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= = = = Mongol – Song alliance = = = = |
In February 1233 , the Mongols took Kaifeng after a siege of more than 10 months and the Jin court retreated to the town of Caizhou . In 1233 Emperor Aizong ( r . 1224 – 1234 ) of the Jin dispatched diplomats to implore the Song for supplies . Jin envoys reported to the Song that the Mongols would invade the Song afte... |
= = Historical significance = = |
= = = Cultural and demographic changes = = = |
Jurchen migrants from the northeastern reaches of Jin territory settled in the Jin @-@ controlled lands of northern China . Constituting less than ten percent of the total population , the two to three million ruling Jurchens were a minority in a region that was still dominated by 30 million Han Chinese . The southwar... |
The Jin government initially promoted an independent Jurchen culture alongside their adoption of the centralized Chinese imperial bureaucracy , but the empire was gradually sinicized over time . The Jurchens became fluent in the Chinese language , and the philosophy of Confucianism was used to legitimize the ruling go... |
The emperor 's political reforms were connected with his desire to conquer all of China and to legitimize himself as a Chinese emperor . The prospect of conquering southern China was cut short by Wanyan Liang 's assassination . Wanyan Liang 's successor , Emperor Shizong , was less enthusiastic about sinicization and ... |
In the south , the retreat of the Song dynasty led to major demographic changes . The population of refugees from the north that resettled in Hangzhou and Jiankang ( modern Nanjing ) eventually grew greater than the population of original residents , whose numbers had dwindled from repeated Jurchen raids . The governm... |
The new capital Hangzhou grew into a major commercial and cultural center . It rose from a middling city of no special importance to one of the world 's largest and most prosperous . During his stay in Hangzhou in the Yuan dynasty ( 1260 – 1368 ) , when the city was not as wealthy as it had been under the Song , Marco... |
The loss of northern China , the cultural center of Chinese civilization , diminished the international status of the Song dynasty . After the Jurchen conquest of the north , Korea recognized the Jin , not the Song , as the legitimate dynasty of China . The Song 's military failures reduced it to a subordinate of the ... |
= = = Gunpowder warfare = = = |
The battles between the Song and the Jin spurred the invention and use of gunpowder weapons . There are reports that the fire lance , one of the earliest ancestors of the firearm , was used by the Song against the Jurchens besieging De 'an ( 德安 ; modern Anlu in eastern Hubei ) in 1132 , during the Jin invasion of Hube... |
Early rudimentary bombs like the huopao fire bomb ( 火礮 ) and the huopao ( 火砲 ) bombs propelled by trebuchet were also in use as incendiary weapons . The defending Song army used huopao ( 火礮 ) during the first Jin siege of Kaifeng in 1126 . On the opposing side , the Jin launched incendiary bombs from siege towers down... |
Gunpowder was also applied to arrows in 1206 by a Song army stationed in Xiangyang . The arrows were most likely an incendiary weapon , but its function may also have resembled that of an early rocket . At the Jin siege of Qizhou ( 蘄州 ) in 1221 , the Jurchens fought the Song with gunpowder bombs and arrows . The Jin t... |
= T30 Howitzer Motor Carriage = |
The T30 Howitzer Motor Carriage ( HMC ) was a United States Army self @-@ propelled gun used in World War II . Its design was based on requirements for an assault gun issued by the Armored Force in 1941 and it was built as an interim solution until a fully tracked design was complete . |
Produced by the White Motor Company , the vehicle was simply a 75 mm Pack Howitzer M1 mounted on a modified M3 Half @-@ track . It was first used in combat in the North African Campaign in November 1942 . It later served in Italy and France , and possibly in the Pacific . Some were later leased to French forces and th... |
= = Specifications = = |
Based on the M3 Half @-@ track , the T30 's specifications were similar to its parent vehicle . It was 20 ft 7 in ( 6 @.@ 28 m ) long , 6 ft 5 in ( 1 @.@ 96 m ) wide , 8 ft 3 in ( 2 @.@ 51 m ) and high , and weighed 10 @.@ 3 short tons ( 9 @.@ 3 t ) . The suspension consisted of vertical volute springs for the tracks ... |
= = = Gun specifications = = = |
The T30 's main armament was a short barreled 3 @.@ 0 in ( 75 mm ) pack howitzer . The 75 mm Pack Howitzer M1 as mounted could depress nine degrees , elevate 50 degrees , and traverse 22 @.@ 5 degrees to each side . The vehicle had stowage for sixty rounds of 75 mm ammunition and , although it was not designed for ant... |
= = Development = = |
The T30 HMC was originally conceived in 1941 as an interim design to fulfil the Armored Force 's requirement for an assault gun to equip tank and armored reconnaissance units . The Ordnance Department design was based on the M3 Half @-@ track in order that it could be brought into service quickly . A prototype vehicle... |
Authorization for the production of two prototypes was given in January 1942 ; first deliveries of the vehicle were made the following month from the White Motor Company . As it was seen as a temporary solution it was never given type classification . In September 1942 , the T30 was partially replaced by the Howitzer ... |
= = Service history = = |
The T30 HMC entered service in November 1942 , seeing action for the first time in the North African Campaign . In the 1st Armored Division , each armored regiment was issued twelve T30s . Of these , three were used in each battalion headquarters platoon and three were used in each regimental reconnaissance platoon . ... |
