document_title: Western Front (World War I)

question_text: where was the initial german offensive on world war i western front stopped in september 1914

text: Western Front (World War I)

text: War plans – Battle of the Frontiers[edit]

text: At the outbreak of the First World War, the German Army, with seven field armies in the west and one in the east, executed a modified version of the Schlieffen Plan, moving quickly through neutral Belgium to attack France, and then turning southwards to encircle the French Army and trap it on the German border.[9] The Western Front was the place where the most powerful military forces in Europe, the German and French armies, met and where the war was decided.[10] Belgian neutrality had been guaranteed by Britain under the Treaty of London, 1839; this caused Britain to join the war at the expiration of its ultimatum at 11 pm GMT on 4 August. Armies under German generals Alexander von Kluck and Karl von Bülow attacked Belgium on 4 August 1914. Luxembourg had been occupied without opposition on 2 August. The first battle in Belgium was the Siege of Liège, which lasted from 5–16 August. Liège was well fortified and surprised the German Army under Bülow with its level of resistance. German heavy artillery was able to demolish the main forts within a few days.[11] Following the fall of Liège, most of the Belgian field army retreated to Antwerp, leaving the garrison of Namur isolated, with the Belgian capital, Brussels, falling to the Germans on 20 August. Although the German army bypassed Antwerp, it remained a threat to their flank. Another siege followed at Namur, lasting from about 20–23 August.[12]

text: The French deployed five armies on the frontier. The French Plan XVII was intended to bring about the capture of Alsace-Lorraine.[13] On 7 August, the VII Corps attacked Alsace to capture Mulhouse and Colmar. The main offensive was launched on 14 August with the First and Second Armies attacking toward Sarrebourg-Morhange in Lorraine.[14] In keeping with the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans withdrew slowly while inflicting severe losses upon the French. The French Third and Fourth Armies advanced toward the Saar River and attempted to capture Saarburg, attacking Briey and Neufchateau but were repulsed.[15] The French VII Corps captured Mulhouse after a brief engagement on 7 August but German reserve forces engaged them in the Battle of Mulhouse and forced a French retreat.[16]

text: The German Army swept through Belgium, executing civilians and razing villages. The application of "collective responsibility" against a civilian population further galvanised the allies. Newspapers condemned the German invasion, violence against civilians and destruction of property, which became known as the "Rape of Belgium".[17][b] After marching through Belgium, Luxembourg and the Ardennes, the Germans advanced into northern France in late August, where they met the French Army, under Joseph Joffre, and the divisions of the British Expeditionary Force under Field Marshal Sir John French. A series of engagements known as the Battle of the Frontiers ensued, which included the Battle of Charleroi and the Battle of Mons. In the former battle the French Fifth Army was almost destroyed by the German 2nd and 3rd Armies and the latter delayed the German advance by a day. A general Allied retreat followed, resulting in more clashes at the Battle of Le Cateau, the Siege of Maubeuge and the Battle of St. Quentin (also called the First Battle of Guise).[19]

text: First Battle of the Marne[edit]

text: The German Army came within 70 km (43 mi) of Paris but at the First Battle of the Marne (6–12 September), French and British troops were able to force a German retreat by exploiting a gap which appeared between the 1st and 2nd Armies, ending the German advance into France.[20] The German Army retreated north of the Aisne River and dug in there, establishing the beginnings of a static western front that was to last for the next three years. Following this German retirement, the opposing forces made reciprocal outflanking manoeuvres, known as the Race for the Sea and quickly extended their trench systems from the Swiss frontier to the North Sea.[21] The territory occupied by Germany held 64 percent of French pig-iron production, 24 percent of its steel manufacturing and 40 percent of the coal industry – dealing a serious blow to French industry.[22]

text: On the Entente side (those countries opposing the German alliance), the final lines were occupied with the armies of each nation defending a part of the front. From the coast in the north, the primary forces were from Belgium, the British Empire and then France. Following the Battle of the Yser in October, the Belgian army controlled a 35 km (22 mi) length of West Flanders along the coast, known as the Yser Front, along the Yser river and the Yperlee canal, from Nieuwpoort to Boesinghe.[23] Meanwhile, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) occupied a position on the flank, having previous occupied a more central position.[24]

text: First Battle of Ypres[edit]

text: From 19 October until 22 November, the German forces made their final breakthrough attempt of 1914 during the First Battle of Ypres, which ended in a mutually-costly stalemate.[25] After the battle, Erich von Falkenhayn judged that it was no longer possible for Germany to win the war by purely military means and on 18 November 1914 he called for a diplomatic solution. The Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg, commanding Ober Ost (Eastern Front high command), and Hindenburg's deputy, Erich Ludendorff, continued to believe that victory was achievable through decisive battles. During the Lodz offensive in Poland (11–25 November), Falkenhayn hoped that the Russians would be made amenable to peace overtures. In his discussions with Bethmann-Hollweg, Falkenhayn viewed Germany and Russia as having no insoluble conflict and that the real enemies of Germany were France and Britain. A peace with only a few annexations of territory also seemed possible with France and that with Russia and France out of the war by negotiated settlements, Germany could concentrate on Britain and fight a long war with the resources of Europe at its disposal. Hindenburg and Ludendorff continued to believe that Russia could be defeated by a series of battles which cumulatively would have a decisive effect, after which Germany could finish off France and Britain.[26]

text: Between the coast and the Vosges was a westward bulge in the trench line, named the Noyon salient for the captured French town at the maximum point of advance near Compiègne. Joffre's plan for 1915 was to attack the salient on both flanks to cut it off.[27] The Fourth Army had attacked in Champagne from 20 December 1914 – 17 March 1915 but the French were not able to attack in Artois at the same time. The Tenth Army formed the northern attack force and was to attack eastwards into the Douai plain across a 16-kilometre (9.9 mi) front between Loos and Arras.[28] On 10 March, as part of the larger offensive in the Artois region, the British Army fought the Battle of Neuve Chapelle to capture Aubers Ridge. The assault was made by four divisions along a 2 mi (3.2 km) front. Preceded by a surprise bombardment lasting only 35 minutes, the initial assault made rapid progress and the village was captured within four hours. The advance then slowed because of supply and communication difficulties. The Germans brought up reserves and counter-attacked, forestalling the attempt to capture the ridge. Since the British had used about one-third of their supply of artillery ammunition, General Sir John French blamed the failure on the shortage of ammunition, despite the early success.[29][30]

text: Gas warfare[edit]

text: All sides had signed the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, which prohibited the use of chemical weapons in warfare. In 1914, there had been small-scale attempts by both the French and Germans to use various tear gases, which were not strictly prohibited by the early treaties but which were also ineffective.[31] The first use of more lethal chemical weapons was against the French near the Belgian town of Ypres.[32]

text: Despite the German plans to maintain the stalemate with the French and British, Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg, commander of the 4th Army planned an offensive at Ypres, site of the First Battle of Ypres in November 1914. The Second Battle of Ypres, April 1915, was intended to divert attention from offensives in the Eastern Front and disrupt Franco-British planning. After a two-day bombardment, the Germans released a cloud of 168 long tons (171 t) of chlorine gas onto the battlefield. Though primarily a powerful irritant, it can asphyxiate in high concentrations or prolonged exposure. Being heavier than air, the gas crept across no man's land and drifted into the French trenches.[33] The green-yellow cloud started killing some defenders and those in the rear fled in panic, creating an undefended 3.7-mile (6 km) gap in the Allied line. The Germans were unprepared for the level of their success and lacked sufficient reserves to exploit the opening. Canadian troops on the right drew back their left flank and halted the German advance.[34] The gas attack was repeated two days later and caused a 3.1 mi (5 km) withdrawal of the Franco-British line but the opportunity had been lost.[35]

text: The success of this attack would not be repeated, as the Allies countered by introducing gas masks and other countermeasures. An example of the success of these measures came a year later, on 27 April in the Gas attacks at Hulluch 40 km (25 mi) to the south of Ypres, where the 16th (Irish) Division withstood several German gas attacks.[36] The British retaliated, developing their own chlorine gas and using it at the Battle of Loos in September 1915. Fickle winds and inexperience led to more British casualties from the gas than German.[37] French, British and German forces all escalated the use of gas attacks through the rest of the war, developing the more deadly phosgene gas in 1915, then the infamous mustard gas in 1917, which could linger for days and could kill slowly and painfully. Countermeasures also improved and the stalemate continued.[38]

text: Air warfare[edit]

text: Specialised aeroplanes for aerial combat were introduced in 1915. Aircraft were already in use for scouting and on 1 April, the French pilot Roland Garros became the first to shoot down an enemy aircraft by using a machine-gun that shot forward through the propeller blades. This was achieved by crudely reinforcing the blades to deflect bullets.[39] Several weeks later Garros force-landed behind German lines. His aeroplane was captured and sent to Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker, who soon produced a significant improvement, the interrupter gear, in which the machine gun is synchronised with the propeller so it fires in the intervals when the blades of the propeller are out of the line of fire. This advance was quickly ushered into service, in the Fokker E.I (Eindecker, or monoplane, Mark 1), the first single seat fighter aircraft to combine a reasonable maximum speed with an effective armament. Max Immelmann scored the first confirmed kill in an Eindecker on 1 August.[40] Both sides developed improved weapons, engines, airframes and materials, until the end of the war. It also inaugurated the cult of the ace, the most famous being Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron). Contrary to the myth, anti-aircraft fire claimed more kills than fighters.[41]

text: Spring offensive[edit]

text: The final Entente offensive of the spring was the Second Battle of Artois, an offensive to capture Vimy Ridge and advance into the Douai plain. The French Tenth Army attacked on 9 May after a six-day bombardment and advanced 5 kilometres (3 mi) to capture Vimy Ridge. German reinforcements counter-attacked and pushed the French back towards their starting points because French reserves had been held back and the success of the attack had come as a surprise. By 15 May the advance had been stopped, although the fighting continued until 18 June.[42] In May the German Army captured a French document at La Ville-aux-Bois describing a new system of defence. Rather than relying on a heavily fortified front line, the defence was to be arranged in a series of echelons. The front line would be a thinly manned series of outposts, reinforced by a series of strongpoints and a sheltered reserve. If a slope was available, troops were deployed along the rear side for protection. The defence became fully integrated with command of artillery at the divisional level. Members of the German high command viewed this new scheme with some favour and it later became the basis of an elastic defence in depth doctrine against Entente attacks.[43][44]

