AP Government , Art, Running and Precalculus

AP US Government
I have been taking AP US Government on shmoop. I also have been reading the complete Idiots Guide to US Government  to prepare for the AP Exam in may.
Art

I have been taking Art 1 at the high school and have been taking an online 3D animation course trough youth digital with Blender. 

Precalculus

I have been doing Precalculus on Khan Academy and I have completed~50% of it. 
Running

I have been running recetly and have been doing 2-7 miles every day except Sunday, cross workout ( swimming ) days, and snow/rain days. 

Europe Adventure

We recently got back from an Adventure in Europe. We first packed, then we drove to a bus station. At the bus station we parked and got on the bus to Boston. We got off at the airport and discovered someone had taken our bag. We went to terminal E and took a Aer Lingus flight to Dublin that lasted about 5 hrs & 20 minutes. We did not have that one bag, but the bus company was searching for it. In Dublin we took a taxi to a fishing village , saw a castle there and ate at a cafe. We had about 4 hr layover so then we took another taxi back to Dublin airport. The currency in Ireland was Euro's but they drove on the left side of the road. So they had a bit of English culture left from the time Britain ruled Ireland. The taxi drivers did not really like England and one played a Irish rebel song when we asked him his favorite Irish music. We took another Aer Lingus flight from terminal 2 to Inverness Scotland. That flight was only an hour and a half. In Inverness we got a Mercedes rental car that turned off when you stopped ! We drove towards Skye after we got some food from a market. There were sheep and green hills everywhere!

 We stopped on our way and hiked up a hill and had a picnic on it. There were many small rivulets running through the hills too. We saw plenty of sheep on our way to Skye. We stopped at some castles like Eileen Donan and Urqhart

.  We also went to a town called Strontian, where strontium was discovered. In Skye we slept in a cottage, and explored many places, including Portree ( the capital ), and the fairy springs                  

next to the Cullens ( a mountain range ). Then we went down to Stirling, and saw Stirling Castle. After this we went down to Edinburgh and the surrounding towns. We saw Edinburgh Castle

and went to church in DalKeith. We also went through a flower field ( around North Berwick )                        

. We hiked up a The North Berwick Law ( or just the Berwick Law ), in North Berwick , it is a hill that has a whale's Jawbone ( now a replica , added in 2008, after one rotted away , and was removed in 2005 )  on the top. It also has ruins of an Iron age hill fort and military bases of many wars, including the Napoleonic and WWII. I got lost on it but, We found each other later. After this we had a Flight booked for London, but when we stopped on our way to the Airport , Our Sister's lip got slashed on the concrete. We went to the airport , and they told us that we should get it stitched, ( by the way the medical agent there was not very helpful ) But they couldn't do it, and there was a hospital 7 miles away or so. So we went to St Johns hospital and waited forever in the emergency room. Then after some more waiting in a patient's room, there came a facial surgeon and he stitched our sisters lip up. We had missed our flight from Edinburgh airport, and drove around, after getting some food at Tesco's, to find a hotel to sleep for the night. We went to hotel one hotel, they said no, then another ( that they recommended to us ), that said no , and another ( that they recommended to us ) , that said NO. But , finally we found one that said yes! and we slept there during the night. There was a deal if you book flights the day before them , before midnight, then they are cheaper. Our dad booked our flight to London , like 2 minutes before Midnight. We slept there that night, and then had a Breakfast there , for they had breakfast served there. That day we flew to London, we had lost some time, so we did not go to Oxford. But we took a bus tour of London, and saw Big Ben's tower              

, Parliament , and other buildings. We then flew to Bergerac, France, and then drove to Beynac.

There we slept in an old ( about medieval ) stone cottage of the hill that had the castle. The Cottage was refurbished on the inside for modern needs. We explored much of the Dordogne

, and some of the castles around it, I got my Sword in one of the Castles.

After this we drove to Paris in a rental car we had gotten in Bergerac airport. We lost a wallet at one of the tolls, but finally, after some 6 hours, we made it to Paris. In Paris we explored

, and saw Notre Dame

 ( there was a statue of Charlemagne near it, and many pigeons  ) , The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower

( I touched the base of this one ). From here we flew to Dublin, and after a 2 hour layover ( that was delayed some more ), we flew to Boston. It was great to be home, and we had a great time in Europe.

