title: Nico Musoke

text:
Nicholas "Nico" Musoke (born April 5, 1986) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who competes in the middleweight division of Swedish promotion Superior Challenge. A professional mixed martial artist since 2007, Musoke has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career
Musoke began his MMA career as an amateur in 2005 taking on Jasper Gunnarsson in a losing effort via split decision. He then made his pro debut two years later at Shooto Finland against Tomi Hietanen. He won via rear-naked choke in the first round. Nico then won his following three fights ending all of them in the first round with two of them ending in less than 50 seconds.

Musoke suffered his first professional loss at the hands of future BAMMA and UFC fighter Danny Mitchell, via armbar in the second round. He bounced back from the loss with a TKO win over Wiktor Sobczyk at BOB 3.

On June 18, 2011, he took part in a four-man tournament held by On Top Promotions where the winner would leave as the OTP Welterweight champion.
In the first fight he suffered his second career loss, this time by decision against future Cage Warriors Welterweight Champion and fellow future UFC fighter Cathal Pendred.
However, before the final could take place Pendred was forced out due to injury. Musoke took his place and defeated another fellow future UFC fighter in Stevie Ray by submission due to a rear naked choke at the end of the first round to become the OTP Welterweight champion.

Since then Musoke had gone 4-0 (1) in his last 5 fights, including one defense of his OTP-title, before getting the call from the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Musoke moved to Middleweight to make his UFC debut against long time UFC veteran Alessio Sakara, filling in for the injured Magnus Cedenblad at UFC Fight Night 30. He won the fight in the first round via armbar. He earned Submission of the Night honors.

Musoke dropped back to welterweight and faced Viscardi Andrade on February 15, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 36. Despite being dropped and almost finished in the first round by Andrade, Musoke was able to recover quickly and take control of the fight, rocking Andrade on their feet in round 2 and control the action on the ground in round 3. His performance earned him the unanimous decision victory.

On June 28, 2014, Musoke fought Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night 44 in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to the fight, Gastelum missed weight by one and three-quarter pounds and forfeited 20% of his fight purse to Musoke. After a good and fairly dominant first round from Musoke, Gastelum rallied to win the next two rounds convincingly resulting in a unanimous decision loss for Musoke.

Musoke was briefly linked to a bout with Amir Sadollah on October 4, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 53.  However, Sadollah was pulled from the pairing with Musoke in favor of a bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama on September 20, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 52.  Musoke instead faced Alexander Yakovlev. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Musoke faced Albert Tumenov on January 24, 2015, at UFC on Fox 14. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

After an extended hiatus, Musoke returned to face Bojan Veličković on May 28, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 109. In a back-and-forth fight, he lost by knockout in the last minute of the third round when Veličković connected with a right hook to the temple, causing Musoke to become wobbled and fall to the ground .

Post-UFC career
On September 12, 2018 - over a year after his last fight in the UFC - it was announced that Musoke had signed a contract with his native Superior Challenge and will be moving up to middleweight. In his promotional return, Musoke faced Daniel Acácio at Superior Challenge 18 on December 1, 2018. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Musoke then fought for the Superior Challenge Middleweight Championship against Dylan Andrews at Superior Challenge 19 on May 11, 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision and claimed the title.

As the first title defense, Musoke faced Marcelo Alfaya at Superior Challenge 20 on December 7, 2019. He successfully defended the title by winning the bout via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Submission of the Night (One time) vs. Alessio Sakara
Superior Challenge
SC Middleweight Championship (One time; Current)
One successful title defense
On Top Promotions
OTP Welterweight Championship (One time)
One successful title defense
OTP 2011 Welterweight Tournament winner
Nordic MMA Awards - MMAViking.com
2013 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

|-
|Win
|align=center|16–5 (1)
|Marcelo Alfaya
|Decision (unanimous)
|Superior Challenge 20
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Stockholm, Sweden
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|15–5 (1)
|Dylan Andrews
|Decision (unanimous)
|Superior Challenge 19
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Stockholm, Sweden
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|14–5 (1)
|Daniel Acácio
|Decision (unanimous)
|Superior Challenge 18
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Stockholm, Sweden
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|13–5 (1)
|Bojan Veličković
|KO (punches)
|UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|4:37
|Stockholm, Sweden
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|13–4 (1)
|Albert Tumenov
|Decision (unanimous)
|UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Stockholm, Sweden
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|13–3 (1)
|Alexander Yakovlev
|Decision (unanimous)
|UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Story
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Stockholm, Sweden
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|12–3 (1)
|Kelvin Gastelum
|Decision (unanimous)
| UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
| San Antonio, Texas, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 12–2 (1)
|Viscardi Andrade
| Decision (unanimous)
|UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 11–2 (1)
|Alessio Sakara
|Submission (armbar)
|UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|3:07
|Manchester, England
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 10–2 (1)
|Alexander Landaeta Utrera
| Decision (unanimous)
|Golden Ring: Wallberg vs. Prazak
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Stockholm, Sweden
|
|-
| NC
|align=center| 9–2 (1)
|Mickaël Lebout
|No Contest (judging error)
|Vision FC 5: Finale
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Stockholm, Sweden
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 9–2
|Dean Caldwell
| TKO (punches)
|OTP: On Top 5
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|3:49
|Glasgow, Scotland
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 8–2
|Kai Puolakka
| Submission (guillotine choke)
|Cage 18: Turku
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|1:39
|Turku, Finland
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 7–2
|Olli Jaakko Uitto
| Decision (unanimous)
|Cage 16: 1st Defense
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Espoo, Finland
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 6–2
|Stevie Ray
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
|OTP: On Top 2
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|4:56
|Glasgow Scotland
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 5–2
|Cathal Pendred
| Decision (unanimous)
|OTP: On Top 2
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|5:00
|Glasgow, Scotland
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 5–1
|Wiktor Sobczyk
| TKO (punches)
|Battle of Botnia 3
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|2:08
|Umeå, Sweden
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 4–1
|Danny Mitchell
| Submission (armbar)
|Superior Challenge 6
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|1:56
|Stockholm, Sweden
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 4–0
|Premysl Nemec
| TKO (punches)
|Superior Challenge 5
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:49
|Stockholm, Sweden
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 3–0
|Jeppe Fausing
| KO (punch)
|Fighter Gala 9
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:12
|Elsinore, Denmark
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 2–0
|Fredrik Klingsell
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
|The Zone FC 1
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|1:16
|Stockholm, Sweden
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 1–0
|Tomi Hietanen
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
|Shooto Finland: Chicago Collision 3
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|3:47
|Lahti, Finland
|
|-

See also
 List of current UFC fighters
 List of male mixed martial artists

References

External links

1987 births
Living people
Middleweight mixed martial artists
Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Swedish male mixed martial artists
Swedish people of Ugandan descent
Swedish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Sportspeople from Stockholm
Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
Welterweight mixed martial artists


title: Dummy Mommy

text:
Dummy Mommy () is a 2012 South Korean weekend television series starring Kim Hyun-joo, Ha Hee-ra, Ahn Seo-hyun, Kim Jeong-hoon, Kim Tae-woo, Shin Hyun-joon, Yoo In-young and Gong Hyun-joo  . It aired on SBS from March 17 to May 20, 2012 on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:50 for 20 episodes.

The show is based on a novel of the same name by Choi Yoo-kyung, which was published on October 28, 2005.

Plot
Kim Young-joo is a genius with an IQ of 200 and the youngest editor of a fashion magazine. Constantly embarrassed and ashamed of her sister's developmental disability and suffocated by her affection, Young-joo leaves home and runs away to get married. But after she gives birth to her own daughter and becomes a mother herself, Young-joo begins to see her life and family differently.

Cast

Main
Kim Hyun-joo as Kim Young-joo
Jo Min-ah as young Kim Young-joo
Ha Hee-ra as Kim Sun-young
Jo Jung-eun as young Kim Sun-young
Ahn Seo-hyun as Park Dat-byul
Kim Jeong-hoon as Lee Je-ha
Kim Tae-woo as Park Jung-do
Shin Hyun-joon as Choi Go-man
Yoo In-young as Oh Chae-rin
Gong Hyun-joo as Han Soo-in

Supporting
Park Hyung-sik as Oh Soo-hyun
Kim Ha-kyun as Oh Min-suk
Kim Chung as Jang Young-sook
Sa Hee as Park Jung-eun
Jo Duk-hyun as Butler Kim
Lee Joo-shil as Seo Gob-dan
Seo Dong-won as Bae Il-do
Baek Bo-ram as Hong Yi-rim
Lee Se-na as Kim Soo-ri
Park Chul-min as Kim Dae-young
Jung Hoon as Jin Tae-oh
Lee Eun-jung as Jo Sun-hee
Park Jae-rom as Na Jae-won
Chun Jae-ho as Robert Oh
Yang Eun-yong as Kang Hyun-joo
Hong Seok-cheon as hairdresser (cameo)

Episode ratings

Original soundtrack

Awards and nominations

References

External links

2012 South Korean television series debuts
2012 South Korean television series endings
Seoul Broadcasting System television dramas
Korean-language television shows
Television shows based on South Korean novels


title: Chelatococcus

text:
Chelatococcus  is a genus of bacteria from the order of Hyphomicrobiales

References

Hyphomicrobiales
Bacteria genera


title: 1940 in Spain

text:
Incumbents
Caudillo: Francisco Franco

Events
November 9 – Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez premieres in Barcelona, Spain.

Births
Robert Saladrigas, Spanish writer, journalist and literary critic (d. 2018)
February 25 – Jesús López Cobos, Spanish-born conductor (d. 2018)
April 20 – Pilar Miró, Spanish screenwriter and film director (d. 1997)

Deaths
February 8 - Antonio Escobar Huertas (born 1879)
 26 September — Walter Benjamin, German-Spanish philosopher and critic (born 1892)
October 15 - Lluís Companys, execution by firing squad (born 1882)
November 3 - Manuel Azaña (born 1880)

See also
List of Spanish films of the 1940s

External links

1940s in Spain
Years of the 20th century in Spain


title: Roman villa of Centcelles

text:
The Roman villa of Centcelles is located in the municipality of Constantí, in Catalonia (Spain). It contains a masterpiece of Early Christian Art. In one of its rooms, which has been almost completely preserved, you can see the oldest known dome mosaic with a Christian theme in the Roman world, dated to the 4th century AD.

See also
 Centum Cellas

References

Roman villas in Spain
Roman sites in Catalonia
Province of Tarragona


title: Lutz Landwehr von Pragenau

text:
Lutz Landwehr von Pragenau (born 1963) is a German composer of classical music.

He was born in Regensburg and studied composition with Wilhelm Killmayer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, continued in a masterclass with Hans-Jürgen von Bose from 1992 to 1994. He has been teaching music pedagogy at the Regensburg University.