text: During the autumn of 1915, the "Fokker Scourge" began to have an effect on the battlefront as Allied reconnaissance aircraft were nearly driven from the skies. These reconnaissance planes were used to direct gunnery and photograph enemy fortifications but now the Allies were nearly blinded by German fighters.[45] However, the impact of German air superiority was diminished by their primarily defensive doctrine in which they tended to remain over their own lines, rather than fighting over Allied held territory.[46]

text: Autumn offensive[edit]

text: In September 1915 the Entente allies launched another offensive, with the French Third Battle of Artois, Second Battle of Champagne and the British at Loos. The French had spent the summer preparing for this action, with the British assuming control of more of the front to release French troops for the attack. The bombardment, which had been carefully targeted by means of aerial photography,[47] began on 22 September. The main French assault was launched on 25 September and, at first, made good progress in spite of surviving wire entanglements and machine gun posts. Rather than retreating, the Germans adopted a new defence-in-depth scheme that consisted of a series of defensive zones and positions with a depth of up to 8.0 km (5 mi).[48]

text: On 25 September, the British began the Battle of Loos, part of the Third Battle of Artois, which was meant to supplement the larger Champagne attack. The attack was preceded by a four-day artillery bombardment of 250,000 shells and a release of 5,100 cylinders of chlorine gas.[49][50] The attack involved two corps in the main assault and two corps performing diversionary attacks at Ypres. The British suffered heavy losses, especially due to machine gun fire during the attack and made only limited gains before they ran out of shells. A renewal of the attack on 13 October fared little better.[51] In December, French was replaced by General Douglas Haig as commander of the British forces.[52]

text: Falkenhayn believed that a breakthrough might no longer be possible and instead focused on forcing a French defeat by inflicting massive casualties.[53] His new goal was to "bleed France white".[54] As such, he adopted two new strategies. The first was the use of unrestricted submarine warfare to cut off Allied supplies arriving from overseas.[55] The second would be attacks against the French army intended to inflict maximum casualties; Falkenhayn planned to attack a position from which the French could not retreat, for reasons of strategy and national pride and thus trap the French. The town of Verdun was chosen for this because it was an important stronghold, surrounded by a ring of forts, that lay near the German lines and because it guarded the direct route to Paris.[56]

text: Falkenhayn limited the size of the front to 5–6 kilometres (3–4 mi) to concentrate artillery firepower and to prevent a breakthrough from a counter-offensive. He also kept tight control of the main reserve, feeding in just enough troops to keep the battle going.[57] In preparation for their attack, the Germans had amassed a concentration of aircraft near the fortress. In the opening phase, they swept the air space of French aircraft, which allowed German artillery-observation aircraft and bombers to operate without interference. In May, the French countered by deploying escadrilles de chasse with superior Nieuport fighters and the air over Verdun turned into a battlefield as both sides fought for air superiority.[58]

text: Battle of Verdun[edit]

text: The Battle of Verdun began on 21 February 1916 after a nine-day delay due to snow and blizzards. After a massive eight-hour artillery bombardment, the Germans did not expect much resistance as they slowly advanced on Verdun and its forts.[59] Sporadic French resistance was encountered. The Germans took Fort Douaumont and then reinforcements halted the German advance by 28 February.[60]

text: The Germans turned their focus to Le Mort Homme on the west bank of the Meuse which blocked the route to French artillery emplacements, from which the French fired across the river. After some of the most intense fighting of the campaign, the hill was taken by the Germans in late May. After a change in French command at Verdun from the defensive-minded Philippe Pétain to the offensive-minded Robert Nivelle, the French attempted to re-capture Fort Douaumont on 22 May but were easily repulsed. The Germans captured Fort Vaux on 7 June and with the aid of diphosgene gas, came within 1 kilometre (1,100 yd) of the last ridge before Verdun before being contained on 23 June.[61]

text: Over the summer, the French slowly advanced. With the development of the rolling barrage, the French recaptured Fort Vaux in November and by December 1916 they had pushed the Germans back 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi) from Fort Douaumont, in the process rotating 42 divisions through the battle. The Battle of Verdun—also known as the 'Mincing Machine of Verdun' or 'Meuse Mill'[62]—became a symbol of French determination and self-sacrifice.[63]

text: Battle of the Somme[edit]

text: In the spring, Allied commanders had been concerned about the ability of the French Army to withstand the enormous losses at Verdun. The original plans for an attack around the River Somme were modified to let the British make the main effort. This would serve to relieve pressure on the French, as well as the Russians who had also suffered great losses. On 1 July, after a week of heavy rain, British divisions in Picardy began the Battle of the Somme with the Battle of Albert, supported by five French divisions on their right flank. The attack had been preceded by seven days of heavy artillery bombardment. The experienced French forces were successful in advancing but the British artillery cover had neither blasted away barbed wire, nor destroyed German trenches as effectively as was planned. They suffered the greatest number of casualties (killed, wounded and missing) in a single day in the history of the British Army, about 57,000.[64]

text: The Verdun lesson learnt, the Allies' tactical aim became the achievement of air superiority and until September, German aircraft were swept from the skies over the Somme. The success of the Allied air offensive caused a reorganisation of the German air arm and both sides began using large formations of aircraft rather than relying on individual combat.[65] After regrouping, the battle continued throughout July and August, with some success for the British despite the reinforcement of the German lines. By August, General Haig had concluded that a breakthrough was unlikely and instead, switched tactics to a series of small unit actions.[66] The effect was to straighten out the front line, which was thought necessary in preparation for a massive artillery bombardment with a major push.[67]

text: The final phase of the battle of the Somme saw the first use of the tank on the battlefield.[68] The Allies prepared an attack that would involve 13 British and Imperial divisions and four French corps. The attack made early progress, advancing 3,200–4,100 metres (3,500–4,500 yd) in places but the tanks had little effect due to their lack of numbers and mechanical unreliability.[69] The final phase of the battle took place in October and early November, again producing limited gains with heavy loss of life. All told, the Somme battle had made penetrations of only 8 kilometres (5 mi) and failed to reach the original objectives. The British had suffered about 420,000 casualties and the French around 200,000. It is estimated that the Germans lost 465,000, although this figure is controversial.[70]

text: The Somme led directly to major new developments in infantry organisation and tactics; despite the terrible losses of 1 July, some divisions had managed to achieve their objectives with minimal casualties. In examining the reasons behind losses and achievements, once the British war economy produced sufficient equipment and weapons, the army made the platoon the basic tactical unit, similar to the French and German armies. At the time of the Somme, British senior commanders insisted that the company (120 men) was the smallest unit of manoeuvre; less than a year later, the section of ten men would be so.[71]

text: Hindenburg line[edit]

text: In August 1916 the German leadership along the western front had changed as Falkenhayn resigned and was replaced by Hindenburg and Ludendorff. The new leaders soon recognised that the battles of Verdun and the Somme had depleted the offensive capabilities of the German Army. They decided that the German Army in the west would go over to the strategic defensive for most of 1917, while the Central powers would attack elsewhere.[72]

text: During the Somme battle and through the winter months, the Germans created a fortification behind the Noyon Salient that would be called the Hindenburg Line, using the defensive principles elaborated since the defensive battles of 1915, including the use of Eingreif divisions.[73] This was intended to shorten the German front, freeing 10 divisions for other duties. This line of fortifications ran from Arras south to St Quentin and shortened the front by about 50 kilometres (30 mi).[72] British long-range reconnaissance aircraft first spotted the construction of the Hindenburg Line in November 1916.[74]

text: The Hindenburg Line was built between 2[75] and 50 kilometres (30 mi) behind the German front line. On 25 February German forces began retreating to the line and the withdrawal was completed on 5 April, leaving behind a devastated territory to be occupied by the Allies. This withdrawal negated the French strategy of attacking both flanks of the Noyon salient, as it no longer existed.[76] However, offensive advances by the British continued as the High Command claimed, with some justice, that this withdrawal resulted from the casualties the Germans received during the Battles of the Somme and Verdun, despite the Allies suffering greater losses.[77]

text: Meanwhile, on 6 April the United States declared war on Germany. In early 1915, following the sinking of the Lusitania, Germany had stopped its unrestricted submarine warfare in the Atlantic because of concerns of drawing the United States into the conflict. With the growing discontent of the German public due to the food shortages, however, the government resumed unrestricted submarine warfare in February 1917. They had calculated that a successful submarine and warship siege of Britain would force that country out of the war within six months, while American forces would take a year to become a serious factor on the Western Front. The submarine and surface ships had a long period of success before Britain resorted to the convoy system, bringing a large reduction in shipping losses.[78]

text: By 1917, the size of the British Army on the Western Front had grown to two-thirds the total numbers in the French forces.[22] In April 1917 the BEF began the Battle of Arras.[79] The Canadian Corps and the 5th Division, attacked German lines at Vimy Ridge, capturing the heights and the First Army to the south achieved the deepest advance since trench warfare began. Later attacks were confronted by German reinforcements defending the area using the lessons learned on the Somme in 1916. British attacks were contained and, according to Gary Sheffield, a greater rate of daily loss was inflicted on the British than in "any other major battle".[80]

text: During the winter of 1916–1917, German air tactics had been improved, a fighter training school was opened at Valenciennes and better aircraft with twin guns were introduced. The result was near disastrous losses for Allied air power, particularly for the British, Portuguese, Belgians and Australians who were struggling with outmoded aircraft, poor training and weak tactics. As a result, the Allied air successes over the Somme would not be repeated and heavy losses were inflicted by the Germans. During their attack at Arras, the British lost 316 air crews and the Canadians lost 114 compared to 44 lost by the Germans.[81] This became known to the Royal Flying Corps as Bloody April.[82]

text: Nivelle Offensive[edit]