Pytheas the explorer

Pytheas was a man born in southern France. He acted like a Greek but he was not from Greece. The Greeks were the best civilization in Mediterranean Europe. So Pytheas considered himself a Greek. He was a merchant of tin and amber ( something like sap fossilized ). He traveled to England to trade. There are many routes he might have taken. But the two main ones are going through the Gibraltar strait and head north. Or go through France and then sail to England. He would have used many types of boats like the Greek trading vessel or warship and Celtic ships. When he got to England he traded his stuff. Then he kept going north to Scotland. He explored the villages in Scotland. Then he went farther north to Iceland or Norway. He went farther north to the Arctic ocean. The way he went north was with a stick in level ground and measured the length of the shadow. The more he went north the bigger the shadow got because the sun got lower and lower in the sky. After he reached the Arctic he went back home.

It is crazy to think that a Greek went to the Arctic.  








Sources: Into the Unknown . by Stewart ross , Wiki

Dribbling on ice (a story )

On a cold January morning in the Scottish town of Nairn a boy was strolling around.

His name was Nam Bian. He and his family were going south to visit his English cousins down in Peterborough. He was sent on some last minute errands to pack up for the journey.

He walked toward Scottish Jerky and paid the store keeper 3 pounds (with the money his mother gave him) for a bag of regular jerky. He sure liked jerky but he was ordered to not eat it as it was for the journey.

He ran across the street and into the Asher’s bakery. The smell of freshly baked bread filled the air as he walked towards the desk. He bought 3 large loaves of bread for 21 pounds. Then he stepped back into the bitter cold air. Racing down the street he returned home. Nam lived in a small rickety gray house. He gave his parents the supplies and walked to his room to pack up his books and sport gear. He played very little sports and the only sport he played was football (soccer). He was not that good at it though.

He packed it up as his mom said it was time to go. He and his family all gathered at the front door. Then they carried the bags and boxes into their car. They had a Ford truck. So the kids and the baggage were in the back as they drove south. Nam's family could not afford a plane so they had to drive the whole way.

They got on the A96 (the free way) then they got on the A9 which they would follow for a long way. They ate the food they packed and read their books on the way. It was a long wait. 8 hours 30 min later they drove into their relatives garage.

They went to sleep when they got in for it was time to (they had left their house at noon). When they woke up they were greeted by their relatives. Nam asked his to cousins their names. One was named Orton and the other was named Derby.

Orton was fat and slow. He was wearing a black shirt with a white blade of grass on it.

Derby was skinny and fast. He was wearing a white shirt with a black rhino on it. They asked Nam if he played any sports.

 He replied "I play a little football, shall we go and play a game in the yard?"

"Yes! Just let me get my brother Coe", replied Nam.

Nam ran and got Coe, while Orton and Derby ran outside (Orton walked). For nets they set up two wooden posts twelve feet away from each other on either side of a 30 feet grass yard. The teams were Nam and Orton VS Derby and Coe.

Nam and Orton kicked off.

When Orton got it Nam just stood there when he should have run up. Orton was slow and lost the ball to Derby. Derby sprint-dribbled up the Field toward Nam's unprotected Posts. Nam Sprinted to catch up and slid Derby just as he shot it. The ball whizzed through the posts. " GGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL!" Derby and Coe yelled.



Nam was not happy and decided to let Orton pass it to him. When he got it he dribbled up but Derby was in his way.

He passed it to Orton and ran toward his net. Orton shot.... but missed by a mile. As Coe went to get the ball Nam asked Orton what he was good at in soccer. Orton said he was good at keeper. So Nam sent Orton into keep as he was on defense. When Coe took the Goal kick Nam rushed at Derby. Derby just touched it past him as if it were as easy as picking daises.

Then he sprint dribbled with far touches. Nam thought if only he could get in front of him then he could take it. But he was not in front of him, so Derby shot. Orton dived and amazingly saved it! Then he threw it to Nam. Nam dribbled toward Coe but not like Derby's long dribbles.

He dribbled closer to him. Nam shot it and slipped on some ice. The ball whizzed in but Nam hit the ice hard. He woke up to find that he was in his bed that he shared with Coe at his cousin’s house. He had a pain in his knee but he could still walk and run when he got out of his bed. He wanted to keep playing so he ran outside.

The game had stopped and everyone was lying about waiting for Nam to come out. When he did the game continued. At one point when Nam totally missed a shot and Coe took the goal kick badly, Derby said that he was a better football player than either of the Bians.

Nam got mad and scored a goal which quieted Derby down for a little. But when they drove back home (after two days) Nam wanted to become a better football player.

So when he got home he practiced day and night out on the cold ice. The ice became his enemy and friend. When he fell on it he would have to wait a few days before he could go out again. Sometimes it broke a bone and his parents could not afford a doctor but it still healed. Soon when he fell on the ice he did not fell much pain at all. He ate the rare brie from France that came once a year to a local store. He bought it with his own money.

