title: The Moving Finger

abstract: The Moving Finger is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the USA by Dodd, Mead and Company in July 1942 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1943. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence. The Burtons, brother and sister, arrive in the village of Lymstock in Devon, and soon receive an anonymous letter accusing them of being lovers, not siblings. They are not the only ones in the village to receive such letters. A prominent resident is found dead with one such letter found next to her. This novel features the elderly detective Miss Marple in a relatively minor role, "a little old lady sleuth who doesn't seem to do much". She enters the story in the final quarter of the book, in a handful of scenes, after the police have failed to solve the crime. The novel was well received when it was published: "Agatha Christie is at it again, lifting the lid off delphiniums and weaving the scarlet warp all over the pastel pouffe." One reviewer noted that Miss Marple "sets the stage for the final exposure of the murderer." Another said this was "One of the few times Christie gives short measure, and none the worse for that." The male narrator was both praised and panned.

text:
# The Moving Finger

***The Moving Finger*** is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the USA by Dodd, Mead and Company in July 1942 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1943. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence.

The Burtons, brother and sister, arrive in the village of Lymstock in Devon, and soon receive an anonymous letter accusing them of being lovers, not siblings. They are not the only ones in the village to receive such letters. A prominent resident is found dead with one such letter found next to her. This novel features the elderly detective Miss Marple in a relatively minor role, "a little old lady sleuth who doesn't seem to do much". She enters the story in the final quarter of the book, in a handful of scenes, after the police have failed to solve the crime.

The novel was well received when it was published: "Agatha Christie is at it again, lifting the lid off delphiniums and weaving the scarlet warp all over the pastel pouffe." One reviewer noted that Miss Marple "sets the stage for the final exposure of the murderer." Another said this was "One of the few times Christie gives short measure, and none the worse for that." The male narrator was both praised and panned.

## Title

The book takes its name from quatrain 51 of Edward FitzGerald's translation of the *Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám*:

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: not all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.

The poem, in turn, refers to Belshazzar's feast as related in the Book of Daniel, where the expression *the writing on the wall* originated.

The title shows in the story figuratively and literally. The anonymous letters point blame from one town resident to another. The police detective determines that the envelopes were all "typed by someone using one finger" to avoid a recognisable 'touch'.

## Plot summary

Jerry and Joanna Burton, a brother and sister from London, take up residence in a house owned by Miss Emily Barton near the quiet town of Lymstock for the last phase of Jerry's recovery from injuries suffered in a crash landing. Shortly after moving in and meeting their neighbours, they receive an anonymous letter which makes the false accusation that the pair are lovers, not siblings.

The Burtons quickly learn that such poison pen letters have been received by many in the town. Despite the letters containing false accusations, many recipients are upset by them and fear something worse may happen. Mrs Symmington, the local solicitor's wife, is found dead after receiving a letter stating that her husband Richard was not the father of her second son. Her body is discovered with the letter, a glass containing potassium cyanide, and a torn scrap of paper that reads, "I can't go on".

While the inquest rules that Mrs. Symmington's death was suicide, the police begin a hunt for the anonymous letter writer. An inspector arrives from Scotland Yard to help with the investigation. He concludes that the letter writer is a middle-aged woman among the prominent citizens of Lymstock. Mrs Symmington's daughter by a previous marriage, Megan Hunter, an awkward, frumpy 20-year-old, stays with the Burtons for a few days after losing her mother.

The Burtons' housekeeper, Partridge, receives a call from Agnes, the Symmingtons' maidservant, who is distraught and seeks advice. Agnes fails to arrive for their planned meeting; nor is she found at the Symmingtons' when Jerry calls in the evening to check on her. The following day, her body is discovered by Megan in the under-stairs cupboard at the Symmington house.

Progress in the murder investigation is slow until the Reverend's wife, Mrs. Dane Calthrop, invites Miss Marple to investigate. Jerry conveys many facts about the case to her from his observations, and tells her some of his ideas on why Agnes was killed. Meanwhile, Elsie Holland, the governess for the Symmington boys, receives an anonymous letter. The police observe Aimée Griffith, sister of the local doctor Owen Griffith, typing the address on the same typewriter used for all the previous letters, and arrest her for writing the letter.

Heading to London to see his doctor, Jerry impulsively takes Megan along with him and takes her to Joanna's dressmaker for a complete makeover. He realises he has fallen in love with Megan. When they return to Lymstock, Jerry asks Megan to marry him; she turns him down. He asks Mr Symmington for his permission to pursue Megan. Miss Marple advises Jerry to leave Megan alone for a day, as she has a task for her.

Megan blackmails her stepfather later that evening, implying that she has proof that he killed Mrs. Symmington. Mr. Symmington coolly pays her an initial instalment of money while not admitting his guilt. Later in the night, after giving Megan a sleeping drug, he attempts to murder her by putting her head in the gas oven. Jerry and the police are lying in wait for him. Jerry rescues Megan, and Symmington confesses. The police arrest him for murdering his wife and Agnes.

Miss Marple, knowing human nature, reveals that she knew all along that the letters were a diversion, and not written by a local woman, because none contained true accusations - something locals would be sure to gossip about. Only one person benefited from Mrs Symmington's death: her husband. He is in love with the beautiful Elsie Holland. Planning his wife's murder, he modelled the letters on those in a past case known to him from his legal practice. The police theory about who wrote them was completely wrong. The one letter that Symmington did not write was the one to Elsie; Aimée Griffith, who had been in love with Symmington for years, wrote that. Knowing it would be hard to prove Symmington's guilt, Miss Marple devised the scheme to expose him, enlisting Megan to provoke him to attempt to kill her.

Following the successful conclusion of the investigation, Megan realises that she does love Jerry. Jerry buys Miss Barton's house for them. His sister Joanna marries Owen Griffith and also stays in Lymstock. Meanwhile, Emily Barton and Aimée Griffith go on a cruise together.

## Characters

* Jerry Burton: pilot who was injured in a crash. After a long stint in hospital, he seeks a quiet place for the last stage of healing. Wealthy. He narrates the story.
* Joanna Burton: Jerry's sister, younger and very attractive, who accompanies her brother to Lymstock from their usual home in London.
* Miss Emily Barton: youngest daughter of a large and prim family of sisters, now in her sixties. She owns a house named 'Little Furze', which she rents to the Burtons. Like many in Lymstock, she has received a poison pen letter, but she is unwilling to admit it.
* Florence Elford: the Barton family's former maid, now married, who invites Emily Barton to live with her while she rents 'Little Furze' to the Burtons.
* Partridge: maid at 'Little Furze', who agrees to stay on for the Burtons. She trained Agnes.
* Beatrice Baker: maid at 'Little Furze', who leaves service after she receives an anonymous letter.
* Mrs Baker: mother of Beatrice, who seeks the aid of Jerry when Beatrice's young man receives a letter accusing Beatrice of seeing another man, which is not true.
* Inspector Graves: a detective from Scotland Yard.
* Superintendent Nash: County Detective Superintendent.
* Mr Richard Symmington: solicitor in Lymstock, second husband to Mona, father of two young sons, and stepfather of Megan Hunter.
* Mrs Mona Symmington: mother of Megan Hunter, and of two young sons with Richard Symington. She is the first murder victim, though her murder was made to appear a suicide, fooling the police for a long while.
* Miss Megan Hunter: woman of 20, back home for one year from boarding school, coltish, usually shy, but more comfortable with Jerry and Joanna Burton. She blossoms under their attention. She bravely undertakes a risky ploy at the direction of Miss Marple, exposing the murderer.
* Elsie Holland: beautiful nanny of the two young Symmington sons. Jerry Burton, initially attracted, is turned off by the quality of her voice, but Mr Symmington sees only her beauty.
* Dr Owen Griffith: local doctor in Lymstock, who falls in love with Joanna Burton.
* Aimée Griffith: sister of Owen, who lives with him in Lymstock, is active in the town and for years has been in love with Richard Symmington.
* Miss Jane Marple: a shrewd judge of human nature, resident of the village of St. Mary Mead and a friend of Mrs. Dane Calthrop, who asks her to help in the investigation.
* Agnes Woddell: house parlourmaid at Symmington home, who is the second murder victim.
* Rose: the Symmingtons' cook; talks too much and is given to dramatics.
* Miss Ginch: Symmington's clerk, who quits her post after receiving a poison pen letter, Jerry Burton observes that she seems to be enjoying getting the poison pen letter.
* Reverend Caleb Dane Calthrop: local vicar, academic in his style, given to Latin quotes, understood by no one around him.
* Mrs Maud Dane Calthrop: the vicar's wife who tries to keep an eye on people. She calls her friend Miss Marple for help when the situation in town worsens with murders and poison pen letters.
* Mr Pye: resident of Lymstock who enjoys the scandal raised by the poison pen letters. He collects antiques, and is described by his neighbours as effeminate.
* Colonel Appleton: resident of Combeacre, a village about 7 miles from Lymstock. He is intrigued by Joanna Burton and admires the beautiful Elsie Holland.
* Mrs Cleat: woman who lives in Lymstock, described as the local witch. She is the first person assumed by townspeople to be the writer of the poison pen letters, but she turns out to have no involvement.

## Literary significance and reception

Maurice Willson Disher in *The Times Literary Supplement* of 19 June 1943 was mostly positive, starting, "Beyond all doubt the puzzle in *The Moving Finger* is fit for experts" and continued "The author is generous with her clues. Anyone ought to be able to read her secret with half an eye – if the other one-and-a-half did not get in the way. There has rarely been a detective story so likely to create an epidemic of self indulgent kicks." However, some reservations were expressed: "Having expended so much energy on her riddle, the author cannot altogether be blamed for neglecting the other side of her story. It would grip more if Jerry Burton, who tells it, was more credible. He is an airman who has crashed and walks with the aid of two sticks. That he should make a lightning recovery is all to the good, but why, in between dashing downstairs two at a time and lugging a girl into a railway carriage by main force, should he complain that it hurts to drive a car? And why, since he is as masculine in sex as the sons of King Gama does he think in this style, "The tea was china and delicious and there were plates of sandwiches and thin bread and butter and a quantity of little cakes"? Nor does it help verisimilitude that a bawling young female gawk should become an elegant beauty in less than a day."

Maurice Richardson in *The Observer* wrote: "An atmosphere of perpetual, after-breakfast well-being; sherry parties in a country town where nobody is quite what he seems; difficult slouching daughters with carefully concealed coltish charm; crazy spinsters, of course; and adulterous solicitors. Agatha Christie is at it again, lifting the lid off delphiniums and weaving the scarlet warp all over the pastel pouffe." And he concluded, "Probably you will call Mrs Christie's double bluff, but this will only increase your pleasure."

