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Second

Specialty Definition: Second

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Specialty Definition: 2nd century

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

(1st century - 2nd century - 3rd century - other centuries)

Events:

• Roman Empire governed by the 'Five Good Emperors' (96 - 180) - Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius.

Significant persons:

• Galen, medical writer
• Saint Irenaeus
• Pliny the Younger
• Plutarch

Inventions, Discoveries, Introductions

• Ptolemy compiles a catalogue of all stars visible to the naked eye.

Decades and Years

90s	90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99
100s	100	101	102	103	104	105	106	107	108	109
110s	110	111	112	113	114	115	116	117	118	119
120s	120	121	122	123	124	125	126	127	128	129
130s	130	131	132	133	134	135	136	137	138	139
140s	140	141	142	143	144	145	146	147	148	149
150s	150	151	152	153	154	155	156	157	158	159
160s	160	161	162	163	164	165	166	167	168	169
170s	170	171	172	173	174	175	176	177	178	179
180s	180	181	182	183	184	185	186	187	188	189
190s	190	191	192	193	194	195	196	197	198	199
200s	200	201	202	203	204	205	206	207	208	209

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "2nd century."

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Arcsecond

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

A second of arc or arcsecond is a unit of angular measurement which comprises one-sixtieth of an arcminute, or, put another way, 1/3600 of a degree of arc. The symbol for one arcsecond is 1".

It can be abbreviated as arcsec, but should then not be confused with the inverse trigonometric function arc secant, which has the same abbreviation

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Arcsecond."

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First Council of Constantinople

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The First Council of Constantinople (second ecumenical council) was called by Theodosius I in 381 to confirm the Nicene creed and deal with other matters of the Arian controversy . In confirming the Nicene creed, it also amended it by adding the final section regarding the Holy Spirit.

Meletius of Antioch, Gregory Nazianzus, and Nectarius successively presided. Gregory Nazianzus was made patriarch, but soon resigned, and Nectarius was then put in his place.

Seven canons, four doctrinal and three disciplinary, are attributed to the council and accepted by the Greek Orthodox Church, but the Roman Catholic Church accepts only the first four.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "First Council of Constantinople."

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Interval (music)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

In music theory, an interval is the difference in pitch between two notes.

When speaking of notes in the chromatic scale, it is normal to use names such as "major third", "perfect fifth" and "augmented fourth". When speaking of other scales, however, or when talking about two pitches without the context of a scale, such names are often meaningless. Some such intervals have names of their own.

It is also possible to measure the size of the interval between any two notes by using the logarithmic measure of centss. 1200 cents are equal to an octave, and an equally tempered semitone is equal to 100 cents.

Basic intervals: whole tone and semitone

A semitone, (also called half tone or half step), is the smallest interval in Western musical tuning. It corresponds to the difference between two adjacent keys on a piano, or between two frets on a guitar.

In terms of pitch, it is equal to a frequency ratio of 2^1/12 in equal temperament, 256/243 in Pythagorean tuning, (3/2)^1/7 in perfect fifth tuning, and various rational numbers, such as 16/15, in just intonation.

A whole tone (also called tone or whole step) is equal to two semitones in equal temparament, where it is 2^1/6. It is 9/8 in Pythagorean tuning, (9/4)^1/7 in fifth tuning, and either 9/8 (major tone) or 10/9 (minor tone) in just intonation, depending on the note in the scale.

Intervals in the chromatic scale

Intervals are named after the number of notes they span in the diatonic scale. The names are inclusive of the two notes being considered; for example the interval between a C and a G is a fifth (C,D,E,F,G is a distance of 5 notes). In addition to the number of tones between notes, the nature of the interval can also be described. In a major scale, intervals starting from the tonic can be perfect or major. A Unison is the interval between a note and itself (meaning normally just one note heard.)

Fig 1. Intervals in the C major scale

In minor scales the minor interval is introduced:

Fig 2. Intervals in the C minor melodic scale

Fig 3. Intervals in the C minor harmonic scale

Compound intervals

When an interval exceeds an octave, it is called a compound interval. For example, a note a 10th above the tonic in a major scale is known as a 'compound major third.'

Concordant and discordant intervals

Concordant intervals usually sound "right". Discordant intervals jar, and can sound as if one of the notes wants to move up or down (called a resolution; this is the basis of suspensions.) Concordant intervals include all perfect intervals (4ths, 5ths, 8ves) and a few imperfect intervals, namely major and minor 3rds and 6ths; all other intervals are called discordant intervals, including 2nds, 7ths, and augmented or diminished notes.

Modifying intervals

It is possible to modify intervals. Naming follows these rules:

• If the bottom note of a perfect or major interval is lowered a semitone (or the top note is raised), the interval has been augmented.
• If the bottom note of a perfect or minor interval is raised a semitone (or the top note is lowered), the interval becomes diminished.
• If the bottom note of a minor interval is lowered a semitone, the interval becomes major.
• If the bottom note of a major interval is raised a semitone, the interval becomes minor.

Modified intervals often have more than one name. For example, a minor 7th can also be written as an augmented 6th. These are called enharmonic intervals. Typically names with 'minor' or 'major' in them are preferred, so the more correct way to write the interval given in the example is 'minor 7th.' The primary exception to this being in the case of a diminished 7th, which has a specific function within a full diminished 7th chord.

The interval of augmentation and diminishment is a semitone only in modern equal temperament, where a semitone is exactly half a tone. More generally it is a tone less a semitone. An interval is augmented by changing one its semitones into a tone. Also this means that an augmented 6th is not generally equal to a minor 7th. This is only true in modern music.

Other intervals

There are also a number of intervals not found in the chromatic scale which have names of their own. These intervals describe small discrepancies between notes tuned according to just intonation:

• A Pythagorean comma is the difference between twelve justly tuned perfect fifths and seven octaves. It is expressed by the frequency ratio 531441:524288, and is equal to 23.46 centss
• A syntonic comma is the difference between four justly tuned perfect fifths and two octaves plus a major third. It is expressed by the ratio 81:80, and is equal to 21.51 cents
• Diesis is generally used to mean the difference between three justly tuned major thirds and one octave. It is expressed by the ratio 128:125, and is equal to 41.06 cents. However, it has been used to mean other small intervals: see diesis for details
• A schisma is the difference between five octaves and eight justly tuned fifths plus one justly tuned major third. It is expressed by the ratio 32805:32768, and is equal to 1.95 cents. It is also the difference between the Pythagorean and a syntonic commas.