text: The same month, the French Commander-in-Chief, General Robert Nivelle, ordered a new offensive against the German trenches, promising that it would end the war within 48 hours. The 16 April attack, dubbed the Nivelle Offensive (also known as the Second Battle of the Aisne, after the area where the offensive took place), would be 1.2 million men strong, preceded by a week-long artillery bombardment and accompanied by tanks. The offensive proceeded poorly as the French troops, with the help of two Russian brigades, had to negotiate rough, upward-sloping terrain in extremely bad weather.[83] Planning had been dislocated by the voluntary German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. Secrecy had been compromised and German aircraft gained air superiority, making reconnaissance difficult and in places, the creeping barrage moved too fast for the French troops.[84] Within a week 120,000 French soldiers were casualties. Despite the casualties and his promise to halt the offensive if it did not produce a breakthrough, Nivelle ordered the attack to continue into May.[79]

text: On 3 May the weary French 2nd Colonial Division, veterans of the Battle of Verdun, refused orders, arriving drunk and without their weapons. Lacking the means to punish an entire division, its officers did not immediately implement harsh measures against the mutineers. Mutinies occurred in 54 French divisions and 20,000 men deserted. Other Allied forces attacked but suffered massive casualties.[85] Appeals to patriotism and duty followed, as did mass arrests and trials. The French soldiers returned to defend their trenches but refused to participate in further offensive action.[86] On 15 May Nivelle was removed from command, replaced by Pétain who immediately stopped the offensive.[87] The French would go on the defensive for the following months to avoid high casualties and to restore confidence in the French High Command, while the British assumed greater responsibility.[88]

text: American Expeditionary Force[edit]

text: On 25 June the first US troops began to arrive in France, forming the American Expeditionary Force. However, the American units did not enter the trenches in divisional strength until October. The incoming troops required training and equipment before they could join in the effort, and for several months American units were relegated to support efforts.[89] In spite of this, however, their presence provided a much-needed boost to Allied morale, with the promise of further reinforcements that could tip the manpower balance towards the Allies.[90]

text: Flanders offensive[edit]

text: In June, the British launched an offensive in Flanders, in part to take pressure off the French armies on the Aisne, after the French part of the Nivelle Offensive failed to achieve the strategic victory that had been planned and French troops began to mutiny.[88] The offensive began on 7 June, with a British attack on Messines Ridge, south of Ypres, to retake the ground lost in the First and Second battles in 1914. Since 1915 specialist Royal Engineer tunnelling companies had been digging tunnels under the ridge, and about 500 t (490 long tons) of explosives had been planted in 21 mines under the German defences.[91] Following several weeks of bombardment, the explosives in 19 of these mines were detonated, killing up to 7,000 German troops. The infantry advance that followed relied on three creeping barrages which the British infantry followed to capture the plateau and the east side of the ridge in one day. German counter-attacks were defeated and the southern flank of the Gheluvelt plateau was protected from German observation.[92]

text: On 11 July 1917, during Unternehmen Strandfest (Operation Beachparty) at Nieuport on the coast, the Germans introduced a new weapon into the war when they fired a powerful blistering agent Sulfur mustard (Yellow Cross) gas. The artillery deployment allowed heavy concentrations of the gas to be used on selected targets. Mustard gas was persistent and could contaminate an area for days, denying it to the British, an additional demoralising factor. The Allies increased production of gas for chemical warfare but took until late 1918 to copy the Germans and begin using mustard gas.[93]

text: From 31 July to 10 November the Third Battle of Ypres included the First Battle of Passchendaele and culminated in the Second Battle of Passchendaele.[94] The battle had the original aim of capturing the ridges east of Ypres then advancing to Roulers and Thourout to close the main rail line supplying the German garrisons on the Western front north of Ypres. If successful the northern armies were then to capture the German submarine bases on the Belgian coast. It was later restricted to advancing the British Army onto the ridges around Ypres, as the unusually wet weather slowed British progress. The Canadian Corps relieved the II ANZAC Corps and took the village of Passchendaele on 6 November,[95] despite rain, mud and many casualties. The offensive was costly in manpower for both sides for relatively little gain of ground against determined German resistance but the ground captured was of great tactical importance. In the drier periods, the British advance was inexorable and during the unusually wet August and in the Autumn rains that began in early October, the Germans achieved only costly defensive successes, which led the German commanders in early October to begin preparations for a general retreat. Both sides lost a combined total of over a half million men during this offensive.[96] The battle has become a byword among some British revisionist historians for bloody and futile slaughter, whilst the Germans called Passchendaele "the greatest martyrdom of the war".[97]

text: Battle of Cambrai[edit]

text: On 20 November the British launched the first massed tank attack and the first attack using predicted artillery-fire (aiming artillery without firing the guns to obtain target data) at the Battle of Cambrai.[98] The Allies attacked with 324 tanks (with one-third held in reserve) and twelve divisions, advancing behind a hurricane bombardment, against two German divisions. The machines carried fascines on their fronts to bridge trenches and the 13 ft (4 m) German tank traps. Special "grapnel tanks" towed hooks to pull away the German barbed wire. The attack was a great success for the British, who penetrated further in six hours than at the Third Ypres in four months, at a cost of only 4,000 British casualties.[99] The advance produced an awkward salient and a surprise German counter-offensive began on 30 November, which drove back the British in the south and failed in the north. Despite the reversal, the attack was seen as a success by the Allies, proving that tanks could overcome trench defences. The Germans realised that the use of tanks by the Allies posed a new threat to any defensive strategy they might mount. The battle had also seen the first mass use of German stosstruppen on the Western front in the attack, who used infantry infiltration tactics to penetrate British defences, bypassing resistance and quickly advancing into the British rear.[100]

text: Following the successful Allied attack and penetration of the German defences at Cambrai, Ludendorff and Hindenburg determined that the only opportunity for German victory lay in a decisive attack along the Western front during the spring, before American manpower became overwhelming. On 3 March 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed and Russia withdrew from the war. This would now have a dramatic effect on the conflict as 33 divisions were released from the Eastern Front for deployment to the west. The Germans occupied almost as much Russian territory under the provisions of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as they did in the Second World War but this considerably restricted their troop redeployment. The Germans achieved an advantage of 192 divisions in the west to the 178 Allied divisions, which allowed Germany to pull veteran units from the line and retrain them as sturmtruppen (40 infantry and 3 cavalry divisions were retained for German occupation duties in the east).[101]

text: The Allies lacked unity of command and suffered from morale and manpower problems, the British and French armies were severely depleted and not in a position to attack in the first half of the year, while the majority of the newly arrived American troops were still training, with just six complete divisions in the line.[102] Ludendorff decided on an offensive strategy beginning with a big attack against the British on the Somme, to separate them from the French and drive them back to the channel ports.[103][104] The attack would combine the new storm troop tactics with a over 700 aircraft,[105] tanks and a carefully planned artillery barrage that would include gas attacks.[106][107]

text: German spring offensives[edit]

text: Operation Michael, the first of the German Spring Offensives, very nearly succeeded in driving the Allied armies apart, advancing to within shelling distance of Paris for the first time since 1914.[108] As a result of the battle, the Allies agreed on unity of command. General Ferdinand Foch was appointed commander of all Allied forces in France. The unified Allies were better able to respond to each of the German drives and the offensive turned into a battle of attrition.[109] In May, the American divisions also began to play an increasing role, winning their first victory in the Battle of Cantigny. By summer, between 250,000 and 300,000 American soldiers were arriving every month.[110] A total of 2.1 million American troops would be deployed on this front before the war came to an end.[111] The rapidly increasing American presence served as a counter for the large numbers of redeployed German forces.[110]

text: Allied counter-offensives[edit]

text: In July, Foch began the Second Battle of the Marne, a counter-offensive against the Marne salient which was eliminated by August. The Battle of Amiens began two days later, with Franco-British forces spearheaded by Australian and Canadian troops, along with 600 tanks and 800 aircraft.[112] Hindenburg named 8 August as the "Black Day of the German army".[113] The Italian 2nd Corps, commanded by General Alberico Albricci, also participated in the operations around Reims.[114] German manpower had been severely depleted after four years of war and its economy and society were under great internal strain. The Allies fielded 216 divisions against 197 German divisions.[115] The Hundred Days Offensive beginning in August proved the final straw and following this string of military defeats, German troops began to surrender in large numbers.[116] As the Allied forces advanced, Prince Maximilian of Baden was appointed as Chancellor of Germany in October to negotiate an armistice. Ludendorff was forced out and fled to Sweden.[116] The German retreat continued and the German Revolution put a new government in power. The Armistice of Compiègne was quickly signed, stopping hostilities on the Western Front on 11 November 1918, later known as Armistice Day.[117] The German Imperial Monarchy collapsed when General Groener, the successor to Ludendorff, backed the moderate Social Democratic Government under Friedrich Ebert, to forestall a revolution like those in Russia the previous year.[118]

text: Aftermath[edit]

text:
Military Casualties
Western Front 1914–1918[119][120][c]

Nationality
Killed
Wounded
P.O.W.

