subsequently identified as " New York Post " journalist Ludwig Lore . Death and legacy . In August 1934 , " Arthur Walter " ( Markin ) was found at the Luxor Baths of the Luxor Hotel ( New York City ) on 46th Street in New York City suffering from a serious head wound . He subsequently died in the hospital after having contracted pneumonia following surgery . Markin was replaced as chief illegal " rezident " by Boris Iakovlevich Bazarov .
Commemorative medal for voluntary service in Free France The Commemorative medal for voluntary service in Free France ( ) was a French commemorative war medal established by decree on 4 April 1946 on the 1945 proposition of general Edgard de Larminat to the Minister to the armies . The general proposed the creation of a distinctive award for the members of the Free French Forces who fought the Axis forces on most fronts during World War 2 . Beginning with a modest 7 , 000 men in July 1940 , the Free French Forces had grown to approximately 70 , 000 by June 1942 and were especially active in North Africa where they particularly distinguished themselves during the Battle of Bir Hakeim . These forces would later form the nucleus of the 1st Free French Division which distinguished itself in the Italian campaign of 1944 under general Koenig and of the 2nd Armoured Division in the liberation of Paris under general Leclerc . Also part of the whole , the Free French Naval Forces and Free French Air Force , although limited in numbers and equipment nonetheless took part in most major engagements alongside allied forces including in the Soviet Union . Free French Forces had grown to over half a million by 1944 and numbered well over a million in 1945 , they were instrumental in the final liberation of their country and participated in the invasion of Nazi Germany . Award statute . The Commemorative medal for voluntary service in Free France was awarded to all persons , civilian or military , French or foreign nationals : The medal was bestowed accompanied by an award certificate and was often accompanied by a scroll signed by general DeGaulle with the following message in French : " Answering the call of France in mortal peril , you rallied the Free French Forces . You were of those who , in the front ranks , allowed it to win final victory ! At the moment where the goal is attained , I want to thank you in friendship , simply , in the name of France ! 1 September 1945 . " Upon application for the award , a committee would examine and confirm or deny membership in the Free French Forces . This committee , presided by a superior staff officer of the Free French Forces , was composed of : Award description . The Commemorative medal for voluntary service in Free France was struck from silvered bronze in the shape of a Cross of Lorraine with variants of 36mm to 40mm high ( excluding suspension ring ) and 32mm wide . Its obverse bore the relief inscription on two lines " FRANCE " on the upper horizontal arm and " LIBRE " on the lower arm ( ) . Its reverse bore the dates " 18 JUIN 1940 " ( ) on the upper arm and " 8 MAI 1945 " ( ) on the lower arm . The medal hung from a dark blue silk moiré ribbon adorned with 2mm wide red oblique ( from low left to high right ) stripes separated by 4mm . The ribbon passed through a rectangular rigid suspension ring struck as an integral part of the cross .
Dick Johnson ( test pilot ) Richard Lowe " Dick " Johnson ( September 21 , 1917 - November 9 , 2002 ) is best known for being chief test pilot for Convair , a division of American defence contractor General Dynamics and being a founding member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1955 . Biography . Johnson was born in Cooperstown , North Dakota and educated at Oregon State University . In 1942 Johnson enlisted in the US Army Air Corps , and served as a P - 47 Thunderbolt pilot with the 57th Group ’ s , 66th Fighter Squadron , in North Africa and Italy . He completed 180 combat missions , and was awarded the Silver Star , the Legion of Merit , four Distinguished Flying Crosses , and fourteen Air Medal s . Johnson remained in the US Air Force until 1953 , having reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel . He died of brain cancer on November 9 , 2002 ; and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery .
Ensio Siilasvuo Pehr Hjalmar Ensio Siilasvuo , ( until 1936 Strömberg ) ( 1 January 1922 , Helsinki — 10 January 2003 , Espoo ) was a Finnish general . His father was general Hjalmar Siilasvuo of Winter War fame . Ensio Siilasvuo enlisted in the Finnish Army in 1940 and served as a chief - of - staff of an infantry regiment in 1945 . He was promoted to captain at the age of 22 and was wounded twice . After the war he led several UN missions . He was the Commander of the Finnish Contingent to Cyprus in 1965 , UNFICYP . He served in a variety of positions in the Middle - East after the Six - day War . He was Commander of the UNEF II in Sinai Peninsula from the end of the October War ( 1973 ) till August 1975 . In August 1975 he was assigned to the new post of Chief Coordinator of the United Nations Peacekeeping Missions in the Middle East , which he held until peace was reached between Egypt and Israel in 1979 . He retired in 1980 . He was promoted to the rank of full general on October 6 , 1998 .
Achaemenes ( satrap ) Achaemenes ( Haxāmaniš ) was the satrap of Egypt from 484 BC until his death in 460 BC , and a member of the Achaemenid dynasty . According to Herodotus , he was a son of Persian king Darius I by his wife Atossa , and full brother of Xerxes I . Ctesias , who wrongly calls him Achaemenides , states that he was a son of Xerxes , rather than his brother . After the first rebellion of Egypt , he was put in charge of the country by king Xerxes . He commanded the Persian fleet at Salamis Island ( 480 BC ) , and was defeated and slain by Inarus , the leader of the second rebellion of Egypt , during the Battle of Pampremis ( 460 / 459 BC ) .
John P . Johanson John Peter Johanson ( January 22 , 1865 – December 14 , 1937 ) was a sailor serving in the United States Navy during the Spanish – American War who received the Medal of Honor for bravery . Biography . Johanson was born January 22 , 1865 in Sweden and after entering the navy was sent to fight in the Spanish – American War aboard the U . S . S . Marblehead as a seaman . On May 11 , 1898 the Marblehead was given the task of cutting the cable leading from Cienfuegos , Cuba . During the operation and facing heavy enemy fire , he continued to perform his duties throughout this action . He died December 14 , 1937 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery Arlington , Virginia . His grave can be found in section 6 , site 9768 . Medal of Honor citation . Rank and organization : Seaman , U . S . Navy . Born : 22 January 1865 , Sweden . Accredited to : Maryland . G . O . No . : 529 , 21 November 1899 . Citation : On board the U . S . S . Marblehead during the operation of cutting the cable leading from Cienfuegos , Cuba , 11 May 1898 . Facing the heavy fire of the enemy , Johanson set an example of extraordinary bravery and coolness throughout this action .