#Royal Marine Artillery

[ltwilliammowett]

A shako for Naval Artillery Crews of the Royal Sardinian Navy from the Reign of Carlo Felice, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy, 1821 - 1831

[whencyclopedia]

The Armies of the East India Company

The East India Company (EIC) was first England's and then Britain's tool of colonial expansion in India and beyond. Revenue from trade and land taxes from territories it controlled allowed the EIC to build up its own private armies, collectively the largest armed force in South and South East Asia.

The EIC mixed British and Indian soldiers (sepoys), hired regular regiments of the British Army, and funded its own navy, the Bombay Marine. The vast resources of the company allowed it to eventually employ over 250,000 well-trained and well-equipped fighting men. This force expanded the EIC's domains, seeing off competition from Indian princely states, pirates, and other European trade companies.

From Trade to Imperialism

The East India Company was founded as a joint stock company by royal charter on 31 December 1600. Initially, the company limited itself to trade from centres or 'factories' it set up at already established ports belonging to the Mughal Empire (1526-1858) in India. From 1668, Bombay (Mumbai) became the EIC's main trade hub after it was acquired from the Portuguese Empire. By the end of the century, the EIC had a major presence at Madras, Calcutta (Kolkata), and Hughli in Bengal amongst others. These early arrangements were entirely peaceful, but the EIC wanted more control and more power that would give even greater returns to its private investors.

It was in the mid-18th century that the EIC gained the right through a royal charter to raise its own army, principally in order to protect its assets like warehouses and man its fortifications. From 1757, the EIC used this army in an aggressive campaign of conquest. The EIC thus began to control territory of its own, and in 1759, it took over the major port of Surat completely. Essentially, the EIC was now the "sharp end of the British imperial stick" (Faught, 6). A key step in this transformation from trader to imperialist was victory against Shah Alam II, the Mughal emperor, and Mir Qasim, Nawab of Awadh at the Battle of Buxar in 1764. In a 1765 peace treaty, Shah Alam II awarded the EIC the right to collect land revenue (dewani) in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. This was a major development and ensured the company now had vast resources to fund an army for further territorial expansion.

Men like Robert Clive (1725-1774) carved out an empire in the EIC's name. Clive of India, as he was popularly known, rose from clerk to Governor of Bengal and secured a famous victory in June 1757 at the Battle of Plassey against the forces of the Nawab of Bengal. Clive defeated a larger enemy force where the wealth of the EIC was seen in the disparity of artillery pieces: 50 against the EIC's 171. More territory came after the Four Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767-99) and the two Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845-49). These territories had to be protected against various Indian princely states, the Mughal Empire, the Marathas, the Mysores, and rivals such as the Dutch East India Company (VOC), founded in 1602, and the French East India Company, founded in 1664. These European bodies had armies as well-equipped as the EIC forces, and so the British expansion was not entirely a smooth one. For example, the French twice took possession of Madras and controlled large parts of southern India. It is no surprise then, given these challenges, that by the end of the 18th century, the EIC was spending half its income on military personnel and hardware.

Continue reading...

[herprivateswe]

Battle of Polygon Wood, during Passchendaele. A member of the Royal Marine Artillery prepares to fire the 15 inch Mk. II howitzer 'Grannie' near Ypres, 27 September 1917.

[maridemira]

William Braine: Before the Franklin Expedition

He was a marine, a seaman, a husband, son, a crew member....What was life like for him prior to the famous Franklin Expedition? Who was he?

In this essay, we're gonna look at the life of William Braine, who was famously one of the Royal Marines in the Franklin Expedition. In this post, we're gonna look at Braine's life before the Franklin Expedition. Now, a disclaimer here, most of the information comes from sources found by @radiojamming and @entwinedmoon , so shout out to them. And usually, what we all know is technically mostly about his death and post-mortem, but we do know what year he was born. So stick around as we dive deep into the life of William Braine.

William Braine was born in the village of Oakhill in Somerset on March 1814. He was the third son of Shadrach and Honor Braine (nèe King), and is one of 7 children, 6 boys and 1 girl, though his oldest brother Thomas had died when he was two months old. He was baptised on May 28, 1815, in the parish of Ashwick. His father was a quarry worker and according to a biography of Braine, Shadrach Braine probably came to Oakhill to secure a job, and once he was able to and rent a two roomed cottage, he brought his wife with him to the village and thus, it was here that William was born. Almost nothing is known about Braine's mother, Honor, except for the fact that she died on August of 1823, when William was 9 years old and his father married a spinster named Elizabeth Bun. We also don't know anything about Elizabeth Bun either except for the fact that she became William's stepmother. We may hypothesise that Shadrach needed someone to take care of the children but whatever the reason may be, we'll never know.

