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Battle of Caldiero (1805)

The Battle of Caldiero took place on 30 October 1805, pitting the French Armée d'Italie under Marshal André Masséna against an Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. The French engaged only some of their forces, around 33,000 men, but Archduke Charles engaged the bulk of his army, 49,000 men, leaving out Paul Davidovich's corps to defend the lower Adige and Franz Seraph of Orsini-Rosenberg's corps to cover the Austrian right against any flanking maneuvers. The fighting took place at Caldiero, 15 kilometres east of Verona, during the War of the Third Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars.

Preliminaries
By mid October, Marshal André Masséna, a seasoned French general, who had fought the Austrians in Lombardia before during the campaign of 1796–1797, was waiting for developments on the main theatre of operations in Bavaria. On 18 October, Masséna won a bridgehead on the east bank of the Adige River in the Battle of Verona. At dawn, the French launched their attack from Verona against Josef Philipp Vukassovich's division. After heavy fighting, the divisions of Guillaume Philibert Duhesme and Gaspard Amédée Gardanne cleared the town of San Giorgio and part of the heights of Veronetta. The French lost 77 dead and 246 wounded, while the Austrians suffered 246 killed and 906 wounded. Archduke Charles was so unhappy with Vukassovich's performance that he replaced him with Franz Seraph of Orsini-Rosenberg.

News that Emperor Napoleon I demolished the main Austrian army in the Ulm Campaign finally reached Masséna on 28 October and he issued orders for an immediate offensive against the Austrian army in northern Italy. Crossing the Adige river with the divisions of Duhesme, Gardanne, and Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor and leaving behind Jean Mathieu Seras' division to cover Verona, Masséna planned to move forward into Austrian-controlled territory.

The fighting on 29 October is considered by one historian to be part of the Battle of Caldiero. On that day, the divisions of Duhesme and Gardanne advanced on the left against Rosenberg, while Molitor's and Louis Partouneaux's divisions moved forward against the town of Veronetta. Seeing a mass of French troops approaching, the Austrians abandoned Veronetta and fell back to San Michele. The French mauled Rosenberg's division and forced Johann Maria Philipp Frimont out of San Michele after street fighting. By the end of the day, Masséna's troops closed up to the main defense line of Archduke Charles. The French counted losses of 527 killed and wounded, plus 157 captured. Again, Austrian casualties were heavier, numbering 1,926 killed and wounded, with 1,114 prisoners.

Archduke Charles of Austria-Teschen, himself acutely aware of the dire consequences of the fall of Ulm, was planning to move towards Vienna, in order to reinforce the remains of the Austrian army and link up with the Russians. However, in order to avoid having Masséna's men on his heels, he decided to suddenly turn and face the French, hoping that by defeating them he would ensure the success of his march towards inner Austria.

Battle plans

Archduke Charles had already made preparations for a French attack, occupying the strategic village of Caldiero, through which passed the main Lombardian road ('the Verona road') and deploying no less than 58 cannons and 24 mortars. The Austrian forces were divided into three main groups: to the right, Joseph Anton von Simbschen occupied the heights of Colognola and the ravine of San Zeno, where his cavalry was massed; in the centre, General Count Heinrich von Bellegarde covered the Verona road, holding the entrenchments north of the road as well as Monte Rocca and Ponterotta, to the south of the road; the left was formed by Prince Heinrich XV of Reuss-Plauen's forces, which extended the Austrian line to Chiavighette and had the detached division of General Joseph Armand von Nordmann cover the Adige in front of Chiavica del Christo.

Upon reconnoitering the Austrian position, Masséna drew up his plan. General Gardanne was to form the apex of the army, deploying his forces on both sides of the Verona road, supported by Partouneaux's reserve, Jean Louis Brigitte Espagne's cavalry and a part of Julien Augustin Joseph Mermet's dragoons. To the left Molitor's division would deploy close to Ca dell'Ara and would set out to take the heights of Colognola. To the right, Duhesme would march on Gombione in order to fall upon Caldiero, but he was ordered to make his move towards midday. Finally Jean-Antoine Verdier would cross the Adige at Perzacco and turn the enemy left, with the support of Charles Joseph de Pully's cavalry while the rest of Mermet's cavalry would ensure contact with Verdier.

Battle

Masséna was planning to wait for Verdier's flanking maneuver before committing to a frontal attack, but Archduke Charles took the initiative, attacking on both flanks of the French army. Taking with him the cavalry he had available, Simbschen made the first move against Molitor, descending the slope of the Colognola heights and approaching Ca dell'Ara. On the other side of the battlefield, Nordmann moved forward too, following the river line of the Adige. Molitor moved forward himself and his forces clashed with Simbschen's, forcing the latter back up the slopes of the Colognola Alta. Just as the French were coming up the slope in order to assault that position, the Austrians were reinforced by troops sent by Bellegarde and thus could repulse the French attack, pushing them into the ravine. A second French assault would also fail and the fighting would continue throughout much of the day, with the Austrians remaining masters of the heights.

In the centre, general Gardanne belatedly formed his men and painstakingly fought his way up towards Caldiero against a determined Bellegarde. Gardanne's first attempt failed and he was forced to fall back on Rotta, where he was immediately reinforced by Partounneaux and d'Espagne. With his force thus augmented, Gardanne moved forward again and this time the French managed to take the vital position of Caldiero. A furious Austrian counterattack regained the position only to see Gardanne receive further reinforcements, one of Duhesme's brigades, which helped retake Caldiero. Bellegarde reformed his men for another counterattack, which he led in cooperation with Reuss-Plauen's forces, which had just come up as reinforcements. It took a considerable effort from the combined forces of Bellegarde and Reuss-Plauen to drive the French out of Caldiero, but Gardanne sounded the charge and regained control of the village after fierce hand-to-hand combat. The Austrians finally evacuated the position and the exhausted French drove them out and then fell back to the relative safety of the village.

On the French right, general Duhesme moved early against the forces of prince Reuss-Plauen and moved his first brigade under François Goullus against the Austrians at Gombione. However, Duhesme saw the situation on his left rapidly deteriorating and was thus forced to send Mathieu Herbin's brigade in support of Gardanne's assault of Caldiero. While Herbin's brigade would be in the thick of the fighting until nightfall, Goullus' would spend the day covering the position at Gombione.

To the extreme right, Verdier was operating the flanking maneuver as ordered, when he learned that Davidovich had crossed the Adige at Bonavigo and was on the right bank with a part of his troops. Verdier promptly abandoned his initial plan of crossing at Perzacco and instead decided to cross the river right away at Zevio. However, instead of striking at the back of Nordmann's force, as he had hoped Verdier found himself facing the bulk of Nordmann's troops, which soon forced the French back across the river.

As night fell, combat ceased, with the Austrians already disengaged in most sectors of the battlefield. Archduke Charles decided against renewing battle the next day and began pulling out during the night.

Casualties

Both sides took heavy casualties, with the French losing only slightly fewer men than the Austrians, around 3,700 to 4,200. The French also lost colonel Julliac de Manelle of the 2nd Foot Artillery Regiment, who was mortally wounded during the battle. Some vicious fighting involved the French 5th Line Infantry Regiment, which almost lost two of its eagles. A second source gives Austrian losses as 5,700 and notes that Charles claimed to have inflicted 8,000 casualties on the French. A third source puts Austrian losses higher than 5,500 and says that the French under-reported their casualties as 2,000 when they must have been at least 5,000.

On 30 October, as a result of the defeat at Caldiero, the Austrians also lost a further 5,000 men and 70 officers (among which there were three superior officers) with their weapons and effects. These men were stationed at Cara Albertini under the command of General Hillinger and were forced to surrender. Although the French had agreed to release the prisoners, the 5,000 men would not be released. Two authorities put Hillinger's disaster on 2 November and gave Austrian losses as 400 killed and wounded and 1,800 captured. Another source gives no casualties or date for the action but wrote that Hillinger was "annihilated".

Strategic aftermath
Archduke Charles began his retreat on the morning of 1 November, leaving a rearguard under Frimont to delay the French. Frimont's mixed brigade, consisting of four battalions and 12 squadrons, was only lightly engaged in the battle. Reinforced by infantry and an additional cavalry regiment, the rear guard put up a lively fight when pressed by d'Espagne's cavalry and the 22nd Light Infantry Regiment.

Bellegarde, Rosenberg, and Reuss fell back to Vicenza while Davidovich's corps withdrew to Padua. Hoping to create trouble in Massena's rear, Charles ordered Davidiovich to reinforce the Venice garrison with 12 battalions. Unknown to Charles, Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr's 8,700-man Italian division was marching northeast from central Italy. When it arrived near Venice, Saint-Cyr had sufficient strength to blockade the port and prevent the Austrian garrison from harassing Massena's communications.

Archduke Charles steadily retreated, fighting a rear guard action at San Pietro in Gu near the Brenta River on 4 November in which one battalion of the Kreutzer Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 5 was destroyed by Molitor's division. Another clash occurred at Valvasone, east of the Tagliamento River on 11 November, where Charles fended off the French pursuit. During the withdrawal, d'Espagne trailed the Austrians with his own light cavalry division, Antoine Digonet's brigade of Verdier's division, Seras' infantry division, and Pully's cuirassiers. D'Espagne managed the pursuit effectively, making Charles believe that he was being closely followed. In fact, Masséna's main body was a three-day march behind the Austrians. Charles crossed the Isonzo River on 13 November. Karl von Vincent held off Molitor's attempt to cross the Isonzo River at Gradisca d'Isonzo on 16 November.

At the beginning of the war, Archduke John of Austria was assigned to command the army in the Tyrol and the Vorarlberg. He was directed to detach forces under Franz Jellacic and Franz Xaver von Auffenberg to the Danube army. Auffenberg's division was mauled at the Battle of Wertingen and later surrendered at the Battle of Ulm. Jellacic was required to guard the south flank of the Danube army near Lake Constance. Marshal Pierre Augereau's VII Corps ran him to earth in the Vorarlberg. Jellacic surrendered with his infantry on 14 November in the Capitulation of Dornbirn, his cavalry having gotten away. Another brigade of the Tyrol army under Prince Louis Victor Rohan-Guéméné became separated in the retreat and slipped away to the south where it made a dash for Venice. On 24 November Rohan's 4,400 troops were caught between the divisions of Jean Reynier and Saint-Cyr at the Battle of Castelfranco Veneto and forced to surrender. John managed to escape to the east with about 20,000 soldiers and fought a successful rear guard action against Nicolas Bernard Guiot de Lacour's dragoons near the upper Isonzo at Bovec on 19 November 1805.

