Guayas Vgwl-as\ River River, western Ecuador. Its two principal tribu¬ taries, the Daule and Babahoyo rivers, rise on the western slopes of the Andes Mountains and unite just above the city of Guayaquil. Below the city it flows through a low-lying delta and enters the Gulf of Guayaquil. Its length to the end of the longest tributary is about 200 mi (320 km). Its floodplain is Ecuador’s most fertile region and the source of almost all of its banana crop.
Guchkov Xgiich-'koA, Aleksandr (Ivanovich) (b. Oct. 26, 1862, Moscow, Russia—d. Feb. 14, 1936, Paris, France) Russian politician. After Nicholas II issued the October Manifesto (1905), Guchkov helped found the Octobrist Party. As a member of the Duma, he attempted to enact more reforms but became increasingly critical of the government for its disdain for the constitution and for the influence of Grigory Ras¬ putin. When the Russian Revolution of 1917 broke out, he was sent to receive Nicholas’s abdication, and later he served briefly as minister of war and the navy. After the Bolsheviks seized power in October, he emi¬ grated to Paris.
Gudbrands Valley Norwegian Gudbrandsdalen
Vgud-.brans-.da-lonV Valley, south-central Norway. It extends about 140 mi (225 km) above Lake Miosa and Lillehammer. It was the scene of severe fighting in World War II in which the Norwegians and British attempted to hold off a German invasion. It is the setting for Henrik Ibs¬ en’s play Peer Gynt.
Guderian \gu-'da-re-an\, Heinz (Wilhelm) (b. June 17, 1888, Kulm, Ger.—d. May 14, 1954, Schwangau bei Fiissen, W.Ger.) German general and tank expert. His book Attention!
Tanks! (1937) incorporated theories by the British general J.F.C. Fuller and by Charles de Gaulle. As a prin¬ cipal architect of armoured warfare and the blitzkrieg, he contributed deci¬ sively to Germany’s victories early in World War II in Poland, France, and the Soviet Union. In 1943, as inspector general of armoured troops, he simplified and accelerated tank production. After the July Plot against Adolf Hitler, he became act¬ ing chief of staff (1944-45).
Gudrun See Kriemhild
Guelph Vgwelf\, University of
Public university in Guelph, Ont.,
Can. It is an important centre for research in scientific agriculture, having been established (1964) through the merger of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), Ontario Veterinary College (1862), and a newly created liberal arts college. Facilities include the headquarters of the Canadian Network of Toxicology Centres, a cen¬ tre for the study of livestock genetics, and a gerontology research centre.
Guelphs and Ghibellines Vgwelfs... , gi-b3- l lenz\ Opposing factions in German and Italian politics during the Middle Ages. The terms Guelph (see Welf dynasty) and Ghibelline (from Waiblingen, the castle of the Welfs’ Hohenstaufen opponents) first acquired significance in Italy dur¬ ing the reign of the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, who tried to assert imperial authority over northern Italy and was opposed by Pope Alexander III. The split between the Guelphs, who sided with the papacy, and the Ghibellines, who were sympathetic to the Holy Roman emperors, contributed to chronic strife in the cities of northern Italy in the 13th—14th century, reflected in Dante’s Divine Comedy.
Guercino \gwar-'che-no\, II (Italian: "The Squinter") orig. Gio¬ vanni Francesco Barbieri (b. Feb. 8, 1591, Cento, Papal States—d. Dec. 22, 1666, Bologna) Italian painter. Strongly influenced by the Bolognese school, he was called to Rome in 1621 by the Bolognese pope Gregory XV and, among other commissions, decorated the Villa Ludovisi; the ceiling fresco Aurora is painted to appear as if there were no ceiling, so that Aurora’s chariot is seen to float directly over the building. He returned to his native town of Cento in 1623. In 1642, upon the death of Guido Reni, he moved to Bologna and was its leading painter until his death. One of the outstanding draftsmen of his age, he had a profound impact on the development of 17th-century Baroque decoration.