An unnamed reviewer in the *Toronto Daily Star* of 7 November 1942 said, "*The Moving Finger* has for a jacket design a picture of a finger pointing out one suspect after another and that's the way it is with the reader as chapter after chapter of the mystery story unfolds. It is not one of \[Christie's\] stories about her famous French  \[*sic*\] detective, Hercule Poirot, having instead Miss Marple, a little old lady sleuth who doesn't seem to do much but who sets the stage for the final exposure of the murderer."

The writer and critic Robert Barnard wrote "Poison pen in Mayhem Parva, inevitably leading to murder. A good and varied cast list, some humour, and stronger than usual romantic interest of an ugly-duckling-into-swan type. One of the few times Christie gives short measure, and none the worse for that."

In the "Binge!" article of *Entertainment Weekly* of December 2014 – January 2015, the writers picked *The Moving Finger* as a Christie favourite on the list of the "Nine Great Christie Novels".

## Adaptations

### Television

*The Moving Finger* was first adapted for television by the BBC in two episodes with Joan Hickson in the series *Miss Marple*. It first aired on 21 and 22 February 1985. The adaptation is generally faithful to the novel, apart from making changes to names: the village of Lymstock became Lymston, Mona and Richard Symmington were renamed Angela and Edward Symmington and their sons Colin and Brian were renamed Robert and Jamie, Aimee Griffith became Eryl Griffith and had a much meeker personality, the characters of Agnes and Beatrice were combined and Miss Marple was brought into the story sooner than the novel does.

A second television adaptation was made with Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple in the TV series, *Agatha Christie's Marple* and was filmed in Chilham, Kent. It first aired on 12 February 2006. This adaptation changes the personality of Jerry. The story is set a little later than in the novel, as mentioned in a review of the episode: "Miss Marple, observing the tragic effects of these missives on relationships and reputations, is practically in the background in this story, watching closely as a nihilistic young man (James D'Arcy) comes out of his cynical, alcohol-laced haze to investigate the source of so much misery." and is "set shortly after World War II."

A third adaptation came as part of the French television series *Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie*. The episode aired in 2009.

A fourth adaptation was developed in Korea as part of the 2018 television series *Ms. Ma, Nemesis*.

### Radio

A radio adaptation was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2001 in the *Saturday Play* slot, starring June Whitfield as Miss Marple.

## Publication history

The work is dedicated to Christie's friends, the artist Mary Winifrid Smith and her husband Sidney Smith, an Assyriologist:

> To my Friends
> Sydney and Mary Smith

Editions include:

* 1942, Dodd Mead and Company (New York), July 1942, Hardcover, 229 pp
* 1943, Collins Crime Club (London), June 1943, Hardcover, 160 pp
* 1948, Avon Books, Paperback, 158 pp (Avon number 164)
* 1948, Pan Books, Paperback, 190 pp (Pan number 55)
* 1953, Penguin Books, Paperback, 189 pp (Penguin number 930)
* 1961, Fontana Books (Imprint of HarperCollins), Paperback, 160 pp
* 1964, Dell Books, Paperback, 189 pp
* 1968, Greenway edition of collected works (William Collins), Hardcover, 255 pp
* 1968, Greenway edition of collected works (Dodd Mead), Hardcover, 255 pp
* 1970, Ulverscroft Large-print Edition, Hardcover, 331 pp; ISBN 0-85456-670-8
* 2005, Marple Facsimile edition (Facsimile of 1943 UK first edition), 12 September 2005, Hardcover; ISBN 0-00-720845-6

The novel's first true publication was the US serialisation in *Collier's Weekly* in eight instalments from 28 March (Volume 109, Number 13) to 16 May 1942 (Volume 109, Number 20) with illustrations by Mario Cooper.

The UK serialisation was as an abridged version in six parts in *Woman's Pictorial* from 17 October (Volume 44, Number 1136) to 21 November 1942 (Volume 44, Number 1141) under the slightly shorter title of *Moving Finger*. All six instalments were illustrated by Alfred Sindall.

This novel is one of two to differ significantly in American editions (the other being *Three Act Tragedy*), both hardcover and paperback. Most American editions of *The Moving Finger* have been abridged by about 9000 words to remove sections of chapters, and strongly resemble the *Collier's* serialisation which, mindful of the need to bring the magazine reader into the story quickly, begins without the leisurely introduction to the narrator's back-story that is present in the British edition, and lacks much of the characterisation throughout.

Christie admitted that this book was one of her favourites, stating, "I find that another \[book\] I am really pleased with is *The Moving Finger*. It is a great test to re-read what one has written some seventeen or eighteen years before. One's view changes. Some do not stand the test of time, others do."

## InfoBox

The Moving Finger
| Dust-jacket illustration of the US (true first) edition. See *Publication history* (below) for UK first edition jacket image. | |
| --- | --- |
| Author | Agatha Christie |
| Language | English |
| Series | Miss Marple |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | Dodd, Mead and Company |
| Publication date | July 1942 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 229 (first edition, hardcover) |
| ISBN | 978-0-00-712084-0 |
| Preceded by | *Five Little Pigs* (publication)*
The Body in the Library* (series) |
| Followed by | *Towards Zero* (publication)*
A Murder Is Announced* (series) |


title: Centrotus cornutus

abstract: Centrotus cornutus (thorn-hopper) is a species of "treehoppers" belonging to the family Membracidae.

text:
# Centrotus cornutus

***Centrotus cornutus*** (thorn-hopper) is a species of "treehoppers" belonging to the family Membracidae.

## Distribution

This species is present in most of Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm and in the Near East. It is one of only two UK treehoppers.

## Habitat

These thorn-hoppers inhabit woodlands, beech forests, hedge rows and moderately moist or dry areas.

## Description

The adult males reach 7–10 millimetres (0.28–0.39 in) in length, while females are slightly larger. The basic colouration of the stocky body is dark-brown. The large protruding eyes are round and reddish-brown to red. The pronotum is hairy, arched up and pulled back in a long, wave-shaped extension above the wings, with two sharp, ear-shaped lateral protrusions (hence the Latin name *cornutus*, meaning "horned"). The legs are very short. The front wings are pale brown and translucent, with evident brown veins.

The bizarre horn-like extensions of the pronotum apparently help the camouflage. As a matter of fact, when this insect is at rest on a branch with the legs retracted, it looks like a part of the branch itself.

This species is rather similar to *Gargara genistae*, the second UK species of treehoppers, that lacks the horn-like protrusions, has a shorter extension above the wings and it is associated with broom.

## Biology

They can be encountered from early May through early August. Both males and females produce vibrational signals during courtship and they are able to jump as orthoptera. After mating at the end of June and early July the females lay several eggs in the stalk of herbaceous plants, on which hatching larvae feed. These "treehoppers" are polyphagous, feeding on plant juices, which they take with their specially built, piercing-sucking mouth parts. The larvae mainly live on *Cirsium*, *Carduus* and *Urtica* species, while the adult insects prefer *Populus*, *Quercus* and *Rubus* species. They overwinter in the litter layer in the larval stage and have a two-year life cycle.

## Bibliography

* Arzone A., 1971. "Illustration of the biological cycle of Centrotus cornutus L. in Piedmont" (Hem. Hom. Membracidae). *Annali della Facolta di Scienze Agrarie della Universita degli Studi di Torin* 6: 283-322
* Linnaeus, C., 1758: "Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio Decima, Reformata. Tomus I". Laurentii Salvii, Stockholm. 824 pp. page 435
* Mueller, 1984: "On the voltinism (generation sequence) of the treehopper Centrotus cornutus (L.) (Homoptera Auchenorrhyncha: Membracidae) and on the anidation of pluriannual insects." *Zool. Jahrb. (anat. Ontog. Tiere)* 111: 321-337
* Nast, J., 1987: "The Auchenorrhyncha (Homoptera) of Europe" - *Annales Zoologici Warszawa* 40: 535-661
* Nickel, H., 2003: "The Leafhoppers and Planthoppers of Germany (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha): patterns and strategies in a highly diverse group of phytophagous insects" - *Pensoft Series Faunistica* No. 28, Sofia-Moscow, Keltern, 1-460
* Nickel, Herbert & Remane, Reinhard, 2002: "Check list of the planthoppers and leafhoppers of Germany, with notes on food plants, diet width, life cycles, geographic range and conservation status (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha and Cicadomorpha)". *Beiträge zur Zikadenkunde* No.5, pp.27-64.
* Świerczewski, D., & Stroiński, A., 2011: "The first records of the Nearctic treehopper Sictocephala bisonia in Poland (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha: Membracidae) with some comments on this potential post". *Polish Journal of Entomology/Polskie Pismo Entomologiczne* 80: 13-22

## InfoBox

| *Centrotus cornutus* | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| *Centrotus cornutus* on Spanish Broom (*Genista juncea*) | |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Auchenorrhyncha |
| Family: | Membracidae |
| Genus: | *Centrotus* |
| Species: | ***C. cornutus*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Centrotus cornutus***<br>(Linnaeus, 1758) | |
|


title: Bo'ao Lighthouse

abstract: Bo'ao Lighthouse is situated on the north side of the entrance to the harbor at Bo'ao, Hainan, China. The tower is white in colour, round, with four ribs. It has a minimum diameter of six metres, a maximum of 38.5 metres, and is made of reinforced concrete. With the lantern and gallery atop, it has a total height of 23 metres. Every nine seconds this lighthouse emits three white flashes. It has a range of 35 km. It was built at the national level by the government of China. Construction started April 28, 2008 and it was put into service in 2011.

text:
# Bo'ao Lighthouse

**Bo'ao Lighthouse** (Chinese: 博鳌灯塔) is situated on the north side of the entrance to the harbor at Bo'ao, Hainan, China. The tower is white in colour, round, with four ribs. It has a minimum diameter of six metres, a maximum of 38.5 metres, and is made of reinforced concrete. With the lantern and gallery atop, it has a total height of 23 metres.

Every nine seconds this lighthouse emits three white flashes. It has a range of 35 km.

It was built at the national level by the government of China. Construction started April 28, 2008 and it was put into service in 2011.

## InfoBox

Bo'ao Lighthouse
博鳌灯塔
|  | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Location | Bo'ao, Hainan, People's Republic of China |
| Coordinates | 19°09′35″N 110°35′07″E / 19.159625°N 110.585219°E / 19.159625; 110.585219 |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 2011 |
| Construction | Concrete tower |
| Height | 23 metres |
| Shape | Cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery |
| Markings | White |
|  | |
| Light | |
| First lit | 2011 |
| Focal height | 81 m (266 ft) |
| Range | 35 km |
| Characteristic | Fl(3) W 24s |
| China no. | CN-5061 |
|  | |


title: Chinji

abstract: Chinji is a town located in the Talagang district of Punjab, Pakistan. Nestled amidst lush green mountains and adorned with clean, well-maintained roads, Chinji is renowned for its breathtaking natural beauty. One of the town's major attractions is the renowned Chinji National Park, a sprawling expanse of natural splendor that draws visitors from far and wide.

text:
# Chinji

**Chinji** is a town located in the Talagang district of Punjab, Pakistan. Nestled amidst lush green mountains and adorned with clean, well-maintained roads, Chinji is renowned for its breathtaking natural beauty. One of the town's major attractions is the renowned Chinji National Park, a sprawling expanse of natural splendor that draws visitors from far and wide.