Charles hoped to march northeast to Villach for an early junction with his brother, Archduke John. However, he heard that some of Napoleon's troops were moving in his direction from the Danube valley. Marshal Michel Ney's VI Corps was repulsed at Scharnitz on 4 November with 800 casualties. However, that day, another brigade broke through a pass farther west at Leutasch, capturing about 600 Austrian line infantry. At Weyer on 7 November, Auguste Marmont's II Corps overtook and captured two battalions belonging to Maximilian, Count of Merveldt's corps. Farther east on the following day, Louis Davout's III Corps advance guard crushed Merveldt's column at the Battle of Mariazell. Ney occupied Innsbruck on 7 November and Marmont was heading for Leoben in Styria. Armed with this new information, Charles instead directed his troops' march on a more easterly path toward Ljubljana (Laibach). Massena suspended his pursuit of Charles on 16 November.

Archdukes Charles and John joined forces near Maribor (Marburg an der Drau) on 26 November. Though he now had an army numbering 85,000, Charles elected not to make a thrust at Vienna by attacking Marmont. Instead, he "moved rather slowly" according to historian Gunther E. Rothenberg. Charles pitched camp on the Mur River until 2 December when he withdrew into Hungary. By the time he reached Körmend on 6 December, the Battle of Austerlitz had been fought, ending in a decisive French victory.

Even after his great victory, Emperor Napoleon considered Archduke Charles' large army a threat. Accordingly, he directed Massena to reorganize his army as the VIII Corps, sweep east, and send Mermet's and Pully's heavy cavalry to Graz. Marmont massed at Graz with the II Corps while Ney reached Klagenfurt with his VI Corps. Napoleon stationed Marshal Davout's III Corps at Bratislava (Pressburg) and Marshal Nicolas Soult's IV Corps south of Vienna. Charles' army was completely boxed in. On 26 December, the Treaty of Pressburg was signed, ending the conflict.

Commentary
The battle was a significant strategic victory for the French as it allowed them to closely follow and continually harass the Austrian army as it fell back towards inner Austria. Masséna thus delayed Charles, preventing him from joining the army of the Danube and directly influencing the main theatre of the war.

Historians disagree on whether Caldiero was a French tactical victory, an Austrian tactical victory or a draw. Alain Pigeard, whose work is a major source for this article, rated the engagement as a French victory. Digby Smith called the battle a "drawn match", but Frederick C. Schneid called it "indecisive". Gunther E. Rothenberg wrote that Caldiero was "Austria's solitary military success in this war", but he was aware that the French historian Adolphe Thiers had considered the battle to be a French victory.

Napoleon was more critical of Andre Masséna: ‘(He) has behaved indifferently. He made bad dispositions and got himself beaten at Caldiero’.

title: Battle of Caldiero (1805)


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AACS

AACS may refer to:

 * Advanced Access Content System, a standard for content distribution and digital rights management
 * AACS encryption key controversy
 * American Association of Christian Schools, an organization that unifies individual Christian schools and statewide Christian school associations
 * Annapolis Area Christian School, a Christian school in Maryland, United States
 * Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystems, used to orient space probes relative to a fixed point

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title: AACS


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Singapore Democratic Party

The Singapore Democratic Party (abbreviation: SDP) is a social liberal political party in Singapore. Having peaked at three seats after the 1991 general election, the party currently has no seats in Parliament since 1997.

It was founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, who as Secretary-General became the party's first Member of Parliament (MP) in 1984 when he was elected in the constituency of Potong Pasir. At the 1991 general election, SDP members Ling How Doong and Cheo Chai Chen won their seats at Bukit Gombak and Nee Soon respectively, giving the party a total of three MPs. However, Chiam fell out with the party's Central Executive Committee in 1993 and subsequently left the party in 1996 for the splinter Singapore People's Party (SPP), destabilising the party. He was succeeded by Chee Soon Juan, who has remained the Secretary-General ever since.

A centrist to centre-left political party, the SDP ideologically draw upon both liberalism and social democracy. The party has been led by different factions at various points, with Chiam and Chee's respective leaderships characterised by very divergent party objectives. Members of the party have its own ideological bent, many of which leaning towards the centre-left and others the centre and some even the centre-right. Since the 2000s, the party has since focused more on a liberal human rights agenda.

The party has called for a few reforms to the Constitution. Among others, it emphasises stronger protections for civil liberties and promotes social liberal approaches to issues as well as changes to education, healthcare and housing policies. It also favours more social welfare spending for Singaporeans and decreasing the rates of immigration. The party is both a member of Liberal International and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats.

Founding
The SDP was founded on 6 August 1980 by lawyer Chiam See Tong, who had contested several elections as an independent candidate in the 1970s, together with consultant engineer Fok Tai Loy and businessman Ernest Chew Tian Ern, who they took the roles of the party's founding Secretary-General, Chairman, and Assistant Secretary-General, respectively. The main objectives of the party were declared to be the "elimination of colonialism and feudalism, the safeguarding of parliamentary democracy and upholding of the principles of democracy, socialism and the constitution." Two months later, on 19 October 1980, the party unveiled its emblem: a circle (which symbolises unity amongst Singapore's ethnic groups), behind an arrow (representing political progress in Singapore) in the colour red (signifying courage and determination). The party was inaugurated on 21 September 1981, a full year after being registered as a political party.

1980 and 1984 general elections
The party entered the election campaign of that year under the slogan of "Singaporeans for Singapore", raising the need for elected opposition in parliament to bring democracy to Singapore. The party also raised other prominent issues of the time such as the need to reform the education and CPF system, and its opposition to the Elected Presidency. It noticeably fielded only four candidates in that general election: Secretary-General Chiam See Tong, Chairman Ling How Doong (who was elected Chairman after the death of Fok Tai Loy), Vice-Chairman Soon Kia Seng and treasurer Peter Lim Ah Yong.

During the campaigning, the party came under fire from the ruling's People's Action Party (PAP), with Ling and Chiam bearing the brunt of the attacks. The PAP chose to highlight Ling's dismissal from the police force and the record of his election agent, but these were quickly rebutted by the SDP leadership. Chiam saw his secondary school record being brought up by the then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who compared Chiam's intelligence with that of PAP's Mah Bow Tan (a candidate who later became a cabinet minister and then-MP of Tampines GRC) who was standing against the SDP leader. Chiam won the single seat of Potong Pasir after three attempts in the constituency by a vote of 60.3% to Mah's 39.7%, making Chiam as only the second opposition politician ever to be elected to the Republic's Parliament after J.B. Jeyaretnam of the Workers' Party. The SDP garnered 45.2% of total votes cast in the constituencies they had contested in.

After Jeyaretnam was expelled from Parliament in 1986, Chiam was Singapore's sole opposition MP. A moderate, Chiam claimed that he was not opposing for the sake of opposition. He also said: "But if they (the government) do the wrong things which are not good for Singapore, then we will oppose fearlessly".

1988 general elections
The 1988 general elections saw the opposition's strongest challenge since 1963, with 71 out of 82 seats contested. This election also saw the PAP engage the SDP's Chiam and WP's Jeyaretnam in a television debate. Besides Chiam and Ling, the SDP also fielded Ashleigh Seow (the son of former Solicitor-General Francis Seow), businessmen Jufrie Mahmood, Cheo Chai Chen and Ng Teck Siong, sales manager Kwan Yue Keng, bank clerical assistant Mohd Shariff Yahya, teacher George Sita, financial futures trader Jimmy Tan, former PAP MP Low Yong Nguan, businesswoman Toh Kim Kiat, construction supervisor Francis Yong Chu Leong, shipping manager Chia Ah Soon and director Sin Kek Tong, the later who would found Chiam's spin-off party of Singapore People's Party. The party chose to target the government on the plan to amend the constitution, and that the economic prosperity indicators it used were untrue When the results were declared, it emerged that the SDP was the only opposition party to win a seat, with Chiam re-elected as Potong Pasir MP for a second term. The SDP scored 39.5% of the total votes cast in all the constituencies it had contested in.

1991 general elections
The PAP's announcement of a general election in 1991 came when the ruling party was barely in office for three years. The SDP chose to highlight its objections to some controversial government policies such as the sharp increase of ministers' salaries, the cost of healthcare, university education, transport and the GST. Most significantly, the SDP engineered an agreement with the other opposition parties to contest just under half the seats in Parliament, thus creating a "by-election effect" (reassuring voters that there would not be a change in government and encouraging them to elect more opposition voices).

The election results saw SDP best performance for an opposition in post-independence Singapore since Barisan Sosialis with a combined vote share of 48.6%. All nine of the candidates put up extremely strong fights against the PAP during this election, with three candidates elected to the parliament (Leader Chiam, party Chairman Ling How Doong and Cheo Chai Chen of Potong Pasir SMC, Bukit Gombak SMC and Nee Soon Central SMC, respectively); While Ling and Cheo were elected in tight margins, Chiam's 69.6% was both himself and any opposition's best performance hitherto. Along with Worker's Party would-be leader Low Thia Khiang electing in Hougang, the opposition won a combined four parliament seats, then the largest representation since 1963. At the time, the result was viewed as being a notable setback to the ruling party and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

In 1992, Chiam recruited Chee Soon Juan, a psychology lecturer at the National University of Singapore (NUS), to be an SDP candidate for a by-election in the Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency. Although the SDP was unsuccessful in the by-election (the PAP won 72.9% of the votes, the SDP 24.5%, and other smaller parties 2.6%), the recruitment of Chee as a candidate generated considerable public interest. However differences between Chiam, Chee and the rest of the party's Central Executive Committee were soon to emerge.

Internal party disputes in 1993
In 1993, three months after joining the SDP, Chee was dismissed by the NUS for allegedly using research funds to pay the courier fees (under $200) to send his wife's PhD dissertation to the United States, which Chee claimed that this was not the case as his wife was an employee in the same department at NUS at that time and was working with him, sharing and collaborating in their research, and that the funds were properly used. Chee claimed that there was a political motive behind his dismissal, but the PAP denied the accusation; Chiam wanted to censure Chee for his comments, but the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) backed Chee.

Chiam then relinquished his party's Secretary-General post to Chee, before he proceed to publicly criticise the CEC, and won a court case to prevent the party from expelling Chiam (as well as vacating his Potong Pasir seat) from SDP on procedural grounds; however the CEC appointed Ling to replace Chiam as the party's parliamentary leader.

Supporters of Chiam left the SDP and formed the Singapore People's Party (SPP) in 1994, with former SDP member Sin Kek Tong as its pro-tem leader. After Parliament was dissolved ahead of the 1997 general election, Chiam left the SDP to join the SPP and became the new party's leader.