A number of cultures around the world who do not use the chromatic scale have their own names for intervals found in their music.

For the mathematical use of the word "interval", see interval (mathematics).

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Interval (music)."

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Second

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Second (symbol: s) is a unit for time, and one of seven SI base units. It is defined as the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.

Historically, the second was defined in terms of the rotation of the Earth as 1/86,400 of a mean solar day. In 1956, the International Committee for Weights and Measures, under the authority given it by the Tenth General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1954, defined the second in terms of the period of revolution of the Earth around the Sun for a particular epoch, because by then it had become recognized that the Earth's rotation was not sufficiently uniform as a standard of time. The Earth's motion was described in Newcomb's Tables of the Sun, which provides a formula for the motion of the Sun at the epoch 1900 based on astronomical observations made during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The ephemeris second thus defined is

the fraction 1/31,556,925.9747 of the tropical year for 1900 January 0 at 12 hours ephemeris time.

This definition was ratified by the Eleventh General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1960. Reference to the year 1900 does not mean that this is the epoch of a mean solar day of 86,400 seconds. Rather, it is the epoch of the tropical year of 31,556,925.9747 seconds of ephemeris time. Ephemeris Time (ET) was defined as the measure of time that brings the observed positions of the celestial bodies into accord with the Newtonian dynamical theory of motion.

Following several years of work, two astronomers at the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) and two astronomers at the National Physical Laboratory (Teddington, England) determined the relationship between the frequency of the cesium atom (the standard of time) and the ephemeris second. They determined the orbital motion of the Moon about the Earth, from which the apparent motion of the Sun could be inferred, in terms of time as measured by an atomic clock. As a result, in 1967 the Thirteenth General Conference on Weights and Measures defined the second of atomic time in the International System of Units (SI) as

the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom.

The ground state is defined at zero magnetic field. The second thus defined is equivalent to the ephemeris second.

See also: leap second, the "orders of magnitude" page that contains the second

External link

• Public domain article about definition of seconds and leap seconds

Second (symbol: ") is a unit for angles.

• One degree = 60 minutes
• One minute = 60 seconds

To distinguish from the time unit, these are often referred to as seconds of arc and minutes of arc. One second of time is fifteen seconds of arc as the earth turns.

See also: radian

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Second."

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Second Age

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Warning: Wikipedia contains spoilers

Fictional time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth.

Ages: First Age - Second Age - Third Age

The Second Age began with the final overthrow of Morgoth by the combined armies of Valinor and the Three Houses of Men.

It lasted for 3441 years, and ended with the downfall of Sauron, when he was defeated by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men following the downfall of Númenor.

This age was characterized by the rise (to insolence, eventually) of Númenor, the rise of Sauron in Middle-earth, and the early wars of the Rings between the Sauron and the Elves.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Second Age."

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Second Anglo-Dutch War

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Second Anglo-Dutch War was fought between England and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands from 1665 to 1667.

Prelude

After incidents involving the English capture of Dutch trading posts and colonies in West Africa and North America - subsequently recaptured by the Dutch - the English declared war on the Netherlands on March 4, 1665. After the First Anglo-Dutch War the Dutch were better prepared, having extended their navy by ordering sixty new warships.

The War

The first encounter between the nations was, as in the First Anglo-Dutch War, at sea. The war started with the Battle at Lowesoft, where the English gained a victory.

The huge Four Days Battle 1666, one of the longest naval engagements in history, ended up in both sides claiming victory; Dutch admiral Michiel de Ruyter had retreated, but he had also caused twice as much losses for the English as they had for the Dutch.

After this, the English won several victories, but due to financial problems they were forced to reduce their operations.

Medway

In June, 1667, de Ruyter launched the Dutch "Raid on the Medway" at the mouth of the River Thames. After capturing the fort at Sheerness, they went on to break through the massive chain protecting the entrance to the Medway and, on the 17th, attacked the English fleet which had been laid up at Chatham. The daring raid remains England's greatest military disaster since the Norman Conquest. Many of the Navy's remaining ships were destroyed, either by the Dutch or by being scuttled by the English to block the river. The English flagship, HMS Royal Charles, was abandoned by its skeleton crew, captured without a shot being fired, and towed back to the Netherlands. Its coat-of-arms is now on display in the Rijksmuseum. Fortunately the raiders spared the Chatham Dockyard, England's largest industrial complex.

The Dutch success had a major psychological impact throughout England, with London feeling especially vulnerable just a year after the Great Fire. This, together with the cost of the war, of the Great Plague and the extravagant spending of Charles II, meant that the English were keen to sign a peace treaty -- and so were the Dutch as they had to deal with a French invasion at the same time.

Peace

On July 31, 1667, the Treaty of Breda sealed peace between the two nations. The treaty allowed the English to keep the territory around New Amsterdam (the current New York), the Dutch received control over Suriname instead.

The peace did not last long, with England joining France to attack the Netherlands in 1672 - the Third Anglo-Dutch War.

Related links

• Anglo-Dutch Wars
• History of England
• British military history
• History of the Netherlands

External links

• Painting of the Four Days Battle by Abraham Storck
• De Ruyters' flagship 'The Seven Provinces' is being rebuilt in Dutch town Lelystad.
• Very readable, detailed and illustrated account of the Raid at Medway (near Chatham).

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Second Anglo-Dutch War."

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Second cabinet of Wim Kok

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The second cabinet of the Netherlands to be headed by Prime Minister Wim Kok. After the Tweede Kamer elections of May 6, 1998, the allocation of the 150 seats was:

Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA)	45
Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD)	38
Christen Democratisch Appèl (CDA)	29
Democraten 66 (D66)	14
GroenLinks (GL)	11
Socialistische Partij (SP)	5
ChristenUnie (CU)	5
Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP)	3

ChristenUnie was formed from the combination of two parties, GPV and RPF, which had contested the elections separately.