## InfoBox

| Chinji | |
| --- | --- |
| Town in Talagang | |
|  | |
| Coordinates: 33°0′36.87″N 72°29′30.98″E / 33.0102417°N 72.4919389°E / 33.0102417; 72.4919389 | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Province | Punjab |
| District | Talagang |


title: Tied & Tickled Trio

abstract: Tied & Tickled Trio is a German electronica/dub/jazz musical collective. It was founded in 1994 by Markus Acher and Christoph Brandner in Weilheim, Bavaria as a polyrythmic duo playing drums only. After the joining of sculptor Andreas Gerth (electronics) and Markus' brother Micha (bass), the core of "Tied & Tickled Trio" was formed and their style turned to jazz. This trend later was fixed with new member coming – Johannes Enders, a studied jazz sax player. The collective shares members with The Notwist, Lali Puna and other bands from the Morr Music label.

text:
# Tied & Tickled Trio

**Tied & Tickled Trio** is a German electronica/dub/jazz musical collective. It was founded in 1994 by Markus Acher and Christoph Brandner in Weilheim, Bavaria as a polyrythmic duo playing drums only. After the joining of sculptor Andreas Gerth (electronics) and Markus' brother Micha (bass), the core of "Tied & Tickled Trio" was formed and their style turned to jazz. This trend later was fixed with new member coming – Johannes Enders, a studied jazz sax player.

The collective shares members with The Notwist, Lali Puna and other bands from the Morr Music label.

## Band members

* Ulrich Wangenheim (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, flute)
* Johannes Enders (tenor saxophone, flute, keyboards)
* Micha Acher (bass, trumpet, trombone, keyboards, organ)
* Markus Acher (drums, keyboards, percussion)
* Andreas Gerth (electronic, delays)
* Christoph Brandner (electronic drums)
* Robert Klinger (bass)

## Discography

### Albums

### Other

* *A.R.C.* (Live DVD + Audio 19 minutes jam, 2006)

## InfoBox

| Tied & Tickled Trio | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Germany |
| Genres | Electronic music
Dub music
Jazz |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Morr Music |
|  | |
| Members | Markus Acher
Christoph Brandner
Andreas Gerth
Micha Acher
Johannes Enders
Ulrich Wangenheim
Robert Klinger |


title: 204th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

abstract: The 204th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was destroyed in the first weeks of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The first formation was based on the shtat of July 29, 1941, and it then remained for nine months in the far east of Siberia training and organizing before it was finally sent by rail to the Stalingrad region in July 1942 where it joined the 64th Army southwest of the city. During the following months it took part in the defensive battles and later the offensive that cut off the German 6th Army in November. In the last days of the battle for the city it took the surrender of the remnants of a Romanian infantry division. Following the Axis defeat the division was recognized for its role when it was redesignated as the 78th Guards Rifle Division on March 1, 1943. A new 204th was raised in May 1943 in Voronezh Front under the "shtat" of December 10, 1942, based on a former "student" rifle brigade. After seeing brief service in 38th Army during the Battle of Kursk the division was moved northward, becoming part of the 1st Rifle Corps of 43rd Army in Kalinin Front and saw combat in the slow and bloody battles east and north of Vitebsk through the winter. Early during the summer offensive against Army Group Center the 204th distinguished itself in the capture of that city and received its name as an honorific. It then took part in the campaigns through the Baltic states, moving to the 51st Army in August where it remained for the duration of the war, mostly in the 1st Guards Rifle Corps. Like many other rifle divisions on this secondary front by January 1945 it was well under strength but continued to serve, eventually as part of the force blockading the German units remaining in the Kurland peninsula as part of 2nd Baltic Front and then Leningrad Front. The division was disbanded in February 1946.

text:
# 204th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

The **204th Rifle Division** was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was destroyed in the first weeks of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The first formation was based on the *shtat* (table of organization and equipment) of July 29, 1941, and it then remained for nine months in the far east of Siberia training and organizing before it was finally sent by rail to the Stalingrad region in July 1942 where it joined the 64th Army southwest of the city. During the following months it took part in the defensive battles and later the offensive that cut off the German 6th Army in November. In the last days of the battle for the city it took the surrender of the remnants of a Romanian infantry division. Following the Axis defeat the division was recognized for its role when it was redesignated as the 78th Guards Rifle Division on March 1, 1943.

A new 204th was raised in May 1943 in Voronezh Front under the "shtat" of December 10, 1942, based on a former "student" rifle brigade. After seeing brief service in 38th Army during the Battle of Kursk the division was moved northward, becoming part of the 1st Rifle Corps of 43rd Army in Kalinin Front (soon 1st Baltic Front) and saw combat in the slow and bloody battles east and north of Vitebsk through the winter. Early during the summer offensive against Army Group Center the 204th distinguished itself in the capture of that city and received its name as an honorific. It then took part in the campaigns through the Baltic states, moving to the 51st Army in August where it remained for the duration of the war, mostly in the 1st Guards Rifle Corps. Like many other rifle divisions on this secondary front by January 1945 it was well under strength but continued to serve, eventually as part of the force blockading the German units remaining in the Kurland peninsula as part of 2nd Baltic Front and then Leningrad Front. The division was disbanded in February 1946.

## 204th Motorized Division

The division began forming in March 1941 as part of the prewar buildup of Soviet mechanized forces, based on the 9th Armored Car Brigade at Volkovysk in the Western Special Military District as part of the 11th Mechanized Corps. Once formed its order of battle was as follows:

* 700th Motorized Rifle Regiment
* 706th Motorized Rifle Regiment
* 126th Tank Regiment
* 657th Artillery Regiment
* 193rd Antitank Battalion
* 158th Antiaircraft Battalion
* 682nd Reconnaissance Battalion
* 382nd Light Engineering Battalion
* 583rd Signal Battalion
* 202nd Artillery Park Battalion
* 358th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
* 675th Motor Transport Battalion
* 111th Repair and Restoration Battalion
* 51st Regulatory Company
* 463rd Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company
* 921st Field Office of the State Bank

Col. Aleksei Mikhailovich Pirov was appointed to command on March 11. The division had only one battalion of 44 BT-5 tanks in the 126th Regiment but was full strength in armored cars left over from its service as the 9th Brigade. In common with most of the motorized divisions it was grossly deficient in transport, with almost no tractors and less than 15 percent of its authorized trucks so the rifle regiments were largely on foot and the 657th, which was understrength, (8 76mm cannons, 16 122mm howitzers, 4 152mm howitzers) was unable to move many of the pieces it did have.

On June 22 the 11th Mechanized Corps (29th and 33rd Tank Divisions, 204th Motorized, 16th Motorcycle Regiment) was under command of 3rd Army in the renamed Western Front. The 204th was near the base of the Białystok salient and was split with its main forces north of Volkovysk beginning to move northward during the day and a forward detachment backing the two tank divisions south of Grodno. During this move the division came under heavy air attacks and lost over half of its equipment. Within days it had been overrun and destroyed in the Białystok pocket with most of the rest of 11th Corps, although it was not officially stricken from the Red Army order of battle until September 19.

## 1st Formation

A new division began forming as a regular rifle division on October 1, 1941, at Blagoveshchensk in the Far Eastern Front with a similar order of battle:

* 700th Rifle Regiment
* 706th Rifle Regiment
* 730th Rifle Regiment
* 657th Artillery Regiment
* 193rd Antitank Battalion
* 166th Antiaircraft Battery
* 306th Reconnaissance Company
* 372nd Sapper Battalion
* 583rd Signal Battalion
* 358th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
* 194th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company
* 514th Motor Transport Company
* 356th Field Bakery
* 833rd Divisional Veterinary Hospital
* 1487th Field Postal Station
* 921st Field Office of the State Bank

Col. Andrei Pavlovich Karnov was assigned to command the division on the day it began forming. It was immediately assigned to the 2nd Red Banner Army which was headquartered at Blagoveshchensk. In November it was noted that 95 percent of the division's personnel were of Kazakh or Uzbek nationality. The 204th got to spend over nine months in the far east training and completing its complement of men and equipment, far longer than was usual for a rifle division during the crisis of 1941–42. On July 10, 1942, Colonel Karnov handed his command to Col. Aleksandr Vasilevich Skvortsov, just about the time that the division began moving west toward the fighting front. During the rest of the month and into August it was railed to the Stalingrad area where it joined the 64th Army in Stalingrad Front.

## Battle of Stalingrad

When the 204th began arriving at the front around July 20 the German 6th Army was advancing towards the Don River. 64th Army, under command of Lt. Gen. V. I. Chuikov, was located south of the Chir River with the 204th and 208th Rifle Divisions, 66th Naval Rifle Brigade and 137th Tank Brigade along or east of the Don. The German commander, Gen. F. Paulus, began planning for a *coup-de-main* to take Stalingrad by forcing crossings north and south of Kalach-na-Donu; in response the 204th was transferred to 62nd Army and concentrated at Kalach with one regiment on the west bank of the Don by July 28. At 1645 hours that day the *STAVKA* sent the following order to Stalingrad Front:

> ... the Front's main mission over the next few days is, at all cost, to defeat the enemy who have reached the western bank of the Don River south of Nizhne-Chirskaia by no later than 30 July by means of active operations by the forces of 64th Army and the employment of 204th and 321st Rifle Divisions and 23rd Tank Corps, which have reached the Kalach region, and restore fully the defenses here along the Stalingrad line, while subsequently driving the enemy back across the Tsimla River.

Anticipating this order the Front commander had already directed a counterattack by these forces and more, but it faltered with little to show for the effort.