Selected works
 Der Jäger von Fall, opera after a libretto by Wilhelm Killmayer (1991)

Orchestra
 Times Square Music for large orchestra Orchester (1990)
 Running Riot for brass band and orchestra (1993)
 ...mild und leise..., Tristan's death for large orchestra (2010)

Chamber music
 Klavierquintett für Paul Celan, piano quintet (1990)
 Berührungen for piano 4 hands and conga (1999)
 The Day After Rendevouz for violin, tuba and tape (1992)
 Silence invades the breathing wood for soprano, violin, viola, cello and small percussion (2011)
 Takte und Gewichte, string quartet (2001)
 In der Schwebe for cello and piano (2009)
 Yolimba läßt grüßen, variations on a theme by Wilhelm Killmayer for violin and piano (2010)
 Duo concertant for two pianos (1997)

Vocal
 Zwei Lieder für Bariton und Klavier, songs for baritone and piano on poems by Otto Julius Bierbaum (1979): op.1/1 (Freundliche Vision), op.1/2 (Traum durch die Dämmerung)
 Missa in excelsis, mass for women choir (2002)
 tierisch gebildet, cantata for speaker, choir and instruments after poems by Christian Morgenstern (2004)
 Zwei Lieder für tiefe Stimme (two songs for a low voice) on Italian texts by Aldo Palazzeschi (2008): 1) Il Passo delle Nazarene 2) Il segno

External links
 Lutz Landwehr von Pragenau Bayerisches Musiker Lexikon Online of the Munich University

 Alexander Strauch: Was ist Solidarität - Für Lutz Landwehr v. Pragenau Neue Musikzeitung, 14 October 2012

German composers
1963 births
Living people


title: 1892 in Belgium

text:
Events in the year 1892 in Belgium.

Incumbents
Monarch: Leopold II
Prime Minister: Auguste Marie François Beernaert

Events
 22 May – Provincial elections
 14 June – Belgian general election, 1892

Publications
 Iwan Gilkin, Ténèbres (Brussels, Edmond Deman)
 Prosper de Haulleville, Portraits et silhouettes, vol.1
 Emile Vandervelde, Les associations professionelles d'artisans et d'ouvriers en Belgique

Art and architecture

Buildings
 Jean-Baptiste Bethune, Maredsous Abbey (begun 1872)

Paintings
 Théo van Rysselberghe, An Evening

Births
 28 October – Marthe Cnockaert, spy and writer (died 1966)

Deaths
 30 August – Lucien Bia (born 1852) soldier

References

1890s in Belgium


title: Battle of La Malmaison

text:
The Battle of La Malmaison () from 23 to 27 October, was the final French action of the 1917 campaign in the First World War, which had begun with the Nivelle Offensive. The French captured the village and fort of La Malmaison and took control of the Chemin des Dames ridge. The German 7th Army (General Max von Boehn) had discovered French preparations for the attack and also identified the date and time. Boehn chose to defend the front positions, rather than treat them as an advanced zone and to conduct the main defence north of the Oise–Aisne Canal. The German artillery was outnumbered three-to-one and on the front of the 14th Division,  batteries were confronted by  which silenced most of the German guns before the attack. Gas from French bombardments on low-lying land near the Oise–Aisne Canal in the Ailette valley, became so dense that it was impossible to carry ammunition and supplies forward or to remove the wounded.

Battalions from specialist German counter-attack divisions () had been distributed along the front line and were caught in the French bombardments, German infantry shelters having been identified by French air reconnaissance and systematically destroyed. After the four-day bombardment was extended by two more days because of bad weather, the French XIV, XXI and XI corps of the Sixth Army, attacked on a  front with six divisions. Zero hour had been set for  but a German message, ordering the front garrisons to be ready at  was intercepted and the French start time was moved forward to

The French infantry advanced behind an elaborate creeping barrage but the earlier zero hour meant that the attack began in the dark. Rain began to fall at  and the  Schneider CA1 and Saint-Chamond tanks were impeded by mud and  behind the French front line. Fifteen tanks were immobilised crossing no man's land or in the German front line but the  tanks and the infantry reached the German second position according to plan. The 38th Division captured  and XXI Corps took Allemant and Vaudesson. From 24 to 25 October, XXI and XIV corps advanced rapidly; the I Cavalry Corps was brought forward into the XIV Corps area, ready to exploit a German collapse. The German 7th Army conducted the  (Bunzelwitz Manoeuvre), a retirement from the Chemin-des-Dames to the north bank of the Ailette on the night of

Background

Strategic developments

Nivelle Offensive

General Robert Nivelle replaced Joseph Joffre as French Commander-in-Chief in December 1916, after the costly fighting at Verdun and the Somme. Nivelle claimed that a massive barrage on German lines could bring French victory in 48 hours and avoid the costly battles of attrition,  (nibbling) fought in 1916. The French offensive began on 16 April 1917, after support from the France Prime Minister, despite the doubts of other politicians, Pétain, Micheler, other senior army commanders and the British. The Nivelle offensive involved  French and British troops and  on fronts between Reims and Roye, after preliminary offensives at Arras and St. Quentin. The principal effort was an attack on the German positions along the Chemin des Dames ridge, in the Second Battle of the Aisne to rupture the German defences in  bring about a battle of manoeuvre and defeat decisively the German armies in France.

From February–March 1917, the German armies in the Noyon and Bapaume salients retired to a new line of fortifications, the  (Hindenburg Line) across the base of the salients, from Neuville Vitasse near Arras, through St. Quentin and Laon to the Aisne east of Soissons, ending at Cerny en Laonnois on the Chemin-des-Dames ridge, although the withdrawal to the last part of the line did not take place. The new fortifications were intended to be precautionary, () built to be used as rallying-positions  (similar to ones built on the Russian front) to shorten the Western Front, economise on troops and create reserves. The  had the potential to release the greatest number of troops and construction began on 27 September 1916.

The French Third Army began the offensive against German observation points at St. Quentin from 1 to 13 April, which took some of the German defences in front of the . On 9 April, the British Third Army began the Battle of Arras from Croisilles to Ecurie, against Observation Ridge, north of the Arras–Cambrai road and towards Feuchy and the German second and third lines. The British attack either side of the Scarpe river penetrated , the furthest advance achieved since the beginning of trench warfare. Most of the objectives were reached by the evening of 10 April, except for the line between Wancourt and Feuchy around Neuville-Vitasse. The First Army attacked from Ecurie north of the Scarpe to Vimy Ridge, which fell at about  in a  advance. By 16 May, the British had captured  guns but had not broken through.

Second Battle of the Aisne

In the Second Battle of the Aisne (16 April – 9 May), the French failed to achieve their strategic objective of a breakthrough and a return to a war of movement but captured tactically important ground and inflicted many casualties on the German defenders. The Germans were forced to retire from the area between Braye-en-Laonnois, Condé-sur-Aisne and Laffaux to the Hindenburg Line from Laffaux Mill, along the Chemin-des-Dames to Courtecon. The German armies in France were still short of reserves, despite the retirements to the Hindenburg Line in March and suffered  during the Nivelle Offensive. Because of the shortage of troops, the front-holding divisions had to change places with the Eingreif divisions, rather than be withdrawn to recuperate. In a lull from 9 May to 20 August, more German divisions were depleted than at Verdun the previous year. Of the German divisions engaged on the ridge, none spent more than twelve days in the line and only the 46th Reserve Division returned for another period in the line; the French took

Tactical developments

Battle of the Observatories, May–October

From May there were many local actions on the Chemin-des-Dames ridge. On 23 May, a German assault on the Vauclerc Plateau was defeated and on 24 May, a second attack was driven back in confusion. During the night, the French took the wood south-east of Chevreux and almost annihilated two German battalions. On 25 May, three German columns attacked a salient north-west of Bray-en-Laonnois and gained a footing in the French first trench, before being forced out by a counter-attack. On 26 May, German attacks on salients east and west of Cerny were repulsed and from 26 to 27 May, German attacks between Vauxaillon and Laffaux Mill were defeated. Two attacks on 28 May at Hurtebise, were stopped by French artillery and on the night of  German attacks west of Cerny also failed. On the morning of 1 June, after an extensive bombardment, German troops took some trenches north of Laffaux Mill and were then pushed out by a counter-attack in the afternoon.

On 2 June, a bigger German attack began, after an intensive bombardment of the French front, from the north of Laffaux to the east of Berry-au-Bac. On the night of  two German divisions made five attacks on the east, west and central parts of the Californie Plateau and the west end of the Vauclerc Plateau. The Germans attacked in waves, sometimes advancing shoulder-to-shoulder, supported by flame-thrower detachments. Some ground was gained on the Vauclerc Plateau, until French counter-attacks recovered the ground. Despite the French holding improvised defences and the huge volume of German artillery-fire used to prepare attacks, the German methodical counter-attacks () met with little success and at Chevreux north-east of Craonne, the French advanced further into the Laon Plain.

On the night of  German artillery conducted a preliminary bombardment for an attack early on 27 August, west of the Soissons–Laon road, from Moisy Farm to the south-east of Vauxaillon and Laffaux. East of the road, the French defences on either side of Cerny and on both sides of the Hurtebise Monument, were attacked; near Laffaux the Germans recovered some ground. By 30 August, the strength of each company of the German battalion holding the captured ground had been reduced to  A fresh battalion which relieved it after dark was bombarded by the French artillery throughout the night of the  and during the rest of 31 August. At  two battalions of French infantry and a battalion of Chasseurs advanced behind a creeping barrage and a shrapnel bombardment, with double barrages along each flank. A squadron of aeroplanes machine-gunned the German infantry and the crews of trench mortars and batteries beyond the crest. In fifteen minutes, the French attack recaptured the ground, except on the right flank, where the crew of a machine-gun post resisted until the morning.

Three German counter-attacks in the night were costly failures and about  were captured by the French, along with seven machine-guns; on the night of  two more German counter-attacks failed. On 31 August, a French party north-east of Craonne, wrecked  of German trench south-east of Corbeny and returned with twelve prisoners. On the same day, a German raid to the south-east of Vauxaillon was repulsed, as was one in the Cerny region during the night of  Four attacks on the Hurtebise Spur were made on 3 September, by three waves of German infantry which failed to penetrate the French covering barrage. Simultaneous attempts were made to advance on the Ailles Plateau to the west of the spur and to the east, on the evening of 4 September and morning of 5 September. Attacks were made on the Casemates and on the Californie Plateau above Craonne, which were repulsed by French artillery and machine-gun barrages.

