Essay on Great Britain

Essay on Great Britain Essay on Great Britain This is a free sample essay on Britain: If you choose to travel across half the world, and find yourself in the UK, you truly will be in a land of paradox. A rigid social system is contradicted by incredible social diversity, where steet signs are written in Urdu, Mandarin, Welsh. This traditional country is at the centrepiece of the European Union, yet doesnt subscribe to its currency, the Ecu. The food to feed the family is all meat-and-potato, yet the most popular take away food is the Curry, closely follwed by Asian dishes, and then Pizza. The Royal Family jostles for position with the New Royals, Posh and Becks, Stella and John McCartney, Madonna and Guy When travelling through the UK, you are actually visiting a Principality, Wales (Prince-Ruled Kingdom) two Realms (Scotland and England) and a Province, Northern Ireland. When travelling through, you will see that drastically different dialects can exist in communities spaced just a few miles apart (oh! By the way, petrol is sold in Litres, but distances are still measured in miles!) They say an Englishmans home is his castle, and if you ever do get invited in to someones home (which doesnt happen very often!) be sure to accept if you are lucky, you will find a cosy home full of books, antiques, history and curios. To meet the true Brit, make sure you visit a country Pub, order a Bitter (Britains dark-beer version of lager) and sit by the fire or at the bar. Its hard to strike up a conversation with people sometimes (the traditional British reserve!) but you will learn much about social mores and structures just by watching and listening. Locally-brewed bitters and beers have their own, distinctive tastes, and the London Beer Festival brings all of these together in three riotous, fun-filled days. Nothing is ever very far away in the UK. You can drive from the top to the bottom in 6 hours. This means that in the morning, you could enjoy a Full English Breakfast in Cornwall, have a Cream tea in Somerset for elevenses (morning snack), have a Stottie (Large sandwich) in Newcastle for lunch, and feast on Haggis and Scotch in Scotland by Dinnertime! You can get a ferry to Ireland from Wales, (2 hours) or take the tunnel (20 mins) or ferry, (2hours) to France and be on mainland Europe in a flash. If you go to Britain, be sure to take time to discover ancient rituals, such as Morris Dancing in Somerset, Cheese-Rolling Chasing in Gloucestershire, Beefeater Lore at the Tower of London, Longest-Day Equinox at Stonehenge and Eisteddfods in Wales. Village Fetes (annual get-togethers at the local village hall) are usually hilarious, with races and painting competitions for the kids, cake-making competitions for the wives, and welly-wanging contests for the men (throwing Gum boots its harder than it sounds). Going to Britain is to immerse yourself in the past, whilst keepingone eye on the future. Fashion, science and industry all get a forward shove in the UK, but we are still very proud of our past got none. ______________ is a professional essay writing service which can provide high school, college and university students with 100% original custom written essays, research papers, term papers, dissertations, courseworks, homeworks, book reviews, book reports, lab reports, projects, presentations and other assignments of top quality. More than 700 professional Ph.D. and Master’s academic writers. Feel free to order a custom written essay on Britain from our professional essay writing service.