As of August 1 the division had returned to 64th Army which was now under command of Lt. Gen. M. S. Shumilov. Stalingrad Front was facing a new crisis as the 4th Panzer Army, led by the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps, drove toward the city from the southwest. In response, late on August 2 the 64th Army was ordered east to protect the Aksai River line while the 204th, 229th and 112th Rifle Divisions and their defensive sectors on the Chir and Don rivers were transferred back to 62nd Army. As the situation on the Aksai deteriorated the 204th was ordered east and as of the early morning of August 4 was again part of 64th Army in the newly created Southeastern Front, although Col. Gen. A. I. Yeryomenko would not take active command until August 7. Meanwhile, Yeryomenko was planning a defense against 4th Panzer Army along the Myshkova River and the Abganerovo area. 64th Army was to cover a 120 km-wide sector from the Don to Tinguta Station blocking the shortest German route to Stalingrad. By the end of August 8 Shumilov had scraped together a force to counterattack the vanguard of XXXXVIII Panzer Corps, consisting of the 204th, 38th and 157th Rifle Divisions, the 13th Tank Corps and several supporting units, with the KV-1 tanks of the 133rd Tank Brigade joining the next day. This attack struck the weakened 14th Panzer and 29th Motorized Divisions from three sides, with the 204th and 208th Divisions and the 13th Tanks advancing south along the railroad from Tinguta Station, taking the 29th Motorized by surprise and inflicting considerable casualties. This division was forced to withdraw its forward elements southward almost 10 km to new defenses north of Abganerovo Station by late on August 10. The 204th was reported as having reached from this point to 6 km southeast of 74 km Station State Farm #3 (8 km southeast of Tinguta Station) and as having helped liquidate a German penetration near 74 km Station by August 11. By now 4th Panzer Army was incapable of continuing its advance. On August 12 General Paulus announced that his Army had encircled and destroyed most of 62nd Army west of the Don, including the 204th, but this outdated claim was based on rearguards of the one rifle regiment that had been posted on the far bank.

### Fighting on the Approaches

After rest and regrouping 4th Panzer Army resumed its attack at 0700 hours on August 20. Following a strong artillery preparation the 94th and 371st Infantry Divisions, supported by a battlegroup of 29th Motorized, advanced 4–5 km to the north, forcing the 204th and 126th Rifle Divisions to abandon their defenses at Abganerovo Station. As they fell back Shumilov reinforced them with the 29th Rifle Division and two brigades of 13th Tank Corps, allowing them to establish new defenses covering Yurkino Station. The German advance faltered late in the day due to heavy Soviet resistance. Over the following ten days the German/Romanian forces ground forward at the junction between 64th and 57th Armies and the 204th gradually fell back on the west flank of the penetration, reaching 55 km Station by August 24 where it was fighting in partial encirclement with the 29th Division and elements of 15th Guards Rifle Division. The next day it was withdrawn with the 38th Division to a line 7 km west of Tinguta Station. By now 4th Panzer Army was again running out of steam but found a weak spot covered by the damaged 126th Rifle Division and advanced nearly 20 km on August 29. In response to this changed strategic situation the 204th and 138th Rifle Divisions were withdrawn into the Army reserve on August 31.

The 6th and 4th Panzer Armies began a renewed drive into the suburbs of Stalingrad on September 3. In the south the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps, including the 94th Infantry and Romanian 20th Infantry Division, was to attack eastward from Voroponovo Station and northeastward from Elkhi with the objective of reaching the Volga and seizing the city south of the Tsaritsa River. The initial assault by 14th Panzer and 29th Motorized west of Peschanka was repelled by 64th Army's right flank 29th, 204th, 157th and 126th Rifle Divisions. 14th Panzer attacked again at dawn on September 4 but was stalled short of Peschanka by the resistance of the 204th and 126th Divisions. These right flank divisions maintained their defense the following day although they were being worn down by the ongoing attacks; General Shumilov assembled a reserve in the Beketovka area which included the 10th Rifle Brigade.

The XXXXVIII Panzer Corps regrouped its forces on September 7 with the intention of redirecting its attack southeastward against 64th Army's right flank. Its assault resumed the next day, badly damaging the 244th Rifle Division and pressing the 204th and 126th and the reinforcing 138th Division and 133rd Tank Brigade back to new defenses southwest from the western outskirts of Peschanka. On September 9 the German forces drove southward west of Kuporosnoe, forcing the 138th, 204th and 157th Divisions to abandon Staro-Dubovka. The Soviet forces withdrew to the new defense line east and west of Gornaia Poliana, which was already manned by the 126th Division. During the day the remainder of 14th Panzer reinforced the assault of the 29th Motorized and while this was halted short of Kuporosnoe and the west bank of the Volga, the four rifle divisions were being rapidly eroded away.

Overnight on September 9/10 a battalion of the 29th Motorized reached the Volga south of Kuporosnoe but was thrown back in part by the 131st Rifle Division after it had been relieved at Gornaia Poliana. On September 12 the fighting for the Stalingrad suburbs reached its climax. 14th Panzer was now supported by the mixed German/Romanian IV Army Corps and probed the defenses of the 64th Army from the southwest outskirts of Kuporosnoe around to its boundary with 57th Army at Ivanovka. This position would become known as the Beketovka bridgehead.

#### Beketovka Bridgehead

In the last days of September a task group of 57th Army carried out a successful counterstroke against the positions of 1st Romanian Infantry Division at Lake Tsatsa and the 14th Panzer had to be sent to stabilize the front. This was followed overnight on October 1/2 by an attack by five divisions, including the 204th, of the 64th Army against the positions of the 371st Infantry Division at and west of Peschanka in an attempt to capture that place and Staro-Dubovka. The division, from the Army's second echelon, attacked from behind the 138th Division and reached a line from Marker 135.4 to Marker 131.3 (7 km south of Peschanka). The commander of the 422nd Rifle Division, Col. I. K. Morozov, wrote:

> Day and night, the divisions of 64th Army fought their way to the north to link up with 62nd Army, but the distance between the armies scarcely diminished.

Although the attack failed, it was an unpleasant distraction for General Paulus, whose 6th Army was now deeply involved in the fighting in the city.

### Operation Uranus

As of November 19 the 204th was one of five rifle divisions in 64th Army, which also commanded five rifle brigades, two tank brigades, and several other formations. The Army was now back in Stalingrad Front, commanded by General Yeryomenko, who had helped plan the operation that would encircle and destroy the German 6th Army. Under this plan the 204th, 157th and 38th Rifle Divisions, supported by the 13th and 56th Tank Brigades and several supporting units would form a shock group with the objectives of penetrating the defenses of the German 197th Infantry Division and the Romanian 20th Division, reaching Yagodnyi and Nariman on the first day, then envelop and destroy these Axis forces in cooperation with 57th Army.

The Front's counteroffensive began on November 20 with a 75-minute artillery preparation at 1430 hours and 64th Army launched its ground assault at about 1535 hours. Supported by about 40 infantry support tanks the three rifle divisions attacked to the west in the 12 km-wide sector from the north bank of the Chervlenaia River to just east of Elkhi. This was in close cooperation with 57th Army's shock group, the 422nd and 169th Rifle Divisions, attacking south of the Chervlenaia. The three divisions of the 64th struck the defenses of the 297th Infantry Division's 523rd Regiment in and around Elkhi, and the Romanian 20th, which was spread from Elkhi as far south as Tundutovo Station. The 204th, on the shock group's right wing, faced determined resistance at and north of Elkhi and made only a minimal advance despite launching multiple assaults into the early evening. The offensive resumed shortly after dawn but soon encountered intense counterattacks, reportedly supported by as many as 70 tanks likely from the 29th Motorized, which halted all progress by the 204th and 157th Divisions and also forced a short withdrawal by the 38th after it took heavy losses.

Early on November 22 General Shumilov focused his Army's efforts on its left flank while replacing the 38th Division with the 36th Guards Rifle Division, reinforced with the 56th Tank Brigade, 1104th Artillery Regiment and a battalion of the 4th Guards Mortar Regiment. The 36th Guards, flanked on the right by the 204th and 157th, went over to the attack at 1300 hours and advanced roughly 5 km in heavy fighting while the 204th covered 4 km and captured the Romanian stronghold at Yagodnyi by 1730 with the 157th making similar gains in the center. Under heavy pressure the commander of the German IV Army Corps ordered the Romanian 20th and most of the 297th Division to fall back to a new defensive line anchored on the town of Tsybenko; this line ran eastward 10 km along the Karavatka *Balka* to Elkhi, which was still in the hands of the 297th. During November 23 the 64th Army shock group faced resistance from rearguards of the German 297th and 371st Infantry and the 82nd Regiment of the Romanian 20th Infantry but still advanced up to 8 km as the Axis forces fell back to their new line. The 204th and 29th Divisions made a further effort to take Elkhi but apart from seizing Hill 116.3 to its west this was unsuccessful. On the same day the Soviet forces completed the encirclement of German 6th Army. The next day the shock group, weakened by casualties during the offensive to date, ran up against the strong Tsybenko–Elkhi defensive line and faltered. The 204th and 157th were thrown back along the *Balka* by the Romanian 82nd and the German 523rd Regiments. 64th Army would remain facing these defenses into December.

### Operation Ring

On December 2 the 29th Rifle Division, backed by about 40 tanks, struck the defenses of two battalions of the German 523rd Regiment on the 6 km-wide sector from Yagodnyi to Elkhi and, at the cost of perhaps 30 tanks destroyed, managed to capture part of the latter place. Further west at Tsybenko repeated assaults by the 204th and 157th Divisions and elements of 57th Army achieved little or nothing. The situation on this sector remained stalemated into January 1943. On December 7 Colonel Skvortsov was promoted to the rank of major general.

By January the Soviet forces besieging the Stalingrad *Kessel* had been consolidated into Don Front, under command of Col. Gen. K. K. Rokossovski. In the planning for Operation Ring the 64th Army was directed to initially pin down the opposing German forces it opposed before exploiting to the north and northeast. Shumilov organized his main attack on the sector from south of Hill 111.6 east to Elkhi with a shock group that consisted of the 204th, the 157th and the 36th Guards, plus the 143rd Rifle Brigade. This force was supported by 51 tanks from the 90th Tank Brigade and 35th and 166th Tank Regiments. This group faced the center of the 297th Infantry Division, including the Romanian 82nd Regiment.

The offensive began on January 10. Attacking at 0900 hours the 204th and 36th Guards Divisions pushed north from the northern bank of the *Balka* toward the southeastern approaches to Hill 111.6, advancing up to 2 km on its right. By day's end the 64th and 57th Armies' shock groups had carved a penetration up to 3 km deep through the defenses of the 297th Infantry and forced it to use all its reserves in futile attempts to close the breach. In addition the German division had lost 18 of its 31 antitank guns. The shock groups continued to gain ground the following day and on January 12 did further damage to the defenses of IV Army Corps, with the 204th and 157th Divisions and 143rd Rifle Brigade enveloping Hill 119.7 from three sides. On the fourth day the 204th and the 143rd fought for possession of the ground from Hill 78.8 to Sect. No. 1 of Poliana State Farm, roughly 6 km northeast of Tsybenko; the gap in the IV Corps' defenses was now 15 km wide and up to 8 km deep. Early on January 14 Shumilov shuffled his forces in preparation for a wheel to northeast toward the ruined city. The 204th and 29th Divisions, with the 143rd Rifle and 154th Naval Rifle Brigades, were redeployed on a 7 km-wide sector from the Hill 78.8 area to northwest of Hill 119.7. In the process they engaged and defeated a counterattack force based on the 171st Bicycle Battalion, but between this and the ongoing German resistance on Hill 119.7 and at Elkhi gained relatively little ground.