For most of September, artillery duels and raids by both sides took place from Vauxaillon to Craonne. Long-range guns bombarded villages and châteaux far behind the front line, directed by observers in lines of observation balloons, which were protected by aircraft and many anti-aircraft guns. From 20 to 21 September, a German attack south of the Arbre de Cerny and at the neck joining the Casemates to the Californie Plateau failed and on the night of  Thuringian stormtroops attacked between the western edge of the Hurtebise Finger and the French positions in the plain east of Craonne. North of Vauclerc Mill, the Germans captured the French first line but were pushed back by a counter-attack; German detachments probing between the Hurtebise Spur and the south of La Royère were also repulsed. On 17 October, the French preliminary bombardment for the offensive at La Malmaison began and the next day the German communiqué read

and during 18 October, French detachments patrolled between Vauxaillon and Braye-en-Laonnois, destroyed several strong points and returned with  from four German divisions. Until the beginning of the battle, the artillery of both sides fired constantly, with much trench-mortar fire by the French, which a German report of 20 October, reported had transformed the foremost fighting zone between Vauxaillon and Braye into a crater field. Since the Chemin-des-Dames ridge was honeycombed with large limestone caves and quarries, adequate artillery preparation was indispensable.

Fortifications

Fort de la Malmaison lay on the Chemin-des-Dames ridge and had been built as part of an entrenched camp north of the Aisne, in the Séré de Rivières system, designed by General Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières and built from the 1870s. The fort was in the northern angle between the Chemin-des-Dames and the Soissons–Laon road. The fortress casemates were tested with high explosives in 1887 and found to be insufficiently robust. Steel reinforced concrete had been added but in 1913, the fort was sold to a Laon contractor, to demolish and use the materials to build new barracks in town. A long tunnel, the Montparnasse Quarry lay on the northern slopes below the fort, on the route to Chavignon village at the foot of the ridge. The quarry was big enough to shelter an infantry brigade. The fort was to the north-west of the quarry, on the summit of the plateau at the western end of the ridge and the dismantled work was surrounded by a moat filled with mud. The subterranean galleries had been rebuilt and garrisoned by the Germans in September 1914, the outworks and interior being provided with several ferro-concrete machine-gun nests.

From the ramparts, the Germans could see all movement from the Ailette to the Aisne and on the spurs running down to the Aisne from the Chemin-des-Dames ridge. There was a clear view northwards from the fort over the Ailette, along the lower edge of the west side of the Forest of Coucy and past the village of Brancourt; to the east were two groups of hills round Anizy, on the north bank of the Ailette. Laon was about  distant and visible at the end of the valley of the Ardon, which joins the Ailette north of Chavignon. Further east, beyond the  reservoir, was the hilltop village of Monampteuil. East of the reservoir, the valley of the Upper Ailette was visible as far as the Troyon–Laon road. South of Fort de la Malmaison, in the centre of the plateau closer to the French lines, lay the huge Bohery Quarry, where the ground began to slope steeply down towards the Aisne valley. In October 1917, German engineers were still connecting the quarry with the Montparnasse tunnel, other underground works and the galleries under the fort. The Montparnasse, Fort de la Malmaison and Bohery excavations, the Fruty Quarry on the edge of the Soissons–Laon road, about  east of Laffaux Mill and many other subterranean obstacles faced the Sixth Army.

Prelude

Order of battle
On the left flank of the French Sixth Army was XIV Corps (Général François Marjoulet), with the 28th Division, the 27th Division and the 129th Division in reserve. In the centre, XXI Corps (Général Jean Degoutte) prepared to attack with the 13th and 43rd divisions. On the right flank, XI Corps (Général Louis de Maud'huy), had the 38th Division and an attached tank group, the 66th Division and part of the 67th Division (XXXIX Corps) in support. Artillery support was provided by the 2nd, 12th, 32nd, 231st, 240th and 259th artillery regiments with  guns,  and   guns from ,  guns and  mortar batteries. The German 7th Army had five divisions in the first position, three  divisions and three divisions in close reserve, supported by  of artillery,  which were heavy.

French offensive preparations

The Sixth Army formed part of  (GAN, General Franchet d'Esperey). Before the Nivelle Offensive in April, d'Esperey had studied the tactical problems connected with the natural barrier between the Aisne and the plain at Laon and advised Maistre about the topography of the region. The XIV, XXI and XI corps were to conduct the attack, with the 67th Division of XXXIX Corps providing trench garrisons on the heights east of La Royère Farm. French tanks () had been technically improved since 16 April, when they had operated on the plain from Craonne to Berry-au-Bac, despite the steep spurs, cratered ground and the establishment of anti-tank batteries by the Germans.

The tanks were modified to make them less liable to catch fire, pigeons were embarked to carry messages and communication panels operated from inside were installed.  II (three  of Schneider tanks with two wireless tanks) to attack strongpoints in stages up to the final objectives,  distant and  X (two  of Saint Chamond tanks and two wireless tanks). Some tanks were attached to XIV Corps, on the west flank of the Sixth Army, astride the Soissons–Laon road. On 5 May, the French had captured Laffaux Mill, Chateau de la Motte, Fruty and Allemant quarries but the Germans had recaptured much of the ground during the Battle of the Observatories.

Super-heavy siege artillery was necessary to pierce the roofs of the caverns on the Chemin-des-Dames and Pétain provided several batteries of  and  guns, which fired non-explosive shells with armour-piercing points, capable of penetrating the roofs of the tunnels. Where the thickness of the roof was too great for one shell, a salvo falling about the same spot gradually reduced the layer of rock, until it was thin enough to be penetrated. The accuracy French gunnery was exemplary and on 21 October, an observer reported that under direction by an artillery-observation aeroplane, one of the  guns fired five shells consecutively into the same hole. The galleries of Fort de la Malmaison and the interiors of some of the caves were demolished. The roof of the Montparnasse Quarry was made to resemble a honeycomb and despite its extraordinary thickness, at least two  shells penetrated to the double gallery underneath, causing many casualties to the garrison. Holes driven into the overhead cover became funnels, down which flowed gas and shrapnel bullets.

German defensive preparations

The vulnerability of the Laffaux Corner to envelopment was made worse by the proximity of the Ailette and the parallel  (Oise–Aisne Canal) to the north, below the Chemin des Dames. A retreat to the north of the river and canal would be difficult, despite the number of crossing points, which could be made impassable by artillery-fire, particularly with gas-shell. Much of the German artillery was south of the canal, from Pinon to Pargny and was cramped for space in patches of woodland, so far back that only long-range fire could reach beyond the French front line. Reserve positions in the salient ran north-east and the front position had insufficient depth, as it lay partly on and partly behind the Chemin-des-Dames ridge, which had a convex slope at the top. Ridges radiated down to the Aisne valley, over which the German positions had inadequate observation. Due to a lack of manpower, constant French artillery-fire and the autumn rains, the condition of the German defences was poor and in some places, only narrow trenches and shell-hole positions existed. There were few pillboxes and tunnels but numerous underground quarries, which had been equipped with ventilation and lighting systems, for ammunition and food storage.

Behind the  (Pinon trench) in the south-west corner of the salient near Laffaux, work had begun on a reserve line from Pinon to Vaudesson and on rearward defences behind the  for a possible retirement, known as the  (Gudrun Manoeuvre). From 11 October, the right flank division of Group Vailly was relieved by the 13th Division and on the left the 2nd Guard Division was moved into the line near Malmaison. The west face of the salient from the Anizy–Vauxaillon railway line to the canal tunnel, the area considered must vulnerable, was held by Group Crépy, the VIII Reserve Corps headquarters (General Georg Wichura), with the 37th Division and the 14th Division, joined by the 52nd Division from 15 October. In Group Vailly to the east, the ZbV 54 (special duties) headquarters (Lieutenant-General Max von Müller), defended its sector with the 13th Division, 2nd Division, 5th Guards Division and the right flank units of the 47th Reserve Division. The 43rd Reserve Division and the 9th Division, which was intended mainly to support the left flank adjoining Group Liesse, were in reserve as  divisions.

The ground-holding divisions held a frontage of about  each and to evade French artillery-fire, had moved the reserve and resting battalions far to the rear; about  of the  divisions positioned near the Ailette, were moved closer to the front to compensate. Another  batteries were brought into the area, which increased the number of guns to  which  heavy and super-heavy but this did little to compensate for the vast French numerical superiority in guns. About  pieces, particularly those behind the 14th and 13th divisions and some of those behind the 2nd Guard Division, south of the canal were difficult to supply and the new batteries were placed north of the Ailette.

On 15 September, the 7th Army had  against  but the Army Group headquarters delayed the dispatch of more air units until mid-October, having expected attacks elsewhere and had also reinforced the Flanders front. Many of the new air units arrived after the French preliminary bombardment had begun and when the French infantry attack came, were still unfamiliar with the terrain. By late October, the 7th Army had received  including four fighter units, which increased the number of aircraft to more than  with support available from the fighter squadrons of the neighbouring 2nd and 1st armies.

Caves and tunnels had been used by the Germans as shelters for reserves, to reinforce the trench garrisons in the network of trenches running from the Ailette valley, over the Soissons–Laon railway, up the western slopes of the Mont des Singes, east of Vauxaillon and along the summit of the plateau above Laffaux, to the Laffaux Mill on the Laon–Soissons road. There the German trenches ran eastwards below the Fruty Quarry, crossed the road and ascended to the southern edge of the Malmaison plateau at Mennejean Farm. From the farm, the front line went north-eastwards to a point  south of La Malmaison Farm, due west of the fort and to the right of the Soissons–Laon road. The line wound along the summit of the Malmaison Plateau to the Chevrégny Spur above the . West of the Chevrégny Spur the villages, except for Allemant, lay on lower ground between five spurs facing north. Froidmont Farm and the plateau north of the Chevrégny Spur and further east, on the Chemin-des-Dames ridge, along with several posts on the northern edge of the plateau, together with the villages of Courtecon, Cerny and Ailles on the northern slope, north-east of Craonne and the plain; Chevreux were also fortified.

The ground down to the forests of Pinon and Rosay, which covered most of the uneven plain south of the marshes around the Ailette, comprised numerous ravines which in places were still wooded. The sides of the ravines wound around, facing all directions and could not be swept from end to end by artillery-fire. On the western flank, the Vauxaillon valley ran along most of the western and eastern slopes of the ridge and plateau above Laffaux. The Mont des Singes Spur was to its east and the Vauxaillon valley, which narrowed to the Allemant ravine, went round and then northwards, joining a ravine which curved round the Allemant plateau west of Pinon. The Allemant plateau was cut from south to north by the narrow St. Guillain ravine and other ravines lay below the crest of the Chemin-des-Dames ridge. From Vaudesson a ravine descended northwards to the west of Chavignon, where it met the western of two gullies, at the head of which was Malmaison Farm; Fort de la Malmaison was on the plateau above the eastern gully. The plateau was separated from the Filain and Pargny-Filain area, on the east of the French attack front, by a valley into which the eastern or Bois de la Garenne gully opened, just south of Chavignon.