Most infantry divisions in the North African Campaign deployed a " cannon company " equipped with six T30s and two 105 mm T19 HMCs . In one encounter in North Africa , the T30 was used in an attempt to destroy German tanks . Although the T30s fired several volleys , the German tanks were barely damaged and the T30s we... |
The T30 also served during the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 , the war in Italy in 1944 , and possibly in the Pacific . It was removed from infantry division use in March 1943 , following changes in the organization of US infantry battalions , and was replaced by towed howitzers . The T30 was eventually replaced b... |
= Memory Almost Full = |
Memory Almost Full is the fourteenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney , discounting his Wings @-@ era discography , his orchestral works and his output as the Fireman . It was released in the United Kingdom on 4 June 2007 and in the United States a day later . The album was the first release on Starbucks ' Hear Mus... |
Memory Almost Full reached the Top 5 in both the UK and US , as well as Denmark , Sweden , Greece , and Norway . The Grammy @-@ nominated album has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and has been certified gold by the RIAA for shipments of over 500 @,@ 000 copies just in the United States . The album was released in... |
= = Background = = |
Nine demos were recorded at The Mill studio in September 2003 by Paul McCartney and his touring band . A month later , in October , album sessions for Memory Almost Full began , and were produced by David Kahne and recorded at Abbey Road Studios . McCartney and the band recorded the songs " You Tell Me " , " Only Mama... |
= = Recording = = |
Many songs from Memory Almost Full were from a group of songs , which also included songs from Chaos and Creation in the Backyard , and some intended for the former nearly ended up on the latter . Any songs that were started , but not finished , for Chaos and Creation in the Backyard , McCartney didn 't want to re @-@... |
New tracks were recorded at the following studios : McCartney 's home studio in Sussex , The Mill , Los Angeles ' Henson Studios , London 's RAK Studios and AIR Studios , and New York 's SeeSquared Studios . The songs recorded at those studios were " Nod Your Head " , " In Private " , " 222 " , " Gratitude " , " Mr. B... |
= = Content = = |
The Rock Radio website leaked a track listing for the album on 12 April 2007 . A day later , producer David Kahne stated on the same site that the leaked listing was bogus . In an interview with Billboard magazine in May 2007 , McCartney said that the album 's material was " in some ways a little bit retrospective . S... |
" Mr. Bellamy " , the sixth song on the album , was thought by online fans to be about McCartney 's then @-@ recent divorce . McCartney invited Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke to play piano on the song , but he declined . The press ran articles claiming that Yorke had " snubbed " McCartney , but Yorke later revealed tha... |
The album features a five song @-@ medley , which in an interview with Billboard magazine , McCartney said that it was previously " something I wanted to revisit " as " nobody had been doing that for a while . " The medley was a group of intentionally written material , whereas McCartney had worked on the Beatles ' Ab... |
= = Album title , and CD casing = = |
Some people mentioned that the album 's title , Memory Almost Full , is an anagram of " for my soulmate LLM " ( the initials of Linda Louise McCartney ) . When asked if this was intentional , McCartney replied ; " Some things are best left a mystery " . In an interview with Pitchfork Media , McCartney clarified , " I ... |
A significant proportion of the CD release of Memory Almost Full incorporated a cover insert whose top @-@ right corner was intentionally folded down to the center of the insert , leaving the CD tray visible . The folded @-@ down white corner covers up the corner of the armchair image , but has the artist and album na... |
= = Reception = = |
Memory Almost Full received positive reaction . At Metacritic , the album earned an average score of 69 based on 23 reviews from critics , which indicates " Generally favorable reviews " . Evan Serpick of Rolling Stone magazine also compared the medley of five songs in the second part of the album to the famous song s... |
= = Release = = |
= = = Album = = = |
The album was his first for Starbucks ' Hear Music record label , after previously having a 45 @-@ year @-@ old relationship with Capitol / EMI . The recording contract with Capitol / EMI ended a few months prior to the release of the album , after McCartney had found out that EMI were planning to take six months to s... |
It was also McCartney 's first album to be available as a digital download . Promotion for the album came in several forms , such as a worldwide listening party at over 10 @,@ 000 Starbucks stores on the day of the album 's US release , with an approximation of 6 million people hearing the album . At ten of the Starbu... |
On 6 November 2007 , the album was re @-@ released as Memory Almost Full – Deluxe Edition . The set included one CD and one DVD . The CD included the standard album plus the three extra songs from the 2 @-@ CD edition . The DVD contained five tracks recorded live at The Electric Ballroom in London , and two music vide... |
= = = Singles = = = |
The first US single , " Ever Present Past " , made its radio debut on 20 April 2007 . Peaking at number 10 in the Bubbling Under Hot 100 , and also charting at number 16 on Billboard Adult Contemporary . The lead single for the rest of the world is " Dance Tonight " , released on McCartney 's 65th birthday in the UK ,... |
= = Track listing = = |
All songs written by Paul McCartney . |
" Dance Tonight " – 2 : 54 |
" Ever Present Past " – 2 : 57 |
" See Your Sunshine " – 3 : 20 |
" Only Mama Knows " – 4 : 17 |
" You Tell Me " – 3 : 15 |
" Mr. Bellamy " – 3 : 39 |
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