Bonaparte’s Expedition to Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) and His Policy towards Local Christians

В статье рассматриваются основные аспекты политики французского военного командования в отношении христианских общин Османского Египта и Османской Сирии во время экспедиции Бонапарта (1798–1801 гг.). Особое внимание уделено замыслам Бонапарта и его преемников на посту главнокомандующего по привлечению египетских и сирийских христиан к сотрудничеству с французской оккупационной администрацией в качестве чиновников и солдат вспомогательных военных отрядов. Также в статье рассматривается французская пропаганда в сопоставлении с практическими действиями в отношении египетских коптов и сирийских христиан наряду с ответной реакцией со стороны как христианских общин, так и мусульманского большинства населения Османского Египта и Османской Сирии. Выявлены противоречия и двойственность политики Бонапарта и его преемников на посту главнокомандующего Восточной армии – Клебера и Мену в отношении местных христиан. Французское командование рассматривало восточных христиан как потенциальных союзников, но в то же время не решалось выражать к ним особые симпатии, поскольку подобные действия могли вызвать возмущение среди мусульманского большинства населения и создать впечатление, что французы ведут религиозную войну против ислама и мусульман. В статье сделан вывод о том, что эта непоследовательность стала одной из причин неудачи египетской экспедиции Бонапарта, когда французская армия в ходе военных действий в Египте и Сирии оказалась отрезанной от Франции и в то же время не могла пополнять свои ряды добровольцами из числа местных жителей. The article examines the main aspects of the policy of the French military command in relation to the Christian communities of Ottoman Egypt and Ottoman Syria during the expedition of Bonaparte (1798–1801). Particular attention is paid to the plans of Bonaparte and his successors as commander-in-chief to attract Egyptian and Syrian Christians to cooperate with the French occupation administration as officials and soldiers of auxiliary military units. The article also examines French propaganda in comparison with practical actions towards Egyptian Copts and Syrian Christians, and the response from both Christian communities and the Muslim majority of the population of Ottoman Egypt and Ottoman Syria. The contradictions and ambiguity of the policy of Bonaparte and his successors as commander-in-chief of the Eastern Army – Kleber and Menou towards local Christians are revealed. The French command considered Eastern Christians as potential allies, but at the same time did not dare to express special sympathy for them, since such actions could cause outrage among the Muslim majority of the population and create the impression that the French are waging a religious war against Islam and Muslims. The article concludes that this inconsistency was one of the reasons for the failure of Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition, when the French army was cut off from France during the hostilities in Egypt and Syria and at the same time could not replenish its ranks with volunteers from among the local residents.

TO THE QUESTION OF THE SUPPLY OF PARTISANS AND UNDERGROUNDERS OF THE CRIMEA WITH THE HELP OF AVIATION IN 1941-1944

Статья посвящена проблеме анализа материально-технического обеспечения в годы Великой Отечественной войны партизан и подпольщиков Крыма, которая недостаточно изучена в отечественной историографии. На основе вводимых в научный оборот неопубликованных материалов из фондов Государственного архива Республики Крым автор исследует причины, побудившие Совет Народных Комиссаров Крымской АССР и военное командование Северо-Кавказского фронта организовать помощь «народным мстителям». В статье рассмотрены основные мероприятия Крымского обкома ВКП(б) по оказанию помощи антифашистскому сопротивлению: подготовка баз снабжения, авиационной техники, летного состава, подвоз продовольствия, организация аэродромов. Акцентируется внимание на факторе содействия советских ВВС в перевозке участников разведывательно-диверсионных и подпольных организаций с баз Северного Кавказа на территорию оккупированного Крыма и в передаче секретной информации в расположение советского командования. Автор приходит к выводу, что благодаря проводимым советским руководством мероприятиям был организован мощный воздушный мост между Северным Кавказом и партизанскими базами Крыма. Это позволило обеспечить партизан и подпольщиков Крыма необходимыми запасами продовольствия, медикаментов, оружия, боеприпасов в переломный момент Великой Отечественной войны. The paper is devoted to the problem of analyzing the material support during the Great Patriotic War of the partisans and underground fighters of the Crimea, which has not been sufficiently studied in Russian historiography. On the basis of unpublished materials from the funds of the State Archives of the Republic of Crimea introduced into scientific circulation, the author examines the reasons that prompted the Council of People’s Commissars of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and the military command of the North Caucasian Front to organize the help for the “people’s avengers”. The publication discusses the main activities of the Crimean Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks to provide assistance to the anti-fascist Resistance: the preparation of supply bases, aircraft, flight personnel, the supply of food, the organization of airfields. Attention is focused on the factor of assistance of the Soviet Air Force in the transportation of members of reconnaissance, sabotage and underground organizations from the bases of the North Caucasus to the territory of the occupied Crimea, and in the transfer of classified information to the location of the Soviet command. The author arrives at the conclusion that thanks to the measures carried out by the Soviet leadership, a powerful air bridge was organized between the North Caucasus and the partisan airfields of the Crimea. This made it possible to provide the partisans and underground fighters of the Crimea with the necessary supplies of food, medicines, weapons, ammunition at the turning point of the Great Patriotic War.