German engineers had exploited the irregular ground, which was easy to defend with machine-guns. The German front line on the crest of the Chemin-des-Dames and Laffaux ridges consisted of two or more trenches. Behind the forward zone, from the western edge of the ridge above Pinon, a  (support line) ran eastwards, south of the farm and Fort Malmaison to the Panthéon. To the north of the , the fortified villages of Pinon and Vaudesson, Malmaison Farm, the fort and below them, the Montparnasse quarry, Chavignon and Bruyère, with various intermediate fortified woods, caves and pillboxes, formed the German third position. The village fortress of Allemant and other strongpoints lay between the first and second positions. On the German right flank north of Moisy Farm entrenchments, round Mont des Singes to the bank of the Ailette, prevented an attacker from outflanking the heights in that direction. Low ground north of the Pinon–Chavignon road as far as the Ailette was dominated by the forests of Pinon and Rosay, where many trees still stood.

The  (a summit level canal), had been drained and was not a serious obstacle; behind the German east flank, beyond the Panthéon, were the fortified villages of Pargny-Filain and Filain, the southern sides of which were protected by earthworks. Should they and Chavignon be lost, it was unlikely that the Germans could remain on the southern slopes of the Chemin-des-Dames east of the Chevrégny Spur. Attacked from the front and flanks, the Germans would have to retire behind the Ailette, where a French pursuit up the valley of the Ardou to Laon could be enfiladed by German artillery on the Anizy hills and in the Forest of Coucy. Guns on the Monampteuil heights enfiladed the mouth of the corridor and at the northern end, there was German artillery around the Laon hill. A rapid exploitation up the valley was impossible, because the ground on the borders of the canal was marshy.

Group Vailly, had four divisions between Moisy and La Royère farms and three on the northern slopes of the heights. Three divisions were in reserve, the 5th Guards Division around Filain and Pargny-Filain, the 2nd Guards Division on the right supported the 13th Division and the 43rd Reserve Division held the ground between Malmaison and La Royère farms. During the battle, Müller was reinforced by the 6th Division from Galicia and by elements of four other divisions. Müller had taken precautions against a retreat and French air reconnaissance reported that fruit trees and farms in the Ailette valley were being destroyed and artillery was being moved to the high ground about Monampteuil, to enfilade the French if they took the west end of the Chemin-des-Dames ridge and descended towards the Ailette.

French plan
On 23 October at  the French infantry were to advance between the Anizy–Vauxaillon railway and Royère on a  front, to the northern edge of the ridge on which lay the villages of Pinon, Chavignon, Pargny and Filain, in three stages. After a pause for consolidation, the attack was to continue to the Ailette on 25 October. The main effort was intended to drive a salient into the German defences, on a line from Vaurains to Fort Malmaison and Chavignon. Behind the six attacking divisions and two regiments of the flanking divisions, six more divisions waited to  (clean up) and consolidate the captured ground. The French attack was faced by 31/2 front holding divisions, backed by two depleted  divisions, since part of the 9th Division remained with Group Liesse further east.

XIV Corps was to capture the German first position, from Moisy Farm to Laffaux Mill, Mennejean Farm and the Fruty Quarry, by taking the ridge above Laffaux, from Moisy Farm to a neck of ground linking it to the Malmaison plateau. The corps was then to keep on the right of the ravines, between which lies the Mont des Singes spur and capture the strong point of the Guerbette valley, below the tip of the spur and the Château de la Motte. The 28th and 27th divisions were then to descend into the ravine of Allemant, capture the quarry and ruins of Allemant, the Allemant plateau and the strong points between the German first and second positions. After the capture of Allemant, the 28th Division was to halt between Vallée Guerbette and a point  north of Allemant. Pivoting on Allemant, the 27th Division on the right, was to attack the  known there as Giraffe and Lizard trenches. On the extreme right flank the French were to stop on the high ground west of Vaudesson. Assuming success, the Mont des Singes spur would be outflanked to the east and the Malmaison spur to the west.

On 5 May, the French had reached the outskirts of Allemant but failed to capture the network of defences from the south of Mennejean Farm to the south of the Bohery quarry. On 23 October, XXI Corps with the 13th and 43rd divisions, reinforced by several battalions of Chasseurs Alpins, were to drive the German 13th and 43rd divisions and part of the 2nd Guard Division, from the labyrinths on the south-west end of the Malmaison plateau and from Bois des Gobineaux, on the sides of the ravine between the bois and the Allemant Spur. Having secured both sides of the Soissons–Laon road, from the Fruty Quarry to the point where the Chemin-des-Dames branches off eastwards, the XXI Corps divisions were to attack Malmaison Farm and the  (Lady Trench) between the farm and Fort de la Malmaison.

The flanking divisions of XXI Corps were then to descend on the final objectives, Vaudesson village, Bois de la Belle Croix, Montparnasse Quarry, the west end of Chavignon village and the Bois des Hoinets, a northern continuation of Bois de la Belle Croix. If successful, the centre of the Sixth Army would be in a salient but west of Vaudesson a deep ravine from north of Laffaux Mill to the east of Pinon, commanded from the west by the 27th Division in Giraffe Trench, would protect the left flank of XXI Corps from counter-attacks. On the right flank, in the XI Corps area, the 38th Division would co-operate with the 43rd Division on the right of XXI Corps, to capture the Bohery Quarry, Fort de la Malmaison, Orme Farm on the plateau to the north of the fort, Bois de la Garenne in the ravine to the west, Many Farm east of the Pargny-Filain–Chavignon road, due east of Garenne Wood and the east end of Chavignon village. With the 43rd Division, it was to secure the north end of the Malmaison Plateau, the slopes and the ravines descending from it to Chavignon.

On the right of the 38th Division, the 66th Division and the XXXIX Corps regiment of the 67th Division, extended the attack front east to the Chevrégny spur, to force 5th Guard Division out of the ruins of Panthéon Farm, Panthéon Quarry and Orage Quarry. The objectives were the east end of the Malmaison plateau and two lines of trenches further back; Fanion Trench to the north, the east end of the German second position and Lützen Trench just below the crest towards Pargny-Filian. The  and the 67th Division, were to attack part of the neck joining the Malmaison plateau to the Chevrégny Spur, reach the Les Bovettes water-tower and then work down the ravine on the east side of the north of the Malmaison plateau and down the Bovettes ravine to Pargny-Filain, to capture Lützen Trench, Pargny-Filain village and Bois de Veau, in the depression between Fort de la Malmaison and Pargny-Filain. During the advance, the French would have to pass the subterranean quarries near Les Bovettes, the Tonnerre Quarry and across the crest, where the French could be engaged by the German artillery on the Monampteuil Heights.

Preparatory bombardment
A French artillery demonstration was conducted against Group Crépy, on the western face of the salient from  in support of British operations in Flanders and on 11 October highly accurate French artillery registration commenced. The weather on 17 October was clear and French aircraft made a coordinated attack on German observation balloons. The main bombardment by  began, with an average of  for each  of front, three times the amount of German artillery. Along with the usual destructive bombardment, the Ailette valley was deluged with gas shells. The German counter-bombardment could only be maintained in the eastern part of the attack front and French patrols found that some German outposts had been left unoccupied.

The German artillery reply began with a substantial counter-bombardment but this rapidly diminished, especially south of the Ailette, where the supply of ammunition and equipment was blocked by the thick gas cloud in the valley. Some guns were withdrawn but on 19 October, the gas cloud was so thickened by fog that it became impossible to move the rest. Positions held by the 14th Division in Group Crépy and those of the 13th Division and 2nd Guard Division in Group Vailly were quickly reduced to crater-fields. French aircrew watched fortifications and tunnel-openings for signs of occupancy and immediately directed artillery-fire on any which were seen. The French bombardment had most effect at the boundary of the 13th Division and 2nd Guard Division, where by the night of 21 October, a gap  wide had been blown in the German defences, which could not be repaired. On the eastern flank of the attack front, the bombardment of the 5th Guard Division was less damaging but a local attack, Operation Autumn Harvest was cancelled.

Ceaseless explosions and concussion from shell bursts at the mouths of caverns caused rock falls and spread thick clouds of dust. The garrisons changed position but rarely found a spot not under bombardment. A feeling of impotence spread among the defenders and was made worse when the German artillery was silenced. French artillery barrages on the roads from Laon across the Ailette to the Chemin-des-Dames, made it impossible for ammunition to be carried forward. Even long-range  naval guns near Pinon, were later found to be without ammunition. Morale among the German infantry of the cave garrisons was also depressed by isolation and the unprecedented gas shell bombardment, which forced them permanently to wear masks. Supply routes were closed by curtains of shrapnel fire and from  the Ailette valley and the sides and summits of the spurs projecting into it from the ridge were blanketed by gas, which made it impossible for German gunners to remove their gas masks to eat and drink.

Battle

Sixth Army, 23 October

XIV Corps

At  the French field artillery began a creeping barrage and German SOS rockets rose into the air and the German artillery managed to fire a prompt but thin counter-barrage. The French infantry of XIV Corps on the left and the XXI Corps in the centre, moved up the slopes and ravines towards their objectives, against the faces of the obtuse angle formed by the Laffaux Salient. XI Corps and the regiment of the 67th Division of XXXIX Corps on the right began a parallel advance. Until XXI Corps reached the Chemin-des-Dames, XI Corps was isolated on its left flank; the attacks of XIV and XXI corps had reciprocal effects. The deep, steep Laffaux–Pinon ravine between Mont des Singes and the Allermant plateau, increased the difficulties of the German defenders in the salient. The garrisons to the south fought with their backs to the ravine and the German troops in the trenches and pillboxes of the western face, risked being cut off and pushed eastwards into the ravine, if they failed to escape down the Allemant gorge to Pinon or retreat to the Mont des Singes spur.

On the left of XIV Corps, the 28th Division quickly defeated the Germans in Moisy Farm and the Laffaux Mill at the tip of the salient; then took the intermediate trenches and pillboxes on the summit of Laffaux ridge. A defensive flank was established from Moisy Farm across the plateau, to prevent a counter-attack from the Mont des Singes. On the right flank, from Laffaux Mill to Mennejean Farm, the 27th Division and XXI Corps to the east of the farm, attacked the southern face of the salient. Mennejean Farm and the first line trenches fell quickly and Fruty Quarry was surrounded by battalions of the 75th Regiment.. The French infantry reached the edge of the Laffaux–Pinon ravine, at the junction with the Allemant ravine, which ran downwards to the west of Pinon. The 28th Division arrived almost simultaneously at the western edge of the Allemant ravine, which forced many German soldiers back into both hollows with many casualties.

In the centre, XXI Corps crossed the Soissons–Laon road, entered the German second position and then captured Malmaison Farm by  which secured the right flank of the XIV Corps, since the farm was level with Allemant. With the defenders of Fruty Quarry cut off, at  Marjoulet ordered his troops into the ravines, to capture Mont de Laffaux, encircle Allemant and seize the southern end of the Allemant plateau. Mont de Laffaux, south of Allemant, commanded both ravines and was determinedly defended by the garrison against the 75th Regiment, part of which was still besieging Fruty Quarry. Round the Château de la Motte and to the north, at the strong point of Vallée Guerbette, below the east end of the Mont des Singes plateau, there was also a determined defence. Around Allemant, several machine-gun emplacements held up the advance but before  the 30th Regiment worked its way on to the plateau north of Allemant. The 75th Regiment captured Fruty Quarry and took Mont de Laffaux, ready to attack the village from the south, to take the strong points in it systematically.