1994–2000
After being placed as the acting SDP leader in 1993, Chee began expressing his views on the lack of democracy in Singapore to the media. He published his second political book, Dare To Change: An Alternative Vision for Singapore, in 1996. This view had since led to the attention of the PAP's Organizing Secretary Matthias Yao; ahead of the 1997 elections, Chee publicly issue a challenge to stand against Yao (who he accepted) in his constituency of MacPherson.

At the 1997 general election, the SDP suffered significant electoral setbacks with SDP failing to win a single seat since 1984, including incumbents Cheo and Ling, as well as Chee. Their party's vote also dropped from 48.6% down to 33.1%, and no SDP members until now have been elected since. However, former SDP Member Chiam, now a SPP candidate, succeed in retaining his Potong Pasir seat, alongs WP's Low in his Hougang ward; Chiam and Low were also the only opposition MPs returned to Parliament for two more elections (2001 and 2006).

In 1999, Chee came to national attention when he gave a public speech in the financial district despite being denied a permit to speak publicly.

2001–2005
During the campaigning, Chee's meeting with then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong sparked public's imagination during one of Goh's rallies where he, along with his followers, raised their fists and chanted slogans. Later, from his campaign vehicle, Chee used a megaphone to ask Goh: "Where is the S$18 billion that you have lent to (Indonesian President) Suharto?" PAP shortly demanded Chee to apologise for claiming a false accusation or face a defamation lawsuit. Despite apologising to PAP a day later due to the party's pressure, SDP further criticise the PAP's economic policies and urged for the minimum wage of S$5 per hour for the rest of the 2001 campaign. The SDP's economic alternatives were dismissed by the PAP which claimed that the SDP policies would lead Singapore to bankruptcy and inflation.

The party's popular vote fell for the second consecutive election, down to 20.4%, in addition on failing to win a seat for the parliament. Due to bankruptcy set forth by the PAP in the following year (which barred candidates from running in elections), this was Chee's last stint in the political arena until three elections later in 2015.

2006 general election
In March 2006, just before the 2006 general election, the party appeared to be cracking from within after Chee was jailed for not paying a fine for contempt of court. Then-SDP's chairman, Ling How Doong, was quoted as saying that the party "would be run even better" without Chee, citing that the party was not just a one-man show and could survive and even thrive without him. Chee's sister Chee Siok Chin. also a party member, confirmed that the party remained united.

The party continued its preparations for the 2006 general election, choosing to target then-Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan in Sembawang GRC over the National Kidney Foundation Scandal and to ride on the public backlash at the time. The party subsequently published an editorial in the New Democrat questioning the PAP's credibility over the issue, but PAP went to sue SDP for defamation on 22 April, and PAP won, resulting in the entire CEC (except for the Chee Siblings) to apologise and pay damages by 26 April.

Nevertheless, the party successfully nominate a combined seven candidates (Sembawang GRC and Bukit Panjang SMC) on nomination day, two days before being sued. The Sembawang team was led by Chee Siok Chin, along with businessmen Christopher Neo, Isa Abdul Aziz and Yong Chu Leong, marketing manager Gerald Sng Choon Guan and administrator Narayanasamy Gogelavany, while the party's chair, Ling How Doong, was fielded in Bukit Panjang SMC. The SDP's final vote share for Sembawang and Bukit Panjang was 23.3% and 22.8% respectively, marking a slight improvement in results as compared to 2001, but still far short of the national average of 33.3%.

Tak Boleh Tahan protest
On 15 March 2008, Chee and 18 others held a demonstration at Parliament House, all wearing red Tak Boleh Tahan (Cannot Take It) T-shirts to kick-start the campaign. At Parliament House, the protesters were warned by police to stop their unlawful assembly. When the warning was ignored, the police dispersed the protest and arrested the demonstrators.

The trial PP vs. Chee Soon Juan and 18 others began on October 23, 2008, with the defendants charged on two counts of violating Section 5(4)b Chapter 184 of the Miscellaneous Offences (Public and Nuisance) Act. In their defense, the "defendants claim that they're innocent by virtue of their right under the Singapore constitution to enjoy the guarantees of freedom of assembly and expression", and the trial has been described by the Washington Times as "a test about whether Singapore's judiciary is independent".

2011 general election
In preparation for the impending elections in 2011, the Singapore Democratic Party organized two pre-election rallies at Hong Lim Park on September and November 2010. The Party also unveiled a Shadow Budget in February 2011, as well as its campaign strategy, "The SDP Promise" in April 2011. Between September 2010 and April 2011, SDP also continued its groundwork in the constituencies of Bukit Panjang, Holland–Bukit Timah, Yuhua and Whampoa.

The party unveiled its slate of 11 candidates just a few days prior to Nomination Day. The candidates were introduced during press conferences on 21 and 22 April 2011. Former senior civil servant Tan Jee Say, private school teacher Michelle Lee Juen, psychiatrist Ang Yong Guan and social activist Vincent Wijeysingha made up the SDP's team for Holland–Bukit Timah GRC. Also announced during this period of time was the party's intention to contest Sembawang GRC. The team fielded there consisted of academic and former WP member James Gomez, party Assistant-Secretary General John Tan, entrepreneur Jarrod Luo, former unionist Sadasivam Veriyah and businessman Mohd Isa. Former ISA detainee Teo Soh Lung and party treasurer Gerald Sng were also introduced to the media and were fielded in the constituencies of Yuhua and Bukit Panjang respectively. The party later recruited Alec Tok, leaving Sng to make way for Tok in Bukit Panjang SMC.

Among the issues brought up by the party prior to nomination day were: the heavy influx of foreigners into Singapore, Vivian Balakrishnan's mismanagement of the Youth Olympic Games and the loss of sinking funds in the PAP run town councils in Holland–Bukit Timah and Bukit Panjang. However, these issues were quickly overshadowed by Balakrishnan's attack on the SDP team over a video supposedly containing Wijeysingha's "gay agenda". The SDP quickly refuted these allegations on Wijeysingha, with the party's Secretary-General making his stance clear on a video released by the party on 25 April. On nomination day, the Singapore Democratic Party team saw the nomination of all its candidates. In particular, the Holland–Bukit Timah team had also raised an objection to the nomination of the PAP's candidates. The PAP's Sim Ann had filed in her occupation as a former civil servant and this was disputed by the SDP team given the short time span between Sim Ann's resignation from the civil service and nomination day.

On the polling day on 7 May, the SDP was defeated in all the seats they contested, with 36.1%, 33.73%, 33.14% for Sembawang GRC, Bukit Panjang SMC and Yuhua SMC, respectively; however, their team in Holland–Bukit Timah GRC scored its best result since 1997, with 39.92% (slightly above the national average of 39.86%), and the party's scored 36.76% of the party's popular vote.

After the election, Tan Jee Say resigned from SDP to seek candidacy for the presidential election held on the same year, as constitution states that candidates were required to be nonpartisan and cannot represent in any political party. Despite receiving endorsement from the oppositions, Tan only garnered 529,732 out of over two million valid votes (or 25.04%) and finished third in a rare four-cornered contest to Tony Tan (a former PAP member and Deputy Prime Minister), where he won the election with 744,397 votes (or 35.20%).

On 23 November 2012, secretary-general Chee was formally discharged from bankruptcy in court, allowing him to participate in future elections once more. Chee initially expressed his intention to contest the Punggol East SMC in the 2013 by-election (which was precipitated after the incumbent MP Michael Palmer resigned due to an extramarital affair), which could have marked his return to the political arena after a decade, but later pulled out from contest to avoid a multi-cornered contest and backed WP (whose candidate, Lee Li Lian, would later go on to win).

2015 general election

Elections were called by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2015 commemorating after 50 years of independence. The SDP contested five electoral divisions, which were Bukit Batok SMC, Bukit Panjang SMC, Yuhua SMC, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC and Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC. For the SDP, the election saw the return to the politics for Secretary-General Chee since 2001 after Chee was discharged from bankruptcy, who led his team to contest Holland–Bukit Timah GRC (along with Paul Tambyah, a professor, Sidek Mallek, a compliance auditor, and Chong Wai Fung, a medical administrator). Despite failing to win any contested seat, Chee's team of Holland–Bukit Timah GRC polled above the Opposition's national average with 30.14% of the popular vote. All the candidates who contested this ward in the 2011 elections such as Vincent Wijeysingha, Tan Jee Say and Ang Yong Guan, resigned from the party prior; Tan and Ang would later become members to lead Singaporeans First. On 22 August, their party had moved their headquarters to Ang Mo Kio.

In this electoral contest, Chee was noted for shifting away from a confrontational style of politics in an attempt to soften his image. Whether this was successful is debatable though it is commonly argued that Chee's return was a significant asset to the party. Although SDP's combined vote of 31.2% was lower compared to the previous election, this was against the backdrop of a large swing away from opposition parties, of which SDP was one of the least affected.

2016 Bukit Batok by-election
On 20 March 2016, SDP announced that Chee would stood as a candidate for the forthcoming by-election for the ward of Bukit Batok SMC held on 7 May, after incumbent David Ong vacated his seat due to an extramarital affair involving another grassroots leader. During nomination day on 27 April, Chee was successfully nominated and faced the PAP's new candidate Murali Pillai (who previously contested the WP-held Aljunied GRC). Former SDP member Kwan Yue Keng also stated his intention to contest as independent, but later withdrew upon Chee's successful nomination, as part of an agreement from the People's Power Party to prevent a walkover.

Despite the by-election defeat, an 11.78% swing towards SDP from the last election saw Chee's best performance score since 1997, at 38.79%. His best performance was widely attributed on his opinionated personality rather than introspective, and how his campaign drew notable attention to his supporters.

2017–2018: Lawsuit regarding by-elections
On 7 August 2017, former Parliamentary Speaker Halimah Yacob vacated her seat in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC in order to contest that year's presidential election. While the seat remain vacant, the grassroots advisor (which was linked to People's Association) was replaced by Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zaqy Mohamad the day after. Despite Mohamad was a minority MP for the GRC and a grassroots advisor is not the same as having an MP elected by residents of the constituency, one of the original purposes of the GRC system was to ensure minority representation, and thus a by-election was not held.

On 14 September (the same day Yacob was sworn as president after the election went uncontested ), the party's assistant treasurer Wong Souk Yee filed a lawsuit for a by-election (intended to occur on 15 January 2018 as cited in a pre-trial conference) to be called. Justice Chua Lee Ming presided on the hearing, but on 9 April 2018, their bid was dismissed and Wong was tasked to pay S$10,764.35; Chua told that a by-election should be called only when all seats in a GRC are vacated (which was did once on the 1992 Marine Parade by-election), and there is no legal basis to ask the three remaining MPs to resign.