William never had the benefit of schooling,this was evident when he came to Yeovil to join the Navy as a royal marine, instead of signing his name, he signed with an X. In fact, he left his home on late 1833 and arrived in Yeovil, Somerset to sign up as a royal marine private. The journey was rugged that time, according to Parson Skinner, the weather that December was incredibly snowy and rugged. Nevertheless, William and the other Marines who signed up travelled to Plymouth to begin their training. They would then be placed in Stonehouse Barracks where they would have been given their basic training.

On July 1834, 7 months after signing up and training as a Royal Marine Light Infantryman (RMLI), Braine was then transferred to the 8th Company Woolwich Division. This division reportedly was made of one battery, meaning troop, of the Royal Marine Artillery (RMA). However, according to the biography, Braine might have taken two routes to complete this journey, either by sea or by land, though the biography also sides with the former stating that it would have been a much swifter journey. It is certainly possible though, that in 1837, Private Braine had been involved in the burial of King William IV and the coronation of Queen Victoria. This same biography also states that Braine might have had the chance to see the action in the First Spanish Carlist War which happened in 1833 to 1840, though we are actually not certain if Braine indeed get to see the action, but he may probably have learned of it. In 1839, the First Opium War started and many detachments were sent to fight. It would be more possible that Braine was one of the detachments sent and may have fought alongside Thomas Hartnell Jr., John Hartnell's younger brother (Though really, they were probably on different ships and locations, and probably never met until 1845 in the Franklin Expedition). The British had won the war in August 29, 1842.

In October 31, 1841, 27 year old William Braine married Eliza Wood in Woolwich. We know very little about Mrs. Braine except for the fact that her father was William Wood. She too was illiterate, and by this point, both of the couple's fathers had been general labourers. There were no known children that resulted from their marriage, although it's possible that the couple did conceive, but they either had a miscarriage or their child was short lived and no information has survived, or it was probably because William was frequently away for them to be able to have children.

The years between 1841 and 1845 had been a peaceful time for William, except for the fact that according to Ralph Lloyd-Jones' paper on the Royal Marines of the Franklin Expedition, on March 9, 1844 William Braine had "Run from Furlough" which meant that he had exceeded a period of leave. We may not know why, maybe because of family affairs, we just don't know. But Lloyd-Jones suggest that this may be the reason why Braine, despite his 10 years of service as a Royal Marine Private 3rd Class, never received a promotion. One more fact is that he never appeared in any court martial or Defaulters book which suggest that he had a clean service record, but because the life of Royal Marines were not recorded until the 1880s, we may probably not know for certain what he had really done between 1833-1845.

In May of 1845, William Braine was one of the seven detachments of HMS Erebus of the famous Franklin Expedition. However, he never alloted his pay to anyone, not even his wife, but it is unknown why, but we may think that he probably is not on good terms with his family, or that something else was going on, either way may be a reason or it could be because of a completely different reason. Either way, we don't know. This is the final service that Royal Marine Private Braine would perform, because he died just after the first wintering of the expedition on April 3, 1846, at just 32 years old possibly of ailments unknown and was buried next to 20 year old Petty Officer and Lead Stoker John Torrington of the HMS Terror and 25 year old Able-bodied Seaman John Hartnell of the HMS Erebus in Beechey Island. As we know, the Franklin Expedition then sailed south to King William Land (now King William Island) which turned into a disaster and the rest is history.

William Braine was one of those who came from low backgrounds, yet made a significant impact in the history of the fate of the Franklin Expedition. Even though he is gone, he is not forgotten.

Sources: The Life of William Braine, The Royal Marines on Franklin's Last Expedition by Ralph Lloyd-Jones, Buried in Ice (1988)

[aimeedaisies]

Timeline of Remembrance Sunday events at the Cenotaph;

• 10:58 - HM King Charles and Members of The Royal Family will leave the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office building and move to a position north of the Cenotaph. A full list of those laying wreaths can be found in List C on pages 16-19. Members of The Royal Family that are viewing the ceremony from the balconies in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, HM The Queen, HRH The Princess of Wales, HH The Duchess of Edinburgh, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester will be escorted to their rooms on the first floor.