France
1,300,000
c. 3,000,000
508,000

UK
512,600
1,528,500
223,600

Belgium
38,200
44,700
10,200

Australia
48,900
130,900
—

Canada
56,400
149,700
—

New Zealand
12,900
34,800
—

South Africa
3,250
8,720
2,220

India
6,670
15,750
1,090

Portugal
1,690
13,750
6,680

USA
51,800
230,100
4,430

Italy
(Total 20,870)

Allies
2,032,410+
5,156,920+
—

Germany
1,493,000
3,116,000
774,000

Austria-Hungary
3,200
c. 10,000
4,100

Central Powers
1,496,200
3,216,000
778,100

Grand Total
3,258,610
8,372,920
—

text: The war along the Western Front led the German government and its allies to sue for peace in spite of German success elsewhere. As a result, the terms of the peace were dictated by France, Britain and the United States, during the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. The result was the Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919 by a delegation of the new German government.[121] The terms of the treaty constrained Germany as an economic and military power. The Versailles treaty returned the border provinces of Alsace-Lorraine to France, thus limiting the coal required by German industry. The Saar, which formed the west bank of the Rhine, would be demilitarised and controlled by Britain and France, while the Kiel Canal opened to international traffic. The treaty also drastically reshaped Eastern Europe. It severely limited the German armed forces by restricting the size of the army to 100,000 and disallowing a navy or air force. The navy was sailed to Scapa Flow under the terms of surrender but was later scuttled, under the order of German admirals, as a reaction to the treaty.[122]

text: Casualties[edit]

text: The war in the trenches of the Western Front left tens of thousands of maimed soldiers and war widows. The unprecedented loss of life had a lasting effect on popular attitudes toward war, resulting later in an Allied reluctance to pursue an aggressive policy toward Adolf Hitler.[123] Belgium suffered 30,000 civilian dead and France 40,000 (including 3,000 merchant sailors).[124] The British lost 16,829 civilian dead, 1,260 civilians were killed in air and naval attacks, 908 civilians were killed at sea and there were 14,661 merchant marine deaths.[125][126] Another 62,000 Belgian, 107,000 British and 300,000 French civilians died due to war-related causes.[127]

text: Economic costs[edit]

text: Germany in 1919 was bankrupt, the people living in a state of semi-starvation and having no commerce with the remainder of the world. The Allies occupied the Rhine cities of Cologne, Koblenz and Mainz, with restoration dependent on payment of reparations. In Germany a Stab-in-the-back myth (Dolchstoßlegende) was propagated by Hindenburg, Ludendorff and other defeated generals, that the defeat was not the fault of the 'good core' of the army but due to certain left-wing groups within Germany who signed a disastrous armistice; this would later be exploited by nationalists and the Nazi party propaganda to excuse the overthrow of the Weimar Republic in 1930 and the imposition of the Nazi dictatorship after March 1933.[128]

text: France lost more casualties relative to its population than any other great power and the industrial north-east of the country was devastated by the war. The provinces overrun by Germany had produced 40 percent of French coal and 58 percent of its steel output.[129] Once it was clear that Germany was going to be defeated, Ludendorff had ordered the destruction of the mines in France and Belgium.[130] His goal was to cripple the industries of Germany's main European rival. To prevent similar German attacks in the future, France later built a massive series of fortifications along the German border known as the Maginot Line.[131]

text: Notes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ 424,000 German civilians died due to war-related causes, ~1,000 in air raids.[6]
Jump up ^ A modern author uses the term only in the narrower sense of describing the war crimes committed by the Germans during this period.[18]
Jump up ^ German casualties from "Reichsarchiv 1918". Appendix F additionally breaks down the German killed figures (per the Reichsarchiv) as: 829,400 killed in action; 300,000 died of wounds; 364,000 missing reclassified as dead.[120]

text: Footnotes[edit]

text:
^ Jump up to: a b ILO 1925, p. 29.
Jump up ^ SWO 1922, p. 742.
Jump up ^ Ayres 1919, p. 105.
Jump up ^ Hosch 2010, p. 219.
Jump up ^ Maurel, Henri. "The Volunteers of the Russian Expeditionary Corps in the Moroccan Division during the Second Battle of Marne". Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
Jump up ^ Grebler & Winkler 1940, p. 78.
Jump up ^ Liddle 1997, pp. 45–58.
Jump up ^ Edmonds 1991, pp. 361–363.
Jump up ^ Hamilton & Herwig 2003, p. 159.
Jump up ^ Stevenson 2005, pp. 44–45.
Jump up ^ Griffith 2004, p. 9.
Jump up ^ Griffiths 1986, pp. 22–24, 25–26.
Jump up ^ Hamilton & Herwig 2003, p. 254.
Jump up ^ Griffiths 2003, p. 30.
Jump up ^ Griffiths 1986, pp. 29–30.
Jump up ^ Smith, Audoin-Rouzeau & Becker 2003, p. 33.
Jump up ^ Horne & Kramer 2001, pp. 1–608.
Jump up ^ Zuckerman 2004, p. 23.
Jump up ^ Terraine 2002, pp. 78–175.
Jump up ^ Strachan 2001, pp. 242–262.
Jump up ^ Griffiths 1986, pp. 31–37.
^ Jump up to: a b Kennedy 1989, pp. 265–6.
Jump up ^ Barton, Doyle & Vandewalle 2005, p. 17.
Jump up ^ Baldwin 1962, p. 27.
Jump up ^ Strachan 2001, pp. 273–278.
Jump up ^ Foley 2005, pp. 105–110.
Jump up ^ Fuller 1992, p. 165.
Jump up ^ Neiberg 2008, p. 110.
Jump up ^ Lyons 2000, p. 112.
Jump up ^ Fuller 1992, pp. 166–7.
Jump up ^ Richter 1994, p. 7.
Jump up ^ Doughty 2005, pp. 148–151.
Jump up ^ Fuller 1992, pp. 172–3.
Jump up ^ Sheldon 2012, pp. 81–95.
Jump up ^ Sheldon 2012, pp. 95–121.
Jump up ^ Jones 2002, pp. 22–23.
Jump up ^ Richter 1994, pp. 69–73, 88.
Jump up ^ Richter 1994, pp. 182–183, 210–211.
Jump up ^ Spick 2002, pp. 326–327.
Jump up ^ Wise 1981, pp. 349–350.
Jump up ^ Granatstein & Morton 2003, p. 40.
Jump up ^ Smith, Audoin-Rouzeau & Becker 2003, pp. 79–80.
Jump up ^ Herwig 1997, p. 165.
Jump up ^ Lupfer 1981, pp. 1–36.
Jump up ^ Campbell 1981, pp. 26–27.
Jump up ^ Griffith 1994, pp. 155–156.
Jump up ^ Bailey 2004, p. 245.
Jump up ^ Samuels 1995, pp. 168–171.
Jump up ^ Palazzo 2000, p. 66.
Jump up ^ Hartesveldt 2005, p. 17.
Jump up ^ Warner 2000, pp. 4–31.
Jump up ^ Wiest 2005, p. xvii.
Jump up ^ Lyons 2000, p. 141.
Jump up ^ Knox 2007, p. 153.
Jump up ^ Hull 2005, pp. 295–296.
Jump up ^ Foley 2005, pp. 207–208.
Jump up ^ Marshall 1964, pp. 236–7.
Jump up ^ Campbell 1981, p. 40.
Jump up ^ Lyons 2000, p. 143.
Jump up ^ Martin 2001, pp. 28–83.
Jump up ^ Jones & Hook 2007, pp. 23–24.
Jump up ^ Foley 2005, p. 224.
Jump up ^ Jackson 2001, p. 28.
Jump up ^ Griffiths 1986, pp. 71–72.
Jump up ^ Campbell 1981, p. 42.
Jump up ^ Baldwin 1962, p. 79.
Jump up ^ Rawson 2014, pp. 140–158.
Jump up ^ Miles 1992, pp. 245–249.
Jump up ^ Prior & Wilson 2005, pp. 280–281.
Jump up ^ Watson 2008, p. 11.
Jump up ^ Corkerry 2001, p. 88.
^ Jump up to: a b Herwig 1997, pp. 246–252.
Jump up ^ Wynne 1976, p. 290.
Jump up ^ Dockrill & French 1996, p. 68.
Jump up ^ Marshall 1964, pp. 288–9.
Jump up ^ Baldwin 1962, p. 99.
Jump up ^ Neiberg 2004, p. 46.
Jump up ^ Griffiths 1986, pp. 144–5.
^ Jump up to: a b Baldwin 1962, pp. 99–100.
Jump up ^ Sheffield 2014, Chapter 7.
Jump up ^ Campbell 1981, p. 71.
Jump up ^ Hart 2005, pp. 11–13.
Jump up ^ Cockfield 1999, pp. 91–114.
Jump up ^ Uffindell 2015, p. 26.
Jump up ^ Lyons 2000, p. 243.
Jump up ^ Marshall 1964, p. 292.
Jump up ^ Neiberg 2003, p. 53.
^ Jump up to: a b Baldwin 1962, pp. 101–102.
Jump up ^ Griffiths 1986, p. 124.
Jump up ^ Baldwin 1962, p. 144.
Jump up ^ Bostyn 2002, p. 227.
Jump up ^ Edmonds 1991, p. 87.
Jump up ^ Sheldon 2007, pp. 35–36, 39.
Jump up ^ Liddle 2013, p. 112.
Jump up ^ Baldwin 1962, p. 103.
Jump up ^ Sheffield 2002, p. 216.
Jump up ^ Sheldon 2007, pp. vi, 316.
Jump up ^ Miles 1991, pp. 13–15, 32–35.
Jump up ^ Miles 1991, p. 88.
Jump up ^ Miles 1991, pp. 176–248.
Jump up ^ Herwig 1997, pp. 393–397,400–401.
Jump up ^ Baldwin 1962, pp. 139–140.
Jump up ^ Baldwin 1962, p. 140.
Jump up ^ Carlyon 2006, p. 543.
Jump up ^ Murphy 2005, p. 69.
Jump up ^ Baldwin 1962, pp. 140–141.
Jump up ^ Carlyon 2006, pp. 544–545.
Jump up ^ Marshall 1964, pp. 353–357.
Jump up ^ Baldwin 1962, pp. 141–143.
^ Jump up to: a b Baldwin 1962, p. 146.
Jump up ^ Tucker & Roberts 2005, p. 1254.
Jump up ^ Ekins 2010, p. 24.
Jump up ^ Griffiths 1986, pp. 155–156.
Jump up ^ Edmonds 1994, pp. 2, 31, 242, 245–246.
Jump up ^ Kennedy 1989, pp. 266–302.
^ Jump up to: a b Herwig 1997, pp. 426–428.
Jump up ^ Griffiths 1986, p. 163.
Jump up ^ Herwig 1997, p. 446.
Jump up ^ Ellis 2001, p. 270.
^ Jump up to: a b Churchill 1938, p. 558.
Jump up ^ Carlyon 2006, pp. 743 & 760.
Jump up ^ Massie 2004, p. 787.
Jump up ^ Adamthwaite 1989, pp. 25–26.
Jump up ^ Grey 1991, p. 292.
Jump up ^ ASB 1922, p. 100.
Jump up ^ Ellis 1993, p. 269.
Jump up ^ Hersch 1927, pp. 47–61.
Jump up ^ Herwig 1996, pp. 87–127.
Jump up ^ Chickering & Förster 2000, p. 297.
Jump up ^ Marshall 1964, p. 460.
Jump up ^ Alexander 2003, p. 180.