It helped him build strong bones. He shot and dribbled and shot and dribbled on that ice. He bought the soccer ball with his own money. He played so much on that slippery Scottish ice that one day he found that he could not slip on it.

The days past then the weeks then the years. 10 years later he was on the Scottish national team. But he could not play in the world cup yet for he and his team had to win the British Isle cup to be nominated.

For years England had won it and was sent to qualify for the world cup. The losers never even had a chance at it. The cup was between: Ireland , Wales , England and Scotland. Nam was determined to win it with his brother Coe.

They were going to play Wales and England was to play Ireland. They practiced and practiced for the big day. It was in the summer. Nam slept uneasily that night hoping they could beat Wales. When they at last stood on the stadiums field in London, Nam knew they would win. Wales was closer to London than Scotland so they started with it.

Nam was on right Forward and pressured the guy who had the ball. The guy hit it long to a forward on Wales who had run up. It was a one on one! Coe closed in on the guy and dived the right way when he shot it and saved it! " That was some good goalkeeping", said the commentator.

Coe Punted it up field to Ben the center forward. Ben gave it to Aberfoyle the left forward. Aberfoyle shot. The Ball was saved by Owain the Welsh keeper. But Nam sprinted up and got the ball before the Welsh defense. He turned and shot.... it was in. "GGGGGOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!". The game went on with no other goals. Scotland had won! Nam and Coe had a great time for they were to fight England for the final.

Ten days later they were fighting England at Glasgow. Scotland started with the ball. The game was on. Derby and Orton were both on England. Orton was keeper. Ben gave it to Nam. Nam dribbled close and Hit it to a midfielder who had run up. His name was Scott. Scott took a shot on the now thinner Orton. Orton saved it. He Punted it up. Nam ran back on D. Derby got the ball from Parker (an English midfielder) and was long dribbling up. Coe dived for it but missed, now Derby was straight in front of Nam's net. Nam did not make the same mistake that he had 10 years earlier. He jumped with all his might and slid the ball out of Derby's feet. Derby fell face forward as Coe dived on the ball. The Ref said that Nam had slid legally and to play on.

Nam received thanks and praise as he ran back up. Nam got the ball from Scott. Nam dribbled up. The Wales defense tried to push him over but he would not fall down unless he wanted to. The ice had trained him hard. He was in the box. A defender slid him. Most players would be out from that hit. But it did not hurt Nam.It was a penalty. Nam faked left and Orton dived right. But Nam still shot it left. It was in......"GGGGGGGOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". Yelled the crowd. England got back as Derby scored.

At the 88th minute it was 6-6. Rooney had just scored. Nam gave it to Ben and Ben lofted it to Scott. Scott Faked right and Orton dived right. But Scott lofted it over Orton. The ball was an inch from the line. Nam sprinted up and slid the ball in just before Orton dived. The game was over and Scotland had won.

The youngest Templar.

The youngest Templar is a series I have been reading . It has three books .I have read 2 of them and am reading the third on page 103 .The author is called Michael P. Spradlin.

The book is about a orphan called Tristan who became a squire of a Templar knight called Sir Thomas. When he and the other Templar knight and squires were about to get killed by a army of Saladin's men, Sir Thomas gives him the holy grail and tells him to bring it to a monk in Scotland. On his way there he meets friends that accompany him on his journey. He is pursued by a evil Templar knight called Sir Hugh.

Sir Hugh wants the grail for himself. They encounter many hardships along the way .So far they are in the middle of England heading north to Scotland. Richard the Lionheart's mother said that Tristan
had claims to the throne.

The book has its version of Robin Hood in it with an archer called Robard Hode.

The Book is placed in the time of the crusades.

The Templars were a group of knights fighting for Jerusalem but they were loyal to the pope not to the king. They also believed artifacts such as the holy grail would help them win. In the end though Saladin wins as we know from history.