Royal Historian

The turn of the seventeenth century saw a growing interest in political history and a rising appreciation of its propagandist value. Chapter 11 examines Herbert’s acceptance of a commission from the duke of Buckingham to produce an apologia for his disastrous military command when waging war against France in The Expedition to the Isle of Rhé, and from Charles I to write a history of his controversial Tudor predecessor in The Life and Raigne of King Henry the Eighth. It explores the purpose, key arguments, and historical and intellectual context of the two works and compares the different approaches Herbert adopts to defend Buckingham and Henry VIII while preserving his integrity and objectivity as a historian. It highlights his careful and ground-breaking historical methodology based upon critical evaluation of a wide range of primary and secondary sources; his extensive coverage of people, policy, and events; and his use of the Life and Raigne to discreetly influence royal and public opinion and to publicize his irenic solution to religious division and conflict. It suggests that Herbert became a historian by invitation rather than design but that his detailed, wide-ranging, and authoritative account of Henry VIII’s kingship has informed and influenced studies of the reign over succeeding centuries and that he merits acknowledgement alongside William Camden for transforming the writing of British political history.

“Incurable Megalomania” and “Fantasies of Expansion”: The German Army Reimagines Empire in Occupied Poland, 1915–1918

Plans for a Polish “border strip” are frequently cited to argue that the German army entered the First World War committed to pacifying conquered space through Germanization. This article contends that, in 1914, the German officer corps did not understand national homogeneity as essential for imperial security. Many influential officers insisted that Polish identity was compatible with German imperial loyalty. They supported a multinational imperial model, proposing to trade Poland its cultural and political autonomy for the acceptance of German suzerainty in foreign policy and military command. The army's preference for Germanizing space developed during the occupation of Russian Poland, as officers learned to conflate diversity with imperial fragility. Only a series of political crises after 1916 shifted military opinion against multinational imperialism. Increasingly convinced that Poland would betray the German Empire, some officers abandoned multinationalism. Others revised their plans to contain Poland and fortify Germany by annexing and Germanizing Polish space.

Clinical and Immunological Characteristics of Patients With Adenovirus Infection at Different Altitude Areas in Tibet, China