document_title: List of national capitals by latitude

question_text: which australian capital city is closest to the equater

root

text: List of national capitals by latitude

text:
Lists of capitals

Of countries

in alphabetical order
by latitude
by population
Former
Purpose-built
Capitals, largest and second-largest cities by country

Countries whose capital is not their largest city

Countries with multiple capitals
Timeline of country and capital changes

Of country subdivisions

Capitals outside the territories they serve
Purpose-built

v
t
e

tag: table

text: This is a list of official national capitals by latitude, including territories and dependencies, non-sovereign states including associated states and entities whose sovereignty is disputed. Sovereign states are shown in bolded text.

tag: p

text:
City
Latitude
(− indicates southern hemisphere)
Country
Notes

Abu Dhabi
24.47
 United Arab Emirates

Abuja
9.07
 Nigeria

Accra
5.55
 Ghana

Adamstown
-25.07
 Pitcairn Islands
British Overseas Territory

Addis Ababa
9.02
 Ethiopia

Algiers
36.77
 Algeria

Alofi
-19.07
 Niue
Self-governing in free association with New Zealand

Amman
31.93
 Jordan

Amsterdam
52.37
 Netherlands
The Dutch constitution refers to Amsterdam as the "capital". The Dutch government is located in The Hague. See Capital of the Netherlands.

Andorra la Vella
42.5
 Andorra

Ankara
39.87
 Turkey

Antananarivo
-18.93
 Madagascar

Apia
-13.83
 Samoa

Ashgabat
37.93
 Turkmenistan

Asmara
15.33
 Eritrea

Astana
51.17
 Kazakhstan

Asunción
-25.27
 Paraguay

Athens
37.97
 Greece

Avarua
-21.2
 Cook Islands
Self-governing in free association with New Zealand.

Baghdad
33.33
 Iraq

Baku
40.38
 Azerbaijan

Bamako
12.65
 Mali

Bandar Seri Begawan
4.88
 Brunei

Bangkok
13.75
 Thailand

Bangui
4.37
 Central African Republic

Banjul
13.45
 Gambia

Basseterre
17.3
 Saint Kitts and Nevis

Beijing
39.9
 China
See also: List of historical capitals of China

Beirut
33.88
 Lebanon

Belgrade
44.82
 Serbia

Belmopan
17.25
 Belize

Berlin
52.52
 Germany

Bern
46.95
  Switzerland

Bishkek
42.87
 Kyrgyzstan

Bissau
11.85
 Guinea-Bissau

Bogotá
4.58
 Colombia

Brasília
-15.78
 Brazil

Bratislava
48.13
 Slovakia

Brazzaville
-4.27
 Republic of the Congo

Bridgetown
13.1
 Barbados

Brussels
50.85
 Belgium
Also the de facto capital of the  European Union

Bucharest
44.42
 Romania

Budapest
47.47
 Hungary

Buenos Aires
-34.6
 Argentina

Bujumbura
-3.38
 Burundi

Cairo
30.05
 Egypt

Canberra
-35.3
 Australia

Cape Town (legislative)
-33.92
 South Africa

Caracas
10.5
 Venezuela

Castries
14.02
 Saint Lucia

Cayenne
4.92
 French Guiana
Overseas department of France

Charlotte Amalie
18.35
 United States Virgin Islands
Territory of the United States

Chişinău
47
 Moldova

Conakry
9.52
 Guinea

Copenhagen
55.67
 Denmark

Dakar
14.68
 Senegal

Damascus
33.5
 Syria

Dhaka
23.73
 Bangladesh

Dili
-8.57
 East Timor (Timor-Leste)

Djibouti
11.58
 Djibouti

Dodoma (official)
Dar es Salaam (former capital; some government offices remaining)
-6.17
 Tanzania

Doha
25.28
 Qatar

Douglas
54.13
 Isle of Man
British Crown Dependency

Dublin
53.33
 Ireland

Dushanbe
38.53
 Tajikistan

Edinburgh of the Seven Seas
-37.07
 Tristan da Cunha
Part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

El Aaiún(declared)
27.15
 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic [c]
The Sahrawi Republic, recognised by 82 states, claims the mostly Moroccan controlled Western Sahara. Moroccan controlled territory includes El Aaiún, and Morocco claims all Sahrawi controlled territory. The Sahrawi government resides in exile in Tindouf, Algeria.[1] See Politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Episkopi Cantonment
34.67
 Akrotiri and Dhekelia
British Overseas Territory

Flying Fish Cove
-10.42
 Christmas Island
External territory of Australia

Freetown
8.48
 Sierra Leone

Funafuti
-8.52
 Tuvalu

Gaborone
-24.65
 Botswana

George Town
19.3
 Cayman Islands
British Overseas Territory

Georgetown
-7.92
 Ascension Island
Part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Georgetown
6.8
 Guyana

Gibraltar
36.13
 Gibraltar
British Overseas Territory

Guatemala City
14.6
 Guatemala

Gustavia
17.88
 Saint Barthélemy
Overseas collectivity of France

Hagåtña
13.47
 Guam
Territory of the United States

Hamilton
32.28
 Bermuda
British Overseas Territory

Hanga Roa
-27.15
 Easter Island
Special territory of Chile

Hanoi
21.03
 Vietnam

Harare
-17.85
 Zimbabwe

Hargeisa
10
 Somaliland
De facto independent state not diplomatically recognized by any other state, claimed in whole by the Somali Republic.[2]

Havana
23.13
 Cuba

Helsinki
60.17
 Finland

Honiara
-9.43
 Solomon Islands

Islamabad
33.72
 Pakistan

Jakarta
-6.2
 Indonesia

Jamestown
-15.92
 Saint Helena
Part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Jerusalem (declared, de facto)
31.78
 Israel
Jerusalem Law states that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel", and the city serves as the seat of the government, home to the president's residence, government offices, supreme court, and parliament. United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 declared the Jerusalem Law "null and void" and called on member states to withdraw their diplomatic missions from Jerusalem. The United Nations and all member states maintain their embassies in other cities such as Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Herzliya, and do not recognise Jerusalem as the capital.[3] Many countries officially adhere to the proposal that Jerusalem have international status, as called for in the Partition Plan of 1947.[4] See Positions on Jerusalem.

Jerusalem (declared)
Ramallah and Gaza (de facto)
31.78
 State of Palestine
The State of Palestine claims the territories occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The proclaimed state is currently occupied by Israel and has no effective control over the territories it claims. Administration is based in Ramallah and Gaza, rather than Jerusalem. Most members of the United Nations regard East Jerusalem as occupied territory, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League and the Non-Aligned Movement recognise it as the capital of a future Palestinian state.[5] See Positions on Jerusalem.

Juba
4.85
 South Sudan

Kabul
34.53
 Afghanistan

Kampala
0.3
 Uganda

Kathmandu
27.7
   Nepal

Khartoum
15.63
 Sudan

Kigali
-1.93
 Rwanda

King Edward Point
-54.27
 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
British Overseas Territory

Kingston
17.98
 Jamaica

Kingston
-29.05
 Norfolk Island
External territory of Australia

Kingstown
13.15
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Kinshasa
-4.32
 Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kuala Lumpur (official, legislative and royal)
Putrajaya (administrative and judicial)
3.13
 Malaysia

Kuwait City
29.37
 Kuwait

Kiev
50.45
 Ukraine

Libreville
0.38
 Gabon

Lilongwe
-13.98
 Malawi

Lima
-12.03
 Peru
[Note 1]

Lisbon
38.7
 Portugal

Ljubljana
46.05
 Slovenia

Lomé
6.12
 Togo

London
51.5
 United Kingdom
Prior to the Acts of Union in 1707, London was the capital of England only. Edinburgh was the capital of the Kingdom of Scotland

Longyearbyen
78.2
 Svalbard
Longyearbyen is the administrative center of Svalbard, a Norwegian Arctic unincorporated area.

Luanda
-8.83
 Angola

Lusaka
-15.42
 Zambia

Luxembourg
49.6
 Luxembourg

Madrid
40.38
 Spain

Majuro
7.07
 Marshall Islands

Malabo
3.75
 Equatorial Guinea

Malé
4.17
 Maldives

Managua
12.13
 Nicaragua

Manama
26.22
 Bahrain

Manila
14.58
 Philippines

Maputo
-25.97
 Mozambique

Marigot
18.07
 Saint Martin
Overseas collectivity of France

Maseru
-29.3
 Lesotho

Mata-Utu
-13.28
 Wallis and Futuna
Overseas collectivity of France

Mbabane (administrative)
Lobamba (royal and legislative)
-26.32
 Swaziland

Mexico City
19.43
 Mexico

Minsk
53.9
 Belarus

Mogadishu
2.03
 Somalia

Monaco
43.72
 Monaco
City-state

Monrovia
6.3
 Liberia

Montevideo
-34.88
 Uruguay

Moroni
-11.68
 Comoros

Moscow
55.75
 Russia

Muscat
23.6
 Oman

Nairobi
-1.28
 Kenya

Nassau
25.07
 Bahamas

Naypyidaw
19.75
 Myanmar

N'Djamena
12.1
 Chad

New Delhi
28.6
 India

Ngerulmud
7.48
 Palau

Niamey
13.52
 Niger

Nicosia
35.17
 Cyprus

Nicosia
35.17
 Northern Cyprus
De facto independent state that is recognised only by Turkey. Northern Cyprus is claimed in whole by the Republic of Cyprus.[6]

Nouakchott
18.1
 Mauritania

Nouméa
-22.27
 New Caledonia
Sui generis collectivity of France

Nukuʻalofa
-21.13
 Tonga

Nuuk
64.17
 Greenland
Self-governing territory of the Danish Realm

Oranjestad
12.52
 Aruba
Self-governing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Oslo
59.95
 Norway

Ottawa
45.42
 Canada

Ouagadougou
12.35
 Burkina Faso

Pago Pago
-14.27
 American Samoa
Territory of the United States

Palikir
6.92
 Federated States of Micronesia

Panama City
8.98
 Panama

Papeete
-17.53
 French Polynesia
Overseas collectivity of France

Paramaribo
5.87
 Suriname

Paris
48.85
 France

Philipsburg
18.02
 Sint Maarten
Self-governing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Phnom Penh
11.55
 Cambodia

Plymouth (official)
Brades Estate (de facto)
16.7
 Montserrat
British Overseas Territory. Plymouth was abandoned after the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano in 1997. Government offices since then have been moved to Brades Estate, which is in the northwestern part of Montserrat.