recent WWI history

    i have recently learned about late WWI history .World war one it seems , was all in Europe, so why call it world war ?. Because it was not just in Europe. It was in Africa , around the black sea and the Caspian sea ,in the Balkans , in the pacific with Japan involved, and the middle East.I will now tell you about the war around Serbia in the Balkans.  Austria-Hungary (it is a large country that has Austria in it but it is way larger )was a member of the triple alliance an alliance that had Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy sort of ( I'll talk about that later ( Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated  by Serbian Gavrilo Princip .so Austria declared war on Serbia  ) so Austria-Hungary moved its well equipped and well trained army against Serbia's badly equipped  and badly trained army. it looked like Austria-Hungary had certain victory . but no, amazingly Serbia's army held against Austria-Hungary for a sensible amount of time . but it had bad luck coming . Bulgaria (my mom is from there )  joined Austria-Hungary and attacked Serbia on its other side . the Serbians fought bravely but soon the force of two countries overpowered them and a slim amount of soldiers were the last survivor's( 60 % of the army died !) and they retreated to the Mediterranean .Serbia was now ruled by Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria . the allies (or England , America , France and Serbia) did not like what had just happened they wanted Serbia back so they started to send armies to Greece. Greece was neutral . the minister of Greece was for the allies while the king was for the triple aliance. when the minister went out of office it seemed like Greece would go on the triple alliance's side . but no there were still supporters of the minister so it stayed neutral. until the allies blockaded Greece and forced the Greeks to go on their side. then the armies of Greece and other allies went marching to take back Serbia . which they did. now i will talk about Italy .At the start  Italy was part of the triple Alliance . but this alliance was strange . it was strange because Italy and  Austria-Hungary were old enemies .the pact of the Alliance was that if any other country attacked one in the Alliance then the other two would go help that one(it was on the defensive not on the offensive) . so when Germany and Austria-Hungary started attacking (this is at the begging of the war ) Italy did not help . in 1902 Italy made a secret pack with France saying that it would not go to war with them . and then says that it will not go to war with Britain either . so Italy stays neutral But Italy slowly declares war on Austria-hungry. and Germany . and then on 1902 may 23 Italy declares war on the Triple Alliance . mostly fighting Austria-Hungary.the fighting took place along a river called Isons . it was a stalemate for a long time . but then the Germans came and took a lot of territory with the Austria-hungriness . but then were forced to retreat to the original border the river. it took a long time and was mostly a stalemate . but in November 1918 Austria-Hungary surrenders and there is peace.

Japan and the Pacific 
now i will talk about japan . Japan went on the allies side on WWI . making an agreement with Britain that if it took any German territory's it could keep them . so Japan started harassing the German colonies in the pacific.The Germans had some colonies on pacific islands and one in Tsingtao china .( today Tsingtao is the 2nd best beer in china . the roots are German ) Japan took Tsingtao and most of the German colonies in the pacific . when peace finally came Japan asked the Europeans to treat Japaneses as equals.  but they didn't.which might be a reason why the Japanese helped Germany in WWII. Australia and New Zealand (which were ruled by England )also attacked the pacific colonies  ruled by Germany . In 1914 August 30th they took German Samoa . Also in 1914 this time in September Australia took part of German Guinea (now part of New Guinea ).
The Germans had very few victory's , one of them in which they just sink a Russian ship !Towards the end of the war the Germans had like no territory left at all!.

Middle East  
now  i will talk about WWI in the middle east . Judea had been conquered  and over and over by the Assyrians , the Babylonians  the Persians and the Romans. In 135 c.e common era Hadrian of Rome expels all the Jews from Judea  and called the province Syria Palestine ( which is where the word for Palestine come from ) . The Jews were scattered all over and they were equally persecuted . Fast forward more than 1700 years and we come to the birth of Theodor Herzl in 1860 . He was a Jew but not to strong on his faith . Around this time the Jews were persecuted a lot .In 1894 he saw the Dreyfus affair in which a french Jewish soldier in the military was persecuted of treason and spying .In the end he was found free to go . It might have been this that made Theodor Herzl want a Jewish homeland or not .But with all these persecutions ones he saw and ones he heard of , he wanted a Jewish homeland( preferably he wanted it in Judea but any place could work for him, China or India even) . in 1896 he wrote Der Judenstaat which translate to Jewish state. Here is a quote from Theodor Herzl's book Der Judenstaat

" we are a people-one people. ...  We have sincerely tried everywhere to merge with the national  communities in which we live. seeking only to preserve the faith of our fathers. It is not permitted us.  In vain we are loyal patriots, sometimes superloyal; in vain do we make the same sacrifices of life and property as our fellow citizens: in vain do we strive to enhance the fame of our native lands in the arts and sciences, or her wealth by trade and commerce. in our native lands where we have lived for centuries  we are still descried as aliens , often by men whose ancestors had not yet come at a time when Jewish sighs had long been heard in the country... oppression and persecution can not exterminate us . no nation on earth has endured such struggles and suffering as we have.
  Palestine is our unforgettable historic home land ."  