• 11:00 - On the first stroke of eleven by Big Ben the Two Minutes' Silence commences by the firing of a gun from Horse Guards Parade by The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery.

• 11:02 - The firing of a gun marks the end of the Silence. The Last Post is sounded by the Buglers of the Royal Marines

• 11:03 - HM King Charles lays a wreath at the Cenotaph. An equerry will lay a wreath on behalf of HM The Queen. The other members of The Royal Family will lay their wreaths as follows. HRH The Prince of Wales, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, HRH The Princess Royal and HRH The Duke of Kent's wreath will be laid by his equerry.

Laying of Wreaths

HM The King will lay a wreath in the centre of the top step on the north side of the Cenotaph.

The following Members of The Royal Family lay wreaths in succession on the north side of the Cenotaph: -

• HM The Queen laid by Major Ollie Plunket

• HRH The Prince of Wales

• HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

• HRH The Princess Royal

• HRH The Duke of Kent laid by his Equerry Captain George Hopkins

At the Cenotaph this morning. The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, will take the salute on Horse Guards Parade for the march past of the ex-service and civilian associations following the Remembrance Sunday ceremony.

Information from @majestymagazine / Joe Little

[theworldofwars]

Battle of Polygon Wood: Gunners of the Royal Marine Artillery loading the 15 inch Mk.II Howitzer 'Grannie' on 27 September 1917. Battle Polygon Wood. near Ypres. September 1917. 

[usafphantom2]

Norway, a member of NATO, is the third country to donate F-16 fighters to Ukraine

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 08/27/2023 - 09:28am Military, War Zones

NATO member Norway will donate F-16 fighters to Ukraine, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said on Thursday amid Kiev's difficult counter-offensive against Russia.

Speaking to the Norwegian news agency NTB in Kiev, where he paid a visit on the occasion of Ukraine's Independence Day, Gahr Store said that Norway will supply F-16 aircraft to Ukraine, but it will probably be less than 10.

Gahr said he informed the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, about the donation of the aircraft and that Norway would discuss the number of planes, as well as the transfer schedule with Kiev and other allied countries.

“But Ukraine can count on the contribution of Norway,” the prime minister added.

Norway would be the third European country, after the Netherlands and Denmark, to donate F-16 planes.

Ukraine has long asked sophisticated fighters to give it an advantage in combat. He recently launched a long-awaited counter-offensive against Kremlin forces without air cover, putting his troops at the mercy of Russian aviation and artillery.

In February, oil-rich Norway announced that it would donate 75 billion crowns ($7 billion) to Kiev as part of a five-year support package, making Norway one of the world's largest donors to Ukraine.

The money will be divided equally between military and humanitarian assistance over five years, divided into 15 billion crowns (1.4 billion dollars) annually.

Gahr Store announced on Thursday that Norway would also donate anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, saying that “air defense is critical to Ukraine's ability to protect both the civilian population and frontline infrastructure and military units against any type of Russian air attack.”

“This is one of the largest Norwegian donations of military material to Ukraine to date,” Gahr said in a statement.

The Norwegian government has long stated that it is considering sending F-16 to Ukraine. In January, Norway received the first of the 52 F-35s ordered. The new fighters will replace Norway's F-16 fleet.

Last week, the Netherlands and Denmark announced that they will donate F-16 aircraft. Denmark said it will provide 19 planes, while the Netherlands reported that it will donate 42 of the jets.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited several European countries, including the Netherlands and Denmark, but did not go to Norway.

Tags: Military AviationF-16 Fighting FalconRNAF - Royal Norwegian Air Force / Royal Norwegian Air ForceWar Zones - Russia/Ukraine

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Daytona Airshow and FIDAE. He has work published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work throughout the world of aviation.

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[xtruss]

Percy Fawcett poses in a 1911 photograph. Photograph Bridgman/ACI

The Man Who Died Searching For The Lost City of Z

In 1925, Explorer and Surveyor Percy Fawcett Disappeared In The Amazon Basin Looking For An Ancient Civilization. Although He Was Inspired By Questionable Sources, We Now Know If His Search was in Vain.