Podgorica (official)
Cetinje (seat of the President)
42.43
 Montenegro

Port Louis
-20.15
 Mauritius

Port Moresby
-9.5
 Papua New Guinea

Port Vila
-17.75
 Vanuatu

Port-au-Prince
18.53
 Haiti

Port of Spain
10.67
 Trinidad and Tobago

Porto-Novo (official)
Cotonou (de facto)
6.48
 Benin

Prague
50.08
 Czech Republic

Praia
14.92
 Cape Verde

Pretoria (executive)
-25.73
 South Africa

Pristina
42.67
 Kosovo[g]
De facto independent state that is recognised by 112 UN member states and by Taiwan. Claimed in whole by the Republic of Serbia as part of its Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. Republic of Kosovo has de facto control over most of the territory, with limited control in North Kosovo.

Pyongyang
39.02
 North Korea

Quito
-0.25
 Ecuador
Highest official capital.[7]

Rabat
34.03
 Morocco

Reykjavík
64.13
 Iceland

Riga
56.93
 Latvia

Riyadh
24.63
 Saudi Arabia

Road Town
18.42
 British Virgin Islands
British Overseas Territory

Rome
41.9
 Italy

Roseau
15.3
 Dominica

Saipan
15.17
 Northern Mariana Islands
Territory of the United States

San José
9.93
 Costa Rica

San Juan
18.45
 Puerto Rico
Territory of the United States

San Marino
43.93
 San Marino

San Salvador
13.68
 El Salvador

Sana'a
15.33
 Yemen

Santiago (official)
Valparaíso (legislative)
-33.45
 Chile

Santo Domingo
18.47
 Dominican Republic

São Tomé
0.33
 São Tomé and Príncipe

Sarajevo
43.87
 Bosnia and Herzegovina

Seoul
37.55
 South Korea

Singapore
1.28
 Singapore
City-state

Skopje
42
 Macedonia

Sofia
42.7
 Bulgaria

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (official)
Colombo (former capital; has some government offices)
6.9
 Sri Lanka
Also known as "Kotte". Until the 1980s, the capital was Colombo, where many important governmental institutions still remain and which is still designated as the commercial capital of Sri Lanka.

St. George's
12.05
 Grenada

St. Helier
49.18
 Jersey
British Crown Dependency

St. John's
17.12
 Antigua and Barbuda

St. Peter Port
49.45
 Guernsey
British Crown Dependency

St. Pierre
46.77
 Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Overseas collectivity of France

Stanley
-51.68
 Falkland Islands
British Overseas Territory

Stepanakert
39.8
 Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
The self-declared country remains diplomatically unrecognised by UN-member states, including Armenia. Transnistria, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia, all UN non-member states, recognise the state. Claimed in whole by Azerbaijan.

Stockholm
59.32
 Sweden

Sucre (constitutional)
La Paz (administrative)
-16.5
 Bolivia
La Paz is the highest administrative capital, higher than Quito.[7]

Sukhumi
43
 Abkhazia
De facto independent state recognised by Russia, Nauru, Nicaragua, Venezuela, South Ossetia and Transnistria. Claimed in whole by Republic of Georgia as the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia.

Suva
-18.13
 Fiji

Taipei
25.03
 Taiwan
Officially the Republic of China (ROC), it has been competing for recognition with the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the sole Chinese government since 1949. Taiwan controls the island of Taiwan and its associated islands, Quemoy, Matsu, the Pratas, and part of the Spratly Islands[Note 2] The territory of Taiwan is claimed in whole by China.[Note 3] The Republic of China participates in the World Health Organization and a number of non-UN international organizations such as the World Trade Organization, International Olympic Committee and others under a variety of pseudonyms, most commonly Chinese Taipei.

Tallinn
59.43
 Estonia

Tarawa
1.43
 Kiribati

Tashkent
41.27
 Uzbekistan

Tbilisi (official)
Kutaisi (legislative)
41.72
 Georgia

Tegucigalpa
14.1
 Honduras

Tehran
35.68
 Iran

Thimphu
27.47
 Bhutan

Tirana
41.32
 Albania

Tiraspol
46.85
 Transnistria
De facto independent state, not recognized by any UN-member, but by Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Claimed in whole by the Republic of Moldova as the Territorial Unit of Transnistria.

Tokyo
35.68
 Japan

Tórshavn
62
 Faroe Islands
Self-governing territory of the Danish Realm

Tripoli
32.9
 Libya

Tskhinvali
42.23
 South Ossetia
De facto independent state recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Nauru, Venezuela, Abkhazia and Transnistria. Claimed in whole by the Republic of Georgia as the Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia.

Tunis
36.8
 Tunisia

Ulan Bator
47.92
 Mongolia

Vaduz
47.13
 Liechtenstein

Valletta
35.88
 Malta

The Valley
18.22
 Anguilla
British Overseas Territory

Vatican City
41.9
  Vatican City
City-state

Victoria
-4.62
 Seychelles

Vienna
48.2
 Austria

Vientiane
17.97
 Laos

Vilnius
54.68
 Lithuania

Warsaw
52.23
 Poland

Washington, D.C.
38.88
 United States

Wellington
-41.28
 New Zealand

West Island
-12.18
 Cocos (Keeling) Islands
External territory of Australia

Willemstad
12.12
 Curaçao
Self-governing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Windhoek
-22.57
 Namibia

Yamoussoukro (official)
Abidjan (former capital; still has many government offices)
6.82
 Ivory Coast

Yaoundé
3.87
 Cameroon

Yaren (de facto)
-0.53
 Nauru
Country does not have an official capital; however, the government offices are in Yaren.

Yerevan
40.18
 Armenia

Zagreb
45.82
 Croatia

text: Notes[edit]

text:
^ Cusco city was declared by the art. 49 of the Peruvian Constitution as "Historical Capital" (in Spanish Capital Histórica), a statement merely symbolic.
^ The sovereignty over the Spratly Islands is disputed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines (part), Malaysia (part), and Brunei (part). Except Brunei, each of these countries occupies part of the islands (see List of territorial disputes).
^ In 1949, the Republic of China government led by the Kuomintang (KMT) lost the Chinese Civil War to the Communist Party of China (CPC) and set up a provisional capital in Taipei. The CPC established the People's Republic. As such, the political status of the ROC and the legal status of Taiwan (alongside the territories currently under ROC jurisdiction) are in dispute. In 1971, the United Nations gave the China seat to the PRC instead of the ROC: most states recognize the PRC to be the sole legitimate representative of all China, and the UN classifies Taiwan as "Taiwan, Province of China". The ROC has de facto relations with most sovereign states. A significant political movement within Taiwan advocates Taiwan independence.

tag: ol


document_title: Wall of Jericho

question_text: what was the circumference of the walls of jericho

text: Wall of Jericho

text: Excavation of city walls on the tell[edit]

text: One wall[dubious  – discuss] was excavated by Charles Warren in 1868 at the request of the Palestine Exploration Fund. He dug through the mud bricks of the wall without realizing what it was, suggesting there was little of interest at the site. Ernest Sellin and Carl Watzinger excavated Jericho between 1907 and 1909 and found the remains of two walls which they initially suggested supported the biblical account. They later revised this conclusion and dated their finds to the Middle Bronze Age (1950-1550 BCE).[3] The site was again excavated by John Garstang between 1930 and 1936, who again raised the suggestion that remains of the upper wall was that described in the Bible.[4] Kathleen Kenyon resumed extensive excavations between 1952 and 1958 and found no late Bronze Age defensive wall or pottery. Her excavations found a series of seventeen early Bronze Age walls, some of which she thought may have been destroyed by earthquakes. The last of the walls was put together in a hurry, indicating that the settlement had been destroyed by nomadic invaders. Another wall was built by a more sophisticated culture in the Middle Bronze Age with a steep plastered escarpment leading up to mud bricks on top. After this there was a hiatus until later Iron Age material dating to around the seventh century BCE. They did not find substantial evidence for renewed occupation in the Late Bronze Age at the time of Joshua and the biblical story of the Battle of Jericho, which in general agreed with the earlier statement by Watzinger that "in the time of Joshua, Jericho was a heap of ruins, on which stood perhaps a few isolated huts".[5] Perhaps the most important discovery was evidence that the earliest wall suggested by Kenyon to date to around 8000 BCE based on Radiocarbon dating of material at 7825 BCE from level IV, phase III of the site. This time period was thereafter called the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, a late phase of the Stone Age predating the invention of pottery, and the wall considered part of an early proto-city.[4] It surrounded and protected a Neolithic settlement which contained an organized community of between 2,000 and 3,000 people.[6]

text: Construction and inhabitation[edit]

text: The Neolithic wall was complemented by a stone tower built into it. The wall was possibly built in order to prevent floods and the tower used for ceremonial purposes[7] but the height of the wall (approximately 1.5 to 2 metres (4.9 to 6.6 ft)[8] thick and 3.7 to 5.2 metres (12 to 17 ft) high, as well as that of the tower (8.5 metres (28 ft)) suggests a defensive purpose as well. Furthermore, the construction of such a project implies some sort of social organization, division of labour, and classes. Surrounding the wall was a ditch 8.2 metres (27 ft) wide by 2.7 metres (9 ft) deep, cut through solid bedrock with a circumference around the town of as much as 600 metres (2,000 ft).[9] Kathleen Kenyon commented on the work involved in the construction of the ditch: "The labor involved in excavating this ditch out of solid rock must have been tremendous. As we have discovered nothing in the way of heavy flint picks, one can only suppose that it was carried out with stone mauls, perhaps helped by splitting with fire and water."[10]