with this book Theodor Herzl  practicality started a big Zionist movement ( back when Rome ruled Judea there were groups of rebels in Judea that called themselves Zionists . also in the bible Zion was a city in which everyone was righteous, the prophet there was called Enoch . the city was so righteous that God brought the city up to live with him. this Zionist movement in 1896 wanted a Jewish home land) there were other Zionist movements but this one wanted an actual state and homeland .To start his movement Theodor Herzl had the first Zionist Congress in 1897 where he Gatherd pepole that wanted a Jewish homeland.here are more of his quotes

"But we wish to give the Jews a Homeland. Not by dragging them ruthlessly out of their sustaining soil, but rather by removing them carefully, roots and all, to a better terrain."

"It is true that we aspire to our ancient land. But what we want in that ancient land is a new blossoming of the Jewish spirit."
 .
now i will talk about the Allies in the Middle east . Egypt had come under British control , Egypt was extremely important for the British because it had the Suez Canal and the Suez Canal let British ships get to India way faster than going all around Africa . so the Ottomans wanted to take the Sinai peninsula  ( the Sinai peninsula had the Canal on it and In November 1914, the Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers. fighting Britan) . their first attempt failed . so did their second Attempt .  Britain was getting annoyed so it decided to attack the Ottomans . They sailed to the end of the Persian Gulf and landed.in 1917 attacking the Ottomans diagonally towards Judea .they also attacked from Egypt. the ottomans were weak and disorganized and the British easily took a lot of territory with help from the Arao that later). they gave some of it to the french and took some themselves . Now i will talk about hobs (i will get tw the Arabs helped the British fight the Ottomans .Sir Henry McMahon leader of the British Egyptians proposed a deal to Hussein Bin AI leader of the Arabs . the deal said that if the Arabs helped the British fight the Ottomans  then the Arabs could have a sizable Amount of land including Judea .The Arabs agreed and help the British beat the Ottomans      (the British also send many officers to control the Arab armies. one of these and the most famous T.E Lawrence helped a lot . but he also helped another way .He died on 19 May 1935 .He died by riding a motorcycle with only his military cap on and when swerved too suddenly trying to avoid  to boys on bikes , his hands let go of the motorcycle and he fell on the pavement ,headfirst. 6 day later he died . one of the nurses tending him wanted to top people from dying when they fell of motorcycles and got bad head damage. this led to the motorcycle helmet that people use
 today:)    , end of story right ?  no. secretly the French, the Russians and the British made a deal about carving up the Ottoman territory the British took called the Sykes-Picots agreement. the French and British had most of the land and the Russians had a small northern part. Judea was international land.  Also the Balfour declaration in which it says that the British look at the Zionist movement with favor . The Arabs only hear about the Balfour declaration and it makes them uneasy. But then around the end of November the Russians release the Sykes-Picots Agreement!!why Because they did not like these secret deals and they did not even know if they were going to get there land . So the Arabs found out and are really unhappy.On the other hand the Ottomans were glad  .The Allies said that it was not really a big deal, but it still affected the Arabs. at the end of the war the Arab leader Faisal bin Hussein the son of Hussein Bin AI ( he had two sons the other one was called Abdullah . in Tintin there is a Emir ( Arabian leader ) and his son is named Abdullah , i think the name had something to do with the real Abdullah) went to the Paris peace conference of 1919 in which Faisal says he still wants an independent state for him and the Arabs . But the Allies Ignore him and divide the Ottoman territory up like it said in the Sykes-Picots Agreement .  Faisal wanted an independent state really bad but he still did not get it. So in 1920 he declared himself king of Syria the Allies kicked him out . Also in 1920 the Arabians revolted in Iraq wanting Independence . The British got tired of this and thought it was to expensive so they gave it to Faisal bin Hussein under the British "protector" so the British told Faisal bin Hussein what to say and told him the laws so he did not really rule . in 1922 Egypt got its independence by a successful revolt, in 1961 kuwait got its independence, Syria got its independence in  1946 and finally Iraq got its Independence in 1932 .