Guernsey Vgom-zeX Second largest of the Channel Islands. Area: 30.2 sq mi (78.1 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 63,000. Guernsey is situated in the English Channel just west of Normandy, France. With Alderney and Sark, Herm, Jethou, and other islets, it forms the bailiwick of Guernsey; its capital is St. Peter Port (pop., 2001: 16,448). The island was known as Sarnia to the Romans. It was home to Victor Hugo (1855-70). The Guernsey breed of cattle originated there.
Guderian
ULLSTEIN BILDERDIENST
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Guernsey ► Guianas I 813
Guernsey Vg9m-ze\ Breed of dairy cattle that originated on the Chan¬ nel Island of Guernsey. Like the Jersey, it is thought to have descended from French cattle. Larger than Jerseys, Guernseys are fawn-colored and marked with white. Their milk has a pronounced yellow color. First exported to the U.S. in 1830, they are found also in Australia and Canada.
Guerrero \gar-'ra-ro\ State (pop., 2000: 3,079,649), southwestern Mexico. It covers 24,819 sq mi (64,281 sq km), and its capital is Chilpan- cingo. Bounded by the Pacific Ocean, it lies almost entirely—except for a narrow coastal plain—within the Sierra Madre del Sur, the valleys of which are fertile but difficult to access. Its principal river is the Balsas. Named after the independence leader Vicente Guerrero (1782-1831), the region became a state in 1849. Its best-known cities are Acapulco and Taxco, a preserved colonial town. It derives its income from agriculture, mining, and tourism.
guerrilla Xgo-Ti-loN Member of an irregular military force fighting small-scale, limited actions, in concert with an overall political-military strategy, against conventional military forces. Guerrilla tactics involve constantly shifting attacks, sabotage, and terrorism. The word (the diminu¬ tive of the Spanish guerra, “war”) was first used to describe the Spanish- Portuguese irregulars who helped drive the French from the Iberian Peninsula in the early 19th century. The underlying strategy is to harass the enemy until the guerrillas have sufficient military strength to win or can pressure the enemy to seek peace. The Chinese general Sunzi (5th century bc) laid down the rules of guerrilla tactics.
Guesde \'ged\, Jules orig. Mathieu Basile (b. Nov. 12, 1845, Paris, France—d. July 28, 1922, Saint- Mande) French labour organizer. He consulted with Karl Marx in 1880 on a socialist program, adopted by a French labour congress, that called on workers to elect representatives who would “conduct the class struggle in the halls of parliament.”
He was opposed by “possibilists,” who advocated collective bargaining and support for progressive candi¬ dates regardless of party affiliation.
He founded the socialist weekly L’Egalite, served in the Chamber of Deputies from 1893, and was minis¬ ter without portfolio (1914-15).
Guest, Edgar (Albert) (b. Aug.
20, 1881, Birmingham, Warwick- Guesde, 1906 shire, Eng.—d. Aug. 5,1959, Detroit, bbc hulton picture library Mich., U.S.) British-born U.S. writer.
His family immigrated to the U.S. when he was 10 years old. He became an office boy for the Detroit Free Press and later a reporter and writer of daily sentimental rhymes. These became so popular that they were syndicated throughout the country. His first book, A Heap o’ Livin’ (1916), became a best-seller and was followed by similar collections of optimistic verse on such subjects as home, mother, and the virtue of hard work.
Guevara \ge-'var-9\, Che orig. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna
(b. June 14, 1928, Rosario, Arg.—d.
October 1967, Bolivia) Theoretician and tactician of guerrilla warfare and prominent figure in Fidel Castro’s revolution in Cuba (1956-59). Born to a middle-class family, he com¬ pleted medical studies in 1953 and subsequently traveled widely in Latin America, eventually settling in Guatemala. The overthrow of Gua¬ temala’s Pres. Jacobo Arbenz per¬ suaded him that the U.S. would always oppose leftist governments and that only violent revolution would end the poverty of the Latin American masses. He left Guatemala for Mexico, where he met Castro and joined his cause. After the Cuban revolution he held several key posts as one of Castro’s most trusted aides; handsome and charismatic, he served