On 16 January 2019, Wong called on the apex court to issue a mandatory order to compel its three MPs to step down for a two-hour hearing.

2018–2020: Preparing for the 2020 general election
In July 2018, SDP was among the six other opposition parties (the others were Reform Party, Singaporeans First, People's Power Party, Democratic Progressive Party, National Solidarity Party, and a new party formed by former NSP chief Lim Tean, People's Voice Party) present in a meeting led by former PAP MP Tan Cheng Bock, on the possibility of forming a collation for the next election with Tan as the party leader. SDP intend to side WP as stated after the 2015 elections, but the latter declined their participation request, and did not turn up on the party's meeting.

On 23 February 2019, at the time the impending election was yet to be announced, the party was the first to begin their election campaign despite a last-minute venue dropout, and announced that they would contest the same constituencies as they did in the 2015 election, and a goal to prevent the ruling PAP from retaining a government with a supermajority (two-thirds of the total number of parliamentary seats) that the party attained since post-independence. Party's vice-chairman John Tan announced that SDP would also unveil policy papers on housing and the cost of living the following month, followed by healthcare and population issues in May. Former DPP secretary-leader Benjamin Pwee, on the same time, was revealed that he and a few others have submitted their applications to join the SDP, after Pwee left the party on 19 February.

On 21 June, the party's leader confirmed Chee would settle a rematch in the Bukit Batok SMC against Murali in the election. Three days later on the 24th, the party confirmed their intentions to contest the same wards that they challenged in the last election, namely Bukit Panjang, Holland–Bukit Timah, Marsiling–Yew Tee and Yuhua. Their nominations were confirmed on 30 June, resulting in 11 candidates competing in the election, among which three candidates made their election debut, and Tan Jee Say returning to the party after earlier dissolving Singaporean First ahead of the nominations.

SDP chairman and Bukit Panjang candidate Paul Tambyah on 3 July had said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) had told "employers they were not allowed to bring their workers for testing", an allegation that Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong later denied on 5 July.

When the results was announced on 10 July, they were defeated in every seats contested, although Bukit Panjang came that close to winning the election with chairman Tambyah garnering 46.26% of the votes, while Chee came second with 45.20% of the votes while contesting Bukit Batok. Their vote share based on the constituencies contested was 37.04%, falling short from the national average of 38.76%.

2020-2025: Party improvements
The party remained undeterred following the 2020 elections, especially on how the team ran a good campaign and the appearance of Tambyah. Former chairman Ling How Doong died on 30 April 2021 due to pneumonia.

In 2023, the party made early preparations leading up to the next General election, scheduled to be held before November 2025, including its intention to contest on Sembawang GRC for the first time since 2011, where the party began their walkabouts around August. On 12 April, the party announced that they will relocate their headquarters from Ang Mo Kio after eight years on 11 November to the "western half of the island", later revealing to be WGECA Tower. The party also suggested a coalition with Progress Singapore Party on June that year. However, the party mourned its death of a recently CEC member-elect and Assistant Treasurer Manimaran Ashukumar on 29 July 2023.

Organisation and structure
The SDP is governed by a twelve-member Central Executive Committee (CEC), who are elected by the party's cadre members at the Ordinary Party Conference held biennially.

Affiliations
The affiliates with which the SDP works in co-operation are:
 * Alliance for Reform and Democracy in Asia
 * World Movement for Democracy
 * Sweden-Singapore Initiative for Democracy
 * Community of Democracies NGO Process

The Young Democrats (the SDP's youth wing) is a member of:
 * International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY)
 * Young Liberals and Democrats of Asia (YLDA)

title: Singapore Democratic Party


text:
Skyman

Skyman may refer to:

Fictional characters and media

 * Skyman (Columbia Comics), fictional comic book superhero
 * Skyman (film), a 2019 American science fiction-found footage horror film
 * Skyman (DC Comics), a DC Comics character
 * Sylvester Pemberton, a DC comics character and one of the people to be called Skyman
 * Skyman, a character in the manga/anime series Kinnikuman
 * Jacob Colby, aka Skyman, a DC comics character
 * Skyman, a BBC1 Radio show by Mark Radcliffe
 * The Skyman a 1948 Australian comic strip by Yaroslav Horak
 * Skyman, a comic book series by Dark Horse Comics

People

 * "Skyman", nickname of Philip Orin Parmelee (1887–1912), American aviator
 * "Skyman", stage name for Guillaume Faye
 * "SkyMan", nickname of a member of the Rain City Superhero Movement

Other

 * Skyman, a flying platform for Steadicam operators for which Garrett Brown received a Technical Academy Award
 * Skyman, a series of aircraft built by Austrian aircraft manufacturer Wings of Change

title: Skyman


text:
Łódź University of Technology

Łódź University of Technology (Politechnika Łódzka) was created in 1945 and has developed into one of the biggest technical universities in Poland. Originally located in an old factory building, today it covers nearly 200,000 sq. meters in over 70 separate buildings, the majority of which are situated in the main University area. Almost 15,000 students are currently studying at the university. The educational and scientific tasks of the university are carried out by about 3,000 staff members.

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering is one of the first departments of the Lodz University of Technology conducting research activity and teaching. The Faculty offers full-time, part-time, doctoral and postgraduate studies. It educates students in seven study areas being part of technical sciences, both full-time and part-time.

The faculty comprises 3 institutes and 6 departments:
 * Organizational units
 * Institute of Materials Science and Engineering
 * Institute of Machine Tools and Production Engineering
 * Institute of Turbomachinery
 * Department of Vehicles and Fundamentals of Machine Design
 * Department of Strength of Materials
 * Department of Dynamics
 * Department of Manufacturing Engineering
 * Department of Automation, Biomechanics and Mechatronics
 * Department of Materials Engineering and Production Systems

The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering offers full-time and part-time, first and second cycle studies in seven fields of study:
 * Fields of study
 * Automation and Robotics
 * Energy
 * Mechanical Engineering
 * Mechatronics
 * Materials Engineering
 * Production Engineering
 * Transportation

The faculty also offers third cycle studies in the following fields of study:
 * Construction and Operation of Machines
 * Mechanics
 * Materials Engineering

Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering
The Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering is one of the largest faculties of Lodz University of Technology. It came into existence in 1945. The faculty educates students in the fields of Automation and Robotics, Electronics and Telecommunications, Electrical Engineering, Power Engineering, Information Technology, Occupational Safety Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Mechatronics and Transport.

The faculty comprises the following units:
 * Organisational units
 * Institute of Electrical Engineering Systems
 * Institute of Automatic Control
 * Institute of Mechatronics and Information Systems
 * Institute of Electrical Power Engineering
 * Institute of Electronics
 * Institute of Applied Computer Science
 * Department of Electrical Apparatus
 * Department of Microelectronics and Computer Science
 * Department of Semiconductors and Optoelectric Devices

The Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering offers full-time and part-time, first and second cycle studies in the following fields of study:
 * Fields of study
 * Automation and Robotics
 * Electronics and Telecommunications (both in Polish and English)
 * Electrical Engineering
 * Power Engineering
 * Information Technology (in Polish and English)
 * Occupational Safety Engineering
 * Biomedical Engineering (in Polish and English)
 * Mechatronics
 * Transport

The faculty also offers postgraduate courses and trainings for persons who want to improve their skills.

Faculty of Chemistry
The Faculty of Chemistry is one of the faculties of Lodz University of Technology educating in the field of chemical science and technology.

 * Organizational units
 * Institute of General and Ecological Chemistry
 * Institute of Organic Chemistry
 * Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry
 * Institute of Polymer and Dye Technology
 * Department of Molecular Physics

The faculty offers the following full-time studies:
 * Fields of study
 * Chemistry – 3,5-year first cycle studies, 1,5-year second cycle studies and 4-year third cycle studies
 * Chemical Technology – first, second and third cycle studies
 * Environmental Protection – first cycle studies
 * Nanotechnology – first and second cycle studies
 * Chemistry of Building Materials (since 2011 in cooperation with AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow and Gdańsk University of Technology)
 * Chemistry and Special Purpose Material Engineering (since March 2015, interdisciplinary, the field shared with the second degree studies of the Faculty of Chemistry of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and the Department of New Technologies and Chemistry at Military University of Technology in Warsaw)

Faculty of Material Technologies and Textile Design

 * Organizational units
 * Institute of Architecture of Textiles
 * Department of Design Theory and Textile Design History
 * Department of Woven Fabrics
 * Department of Visual Arts
 * Department of Clothing Technology and Textronics
 * Department of Man-Made Fibres
 * Department of Knitting Technology
 * Department of Material and Commodity Sciences and Textile Metrology
 * Department of Material and Commodity Sciences and Textile Metrology
 * Department of Physical Chemistry of Polymers
 * Department of Yarn, Non-Woven Fabrics and Fibriform Composites Technology
 * Department of Technical Mechanics and Computer Engineering
 * Department of Textile Machine Mechanics

The faculty offers the following full-time courses in 5 fields of study:
 * Fields of study
 * Education of Technology and Information Engineering (1st cycle studies; 2nd cycle studies)
 * Material Engineering (1st cycle studies; 2nd cycle studies)
 * Occupational Health (1st cycle studies)
 * Textile Engineering (1st cycle studies; 2nd cycle studies)
 * Pattern Design (1st cycle studies; 2nd cycle studies)

The faculty also offers the following postgraduate courses: The Faculty provides full-time PhD courses lasting 4 years in the field of textile mechanical engineering and textile chemical engineering.
 * Postgraduate Studies in Science of Commodities– 1 year (2 semesters)
 * Postgraduate Studies “Occupational Health”– 1 year (2 semesters)
 * Inter-faculty Postgraduate Studies in Biomaterial Engineering – 1 year (2 semesters)
 * Postgraduate Studies in Clothing Technology– 1,5 year (3 semesters)
 * Postgraduate Studies in Fashion and Design "Université de la Mode"– 2 years (4 semesters)

Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences
The Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences is an interdisciplinary faculty where the conducted research is related to chemistry, engineering and biology. It is one of the most unusual faculties at Polish technical universities.