The new cabinet was the successor of the first cabinet of Wim Kok and was formed from the same coalition of PvdA, VVD and D66. It was also known as the 'tweede paarse kabinet' ('second purple cabinet') called such because it contained both the socialistic PvdA (red) and the liberal VVD (blue). This cabinet was notable for resigning twice; once in May 1999 when D66 stepped out of the coalition when its legislation was blocked - through negotiations the cabinet was "glued" back together again; then on 16 April 2002, when it resigned over the NIOD report into the fall of Srebrenica in 1995. It remained in place as a "caretaker" cabinet until July 22, 2002, when it was replaced by the first Balkenende cabinet.

See also: politics of the Netherlands

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Second cabinet of Wim Kok."

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Second Crusade

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Second Crusade was called in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144.

The prosperity of the Kingdom of Jerusalem led to a weakening of the military spirit, and internal strife crippled the resources of the kingdom. On December 24, 1144, the capture of the strong frontier fortress of Edessa by Zengi of Mosul inflicted a serious blow on the Christian power.

The news of the fall of Edessa led Pope Eugenius III to issue the bull Quantum praedecessores on December 1, 1145, calling for a second crusade. This was at first ignored, although Louis VII of France had also been considering a new crusade independently of the Pope. The crusade was preached in France by Bernard of Clairvaux, the "honey-tongued teacher" who found it expedient to dwell upon the taking of the cross as a potent means of gaining absolution for sin and attaining grace. Bernard also preached to Conrad III of Germany in December of 1146, delivering an emotional sermon in which he took the role of Christ and asked what more he could do for the emperor. Meanwhile, other German princes extended the idea of a Crusade to the Slavic tribes living to the northeast of the Holy Roman Empire, and were authorized to launch the Wendish Crusade against them.

The Pope also authorized a Crusade in Spain, although the war against the Moors had been going on for some time already. In 1147 an English fleet on its way to the Mediterranean captured Lisbon from the Moors, and went on to capture Tortosa in 1148. However, the fleet never arrived in Syria.

The French and German Crusaders left by land in May, 1147. Conrad's army arrived in Constantinople first, but relations with Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus were poor and the Germans were convinced to cross into Asia Minor as quickly as possible. There, they decided not to wait for the French, and marched towards Edessa. Conrad split his army into two divisions; one of these was destroyed by the Seljuk Turks in October, 1147. The other division was similarly massacred early in 1148.

Manuel's relations with the French army were somewhat better, but he refused to help them with his own troops and had them swear to return to the Empire any territory they captured. They met the remnants of Conrad's army at Nicaea, but the French suffered a heavy defeat in 1148 just as the Germans had. The remnants of both armies eventually made their way to Syria by sea.

In Jerusalem Conrad convinced Baldwin III to attack Damascus, despite the fact that the Crusader kingdom had a truce with the city. The other Crusaders wanted to attack the weaker Aleppo, the capture of which would have provided easier access to Edessa and probably limited Nur ad-Din's growing power. The siege of Damascus began in July, 1148, though the Crusaders were encamped on a waterless plain and ended up withdrawing after less than a week. Conrad and Louis returned home in failure.

As a result of the Crusade, Damascus no longer trusted the Crusaders, and the city was handed over to Nur ad-Din in 1154. Baldwin III unwisely seized Ascalon in 1153 and brought Egypt into the sphere of conflict, thus preparing the way for the fall of Jerusalem. Bernard of Clairvaux was also humiliated, and when his attempt to call a new Crusade failed, he tried to disassociate himself from the fiasco of the Second Crusade altogether. He died in 1153.

See also:

• Crusade
• First crusade
• Alphonse I
• Louis VII of France
• Conrad III
• Eleanor of Aquitaine

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Second Crusade."

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Second Division (English Football)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Second Division is the third highest league division for English football league teams.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Second Division (English Football)."

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Second Epistle of Peter

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Second Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament of the Bible . The opening verse identifies itself as having been written by Simeon Peter, who has been identified with Saint Peter, although nowhere else in the New Testament is he referred to as both Simeon (the Aramaic form of Simon) and Peter.

This epistle presciently declares that it is written shortly before the apostle's death (1:14). This epistle contains eleven references to the Old Testament. It also contains at 3:15, 16 a remarkable reference to one of Paul's epistles, which some have identified as 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11.

The book also shares a number of shared passages with the Epistle of Jude, e.g. 1:5 with Jude 3; 1:12 with Jude 5; 3:2f with Jude 17f; 3:14 with Jude 24; and 3:18 with Jude 25. Scholars agree that it depends on the Epistle of Jude and should be dated later than that epistle, perhaps as late as AD 140.

This is the last of the books accepted into the canon of the New testament. Niether Irenaeus nor Polycarp of Smyrna supply quotations from this text, and it was only accepted unreservedly as canonical at the Council of Laodicea in AD 372 due to the influence of Athanasius of Alexandria, Jerome and Augustine.

Some have questioned whether Peter was the author, because of differences in the linguistic style from the First Epistle of Peter. The editors of Barclay's New Testament characterize the epistle's style as "florid, rhetorical and flamboyant." Some scholars explain this difference by explaining that Peter had assistance in writing his first epistle from Barnabas, and therefore the second epistle is actually Peter's own unaided writing.

Part of the case for a date no earlier that the second century AD is the internal evidence of 3:15, 16, where the writer assumes that the letters of Paul are well known to his readers. This implies that the letters of Paul had been collected and published and had become part of the literature of the church at the time 2 Peter was written. The critic who accepts Peter as the Simeon Peter assumes that Paul's letters to the various churches were collected and edited and published for all to read by the early 60s, when Peter died.

External Links

• Text of the Second Epistle of Peter
• 'Authenticity of the Second Epistle of Peter' quotes references on both sides.

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Second Epistle of Peter."

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Second Epistle to Timothy

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Second Epistle to Timothy is a book of the Bible New Testament. It is a letter from Paul to Timothy.

It was probably written a year or so after the first, and from Rome, where Paul was for a second time a prisoner, and was sent to Timothy by the hands of Tychicus. In it he entreats Timothy to come to him before winter, and to bring Mark with him (comp. Phil. 2:22). He was anticipating that "the time of his departure was at hand" (2 Tim. 4:6), and he exhorts his "son Timothy" to all diligence and steadfastness, and to patience under persecution (1:6-15), and to a faithful discharge of all the duties of his office (4:1-5), with all the solemnity of one who was about to appear before the Judge of quick and dead.