Following a pause the final phase of Operation Ring began on January 26. By this time the division was near the southernmost sector of downtown Stalingrad, north of Kuporosnoe, facing the remnants of the 371st Infantry Division. On January 29 the 36th Guards, 29th and 204th Divisions and 7th Rifle Corps attacked from positions along Krasnoznamenskaia Street and advanced northward from 150m to 600m. The 204th and the 7th Corps reached Uritskaia Street near the corner of Oktiabrskaia Street where they captured several staff officers of 6th Army who informed them that Paulus' headquarters was in the nearby *Univermag* department store. During the evening soldiers of the 204th captured an officer who turned out to be the adjutant of Brig. Gen. S. R. Dimitriu, commander of the 20th Romanian Division, which was by now reduced to the composite 82nd Regiment, situated in a grain elevator in the Flour Milling Factory No. 2 on the north bank of the Tsaritsa. Skvortsov reported this to Shumilov who sent his deputy for political affairs to aid in negotiations. After 30 minutes of discussion and the threat of a *Katyusha* bombardment on his positions Dimitriu surrendered his remaining men at 2130 hours.

The 64th Army was assigned the lead role in the reduction of the German southern pocket on January 30. The 204th and the 7th Corps on its right wing attacked due north and reached to within 100m of the city's main ferry landing stage. Paulus' surrender took place the next day. The remaining fighting in the city largely took place in the factory district. Immediately following the final Axis surrender on February 2 the 64th Army was ordered to move north to the Livny region but this decision was revoked the next day and the Army was retained in Stalingrad, first under General N. I. Trufanov's operational group and as of February 27 in the Stalingrad Group of Forces. On March 1 the 204th Rifle Division was officially redesignated as the 78th Guards Rifle Division.

## 2nd Formation

A new 204th Rifle Division was formed in the last days of May 1943 in the 38th Army of Voronezh Front, based on the 37th Rifle Brigade.

### 37th Rifle Brigade

This brigade was one of a series of "student" rifle brigades formed from military schools and reserve units starting in October 1941 in the Central Asia Military District. It was first assigned to the 16th Army in Western Front by the beginning of December but by the start of the new year had been shifted to 5th Army in the same Front. Later in January it was pulled out of the fighting line and moved north where it joined the 2nd Guards Rifle Corps in the reserves of Kalinin Front. Through the rest of the winter it took part in the battles in the Rzhev \- Toropets area, and in late April was reassigned to the 1st Shock Army in Northwestern Front where it became involved in the complex and bloody struggles around the Demyansk Pocket. In September the 37th was withdrawn into the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and assigned to the forming 2nd Reserve Army. In late December it was moved south where it joined the reserves of Bryansk Front but in February 1943 it was reassigned to Voronezh Front. During this month it was caught up in the German counteroffensive at Kharkov and suffered considerable losses. After the German offensive ground to a halt the brigade was reassigned to the newly forming 69th Army and later to 38th Army which was digging in on the right flank of Voronezh Front deep within the Kursk salient.

Col. Ksaverii Mikhailovich Baydak, who had commanded the 37th Brigade, remained in command of the new division. Its order of battle remained the same as the first formation except under the new "shtat" it no longer had an antiaircraft battery. As of July 1 the 204th was one of six rifle divisions in 38th Army. The Army saw very limited action during Operation *Zitadelle* and as it was ending the division departed the salient to join 20th Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. By the beginning of September it had been assigned to the separate 1st Rifle Corps in Kalinin Front, and later that month the Corps became part of 43rd Army in the same Front (renamed 1st Baltic Front in October). At this time the 1st Rifle Corps consisted of the 204th, 145th and 262nd Rifle Divisions.

## Battles for Vitebsk

The 204th arrived at its new fighting front in time to take part in the Smolensk-Roslavl Offensive Operation, which began on September 14. 43rd Army was attacking in the area of Demidov as part of the offensive that led to the liberation of Smolensk on September 25. On October 1 the 730th Rifle Regiment was involved in fighting near the village of Shatilovo in the Rudnyansky district. *Starshina* Ksenia Semyonovna Konstantinova was serving as a sanitary instructor and medic in one of the Regiment's battalions. Her position was surrounded and she fought off German soldiers with her personal weapon while protecting her wounded comrades. After suffering severe wounds she was captured, brutally maimed and tortured before being killed. On June 4, 1944, she would be posthumously made a Hero of the Soviet Union.

At this time 43rd Army was facing elements of the German VI Army Corps as the momentum of the Soviet summer offensive waned. Kalinin Front had been directed by the *STAVKA* to capture Vitebsk by October 10 but it soon became clear that this objective was well out of reach. The Army commander, Lt. Gen. K. D. Golubev, had his 1st and 91st Rifle Corps deployed abreast with orders to attack through the town of Kolyshki, at the boundary of the German 14th and 206th Infantry Divisions. On October 3 the 262nd Rifle Division and 105th Tank Regiment managed to penetrate the defenses north of Kolyshki, advanced to the town's northern outskirts the next day and soon liberated it. On October 8 the 204th, supported by 46th Mechanized Brigade, tore a small hole through the 206th Infantry's defenses west of Kolyshki after an advance by the Corps of roughly 8 km but was only able to gain another 1000m. The offensive to date had cost Kalinin Front considerable casualties and was halted around October 16.

### Polotsk–Vitebsk Offensive

1st Baltic Front began its Polotsk–Vitebsk Offensive on November 2. The 43rd and 39th Armies were ordered to concentrate their forces north of the Smolensk - Vitebsk railroad and highway facing the 14th and 206th Divisions of VI Corps. They were to attack west toward Vitebsk on November 8 with the goal of linking up with 4th Shock Army advancing south from Gorodok. General Golubev deployed his 1st Corps on the left and 91st Corps on the right with the 92nd Rifle Corps in a flanking role and launched a heavy assault against the German defenses south of Yanovichi. The attack tore a gaping hole in these defenses, again at the junction of the two German divisions. A combined push by both Armies the next day enlarged the gap to a width of 10 km and by evening lead elements of the attacking force reached Poddube just 10 km east of the defense lines around Vitebsk proper. The 206th Infantry's defensive front was by now a shambles and the 14th's right flank was both turned and wide open. Despite this the 43rd Army's attacks were contained at Poddube on November 11 while the 39th Army gained another 5 km before being halted by counterattacks. The next day Colonel Baydak handed his command to Lt. Col. Ivan Vladimirovich Klepikov, but returned on November 21.

By November 17 the defenders had managed to restore a fairly continuous front west of Poddube, Karamidy and Argun and the Soviet assault expired in exhaustion. Late in the month the 1st Corps, now consisting of just the 204th and 145th Divisions, was transferred along with its sector to the 39th Army in preparation for a further effort in December. As of December 13 the 5th Guards Rifle Corps and 1st Rifle Corps of 39th Army, with the 43rd Army's 92nd Corps, were facing the three divisions of VI Corps on a 50 km-wide sector on both sides of the Smolensk - Vitebsk railway and highway. The renewed offensive began on December 19 when the combined forces of 39th and 43rd Armies struck the defenses of the German 14th Infantry. Both divisions of 1st Corps were in first echelon and were supported by the 39th Guards Tank and 47th Mechanized Brigades. Together the two Armies drove the German forces back up to 3 km on an 8 km-wide front by day's end. The next day the second echelon forces were committed but German reserves limited the advance in heavy combat that went on until December 23 when heavy losses again forced a halt. Before the end of the month the 1st Corps was transferred back to 43rd Army where it went on the defensive facing the 3rd and 4th Luftwaffe Field Divisions and roughly half of the 14th Infantry.

### Operation Bagration

Over the rest of the winter and through the spring of 1944 the 204th remained in much the same positions. On March 23 Baydak again left his command, this time handing over to his deputy commander Col. Matvei Sergeevich Eroshkin, but returned on March 30. On May 22 the 43rd Army came under command of Lt. Gen. A. P. Beloborodov. In the preparation for the summer offensive the 204th and 145th Divisions were reassigned to 92nd Corps. Beloborodov gave the Army's main task of attacking from the north to the 1st and 60th Rifle Corps with considerable armor and artillery support. 92nd Corps was to defend the front from Chisti to Koitovo and be ready to launch an attack in the direction of the village of Staroe Selo; it was intended to pin the German LIII Army Corps in Vitebsk while the other two Corps encircled the salient in cooperation with 39th Army.

1st Baltic Front's offensive began at 0400 hours on June 22 following a very heavy artillery preparation lasting 20 minutes. While the attacking Corps of 43rd Army badly damaged the German 252nd Infantry Division and Corps Detachment "D" the perimeter around Vitebsk was relatively quiet, limited to artillery strikes and minor attacks by 92nd Corps and the adjacent 84th Rifle Corps of 39th Army. The commander of Army Group Center requested permission to withdraw to shorten the line, but Hitler would not agree. On the second day the 1st and 60th Corps made even greater progress than on the first while 92nd Corps remained relatively quiet until early evening when Hitler authorized the city's garrison to pull back to the third defense zone and the Corps followed up, pressing south to reach the west bank of the Dvina River on June 24. Late that day Hitler authorized three of the four divisions of LIII Corps to hold open the road to the west but insisted that the 206th Infantry remain in Vitebsk. This made little difference as just before midnight the city was encircled and 35,000 German soldiers were trapped. Breakout attempts on June 25 saw only limited success and during the next day the 92nd, 60th and 84th Rifle Corps steadily reduced the pocket. In recognition of its achievements in this offensive, the 204th was awarded its honorific:

> VITEBSK ... 204th Rifle Division (Col. Baydak, Ksaverii Mikhailovich) ... By order of the Supreme High Command of 26 June 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, the troops who participated in the liberation of Vitebsk are given a salute of 20 salvoes by 224 guns.

## Baltic Offensives

Following this victory the 43rd Army advanced into the "Baltic Gap" that had opened up between Army Groups Center and North and by the second week in July had reached the border of Lithuania, east of Švenčionys. At about this time the 204th rejoined the 1st Rifle Corps. During the next weeks the division worked its way to the northwest, eventually arriving in the area of Kupiškis and eventually reaching Linkuva by the time the German forces launched Operation *Doppelkopf* on August 16.