 * Organizational units
 * Institute of General Food Chemistry
 * Food and Environmental Analysis
 * Chemical Biophysics
 * Bioorganic Chemistry and Cosmetic Raw Materials
 * Analytical and Bioinorganic Chemistry
 * Institute of Technical Biochemistry
 * Institute of Chemical Technology of Food
 * Department of Technology of Sugar Production
 * Department of Technology of Confectionery and Starch
 * Department of Technology of Food Refrigeration
 * Department of Food Analysis and Technology
 * Sugar Technology Laboratory
 * Quality Management
 * Institute of Fermentation Technology and Microbiology
 * Department of Technical Microbiology
 * Department of Technology of Fermentation
 * Department of Technology of Spirit and Yeast

The faculty offers education in the following fields:
 * Fields of study
 * Biotechnology
 * Environmental Protection
 * Food Science and Nutrition
 * Environmental Biotechnology

The faculty, together with IFE (International Faculty of Engineering), offers first and second cycle full-time studies in biotechnology in English.

Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environmental Engineering
The Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environmental Engineering is one of the departments of Lodz University of Technology educating in the following fields: architecture and urban planning, construction, engineering and environmental protection. It was established on May 11, 1956.

The faculty consists of two institutes and six departments:
 * Organisational units
 * Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning
 * Institute of Environmental Engineering and Building Installations
 * Department of Mechanics of Materials
 * Department of Building Physics and Building Materials
 * Department of Structural Mechanics
 * Department of Concrete Structures
 * Department of Geotechnics and Engineering Structures
 * Department of Geodesy, Environmental Cartography and Descriptive Geometry

The faculty offers full-time and part-time studies in the following fields of study:
 * Fields of study
 * Construction
 * Architecture and Urban Planning
 * Environmental Engineering
 * Spatial Economy

The faculty also offers third cycle studies.

Faculty of Technical Physics, Information Technology and Applied Mathematics
The Faculty of Technical Physics, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics is one of the nine of faculties of Lodz University of Technology. It was established in 1976.

The faculty comprises the following units:
 * Organisational units
 * Institute of Computer Science:
 * Department of Intelligent Systems and Software Engineering
 * Department of Computer Graphics and Multimedia
 * Department of Systems and Information Technology
 * Institute of Mathematics
 * Department of Mathematical Modelling
 * Department of Contemporary Applied Mathematical Analysis
 * Department of Insurance and Capital Markets
 * Institute of Physics

The faculty offers full-time and part-time, first and second cycle studies in the following fields of study:
 * Fields of study
 * Technical Physics
 * Information Technology
 * Mathematics

Faculty of Management and Production Engineering
The Faculty of Management and Production Engineering offers education in the field of organization and management combined with technical sciences, adopting a practical approach.

 * Organizational units
 * Department of Management
 * Department of Production Management and Logistics
 * Department of European Integration and International Marketing
 * Department of Management Systems and Innovation
 * Institute of Social Sciences and Management of Technologies

The Faculty of Management and Production Engineering offers the following fields of study:
 * Fields of study
 * Management
 * Management Engineering
 * Management and Production Engineering
 * Business and Technology - in English and French
 * Occupational Safety Engineering
 * Logistics
 * Paper Production and Printing

Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering
The Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering is an organizational unit of TUL conducting research and teaching.

 * Organizational units
 * Department of Process Equipment
 * Department of Chemical Engineering
 * Department of Bioprocess Engineering
 * Department of Process Thermodynamics
 * Department of Numerical Modelling
 * Department of Safety Engineering
 * Department of Molecular Engineering
 * Department of Environmental Engineering
 * Department of Heat and Mass Transfer
 * Department of Environmental Engineering Techniques

The faculty offers four areas of study: The faculty also conducts studies of the third degree (PhD) lasting four years in full-time in the field of Chemical Engineering in Environmental Protection. Doctoral programmes prepare students to obtain a doctoral degree in the field of environmental engineering or chemical engineering.
 * Fields of study
 * Biochemical Engineering (first cycle, full-time studies)
 * Process Engineering (first and second cycle studies, full-time studies)
 * Environmental Engineering (first and second cycle studies, full-time and part-time studies)
 * Occupational Safety Engineering (first cycle studies, full-time and part-time studies)

The faculty offers the following postgraduate courses:
 * Safety and Occupational Health
 * Safety of Industrial Processes
 * Management of Municipal Waste

International Faculty of Engineering
International Faculty of Engineering (IFE) is an interfaculty unit offering education in foreign languages (English and French) under the auspices of TUL.

IFE students can participate in numerous courses with English as a language of instruction and 1 offered in French:
 * Advanced Biobased and Bioinspired Materials (ABIOM) – in cooperation with the Faculty of Chemistry
 * Biomedical Engineering and Technologies (BET) - in cooperation with the Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering
 * Biotechnology (BIO) – in cooperation with the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences
 * Business and Technology (BT) – in cooperation with the Faculty of Organization and Management
 * Business Studies (BS) - in cooperation with the Faculty of Organization and Management
 * Computer Science (CS) – in cooperation with the Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering
 * Electronic and Telecommunication Engineering (ETE) – in cooperation with the Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering
 * Gestion et Technologie (GT) - in cooperation with the Faculty of Organization and Management
 * Industrial Biotechnology (IB) - in cooperation with the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences
 * Information Technology (IT) – in cooperation with the Faculty of Technical Physics, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics
 * Mathematical Methods in Data Analysis (MMDA) - in cooperation with the Faculty of Technical Physics, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics
 * Mechanical Engineering (ME) – in cooperation with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
 * Modelling and Data Science (MDS) - in cooperation with the Faculty of Technical Physics, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics

Foreign Language Centre
The Foreign Language Centre of Lodz University of Technology was established in 1951. Since 2005, it has been located in a former factory building on Aleja Politechniki 12 in Łódź. The building was modernized and furnished with new facilities with the aid of the European Regional Development Fund (March 2004 – January 2006). The centre has 28 classrooms, a conference room and a library, and is the seat of the University of the Third Age of Lodz University of Technology. As of 2013, the Centre employed 72 academic teachers and 15 administrative, technical and maintenance employees.

Languages taught at the Centre include English, German, Russian, Italian, French, Spanish and Polish for foreigners. In 2013, there were 6273 students learning at the centre. English courses comprised 89% of all the classes. The centre conducts classes for first- and second-degree, as well as doctoral students in accordance with the university curriculum, for participants in Socrates-Erasmus and IAESTE programs, students of the General Secondary School of TUL, students of the University of the Third Age of TUL, foreign exchange students from Cangzhou Vocational College of Technology (China) and foreigners who want to study at TUL.

The centre is taking part in a program organized by the City of Lodz Office called “Młodzi w Łodzi – Językowzięci”, the aim of which is to promote learning languages that are less popular in Poland and to encourage students and graduates from Łódź to improve their language qualifications. As part of the program, courses of the Finnish, Danish and Swedish language are conducted at the centre. Academic teachers employed at the centre also teach at the International Faculty of Engineering. The centre is also an examination centre for the international examinations TELC, LCCI and BULATS.

Other Units

 * Library of Lodz University of Technology
 * Institute of Papermaking and Printing
 * Computer Center
 * Laser Diagnostic and Therapy Center

Rectors

 * 1) Bohdan Stefanowski (1945–1948)
 * 2) Osman Achmatowicz (1948–1952)
 * 3) Bolesław Konorski (1952–1953)
 * 4) Mieczysław Klimek (1953–1962)
 * 5) Jerzy Werner (1962–1968)
 * 6) Mieczysław Serwiński (1968–1975)
 * 7) Edward Galas (1975–1981)
 * 8) Jerzy Kroh (1981–1987)
 * 9) Czesław Strumiłło (1987–1990)
 * 10) Jan Krysiński (1990–1996)
 * 11) Józef Mayer (1996–2002)
 * 12) Jan Krysiński (2002–2008)
 * 13) Stanisław Bielecki (2008–2016)
 * 14) Sławomir Wiak (2016–2020)
 * 15) Krzysztof Jóźwik (2020–)

Notable alumni

 * Karolina Bielawska (born 1999), model and beauty pageant titleholder, winner of Miss World 2021
 * Andrzej Górak (born 1951), process engineer
 * Dariusz Joński (born 1979), politician
 * Adam Kszczot (born 1989), middle-distance runner
 * Krzysztof Matyjaszewski (born 1950), Polish-American chemist, winner of Wolf Prize in Chemistry
 * Sławosz Uznański (born 1984), engineer working at CERN and ESA reserve astronaut
 * Hanna Zdanowska (born 1959), politician, Mayor of Łódź

title: Łódź University of Technology


text:
Courtney Whitmore

Courtney Elizabeth Whitmore, known as Stargirl (often called Stars or Star), is a superhero created by Geoff Johns and Lee Moder who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character's name, appearance, and personality were patterned after Johns' 18-year-old sister Courtney, who died in the explosion of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.

Courtney Whitmore was originally known as the second Star-Spangled Kid, but she began using the name "Stargirl" after she was presented with the Cosmic Staff by Jack Knight.

Stargirl has appeared in Justice League Unlimited, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Justice League Action, and Young Justice. She has also appeared in live-action shows Smallville played by Britt Irvin, Legends of Tomorrow played by Sarah Grey, and in her own television series played by Brec Bassinger. Bassinger reprised the role in the fourth season of the HBO Max series Titans.

Publication history
The character was created by writer Geoff Johns and artist Lee Moder. She made her first appearance in Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0 (July 1999).

Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.
Courtney Whitmore, stepdaughter of Pat Dugan, finds the original Star-Spangled Kid's gear in her stepfather's belongings. She dons the costume to annoy Dugan, as she resents him marrying her mother and moving the family from Los Angeles to Blue Valley, Nebraska. Dugan, a skilled mechanic, designs and builds S.T.R.I.P.E., a robotic suit that he uses to accompany and protect her.

During her time in Blue Valley, her frequent nemesis is the young villainess known as Shiv, daughter of the immortal Dragon King. Their most recent rematch was in Infinite Crisis, on a page added to the hardcover edition.

Stargirl
Courtney joins the Justice Society of America. After being given Starman Jack Knight's cosmic staff, she changes her identity to Stargirl. Courtney appears in most issues of JSA and it is in these pages that her half-sister Patricia Dugan is born.

Later, she confronts her predecessor's killer, Solomon Grundy. Driven further into madness by the Joker's chemical assault, Grundy attacks the JSA headquarters with the head of the Statue of Liberty. With the aid of Jakeem Thunder, Courtney fights Grundy in the streets and into the sewers below. The young heroes barely defeat Grundy and Johnny Thunderbolt repairs the Statue. Grundy later develops an obsession with Courtney.

Courtney encounters Merry Pemberton, the sister of the original Star-Spangled Kid, during the "Sins of Youth" storyline. Merry's concerns about her brother's legacy and about young superheroes battling adults causes friction with Courtney. They resolve their differences during a battle against the forces of Klarion the Witch Boy. Courtney later saves Merry's life during an attack by Amazo. During this incident, Courtney is magically aged to an adult by Klarion.