At Bois de St. Guillain, between Allemant and the Laffaux–Pinon ravine, at  the 140th Regiment was stopped by fire from machine-gun nests, until French tanks crawled up and knocked them out. The advance was resumed by the right wing, as the left flank units halted on a line from Vallée Guerbette, to a point  north of Allemant. The attackers on the right, astride the St. Guillain and Laffaux–Pinon ravines, reduced St. Guillain Farm and assaulted the second German position, over-running Giraffe and Lizard trenches by noon in a rainstorm. Except for Bois 160, south of Vaudesson, where the garrison held out until the early hours of 24 October and for some isolated quarries, the German position south of the  and east of the Allemant ravine had fallen. The 27th Division faced Pinon and covered Vaudesson, which had been secured by XXI Corps. XIV Corps had pivoted on its left flank to a line perpendicular with the start line. The Germans on the Mont des Singes and in Pinon with the Ailette at their backs, were menaced from the south and the west. XIV Corps had also taken  several guns, machine-guns and trench mortars.

XXI Corps
XXI Corps attacked the remainder of the southern face of the Laffaux salient, from east of Mennejean Farm to the south of the Bohery Quarry. If the attack failed, XIV Corps on the Allemant plateau would be caught in a salient, as would XI Corps on the right at Fort de la Malmaison. At  both divisions advanced up the slopes towards the Soissons–Laon road, from Fruty Quarry to the west of Malmaison Farm. Little opposition was met and the wire entanglements and trenches were found to have been obliterated. Bois des Gobineaux, beyond the road on the south side of the Laffaux–Pinon ravine, was captured by the 21st and 20th Chasseur battalions, Vaurains Farm in the western angle of the Soissons–Laon and Pinon roads, was captured with tank support and the east ends of Lizard Trench and Lady Trench were occupied. At about  the 31st Chasseur Battalion stormed Malmaison Farm and at  the French were established north of the .

At  the 13th Division began to descend the northern slopes towards Vaudesson and Bois de la Belle Croix. On the right, the 43rd Division attacked downhill on both sides of the Soissons–Laon road, to the Montparnasse Quarry on the left side of the road, level with Vaudesson against the Bois des Hoinets and the west end of Chavignon village. Bois des Hoinets and Chavignon were close to the road from Pinon, which from Chavignon ran up along the eastern slopes of the Malmaison spur to Pargny-Filain. The wood and Chavignon were considerably nearer the Ailette than Vaudesson. The 38th Division also descended the heights and attacked Chavignon. At Zero Hour, the division had ascended the slopes towards Bohery Quarry and Fort de la Malmaison; at the quarry the German garrison fought until overrun and were killed or captured.

The 38th Division ejected the Germans from Lady Trench, halted on the summit of the plateau, in front of Bois de Garenne, north of Chavignon and east of the Montparnasse Quarry. On the right flank, the élite 4th Zouaves had been detailed to take Fort de la Malmaison; from  they had been bombarded by German heavy artillery, which caused many casualties. At  the advance began and only traces of the first two German trenches were found. At Carbine Trench some resistance was encountered, the Zouaves advanced towards the fort, guided by French artillery firing incendiary shells. From Bois de la Veau on the right, massed machine-gun fire was encountered but the surviving Zouaves, reached the remains of the counterscarp and entered the ruins of the fort.

The garrison was stalked through the ruins and quickly overrun. Bombers and flame-thrower teams searched the galleries, several machine-guns were captured and at  the flag of the battalion was hoisted over the fort. Other Zouave battalions on the flanks came up and the 38th Division halted and helped to consolidate the summit of the plateau, which had come under bombardment by German artillery on the Monampteuil Heights to the east. At  the divisions of XXI Corps descended the northern slopes towards Vaudesson, Bois de la Belle Croix, Montparnasse Quarry, Bois des Hoinets and the west end of Chavignon village. The 38th Division of XI Corps conformed and advanced on its objectives at Bois de Garenne and Orme Farm, between Fort de la Malmaison and the east end Chavignon. The road from Pargny-Filain to Chavignon was to be crossed to reach the objective at Many Farm to the east.

The 38th Division of XI Corps, was intended to cover the right flank of XXI Corps and to outflank Pargny-Filain, from the south. The 13th and 43rd divisions of XXI Corps and the 38th Division advanced simultaneously down the Malmaison heights, with tank support on the flanks, towards the edge of the plain south of the Ailette. French aeroplanes flew overhead, attacked German infantry and bombed trenches, roads and bridges. Behind the French troops on the right, at the summit of the Chemin-des-Dames ridge, a surprise was sprung by a line of French guns secretly placed behind the ridge, which began a creeping barrage. The 13th Division attacked Vaudesson and Bois de la Belle Croix, the 43rd Division advanced towards Montparnasse Quarry and the 38th Division entered the Bois de la Garenne and Orme Farm. Vaudesson village was threatened from the west flank by the 27th Division of XIV Corps, in Lizard Trench and was captured by the 21st Regiment and several tanks, as Bois de la Belle Croix further east was overrun by the 109th Regiment, which took  and several prisoners.

At Montparnasse Quarry, which had galleries  long, the 1st Chasseur Battalion attack continued until the garrison surrendered at  and Orme Farm and a quarry to its left, were taken by the 38th Division. The French pressed on and drove the Germans from Bois de la Garenne and the open ground on its right. By  the French had reached the Chavignon brickfields and the east end of the village. The 38th Division crossed the Pargny-Filain–Chavignon road at the same time and attacked Many Farm. By  the division had fought through the east end Chavignon and had reached Voyen-Chavignon. An hour earlier, the 1st Chasseur Battalion had advanced from Montparnasse Quarry and taken the west end Chavignon. On their left, the 149th and 150th Infantry Regiments captured a German battalion at the Corbeau cavern and pushed the German defenders out of Bois des Hoinets.

XI Corps
South of the Pinon–Chavignon road, Pinon and Rosay forests extended to the south bank of the . The 66th Division and the left flank regiment of the 67th Division of XXXIX Corps, were to capture the Panthéon Farm fortifications, at the south-east end of the Malmaison plateau and to occupy the area round the Orage Quarry to the north, from the stump of Les Bovettes water-tower, to an underground quarry at the head of the Bovettes ravine, which descended to Pargny-Filain. The next objective was the Tonnerre Quarry, on the edge of the Malmaison plateau and after capturing Lützen Trench, the attackers were to drive the Germans from Bois de Veau, east of Fort de la Malmaison, on the slopes of the plateau opposite Pargny-Filain. The village of Pargny-Filain was to be occupied if possible.

The 66th Division was to swing eastwards and form a defensive flank on the east slopes of the plateau, to defend against counter-attacks, while the 38th Division and the XXI Corps divisions on the left, descended from the plateau to the plain of the Ailette. A wheeling manoeuvre so close to the Germans was hazardous and made worse by the narrowness of no man's land in this area, which prevented French from bombarding the German defences with super-heavy artillery; on 23 October, many of the trenches, barbed-wire entanglements and machine-gun nests remained intact. The defences were held by the 5th Prussian Guard Regiment and in the Panthéon and Orage quarries, whose garrisons had been relieved the night before by the 5th and 8th companies of the 3rd Grenadier Regiment, who had not been seriously shaken by the preliminary bombardment.

The 66th Division and the left hand regiment of the 67th Division, would be exposed to the German batteries on the Monampteuil heights, firing over the , which fed the , when they passed over the crest and began their descent. At Zero Hour, the 66th Division advanced behind a creeping bombardment, through German artillery and machine-gun counter-barrages, which caused many casualties, entered the German first position and fought hand-to-hand with the Prussian Guard. On the extreme right flank near La Royère Farm, the 67th Division made little headway but the 66th Division pushed on to the Panthéon, Orage and Bovettes quarries. By  the division had advanced between Fanion Trench, the east end of the German second position and Lützen Trench. Bois de Veau was entered but the division was not able to advance down the slopes to Pargny-Filain. The 67th Division had been repulsed from Tonnerre and other quarries and a further advance by the 66th Division was postponed until they were captured. During the night the division organised a defensive flank from Bois de Veau to Bovettes Quarry.

The 66th Division captured   several trench mortars and a number of machine-guns. The 27th Division had reached Giraffe Trench, the Laffaux–Pinon ravine and was on the heights beyond the ravine west of Vaudesson. The XXI Corps divisions were in the village, the wooded ravine of Bois de la Belle Croix and Hoinets wood, the Montparnasse quarry and the western half of Chavignon. The 38th Division had reached the east end of Chavignon and Many Farm, beyond the Chavignon–Pargny-Filain road. The Allemant plateau, the Mont des Singes spur and the spur above Pinon, the Malmaison plateau with the fort at its centre and the northern slopes to the edge of the valley of the Ailette, had been captured. The salient facing the Ailette was over  wide, into which artillery could be moved, using the vast Montparnasse and the other quarries as ammunition dumps. The salient protruded north from the Chemin-des-Dames towards the valley of the upper Ailette, which made the remaining German positions on the crest and the northern slopes of the ridge further east untenable.

23–24 October
From  none of the expected counter-attacks by Group Vailly, from the Mont des Singes and Pinon plateaux, the Plain of the Ailette and the Chevregny spur occurred. Two  divisions had been committed between Allemant and Chavignon, a third had been pinned down around from Pargny-Filain–Filain and a fourth division, which arrived at Anizy during the battle, was unable to cross the Ailette owing to the French barrage. Sporadic felling of fruit trees and demolitions either side of the Ailette, which had been seen by French airmen before the battle, became frequent and a pall of black smoke from fires, drifted over the plain. On 24 October, the Germans retired from the Mont des Singes and Pinon plateaux, pursued by the 28th Division from the Vauxaillon valley and the Allemant ravine. The Germans fled across the Ailette or into Pinon and the Pinon forest. French patrols from the Vaudesson–Chavignon area brought in more prisoners, which increased the bag beyond  with   and

25–27 October
On 25 October, Pinon was captured with  Pinon and Rosay forests were entered and Rosay Farm was occupied, as XI Corps attacked from the Chemin-des-Dames ridge, to east of the Malmaison plateau and captured the farms of St. Martin and Chapelle Ste. Berthe to the south of Filain. The French then overran the Tonnerre and Charbon quarries, crossed the Bovettes ravine and ascended the slope from Many Farm to capture Pargny-Filain. The German defenders were eventually forced back, beyond the  on the Monampteuil Heights. More than  and twenty more guns were taken, bringing the number of prisoners taken in the operation  At Filain, part of the élite  Guard Regiment surrendered, having had no food for three days.