Africa
I am Going to talk about two places the war was fought in Africa.West Africa and East Africa. I will start with West Africa.The Germans had Togo ( it was called Togoland back then ) and a little bit of Ghana. ( back then it was called The Gold Coast . The Gold Coast or Ghana was Ruled by the British )But it was practicality conquered the Instant the war began , Because Togo did not have that many solders and wasn't really prepared for the war . The British and the French Attacked the borders and took them easily . When the Allies demanded surrender from the Germans in Togoland  , the Germans refused . So the Allies Sprang onto Togo like a Lioness Spring on her prey ( there were some lions in Africa :) . The Germans were as helpless as a Antelope is when a lion is after it , all they could was run and retreat. There were really minor Skirmishes here and there but most of the way the Germans fled the Allies ( or the Antelope fled the Lioness ) . The only Major battle was the Battle of Chra in Which the Germans had 60 soldiers (all white ) plus they had around 450 Togolese  soldiers ( all black). One of the German commanders died during the battle and that was the end of the Germans trying to fight the British . then the Germans Surrendered after they had retreated from the Battle . The war in Togo Ended in the same year the war started but the was still going on somewhere else.

In Cameroon ( back then it was called Kamerun :) the Germans ruled. Naturally the British marched toward Kamerun from three different ways ( they all came from Nigeria ). But the Mountain's , the hard weather,German Guerrilla attacks,  to little food and wild viscous Animals stopped the British in their tracks( even though they were Lions :) (they also failed at taking the cites they were after ) .The French advanced from Chad and took a city in Kamerun called Kusseri .In September troops from the Belgian-Congo(there is a whole Tintin book on this Colony of Belgium  it is called "TinTin in the Congo " . Also Belgium was on the side of the allies ) took Limbe a city on the coast . The British and the French also Bombarded the Coast and soon the Coast was theirs .When 1915 spring most of the Germans had retreated to the Mountains and set up a new capital after the allies had took their old one . The only ones that had not Retreated were the ones in the Forts,Mora and Garua . The Germans managed to hold up the attacks made by the allies . The Second Battle of Garua in June ( the British had already fought one and failed ) was a success and the British won ! The leader of the British forces in the battle help the Siege of Mora and then went on south taking German forts and towns on the way. By December the generals troops were ready to attack the large German city in the mountains. The French and Belgium soldiers had taken a lot of land to and were also ready to attack the city in the mountains called Jaunde. In 1916 the allies surrounded Jaunde and the siege of Mora was over ending in victory for the allies so the Germans lost hope .The Germans surrendered in mid February 1916  the rest escaped to a Spanish Colony and were shipped back to Germany .

Now i am going to talk about east Africa. The Germans plan for east Africa was to divert the allies fighting on the western front (up in Europe) and make them send troops to Africa instead of Germany .The governors of both colonies ( German and British . the Colonies were German east Africa and British east africa ) said that NO fighting was to be done.But in August 1914 the British attacked some River lookout towers around Lake Victoria ( the largest lake in German east Africa ) by water. Mad at the British , the German Lieutenant Colonel Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck ( the only German leader to go inside the borders of the British ) went against the Governor and organized his troops for battle. In September the Germans and Africans attacked more Inland and more Inland of the British East Africa . All the Germans had in lake Victoria was on small boat armed with a gun. The British armed some of their vessels and surrounded it . The Germans let her sink and Jumped overboard. The British now had full control of the lake. But the Germans kept up the Guerrilla warfare and the British were getting annoyed. Wanting to stop the Raids a British leader had a plan. He sent one army too attack Mt. Kilimanjaro ( this however was really a diversion ) and send a boat with a army in it toward Tanga too attack it . Both attempts failed though . The British told (in 1916) General J.C. Smuts to try to take German East Africa . Smuts Attacked from lost of different directions. All these forces failed to take German East Africa and they all got sick along the way.Lots and lots of them died , but they did not fight ! the Germans were retreating again ( even from sick guys :)! ( or the Antelope was running again:) The Germans now had only the south part of Germany . Smuts send his British troops home and replaced them with Africans , soon his whole army was African ! Smuts left Africa and went to England in January 1917. The British kept on attacking but still they could not kill Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck or take German east Africa! Major General J.L. van Deventer took command and he cast a big offensive Attack in July 1917. The Germans tried to stop it , but they couldn't , they could only stall it. By the start of Fall the British had pushed the Germans back 100 miles south. In mid-October 1917 the Germans fought a hard and highly-priced battle at Mahiwa. In November the Germans tried to send supplies from Germany by plane but the mission failed. British and Allies started to surround the German army. The Germans went into Portuguese Mozambique taking supplies as he went. On 13 November 1918 the Germans took their last town , Kasama. In  23 November 1918 Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck surrendered( he did not get the German plan done!) . The war was over!