Later, she discovers her biological father Sam Kurtis working as a common thug for an incarnation of the Royal Flush Gang. They later confront each other during one of the Flush Gang's robberies.

In Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. and an issue of Impulse, Courtney hints at having a crush on Robin (Tim Drake), a concept that was not developed in subsequent issues.

Courtney briefly dates fellow JSA member Captain Marvel, who, in his secret identity of Billy Batson, is the same age as she, although she was attracted to Billy in his older form in the first place, without knowing his secret identity, and even kissed him. To outsiders, however, Captain Marvel is by all appearances a fully grown up adult, and the relationship between Marvel and Stargirl draws criticism from Jakeem Thunder and Jay Garrick (despite these opposing views and even inappropriate ageist and neo-puritanical comments from fans and readers in real life, however, even if Billy was actually much older in his original form like in his "Shazam" one, the relationship between the two would have been legally possible). After Garrick confronts them, Marvel decides to leave the JSA and Courtney, instead of revealing his secret to the team. Marvel later returns to the JSA and explains that the Wisdom of Solomon prevents him from revealing his secret identity.

A glimpse into the future shows an adult "Starwoman" married to Albert Rothstein, the JSA member known as Atom Smasher.

JSA/JSA and Black Vengeance
Courtney's family is murdered by agents of Per Degaton and she travels with the rest of the JSA to 1951. The Modern Age successors to Golden Age JSA members meet and fight alongside the originals to save her family and the future. She finds herself forced to work with Atom Smasher again, for the first time since he defected to Black Adam's rival team. During her trip to the past, Courtney is briefly stuck in an asylum when she tries to recruit Ted Knight. Knight had become clinically depressed for his perceived role in the creation of the atomic bomb to the point that he initially thought Courtney was a hallucination, but she was saved by a figure later identified as Starwoman, an adult version of her infant sister Patricia. After the crisis is over, Courtney forgives Al for his past alliance with Black Adam but Atom Smasher is nearly killed by the Spectre during an attack on Khandaq. He survives, but the event reveals the depth of Courtney's feelings for him. She returns to her own time to find her family alive again.

Later, Atom Smasher is tried and convicted for his actions while working for Black Adam. During a TV appearance, Courtney says that with Al in prison, she would "be there for him... no matter how long it takes."

Infinite Crisis
Courtney is approached by the Shade, who tells her that her biological father is dead. This tragedy and her experience of the relationship between Liberty Belle and Jesse Quick prompts her to re-evaluate her family life. She discovers that she can't hate her biological father for his failings as a father and as a man. She also learns to accept Pat Dugan as her only real father figure.

Stargirl becomes part of a coalition consisting of the JSA, the Doom Patrol and the Teen Titans that is organized to stop Superboy-Prime from destroying Smallville. Superboy-Prime kills several of the Titans, including Pantha and Baby Wildebeest and maims Risk, removing his arm. Stargirl later attends a memorial service for heroes who died in the Crisis.

Afterwards, she begins attending college. She has altered her equipment: her rod now telescopes into a small cylinder, and her costume and belt materialize as the rod extends to full size.

"One Year Later"
Courtney joins the new roster of the Justice Society and fights without S.T.R.I.P.E.'s assistance.

A seasoned hero despite her age, she forges a bond with her young teammate Cyclone, the eager and over-impulsive granddaughter of the first Red Tornado. They two bond after witnessing the death of Mister America and Courtney suggests Cyclone create a new superhero costume and name. Stargirl resumes her role of mentorship for the youngest heroes by helping Jefferson Pierce's daughter, Jennifer, cope with her powers and her isolation. Courtney later expresses to Damage her doubts about Gog.

A future version of Courtney is seen in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #53 along with Lex Luthor and his future Titans. Her role is minimal, however, she is seen wearing Jack Knight's goggles and jacket—the closest she has ever come to Jack's vision of "Starwoman" at the end of his series.

In the Final Crisis miniseries, Courtney joins with other heroes to form an underground resistance against Darkseid.

Courtney is present (and apparently involved in voting) for discussions on how to move the JSA forward after the Gog debacle (and whom to retain or remove from the team) and she defends some of the heroes who sided with Gog. Later she is present when the JSA meet a depowered Billy Batson, who reveals his secret identity to the others.

After the battle with Black Adam and Isis, Courtney was unhappy, as the events had happened on her birthday (and had ruined any planned celebrations). When she goes home and opens the door, the entire Justice Society is present and have prepared a late surprise party for her. Later she is unhappy to learn she still needed her braces despite being acknowledged as one of the senior members of the JSA. It has been established that both she and Atom Smasher love each other in direct quotes rather than asides and implied habits, but the elder JSA members' comments about their age difference forced Al to turn Courtney down, stating he loved her "like a sister".

Following a massive supervillain attack, the JSA is split in two. Power Girl convinces Courtney to join the JSA All-Stars splinter group. She later expresses a deep feeling of regret over siding with the All-Stars, claiming that she feels more at home with the original roster. Karen talks her through these doubts, telling her that she needed Courtney on the team because all the other teen members of the JSA look up to her.

The New 52
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Stargirl appears as part of a new Justice League of America title.

Born in Los Angeles, Courtney Whitmore was cleaning out the office of Barbara Whitmore's boyfriend Pat Dugan when she found a staff, a belt, and a shirt with a star on it. While trying them on, she became Stargirl and caught the perpetrator of a fire she spotted. The heroic actions went viral. After talking to her friend about what happens next, Courtney was informed by Pat that the person who originally wielded the equipment has died. Though Pat agreed to train her, Courtney had to respond to the criminal activity caused by Shadow Thief who was taking hostages to draw out a superhero. She managed to rout out Shadow Thief. When Stargirl returned home, she found that Shadow Thief arrived first, killed her brother, and wounded Barbara and Ted. Stargirl used this trauma to become a better superhero.

She was chosen by Amanda Waller as the public face of the JLA's PR campaign. After the disbandment of the JLA following the crossover event Forever Evil, Stargirl joined the Justice League United.

In the "Watchmen" sequel "Doomsday Clock", Stargirl is among the superheroes that confront Doctor Manhattan on the Moon. Stargirl appears with the Justice Society of America when Doctor Manhattan, undoes the changes that he made to the timeline that erased the Justice Society and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

The New Golden Age
In the pages of "The New Golden Age", Courtney accompanied Pat when they went to Myrtle Beach at the time when the Jill Carlyle version of Crimson Avenger got the Seven Soldiers of Victory back together. Courtney befriended Emiko Queen. While Courtney and Emiko were left behind because they were too young, they discover that the Seven Soldiers of Victory are going after Clock King. As Stargirl and Red Arrow, they discover that Clock King has used Per Degaton's time machine to bring the ship that the Lee Travis version of Crimson Avenger sacrificed himself on. Before destroying the time machine in order to send the ship back to its own time, Stargirl is told by Lee to find Wing.

Emiko later visits Courtney telling her that she found a lead in where the missing children sidekicks are. Their search takes them to an island in the Diablo Triangle. When they arrived, they find that the sand is similar to Miraclo. When an egg-shaped Child Collector working for the Childminder makes off with Red Arrow, Stargirl is saved by Air Wave, Cherry Bomb, Wing, and Robotman's creation Robbie the Robot Dog. She meets the other Lost Children (consisting of Little Miss Redhead and her companions the Blue Boys, the Newsboy Legion, Tick-Tock of Hourman's Minute Men of America, John Henry Jr., Betsy Ross, Molly Pitcher, Ladybug, Salem the Witch Girl, and Quiz Kid) and Time Masters member Corky Baxter. With these people, Stargirl works to rescue Red Arrow and the other captive Lost Children as Childminder plans to sell them to the android version of Hourman. As most of her allies are "nested" by the Child Collectors, Stargirl and the remaining ones with her continue their raid on the Childminder's castle. Upon meeting up with an escaped Red Arrow and those with her, the Childminder arrives as the Hourman android subdues everyone but Stargirl. He states that she is not a Lost Child and that he is working to save the Lost Children from "complete obliteration". The Hourman android was later revealed to be working for an adult version of Corky Baxter called Time Master. As Childminder is reduced to an egg by a beam from the time portal, Boom and Quiz Kid reprogram the Hourman android's brain so that he can fight off Time Master. Since the Hourman android stated that the Lost Children can't be returned to their own time due to paradoxical reasons, he brought them to Courtney's time. While noting that some of the Lost Children have mentors or families who are dead, Courtney works on putting together a team for the Lost Children called the Young Justice Society.

Afterwards, Stargirl was with the Justice Society of America when they were fighting Angle Man and an army of inter-dimensional Bizarros until Angle Man is defeated by a Huntress from an alternate future. After Green Lantern's ring confirms Huntress' claim and her encounter with Per Degaton, Stargirl suggests that they should call Mister Terrific. Just then, the JSA is confronted by Per Degaton. Following the fight against Per Degaton, Stargirl takes Jakeem Thunder and Johnny Thunderbolt to Germany. Stargirl, Jakeem Thunder, and Johnny Thunderbolt later come across a child version of Per Degaton in Germany. Stargirl is among the JSA members from the past, present, and future that partake in the battle against Per Degaton and various versions of him across time. One week after Per Degaton was defeated, Stargirl arrived with Boom and the Hourman android as Stargirl claims to Flash and the JSA members present that he can help shed some light on their time-related questions. In Superior City, Oregon, Stargirl takes Ladybug to the Big Bee Ranch where Red Bee's daughter Rachael Releigh is running ever since Ladybug's parents sold the Big Bee Ranch to her. To Stargirl's surprise, Red Bee's trained bee Michael appears to confront a mourning Ladybug as Stargirl's narration has her surprised that Michael is still alive. Stargirl accompanied Green Lantern, Huntress, Doctor Fate, Batman, and Salem the Witch Girl in confronting Solomon Grundy. This ended in disaster as Salem the Witch Girl's attempt to use a Limbo Town spell to regress Solomon Grundy back to Cyrus Gold ended up reducing him to a skeleton. Stargirl was present when Huntress brings up Red Lantern's daughter as Green Lantern mentions that Red Lantern is one of the JSA's biggest adversaries. Stargirl later brings up the activities of Harlequin's Son to Huntress.

Courtney Whitmore later took Judy Garrick to the Keystone City Mall as Jay Garrick secretly watched from afar. Their day is out is ruined when the JSA's old enemy Ro-Bear attacks in order to claim Judy. Courtney becomes Stargirl to help Flash and Boom fight Ro-Bear. Following Ro-Bear's attack, Stargirl was present with Flash and Boom when Mister Terrific, Quiz Kid, and Fairplay work on an invention that would help access the memory of when Boom saw the true face of Doctor Elemental. Thanks to the Memory Imager, they identity Doctor Elemental to be Professor Hughes who Flash claimed to have been responsible for him getting his super-speed. Stargirl was among those that attended a party held by the Flash family.