On 25 October, the new front line ran from Vauxaillon, north of Mont des Singes, to the  near Anizy, then north of Pinon and Rosay forests, south-eastwards to the west end of the , up to the Chemin-des-Dames ridge east of Pargny-Filain and Filain. Under bombardment by the German artillery round Anizy and Monampteuil, thousands of French Territorial troops, African and Chinese labourers extended roads from the French lines across no man's land. Engineer stores were rushed forward to repair captured caves, quarry entrances and field fortifications. On 26 October, XI Corps reduced the remaining strong points in Filain and reached the . The 67th Division pushed the Germans back over the Chevrégny Spur and on 27 October, one of the last German observation posts overlooking the Aisne, at Froidmont Farm to the south-east was captured.

German 7th Army, 23 October
The French artillery bombardment caused unprecedented destruction behind the German front, as far back as the canal and river bridges. At midnight on  the shelling increased to drumfire. The German artillery had been ordered to begin a counter-bombardment at  on 23 October, after the time of the attack was discovered from French prisoners. The French intercepted German wireless messages ordering the bombardment and brought the attack forward by thirty minutes. The density of the French creeping barrage was such, that the attack on Allemant was preceded by sixteen shells per minute, per  of front. The barrage moved in  bounds, followed closely by the French infantry, who found that most of the surviving German defenders were Shell shocked and still under cover. The German artillery south of the Ailette had little effect, because of losses to French counter-battery fire, lack of ammunition, lack of communication and loss of observation; the artillery on the north side of the river, was only able to fire after observation officers were sent forward to report.

The intensity of French artillery-fire and the gas cloud blocking the Ailette, left the German commanders ignorant of the situation on the south bank, except for a few messages delivered by runners, whose reports implied that the situation was hopeless. In some places, bypassed garrisons held out in quarry tunnels and machine-gun nests and the last troops of the 14th Division in Allemant were not overrun until  On the Soissons–Chavignon road, the 13th Division was only able to withstand the French attack for an hour but to the west of Fort de la Malmaison, the 2nd Guard Division repulsed the attack with massed machine-gun fire; at Malmaison a German artillery battery was overrun in hand-to-hand fighting. Chavignon was captured at  but a German counter-attack temporarily retook the north-eastern corner and little ground was lost by the 5th Guard Division further east.

At noon, the 7th Army headquarters concluded that the loss of Allemant, Vaudesson, Chavignon and Malmaison, made it necessary to hold the lines from Pinon to Chavignon and to form a new line from there to Malmaison; it was also decided to withdraw the artillery from the Pinon Forest. At noon, Group Crépy was given command of the 52nd Division and Group Vailly command of the last two battalions of the 43rd Reserve and 9th divisions. The 6th Bavarian Reserve and the 6th Division were sent forward to Laon and Pierrepont,  north-east of Laon and a division of the neighbouring 1st Army, was alerted to move to the battlefront on foot. At  reconnaissance flights revealed that the French had dug in at some points.

In Group Crépy, the 14th Division managed to form a continuous line along the , to the original position on the right flank and no French attack ensued; at  the Group headquarters ordered the withdrawal of the remaining artillery, south of the canal. The situation on the front of Group Vailly was much worse, on the left flank of the 13th Division and part of the 2nd Guard Division front, no front line was recognisable. At Chavignon, a counter-attack recovered a small part of the village in the evening and at the eastern boundary of the French attack, the 5th Guard Division was able to repulse the attack, since the artillery positions north of the canal had suffered less damage and trench mortars had been dug into the front line before Operation "Autumn Harvest". Few of the mortars had been damaged and were used to engage the French infantry, who were repulsed along most of the position, except on the west flank, which was withdrawn to conform with the retreat of the neighbouring divisions.

On the extreme flanks of the attack front, the French limited their operations to artillery-fire and probing attacks and in the late afternoon, French artillery-fire diminished. By the evening, the German line ran from the plateau east of Vauxaillon, along the  north of Vaudesson and Chavignon, to the high ground of the ridge south-west of Pargny and then connected to the old position. About seven infantry regiments and much of the artillery had been lost. A counter-attack was impossible and it was decided that the area south of the canal, should be retained only as an outpost area, with a main defensive position being established north of the canal and river Ailette, once the remaining artillery had been removed. The night of  was quiet and during the day, only minor skirmishing took place, as the French consolidated.

The 7th Army commander, Boehn, concluded that the Chemin des Dames was untenable and proposed to retire, even though this would require the abandonment of the defences for another  to the east, as far as Craonne and reserve positions on high ground about  further back, as well as the Laffaux Salient. Boehn decided to implement the  (Bunzelwitz Manoeuvre) contingency plan, part of the  (Gudrun Manoeuvre) prepared earlier in the year. In view of the sacrifices made during the Nivelle Offensive, the headquarters of Army Group German Crown Prince, ordered that a retirement by the six divisions along the Chemin-des-Dames, east of the 5th Guard Division could not begin unless a big French attack was imminent but that preparations were to be made, for the abandonment the ground south of the Ailette and the canal. The 7th Army was quickly to remove the remaining artillery and the 3rd Bavarian, 30th and 103rd divisions were to moved close to the threatened sector of the front, though exhausted, ready for use as  divisions.

25 October
On 25 October, the French attacked again and the German troops made a fighting withdrawal to the Ailette and the canal, which had been occupied by the 6th Bavarian Reserve and 6th divisions but few guns could be withdrawn. The Oberste Heeresleitung (OHL, Supreme Army Command) received a broadcast from the Eiffel Tower, in which the French announced the capture of  and  guns, then mistakenly reported that the canal had been crossed near Anizy, which caused a temporary panic in OHL that the Ailette position and the  (Hindenburg Line) had been outflanked. General Erich Ludendorff was told by the 7th Army Chief of Staff Friedrich Graf von der Schulenburg, that the army had no resources left to resist a French attack and was given the 21st and 28th Reserve divisions as reinforcements. The Chiefs of Staff of the defeated groups were sacked and it was agreed with Army Group German Crown Prince, that the  (Bunzelwitz Manoeuvre) should begin on 26 October. The salient formed at Anizy was the area most vulnerable to attack and the Army Group reinforced Group Crépy with the 14th Reserve and 103rd divisions.

1/2 November

Defence in depth was not possible in the area of Group Vailly, which held positions on the edge of the hog's back ridge of the Chemin-des-Dames, south of the Ailette. A quick withdrawal of the artillery would be impossible if the French infantry crowned the crest and gained observation over the canal crossings, which were within range of French artillery. When the front line fell, the 7th Army had no option but to withdraw Group Vailly north of the Ailette, abandoning the Montparnasse and other quarries, which had become death traps. Army Group German Crown Prince ordered the 7th Army to hold the positions east of La Royère Farm and on 28 October, the Germans counter-attacked just north of Froidmont Farm but were repulsed and lost another  On 30 October, a German counter-attack near Cerny was also repulsed. The French brought more artillery onto the Allemant and Malmaison plateaux, the Pinon and Rosay forests and the vicinity of Pargny-Filain and Filain. The French guns enfiladed the Ailette valley to the east of the  reservoir, bombarded the German defences on the north slopes of the Chemin-des-Dames ridge and the last strong points holding out on the summit with high-explosive, gas and shrapnel shell.

On the night of  the German retirement to the north bank of the Ailette began. To avoid alerting the French, no demolitions of shelters, tunnels and pillboxes were made and a screen of machine-gunners and riflemen was left on the summit of the ridge to fire until just before dawn. The  was completed without alerting the French, who bombarded the empty positions along the Chemin-des-Dames during the morning of 2 November. A party of Chasseurs found an empty German trench and the field artillery opened a creeping barrage, behind which waves of infantry advanced over the crest. By mid-day Cerny was occupied, Cortecon was entered at  and Ailles at  which the Germans then bombarded with mustard-gas shell. The advance was cautious, due to fear that caves and tunnels had been mined but by the morning of 3 November, the French had advanced on a  front to the south bank of the Ailette. North-east of Craonne, the ruins of Chevreux were occupied, patrols reached the southern outskirts of Corbeny and another twenty heavy and field guns were captured.

Aftermath

Analysis

In 2018, Michel Goya wrote that the tanks had been more effective than in April and May but were still mechanically unreliable, with a 25 per cent breakdown rate and that the modifications did not alter the mechanical wear on the vehicles. Medium tanks were vulnerable and lacked the manoeuvrability to cross severely cratered ground. The crews found it hard to reach objectives and became much more vulnerable when stationary.
The offensive had been intended to capture high ground from the Mont des Singes to the Californie Plateau above Craonne and be economical in infantry, rather than break through the German fortified zone. Pétain issued a communiqué on the evening of 23 October, announcing that the Sixth Army had taken more than  and an enormous quantity of equipment, including  and field guns.

While the German 7th Army occupied the Mont des Singes, Laffaux, Allemant and Malmaison plateaux, the French positions north of the Aisne were vulnerable to attack and the alternative for the French was to fall back behind the Aisne. On 24 October, a German communiqué announced that Allemant, Vaudesson and Chavignon had been lost but claimed victory west of La Royère Farm, where no attack had taken place. On 25 October, Pinon and the forest had been captured and the French closed up to the line of the . In four days, the French had advanced  and forced the Germans from the plateau of the Chemin des Dames to the north bank of the Ailette valley. The attacks at Verdun in August and at Malmaison were compared with the failures of the Nivelle Offensive and were used to produce  (Instruction on Offensive Action of Large Units in Battle [31 October 1917]).

The French success at La Malmaison prevented Hindenburg and Ludendorff from further reinforcing the Austro-Hungarians in Italy and assisted the surprise gained by the British at the Battle of Cambrai (20 November – 7 December). The ground taken by the Sixth Army increased the difficulties of the Germans in the spring offensives of 1918. Had the 7th Army retained the western end of the Chemin-des-Dames ridge, the German offensive in 1918 could have started simultaneously with the offensives from the Somme to Flanders. The extension of the northern face of the salient from Vauxaillon to Craonne and Berry-au-Bac, beyond the Chemin-des-Dames ridge to the left bank of the Ailette during the Battle of Malmaison, caused Ludendorff to hold back  (Army Group German Crown Prince), until Allied reserves had been shifted west and north of Soissons. Had the 7th Army retained the western end of the ridge, the French at the east end and between the ridge and the Aisne, would have been highly vulnerable to a simultaneous attack.

The official historians of the  wrote that the German defence had been outnumbered threefold in artillery, which had prepared the attack with almost unlimited ammunition. The closure by gas bombardment of the Ailette valley a few days before the French attack, had made withdrawal impossible (as had a similar bombardment at Verdun in August), which accounted for the French claim of  along with   mortars and  The  historians recorded  of whom  missing. The magnitude of the defeat, after the severity of the losses at Messines Ridge, Verdun and Ypres, showed that carefully prepared attacks against German defences in tactically unfavourable positions could inflict costly defeats. Such defeats could have been mitigated by German tactical withdrawals, as soon as Allied artillery preparation began. The Laffaux Salient had been retained despite the risks, because of the confidence of the local commanders in the fortifications and as a jumping-off point for an offensive in 1918.