Initial text from Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897 -- Please update as needed

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Second Epistle to Timothy."

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Second Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Second Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge (来島海峡第二大橋; Kurushima-Kaikyō Daini Ōhashi) is a suspension bridge connecting Oshima and Mashima islands in Japan. The bridge is part of the bigger Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project connecting Honshu and Shikoku islands.

The bridge is ranked the fifteenth longest suspension bridge in the world, at a center span of 1,020 meters.

See also

• Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge
• First Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge
• Third Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge
• Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge

External links

• Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority homepage
• Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge homepage

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Second Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge."

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Second Punic War

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

History -- Military history -- War

The Second Punic War was fought between Carthage and Rome from 218 to 204 BC. It was the second of three major wars fought between the Phoenician colony of Carthage, and the Roman Republic, then still confined to the Italian Peninsula.

Background

After Carthage lost its holdings in Sicily to Rome in the First Punic War, Carthage moved to compensate for the loss by extending her territory in Iberia (the ancient Roman name for modern Spain and Portugal). This was begun by Hamilcar Barca, and continued by his son-in-law Hasdrubal and then his son Hannibal, meaning "Beloved of Baal". According to Roman tradition, Hannibal had sworn hatred to Rome, and he certainly did not take a conciliatory attitude when the Romans berated him for crossing the river Iberus (Ebro), which they were by treaty required to stay south of. Asked to hand Hannibal over, Carthage refused and so Rome declared war on Carthage.

The War in Italia

Hannibal took a combined army of 40,000 North Africans and Iberians across southern France and crossed the Alps over the winter. His invasion of Italia (the ancient Roman name for Italy) came as a surprise to the Romans, for he had constructed no fleet, and it was believed his army could not possibly make it through the mountains. Indeed, it sustained very heavy casualties, including all but one of his 37 war elephants. Nevertheless, that spring he came into North Italia with a still-formidable force of 26,000 men. The Romans tried to attack him while he was still unready, but he defeated them in a skirmish at the river Ticinus, and then again at the Trebia, where both the Roman consuls were killed along with a quarter of their forces. The Romans then retreated, leaving Hannibal in command of Northern Italia. His support from the Gallic tribes and Italian cities was not what he had hoped for, but even so, he was able to strengthen his army to a force of 50,000 men.

The next year the Romans elected Gaius Flaminius consul in hopes that he could defeat Hannibal, and he set up an ambush at Arretium. However, Hannibal was warned of the attack and so by-passed the army, allowing him a free march on Rome. Flaminius had to pursue him but found himself ambushed at the battle of lake Trasimene, and was utterly defeated. However Hannibal, despite the urgings of his generals, did not proceed to besiege Rome, as he lacked siege equipment and he had no supply base in central Italia. Instead he proceeded to the non-Italian south in hopes of stirring up rebellion.

Meanwhile the veteran Fabius Maximus had been appointed Roman dictator, and he decided that it would be best to try and avoid any further field battles, instead trying to cut off Hannibal's supplies by devastating the countryside and harassing his army. Such operations are now called Fabian tactics after him, and earned him the nickname of the Cunctator (delayer), but were hated at Rome, and the following year he was replaced by two consuls who promised to end the war quickly. These jointly fielded the largest Roman army ever, which met Hannibal at Cannae (216). The Romans outnumbered the Carthaginians 50,000 to at most 40,000, but by allowing his center to retreat Hannibal was able to encircle their forces, and completely annihilated them. It is said that under a hundred Romans escaped.

The battle of Cannae led to some of the support Hannibal had hoped for. Over the next three years Capua, Syracuse, and Tarentum each went over to his side. Philip V of Macedonia also allied with Hannibal in 217 BC, starting the First Macedonian War against Rome, but his fleet was not able to stand up to Rome's and he was never able to give any useful help. Meanwhile the Romans had re-elected Fabius Maximus as dictator and returned to his delaying tactics, dividing their army into small forces at vital locations, and avoiding Carthaginian attempts to draw them into field battles.

The War in Iberia

While all this was happening, the Romans had carried the war into Iberia, and over the years had gradually expanded along the coast until in 211 BC they captured Saguntum. This prevented Hasdrubal from sending his brother any aid and also diverted Carthaginian reinforcements away from Italia. That same year they also recaptued Capua and Syracuse, the second falling after what was now a two-year siege, made famous by the defense engines made by Archimedes, who was killed in the sack of the city. However, Hasdrubal was able to defeat them in battle and the two Roman commanders, brothers named Publius and Gnaeus Scipio, were killed. Even so he did not feel confident enough to expel their army after the other losses.

Next year the Romans sent out Publius Scipio's son and namesake, the future Scipio Africanus Major (though only 25 years old) and not having held any offices, with the authority of a consul. Vowing to avenge his father and uncle, he proceeded directly to what was effectively the capital of Punic Iberia, Carthago Nova. It fell in 209 BC, and Hasdrubal was deprived of the main port. He then decided to aid Hannibal in defeating Rome in Italia, and abandoning Iberia to some relatively weak garrisons set out to repeat his brother's crossing of the Alps. It did not work. This time, the Romans anticipated the army's arrival, and had two legions waiting for it when it arrived. Hasdrubal was defeated and killed, and the first news Hannibal received that he left Iberia came in the form of his head, flung into his encampment by a Roman horseman.

The Carthaginian forces that remained in Iberia were defeated a few years later, at Ilipa (206), and Iberia became a Roman province. In that time Rome had recovered Tarentum, and thanks to continual attrition and lack of support Hannibal's army had been confined to the southmost part of Italia. Macedonia had also withdrawn its support, feeling that the Carthaginian defeat was now only a matter of time.