— By Jordi Canal-Soler | June 13, 2024

When the Spanish first ventured into the Amazon Basin in the 1540s, they recorded Indigenous accounts of a lost city of fantastic wealth that they called El Dorado (“the golden”). Over the centuries, many vain attempts were made to locate a lost civilization in the Amazon rainforest.

The last significant attempt to find such a culture was undertaken by British explorer Percy Fawcett. Between 1906 and 1924, Fawcett made seven expeditions across the Amazon Basin, concluding with his doomed quest to find the city he called Z. Fawcett was inspired by his extensive reading of historical sources, including a mysterious document known as Manuscript 512.

A man of extraordinary mental and physical stamina, Fawcett was working at a time when the Amazon region was still largely undocumented by Europeans who sought to explore its jungles and waterways, seeking ancient cities and riches. His disappearance during his search for Z in 1925, in the Mato Grosso region of Brazil, continues to intrigue writers and filmmakers.

Yearning To Explore

Percy Harrison Fawcett was born in 1867 in Torquay, Devon, the English county that had produced many famous explorers and mariners, including Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh.

The son of an aristocrat who had lost his fortune, Fawcett described his childhood as lacking in affection. At age 19, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Artillery and sent to outposts of the British Empire.

This image was taken by Percy Fawcett on the upper Acre River in Bolivia, near the Brazil border, during an expedition. The region had suffered greatly at the hands of rubber exploiters. Royal Geographical Society/Getty Images

In 1901, Fawcett joined the Royal Geographical Society of London and traveled to Africa as a surveyor in the service of the British state, tasked with gathering military intelligence. In 1906, he was commissioned by the society to lead an expedition to the Amazon.

Arriving in South America was the moment his whole life changed. Setting out from La Paz to map the vast territory on the borderlands of Bolivia and Brazil, Fawcett often faced hostility from Indigenous peoples angered by rubber barons, who had invaded their lands to extract rubber for use in car and train manufacturing.

For nearly a decade he roamed the Amazon Basin, often the first European to record geographical features such as waterfalls. His writing gives a sense of the awe he experienced:

Fawcett’s Last Journey: After completing seven South American mapping expeditions for Britain’s Royal Geographical Society, Percy Fawcett returned in 1925 to search for the lost city of Z. He left from the same camp where his horse died on a previous expedition and was never heard from again. Source: David Grann, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon | NGM Staff

————Route of Fawcett’s 1925 Expedition | ++++++ Railroad

Above us rose the Ricardo Franco hills, flat topped and mysterious, their flanks scarred by deep quebradas [ravines]. They stood like a lost world, forested to their tops, and the imagination could picture the last vestiges of an age long vanished.

The outbreak of World War I interrupted this rich period of exploration, forcing him to return to Europe. Although in his 50s, Fawcett was in peak physical condition, and he proved to be an outstanding soldier.

A Mysterious Manuscript

Fawcett could not shake off the allure of South America, however. So, when the war ended, he returned to Brazil, where he would pursue an idea that led him to his last great adventures and, ultimately, his mysterious death.

Although Fawcett often relied on racist tropes and ideas when he wrote of Brazil’s Indigenous peoples, he also made great efforts to understand their customs and languages.

He lamented the effects of colonialist greed on these societies and became convinced that Spanish and Portuguese accounts from the 16th and 17th centuries of complex civilizations in the rainforest may have had merit. Such accounts mention “very large settlements” as well as “fine roadways in the interior.”

One document in particular fascinated Fawcett. Known as Manuscript 512 and written in Portuguese, it is purportedly an account by adventurers and fortune hunters. In 1753, in search of precious metals, the adventurers found a ruined city boasting monumental buildings, roads, and a plaza, in “each corner of which is a spire, in the style of the Romans.”

Mystery Manuscript! The document that partly inspired Fawcett’s search for Z is kept in Brazil’s National Library. Manuscript 512 is considered a forgery by some scholars, although Fawcett was not the only one who believed it was authentic. Explorer Richard Burton was intrigued by it during his travels in Brazil in the 1860s. National Library, Brazil

Scholars are divided about the manuscript’s authenticity. Skeptics consider it a forgery. Brazil achieved independence from Portugal in 1825. It would have been useful for a new, insecure republic to “discover” a document that described ancient civilizations in its territory—akin to the great Maya sites in Central America. Many at the time, however, accepted the manuscript’s authenticity, including Fawcett, already convinced that early accounts of complex civilizations in the rainforest were accurate. He became obsessed with finding such a place.