In the course of this fighting Sen. Sgt. Khasan Nazirovich Gaisin, the commander of a heavy machine gun crew of the 700th Rifle Regiment, distinguished himself and became a Hero of the Soviet Union. A native of what is now Bashkortostan, Gaisin had already been decorated for several actions dating back as far as February 1943, including the battle for Vitebsk in June. On August 6 elements of the 357th Rifle Division had been encircled by German counterattacks in the vicinity of Skapiškis. Gaisin then personally led an assault group loaded on amphibious tanks in a crossing of a nearby lake to break through to the pocket. After the landing his team captured two 75mm guns which they turned against German targets, while Gaisin himself killed or wounded eight enemy soldiers with machine gun fire. Sergeant Gaisin was officially awarded his Gold Star on March 24, 1945. He survived the war, went back to work on his native collective farm and later a state farm, and died in 1991 at the age of 83.

At about this time the 204th was transferred to the 1st Guards Rifle Corps of 51st Army, still in 1st Baltic Front; it would remain in this Army for the duration of the war. By the second week of September it had reached the border of Latvia near Eleja, and on September 13 Colonel Baydak was promoted to the rank of major general. Later in the month the 204th was transferred to 60th Corps but in October it returned to 1st Guards Corps where it would remain for the duration. In common with many rifle divisions on this secondary front by late January 1945 the division was operating on a much reduced establishment as other fronts had higher priority for replacements. At this time it reported having 554 officers, 898 NCOs and 1,981 privates for a total of 3,433 personnel. They were equipped with 1,976 rifles and carbines, 969 sub-machine guns, 80 light machine guns, 53 heavy machine guns, 43 82mm and 13 120mm mortars, 32 76mm cannon, 10 122mm howitzers, 7 76mm regimental guns, 22 45mm antitank guns, 42 antitank rifles, 104 trucks and cars, and 993 horses. In February the 51st Army went into 2nd Baltic Front and when that Front was disbanded it joined the Kurland Group of Forces in Leningrad Front, still containing the German forces trapped in the Courland pocket until the end of the war.

## Postwar

The division ended the war with the full title of *204th Rifle, Vitebsk Division*. (Russian: 204-я стрелковая Витебская дивизия.) It remained in the Baltic states until August when it was withdrawn to the Moscow Military District. General Baydak remained in command until January 1946 when he was replaced by his deputy, Col. Dmitri Romanovich Nabatov. The division was disbanded the following month.

### Citations

### Bibliography

## InfoBox

| 204th Motorized Division (March 1941 – September 19, 1941)<br>204th Rifle Division (October 1, 1941 – March 1, 1943)<br>204th Rifle Division (May 1943 – February 1946) | |
| --- | --- |
| Active | 1941–1946 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Motorized Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | Operation Barbarossa<br>Battle of Białystok–Minsk<br>Battle of Stalingrad<br>Operation Uranus<br>Operation Ring<br>Battle of Kursk<br>Smolensk-Roslavl Offensive Operation<br>Polotsk–Vitebsk Offensive<br>Operation Bagration<br>Vitebsk-Orsha Offensive<br>Baltic Offensive<br>Šiauliai Offensive<br>Riga Offensive (1944)<br>Memel Offensive<br>Courland Pocket |
| Battle honours | Vitebsk (2nd Formation) |
| Commanders | |
| Notable<br>commanders | Col. Aleksei Mikhailovich Pirov<br>Col. Andrei Pavlovich Karnov<br>Maj. Gen. Aleksandr Vasilevich Skvortsov<br>Maj. Gen. Ksaverii Mikhailovich Baydak |


title: St Lawrence's Hospital, Caterham

abstract: St Lawrence's Hospital was a mental health facility in Caterham, Surrey.

text:
# St Lawrence's Hospital, Caterham

**St Lawrence's Hospital** was a mental health facility in Caterham, Surrey.

## History

The facility was commissioned by the Metropolitan Asylums Board and designed by John Giles. It opened as the Metropolitan Asylum for Chronic Imbeciles in 1870. A nurses' home was added to the asylum in 1889 and it became Caterham Mental Hospital in 1920.

In 1928 Joey Deacon, the author and television personality, was admitted to the hospital where he remained for the rest of his life. London County Council took administrative control of the facility in 1930. A nurse was killed when a bomb fell on the hospital in November 1940 during the Second World War. It was renamed St Lawrence's Hospital after the local parish in 1941 and it joined the National Health Service in 1948.

In 1981 *Silent Minority*, a documentary film made by Nigel Evans for ATV, highlighted the conditions of mental patients at the Borocourt Hospital near Reading, Berkshire and at St Lawrence's Hospital in Caterham.

After the introduction of Care in the Community in the 1980s the hospital reduced in size and closed in 1994. Most of the buildings have been demolished but the nurses' home has been converted into flats.

## InfoBox

| St Lawrence's Hospital | |
| --- | --- |
| The nurse's home at the hospital | |
| Shown in Surrey | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Caterham, Surrey, England |
| Coordinates | 51°17′10″N 0°05′59″W / 51.2860°N 0.0997°W / 51.2860; -0.0997 |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | National Health Service |
| Funding | Public hospital |
| Type | Mental health |
| History | |
| Opened | 1870 |
| Closed | 1994 |
| Links | |
| Lists | Hospitals in England |


title: Sokołów-Kolonia

abstract: Sokołów-Kolonia is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kiernozia, within Łowicz County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately 5 kilometres (3 mi) south-west of Kiernozia, 17 km (11 mi) north-west of Łowicz, and 57 km (35 mi) north-east of the regional capital Łódź.

text:
# Sokołów-Kolonia

**Sokołów-Kolonia** \[sɔˈkɔwuf kɔˈlɔɲa\] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kiernozia, within Łowicz County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately 5 kilometres (3 mi) south-west of Kiernozia, 17 km (11 mi) north-west of Łowicz, and 57 km (35 mi) north-east of the regional capital Łódź.

## InfoBox

| Sokołów-Kolonia | |
| --- | --- |
| Village | |
| Sokołów-Kolonia | |
| Coordinates: 52°14′0″N 19°50′36″E / 52.23333°N 19.84333°E / 52.23333; 19.84333 | |
| Country | Poland |
| Voivodeship | Łódź |
| County | Łowicz |
| Gmina | Kiernozia |


title: 1954 Missouri Tigers baseball team

abstract: The 1954 Missouri Tigers baseball team represented the University of Missouri in the 1954 NCAA baseball season. The Tigers played their home games at Rollins Field. The team was coached by Hi Simmons in his 16th season at Missouri. The Tigers won the College World Series, defeating Rollins College 4-1 in the final.

text:
# 1954 Missouri Tigers baseball team

1954 Big Seven Conference baseball standings
|  | Conf | | | | |  |  | Overall | | | | |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Team | W |  | L |  | PCT |  |  | W |  | L |  | PCT |
| Missouri  y | 11 |  | 1 |  | .917 |  |  | 22 |  | 4 |  | .846 |
| Oklahoma | 8 |  | 4 |  | .667 |  |  | 12 |  | 8 |  | .600 |
| Iowa State | 7 |  | 7 |  | .500 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Kansas | 4 |  | 5 |  | .444 |  |  | 10 |  | 6 |  | .625 |
| Colorado | 4 |  | 6 |  | .400 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Nebraska | 4 |  | 8 |  | .333 |  |  | 10 |  | 10 |  | .500 |
| Kansas State | 3 |  | 10 |  | .231 |  |  | 8 |  | 12 |  | .400 |
|  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Conference champion
y  Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1954
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The **1954 Missouri Tigers baseball team** represented the University of Missouri in the 1954 NCAA baseball season. The Tigers played their home games at Rollins Field. The team was coached by Hi Simmons in his 16th season at Missouri.

The Tigers won the College World Series, defeating Rollins College 4-1 in the final.

## Season Recap

### College World Series

In the first round, Missouri defeated the Lafayette Leopards by a score of 6-3. Missouri was then knocked into the loser's bracket after a 4-1 second-round loss to Art Brophy and Rollins College. Behind lefthander Ed Cook, the Tigers then defeated the UMass Minutemen 8-1.

Missouri defeated Oklahoma A&M Aggies 7-3 in the behind a strong outing from starting pitcher Norm Stewart and home runs from Jerry Schoonmaker and George Gleason. Tied 3-3 with the Michigan State Spartans heading into the ninth inning, Emil Kammer singled home Buddy Cox to propel Missouri into the championship game for a rematch against Rollins College and Art Brophy.

Missouri bested Rollins 4-1 in the championship game behind a great outing from Ed Cook and a Buddy Cox home run.

With seven triples, Missouri tied Holy Cross's record for triples in a College World Series.

## Roster

| 1954 Missouri Tigers roster | | | | | | |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|
|  | **Pitchers**
* Bob Bauman * Bert Beckmann * Gene Gastineau * Emil Kammer * Norm Stewart  **Catchers**
* Lloyd Elmore * George Gleason |  | **Infielders**
* Buddy Cox * Dick Dickinson * Jack Gabler * Herb Morgan * Bob Schoonmaker * Todd Sickel |  | **Outfielders**
**Coaches** |  |

## Schedule

| 1954 Missouri Tigers baseball game log |
| --- |
| Regular season  Date Opponent Score Overall record Big Seven Record  April 3 Fort Leonard Wood 3–6 0–1   April 6 Fort Leonard Wood 4–2 1–1   April 9 Arkansas 18–0 2–1   April 10 Arkansas 12–6 3–1   April 16 Oklahoma A&M 3–5 3–2   April 17 Oklahoma A&M 12–6 4–2   April Sedalia Air Force Base 24–1 5–2   April Sedalia Air Force Base 11–3 6–2   April 26 Iowa State 1–5 6–3 0–1  April 27 Iowa State 5–3 7–3 1–1  May 7 Kansas State 5–3 8–3 2–1  May 8 Kansas State 10–5 9–3 3–1  May 10 Colorado 11–5 10–3 4–1  May 11 Colorado 11–2 11–3 5–1  May 14 Oklahoma 14–1 12–3 6–1  May 15 Oklahoma 6–3 13–3 7–1  May 17 Nebraska 3–1 14–3 8–1  May 18 Nebraska 18–1 15–3 9–1  May 21 Iowa State 7–2 16–3 10–1  May 22 Iowa State 12–1 17–3 11–1 |
| Postseason |
| NCAA tournament: College World Series  Date Opponent Site/stadium Score Overall record  June 10 vs. Lafayette Rosenblatt Stadium 5–3 18–3  June 11 vs. Rollins Rosenblatt Stadium 1–4 18–4  June 12 vs. Massachusetts Rosenblatt Stadium 8–1 19–4  June 13 vs. Oklahoma A&M Rosenblatt Stadium 7–3 20–4  June 14 vs. Michigan State Rosenblatt Stadium 4–3 21–4  June 16 vs. Rollins Rosenblatt Stadium 4–1 22–4 |

## Awards and honors

Jerry Schoonmaker * First Team All-American
* All-District V
* Led NCAA with six home runs

Emil Kammer * All-District V

Bob Musgrave * All-District V

## Team Photo

## InfoBox

| 1954 Missouri Tigers baseball | |
| --- | --- |
| National champions
Big Seven Conference champions | |
| Conference | Big Eight Conference |
| Record | 22–4 (11–1 Big Seven) |
| Head coach |  |
| Home stadium | Rollins Field |
|


title: Jorge Elieser Márquez

abstract: Jorge Elieser Marquez is a Venezuelan politician. He is the minister in charge of Office of the Presidency and Monitoring of Government Management of Venezuela. He was appointed minister on 3 November 2017 by President Nicolas Maduro.

text:
# Jorge Elieser Márquez

**Jorge Elieser Marquez** (born February 20, 1971, in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan politician. He is the minister in charge of Office of the Presidency and Monitoring of Government Management of Venezuela. He was appointed minister on 3 November 2017 by President Nicolas Maduro.