The Attack on Carthage

Scipio returned to Rome a great hero, and though he was technically ineligible ran and was elected consul in 205 BC. He resolved to end the war by attacking Carthage itself, and appealed directly to the centurial assembly when he found the senate opposed this. Thus he was given command of the two legions in Sicily, plus 7,000 volunteers he had recruited, and the next year brought the war to North Africa when he landed at Utica, about twenty miles away from Carthage. Here he was counting on support from the Numidians, who resented Carthaginian control and so agreed to provide him with cavalry. Hannibal was recalled from Italia, and had to leave the Iberian and Gallic contingents that made up about two-thirds of his army behind. After the loss of Capua he had begun to lose influence, but he was still able to break off peace talks, and Scipio met him at Zama in 202 BC. The infantry were evenly matched, and neither side was able to out-general the other, but the issue was decided when the Numidian cavalry dispersed the Carthaginian horsemen and was thus able to attack from behind. For this victory Scipio became known as Scipio Africanus. Carthage immediately sued for peace.

Results

Iberia was lost to Carthage forever, and she was reduced to a client state. A war indemnity of 10,000 talents was imposed, her navy was limited to 10 ships to ward off pirates, and she was forbidden from raising an army without Rome's permission. Numidia took the opportunity to capture and plunder Carthaginian territory. Half a century later, when Carthage raised an army to defend itself from these incursions, it was destroyed by Rome in the Third Punic War.

Hannibal was one of the few survivors of the battle of Zama and escaped to the east, ending up at Antiochus' court in Syria. Whilst residing there, Hannibal again met Scipio, who asked him who he believed to be the greatest general of all time. Hannibal replied "Alexander the Greek". Scipio then asked him who was the second greatest general of all time; "Myself" replied Hannibal. Scipio then asked what would have happened if Hannibal had beaten him at the battle of Zama, to which he replied "Then I would be the greatest general of all time". Rome feared him until the day he died, which was probably unwarranted, but together with Philip's attack on Italia resulted in great suspicion of the Hellenistic kingdoms, leading to further wars and eventually their conquest.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Second Punic War."

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Second United States Congress

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Major Political Events

• First Presidential veto, by George Washington on April 5, 1792, of the Apportionment Act, fixing the number of Representatives based on the United States Census of 1790.

Members of the Second United States Congress

• Fisher Ames (Representative), Federalist, MA
• John Baptista Ashe (Representative), -, NC
• Abraham Baldwin (Representative), -, GA
• Robert Barnwell (Representative), -, SC
• Richard Bassett (Senator), Anti-Administration, DE
• Egbert Benson (Representative), Federalist, NY
• Elias Boudinot (Representative), -, NJ
• Benjamin Bourne (Representative), Federalist, RI
• Shearjashub Bourne (Representative), -, MA
• Stephen Row Bradley (Senator), Anti-Administration, VT
• John Brown (Senator), Anti-Administration, KY
• Aaron Burr (Senator), Anti-Administration, NY
• Pierce Butler (Senator), Anti-Administration, SC
• George Cabot (Senator), Pro-Administration, MA
• Charles Carroll of Carrollton (Senator), Pro-Administration, MD
• Abraham Clark (Representative), -, NJ

• Jonathan Dayton (Representative), Federalist, NJ
• Philemon Dickinson (Senator), Pro-Administration, NJ
• John Edwards (Senator), Anti-Administration, KY
• Oliver Ellsworth (Senator), Pro-Administration, CT
• William Few (Senator), Anti-Administration, GA
• William Findley (Representative), Republican, PA
• Thomas Fitzsimons (Representative), -, PA
• Theodore Foster (Senator), Pro-Administration, RI
• Elbridge Gerry (Representative), -, MA
• William Branch Giles (Representative), Republican, VA
• Nicholas Gilman (Representative), Republican, NH
• Benjamin Goodhue (Representative), Federalist, MA
• James Gordon (Representative), -, NY
• Christopher Greenup (Representative), Republican, KY
• Andrew Gregg (Representative), Republican, PA
• Samuel Griffin (Representative), -, VA
• William Barry Grove (Representative), Federalist, NC
• James Gunn (Senator), Anti-Administration, GA
• Thomas Hartley (Representative), Federalist, PA
• Benjamin Hawkins (Senator), Pro-Administration, NC
• John Henry (Senator), Pro-Administration, MD
• Daniel Hiester (Representative), Republican, PA
• James Hillhouse (Representative), -, CT
• William Hindman (Representative), Federalist, MD
• Daniel Huger (Representative), -, SC
• Ralph Izard (Senator), Pro-Administration, SC
• Israel Jacobs (Representative), -, PA
• William Samuel Johnson (Senator), Pro-Administration, CT
• Samuel Johnston (Senator), Pro-Administration, NC
• Philip Key (Representative), -, MD
• Rufus King (Senator), Pro-Administration, NY
• Aaron Kitchell (Representative), Republican, NJ
• John Wilkes Kittera (Representative), Federalist, PA
• John Langdon (Senator), Pro-Administration, NH
• John Laurance (Representative), -, NY
• Amasa Learned (Representative), -, CT
• Richard Bland Lee (Representative), -, VA
• Richard Henry Lee (Senator), Anti-Administration, VA
• George Leonard (Representative), Federalist, MA
• Samuel Livermore (Representative), Federalist, NH
• Nathaniel Macon (Representative), Republican, NC
• James Madison (Representative), Republican, VA
• John Francis Mercer (Representative), -, MD
• John Milledge (Representative), Republican, GA
• James Monroe (Senator), Anti-Administration, VA
• Andrew Moore (Representative), Republican, VA
• Robert Morris (Senator), Pro-Administration, PA
• Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg (Representative), Anti-Administration, PA
• William Vans Murray (Representative), Federalist, MD
• Nathaniel Niles (Representative), -, VT
• Alexander Dalrymple Orr (Representative), Republican, KY
• John Page (Representative), Republican, VA
• Josiah Parker (Representative), Federalist, VA
• William Pinkney (Representative), Republican, MD
• Richard Potts (Senator), Pro-Administration, MD
• George Read (Senator), Pro-Administration, DE
• Moses Robinson (Senator), Anti-Administration, VT
• John Rutherfurd (Senator), Pro-Administration, NJ
• Cornelius Corneliusen Schoonmaker (Representative), -, NY
• Theodore Sedgwick (Representative), Federalist, MA
• Joshua Seney (Representative), -, MD
• Upton Sheredine (Representative), -, MD
• Roger Sherman (Senator), Pro-Administration, CT
• Peter Silvester (Representative), -, NY
• Israel Smith (Representative), Republican, VT
• Jeremiah Smith (Representative), Federalist, NH
• William Loughton Smith (Representative), Federalist, SC
• Joseph Stanton, Jr (Senator), Anti-Administration, RI
• John Steele (Representative), -, NC
• Samuel Sterett (Representative), -, MD
• Caleb Strong (Senator), Pro-Administration, MA
• Jonathan Sturges (Representative), -, CT
• Thomas Sumter (Representative), Republican, SC
• John Taylor (Senator), Anti-Administration, VA
• George Thatcher (Representative), Federalist, MA
• Thomas Tredwell (Representative), -, NY
• Jonathan Trumbull, Jr (Speaker of the House, Representative), -, CT
• Thomas Tudor Tucker (Representative), -, SC
• Abraham Bedford Venable (Representative), Republican, VA
• John Vining (Representative), -, DE
• Jeremiah Wadsworth (Representative), -, CT
• Artemas Ward (Representative), -, MA
• Anthony Wayne (Representative), -, GA
• Alexander White (Representative), -, VA
• Hugh Williamson (Representative), Federalist, NC
• Francis Willis (Representative), -, GA
• Paine Wingate (Senator), Anti-Administration, NH