In Search of Z

Although Fawcett was inspired by Manuscript 512’s claims, he never intended to find the city it described. The settlement in that document lies, supposedly, in Brazil’s northeast. Citing other sources (which he did not name), Fawcett became convinced that a lost civilization existed in the wild, central-western region of Mato Grosso. He named the city Z.

In April 1925, Fawcett set out from Cuiabá to find it, accompanied by his eldest son, Jack, and his son’s best friend, Raleigh Rimell. The last news from them was in a letter Fawcett sent to his wife: “We shall disappear from civilization until next year. Imagine us ... in forests so far untrodden by civilised man.”

And then they really did disappear. Were they killed by animals or people? Several expeditions were launched in an attempt to clarify what happened, including one headed by Peter Fleming, brother of the James Bond creator Ian Fleming. Many of these ventures also ended in tragedy. And none shed any light on what happened to Fawcett.

In 1952, anthropologist Orlando Villas-Bôas announced he had found the bones of the explorer and that Kalapalo Indians had confessed to killing him. Later forensic analysis showed the remains did not belong to Fawcett.

For a decade, Fawcett roamed the Amazon Basin. His writings, which his son compiled in this posthumous 1953 book, give a sense of the awe he experienced.

Fawcett’s story has had an enduring cultural impact. He is one of the inspirations for the character Indiana Jones. (The Walt Disney Company is a majority owner of National Geographic Media.) The English explorer was also the subject of David Grann’s The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, the basis for a 2016 feature film. In his book, Grann quotes Kalapalo Indians, who insist they had not killed Fawcett. They had seen the smoke from Fawcett’s camp for a few days until it stopped. They say he likely died at the hands of “hostile” people in territory to the east.

Although the mystery of his last days may never be fully resolved, Fawcett’s quest for a lost city may be at an end. In the decades since his disappearance, exploration of northeastern Mato Grosso has uncovered the remains of large urban settlements, now located in Xingu Indigenous Park. Named Kuhikugu, the complex includes remnants of streets, bridges, and large squares. Modern lidar scans further suggest that between 1,500 and 400 years ago, this part of the Amazon was indeed the site of a large settlement. While Z’s exact identity and location are still a mystery, Fawcett’s hunch about a hidden ancient city in the region seems to have been correct.

[e350tb]

18 June 2023

Boney Was A Warrior

Aspley House 18 June 2023

It is now 208 years since the Battle of Waterloo. It was here, on perhaps the most famous battlefield in history, that the forces of the Duke of Wellington’s Anglo-Allied Army and Field Marshal Gebhard von Blucher’s Prussian Army decisively defeated Napoleon, ending over two decades of near constant European War and establishing a political order that would persist mostly unbroken for thirty years. In 2015, there was great pomp and ceremony at the site to mark its bicentennial. I was there. (At the bicentennial, not the battle.) So was the then Prince of Wales, and for reasons I’ve never completely worked out, Nigel Farage.

I couldn’t make the trip to Mont St Jean (for the battle was fought a few miles away from Waterloo itself), but I was going into London today, and it seemed appropriate to drop in to Aspley House, the Duke’s London residence, to mark the occasion.

Aspley House - ‘No. 1, London’ - is as handsome a Georgian townhouse as ever there was, and with the exception of containing perhaps more paintings than it did in his time, is kept pretty much as Wellington knew it. It is absolutely worth a visit. Yet I must make one major criticism of how Aspley House is run, and that is that it has a blanket ban on interior photography. I simply cannot agree with this. No flash photography is completely understandable, but I can’t help but feel that prohibiting photography altogether is a step too far, and out of touch with the modern world of phone cameras and go-pros. I do understand the reason - copyright - I just think it’s a poor reason.