text: The town of Jericho, which was about 2.5 hectares (6 acres) in size, preceded the wall by about 500 years. In fact, evidence suggests that construction started prior to the agricultural revolution. The town contained round mud-brick houses, yet no street planning. Despite the existence of the wall and tower, Jericho was still a proto-city, much like Çatalhöyük. Speculation persists about the purpose of the tower and it may have had several purposes. Archaeologists Ran Barkai and Roy Liran used computers to reconstruct sunsets and recently found that when the Tower of Jericho was built, nearby mountains cast a shadow on it as the sun set on the longest day of the year. The shadow fell exactly on the structure and then spread out to cover the entire village of Jericho.[11] In an article in the Jerusalem Post, archaeologist Ran Barkai argued that the structure was used to create awe and inspiration to convince people into a harder way of life with the development of agriculture and social hierarchies. He concluded with, "We believe this tower was one of the mechanisms to motivate people to take part in a communal lifestyle."[12]

text: Other ancient walls from the tell, different from the one discussed here, were built of unbaked mud bricks set in mud mortar on a foundation of stone. The Neolithic bricks were hand-made and in differing shapes for different periods. They can be distinguished from the Bronze Age bricks, which were made in rectangular molds, and were about 2 inches by 14 by 10 (ca. 5 x 35 x 25 cm).[13]

text: Book of Joshua[edit]

text: The Book of Joshua deals with Jericho during the Late Bronze Age, at around 1400 BCE, which is some 6400 years after the neolithic "Wall of Jericho" fell out of use.

text: In the Book of Joshua, the city of Jericho was the first Canaanite city that the Israelites attacked upon their entry into Canaan. The Israelites destroyed the Bronze Age wall of Jericho by walking around it with the Ark of the Covenant for seven days. The Israelites circled the walls once per day for the first six days, then circled the walls seven times on the final day. The Israelites under Joshua's command blew trumpets of rams' horns and shouted to make the walls fall down (Joshua 6:14-15). This account from the Book of Joshua is one event in the larger narrative of the Israelite conquest of the biblical Canaan.

text: Notes[edit]

text:
Jump up ^ Kathleen M. Kenyon; Thomas A. Holland (1981). Excavations at Jericho: The architecture and stratigraphy of the Tell : plates, p. 6. British School of Archaeology. ISBN 978-0-9500542-3-0. Retrieved 12 July 2011.

Jump up ^ Ancient Jericho: Tell es-Sultan. 2012 application for nomination as a World Heritage Site, in UNESCO's "Tentative Lists"   [1]

Jump up ^ Leslie J. Hoppe (September 2005). New light from old stories: the Hebrew scriptures for today's world, p. 81-. Paulist Press. pp. 82–. ISBN 978-0-8091-4116-6. Retrieved 9 July 2011.

^ Jump up to: a b Geoffrey W. Bromiley (13 February 1995). International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: A-D. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 275–. ISBN 978-0-8028-3781-3. Retrieved 9 July 2011.

Jump up ^ Miriam C. Davis (2008). Dame Kathleen Kenyon: digging up the Holy Land. Left Coast Press. pp. 101–. ISBN 978-1-59874-326-5. Retrieved 9 July 2011.

Jump up ^ "Jericho", Encyclopædia Britannica

Jump up ^ Peter M. M. Akkermans; Glenn M. Schwartz (2004). The Archaeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (c.16,000-300 BC). Cambridge University Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0521796668.

Jump up ^ William A. Haviland; Harald E. L. Prins; Dana Walrath; Bunny McBride (30 March 2007). Evolution and Prehistory: The Human Challenge. Cengage Learning. pp. 235–. ISBN 978-0-495-38190-7. Retrieved 9 July 2011.

Jump up ^ Avraham Negev; Shimon Gibson (July 2005). Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 180–. ISBN 978-0-8264-8571-7. Retrieved 9 July 2011.

Jump up ^ Kathleen Mary Kenyon (Dame.) (1957). Digging up Jericho: the results of the Jericho excavations, 1952-1956, p. 68. Praeger. Retrieved 9 July 2011.

Jump up ^ http://www.jpost.com/ArtsAndCulture/Entertainment/Article.aspx?ID=208206&R=R1 Retrieval February 26, 2011

Jump up ^ Arieh O'Sullivan. World’s first skyscraper sought to intimidate masses. Jerusalem Post, 14 February 2011

Jump up ^ Kathleen M. Kenyon (1966). Archaeology in the Holy Land: plates, p. 105. New York: Praeger. OCLC 1225870. Retrieved 23 February 2016.

text: Ancient JerichoBuildings and structures in JerichoArchaeological sites in the West BankStone age sitesCity wallsBuildings and structures completed in the 8th millennium BC

tag: ul

text: All accuracy disputesArticles with disputed statements from February 2016


document_title: Crocodile (Black Mirror)

question_text: where was black mirror season 3 episode 4 filmed

text: Crocodile (Black Mirror)

text: Plot[edit]

text: Mia Nolan (Andrea Riseborough) and Rob (Andrew Gower) go to a club together. While driving home, a drunken Rob hits and kills a cyclist on a mountain road. He convinces Mia to help him cover up the death by throwing the cyclist's body and bicycle into a lake.

text: Fifteen years later, Mia is happily married with a son and successful career. When she goes on a business trip, Rob meets her at her hotel. He shows her a news article about the dead cyclist, whose wife believes he is alive and is still looking for him. A newly sober Rob wants to make amends by writing an anonymous letter telling the truth, but Mia is afraid the letter will be traced. An argument ensues and she kills Rob. She is further shaken upon seeing a road accident outside, where a self-driving pizza delivery truck hits a pedestrian. Mia rents a pay per view porn movie to provide herself with an alibi, then disposes of Rob's body.

text: The man who was hit by the truck contacts his insurance company and is visited by Shazia (Kiran Sonia Sawar), an insurance investigator. She uses a device known as a Recaller to scan a claimant's and witnesses' memories to verify the claims, despite memory being acknowledged as unreliable. Shazia follows a chain of witnesses near the accident without determining liability as none had witnessed it directly, but one witness's memories show Mia looking out of her hotel room window at the time of the accident. Shazia is hopeful that Mia's testimony will allow her to prove the case—which would also allow the insurance company to pursue a lucrative negligence suit against the owners of the pizza truck. Before Shazia sets off to test Mia, she tells her husband that she hopes Mia will submit to the test.

text: Mia admits to witnessing the accident, and initially refuses to let Shazia in her house, but eventually relents after Sharzia tells her of a legal requirement to submit to the test. Shazia mistakes Mia's reluctance as being due to embarrassment over watching a porn movie, and assures her that she is not interested in her personal activities. Mia tries to prepare her mind to focus away from Rob's murder before Shazia uses the Recaller on her, but she cannot stop memories of the road collision and the homicide surfacing during the scan. Recognizing what she has seen, Shazia tries to leave, but Mia incapacitates her and ties her up. Shazia promises that she will delete the Recaller data and will not tell anyone what happened if Mia lets her go, but Mia believes she will be incriminated. Mia scans Shazia's memories with the Recaller to learn that her husband Anan knew Shazia was going to see Mia that day. Mia kills Shazia and drives to her home to kill Anan. Upon realising that Shazia's baby son is also in the house and has seen her face, Mia reluctantly kills him too.

text: Police investigating the murders reveal that Shazia's son was blind and would have been unable to identify the killer; they instead use the Recaller on the family guinea pig to dredge its memories for evidence. Meanwhile, Mia cries in the audience as she watches her son's school production of Bugsy Malone; the audience begins to clap. The police are seen waiting at the back of the auditorium. As the camera continues lingering on Mia, in tears, the screen abruptly cuts to black.

text: Analysis[edit]

text: Some critics have suggested that the title is a reference to the metaphor "crocodile tears", a phrase that could be referring to Mia's insincere expressions of sorrow while committing a series of violent crimes.[1][2] Jason Koebler of Vice notes that Mia does not read the End-User License Agreement (EULA) for the Recaller. Koebler suggests that Mia reading the EULA would have allowed her to avoid using the Recaller, and thus prevent her later murders from being necessary.[3]

text: Production[edit]

text: Whilst series one and two of Black Mirror were shown on Channel 4 in the UK, in September 2015 Netflix commissioned the series for 12 episodes,[4] and in March 2016 it outbid Channel 4 for the rights to distributing the third series, with a bid of $40 million.[5] The 12 episode order was divided into two series of six episodes each.

text: The episode was inspired by the series one episode, "The Entire History of You", which featured a personal implant that one could use privately to review their memories. For "Crocodile", they considered what the situation would be like if these memories were not private, developing a "cat-and-mouse type drama" that would highlight the importance of memories, and to what lengths one with a secret would go to to hide those memories.[6]

text: The episode was initially conceived as having a male protagonist with Andrea Riseborough reading the script with another part in mind. However, after Riseborough liked the journey of the protagonist and asked if the part could be rewritten as a woman, the script was altered in order to accommodate Riseborough.[7] Both Brooker and executive producer Annabel Jones described the change as interesting, with Jones noting that "How often do you see a mother reduced to this level of desperation?" on television.[7][8]

text: The episode was shot in Iceland and includes scenes filmed in the Harpa concert hall.[7] Brooker had originally called out for filming in Scotland in his script, but Netflix suggested Iceland as a "more stunning backdrop", according to Brooker. During filming, Iceland had its largest snowfall in forty years, which required them to add one line of dialogue to comment on the change of weather to account for the sudden snow accumulation.[9]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: In May 2017, a Reddit post unofficially announced the names and directors of the six episodes in series 4 of Black Mirror.[10] The first trailer for the series was released by Netflix on 25 August 2017, and contained the six episode titles.[11][12]

text: Beginning on 24 November 2017, Netflix published a series of posters and trailers for the fourth series of the show, referred to as the "13 Days of Black Mirror".[13] On 6 December, Netflix published a trailer featuring an amalgamation of scenes from the fourth series, which announced that the series would be released on 29 December.[14]