Titans: Beast World
During the "Titans: Beast World" storyline, Huntress and Stargirl deal with the characters mutated by the Beast Boy spores. They subdue Alan Scott (who was mutated into a humanoid frog) and Boom (who was mutated into a humanoid alligator).

Powers and abilities
Courtney is an expert gymnast and kickboxer.

Equipment
When wearing the Cosmic Converter Belt, Stargirl has enhanced strength, speed, agility, and stamina as well as the ability to project shooting stars.

When wielding the Cosmic Staff, Stargirl can fly and perform cosmic energy manipulation.

Secret identity issues
Over the years, Courtney has been careless with her secret identity. Many of her school friends and some villains are aware of her identity; she admits this during the Identity Crisis crossover. Courtney revealed her identity to her friend Mary moments into her first outing, before she decided to make a career of being a costumed hero. In Justice Society of America #26, the entire JSA is at her home in full uniform, and are also present when she visits the dentist (in costume, much to Courtney's annoyance).

Supporting characters
Besides her stepfather Pat Dugan, the following are supporting characters of Stargirl:

 * Barbara Whitmore - The mother of Courtney and the wife of Pat Dugan.
 * Josh Hamman - A star athlete at Blue Valley High School who had a brief relationship with Courtney.
 * Mary Kramer - A student at Blue Valley High School and a close friend of Courtney.
 * Mike Dugan - The son of Pat Dugan who became Courtney's stepbrother and Barbara's stepson.
 * Travis Thomas - The biggest bully at Blue Valley High School who has a crush on Mary.

Enemies
With her stepfather as S.T.R.I.P.E., Stargirl had her own set of enemies that she fought in the comics:

 * British Bat - Douglas Hutton is a small-time supervillain. He managed to break Starman's leg before he was defeated by Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E., and the Justice Society of America.
 * Dragon King - An immortal villain and war criminal who experimented on himself and has the appearance of a reptilian humanoid.
 * Dr. Graft - A scientist who works for Dragon King.
 * Icicle II - A cryokinetic supervillain.
 * Johnny Sorrow - A silent movie actor who wears a mask because his face can kill anyone that looks at it.
 * Laroonians - A race of aliens that invade Blue Valley.
 * Nebula Man - A sentient universe.
 * Paintball - Paul Deisinger is an art teacher who became a paint-themed criminal and minion of Dragon King.
 * Principal Sherman - The principal of Blue Valley High School who works for Dragon King and is actually a robot.
 * Sam Kurtis - Courtney's father, who works as the Two of Clubs in the Royal Flush Gang.
 * Shadow Thief - A female supervillain who can turn into a shadow through her Colavarian Infiltration Suit.
 * Shiv - The daughter of Dragon King with cybernetic enhancements and expert gymnastic abilities.
 * Skeeter - An insectoid minion of Dragon King.
 * Solomon Grundy - A powerful zombie who later developed an obsession with her.
 * Stunt - A minion of Dragon King.

Live-action

 * Courtney Whitmore as Stargirl appears in Smallville, portrayed by Britt Irvin. This version is a member of the Justice Society of America and was mentored by Sylvester Pemberton.
 * Two incarnations of Courtney Whitmore / Stargirl appear in media set in the Arrowverse:
 * The Stargirl of Earth-1 appears in the second season of Legends of Tomorrow, portrayed by Sarah Grey. This version is a member of the Justice Society of America (JSA) who operated in the 1940s before they dispersed themselves across the timeline to protect fragments of the Spear of Destiny, with Stargirl escaping to the sixth century and creating the court of Camelot under the alias of Merlin.
 * The Stargirl of Earth-90 makes a cameo appearance in the crossover "Elseworlds" as one of several dead superheroes who failed a test brought about by the Monitor.
 * Courtney Whitmore as Stargirl appears in a self-titled TV series, portrayed by Brec Bassinger as a teenager and Maizie Smith as a child. This version is a founding member and the leader of a new incarnation of the Justice Society of America following the original group's deaths.
 * Ahead of the series' premiere, Stargirl made a cameo appearance in the Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths" via footage from the Stargirl episode "The Justice Society".
 * Stargirl makes a cameo appearance in the Titans episode "Dude, Where's My Gar?".

Animation

 * Courtney Whitmore as Stargirl appears in Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Giselle Loren. This version is a member of the Justice League.
 * Courtney Whitmore as Stargirl appears in the teaser segment of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Cry Freedom Fighters!", voiced by Hope Levy.
 * Courtney Whitmore as Stargirl makes a cameo appearance in the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special as a member of the Justice League.
 * Courtney Whitmore as Stargirl appears in Justice League Action, voiced by Natalie Lander.
 * Courtney Whitmore appears in Young Justice, voiced by Whitney Moore. This version is the host of Goode World Studios' news show, Stargirl. As of a flashback depicted in the episode "Volatile", Whitmore has become Stargirl and joined the Outsiders.

Film
Courtney Whitmore as Stargirl was originally going to appear in Black Adam as a member of the Justice Society of America, but was cut from the film.

Video games

 * Courtney Whitmore as Stargirl appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
 * Courtney Whitmore as Stargirl appears as a playable character in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, voiced by Tara Strong.
 * Courtney Whitmore as Stargirl appears as a playable character in Infinite Crisis, voiced again by Natalie Lander.

title: Courtney Whitmore


text: Category:Elections in Kosovo

title: Category:Elections in Kosovo


text:
Battle of Pułtusk (1806)

The Battle of Pułtusk took place on 26 December 1806 during the War of the Fourth Coalition near Pułtusk, Poland. Despite their strong numerical superiority and artillery, the Russians suffered the French attacks, before retiring the next day having suffered greater losses than the French, disorganizing their army for the rest of the year.

Strategic context
After defeating the Prussian army in the autumn of 1806, Emperor Napoleon entered partitioned Poland to confront the Russian army, which had been preparing to support the Prussians until their sudden defeat. Crossing the River Vistula, the French advance corps took Warsaw on 28 November 1806.

The Russian army was under the overall command of Field Marshal Mikhail Kamensky, but he was old and becoming infirm. The Russian First Army of some 55,000 to 68,000 men, commanded by Count Bennigsen, had fallen back from the Vistula to the line of the River Wkra (Ukra), in order to unite with the Second Army, about 37,000 strong, under General Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoeveden (Buxhöwden), which was approaching from Russia and was still several days march from the First Army. However, realising his mistake in allowing the French to cross the Vistula, Kamensky advanced at the beginning of December to try to regain the line of the river. French forces crossed the Narew River at Modlin on 10 December, and the Prussian Corps commanded by General-Leutnant Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq failed to retake Thorn (Toruń). This led Bennigsen on 11 December to issue orders to fall back and hold the line of the River Wkra.

When this was reported to Napoleon, he assumed the Russians were in full retreat. He ordered the forces under Marshal Joachim Murat – the 3rd corps of Marshal Louis Nicolas Davout, 7th Corps of Marshal Pierre Augereau, 5th Corps under Lannes, and Murat's 1st Cavalry Reserve Corps – to pursue towards Pułtusk. Meanwhile, Marshal Michel Ney's 6th Corps, Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte's 1st Corps, and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières's 2nd Cavalry Reserve Corps turned the Russian right. Marshal Nicolas Soult's 4th Corps linked the two wings of the French army.

Kamensky reversed the Russian retreat, and he ordered an advance to support the troops on the River Wkra. On the night of 23 and 24 December, Davout's corps forced a crossing of the lower Wkra in the Battle of Czarnowo. After engagements at Bieżuń on 23 December with Bessières and Soldau (Działdowo) on 25 December with Ney, the Prussian corps under L'Estocq was driven north towards Königsberg. Augereau's corps seized a second crossing of the Wkra on the 24th at Kołoząb. Realising the danger, Kamensky ordered a retreat to Ostrołęka; the old field marshal, however, appears to have had a mental breakdown and withdrew himself to Grodno. Bennigsen decided to disobey his superior's orders by standing and fighting on 26 December at Pułtusk. He had available the 2nd Division of Lieutenant General Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy, the 6th Division of Lieutenant General Alexander Karlovich Sedmoratski, part of Lieutenant General Dmitry Golitsyn's 4th Division, and part of Lieutenant General Fabian Gottlieb von Osten-Sacken's 3rd Division. To the north-west, most of the 4th Division commanded by Golitsyn and the 5th Division under Lieutenant General Dmitry Dokhturov fought the Battle of Gołymin on the same day.

Weather
The weather caused severe difficulties for both sides. Mild autumn weather had lasted longer than normal. The usual frosts, which rendered the inadequate roads passable after the muddy conditions of autumn, were broken by thaws. There was a thaw on 17 December and a two-day thaw on 26 and 27 December. The result was that both sides found it very difficult to manoeuvre; in particular the French (as they were advancing) had great difficulty bringing up their artillery. Davout recorded it took two hours to cover $2 1/2$ miles.

There were also difficulties with supply. Captain Marcellin Marbot, who was serving with Augereau's Corps wrote: It rained and snowed incessantly. Provisions became very scarce; no more wine, hardly any beer, and what there was exceedingly bad, no bread, and quarters for which we had to fight the pigs and the cows.

Site
Pułtusk lies on the west bank of the River Narew with a suburb on the east bank. The road from Strzegociz crossed the river by a bridge and then ran north-west towards Gołymin. A second road from Warsaw entered the town from the south-west, and then ran along the west bank of the river towards Różan. Before it reached Pułtusk this road was joined by one from Nasielsk. Another longer route to Różan ran along the east bank. The final road was that to Markow, which ran northwards from the town. The town itself lay on low ground. To the north and west lay a plateau, narrowing to a wide ridge nearer the river. A ravine cut into the plateau near the river. A large wood lay on the north-west side of the plateau, towards the village of Mosin. Further out from the plateau more woods covered the approaches from Warsaw.