Of course, you can take photos of the exterior to your heart’s content, and as an English Heritage property, there’s often little events going on to attract interest. Today, being Waterloo Day, the front of the house was occupied by redcoats - the men of the 68th Foot, the Durham Light Infantry. Of all the regiments of the British Army (or at least those I don’t have a family connection to), I’ve always had a particularly soft spot for the DLI. The 6th, 7th and 9th Battalions, during WWII, were formed into one brigade for most of the war in Europe, and Montgomery regarded them quite highly. (The 6th and 7th were rotated home at the end of 1944 for a well-earned rest, but the 9th DLI was folded into the famed 7th Armoured Division and fought for the last few months of the war.) On top of this, they had green facings, and my favourite colour is green, so that works well.

The reenactors drilled before visitors at 1pm, giving their audience a good idea of how British soldiers drilled, what they wore and how they fought in the Napoleonic Wars - specifically in the Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns and the War of 1812 against America. It was a very good show, and I quite enjoyed it. Kudos to the 68th!

(In case one is wondering what other British regiments I have a ‘soft spot’ for, they would be those my family were part of - the descendents of the 60th and 95th Rifles, plus the Royal Engineers and the Royal Artillery - the 2nd (Coldstream) Foot Guards, the Royal Marines, the Middlesex, the Black Watch, the Ox and Bucks and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. I’ll stop myself there because I kept thinking of others.)

After Aspley House, we headed back down the Victoria and Northern Lines to Edgware, which will be my home base for tonight. Tomorrow will be a long day - the longest day, I’d say, except that refers to the wrong war - ambling around Central London looking at war memorials, the great monuments of the Imperial Metropolis, and a little provincial church they call Westminster…

[endofherwildsideau]

🌊°🔱𝙳𝚈𝙻𝙰𝙽🔱°🌊

His Voice by young Hercules

| Mythic Mode | Bioluminescent | Royal | Arrival | Old-Self | Dj Outfit | Causal | His weapons | Demon Mode | War |

DeadName: Phillip Vase Aukai

Name: King Dylan the Aquatic Alpha

Name Meaning: Son of the sea. Sea. Toward the tide. Born from the ocean. Son of the wave. Son of the ocean. Influence.

Nicknames: Dyl, Dilly, Danny, dyldo, Dyl-Dyl & dilly bear (by Harper)

Birthday: June 25

Cause of Death: murder by his own biological father

Age: 188 (die at the age of 17)

Species: a hybrid of Human, Black River Dragon, Anglerfish, and Hippocampus.

Race: Polynesian or Hawaiian and Greek 🇬🇷

Gender: Male ♂

Relationship status: married

Sexuality: Pansexual

Roles or Jobs: God of water. Pasty chef. Bakery chef. Club and mobile DJ. Keyboardist and vocalist. Leader of Aquatic Alphas. Ruler of Aquatic animals. Water bender master. Holder of Crown Jewel pieces.

Home World: Earth (Formerly) Miracle Region (Currently)

Kingdom: Crystal Reef, The Calmest Gulf, The Pleasant Abyss, and The Deepest Abyss.

Home: Azuri keeps

Facts: Dylan is the most talented DJ in the kingdom, besides he is part of a group with his brothers and sisters, he is a master of pasty. Dylan has many half-siblings, he even knew they were uncomfortable with others because of the same father problems, but he doesn't see them as half-siblings, just his real family. When he was young, his mother told him "try to make someone happy, but sometimes people struggle, and perhaps your act of kindness may be their day. Our purpose in life is to enjoy your life—to be happy. It's all that matters. "He is a more happy and cheerful animal, a ridiculous pranker, but he rarely gets angry unless...

Bonding Partner:

???

???

Partner:

Queen Harper the Seal Alpha (wife)

Parents:

Cassia Aukai (Biological mother)

Anwin Aukai (Ex-biological father)

Sibling:

Poseidon the Orca Alpha (Half-brother)

Mano the Shark Alpha (Half-brother)

Victor the Octopus Alpha (Half-brother)

Cornelius the Crocodile Alpha (Half-brother)

Hudson the Otter Alpha (Half-brother)

Calypso the Sea Turtle Alpha (Half-sister)

???

???

???

???

???

Relative:

Tutu Wahine Kaimana Aukai (paternal grandmother)

Abilities:

Greek Deity Physiology

Hippocampus Physiology

Human Physiology

Hybrid Physiology

Lophiiformes Physiology

Merfolk Physiology

Mythic physiology

Stomiiform Physiology

Mythical Bestiary

Aquatic Adaptation

Aquatic Breathing

Aquatic Empathy

Aquatic Telepathy

Bioluminescence

Chimerism

Cold Resistance

Companion Connection

Declaration Aging

Enhanced Lung Capacity

Enhanced Senses

Enhanced Swimming

Enhanced Weapon Proficiency

Entity Bonding

Expressive Ears

Fin Manifestation

Gill Manifestation

Glowing Eyes - only when the power is active or glows in the dark.