First United States Congress

United States Congress

Third United States Congress

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Second United States Congress."

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Seppuku

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Seppuku (also called hara-kiri) is a ritual and honorable suicide with Japanese origins. It came to be a key part of bushido, the code of the samurai warriors. Traditionally, it is done by cutting open one's abdomen with a wakizashi, with one deep cut down into the left side, and a rolling slice across--thereby releasing the soul.

A slightly less honorable version (and much less painful) is that at the same time, a second (called kaizoe or kaizoe-nin) severs the head for an instant death. To distinguish the decapitation from a common excecution, a trusted and skilled samurai was chosen to strike the blow, from behind, leaving the head attached to the body by a flap of skin at the front of the neck. The second was usually but not always, a friend; e.g. if a warrior had fought honourably and well but lost, an opponent who wanted to salute his bravery would volunteer to act as his second.

Seppuku was traditionally used as the ultimate protest when one's own morals stood in the way of executing an order from the master. It was also permissible as a form of repentance when one had committed an unforgivable sin, either by accident or on purpose. Finally, in the feudal period (1190-1867) it was the form of punishment preferred in cases where the subject required an honourable, but necessary, death sentence, such as the 47 Ronin.

There is a great deal of ritual associated with seppuku, particularly when it was done as a protest, or as an honourable punishment. In such cases it might be performed in a spiritually clean temple or similar location, but other locations (e.g. on the field of battle, for members of the losing side) were also common.

In Japanese, hara kiri (腹切り) is a slang term: literally, "belly slashing". The formal term for honorable suicide, which should be used unless one is deliberately trying to be insulting, is seppuku (disembowelment) (切腹).

See also: Kamikaze

Further Reading

• Jack Seward, Hara-Kiri: Japanese Ritual Suicide (Charles E. Tuttle, 1968)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Seppuku."

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Symphony No. 2 (Mahler)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Symphony No. 2 in C minor by Gustav Mahler, known as the Resurrection, was written between 1888 and 1894. It is one of Mahler's most popular works.

The symphony is written for an orchestra consisting of four flutes, four piccolos, four oboes, cor anglais, four clarinets, bass clarinet, four bassoons, double bassoon, ten French horns, ten trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, tam tam, triangle, snare drum, glockenspiel, bells, two harps, organ and strings. The fourth movement requires an alto soloist, and the last movement adds a soprano soloist and a choir.

The symphony began life as Totenfeier (Funeral Rites), a one movement symphonic poem based on an epic poem by Adam Mickiewicz, which Mahler completed in 1888. Later, he returned to the movement, and added three others so that by late 1893, the first four movements of the symphony as we now know it were complete. He then set the work aside for a while, aware that it needed something else to complete it, but lacking inspiration as to what that something else might be.

In 1894, the conductor Hans von Bülow died, and Mahler went to his funeral. There he heard Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock's Aufersteh'n (Resurrection Ode), and this inspired him to complete his symphony with a long choral movement with text based on Klopstock's ode.

The work in its finished form has five movements:

1. Allegro maestoso
2. Andante moderato
3. In ruhig fliessender Bewegung (With quietly flowing movement)
4. Urlicht (Primeval Light)
5. In Tempo des Scherzos (In the tempo of a scherzo)

Mahler devised a narrative programme for the work which he told to a number of friends. He did not approve of audiences being made aware of it, but it is often recounted nowadays. In this programme, the first movement represents a funeral and asks questions such as "Is there life after death?"; the second movement is a remembrance of happy times in the life of the deceased; the third movement represents a complete loss of faith, and belief in life as meaningless; the fourth movement, a song, is a rebirth of faith ("I am from God, and will return to God"); and the fifth movement, after a return of the doubts of the third movement and the questions of the first, ends with a realisation of God's love, and recognition of everlasting life.

Musically, the first movement, though passing through a number of different moods, often resembles a funeral march, and is violent and angry. It is in a very extended sonata form. Following this movement, Mahler calls in the score for a gap of five minutes before the second movement, which is a delicate Ländler with two contrasting sections of slightly darker music.

The third movement is a scherzo based on Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn song about St Anthony preaching to the fishes, "Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt". The fourth movement, Urlicht, is another Wunderhorn song, actually sung this time, by an alto who Mahler requests should sound like a small child in heaven.

The last movement is the longest, typically lasting over half an hour. It is very episodic, containing a wide variety of moods, tempi and keys, with much of the material based on what has been heard in the previous movements. The use of a chorus in this last movement has led to comparisons with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.

A typical performance of the whole symphony will last in the region of 85 minutes.

The work was first published in 1897. In 1899 an arrangement by Bruno Walter for piano four hands (two players at one piano) was published.

The third movement of Luciano Berio's Sinfonia (1968-69), is based on the third movement of this symphony.

Premieres

• World premiere (first three movements only): March 4, 1895, Berlin, with the composer conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
• World premiere (complete): December 13, 1895, Berlin, conducted by the composer.
• American premiere: December 8, 1908, New York City, conducted by the composer.
• English premiere: April 16, 1931, London, conducted by Bruno Walter.