text: Reception[edit]

text: The episode received mixed reviews. The cinematography of the Icelandic landscape was widely praised, along with Riseborough's and Sawar's performances.[15] Two critics criticised the violence and described it as unnecessarily bleak.[16][17]

text: At the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in January 2018, Toyota announced its customisable self-driving delivery vehicle, the e-Palette, with one of their first partners being Pizza Hut to create a self-driving pizza delivery truck. Commentators pointed out the coincidence of this announcement shortly after the first broadcast of "Crocodile",[18] and the official Twitter account for Black Mirror commented on the announcement, "We know how this goes."[19]


document_title: Cardiac surgery

question_text: who performed the first open heart surgery in the world

text: Cardiac surgery

text: History[edit]

text: 19th century[edit]

text: The earliest operations on the pericardium (the sac that surrounds the heart) took place in the 19th century and were performed by Francisco Romero (1801),[1] Dominique Jean Larrey (1810), Henry Dalton (1891), and Daniel Hale Williams (1893).[2] The first surgery on the heart itself was performed by Axel Cappelen on 4 September 1895 at Rikshospitalet in Kristiania, now Oslo. Cappelen ligated a bleeding coronary artery in a 24-year-old man who had been stabbed in the left axilla and was in deep shock upon arrival. Access was through a left thoracotomy. The patient awoke and seemed fine for 24 hours, but became ill with a fever and died three days after the surgery from mediastinitis.[3][4]

text: The first successful surgery on the heart, without any complications, was performed by Dr. Ludwig Rehn of Frankfurt, Germany, who repaired a stab wound to the right ventricle on 7 September 1896.[5][6]

text: 20th century[edit]

text: Surgery on the great vessels (e.g., aortic coarctation repair, Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt creation, closure of patent ductus arteriosus) became common after the turn of the century. However, operations on the heart valves were unknown until, in 1925, Henry Souttar operated successfully on a young woman with mitral valve stenosis. He made an opening in the appendage of the left atrium and inserted a finger in order to palpate and explore the damaged mitral valve. The patient survived for several years,[7] but Souttar's colleagues considered the procedure unjustified, and he could not continue.[8][9]

text: Cardiac surgery changed significantly after World War II. In 1947, Thomas Holmes Sellors (1902–1987) of Middlesex Hospital in London operated on a Tetralogy of Fallot patient with pulmonary stenosis and successfully divided the stenosed pulmonary valve. In 1948, Russell Brock, probably unaware of Sellors's work, used a specially designed dilator in three cases of pulmonary stenosis. Later that year, he designed a punch to resect a stenosed infundibulum, which is often associated with Tetralogy of Fallot. Many thousands of these "blind" operations were performed until the introduction of cardiopulmonary bypass made direct surgery on valves possible.[8]

text: Also in 1948, four surgeons carried out successful operations for mitral valve stenosis resulting from rheumatic fever. Horace Smithy (1914–1948) of Charlotte used a valvulotome to remove a portion of a patient's mitral valve,[10] while three other doctors—Charles Bailey (1910–1993) of Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia; Dwight Harken in Boston; and Russell Brock of Guy's Hospital in London—adopted Souttar's method. All four men began their work independently of one another within a period of a few months. This time, Souttar's technique was widely adopted, with some modifications.[8][9]

text: The first successful intracardiac correction of a congenital heart defect using hypothermia was performed by Drs. C. Walton Lillehei and F. John Lewis at the University of Minnesota on 2 September 1952. In 1953, Alexander Alexandrovich Vishnevsky conducted the first cardiac surgery under local anesthesia. In 1956, Dr. John Carter Callaghan performed the first documented open heart surgery in Canada.

text: Alfred Blalock, Helen Taussig and Vivien Thomas performed the first successful pediatric cardiac operation at Johns Hopkins Hospital on November, 29 1944, a total repair of Tetralogy of Fallot in a one-year-old girl.[11]

text: Types of cardiac surgery[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Open heart surgery[edit]

text: In open heart surgery, the patient's heart is opened and surgery is performed on its internal structures.

text: Dr. Wilfred G. Bigelow of the University of Toronto found that such procedures could be performed better in a bloodless and motionless environment. Therefore, during open heart surgery, the heart is temporarily stopped, and the patient is placed on cardiopulmonary bypass, meaning a machine pumps their blood and oxygen. Because the machine cannot function the same way as the heart, surgeons try to minimize the time a patient spends on it.[12]

text: Cardiopulmonary bypass was developed after surgeons realized the limitations of hypothermia in cardiac surgery: Complex intracardiac repairs take time, and the patient needs blood flow to the body (particularly to the brain), as well as heart and lung function. In 1953, Dr. John Heysham Gibbon of Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia reported the first successful use of extracorporeal circulation by means of an oxygenator, but he abandoned the method after subsequent failures. In 1954, Dr. Lillehei performed a series of successful operations with the controlled cross-circulation technique, in which the patient's mother or father was used as a "heart-lung machine". Dr. John W. Kirklin at the Mayo Clinic was the first to use a Gibbon-type pump-oxygenator.

text: Nazih Zuhdi performed the first total intentional hemodilution open heart surgery on Terry Gene Nix, age 7, on 25 February 1960 at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City. The operation was a success; however, Nix died three years later.[13] In March 1961, Zuhdi, Carey, and Greer performed open heart surgery on a child, age 3 1⁄2, using the total intentional hemodilution machine.

text: Modern beating-heart surgery[edit]

text: In the early 1990s, surgeons began to perform off-pump coronary artery bypass, done without cardiopulmonary bypass. In these operations, the heart continues beating during surgery, but is stabilized to provide an almost still work area in which to connect a conduit vessel that bypasses a blockage using a technique known as endoscopic vessel harvesting (EVH).

text: Heart transplant[edit]

text: In 1945, the Soviet pathologist Nikolai Sinitsyn successfully transplanted a heart from one frog to another frog and from one dog to another dog.

text: Norman Shumway is widely regarded as the father of human heart transplantation, although the world's first adult heart transplant was performed by a South African cardiac surgeon, Christiaan Barnard, using techniques developed by Shumway and Richard Lower.[14] Barnard performed the first transplant on Louis Washkansky on 3 December 1967 at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.[14][15] Adrian Kantrowitz performed the first pediatric heart transplant on 6 December 1967 at Maimonides Hospital (now Maimonides Medical Center) in Brooklyn, New York, barely three days later.[14] Shumway performed the first adult heart transplant in the United States on 6 January 1968 at Stanford University Hospital.[14]

text: Coronary artery bypass grafting[edit]

text: Coronary artery bypass grafting, also called revascularization, is a common surgical procedure to create an alternative path to deliver blood supply to the heart and body, with the goal of preventing clot formation. This can be done in many ways, and the arteries used can be taken from several areas of the body.[16] Arteries are typically harvested from the chest, arm, or wrist and then attached to a portion of the coronary artery, relieving pressure and limiting clotting factors in that area of the heart.[17]

text: The procedure is typically performed because of coronary artery disease (CAD), in which a plaque-like substance builds up in the coronary artery, the main pathway carrying oxygen-rich blood to the heart. This can cause a blockage and/or a rupture, which can lead to a heart attack.[17]

text: Minimally invasive surgery[edit]

text: As an alternative to open heart surgery, which involves a five- to eight-inch incision in the chest wall, a surgeon may perform an endoscopic procedure by making very small incisions through which a camera and specialized tools are inserted.[18]

text: In robot-assisted heart surgery, a machine controlled by a cardiac surgeon is used to perform a procedure. The main advantage to this is the size of the incision required: three small holes instead of an incision big enough for the surgeon's hands.[citation needed]

text: Post-surgical procedures[edit]

text: As with any surgical procedure, cardiac surgery requires postoperative precautions to avoid complications. Incision care is needed to avoid infection and minimize scarring. Swelling and loss of appetite are common.[19][20]

text: Recovery from open heart surgery begins with about 48 hours in an intensive care unit, where heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels are closely monitored. Chest tubes are inserted to drain blood around the heart and lungs. After discharge from the hospital, compression socks may be recommended in order to regulate blood flow.[21]

text: Risks[edit]

text: The advancement of cardiac surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass techniques has greatly reduced the mortality rates of these procedures. For instance, repairs of congenital heart defects are currently estimated to have 4–6% mortality rates.[22][23]

text: A major concern with cardiac surgery is neurological damage. Stroke occurs in 2–3% of all people undergoing cardiac surgery, and the rate is higher in patients with other risk factors for stroke.[24] A more subtle complication attributed to cardiopulmonary bypass is postperfusion syndrome, sometimes called "pumphead". The neurocognitive symptoms of postperfusion syndrome were initially thought to be permanent,[25] but turned out to be transient, with no permanent neurological impairment.[26]

text: In order to assess the performance of surgical units and individual surgeons, a popular risk model has been created called the EuroSCORE. It takes a number of health factors from a patient and, using precalculated logistic regression coefficients, attempts to quantify the probability that they will survive to discharge. Within the United Kingdom, the EuroSCORE was used to give a breakdown of all cardiothoracic surgery centres and to indicate whether the units and their individuals surgeons performed within an acceptable range. The results are available on the Care Quality Commission website.[27]

text: Another important source of complications are the neuropsychological and psychopathologic changes following open heart surgery. One example is Skumin syndrome, described by Victor Skumin in 1978, which is a "cardioprosthetic psychopathological syndrome"[28] associated with mechanical heart valve implants and characterized by irrational fear, anxiety, depression, sleep disorder, and weakness.[29][30]

text: Risk reduction[edit]

text: A 2012 Cochrane systematic review found evidence that preoperative physical therapy reduced postoperative pulmonary complications, such as pneumonia and atelectasis, in patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery.[31] In addition, the researchers found that preoperative physical therapy decreased the length of hospital stay by more than three days on average.[31]

text: A 2013 Cochrane review showed that both pharmacological and non-pharmacological prevention reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation after an operation and reduced the length of hospital stays. No difference in mortality could be shown.[32]

text: There is evidence that quitting smoking at least four weeks before surgery may reduce the risk of postoperative complications.[33]