Hair Growth

Infinite Digestive System

Lure Protrusion

Omnilingualism

Marine Biology Mastery

Mode Switching - Mythic, Demon, and Rage Form.

Pointed Ears

Prehensile Tail

Pressure Resistance

Regeneration Healer Factor

Scale Manifestation

Spear Proficiency

Speed Swimming

Swimming Tail

Symbiosis

Tail Manifestation

Trident Proficiency

Underwater Combat

Underwater Hearing

Underwater Senses

Underwater Smell

Underwater Strength

Underwater Taste

Underwater Touch

Underwater Vision

Unique Eye Coloration

Unique Hair Coloration

Weapon Summoning

Zoolingualism

Zoological Mastery

Powers:

Aquatic Life Lordship

Aquatic Life Manipulation

Dehydration

Flood Creation

Hydro-Telekinesis

Hydrokinetic Cloning

Hydrokinetic Combat

Hydrokinetic Constructs

Hydrokinetic Invisibility

Hydrokinetic Regeneration

Liquid Surveillance Communication

Ocean Communication

Ocean Embodiment

Ocean Lordship

Oceanscience

Ocean Magic

Ocean Manipulation

Pure Water Manipulation

Sea Monster Manipulation

Tidal Wave Generation

Water Absorption

Water Artillery

Water Attacks

Water Augmentation

Water Aura

Water Boundary

Water Defense

Water Detection

Water Embodiment

Water Empowerment

Water Exoskeleton

Water Generation

Water Immunity

Water Imprisonment

Water Infusion

Water Magic

Water Maneuverability

Water Manipulation

Water Negation

Water Portal Creation

Water Pressure Generation

Water Purification

Water Sealing

Water Sense

Water Separation

Water Solidification

Water Strike

Water Teleportation

Water Transformation

Water Wall Generation

Water Weaponry

Whirlpool Generation

[head-post]

UK to deploy 20,000 troops to NATO military drill

Britain will send 20,000 troops to one of the largest NATO military exercises since the Cold War, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday.

During a speech in London on Monday, British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps announced the deployment of Army, Navy and RAF personnel to the 31-nation exercise across Europe. NATO’s Exercise Steadfast Defender 24 marks the Western alliance’s 75th year.

16,000 troops with tanks, artillery and helicopters will be deployed from the British Army to Eastern Europe from next month as part of an exercise. The Royal Navy will deploy more than 2,000 sailors on eight warships and submarines, while more than 400 Royal Marines commandos will be sent above the Arctic Circle.

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[whencyclopedia]

Sword Beach

Sword Beach was the easternmost beach of the Allied D-Day Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. The 3rd British Infantry Division was given the task of taking the beach while paratroopers and Royal Marine and French Commando units secured the beach exits and the eastern flank of the Allied invasion.

Operation Overlord

The amphibious assault on the beaches of Normandy was the first stage of Operation Overlord, which sought to free Western Europe from occupation by Nazi Germany. The supreme commander of the Allied invasion force was General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) who had been in charge of the Allied operations in the Mediterranean. The commander-in-chief of the Normandy land forces, 39 divisions in all, was the experienced General Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976). Commanding the air element was Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh Mallory (1892-1944), with the naval element commanded by Admiral Bertram Ramsay (1883-1945).

Nazi Germany had long prepared for an Allied invasion, but the German high command was unsure where exactly such an invasion would take place. Allied diversionary strategies added to the uncertainty, but the most likely places remained either the Pas de Calais, the closest point to British shores, or Normandy with its wide flat beaches. The Nazi leader Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) attempted to fortify the entire coast from Spain to the Netherlands with a series of bunkers, pillboxes, artillery batteries, and troops, but this Atlantic Wall, as he called it, was far from being complete in the summer of 1944. In addition, the wall was thin since there was no real depth to the defences.

Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt (1875-1953), commander-in-chief of the German army in the West, believed it would be impossible to stop an invasion on the coast and so it would be better to hold the bulk of the defensive forces as a mobile reserve to counterattack against enemy beachheads. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (1891-1944), commander of Army Group B, disagreed and considered it essential to halt any invasion on the beaches themselves. Further, Rommel believed that Allied air superiority meant that movements of reserves would be severely hampered. Hitler agreed with Rommel, and so the defenders were strung out wherever the fortifications were at their weakest. Rommel improved the static defences and added steel anti-tank structures to all the larger beaches. In the end, Rundstedt was given a mobile reserve, but the compromise weakened both plans of defence. The German response would not be helped either by their confused command structure, which meant that Rundstedt could not call on any armour (but Rommel, who reported directly to Hitler, could), and neither commander had any control over the paltry naval and air forces available or the separately controlled coastal batteries. Nevertheless, the defences were bulked up around the weaker defences of Normandy to an impressive 31 infantry divisions plus 10 armoured divisions and 7 reserve infantry divisions. The German army had another 13 divisions in other areas of France. A standard German division had a full strength of 15,000 men.

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[herprivateswe]

The unidentified crew of a Royal Marine Artillery 15 inch howitzer, supporting the Australians. Note the writing on the shell 'RMA Peace Germies'. This is an original Paget Plate negative.

[historydailyfrancischappellblack]

THE ANGLO-ZANZIBAR WAR: THE SHORTEST WAR IN HISTORY. AUGUST 27, 1896

Image: British marines pose with a captured Zanzibari gun following the capture of the Sultan’s palace in Zanzibar Town. (Wikimedia Commons.)

The Anglo-Zanzibar War was fought between the United Kingdom and the Zanzibar Sultanate on August 27, 1896. The conflict lasted 46 minutes, making it the shortest war in history. The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on August 25, 1896, and the subsequent succession of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash. The British authorities preferred Hamoud bin Mohammed, who was more satisfactory to British interests, as sultan. In the June 14, 1890 agreement instituting a British protectorate over Zanzibar, a candidate for accession to the sultanate needed to gain the permission of the British consul, and Khalid had yet to do this. The British considered this a casus belli and sent a request to Khalid demanding that his forces stand down and leave the palace. In reply, Khalid called up his palace guard and barricaded himself inside the palace.

The ultimatum expired at 09:00 on August 27, by which time the British had gathered two cruisers, three gunboats, 150 marines and sailors, and 900 Zanzibaris in the harbor area. The Royal Navy contingent was under the command of Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson, and the pro-Anglo Zanzibaris were commanded by Brigadier-General Lloyd Mathews of the Zanzibar army (who was also the First Minister of Zanzibar). Around 2,800 Zanzibaris defended the palace; most were recruited from the civilian population, including the sultan’s palace guard, several hundred servants, and enslaved people. The defenders had several artillery pieces and machine guns set in front of the palace, sighted at the British ships. A bombardment opened at 09:02, set the palace on fire, and disabled the defending artillery. A small naval action occurred, with the British sinking the Zanzibari royal yacht HHS Glasgow and two smaller vessels. As they approached the palace, some shots were also fired ineffectually at the pro-British Zanzibari troops. The flag at the palace was shot down, and gunfire ceased at 09:46.

The sultan’s forces endured roughly 500 casualties, while only one British sailor was injured. Sultan Khalid received asylum in the German consulate before escaping to German East Africa (in the mainland section of present Tanzania). The British quickly placed Sultan Hamoud in power at the head of a puppet government. The war marked the end of the Zanzibar Sultanate as a sovereign state and the start of a period of heavy British influence.

[cannasue]

Soldiers Twixt Shore and Sea;Gun Drill 1896

Although primarily a sea service corps, their knowledge of land service artillery drill has proved of the highest use on several occasions during recent years-notably in Egypt. At Tel-el-Mahuta and Kassassin in 1882, and at El Teb in 1884, they rendered

A couple more images from the good old Navy & Army Illustrated 1896. This time it shows men of the R.M.A. practising ashore at Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth, built to guard the entrance to Langstone harbour. In 1859 it became home and headquarters to the Royal Marine Artillery, those men who fight twixt shore and sea. Now a Grade II listed building. *** Of course, footie being the favourable…

[ltwilliammowett]

Tunic of Lieutenant-Colonel E.C.L. Durnford, Royal Marine Artillery, 1882