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Battle of the Bulge

(Encyclopedia)Battle of the Bulge, popular name in World War II for the German counterattack in the Ardennes, Dec., 1944–Jan., 1945. More than a million men fought in what is also known as the Battle of the Ard...

Poland, partitions of

(Encyclopedia)Poland, partitions of. The basic causes leading to the three successive partitions (1772, 1793, 1795) that eliminated Poland from the map were the decay and the internal disunity of Poland and the eme...

John Maurice of Nassau

(Encyclopedia)John Maurice of Nassau, 1604–79, Dutch general and colonial administrator, a prince of the house of Nassau-Siegen; grandnephew of William the Silent. The Dutch West India Company appointed him (1636...

guerrilla warfare

(Encyclopedia)guerrilla warfare gərĭlˈə [key] [Span.,=little war], fighting by groups of irregular troops (guerrillas) within areas occupied by the enemy. When guerrillas obey the laws of conventional warfare t...

Louis XIV, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis XIV, 1638–1715, king of France (1643–1715), son and successor of King Louis XIII. Although he had a series of mistresses, Louis XIV finally came under the influence of Mme de Maintenon, wh...

Alexander, prince of Serbia

(Encyclopedia)Alexander (Alexander Karadjordjević) kărəjôrˈjəvĭch [key], 1806–85, prince of Serbia (1842–58), son of Karageorge (Karadjordje). He was elected to succeed the deposed Michael of Serbia. Wea...

Charles IX, king of Sweden

(Encyclopedia)Charles IX, 1550–1611, king of Sweden (1604–11), youngest son of Gustavus I. He was duke of Södermanland, Närke, and Värmland before his accession. During the reign of his brother, John III (15...

Red Cross

(Encyclopedia)Red Cross, international organization concerned with the alleviation of human suffering and the promotion of public health; the world-recognized symbols of mercy and absolute neutrality are the Red Cr...

Charles IV, king of Spain

(Encyclopedia)Charles IV, 1748–1819, king of Spain (1788–1808), second son of Charles III, whom he succeeded in place of his imbecile older brother. Unlike his father, Charles IV was an ineffective ruler and in...

John of Gaunt

(Encyclopedia)John of Gaunt [Mid. Eng. Gaunt=Ghent, his birthplace], 1340–99, duke of Lancaster; fourth son of Edward III of England. He married (1359) Blanche, heiress of Lancaster, and through her became earl (...