The Caucasus war
This war was between Russia and the Ottomans . it took place mostly around the Caspian sea and the Black sea . The Ottomans had entered the war on the Central powers side. The Russians on the other hand were on the Allies side . On Nov 1 1914 the Russians crossed the border and went into the Ottomans land. They wanted to capture two cites, Doğubeyazıt and Köprüköy. They were both in modern-day turkey . But the Russians declared war on on November 2 not on on November 1! The Russians separated and one went towards Köprüköy , they reached it on Nov 4th . The Ottomans and Russians fought a bit and the Russians gained territory but they still did not have Köprüköy. By Nov Ottoman casualties were big: 9000 killed, 3000 taken prisoner and 2800 guys who ran away . In December the king of Russia ( Nicholas II of Russia) visited the Caucasus and then went .(the Russians dominated the Black sea with their ships )On December 15, 1914, the city of Ardanuch was taken by the Ottomans . The reason they took it was : too distract the Russians . On January 6 the headquarters of one of the Turkish army found itself on fire . The leader ( Hafiz Hakki Pasha. A guy in one of my books i read is named Pasha : ) told everyone to run away. The Battle of Sarikamish became a Gargantuang loss . Only 10% of the Army managed to run back to the place where they had started !! In February, General Yudenich was applauded for the victory and became commander-in-chief of all Russian Soldiers ! The Allies asked Russia to help them on the Western front. In response Russia asked the Allies to help them in the Caucasus by a ship attack. The Allies did and then so did the Russians. In Feb Pasha died of illness . Brigadier General Mahmut Kamil Pasha took his place. The Ottoman army was disorganized , didint have enough force and scared of the Russians . The Ottomans Couldn't do more then small skirmishes (it was all they could muster!) . On April 20 1915 the Siege of Van began. Armenians defended the Van as Ottomans lay siege to it. It lasted more than three weeks until the General Yudenich came to save them. On May 6th he advanced into the Ottoman Territory. Some of the Soldiers went to Save lake Van ( that what the city is named after) . On May 21 the General saved them .  The Russian forces marched north toward  Erzurum . The Ottomans stopped this march. but were unsuccessful in the south where the Russians took town of Malazgirt in May 11. The Ottomans kept losing ground , they were out numbered by the Russians in most battles, the Armenians also kept rebelling causing confusion in many ways . The Ottoman empire itself had been on the decline for centuries and the soldiers were so weak and disorganized the Russians almost always got the upper hand in the battles. But on June 19 the Russians attacked again at lake Van and a place close to Malazgirt. They were surprised to see a large Ottoman army there ready for them . The Ottomans outnumbered the Russians 3-1 , They drove the Russians all the way back to Malazgirt and then conquered Malazgirt ! the Leader of that army was fired and they took back Malazgirt. Then they moved toward Muş (they did not know that the Ottomans were doing the same thing) even though It was very very hard the Ottomans were regrouping very well . The Ottomans were ready for the Russians. The Russian leader was Replaced and the new one recruited more and more Soldiers . The Ottomans however couldn't Recruit any more they were losing Soldiers and more soldier to a big war that kept on going on called The war in Gallipoli and they had send part of their army to fight the British down by Egypt. Fighting a two front war was hard very hard, So the Ottomans decided to send most of their army to fight the British , thinking that the Russians would not Attack. In 1916 they turned out to be wrong . In January the Russians moved from their winter camp and went towards a Ottoman stronghold at Erzurum . They wanted to take the Ottomans by surprise ( they usually did not fight in winter , around Russia:) . They did do this and killed a big army of the Ottomans . Then on Feb 16 Russian army took the Strongholds of Kara-gobek and Tafet by Distraction, skill, winter , weak Ottomans and strategy. The Ottomans tried too Attack lake Van's city again but the Russians stopped them . The Ottomans did some more attacks in Sept but they failed and they retreated ( with some heavy losses). The Russians were strong and had hardly lost anything (they still had control of the black Sea) . The rest of the time until 1917 there was no fighting . In the spring 1917 the Russian people wanted the war to end , the soldiers had a lot of scurvy and other problems without enough healthy food ( i am glad i eat healthy :)and the Russian revolution was going on back at Russia . The Ottomans could not take to much advanteg of this because they had to fight the British down in Egypt. In the Summer, the Western Armenian Administration wanted a full army of good and healthy men ready by December .On September 14, 1917, one Russian army was about to stop fighting . The Armenians on the other hand wanted to keep on going. On December 5, 1917, the armistice of Erzincan made the Russians go to peace with the Ottomans . But the Armenians kept fighting . In 1918 the Ottomans took back their land . They kept on driving the Armenians back and back again. in July the ottomans made a new army a large large on called the army of Islam it had only Muslims in it! they wanted to take some area around the Caspian sea . The Germans did not like this all Islam army. But the army moved on and took the Areas around the Caspian as they had wanted to . On October 30, The Armistice of Mudros was signed and the Caucasus Campaign was over .  but The Ottomans kept fighting till August 10, 1920. Nobody had really gained anything and millions of people died. it was a sad campaign .
                                                                 