## Early life and career

Marquez graduated from the National Guard Officer Training School (Efofac) in 1994. He was a brigadier general of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB). He also serves as general director of the National Commission of Telecommunications and was appointed on August 7, 2017. During his tenure as the general director, he closed two Colombian television channels in Venezuela, due to their coverage of alleged misconduct of former Venezuelan attorney general Luisa Ortega Díaz. According to a profile published on the official page of Venezolana de Televisión on November 3, 2017: "*He was aide-de-camp to President Nicolás Maduro, with whom he has worked since he was Foreign Minister of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.*"

He has also been president of the Socialist Telecommunications Corporation, appointed on 23 May 2019. On 22 May 2020, he is appointed by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Venezuela) through a controversial measure as president of the Ad hoc board of the DirecTV Venezuela company, after the withdrawal of the US company from the country.

## Controversy

On November 9, 2017, the United States Department of the Treasury included him in a list of Venezuelan officials sanctioned for allegedly being involved in "electoral fraud, censorship of the media and corruption in food distribution programs". The United States Department of the Treasury as a result of the allegations froze all the assets owned by Marquez in the United States, he was also permanently banned from entering the US.

On March 30, 2018, he was sanctioned by the Government of Panama for being considered high risk for money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. On April 15, 2019, Márquez Monsalve was sanctioned by the Government of Canada, along with 42 other officials from the government of Nicolás Maduro. According to statements by Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, the officials are being sanctioned because "*they are directly involved in activities that undermine democratic institutions.*"

In 2021, he was made subject to EU's personal sanctions making him ineligible for entry to the EU countries and unable to conduct any financial operations in these jurisdictions. He was deemed to be a close associate of Nicolas Maduro and thus a complicit contributor to the progressively deteriorating situation with human rights and democracy in Venezuela, particularly by suppressing free speech and limiting access to independent and critical television and radio stations, news agencies and websites.

1. SuNoticiero.com (2021-07-24). "Gobierno de Maduro denuncia que avión militar de Estados Unidos violó espacio aéreo venezolano". *Tenemos Noticias* (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-07-30.
2. "Jorge Elieser Márquez designado ministro del Despacho presidencial". *CONATEL* (in European Spanish). 2017-11-03. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
3. "Venezuela: Jorge Elieser Márquez Monsalve es el nuevo director de Conatel". *TeleSemana.com* (in Spanish). 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
4. "Venezuela bloquea las emisiones de dos canales de televisión colombianos". *www.notimerica.com*. Europa Press. 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
5. Cooperante, El (2017-11-03). "Jorge Márquez, el nuevo ministro de la Presidencia que duró dos meses en Conatel". *El Cooperante* (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-07-31.
6. "¿Quién es Jorge Márquez Monsalve, director "Ad Hoc" de Directv?". *La Prensa de Lara*. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
7. Korte, Gregory. "Trump administration unleashes more Venezuela sanctions following state election problems". *USA TODAY*. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
8. "Departamento del Tesoro de los EEUU sanciona a otros diez funcionarios venezolanos". *Efecto Cocuyo*. 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
9. "IDENTIFÍCALO | El perfil CRIMINAL de Jorge Elieser Márquez Monsalve: El designado por la dictadura como "director Ad-Hoc" de DirecTV". *AlbertoNews - Periodismo sin censura* (in Spanish). 2020-05-22. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
10. "¿Quién es Jorge Márquez Monsalve, director "AD HOC" de DirecTV? | Diario El Tiempo". *www.diarioeltiempo.com.ve*. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
11. "COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2023/2500 of 10 November 2023 implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2063 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Venezuela". *EUR-Lex*.


title: Cethegus barraba

abstract: Cethegus barraba is a species of mygalomorph spider in the Euagridae family. It is endemic to Australia. It was described in 1984 by Australian arachnologist Robert Raven. The specific epithet barraba refers to the type locality.

text:
# Cethegus barraba

***Cethegus barraba*** is a species of mygalomorph spider in the Euagridae family. It is endemic to Australia. It was described in 1984 by Australian arachnologist Robert Raven. The specific epithet *barraba* refers to the type locality.

## Distribution and habitat

The species occurs in north-eastern New South Wales in open forest habitats. The type locality is Barraba. It has also been recorded from Mount Kaputar National Park.

## Behaviour

The spiders are terrestrial predators which construct tubular silk shelters.

## InfoBox

| *Cethegus barraba* | |
| --- | --- |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Euagridae |
| Genus: | *Cethegus* |
| Species: | ***C. barraba*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Cethegus barraba***<br>Raven, 1984 | |
|


title: Chris Drange

abstract: Christoph David Drange is a German artist, best known for his use of digital found-objects in post-digital paintings of contemporary influencers and social media symbolism.

text:
# Chris Drange

**Christoph David Drange** (born 24 May 1983) is a German artist, best known for his use of digital found-objects in post-digital paintings of contemporary influencers and social media symbolism.

## Early life and education

Drange was born on May 24, 1983, in Köthen (Anhalt), Germany. Before moving to Berlin in 2009, he studied for two years at the International Center of Photography in New York and one year at the Art Students League of New York.

Drange enrolled at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg to pursue a bachelor's degree in fine arts in 2015, and later obtained his master's degree in painting from the same university. He studied under Anselm Reyle, known for his large-scale abstract paintings and found-object sculptures.

## Work

Drange appropriates selfies from popular influencers and transforms them into classical oil paintings, often on large canvas. As a statement on authorship and originality, Drange doesn't paint any of his artwork. Instead, he creates sketches from various digital found-objects, with a strong preference for self-portrait photographs as source material, and sends them to an oil painting factory in China, where they are painted by hand on large-scale canvas. The amalgamation of selfies, emojies and other depictions of social media symbols are central to all of Drange's works.

Drange's work has appeared in several exhibitions and magazines such as the Kunstforum International, Numéro, Weserburg, and the Benaki Museum, as well as the exhibition "Link in Bio" at MDBK Leipzig and the international group show "The artist is online" at Galerie König, curated by Anika Meier and Johann König. He has exhibited with artists such as Thomas Webb, Petra Cortright, Arvida Byström, Chloe Wise, Gretchen Andrew, Daniel Arsham and Jonas Lund.

He Travelled to Venezuela in early 2013 and documented a socialist society that retains vestiges of capitalism.

## Publications

Drange is the author of two photobooks. The first, *Hecho en Socialismo*, was published in 2015 by Kerber Verlag and covered the phenomenon of a new socialist society in Venezuela that is tied up with remnants of capitalism. *Relics*, the second, was published in 2017 by Hatje Cantz and covered the relationship between celebrities and their Instagram followers.

## Personal life

Drange lives and works in both Hamburg and Berlin.

## InfoBox

| Chris Drange | |
| --- | --- |
| Born | Christoph David Drange
(1983-05-24) May 24, 1983
Köthen (Anhalt), Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Citizenship | Germany |
| Education | * Bachelor of Fine Arts (graphic design, photography) * Master of Fine Arts (graphic design, photography, painting) |
| Alma mater | * University of Fine Arts Hamburg * Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig |
| Occupation | Contemporary artist |


title: Thomas Urswick

abstract: Sir Thomas Urswick (c.1415–1479), also referred to as Urswyk or Urswyck, was an English lawyer who became recorder of London and Chief Baron of the Exchequer. He was one of the leading citizens of London who admitted Edward IV into the city in 1471, which led to the imprisonment and death of Henry VI.

text:
# Thomas Urswick

**Sir Thomas Urswick** (c.1415–1479), also referred to as **Urswyk** or **Urswyck**, was an English lawyer who became recorder of London and Chief Baron of the Exchequer. He was one of the leading citizens of London who admitted Edward IV into the city in 1471, which led to the imprisonment and death of Henry VI.

## Biography

Little is known of Urswick's private life. He was probably from a north country family, born about 1415, the son of Sir Thomas Urswick of Badsworth, and his wife Joan. He studied law at Gray's Inn. He was elected to the office of Common Serjeant of the City of London in 1453, and then elected Recorder the following year. In 1461 he became one of the four London Members of Parliament.

In April 1471, during the Wars of the Roses, Henry VI was in London, staying in the palace of the Bishop of London. The population in general supported the King, and turned out armed to support him. A group of leading citizens with Yorkist sympathies, including Urswick, advised the crowd to go home, and allowed Edward IV to enter the city. Edward was able to seize and imprison Henry, who died not long after in the tower. Urswick then played a prominent part in the defeat of the attack by Thomas Fauconberg on London in May, and was knighted in June 1471.

In May 1471, Urswick was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer, a position he held until his death. He received a fee of 110 marks yearly, and also two robes yearly, one with skin at Christmas, and one with lining at Whitsuntide. His main country residence was at Marks Manor, near Romford, a moated house "of considerable antiquity" (since demolished). The memorial brass in Dagenham parish church shows that he had four sons and nine daughters, though when he died in 1479 only five daughters survived as heirs.


abstract: 204th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) was a Home Defence formation of the British Army during the Second World War.

text:
# 204th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home)

**204th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home)** was a Home Defence formation of the British Army during the Second World War.

## Origin

The 204th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) was formed for service in the United Kingdom on 12 October 1940 by No 4 Infantry Training Group in the West Midland Area of Home Forces. It was commanded by Brigadier G. McI. Bruce and comprised four newly raised infantry battalions from the North and Midlands of England.

## Service

The brigade moved from West Midlands Area to the Lincolnshire County Division when that was formed on 27 March 1941. The Lincolnshire County Division ceased to function on 24 November and the brigade, now re-designated the **204th Independent Infantry Brigade** was transferred to the Durham and North Riding Coastal Area. On 1 September 1942, the Brigade headquarters was re-designated 185th Infantry Brigade and its units transferred to other formations. 7th South Lancashires, 12th Foresters and 7th Leicesters went to India while 8th South Lancashires was disbanded.

## Order of battle

The composition of the 204th Brigade was as follows:

Attached when an Independent Brigade.

