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siege
siege assault against a city or fortress with the purpose of capturing it. The history of siegecraft parallels the development of fortification and, later, artillery . In early times battering rams and bores were employed to break down the walls and gates of a fortified place (see castle ) if d...
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Exmouth
Exmouth , town (1991 pop. 28,037), Devon, SW England, at the mouth of the Exe River. It is a port and a popular summer resort. In 1347, Exmouth provided 10 ships for the siege of Calais .
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Alesia
Alesia , hilltop town of Celtic and Roman Gaul, on the site of Alise-Sainte-Reine, near Dijon. It was held by Vercingetorix and his men (52 BC) when Caesar besieged it. Caesar prevented Vercingetorix' allies from raising the siege and starved out the town, thereby ending Gallic resistance to Rome....
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Sir Henry Havelock
Sir Henry Havelock , 1795-1857, British general. Entering the army in 1815, he was sent (1823) to India, where he served in the first Burma War (1824-26), the first Afghan War (1839), and the Sikh Wars (1843-49). During the Indian Mutiny , Havelock recaptured (July, 1857) Cawnpore ( Kanpur ) from t...
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George Walker
George Walker 1618-90, Irish Anglican clergyman and commander. As joint governor of Londonderry (now Derry) during the siege (1689) of that city by the army of the deposed James II, Walker roused the people by his courage and inspiring sermons and was able to hold the city for 105 days until it was...
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battle of Bunker Hill
battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolution, June 17, 1775. Detachments of colonial militia under Artemas Ward , Nathanael Greene, John Stark , and Israel Putnam laid siege to Boston shortly after the battles of Lexington and Concord. However, Thomas Gage , British commander in the city, ...
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Belfort
Belfort , city (1990 pop. 51,913), capital of the Territory of Belfort (a department), E France, in Alsace. An important industrial and transportation center, it has large cotton mills and metalworks. A major fortress town since the 17th cent., it commands the Belfort Gap, or Burgundy Gate, between ...
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John Byng
John Byng 1704-57, British admiral; son of George Byng, Viscount Torrington . Sent (1756) to prevent the French from taking Minorca, he arrived when the island was already under siege and, after an indecisive naval engagement, withdrew without relieving the siege. His court-martial and execution f...
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Ladysmith
Ladysmith town (1991 pop. 30,532), KwaZulu-Natal, E South Africa. The town has railroad yards and food-processing, textile, and tire factories. It is the distribution center for the surrounding agricultural and coal-mining region. Ladysmith was founded in 1851 by Boers (Afrikaners) who had been p...
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Lucknow
Lucknow or Lakhnau , city (1991 pop. 1,669,204), capital of Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Gomati River. An educational and cultural center, it has varied industries, including food processing, railroad shops, and handicrafts. The city is a major transportation hub and has an impor...
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