Casualties
The French suffered casualties of  killed,  and  from 23 to 26 October, 10 per cent of the casualties of the attacks during the Nivelle Offensive in April and May. The Sixth Army took    mortars and  In 2014, William Philpott wrote that the Germans suffered casualties of  or missing and   and  against  casualties, fewer than a third of the German total. German casualties at the Battle of the Hills  were    and  At Verdun, from 20 to 24 August the Second Army had taken

Notes

Footnotes

References

Books

Websites

Further reading

External links

 German Official History situation map

Conflicts in 1917
1917 in France
Battles of World War I involving France
Battles of World War I involving Germany
October 1917 events
France–Germany military relations


title: 1894 in Belgium

text:
Events in the year 1894 in Belgium.

Incumbents
Monarch: Leopold II
Prime Minister: Auguste Marie François Beernaert (until 26 March), Jules de Burlet (starting 26 March)

Events

February – Edouard Whettnall appointed ambassador to London.
25-26 March – Belgian Labour Party adopts the Charter of Quaregnon
5 May – Exposition Internationale d'Anvers opens (to 5 November)
12 May – Publication of an Anglo-Belgian Agreement leasing Bahr el Ghazal to the Congo Free State and a stretch of Congolese territory to the British. The exchange of territory was later rescinded under French and German pressure in the diplomatic build-up to the 1898 Fashoda Incident.
4-11 August – International congress of applied chemistry held in Brussels and Antwerp
14 October – First Belgian general election under universal manhood suffrage.
 28 October – Provincial elections
5 November – Exposition Internationale d'Anvers ends.

Publications
Periodicals
 Revue Néoscholastique begins publication.
 Durendal begins publication.

Other
 Alphonse Dubois, Faune des vertébrés de la Belgique: Série des oiseaux (Brussels, A la librairie C. Muquardt, Th. Falk Sr), vol. 2
 Maurice Maeterlinck, Alladine et Palomides, Interieur, et La mort de Tintagiles: trois petits drames pour marionnettes (Brussels, Edmond Deman)
 Max Rooses, Letterkundige studiën Edmond-Louis de Taeye, Les artistes belges contemporainsArt and architecture

Exhibitions
 17 February-15 March – first exhibition of La Libre Esthétique in Brussels.

Paintings
 Eugène Laermans, The Emigrants Théo van Rysselberghe, Portrait of Irma SèthePhotography
 Édouard Hannon, Matinée d'Automne'' ("Autumn Morning")

Births
1 March — Marguerite Lefèvre, geographer (died 1967)
17 July – Georges Lemaître, physicist and astronomer (died 1966)

Deaths
 22 January – Hendrik Beyaert (born 1823), architect
 4 February – Adolphe Sax (born 1814), inventor of the saxophone
 27 April – Ernest Slingeneyer (born 1820), painter
 18 June – Jean-Baptiste Bethune (born 1821), architect
 15 August – Ernest Baert (born 1860), explorer

References

1890s in Belgium


title: Sirið Stenberg

text:
Sirið Stenberg (born 26 May 1968 in Vágur) is a Faroese politician. She finished her education as a nurse in 1994 and as a nurse in neonatalalogy in 1998 and as a nurse with special knowledge of children from 0-7 (Heilsufrøðingur in Faroese, Sundhedsplejerske in Danish, a health care visitor who attends to and gives advice to the mothers and their small children in their homes). Since 2001 she has worked in the children's health care in Suðuroy. She took leave from this employment shortly after assuming office as a member of the Faroese parliament, the parliament is located in Tórshavn, two hours away by ferry from Suðuroy. From 2006-08 she was head master of the Health School of the Faroe Islands, which is located in Suðuroy. She is married to Jón Pauli Olsen, who was football manager of the Faroese women's national football team and social and health assistant, together they have three children.

Political career
She was elected to the Løgting representing Republic (Tjóðveldi) at the 2011 general election with 320 votes. She was a member of the town council of Vágur from 2009 - 2015. At the general elections of 2015 she was reelected to the Løgting. Her party formed government together with the Social Democratic Party and Progress and they chose Sirið Stenberg as the minister of health of the Faroe Islands.

Member of standing committees of the Løgting
 2011: Chairman of the Committee on Governmental Affairs
 2011: Member of the Welfare Committee

References

External links

1968 births
Living people
People from Vágur
Members of the Løgting
Republic (Faroe Islands) politicians
Health ministers of the Faroe Islands
Ministers of Social Affairs of the Faroe Islands
Ministers of Culture of the Faroe Islands
Women government ministers of the Faroe Islands
21st-century women politicians


title: 1898 in Belgium

text:
Events in the year 1898 in Belgium.

Incumbents
Monarch: Leopold II
Prime Minister: Paul de Smet de Naeyer

Events

18 April - Coremans-De Vriendt law gives Dutch and French equal legal status in Belgian public life.
22 May - Belgian general election, 1898
 5 June – Provincial elections
 23 June – Opening of the Château royal d'Ardenne as a luxury hotel run by the Compagnie Internationale des Grands Hotels.
 13–17 July – Eleventh International Eucharistic Congress held in Brussels.
 27 July – Anglo-Belgian Treaty of Commerce and Navigation comes to an end, due to notification of the United Kingdom's withdrawal a year earlier.

Publications
 Léon Bloy, Mendiant ingrat (Brussels, Edmond Deman)
 J. Nyssens-Hart, The Outer Port and the Inner Port of Bruges (Brussels, A> Lesigne)
 Max Rooses (ed.), Het schildersboek: Nederlandsche schilders der negentiende eeuw, vol. 1, vol. 2.
 Emile Vandervelde, Le Socialisme en Belgique
 Émile Verhaeren, Les aubes (Brussels, Edmond Deman)

Art and architecture

Paintings
 Eugène Laermans, The Drunkard
Buildings
 Victor Horta, Hôtel Solvay

Births
8 February - André Fierens, footballer (d. 1972)
5 March – Lucien Leboutte, air chief (d. 1988)
17 March - Raymond Decorte, cyclist (d. 1972)

Deaths
12 January – Jean Jules Linden (born 1817), botanist
14 January – Polydore de Keyser (born 1832), Lord Mayor of London
25 January – François Roffiaen (born 1820), painter
22 March – Pieter De Rudder (born 1822), labourer
25 April – Prosper de Haulleville (born 1830), newspaperman
1 May – Alphonse Wauters (born 1817), archivist
3 June – Emma De Vigne (born 1850), painter
9 June – Joseph Jaquet (born 1822), sculptor
13 July – Émile Banning (born 1836), government adviser
23 August – Félicien Rops (born 1833), illustrator
11 September – Adolphe Samuel (born 1824), composer
30 September – Léon Mignon (born 1847), sculptor
25 December – Georges Rodenbach (born 1855), author

References

1890s in Belgium


title: Amchide

text:
Amchide is a town in Cameroon, on the border with Nigeria. It abuts the Nigerian town of Banki, with streets and even houses straddling the border.

In 2014, the town was the site of fighting between Boko Haram and the Cameroonian military, leading some residents to flee the area.

In February, 2014, the Nigerian military sent troops to Amchide to close the border, in an effort to prevent Boko Haram attacks. Cameroonian troops also patrolled the town. The impact of closing the border on Amchide merchants has been described as "devastating", and the price of fuel and transport has become unaffordable in much of Northern Cameroon.

In October 2014, Boko Haram fighters with armoured support entered Amchide and Limani, another border town, killing at least 30 civilians. The Cameroonian Army reported 107 Boko Haram members were killed in the fighting that ensued.

On 28 December 2014, Cameroonian troops repelled four simultaneous Boko Haram raids into the towns of Amchide, Makari, Limani, Guirvidig, Waza and Achigachia, all located in Cameroon's Far North region.

See also
December 2014 Cameroon clashes
Refugees in Cameroon

References

Populated places in Far North Region (Cameroon)
Cameroon–Nigeria border


title: 1913 in Belgium

text:
Events in the year 1913 in Belgium.

Incumbents
Monarch: Albert I
Prime Minister: Charles de Broqueville

Events

April
 14 April – Socialists call general strike demanding electoral reform.
 22 April – General strike ends
 26 April – King Albert formally opens Exposition universelle et internationale (world's fair) held in Ghent.

November
 3 November – Exposition universelle et internationale (world's fair) in Ghent ends.

December
 10 December – Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Henri La Fontaine, head of the International Peace Bureau.

Publications
 Biographie Nationale de Belgique, vol. 21.
 G. A. Boulenger, The Snakes of Europe (London, Methuen).

Births
 17 January – Werenfried van Straaten, priest (died 2003)
 21 August – François Devries, footballer (died 1972)
 15 November – Arthur Haulot, journalist (died 2005)
 3 December – Omer Vanaudenhove, politician (died 1994)

Deaths
 29 January – Joseph Van den Gheyn (born 1854), librarian
 13 June – Camille Lemonnier (born 1844), writer
 13 August – Hildebrand de Hemptinne (born 1849), abbot
 9 September – Paul de Smet de Naeyer (born 1843), former prime minister

References

1910s in Belgium


title: Hapoel Bat Yam F.C.

text:
Hapoel Bat Yam  () (currently known as Hapoel Abirei Bat Yam , lit. Hapoel Bat Yam Knights) is an Israeli football club from the city of Bat Yam. The current club is a resurrection of an older Hapoel Bat Yam club, which was folded in 2004.

History
The club was first established in 1951 and played for several seasons in Liga Gimel before promoting to Liga Bet and achieving further promotion at the end of the 1968–69 season after winning the South A division. The club returned to the third tier after the formation of Liga Artzit at the end of the 1975–76 season. However, two seasons later the club finished third in South division of Liga Alef and promoted back to the second tier.

The club managed to survive only two seasons in Liga Artzit before relegating back to Liga Alef. In the 1981–82 season the club managed to finish as runner-up and qualified to the promotion play-offs, where they were beaten by Maccabi Shefa-'Amr and remained in Liga Alef. In 1986–87 the club topped their division and qualified to a promotion play-offs against the other divisional winner, Maccabi Hadera and the 11th and 12th ranked clubs from Liga Artzit, Hapoel Marmorek and Hapoel Ramat Gan. The club has won the play-offs and was promoted to Liga Artzit.

The club dropped back to Liga Alef at the end of the 1990–91 season after losing the Promotion-relegation play-offs against Hakoah Ramat Gan. The club bounced back to Liga Artzit two seasons later, and a season later won its first major trophy, the Toto Cup Artzit.