BackgroundThe severities of human adenovirus (HAdV) infection are diverse in different areas of Tibet, China, where a large altitude span emerges. Serious consequences may be caused by medical staff if the clinical stages and immunological conditions of patients in high-altitude areas are misjudged. However, the clinical symptoms, immunological characteristics, and environmental factors of HAdV infection patients at different altitude areas have not been well described.MethodsIn this retrospective, multicenter cohort study, we analyzed the data of patients who were confirmed HAdV infection by PCR tests in the General Hospital of Tibet Military Command or CDC (the Center for Disease Control and Prevention) of Tibet Military Command from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2020. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiological, and epidemiological data were collected from medical records system and compared among different altitude areas. The inflammatory cytokines as well as the subsets of monocytes and regulatory T cells of patients were also obtained and analyzed in this study.ResultsSix hundred eighty-six patients had been identified by laboratory-confirmed HAdV infection, including the low-altitude group (n = 62), medium-altitude group (n = 206), high-altitude group (n = 230), and ultra-high-altitude group (n = 188). Referring to the environmental factors regression analysis, altitude and relative humidity were tightly associated with the number of infected patients (P < 0.01). A higher incidence rate of general pneumonia (45.7%) or severe pneumonia (8.0%) occurred in the ultra-high-altitude group (P < 0.05). The incubation period, serial interval, course of the disease, and PCR-positive duration were prolonged to various extents compared with the low-altitude group (P < 0.05). Different from those in low-altitude areas, the levels of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IP-10, MCP-1, TNF-α, TNF-β, and VEGF in the plasma of the ultra-high-altitude group were increased (P < 0.05), while the proportion of non-classical monocytes and regulatory T cells was decreased (P < 0.05).ConclusionsThe findings of this research indicated that patients with HAdV infection in high-altitude areas had severe clinical symptoms and a prolonged course of disease. During clinical works, much more attention should be paid to observe the changes in their immunological conditions. Quarantine of patients in high-altitude areas should be appropriately extended to block virus shedding.

Variant Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Genomes from Belgian Military Personnel Engaged in Overseas Missions and Operations

More than a year after the first identification of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as the causative agent of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China, the emergence and spread of genomic variants of this virus through travel raise concerns regarding the introduction of lineages in previously unaffected regions, requiring adequate containment strategies. Concomitantly, such introductions fuel worries about a possible increase in transmissibility and disease severity, as well as a possible decrease in vaccine efficacy. Military personnel are frequently deployed on missions around the world. As part of a COVID-19 risk mitigation strategy, Belgian Armed Forces that engaged in missions and operations abroad were screened (7683 RT-qPCR tests), pre- and post-mission, for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, including the identification of viral lineages. Nine distinct viral genotypes were identified in soldiers returning from operations in Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, and Mali. The SARS-CoV-2 variants belonged to major clades 19B, 20A, and 20B (Nextstrain nomenclature), and included “variant of interest” B.1.525, “variant under monitoring” A.27, as well as lineages B.1.214, B.1, B.1.1.254, and A (pangolin nomenclature), some of which are internationally monitored due to the specific mutations they harbor. Through contact tracing and phylogenetic analysis, we show that isolation and testing policies implemented by the Belgian military command appear to have been successful in containing the influx and transmission of these distinct SARS-CoV-2 variants into military and civilian populations.

Application of the ontology of the choice of selection to describe the processes of interaction of subjects of military communication management

The ways of improving the mechanisms of information and analytical support of the command control system in the state of emergency are analyzed. The approach to the application of the ontology of the choice problem for decision-making in the field of law enforcement management using the procedure of integration of information resources based on the binary partial order relation is used. The purpose of the article is to increase the efficiency of decision-making in the management system of the military command in a state of emergency by applying the ontology of the choice problem based on a set of semantically significant results. Results of the research. Analysis and processing of large arrays of information in the field of military command management in a state of emergency should be carried out in an automated mode on the basis of a distributed software environment based on the principles of ontologies. Ontological systems, as a result of the inverse mapping of natural systems, provide the correct aggregation of various thematic processes through the formation of a structured set of information objects-concepts of the subject area, which are defined as a single type of data. The ontological representation of the contexts of units-concepts provides their integrated use in the process of solving complex tasks by the governing bodies of the command in a state of emergency. One of the constructive ways to integrate information resources as passive knowledge systems is to activate their concepts based on the process of forming thematic ontologies and combining these ontologies by building an ontology of the choice problem over them. The uniqueness of the ontology of the choice problem to any homotopy type allows to build the procedure of integration of information resources on the basis of a binary partial order relation. The partial order relation allows to reflect in an integrated way interaction of contexts of the notion-concepts defining subjects of information resources. The contradiction between the increase in the amount of information needed for decision-making in the field of management of interdepartmental critical systems and the constant requirement to reduce the time for its processing in the information-analytical systems has been resolved.