Forces
Lannes commanded two infantry divisions under Generals of Division Louis Gabriel Suchet and Honoré Théodore Maxime Gazan de la Peyrière. Suchet's 1st Division included General of Brigade Michel Marie Claparède's 3-battalion 17th Light Infantry Regiment, General of Brigade Honoré Charles Reille's 4-battalion 34th Line Infantry Regiment and 3-battalion 40th Line Infantry Regiment, and General of Brigade Dominique Honoré Antoine Vedel's 64th and 88th Line Infantry Regiments, three battalions each. Gazan's 2nd Division comprised General of Brigade Jean François Graindorge's 3-battalion 21st Light Infantry Regiment and 2-battalion 28th Light Infantry Regiment and General of Brigade François Frédéric Campana's 100th and 103rd Line Infantry Regiments, three battalions each. General of Brigade Anne-François-Charles Trelliard led 12 squadrons of the corps cavalry, which consisted of the 9th and 10th Hussar Regiments and the 21st Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment. General of Brigade Louis Foucher de Careil commanded the corps artillery, 38 guns in four foot and two horse artillery batteries at full strength. Smith itemized Colbert-Chabanais' 6th Corps cavalry but repeated Trelliard's list of regiments, which was clearly a misprint.

Historian Francis Loraine Petre wrote that General of Division Nicolas Léonard Beker's 1,200-strong 5th Dragoon Division was also present, but did not note its composition. Petre mentioned Beker and Trelliard, but not Colbert-Chabanais. Petre stated that Beker led the 5th Division. Digby Smith placed Beker in charge of the 2nd Dragoon Division and listed the 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 13th, and 22nd Dragoon Regiments as part of this unit. These units are identical to Grouchy's division. General of Brigade Joseph Augustin Fournier Marquis de D'Aultane was the acting commander of the 3rd Division of Davout's corps. This unit was made up of two brigades. General of Brigade Claude Petit led the 2-battalion 12th Line Infantry Regiment and the 3-battalion 21st Line Infantry Regiment. General of Brigade Nicolas Hyacinthe Gautier directed the 25th and 85th Line Infantry Regiments, two battalions each. General of Division Louis Michel Antoine Sahuc led the 4th Dragoon Division, which only had one brigade present. General of Brigade Jacques Léonard Laplanche commanded the 15th and 25th Dragoon Regiments. Fournier had 70 chasseurs à cheval, 100 dragoons, and only one artillery piece attached to his command. The rest of the corps cavalry was at Gołymin.

Bennigsen commanded Ostermann-Tolstoy's 2nd Division, Sedmoratski's 6th Division, and elements of the 3rd and 4th Divisions. The 2nd Division had three infantry and one cavalry brigades. Major General Nikolai Mazovsky directed the Pavlovski Grenadier and Rostov Musketeer Regiments, Major General Alexander Yakovlevich Sukin led the Petersburg Grenadier and Jeletzsky Musketeer Regiments, and Major General Ivan Andreievich Lieven commanded the 1st and 20th Jager Regiments. Major General Koschin's cavalry brigade included the Life Cuirassier, Kargopol Dragoon, and Soum Hussar Regiments, plus two cossack units. There were a total of 60 artillery pieces in four foot batteries and one horse artillery batteries.

The 6th Division also controlled three infantry and one cavalry brigades. Major General Karl Gustav von Baggovut led the Starokolski Musketeer and 4th Jäger Regiments, Major General Vasili Sergeievich Rachmanov commanded the Vilnius and Nizov Musketeer Regiments, and Major General Fedosei Mikhailovich Bikov directed the Reval and Volhynia Musketeer Regiments. Major General Karl Osipovich Lambert's cavalry brigade comprised the Ekaterinoslav Cuirassier, Kiev Dragoon, and Alexandrov Hussar Regiments, plus one Tatar and one cossack unit. The 6th Division artillery numbered 72 guns in five foot and one horse artillery batteries. The units of the 3rd and 4th Divisions are not listed. Altogether, Bennigsen controlled 50,500 men in 66 battalions, 55 squadrons, and his artillery.

Action
Bennigsen arrayed his forces along the Pułtusk-Gołymin road, with three lines composed respectively of 21, 18 and 5 battalions. The left rested on the town, the right on the Mosin wood. The artillery was positioned in front of the first line. On the extreme right Major General Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly occupied part of the Mosin wood with three battalions, a cavalry regiment and an artillery battery covering the road to Gołymin. Baggovut covered the left of the line and the bridge over the Narew from a position in front of the ravine with ten battalions, two squadrons of dragoons and an artillery battery. Deployed along the edge of the ridge were 28 squadrons of cavalry linking Barclay de Tolly and Baggovut. Cossack cavalry was deployed in front of them.

Marshal Lannes had orders to cross the Narew at Pułtusk with his corps. He was aware that there was a Russian force in front of him, but did not know its size. After struggling through the mud, his first troops reached the area at about 10:00 AM, and drove the cossacks back onto the Russian main line. Because of the terrain, Lannes could only see the Russian advance positions on the extreme left and right with the cavalry between them.

Lannes deployed Suchet's division on his left, opposite the Mosin wood. Gazan's division covered the rest of the Russian line. The few guns were deployed on the left and in the centre.

At about 11:00 AM the French right advanced against Baggovut. The Russian cossacks and cavalry were driven back and Baggovut sent forward a Jäger unit, which was driven back despite artillery support. The French centre had also advanced, to attack Baggovut from the flank. But this manoeuvre exposed them to the Russian cavalry line, seven squadrons of which suddenly attacked the French flank in a sudden snow storm while Baggovut's cavalry and the jägers attacked from the front. A French infantry battalion then took the Russian cavalry in their flank. After a confused melee the Russians fell back to their original position. Lannes's cavalry division, under Trelliard tried to advance but was driven off by artillery fire.

At the same time as the French right attacked, on the French left Suchet's division, led by Lannes in person, attacked the position held by Barclay. The initial attack drove the Russians out of the wood, and captured the battery stationed there, but Barclay's reserve drove the French back into the wood and recaptured the guns.

The French centre had also advanced. The Russian cavalry withdrew behind the main line, exposing the French to artillery fire from the Russian batteries.

By about 2 p.m. the French position looked dangerous. The Russian left had held, the French centre was suffering from the artillery fire, and on the right increasing pressure was beginning to force Suchet's men out of the wood. A French retreat looked a distinct possibility when unexpected reinforcements arrived.

The 3rd Division of Davout's 3rd Corps, temporarily commanded by his Chief of Staff Fournier, had been ordered to pursue a Russian column apparently retiring on Pułtusk. Concerned about the strength of the Russian cavalry force which was escorting guns and stores, Fournier had pursued but not engaged. He was preparing to stop for the night when he heard the sounds of combat to his right, and so marched his men towards Pułtusk. Due to the state of the roads he was only able to bring up one gun.

Seeing this force approach, Bennigsen wheeled back his main line to face the wood, thus reducing the artillery fire directed at Lannes's units. Barclay, finding Fournier attacking his right flank, fell back to the right of the main Russian line. Bennigsen reinforced him with two infantry regiments and some cavalry, and directed an artillery battery to fire on the wood. Thus reinforced Barclay attacked the wood. The French were driven out, and Fournier's right flank exposed. This was attacked by twenty squadrons of Russian cavalry, but the 85th French Infantry Regiment formed squares and by a steady fire drove the cavalry off. At about 8:00 PM the combat died away, and Fournier retired to the edge of the woods.

The arrival of Fournier's division also had an effect on the French right wing. With the switch of much of the Russian artillery to support Barclay de Tolly, the French were able to use their own guns to support a fresh attack at about 2:00 PM on Baggovut by the brigades of Claparède and Vedel, supported by Gazan on their left. Baggovut's men were driven back over the ravine in their rear, and their guns captured. Ostermann-Tolstoy established a battery to Barclay's right and reinforced by five battalions he attacked. After a desperate fight the French were thrown back and the guns recaptured. The French right and centre fell back to their start positions as night fell.

During the night, Bennigsen decided to retire, and did so the next day, 27 December, using the longer road to Różan along the east bank of the Narew. From there he continued his retreat to Ostrołęka. Fournier's division also moved off to rejoin the 3rd Corps at Golymin. Lannes was in no position to pursue the Russians, and occupied Pułtusk on 28 December.

Analysis
Losses on both sides are disputed. Lannes claimed the Russians lost 2,000 killed, 3,000 wounded and 1,800 prisoners, a total of 6,800; Sir Robert Wilson, British liaison officer with the Russian army, claimed the Russians lost less than 5,000 men. Lannes undercounted and only admitted to 700 French killed and 1,500 wounded; Russian authorities said the French losses were 7,000 killed and wounded and 70 prisoners. Given that the French were attacking and exposed to artillery fire, a total for them of 7,000 killed, wounded and prisoners does not seem unreasonable, and a total of 5,000 casualties for the Russians seems a good estimate. Petre quotes the various authorities. Another authority gives French losses as five generals and 140 officers killed or wounded, 3,200 soldiers dead or wounded, and 700 captured. Russian losses are stated as 3,500 total, including 1,500 men and 12 guns captured. On the French side, Lannes, Bonnard, Claparède and Vedel were all wounded.

Bennigsen claimed a victory. The consensus seems to be that having decided to fight, in defiance of his orders he could have better disposed his forces, taken the offensive and destroyed Lannes's corps before Fournier came up. Bennigsen said he thought he was facing 60,000 French under Napoleon in person, which may explain his defensive stance. Bennigsen also complained that Buxhoeveden did not support him, but that officer was obeying his orders to retire.

Lannes, on the other hand, was following his orders, and the result was to find himself facing a superior force in a good defensive position. Napoleon's orders had not allowed for this, and unaware of the odds against him, Lannes attacked. If Fournier had not used his initiative and marched to the sound of the guns, the result may have been very different.

Aftermath
At the Battle of Gołymin, Golitsyn successfully held off a superior French force. This, combined with the failure of Soult's corps to pass around the Russian right flank spoiled Napoleon's chances of cutting the Russian line of retreat and trapping them against the River Narew.

The Russian 5th and 7th Divisions retired towards the main body of the army at Różan. Bennigsen's forces fell back to Nowogród on the River Narew, uniting on 1 January 1807 with the forces under Buxhoeveden. On 28 December, Napoleon stopped his advance and, having lost contact with the Russian army, decided to go into winter quarters. His troops were exhausted and discontented, and the supply situation was in great disorder.

The break in hostilities did not last long. Soon afterward, Bennigsen was appointed army commander and he launched an unexpected winter offensive into East Prussia. Aimed at the French strategic left flank, the Russian blow was blunted at the Battle of Mohrungen on 25 January 1807. Napoleon immediately counterattacked, trying to cut the Russian communications line that ran to the northeast. The French caught up with the Russians on 7 and 8 February 1807 and the dreadful Battle of Eylau was fought.

Popular culture
The battle is included in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace.

title: Battle of Pułtusk (1806)


text:
User:Sameer Ajmani

Hello! I'm just starting out here, so for now you can find out about me at my personal web page, http://ajmani.net.

title: User:Sameer Ajmani


text: Category:Elections in Seychelles

title: Category:Elections in Seychelles