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Symphony No. 2 (Mahler)."

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World War II

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

simple:World War II

World War II (in Russia and other parts of the former USSR also known as The Great Patriotic War (for the war after June 1941) and The War Against Aggression) was fought chiefly between the Allies and the Axis Powers. Most of the fighting occurred in the European theatre in and around Europe, and in the Asian theatre in the Pacific and East Asia.

The war in Europe began on September 1, 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. However, Japan had invaded China already in 1937 the (Second Sino-Japanese War), which sometimes is considered the start of the Second World War (Withdrawal of the Japanese after their defeat also catalysed the Chinese Communist Revolution.) Nazi Germany surrendered on May 7, 23:50 PM 1945, ending the war in Europe. The war in the Pacific ended on September 2, 1945, when Japan surrendered.

It was the largest armed conflict in history, spanning virtually the entire world and involving more countries than any other war, introducing powerful new weapons, and culminating in the first use of nuclear weapons. However, despite the name, not all countries of the world were involved; some through maintained neutrality (such as Éire, Sweden and Switzerland), others through strategic insignificance (as Mexico). However, whilst not all countries were involved, it is clear that the Second World War has had a lasting effect in shaping the political climate of the world as we know it today.

The war ravaged civilians more severely than any previous conflict (bringing to its first fruition the concept of total war) and served as a backdrop for genocidal killings by Nazi Germany as well as several other significant mass slaughters of civilians.

These included the massacre of millions of Chinese and Korean nationals by Japan, internal mass killings in the Soviet Union, and the bombing of civilian targets in German and Japanese cities by the Allies, and bombing of European cities by Nazi Germany. In total, World War II produced about 50 million deaths (about 2% of the population of the world), more than any other war to date (see the List of World War II casualties by country).

Preliminaries

Resentment of Germany's treatment in the aftermath of World War I and economic difficulties allowed Adolf Hitler's extreme nationalist Nazi party to come to power in Germany, and he assumed emergency power and virtual total control of the country. Defying post-World War I treaties he redeveloped the German military. He remilitarized the border zone next to France, enforced the unification of Germany with Austria, and annexed parts of Czechoslovakia.

At the same time Benito Mussolini and the Fascist party rose to power in Italy, and formed the Axis with Germany.

Germany entered into a treaty with the Soviet Union, and in 1939 laid claim to parts of Poland. Poland refused the claim, and Britain and France declared support for Poland. Germany then invaded Poland, and on 3rd September 1939 Britain and France declared war on Germany.

This needs something on the pre-war Japanese situation

See Preceding events of the European Theatre of World War II

European Theatre

See: European Theatre of World War II and The end of World War II in Europe

In May of 1940 Germany attacked the Low Countries and then France. Their Blitzkrieg tactics succeeded in defeating the French and British armies in France. The British army evacuated from Dunkirk leaving their heavy equipment behind, and the French government made a peace, which left Germany in control of the North and the Vichy French government in charge of the South.

Germany was unable to defeat the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain and gain the air superiority needed to invade Britain. Instead they began a strategic bombing campaign which the British called the Blitz, and to blockade Britain into submission in the Battle of the Atlantic. Britain failed to succumb to either.

The Italian army attacked the British in Egypt but were driven back until Rommel's Afrika Korps reinforced them. Seesaw battles across the North African desert with the British Eighth Army came to an end with the British victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein. After America joined the war in December 1941, Allied troops landed in Vichy controlled West Africa, linked up with the Eighth Army and succeeded in driving the Axis from the continent.

In June 1941 Germany attacked the Soviet Union, with whom they had a non-agression pact, in Operation Barbarossa. The Russians were caught largely by surprise and Germany conquered vast areas of territory. Tenacious, almost suicidal defense prevented Germany from capturing Moscow by the time winter set in. Germany had expected the campaign to be over in a few months, and had not equipped their armies for winter fighting. In a series of massive battles the tide was turned by 1943 and Germany were on the defensive in Russia.

In 1943, using North Africa as a springboard, the Allies invaded Italy, which Churchill described as "the soft underbelly of Europe". Italy surrendered, but German troops moved to disarm the Italians and set about defending the country on their own. They established a series of tough defensive lines in country that was ideally suited to defense, and progress by the Allies was slow.

The Allies invaded Northern France in Operation Overlord in June 1944 and liberated most of France and the Low Countries by the end of the year. After a desperate counteroffensive by Germany in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, the Allies entered Germany in 1945. By now the Soviets had reached the Eastern borders of Germany, and her fate was sealed. Following Hitler's suicide as the Russians entered Berlin, Germany surrendered unconditionally in May 1945.

Asian Theatre

Main Article: Asian theatre of World War II

The Japanese had already invaded China before World War II started in Europe. With the United States and other countries cutting exports to Japan, Japan decided to bomb Pearl Harbor in 1941. Japanese forces occupied islands throughout the Pacific and several countries in Asia. An island-hopping offensive by the Allies recaptured the islands while fighting drove the Japanese back on mainland Asia. After Tokyo was firebombed and nuclear bombs hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered.

African and Middle Eastern Theatre

The north African campaign began in 1940, when small British forces in Egypt turned back an Italian advance from Libya. This advance was stopped in 1941 when German forces under Erwin Rommel landed in Libya. Thus began a seesaw campaign that culminated in the two Battles of El Alamein. In addition, In June 1941 the Australian Army and allied forces invaded Syria and Lebanon, capturing Damascus on June 17.

The First Battle of El Alamein took place between July 1 and July 27, 1942. Germany had advanced to El Alamein, the last defensible point before Alexandria and the Suez Canal. However, as in the Soviet Union, they had outrun their supplies, and a British defence stopped their thrusts.

The Second Battle of El Alamein occurred between October 23 and November 3, 1942. It saw British forces take the offensive. Rommel was pushed back, and this time did not stop falling back until Tunisia.

To complement this victory, on 8 November, 1942, American and British troops landed in Morocco and Algeria in Operation Torch. The local forces of Vichy France put up limited resistance before joining the Allied cause. Ultimately German and Italian forces were caught in the pincers of a twin advance from Algeria and Libya. Advancing from both the east and west, the Allies completely pushed Germany out of Africa and on May 13, 1943, the remnants of the Axis forces in North Africa surrendered. Not widely known is that the number of prisoners taken in this incident, 250,000 was as many as at Stalingrad.