KOORDINASI PEMERINTAHAN DALAM PENANGGULANGAN PELADANGAN GANJA PADA KABUPATEN GAYO LUES

This study aims to determine the coordination carried out by the Gayo Lues Regency government in overcoming cannabis cultivation, and also how the obstacles that occur when implementing coordination in tackling cannabis cultivation both between one agency and another as well as between agencies and the community and to find out the efforts made by the government. (BNNK, Polri, TNI) in tackling cannabis cultivation in Gayo Lues Regency. This research uses qualitative research using descriptive method which is carried out by means of purposive sampling. Data collection techniques were carried out by interviews and documentation studies, with informants of several employees at the Gayo Lues Regency National Narcotics Agency, Gayo Lues District Police, Gayo Lues District Military Command, community leaders and communities who live in areas prone to cannabis cultivation. The results of this research indicate that the collaboration formed by the BNN Gayo Lues Regency, the Police and the Kodim 0113 Gayo Lues has been carried out as much as possible but efforts are still needed to change the mindset of the community. The coordination carried out by the government is for preventive activities carried out by the District National Narcotics Agency (BNNK) Gayo Lues, while the Police and Kodim 0113 Gayo Lues are more concerned with law enforcement. The obstacles experienced by the government in overcoming cannabis cultivation are divided into 2 (two), namely internal constraints and external constraints. Internal constraints such as the lack of personnel, the absence of technology in tackling cannabis cultivation and the distance of the cannabis fields, while the external constraints are more to the people themselves. The efforts made by each agency are different, such as the National Narcotics Agency of Gayo Lues Regency which emphasizes work programs, while for the Police and Kodim 0113 Gayo Lues strives by requesting an increase in the number of personnel and the procurement of technology to combat marijuana.

Gratitude. The Red Army Memorial in Szczecin: A Geographical, Topographical, and Biographical Perspective

In March 1945, the combined Polish-Soviet forces captured the German city of Stettin. On 26 April, the 65th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front entered the city, in which the rule of the Soviet military command was soon established. Due to its unresolved status and territorial disputes, Polish politicians, self-government officials, and first settlers were forced to leave Szczecin twice. In the period of the Polish-German “race for Szczecin”, which ended with the Potsdam Conference, the only stable element having control over the lower Oder was the USSR, whose emissaries treated the conquered territories as if they already belonged to their communist state. As early as in 1945, the Polish civil authorities came up with an idea to erect a memorial dedicated to the “democratic armies”. The competition for the Red Army Gratitude Memorial was officially launched in Spring 1949, once the USSR-born doctrine of socialist realism was introduced to Poland. Out of twenty-two submission, the first award was given to Józef Starzyński from Zakopane, a former citizen of Lvov. The commemorative complex located at the Polish Soldier’s Square was completed in April 1950. The aim of the present paper is to analyse the very memorial which remained in Szczecin until 2017. Of special importance to my investigation are: the geographical context of Western Pomerania considered one of the Reclaimed Territories and in a feudal relationship with the historical regions of the Republic of Poland, as well as with the Russian “Seigneur”/”Lord”; the topographical context, namely the act of re-building the former German city destroyed in warfare; as well as the biographical context, i.e. the life of the monument’s designer. The paper takes special interest in the formal and ideological links between the Szczecin memorial and one of Starzyński’s earlier projects, namely the Sacred Heart of Jesus Gratitude Memorial in Poznań (1927; a competition submission; never erected). A careful reconstruction of the memorials’ history will offer a valuable case study which showcases the 20th-century sculptor in a politically-charged environment.

Victory and the West

This chapter examines the state of transatlantic relations at the end of the Cold War. It takes particular issue with the notion that the Cold War had been a golden age of transatlantic cooperation. The Cold War had witnessed the emergence of a transatlantic community. But that community had been in a perpetual state of inner conflict and disagreement. NATO had almost fallen apart in the 1960s when France exited the alliance’s unified military command. Conflicts over burden-sharing and out-of-area engagements, over national subsidies and trade rules had been frequent. Before the Berlin Wall came down, the alliance had already survived, even thrived, through many internal crises. Paradoxically, when the Cold War in Europe ended, the “West” was at the same time more diverse and more united than at any time in the past.