World War II - Battle of Savo Island

World War II - Battle of Savo Island Battle of Savo Island - Conflict Dates: The Battle of Savo Island was fought August 8-9, 1942, during World War II (1939-1945). Fleets Commanders Allies Rear Admiral Richmond K. TurnerRear Admiral Victor Crutchley6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 15 destroyers Japanese Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa5 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 1 destroyer Battle of Savo Island - Background: Moving to the offensive after the victory at Midway in June 1942, Allied forces targeted Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Situated at the eastern end of the island chain, Guadalcanal had been occupied by a small Japanese force which was constructing an airfield. From the island, the Japanese would be able to threaten Allied supply lines to Australia. As a result, Allied forces under the direction of Vice Admiral Frank J. Fletcher arrived in the area and troops began landing on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tanambogo on August 7. While Fletchers carrier task force covered the landings, the amphibious force was directed by Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner. Included in his command was a screening force of eight cruisers, fifteen destroyers, and five minesweepers led by British Rear Admiral Victor Crutchley. Though the landings caught the Japanese by surprise, they countered with several air raids on August 7 and 8. These were largely defeated by Fletchers carrier aircraft, though they did set afire the transport George F. Elliott. Having sustained losses in these engagements and concerned about fuel levels, Fletcher informed Turner that he would be leaving the area late on August 8 to resupply. Unable to remain in the area without cover, Turner decided to continue unloading supplies at Guadalcanal through the night before withdrawing on August 9. On the evening of August 8, Turner called a meeting with Crutchley and Marine Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift to discuss the withdrawal. In leaving for the meeting, Crutchley departed the screening force aboard the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia without informing his command of his absence. The Japanese Response: Responsibility for responding to the invasion fell to Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa who led the newly-formed Eighth Fleet based at Rabaul. Flying his flag from the heavy cruiser Chokai, he departed with the light cruisers Tenryu and Yubari, as well as a destroyer with the goal of attacking the Allied transports on the night of August 8/9. Proceeding southeast, he was soon joined by Rear Admiral Aritomo Gotos Cruiser Division 6 which consisted of the heavy cruisers Aoba, Furutaka, Kako, and Kinugasa. It was Mikawas plan to move along the east coast of Bougainville before advancing down The Slot to Guadalcanal (Map). Moving through the St. George Channel, Mikawas ships were spotted by the submarine USS S-38. Later in the morning, they were located by Australian scout aircraft which radioed sighting reports. These failed to reach the Allied fleet until evening and even then were inaccurate as they reported the enemy formation included seaplane tenders. As he moved southeast, Mikawa launched floatplanes which provided him with a fairly accurate picture of the Allied dispositions. With this information, he informed his captains that they would approach south of Savo Island, attack, and then withdraw to the north of the island. Allied Dispositions: Before departing for the meeting with Turner, Crutchley deployed his force to cover the channels north and south of Savo Island. The southern approach was guarded by the heavy cruisers USS Chicago and HMAS Canberra along with the destroyers USS Bagley and USS Patterson. The northern channel was protected by the heavy cruisers USS Vincennes, USS Quincy, and USS Astoria along with the destroyers USS Helm and USS Wilson steaming in a square patrol pattern. As an early warning force, the radar-equipped destroyers USS Ralph Talbot and USS Blue were positioned to the west of Savo (Map). The Japanese Strike: After two days of constant action, the tired crews of the Allied ships were at Condition II which meant that half were on duty while half rested. In addition, several of the cruiser captains were also asleep. Approaching Guadalcanal after dark, Mikawa again launched floatplanes to scout the enemy and to drop flares during the upcoming fight. Closing in a single file line, his ships successfully passed between Blue and Ralph Talbot whose radars were hampered by the nearby land masses. Around 1:35 AM on August 9, Mikawa spotted the ships of the southern force silhouetted by the fires from the burning George F. Elliot. Though spotting the northern force, Mikawa commenced attacking the southern force with torpedoes around 1:38. Five minutes later, Patterson was the first Allied ship to spot the enemy and immediately went into action. As it did so, both Chicago and Canberra were illuminated by aerial flares. The latter ship attempted to attack, but quickly came under heavy fire and was put out of action, listing and on fire. At 1:47, as Captain Howard Bode was attempting to get Chicago into the fight, the ship was hit in the bow by a torpedo. Rather than assert control, Bode steamed west for forty minutes and left the fight (Map). Defeat of the Northern Force: Moving through the southern passage, Mikawa turned north to engage the other Allied ships. In doing so, Tenryu, Yubari, and Furutaka took a more westerly course than the rest of the fleet. As a result, the Allied northern force was soon bracketed by the enemy. Though firing had been observed to the south, the northern ships were unsure of the situation and were slow to go to general quarters. At 1:44, the Japanese began launching torpedoes at the American cruisers and six minutes later illuminated them with searchlights. Astoria came into action, but was hit hard by fire from Chokai which disabled its engines. Drifting to a halt, the cruiser was soon on fire, but managed to inflict moderate damage on Chokai. Quincy was slower to enter the fray and was soon caught in a crossfire between the two Japanese columns. Though one of its salvos hit Chokai, nearly killing Mikawa, the cruiser was soon on fire from Japanese shells and three torpedo hits. Burning, Quincy sank at 2:38. Vincennes was hesitant to enter the fight for fear of friendly fire. When it did, it quickly took two torpedo hits and became the focus of Japanese fire. Taking over 70 hits and a third torpedo, Vincennes sank at 2:50. At 2:16, Mikawa met with his staff about pressing the battle to attack the Guadalcanal anchorage. As their ships were scattered and low on ammunition, it was decided to withdraw back to Rabaul. In addition, he believed that the American carriers were still in the area. As he lacked air cover, it was necessary for him to clear the area before daylight. Departing, his ships inflicted damage on Ralph Talbot as they moved northwest. Aftermath of Savo Island: The first of a series of naval battles around Guadalcanal, the defeat at Savo Island saw the Allies lose four heavy cruisers and suffer 1,077 killed. In addition, Chicago and three destroyers were damaged. Japanese losses were a light 58 killed with three heavy cruisers damaged. Despite the severity of the defeat, the Allied ships did succeed in preventing Mikawa from striking the transports in the anchorage. Had Mikawa pressed his advantage, it would have severely hampered Allied efforts to resupply and reinforce the island later in the campaign. The US Navy later commissioned the Hepburn Investigation to look into the defeat. Of those involved, only Bode was severely criticized. Selected Sources World War II Pacific: Battle of Savo IslandOpening Salvos: The Battle of Savo Island