## Insignia

The brigade's cloth shoulder badge was a triangle composed of three smaller conjoined triangles in the Facing colours of its three senior units: buff (S. Lancashires), pearl grey (Leicesters) and Lincoln green (Foresters), the whole being edged in blue (KSLI).

* Cole, Howard (1973). *Formation Badges of World War 2 Britain, Commonwealth and Empire*. London: Arms and Armour Press.
* Joslen, H. F. (2003) \[1960\]. *Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945*. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
* Don Neal, *Guns and Bugles: The Story of the 6th Bn KSLI – 181st Field Regiment RA 1940–1946*, Studley: Brewin, 2001, ISBN 1-85858-192-3.

## Online sources

## InfoBox

| 204th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home)<br>204th Independent Infantry Brigade | |
| --- | --- |
| Insignia of the 204th Independent Infantry Brigade | |
| Active | 12 October 1940-1 September 1942 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Infantry Brigade |
| Role | Home Defence |


title: Sokołów Dolny

abstract: Sokołów Dolny is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sobków, within Jędrzejów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately 5 kilometres (3 mi) north of Sobków, 15 km (9 mi) north-east of Jędrzejów, and 22 km (14 mi) south-west of the regional capital Kielce.

text:
# Sokołów Dolny

**Sokołów Dolny** \[sɔˈkɔwuf ˈdɔlnɨ\] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sobków, within Jędrzejów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately 5 kilometres (3 mi) north of Sobków, 15 km (9 mi) north-east of Jędrzejów, and 22 km (14 mi) south-west of the regional capital Kielce.

## InfoBox

| Sokołów Dolny | |
| --- | --- |
| Village | |
| Sokołów Dolny | |
| Coordinates: 50°44′N 20°26′E / 50.733°N 20.433°E / 50.733; 20.433 | |
| Country | Poland |
| Voivodeship | Świętokrzyskie |
| County | Jędrzejów |
| Gmina | Sobków |


title: Blue Entertainment

abstract: Blue Entertainment AG is a Swiss media company owned by telecommunication provider Swisscom. The company specialised in film and sport programming rights for television. Blue Entertainment's businesses include Blue+, which provides a group of premium-tier television channels; Blue Cinema, a chain of film theatres; and Plazavista Entertainment, a home entertainment distributor.

text:
# Blue Entertainment

**Blue Entertainment AG** (formerly known as **CT Cinetrade AG**) is a Swiss media company owned by telecommunication provider Swisscom. The company specialised in film and sport programming rights for television.

Blue Entertainment's businesses include Blue+ (formerly known as Teleclub), which provides a group of premium-tier television channels; Blue Cinema (formerly known as Kitag Cinemas), a chain of film theatres; and Plazavista Entertainment, a home entertainment distributor.

## History

Stephan Sager founded CT Cinetrade AG in 1989.

In 2005, Swisscom acquired a minority share in CT Cinetrade. In May 2013, Swisscom increased its share in CT Cinetrade from 49% to 75%.

In November 2017, Swisscom acquired the remaining share of 25% in CT Cinetrade from its founder Stephan Sager.

## Controversies

In 2016, the Competition Commission of Switzerland fined Swisscom and what was known as Cinetrade back then an amount of 71.8 million Swiss francs "for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the provision of national football and ice-hockey coverage between 2002 and 2012". In June 2022, the Federal Administrative Court confirmed the fine. Swisscom argued that it was expanding sport offerings beyond what were offered by rivals.


title: Ronald Tiersky

abstract: Ronald Tiersky is the Joseph B. Eastman Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts.

text:
# Ronald Tiersky

**Ronald Tiersky** is the Joseph B. Eastman Professor of Political Science *Emeritus* at Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts.

## Career

Tiersky taught political science and European Studies at Amherst for four decades. During 1980-82 he was Director of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies center in Bologna, Italy. He was associated over the years with the Paris Centre d’études des relations internationales (CERI).

Tiersky is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and he is the founding editor and general editor of the "Europe Today" series at Rowman & Littlefield publishers.

## Early life and education

Raised in Chicago, IL, Tiersky did his B.A. at the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) in history. He did his M.A. (1971) and Ph, D. (1972), in Political Science, at Columbia University.

He lived in Paris, France 1969-1973 researching his dissertation and first book, on the French Communist Party, where his mentors were Profs. Raymond Aron, Pierre Hassner, and Annie Kriegel.

## Bibliography

Tiersky has written widely on European politics, American foreign policy and international politics.

**Books authored**

**Books edited**

His articles and editorials have appeared in *Foreign Affairs*, *The New York Times*, the *New York Review of Books*, the *International Herald Tribune*, *Le Monde*, *Le Point*, *Libération*, and *RealClearWorld*.


title: Reginald Heber Howe, Jr.

abstract: Reginald Heber Howe, Jr. was an American naturalist and preparatory school science teacher. His research specialized in the lichens, birds, and dragonflies. He founded the Belmont Hill School and served as its first headmaster.

text:
# Reginald Heber Howe, Jr.

**Reginald Heber Howe, Jr.** (April 10, 1875 – 28 January 1932) was an American naturalist and preparatory school science teacher. His research specialized in the lichens, birds, and dragonflies. He founded the Belmont Hill School and served as its first headmaster.

## Life and career

Reginald Heber Howe, Jr., born on April 10, 1875, in Quincy, Massachusetts, was the second child of a prominent Episcopalian minister of the same name. Reginald Heber Howe senior (1846–1924) became the rector of the Church of Our Saviour in Brookline in 1877. The early life of Reginald Heber Howe, Jr., was predominantly spent in the Longwood area of Brookline, known for its grand mansions. Howe completed his education at the Noble and Greenough Preparatory School in Boston and later worked for three years at the Plymouth Cordage Company to fund his college education. He enrolled at Harvard University in 1897, graduating from the Lawrence Scientific School in 1901.

During his academic years, Howe demonstrated a prolific interest in the natural sciences, publishing several articles. His early works included studies on North American wood frogs, subspecies of birds, a mammal species, and the breeding behavior of the American robin in eastern Massachusetts. Additionally, Howe authored or co-authored four books on ornithology, and had a deep interest in biogeography.

Following his graduation in 1901, Howe began a teaching career at Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, a newly established preparatory school for boys. Over the next two decades, he contributed significantly to the school, teaching science, and coaching crew. In 1921, he coached the freshman rowing team; this went so well that he was asked to coach both the freshman and varsity crews the following year. He founded the Thoreau Museum of Natural History. During this period, Howe also became an authority on North American lichens, co-authoring a field guide with his wife.

Howe's academic pursuits led him to the Sorbonne (a name commonly used to refer to the historic University of Paris in Paris), where he obtained a Docteur de l'Université degree in natural science. This achievement was based on his extensive work on lichens, completed during a sabbatical from July 1911 to September 1912. In this excursion, Howe and his wide took a boat to Newfoundland and collected lichens there for month, before sailing for England. Between 1911 and 1914 he edited the exsiccata series *Lichenes Novae Angliae*. Howe's interest in entomology, particularly dragonflies, was sparked around 1913, following a discovery on the Middlesex School grounds. His entomological research continued during a second sabbatical at Harvard University's Entomological Laboratory from 1921 to 1923. By 1926 he had published more than 300 pages of research in scientific journals, with a particular emphasis on lichens and dragonflies.

A dispute over naming an undescribed dragonfly species between Howe and Edward Bruce Williamson, a dragonfly authority, highlights the complexities and tensions within the scientific community regarding naming rights and historical correctness. Despite Howe's assertion that the new species had already been named in the literature, albeit not formally described, Williamson proceeded to describe and name the species as *Williamsonia fletcheri* (the ebony boghaunter). The saga, revealed through archived correspondence, involved other prominent odonatologists and exposed the personality clashes and competing interests among specialists in the field. Williamson eventually prevailed, so now the species has the name he proposed, and the author citation "Williamson".

In his later years, Howe founded the Belmont Hill School and served as its first headmaster. He emphasized the importance of athletics in education and had scholarly publications to that effect. In the "Story of Belmont Hill", he is described as "a man of broad experience, unbounded energy, vigorous imagination, sound judgement, and a man who genuinely liked people—boys, teachers, parents and anyone who had anything to do with the school". In this book, a colleague answers the question: "What was Dr. Howe like?"

> He was not very tall, about five feet eight, broad-shouldered, and well coordinated – a good athletic type for his size and weight. He had been quite bald since his college years, so that you noticed his ears. What really drew your attention, however, were his eyes as he looked at you through his gold-rimmed glasses – a glance that was at once keen but friendly. As he sat at his desk, clad in his sportscoat, knickerbockers and golf stockings of the period, he would rub his mustache as he listened patiently or spoke – always in moderate tones – with boy or master.

Howe's life came to an abrupt end due to a heart attack on January 28, 1932, at the age of 56. In his obituary, the Boston Society of Natural History lauded him as a respected teacher and naturalist.

The lichen *Vermilacinia howei* was named in his honor in 1996, for his contributions to lichenology and to acknowledge his efforts in providing images of the type specimens in his revision of the genus *Ramalina*.

## Selected publications

* Howe, R. H. Jr. (1896). *Every Bird: A Guide to the Identification of the Birds of Woodland, Beach and Ocean*. Boston, MA: Bradlee Whidden.
* (1906). "Lichens of Mount Monadnock, New Hampshire". *The American Naturalist*. **40** (477): 661–665. doi:10.1086/278666. JSTOR 2454851.
* (1912). "A Monograph of the North American Usneaceae". *Missouri Botanical Garden Annual Report*. **1912**: 133–146. doi:10.2307/2400036. JSTOR 2400036.
* (1914). *A Monograph of the Usneaceae of the United States and Canada. 2 parts*. Memoirs of the Thoreau Museum of Natural History. Vol. 25. Concord, MA: Thoreau Museum of Natural History.
* (1921). "The distribution of New England Odonata". *Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History*. **36** (2): 105–133.
* (1925). "Athletic influence". *In The Education of the Modern Boy*. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co. pp. 139–196.

## Further reading

* Howe, R.H. Jr. (1926). "Reginald Heber Howe. Harvard Class of 1901 25th reunion". *Harvard Alumni Bulletin*. **28**: 333–335.
* Johnson, C.W. (1932). "Reginald Heber Howe. Portrait, list of major publications". *Bulletin of the Boston Museum of Natural History*. **63**: 29–30.
* Howe, R.O. (1998). *Memories of My Father and the First Ten Years of the Belmont Hill School. 75th Anniversary of the Belmont Hills School*. Belmont, MA: Belmont Hill School.

### Works cited

## InfoBox

| Reginald Heber Howe, Jr. | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Born | (1875-04-10)10 April 1875<br>Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Died | 28 January 1932(1932-01-28) (aged 56) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| **Scientific career** | |
| Institutions | Middlesex School; Belmont Hill School |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | R.Howe |
|  | |