Historical significance

In contrast to World War I, the Western victors in the Second World War did not demand compensation from the defeated nations. On the contrary, a plan created by U. S. Secretary of State George Marshall, the "Economic Recovery Program", better known as the Marshall Plan, called for the US Congress to allocate billions of dollars for the reconstruction of Europe.

Since the League of Nations had obviously failed to prevent the war, a new international order was constructed. In 1945 the United Nations was founded.

The portion of Europe occupied or dominated by the Soviet Union did not benefit from the Marshall Plan. In the Paris Peace Treaty, the Soviet Union's enemies Hungary, Finland and Romania were required to pay war reparations of $300,000,000 each (in 1938 dollars) to USSR and her satellites. Italy was required to pay $360,000,000, shared chiefly between Greece, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.

In the areas occupied by the Soviet Union at the end of the war, puppet communist regimes were installed, over the objections of the other Allies and the governments in exile. Germany was partitioned into two countries, with the Eastern part becoming a separate communist state. In Churchill's words, "an Iron Curtain had descended across Europe". In due course this would lead to a commitment from America to help protect Western Europe, the formation of NATO and the Cold War.

The repatriation, pursuant to the terms of the Yalta Conference, of two million Russian soldiers who had came under the control of advancing American and British forces, resulted for the most part in their deaths.

The massive research and development involved in the Manhattan Project in order to quickly achieve a working nuclear weapon design greatly impacted the scientific community, among other things creating a network of national laboratories in the United States.

In the military sphere, it seems World War II marked the coming of age of airpower, mostly at the expense of warships. While the pendulum continues to swing in this never-ending competition, air powers are now a full partner in any military action.

The war was the high-water mark for mass armies. While huge armies of low-quality troops would be seen again (during the Korean War and in a number of African conflicts), after this victory the major powers relied upon small highly-trained and well-trained militaries.

After the war, many high-ranking Nazis were prosecuted for war crimes, as well as the mass murder of the Holocaust committed mainly on the area of General Government, in the Nuremberg trials. Similarly Japanese leaders were prosecuted in the Tokyo War Crime Trial. In other countries, notably in Finland, the Allies demanded the political leadership to be prosecuted in "war-responsibility trials" - i.e. not for crimes of war.

The defeat of Japan, and her occupation by American Forces, led to a Westernisation of Japan that was surely more far-reaching than would otherwise have occurred. Japan approximated more closely to a Western style democracy and, because of her defeat by the USA, set out to ape the United States. This huge national effort led to the post-war Japanese economic miracle and Japan's rise to become the world's second largest economy.

Military engagements

Battles

• Battle of Dunkirk "Dynamo"
• Battle of Britain
• Battle of Crete
• Operation Barbarossa
• Battle of Stalingrad
• Battle of Kursk
• First Battle of El Alamein
• Second Battle of El Alamein
• Battle of Normandy, also known as D-Day or Operation Overlord
• Operation Market Garden (Battle of Arnhem)
• Battle of Monte Cassino
• Battle of Ardennes (1944) (a.k.a. Battle of the Bulge)
• Battle of Hurtgen Forest
• Battle of Berlin
• Battle of Leyte
• Battle of Peleliu
• Battle of Iwo Jima
• Battle of Okinawa
• Battle of Lugou Bridge
• Battle of Tai er zhuang
• Battle of Changsha
• Battle of Hundred Regiments

Naval engagements

• The Battle of the River Plate
• First Battle of Narvik
• Second Battle of Narvik
• Battle of the Atlantic (1940)
• Battle of Cape Matapan
• Battle of Pearl Harbor
• Battle of the Coral Sea
• Battle of Midway
• Battle of Guadalcanal
• Battle of Leyte Gulf

Major bombing campaigns

• Dresden
• Baedeker raids
• London ("The Blitz and the V1 and V2 campaigns)
• Hiroshima
• Nagasaki
• Tokyo
• Warsaw
• Rotterdam
• Hamburg
• Plymouth

See also Strategic bombing survey for the overall impact of the bombing.

Common weapons

• Mauser Karabiner 98k
• Sturmgewehr 44
• Thompson M1
• MP38/40
• US M3

• M1 Garand
• M1 Carbine
• Colt M1911
• Parabellum Luger P-08
• Walther P38
• Panzerfaust
• Bazooka
• MG34
• MG42
• Bren
• Sten
• Lee-Enfield
• PIAT

Defensive lines

• Atlantic Wall
• Maginot Line
• Siegfried Line
• GHQ Line
• Taunton Stop Line

Political and Social Aspects of the War

• Occupation of Denmark
• Nazi children

Production and logistics

The Allies won, and the Axis lost, at least partly because the Allies had greater productive resources, and were able to turn these resources into greater numbers of soldiers and weapons than the Axis.

• American tank production during World War II
• German tank production during World War II
• Soviet tank production during World War II

Related articles

• Timeline of the Second World War
• Axis Powers
• British military history of World War II
• British Women's Land Army
• Polish contribution to World War II
• Free French Forces
• Potsdam Agreement
• U.S. campaigns in WWII
• Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)
• Operation_Downwood
• Devil's_Brigade
• Operation_Shingle
• List_of_aircraft_of_the_WW2_Luftwaffe

Lists

• List of countries involved in World War II
• List of World War II casualties by country
• List of people associated with World War II

External links

• Photos
• WW2 People's War - A project by the BBC to gather the stories of ordinary people from World War II
• BBC History of WW2

References

• Winston Churchill, The Second World War, 6 vols. (1948-1953)
• Martin Gilbert, Second World War, Phoenix, 1995. ISBN 1857993462
• John Keegan, The Second World War (1989)
• B.H. Liddell Hart, History of the Second World War (1970)
• Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millett, A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War (2000) ISBN 067400163X
• Richard Overy, Why the Allies Won, Pimlico, 1995. ISBN 0712674535
• Gerhard L. Weinberg, A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II (1994) ISBN 0521443172

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "World War II."

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Abbreviations & Acronyms: Second

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Synonyms within Context: Second

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Modern Usage: Second

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Commercial Usage: Second