                                                              

The End 

The Normans

The Normans were Vikings. The Vikings attacked France but when Charlemagne was king of France the Viking’s attacks were unsuccessful. When Charlemagne died the Viking’s raided and raided and raided until the French gave them some land in turn for protection from other Viking’s. When other Viking’s came the Viking’s in France defended the French. After some time the Viking’s in France settled, converted to Christianity and became Normans. The first Norman king was Rollo the king after him (Richard the fearless) spent a lot of time fighting off the French but at last there was peace. And one Norman king set off on a journey to Jerulasam called a pilgrimage and died on the way back to Normandy. All he left behind was a 8year old William. It was hard for William to become king. He had many strong enemy’s the strongest was guy of burgundy he had allies to his strongest ally was a bishop a leader of a church but when the bishop died guy of burgundy took over . William fled to France and henry the king of France welcomed him and helped him by attacking Normandy with his forces after guy of burgundy died in a battle against the French William became king but he called himself duchy of Normandy. William looked over the seas toward England. He wanted to conquer England because Edward the confessor was close to death and had no heir. William was a distant cousin of Harold Godwinson the heir chosen by Edward Harold was not related to Edward at all but he was a good choice. One day Harold was in a boat and a storm blew him to the shore of Normandy and wrecked his ship there when William heard the news he was happy. What luck! he and a troop of soldiers ran to the shores to meet Harold William brought him to one of his castles and treated him kindly & gave him a feast when the feast was done William took the table cloth and reviled bones of saints he made Harold swear an oath on them swearing on bones of saints was considered sacred . The oath was to say that William was the rightful heir to throne when Edward died. Harold swear it because he was in Williams’s castle and did not want to get captive or killed. William set Harold on his way with a new ship. When Edward died Harold did not keep his promise and he was crowned king on his crowning day Haley’s comet was in view of the earth and many said that it as a bad omen because Harold did not keep his oath. Harald Hardarda of Norway attacked England and conquered a few cites he took hostages and decided to exchange his prisoners for gold so he and a few other men with no armor because it was so hot they weard skins instead when they came a bridge were they were supposed to get the gold but when they came the whole English army marched on the bridge Harald Hardada sent two riders to his ships were the rest of the army was when the riders came to the ship they called everyone to come and help fight but when they set off most took their armor off and walked there those who didn’t died because it was so hot for Viking’s
and the battle of Stamford bridge was utter defeat for Harald Hardada and he died . when the English defeated the Viking’s the Normans attacked at the south the Vikings had attacked from the north so Harold’s army had to march all the way south and when he got there his army was exhausted and camped on a hill near the Norman’s camp the William decided to attack and that was the battle of Hastings in the battle the English made a wall of swordsmen on the top of the hill and the Norman’s charged with Calvary the Norman’s were winning. When suddenly some swordsmen from the wall of swordsmen charged and destroyed a lot of the Calvary and made William fall of his horse all the Normans thought he was dead and were about to give up when William got up and said he was alive then the Normans fought stronger and at last the Normans won and Harold died after that it was easy to conquer the other cites because there was not a king and the Normans conquered England. Williams conquer of England earned him the name William the conquer .the Danes attacked Norman-England and they did not conquer anything.




The Normans in Italy


the Norman Italians were mercenaries byzantine mercenaries that attacked Italy under a byzantine general they conquered a lot of cites but when the general died the army fell apart and some Normans attacked Italy more and took it for themselves they conquered Sicily, Malta and part of north Africa the first Italy Norman king was William iron arm there greatest leader was Robert Guiscard he maintained all those lands at the same time! After him all the Italian barons revolted because a new king had power over them now a Sicilian king his name Roger. Germany and byzantine banded together and called aid from the pope in Rome he helped the anti-Norman army attack the Normans. Under Rogers control they were beat. Roger did not attack and did not do one open battle at all. He waited and waited let the summer sun, bugs and revolts in Germany and byzantine make the German byzantine army go away without them the pope was powerless he signed a peace treaty with roger and went back to Rome . Roger had defeated his enemies without bloodshed! He was a wise king but after him Norman Italy fell apart Malta and north Africa were conquered by Arabs and the barons in Italy revolted and revolted and the Byzantine ,German army attacked again and the Normans in Italy were conquered .