Upon creation of Ligat Ha'al, the club was placed in Liga Artzit, which became the third tier. The club suffered further relegations at the end of the 2002–03 season and the 2003–04 season, after which the club was folded.

In 2012, after 8 seasons out of existence, the club was re-established, taking the name Hapoel Abirei Bat Yam with Felix Halfon acting as club manager. The club finished its first season as joint winners, level on points with Hapoel Ramat Israel, but were not promoted initially after losing the deciding match to Hapoel Ramat Israel 0–1 . However, the club got another chance at promotion and after a vacant spot has opened in Liga Bet and beat Hapoel Tzeirei Tayibe 1–0 to celebrate promotion. However, after a dreadful season in Liga Bet, the club finished bottom and dropped back to Liga Gimel.

Honours

League

Cup competitions

Notable managers

Gili Landau (born 1958)

External links
Hapoel Abirei Bat Yam  The Israel Football Association

References

Bat Yam
Bat Yam
Sport in Bat Yam


title: Roman Theatre (Tarraco)

text:
The Roman theatre of Tarraco was a Roman theatre built in Tarraco (now Tarragona, Spain) in the time of Augustus in the area of the local forum and the port, the planners took advantage of the steep slope of the hill to build part of the seating.

Despite much of it having been destroyed during the 20th century, the remains of three fundamental parts of the structure are still visible; the cavea (seating), the orchestra and the scaena. The ruins can be seen from the purpose-built lookout point.

History

The theater was built during the time of Augustus at the end of the 1st century BC as part of the monumentalization of the  forum of the colony, making it one of the most emblematic buildings of Tarraco.

The building was in use until the end of the 2nd century, at which point it ceased to function as a theater and was repurposed for other uses. In the 3rd century, following a fire within the compound, new buildings were constructed in the monumental area adjacent to the theater using materials salvaged from the theater itself.

Architectural Characteristics and Uses

The theater currently stands in a state of neglect, without any proper musealization, even though it has been declared a World Heritage Site. Recently, a viewpoint has been enabled on Sant Magí street, and work is ongoing to restore the theater space as well as the surrounding constructions. For its construction, the natural slope of the terrain was exploited, similar to the Amphitheater in the same city, to carve out a portion of the seating area. For the remaining sections, a system of annular cryptoporticus was used.

The scaena is a critical component of the Roman theatre design. It refers to the stage area where theatrical performances occurred. Elevated, it sat atop a podium often adorned with exedras. Adjacent to the scaena, a designated area was laid out to serve as the primary entrance for theatergoers. This area was beautified with gardens, and at its core, featured a pond distinguished by statues positioned on pedestals.

The stage's facade, known as the proscaenium, was enclosed and intricately decorated, a feature referred to as the frons scaenae.

Regarding audience seating, the design of the Roman theatre considered social and census-based hierarchy.

Conservation and Discoveries

Today, only the first five rows of seating around the orchestra remain intact, along with two of the three radial staircases that segmented the seating area. The foundation of both the pulpitum and the scaenae frons is still visible, with remnants showing where the curtain supports were once placed.

Archaeological excavations within the theater and its vicinity have unearthed significant artifacts, including capitals, friezes, columns, sculptures, and more.

See also
 List of Roman theatres
 Tarragona Amphitheatre
 Wall of Tarragona
 Devil's Bridge
 Tower of the Scipios
 Tarraco

References

Buildings and structures in Tarragona
Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Catalonia
Ancient Roman theatres in Spain


title: Al-Hamadaniah Tennis Complex

text:
Al-Hamadaniah Tennis Complex () is a tennis complex in Aleppo, Syria, featuring an indoor tennis court with a seating capacity of 800 spectators and an outdoor tennis court with a seating capacity of 598 spectators along with 4 other outdoor training courts. The complex was opened in 2008, as part of the al-Hamadaniah Sports City.

The 1st major tournament in the complex took place in the outdoor courts between 15 and 19 April 2009, when Aleppo hosted the 2009 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group III matches, with the participation of the 8 following teams:

References

Sports venues completed in 2008
Sports venues in Aleppo
2008 establishments in Syria


title: 1900 in Costa Rica

text:
Events in the year 1900 in Costa Rica.

Incumbents
President: Rafael Yglesias Castro

Events

Births
January 10 - Teodoro Picado Michalski, President 1944-1948 (d. 1960)

Deaths

References

1900s in Costa Rica
Years of the 20th century in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rican


title: 1906 in Costa Rica

text:
Events in the year 1906 in Costa Rica.

Incumbents
President: Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra until May 8, Cleto González Víquez

Events

Births
September 25 - José Figueres Ferrer, President 1948-1949, 1953-1958, 1970-1974 (d. 1990)

Deaths

References

1900s in Costa Rica


title: Jim Gruenwald

text:
James Matthew Gruenwald (born June 9, 1970) is a retired amateur American Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's lightweight category. He won three U.S. national titles (2003–2004, 2008), picked up a bronze medal in the 60-kg division at the 2003 Pan American Games, and represented the United States in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004), finishing sixth in Sydney and tenth in Athens respectively. Since his sporting career ended in late 2004, Gruenwald served as an assistant coach for the Greco-Roman wrestling team at the United States Olympic Training Center in Marquette, Michigan from 2005 - 2009, and currently, heads the Wheaton College wrestling program in Illinois.

Career

Early years
Gruenwald began his sporting career as a stellar high school wrestler at Greendale High School in Wisconsin.  He placed 2nd in 1986 and 1988 and won a state championship title in 1987.  Gruenwald won a Cadet National title in Greco Roman wrestling and placed second at the 1988 Junior Nationals to rival Dennis Hall. After graduating from high school in 1988, Gruenwald attended the Maranatha Baptist University in Watertown, Wisconsin, where he trained and competed for the wrestling team coached by 1972 Olympic champion Ben Peterson.

While wrestling for Maranatha, Gruenwald compiled a 154–19 overall record in his four-year career. He claimed three titles (one at 126 pound weight class and 2 at the 134 pound weight class, at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Championships, which held his distinction of being named the Most Valuable Player twice during the 1989 and 1991 season. In 1994, Gruenwald graduated from Maranatha with a bachelor's degree in secondary math education, and then taught at Hilltop Baptist School in Colorado for 12 years before he moved to Michigan in 2005.

Gruenwald's career blossomed in Greco-Roman wrestling, when he became a resident athlete for the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1993, and later trained for the wrestling squad under head coaches:  1985 Greco Roman World Champion Mike Houck, 1984 Greco Roman Olympic Champion Steve Fraser,  Anatoly Petrosyan and 1976 Olympic Greco Roman Champion Momir Petković from the former Yugoslavia.

Greco-Roman wrestling

For many years, Gruenwald labored in the obscurity of his longtime rival Dennis Hall, who made the U.S. wrestling team at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics. His breakthrough in the sporting scene came in 2000, when he upset Hall from the Olympic Trials to earn his spot on the Olympic squad.

Gruenwald made his official debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he competed in the men's bantamweight category (58 kg). He dominated the field by beating Armenia's Karen Mnatsakanyan (4–3) and Belarus' Igor Petrenko (4–0) in the prelim pool to secure a place in the next round. Gruenwald lost the quarterfinal match to Chinese wrestler and eventual bronze medalist Sheng Zetian with a superb 11–1 verdict, and could not hold enough to edge Iran's Ali Ashkani off the mat by a tough 3–2 score in the fifth-place match, dropping him to sixth.

After his first Olympics, Gruenwald proved particularly successful in his career with two U.S. national titles (2003 and 2004) and obtained a World Cup series trophy in 2002, reaching into the top spot for his weight class in the wrestling team. He also reeled off three-straight top-ten finishes at the World Championships, and then captured a bronze medal in the 60-kg class at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Gruenwald emerged himself as a top medal favorite at the 2003 World Wrestling Championships in Créteil, France, where he placed fourth in men's lightweight division. He withdrew from the bronze medal match against Romania's Eusebiu Diaconu with a shoulder injury, after losing to Bulgarian wrestler and double Olympic champion Armen Nazaryan in an astounding semifinal bout.

Gruenwald entered the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, as the oldest member of the U.S. wrestling team (aged 34), in the men's 60 kg class. Earlier in the process, he finished fourth at the World Championships that left him injured and empty-handed, and then guaranteed a spot on the U.S. team from the Olympic Trials. Gruenwald pinned Portugal's Hugo Passos with only nineteen seconds left in his opening match, but fell behind Romania's Eusebiu Diaconu by a 3–1 decision to close the pool round. Unlike his previous Games, Gruenwald's performance was not enough to advance him to the quarterfinals, placing tenth in the final standings.

In late 2004, Gruenwald made his decision to take a temporary leave from the competition to pursue on his coaching career, but came back three years later in an attempt to qualify for his third Olympic bid and a spot on the U.S. Olympic team at 60 kg class. He claimed his third career title in the same division at the 2008 U.S. Open, but suffered a dislocated shoulder in his opening match against Azerbaijan's Vitaliy Rahimov at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Rome, Italy, ending his bid to compete for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Because of sustained injuries, Gruenwald officially announced his retirement from competitive wrestling.

Coaching
Since joining the United States Olympic Training Center in 1993, Gruenwald had a number of certifications in his coaching career. In the summer of 2005, he moved to Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan to work with head coach Ivan Ivanov for the USOEC Resident Program.

In 2009, Gruenwald left the Olympic program to become the current head coach for the Thunder's wrestling team at Wheaton College in Illinois.

Personal life
Gruenwald currently resides in Wheaton, Illinois with his wife Rachel and their seven children: son Adin and six daughters Arwyn, Ava, Autumn, Aleyse, Ashley, and Amber. He also enjoys reading, hunting, fishing and playing computer games in his spare time.

References

External links
Profile – International Wrestling Database
U.S. Olympic Training Center Bio
Staff Profile – Wheaton Thunders

1970 births
Living people
American wrestling coaches
Olympic wrestlers for the United States
Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
American male sport wrestlers
Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Wrestlers at the 2003 Pan American Games
Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States
Sportspeople from Milwaukee
Maranatha Baptist University alumni
Pan American Games medalists in wrestling
College wrestling coaches in the United States
Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games


title: Top FM (Mauritius)

text:
Top FM is a private radio station in Mauritius, owned and broadcast by Top FM Ltd which is headquartered on the 7th floor of The Peninsula Caudan
Port Louis. It started operations on 31 December 2002 with a private commercial free-to-air FM radio broadcasting licence issued by the Independent Broadcasting Authority of Mauritius. The station's core audience is between 15 and 50 years, with ratings indicating loyalty of more than 65% and Opportunity to Hear (OTH) of over 1,800,000 every week.

The station launched an associated news web TV channel, Top TV Mauritius.

Awards
Top FM and Top TV Mauritius have been awarded the Transparency Mauritius Investigative Journalism Award 2015 for its investigation titled Le décès de Iqbal Toofanny.

References

External links
 Top FM official Facebook page

Radio stations in Mauritius