Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/February 2015/Articles


 * Battle of Schliengen (auntieruth) : This article covers a battle of the French Revolutionary Wars fought between French and Austrian forces in modern-day Germany during October 1796. Both sides claimed victory, but military historians generally agree that the Austrians achieved a strategic advantage. Nominator AuntieRuth took the article through GAN and ACR before passing FAC.
 * Fuji-class battleship (Sturmvogel 66) : The two Fuji class warships were the first of many battleships to be operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Built in the UK, they entered service in 1897 and saw combat during the Russo-Japanese War. The second of the class, Yashima was sunk during this conflict, but Fuji survived and was used in training roles during World Wars I and II. The article achieved GA and A-Class status before reaching FA.
 * June 1941 uprising in eastern Herzegovina (Peacemaker67) :Another in Peacemaker67's articles on the Balkans, this covers one of the early actions in what became a very long-running campaign against the occupation authorities in Yugoslavia. The uprising was not successful, and led to a series of massacres. The article went through GAN and ACR prior to FAC.
 * Mackensen-class battlecruiser (Parsecboy) : The Mackensen-class was the last battlecruisers to be built for the Germany Navy, though none of the four ships were completed. This FA had a long gestation period, achieving GA back in 2009 and becoming part of a Featured Topic before Parsecboy expanded it recently and took it through ACR and FAC.
 * No. 77 Squadron RAAF (Ian Rose) : Another of Ian's articles on Royal Australian Air Force squadrons, this focuses on a fighter unit that saw extensive combat in World War II and the Korean War, currently operates F/A-18 Hornets, and is scheduled to convert to F-35 Lightning IIs in 2021. The article passed GAN and ACR before achieving FA status.
 * Operation Mascot (Nick-D) : This article covers a large, and totally unsuccessful, Royal Navy air strike on the German battleship Tirpitz in July 1944. Nick developed the article to follow up his work on the similar, but more successful, Operation Tungsten raid. In his nomination statement he noted that Mascot was particularly unusual in that, owing to the Germans being able to cover Tirpitz in a smokescreen, the 84 British aircraft had to aim at the flashes of German guns, while the German gunners were unable to see their attackers. The article passed GAN and ACR before FA.
 * William F. Raynolds (MONGO) : Raynolds was an explorer, engineer and U.S. Army officer who served in the Mexican-American War and American Civil War. He was the first person to climb Pico de Orizaba, the tallest mountain in Mexico.


 * Egon Mayer (MisterBee1966) : Egon Mayer was a German fighter ace of World War II, and the first person to shoot down more than 100 aircraft on the Western Front. In the nomination statement MisterBee said that "I am pushing the envelope on this one with respect to my own expectations regarding the coverage of this article" due to a lack of sources on Mayer's private life, but reviewers judged that it met the criteria.


 * 4th Army (Kingdom of Yugoslavia) (Peacemaker67) : Continuing Peacemaker67's series of article on Yugoslavia in World War II, this article describes the role which the Yugoslav 4th Army played in the defence of the country in April 1941.


 * Siege of Kehl (1796–97) (Auntieruth55) : The Siege of Kehl was fought between French and Austrian forces during the French Revolutionary Wars, and ended with a hard-won victory for the Austrians. This forms part of a series of high-quality articles on battles in this war that Auntieruth has recently developed.


 * British contribution to the Manhattan Project (Hawkeye7) : Also part of a long-running series, this article covers the significant, but little-remembered, British role in the development of atomic weapons during World War II. Britain was unceremoniously excluded from the US atomic program after the war, but its involvement in the Manhattan Project proved important in developing its own atomic bombs.


 * Josef Wurmheller (MisterBee1966) : MisterBee's second appearance in this month's list is also a detailed biography of a German fighter ace of World War II. Wurmheller downed 102 Allied aircraft, including 56 Supermarine Spitfire fighters, before being killed in a mid-air collision with his wingman in June 1944.


 * No. 450 Squadron RAAF (Ian Rose and AustralianRupert) : This collaboration between two A-class review regulars covers the history of an Australian fighter squadron which saw extensive combat in North Africa and Italy during World War II. Due to an administrative error, the Royal Canadian Air Force appropriated the squadron's number in 1968.


 * New Zealand Division (Zawed) : The New Zealand Division was New Zealand's main contribution to World War I, and took part in heavy fighting on the Western Front in France from 1916 to 1918. It was considered one of the best divisions in the British armies, but this came at the cost of 12,400 fatalities.


 * Ulysses S. Grant (Coemgenus) : Covering a topic which should need no introduction, this article was first nominated for GA status in 2006 and finally achieved it thanks to efforts by Coemgenus and others in late 2013. It went through an unsuccessful featured article candidacy in mid-2014, and was nominated for A-class as part of work to develop it to FA status.


 * SMS Cormoran (1892) (Parsecboy) : Moving from the well known to the little known, this article describes the service of a unprotected cruiser operated by the Imperial German Navy between 1893 and 1914. Cormoran mainly served in Asia, and was scuttled at the start of World War I. Her crew subsequently manned an auxiliary cruiser of the same name.


 * Rudolf Frank (MisterBee1966) : MisterBee's third high-quality biography of a German fighter ace of World War II covers the life of night-fighter pilot who shot down 45 Allied aircraft. Frank was killed in April 1944 when part of the last bomber he downed struck his aircraft.